Page 156 of Banter & Blushes

He just grinned back at me, so I kissed his nose and shook my head.

The girls began to stir, and Zaki stole one more kiss as I attempted to extract myself from his arms. The alarm clock on the end table separating the sofa from the bunks sounded, and I was standing up straight when Isla’s eyes flicked open.

“Mornin’, Isles,” Zaki lazily greeted her. He folded his arms behind his head. “Ams, you awake up there?”

Amelie sprang up to a sitting position and blinked several times. I chuckled softly. This girl always had a hard time falling asleep. Like mine, her brain insisted upon making lists as soon as her head hit the pillow. It was hard to turn that off.

“Wynnie!” Isla greeted me. “It’s camp day!”

“I need my new camp diary!” Amelie shouted. Laffy howled with her. “Daddy! I left it in the RV!”

“We can grab it before we walk over,” Zaki assured her. “Are you ready to get ready?”

“Yes!” Both girls scrambled out of bed, and I walked over to assist Vennie to the ground.

We had plenty of time to get ready and for the girls to eat breakfast, but they moved at warp speed. Thirty minutes later, we were saying goodbye to Laffy and Vennie and locking the cottage door. I’d found the perfect sun hat in Charleston—wide-brimmed straw with a black ribbon around the base and a hole in the top for my hair to poke through. It fit my vintage Edwardian-inspired style and was functional, too.

Amelie retrieved her diary from the RV and fell into step with Isla, just ahead of us.

“It’s my turn to read cabin names,” Amelie insisted. “Pinecone Perch … Twilight Retreat …Winking Lobster Lodge! That’s funny!”

“Look!” Isla pointed. “There’s a lobster hanging next to the front door. And it’s winking!”

We all laughed, and Zaki squeezed my waist, pulling me closer to him. The walk through the resort’s grounds was lovely. We followed the signs to the stables, then turned toward a covered pavilion, much like the one by our cabin. JC and Meggie were there, each holding tablets. Two girls about Isla and Amelie’s age sat at the nearest picnic table sculpting Play-Doh.

“We’re the third and fourth ones here!” Isla squealed, taking Amelie’s hand in hers. They ran straight for the pavilion, causing all four pairs of eyes to look up.

“Meggie!” The girls ran toward the tall, athletic brunette, who’d styled her long hair in a fancy braid. I gave Isla two days before she asked me to do her hair that way.

Meggie opened her arms and bent down to embrace the twins. “Look at you two! Jean shorts andFrozenT-shirts!” She lowered her voice. “This is really Isla and Amelie, right, not fake girls pretending to be them?”

Amelie giggled. “It’s really us. You can’t wear princess dresses tocamp,Meggie.”

“Just making sure it’s really you.” She gave them another hug. “How is your trip going so far?”

“Great. Where’s Flynn? Isn’t he helping with the camp kids?” Isla asked.

“He’s in charge of the rising sixth graders,” Meggie replied. “You’ll see him around.” She leaned in close like she was going to reveal a secret. “They start their day at the pool. It’sfreezing.Way too cold for me. But not for someone whose job is on ice.”

Isla giggled. Amelie smiled and pointed to the girls at the table. “Can we talk about Flynn later and make friends now?”

JC barked a laugh, then cleared his throat. He strolled over to the sandy-haired girl who was obviously his mini-me. “This is my daughter Bianca and my niece Paisley.”

“She’s my cousin!” Bianca beamed. “And look—my other cousins are almost here.” She pointed to a spot behind us, where a boy and a girl were running at top speed toward us. “Hallie and Harlan are twins, too!”

Several yards back, a suntanned woman in her early thirties with long dark hair held hands with a police officer who could have been Craig Melvin’s doppelganger, dimples and all. His name badge read D. Saunders.

JC introduced us with an amused grin. “Damon is my wife’s sister’s husband Matt’s cousin, and Shelby here is my bestie since forever.”

“Matt’s my dad!” Paisley chimed in.

“Nice to meet you all,” I said.

“Pleasure’s ours,” Damon drawled in a Southern accent. “Welcome to Crane’s Cove.” He turned to Zaki. “Sorry about your Cup loss. You sign with Montreal yet?”

“Still deliberating,” Zaki replied. Anyone who followed hockey was on edge wondering what superstar Zaki Marsch was going to do. His agent had been in talks with Montreal for months, and they’d made a fair offer, but Zaki was seriously considering retirement if he couldn’t go back to Denver. He really didn’t want to play for any other team, and the Edge would sign him back in a heartbeat. But with Viki, his ex, living in Montreal and now recovered from her surgeries, he’d rarely see the girls if he returned there since they’d be sharing custody again in a few weeks.

Shelby tipped her chin toward Isla. “Like I tell my kids, let it go and give it to God.”

---