Page 161 of The Oscar Escape
Oscar went to the door, then glanced over his shoulder at his slightly disheveled wife. “Are you ready?”
She shrugged. “This is as good as it’s going to get.”
“Nah, you’re always a knockout.”
“A knockout who’s going commando.”
“That’s my favorite kind.” He drank in his wife—hispantylesswife.
Focus, man!
He shook his head, working to dislodge the thought. If he didn’t get himself under control, he’d be sporting another normal penis thing.
Relatively sure he wasn’t half-cocked, he opened the door, trying hishardestto look like he didn’t just take care of hishard-on.
“Are you two getting a book off a high shelf?” Phoebe asked, referencing what her aunt and uncle used to tell her when she was a kid and would nearly walk in on them. The woman glanced at the plaque. “And you’re inside a museum. My goodness, you two!”
Sebastian touched Phoebe’s cheek. “Pheebs, we did it in a church.”
“It wasn’t a church, Sebby. It was a chapel,” Phoebe countered.
Sebastian chuckled. “I’m a smart enough man to knownotto argue with my fiancée.”
“They’re ready for you down on the beach. That is, if you’re done jumping on the bed,” Phoebe teased. “FYI, you can hear that thing squeaking from a mile away. I’m surprised you didn’t break it.”
Aria fixed the quilt and patted the ancient bed like it was an old mare. “The couple who founded the island made nineteen kids in this bed.”
Phoebe whistled her amazement. “That’s one sturdy piece of furniture.”
“It may be the eighth wonder of the world,” Sebastian remarked.
“Enough about the bed—that Oscar and I absolutely weren’t jumping on. Pheebs, I’m glad I’ve got you for a second,” Aria said, exiting the cabin. “I had a question about streaming classes to places with spotty internet.”
“I can help you with that,” Phoebe answered.
The women set off down the path. Oscar closed the door, then came to Sebastian’s side. They trailed behind the girls. Oscar observed as Aria wrapped her arm around Phoebe. The women laughed, and their bubbly voices trailed on the breeze.
“It’s crazy, isn’t it?” Sebastian said, smiling as he stared at the pair in front of them.
When they were kids, they’d walked like this. The girls in the front. The boys in the back. Phoebe would have a cookie or a hotdog. Aria would be humming a tune.
“We’re damned lucky, Seb,” he answered.
“They probably deserve better,” Sebastian said with a thread of amusement.
Oscar clapped his friend on the shoulder. “Well, it’s a good thing they’re stuck with us.”
They came to the steps leading to Lighthouse Beach. Several picnic tables were scattered about the sand, loaded with bottles of wine, cans of soda, bags of marshmallows, stacks of graham crackers, and piles of chocolate bars. Their friends and family milled about, talking and laughing. A campfire glowed. He inhaled the earthy, woody scent. It was nearly sundown. The gulls had grown quiet as the last rays of light danced on the water’s surface. He surveyed the scene and focused on Charlotte. She and Libby, Seb’s stepmom, sat side by side.
A warmth spread through him. He couldn’t help but remember the day he met the woman he’d ended up callingmy Charlotte. He’d been so angry after losing his mother—so terrified about what life would look like living with his father. Charlotte’s gentle kindness had eased his pain. Her love made him and his father whole.
“I like to think our moms played a part in picking ourstepmums,” Sebastian said, falling back on his former British accent as they gazed at the women whose love had profoundly impacted their lives.
“Me too. We’ve grown up surrounded by remarkable women,” Oscar agreed, emotion coating his throat.
Charlotte waved over Ivy and handed her a Polaroid camera. His stepmom and Libby joined Penny, Harper, and Madelyn. The beaming former nannies flanked the matchmaker as Ivy snapped a picture.
“Well, come on,Os-cah,” Del called.
