Page 72 of Not that Sea-Rious
Ava grinned, thrust the daisy forward, and nearly shoved it up Marissa’s nose.
Joyce snickered and guided her daughter’s hand away.“You’ll see.”
Stepping back and chuckling, Marissa shrugged and followed.Typically, bridesmaids didn’t get each other presents.Carolyn had already given them her gifts, necklaces and earrings to wear during the ceremony and personalized beach bags they’d used during their cruise.So, what could it be?
Once they entered Joyce’s room, Ted took Ava from her and disappeared into the bathroom, announcing it was time to brush her teeth.
Humming to herself, Joyce went to the dresser and lifted a vase containing a lovely bouquet of various colorful flowers.It was beautiful and reminded her of the ones she’d received from Beau on the ship.
As her heart sank, she fought the urge to frown.Ted must’ve bought them for Joyce.He was such a stand-up guy.Maybe, eventually, Marissa could meet someone as sweet as him.
She thought she had, and look where that had gotten her.
Fighting the urge to sigh in the face of her own sadness, she curled some strands of her hair around her finger.It took her far too long to realize Joyce had lifted the vase and offered it to her.
Perplexed, she blinked.“Wait.What?”
“They’re for you,” Joyce explained.
Befuddled, Marissa reluctantly accepted the gift.“Why?”
“Read the card.”Joyce grinned as she handed her the small rectangle.
Marissa accepted that as well and skimmed the embossed blue letters.BoJo Consulting.It was from Beau’s business or, well, former business.
“What is this?”she asked.
Joyce reached over and guided her to flip it over.
On the back, in tiny block letters, Beau had written her a note.
I can’t promise perfection.I’m a mess, but I swear, it’ll be worth it.You came into my life, a ray of light, in my darkest of hours.Without you, I wouldn’t have hope.I’ve fallen in love with your smile, your laugh, and your presence.Please, allow me the opportunity to be in your future.
Longing for more of you,
Beau
Marissa’s vision blurred with welling tears, and the butterflies in her stomach were fluttering.Every fiber of her being screamed to call him.Find him, wrap him in a hug, and smother him with kisses.Were this a movie, they’d ride off into the sunset and magically live happily ever after.
This wasn’t theater.It was real life.He was homeless and unemployed.How the hell were they supposed to make anything happen?Grand gestures were nice and all, but relationships couldn’t be sustained by those.Bills still had to get paid.Even if she wanted to, how would moving forward with Beau even work?Marissa couldn’t afford to take care of him.She barely made ends meet alone.
She shifted her gaze to Joyce.“What do I do?”
Wearing a reassuring smile, her friend slung her arm around Marissa and tugged her closer for a hug.“Follow your heart.”
Isn’t that how Marissa wound up in this mess in the first place?
From the bathroom, Ted came out singing the chorus to the old Yes song, “Love Will Find a Way.”
Neither of them knew just how much she wanted that to be true.
Allowing tears to fall down her cheeks, with a swirl of conflicting emotions tangling in her chest, she reread Beau’s words.The chords of her affections strummed with each sentence.
What was she supposed to do?
45
Beau
