Page 35 of Now or Never

“What?”

The gears were turning. “I’m almost done with Float Fest. I will have some time on my hands. We could use my family cottage in Muskoka. I’ll arrange a limo bus, get a caterer, hire some musicians.”

Silent stares from all three of them. How could they possibly think that eloping in Niagara Falls was better than an actual celebration?

“Are you serious?” Natalie asked, then turned to Ethan. “Is he serious?”

Ethan smiled and nodded. “You just don’t get him yet.”

Adam ignored them. “If you tell me no, then I’m throwing the bachelor party to end all bachelor parties to make up for no wedding. This needs to be celebrated properly.”

Natalie rolled her eyes. “Fine. I don’t even know why I’m arguing with you. That actually sounds really nice. I’ve always wanted to go to Muskoka.”

Adam smiled. “That’s the spirit.” He looked over at Chelsea, who was staring at him with narrowed eyes.

“You’re really bizarre,” she said. “I’m going home to shower.”

She turned toward her house without another word, and Adam’s eyes immediately dropped to her ass.

Which reminded him . . .

“Wait, Chelsea. You’re coming to Float Fest, right?”

She turned back toward him. “Umm . . .”

Silence hung in the air between them, reminding him of when he’d asked her out and she’d shot him down. “Just, you know . . .”

A blank stare.

“. . . like, as friends?”

God, why was he so fucking awkward when he asked her things?

“I don’t know,” she said, then turned without another word and walked away.

Natalie and Ethan followed her, leaving Adam standing alone in the mud, berating himself for touching her face. It was one thing to mentally lust after her; he’d succumbed to the fact that he wouldn’t be able to stop that. But skin-to-skin contact was too dangerous. If she showed up to Float Fest, he’d keep a safe distance where touching wasn’t even on the table. And yes, he’d probably think of her naked the whole time, but thinking and touching were two different things.

It wasn’t as if she could read his mind. He was allowed to think whatever he wanted.

eleven

Chelsea stepped out of her car in the marina parking lot and grabbed her straw beach bag, wondering for the millionth time why she had even come. She was having serious FOMO, knowing Vincent was shooting at that very moment, but he’d insisted she should go have fun and wouldn’t take no for an answer, so what could she do? Besides, she was desperately curious to see what a festival that Adam had created would be like.

She was betting it would be fun and a little ridiculous, just like him.

She threw the bag over her shoulder and set out toward the boats. She’d never been to a marina before. Never been on a boat, either. Unless you counted a canoe one year at summer camp, which she figured no one would. She had relied on Jae to dress her, borrowing a lime-green bathing suit that had cut-outs on the sides and went so high up her hips it was almost as if she wasn’t wearing bottoms.

When she’d turned in the mirror and seen how much of her butt was hanging out, she’d almost called the whole thing off. But Jae had just shrugged, said, “Sun’s out, buns out,” and insisted she looked hot, so she threw a pair of cut-off jean shorts and an open button-down white linen shirt over it and pretended to be the kind of person who regularly walked around marinas and spent time on boats with her ass cheeks exposed.

She searched for the number on the post that Natalie had given her as she slipped a pair of sunglasses over her eyes and pulled her hair up into a bun on her head. She found the number, walked through the little gate, and nearly tripped over her own feet.

Adam was standing on an enormous boat.

No, not a boat.

A yacht.

Okay, maybe not ayacht.

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