Page 26 of Austen, Edited

A guy Greyson didn’t know got out of the driver’s seat and came around to the other side, opening the passenger door for the brunette. After helping her out, he opened the back door, and out stepped Abby, her hair half-up with the rest draping over her shoulders in curls. Tiffany’s date shielded Greyson from the rest of her, but his first thought was irritation that she’d let some other guy drive her to the dock instead of letting him pick her up.

Tiffany linked arms with the guy, and they walked in the direction of the little group. Greyson tried to be patient, but as he saw Abby a few paces behind the couple, impulse took over, and he walked in her direction.

She was wearing a deep purple dress, little embellishments along the top of it. A small covering of the thin fabric his mother talked about all the time but he couldn’t remember the name of covered her shoulders, and he could barely see the small heels as she walked.

“Hey,” he said, swallowing hard. He reached out his arm for her.

She stopped walking for a moment, surprise etched on her face. After a few moments, she took his arm, holding on to a clutch with the other.

“You look beautiful.” His words were softer than he wanted them to be, but he’d never seen her like this. The way she looked at him, as though she was trying to decide if he was being serious or not, increased his attraction to her.

She blushed, her eyes focused on the ground ahead of them. “Thank you. Tiffany was all gung-ho to play dress up.” She bit the side of her bottom lip, and Greyson had a hard time pulling his attention away, the floral scent of her perfume drawing him in even further. She turned to him. “You look pretty handsome yourself. I don’t think I’ve seen you this dressed up since your aunt’s wedding a few years ago.”

Greyson chuckled. “Yeah, I sweat a lot when I have to wear the suit.”

“What about now?” she asked, her eyebrow raised and a soft smile on her lips.

“I’m doing okay right now. The humidity is lower tonight. Are you ready for this?” He motioned toward the large boat sitting on the dock.

She nodded. “I think so. I already took a pill for motion sickness, so we’ll see how it goes.”

They made it to the sidewalk, and Tiffany introduced her to the other couples already waiting. A few minutes later, the crowd hushed, with Brennen pointing out Parker’s car pulling into the parking lot.

Parker got out of the car and opened the passenger door, helping Meg step out. She had a blindfold on and was laughing about something Parker had said.

Greyson glanced to his side, and seeing the joy and excitement on Abby’s face made him grin. There were still traces of the shy girl Abby had always been, but there were bits that showed him just how much she’d matured and developed.

Meg and Parker walked up to the sidewalk before Parker took off the blindfold. The small group all yelled, “Surprise!” causing tears to spring from Meg’s eyes.

“Thank you, all. Wow! What a birthday present!” Meg placed her hands over her mouth and nose, shaking her head. She turned to Parker and gave him a quick kiss. “I can’t believe you did this. It’s perfect. Most of my favorite people here to celebrate with me.”

Abby leaned into Greyson just a bit, and noticing her wistful expression, he wondered what she was thinking about.

He didn’t get a chance to ask her as they all filed up the dock and onto the boat. The sun had begun to set, and with Abby by his side, he knew life couldn’t get much better.

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