Page 13 of Secrets, Scandals and Baby Shoes

Once everyone had claimed their rooms, they piled back into the car to drive into town for lunch. Lucy ordered chocolate pancakes, even though it was past breakfast time, and laughed as the guys wolfed down enough food to feed a small army. To her surprise, though, Dominic just picked at his Rueben and fries. He looked a bit distant again.

“Everything all right?” Lucy asked, stealing one of his fries.

Dominic glanced at her and grinned. “Not at all. You just took my fry, Lucy Goose. That’s unforgivable.”

“Too late.” Lucy popped the fry into her mouth. “Ha-ha.”

“Hilarious.” Dominic smiled at her again before grabbing a fork and cutting off a section of her pancake. “This is my payback.”

After that, he seemed relatively boisterous again, but Lucy kept watching him out of the corner of her eye.

The afternoon was spent walking on the beach and throwing a frisbee around. Lucy and Elliot kept a careful distance from each other, especially when evening came and everyone piled onto the couch to watch a movie, but their eyes met over and over. Each time, Lucy felt a little thrill. She kept imagining what might happen after everyone went to sleep. Would she and Elliot finally get a moment alone?

Dinner was pasta, which Dominic enlisted Lucy to help him cook.

“I really don’t know how I’m going to help,” Lucy said as Dominic pulled her into the kitchen. “I’m just as clueless as you.”

“Come on. Mom didn’t give you any secret lessons?”

“Nope. I think the biggest cooking lesson I ever had was not to put things in the microwave too long.” Lucy leaned against the counter and surveyed the small kitchen. “I’m sure we can figure it out, though.”

“We can always figure things out together, can’t we?” Dominic looked at her a moment too long before turning to the bags of groceries they’d picked up in town. “How long should we boil the pasta, anyway?”

“I really don’t know. Twenty minutes? Or is that rice?”

“I really feel like it’s less than that…” Dominic flipped the package over and read the instructions. “Twelve minutes, apparently. There’s some sauce in a jar somewhere.”

“Okay, just a second.”

As they cooked together, Lucy felt like they were kids again, assigned a chore by their parents. It was a strangely nice feeling, though she kept shooting glances into the living room where the rest of the guys were playing a brutal game ofSorry!Part of her, a large part, wanted to be with Elliot right now, but Lucy told herself sternly to enjoy this time with her brother. Elliot wouldn’t always be in her life, but Dominic would.

That night, after a dinner of slightly chewy pasta and salad from a bag, everyone played a few more rounds ofSorry!before drifting off to bed. Lucy took a long shower to wash the salty air off her hair and skin, then changed into pajama pants and a tank top. The guys stayed awake for a while longer, but once Dominic, Mike, and Sunil were in their room, Lucy made a beeline for the stairs. To her delight, she practically ran into Elliot on the way down.

“Shhhh,” he said, setting her on her feet. “Come on.”

Downstairs, he led her to the door, and they slipped on winter boots and jackets. Elliot pulled his own hat over Lucy’s ears and wrapped her scarf warmly around her neck. He eased the door open, both of them wincing at the creak, and they slipped out into the cold November night. Hand in hand, they followed the sound of crashing waves onto the beach. The ocean looked dark, but the full moon was reflected on the waves, casting everything in a beautiful silvery light. Hundreds of stars twinkled at them from overhead.

“How do you like the guys’ beach trip so far?” Elliot asked as they crossed the hard-packed sand near the water.

“It’s great.” Lucy grinned at him. “I wish I had a little more time with one specific guy, though.”

“Sunil?” Elliot suggested, and Lucy mock-punched him.

“You know it’s you. Although I do like Sunil and Mike and Dominic, too.” Lucy paused. “Do you think Dominic’s been acting a little strange?”

“Maybe.” Elliot let out a short sigh. “But I’ve felt like that since we started seeing each other. I think it’s mostly paranoia on our part.”

“I feel bad.” Lucy scuffed her boot against the sand. “I don’t like lying to him.”

“Me neither.” Elliot squeezed her hand. For a moment, they were silent, simply listening to the sound of the waves washing over the beach and smelling the salty air. Lucy tilted her head back to take in the stars.

“Do you know any constellations?” she asked.

“Uh, I know the Big Dipper and the North Star. But that’s about it.”

“I don’t know any.” Lucy pondered. “Maybe I should take an astronomy class.”

“You’re such a nerd.” Grinning, Elliot spun her towards him.

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