Page 73 of Max's Mission

Margot laughed. “I know. We’ve been stubborn, not wanting to ruin a good friendship. But it finally reached a point where the friendship would suffer if wedidn’tstart something romantic.”

Annabeth squealed, then hugged her quick. “I’m so stinking excited for you!”

“Why are we hugging?” Audra glided over, water rippling out behind her as she waded closer. They’d made a couple of quick stops for swimsuits before coming to Max’s.

“Margot and Max finally gave in to what we’ve all known for months.”

“Brilliant.” Audra grinned. “When’s the wedding?”

Chuckling, Margot smiled at her. “We haven’t discussed marriage yet.”

“But they’ve discussed babies.” Annabeth added.

Audra tipped her head. “Makes sense. Max is old.”

Margot rolled her eyes. “He’s not that old. Trust me.” A blush stole over her face, and she chuckled.

A buzzer from inside interrupted their laughter. Margot turned toward the sound. That was the buzzer for the front gate.

Audra heaved herself out of the pool, but Annabeth was already on her feet. She waved Audra back. “Stay. You’re dripping. I’ll check who it is.”

Sitting down next to Margot, Audra nodded.

“Mommy! Watch!”

Margot glanced at the diving board to see Lily making her way to the end. She inched toward the edge, pausing for a second before leaping into the pool.

Margot clapped. Audra let out a loud whistle as Lily surfaced.

“Bang up job, Lil!” Audra said.

“You did so great, sweetie.” Margot grinned. That was the first time Lily had worked up enough courage to jump off the diving board.

“I did, didn’t I?” Lily made it to the side of the pool and clutched the edge. A wide, joyous smile on her face. “I’m gonna do it again!”

“Surfing must have been good for her confidence,” Margot said to Audra.

“I think so. She’s a lot more comfortable in the water.”

“Margot. Aud. Come here.”

Margot turned at the sound of Annabeth’s voice from the back door. The serious note in it had her stomach doing flip-flops. “What is it?”

“Just… come here.” She motioned them over.

Frowning, Margot turned to the twins. “Girls. Let’s take a break from the pool for a few minutes, okay?”

Emily groaned, doggy-paddling in the deep end. “But I’m not done swimming.”

“I know. But you need to hydrate. How about we go grab a popsicle?”

“Ooo, popsicles!” Lily scampered down the steps off the diving board. “I want a blue one!” She started to run toward the house.

“Walk, please,” Margot reminded her as she got up and slipped on her shoes.

The girl’s steps immediately slowed to a quick walk.

Audra leaned down and held out a hand to Emily. “Come on, poppet. What color lolly do you want?”

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