Page 58 of Summer Kisses

HAZEL

Imet with my grandmother every night over the week to go over the plans for the engagement party. This ruse was worth it to see my grandmother so happy.

We were assembling the lanterns that would hang around the room, providing ambiance and light.

I held one up. "These are going to look amazing."

"Are you sure we have enough?" Grandma asked.

"I hope so," I said, noting the boxes of lanterns that still hadn't been assembled. I'd already called my friends and asked for their help tonight.

"The question is how are we going to get everything to the resort?" Grandma asked.

"The guys can take these in their trucks."

"Are you worried about being overwhelmed by the Kingston family since there're so many of them?"

After my parents died, I lived with my grandparents. It was quiet, and I had no siblings. "I've been around them since I was a kid. I don't think anything will change. Although Dalton showed up the other day."

Grandma raised her brow. "I thought he'd moved out."

"He had, but his girlfriend kicked him out. I don't know the details, but it's been nothing but drama lately. I think she's playing games with him."

"Did you tell Brady that you're going to be newlyweds soon and can't have his brothers showing up whenever they want to?"

"Dalton understood after we explained it to him. But it was a change for him. I think they're used to being each other's safe places. Dalton always has had a home with Brady."

"But you're his safe place now. You're his home."

"I like the sound of that." Too much. I wanted to be that for Brady. I'd enjoyed being there for him and his brother the other day. I hoped I helped and didn't make things worse.

"You need your privacy."

I blushed, thinking about what Brady did to me in the powder room while his brother was eating in the kitchen. I'd never done anything so risky before. Brady made me feel more carefree, and I liked it.

"You did the right thing. I wouldn't worry about it. Dalton and Oakley have to figure out how to be parents together. Brady can't do that for him."

"Dalton's going to get his own place, and he talked to an attorney. Hopefully, things calm down. But Brady's worried, and that puts me on edge."

Grandma patted my hand. "You're a good girlfriend."

I wasn't even his girlfriend. We hadn't talked about what consummating our physical relationship even meant. Was it a way to pass the time? An experiment to see if we had chemistry? Each time was better than the last, and it didn't feel like a friends situation. It was exhilarating and scary at the same time.

"Dalton needs to grow up, and having a baby will do that to you."

Did I want to have children? I'd been so focused on buying the beach house that I'd pushed that little dream out of my head.If we were in a real relationship, would we have kids soon, or would we wait a few years?

I think we'd want to wait two or three years and enjoy our time together. It was weird how easy it was to make that decision. I could see kids running on the beach ahead of us while we walked Max. They'd be beach kids, loving the sand and the water. Growing up on an island like we had.

It was everything I ever wanted but didn't think I could have. My dream was within reach, but the problem was that it was all an illusion. Brady and I weren't together. Instead, it was a mutually beneficial arrangement. I was making Grandma's dreams come true while Brady made his career ones reality.

When it was all over, what would happen? Would we break up after the engagement party?

The thought of moving back to my empty apartment didn't hold much appeal. Not when I was living my dreams in Brady's beach house. It was what I'd always wanted. He was what I'd dreamed of. Was it too much to hope for that we could make it work? That he felt the same way I did?

"I'm happy for you. You're going to have the family you've always wanted."

It was bittersweet because my parents weren't here to see any of this. They didn't get their happily-ever-after. They didn't get to see me grow up and get married. "I wish my parents could be here."

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