Page 116 of Save Me
“Put your foothere.”Bailey demonstrates, pointing to a spot on the sandy ground, her hand on Jeremy’s shoulder. At the crew’s relentless whining, she’s been giving basic combat demonstrations for the past half hour.
“Like this?” Jeremy follows the instruction.
In a lightning-quick move, she flips him over her leg, and he lands flat on his back with a dull thud. “Yeah, exactly like that.”
“Ow,” he groans as laughter explodes around the fire.
“Ron. Toss another one.” Mick holds his hands up, and Ron throws a hot dog, narrowly missing Lara’s cheek.
“Keep your wieners away from our faces!” Rebel scolds, earning several hoots.
I lean back in the seat I’m sharing with Ronan and hold my Sapporo against his lips. “We need more chairs.” A few of the old Adirondacks were not keen on the move and lost pieces along the way.
He takes a sip to help me keep up appearances that I’m drinking. “If only we knew someone who owned a beach chair rental company.”
“If only.” I rest my head next to his and admire the blanket of stars above. My problems are only just beginning, but for tonight, surrounded by my Sea Witch family, cradled in Ronan’s arms, they seem a galaxy away.
Skye trots past then, changed out of her bathing suit and into skimpy cotton shorts and a fitted T-shirt.
“Took you a while.” I note her matted hair and the lazy, crooked ponytail—she rarely walks around without an artful top bun to tame the frizz. And the fact that Connor is still not back from changing either.
“Someone had to clean up the mess in the kitchen. Here, figured you’d be ready for another cold one.” She holds out a fresh beer.
“Thanks.” I accept it.
Ronan’s soft curse tickles my ear. “I’m gonna be wasted if this keeps up.”
I nuzzle my face into the crook of his neck. “Good. Easier for me to take advantage of.”
His phone lights up with a text then, and Tasha’s name appears on the screen.
A dash of discomfort burns in my stomach. For an ex he only just reconnected with, she messages him a lot. “Didn’t you say she was here this weekend for a bachelorette party?”
“Yeah. I saw her at the airport when I went to pick up Britt.” He says it so offhandedly.
I hesitate, not wanting to show my insecurities. Cody used to do that all the time, dismiss frequent texts and meet-ups from female “friends.” When I’d question why, he’d gaslight my concerns, tell me to stop being so jealous.
Turns out I had reason to be then.
Do I have reason now?
“How was seeing her again after so long?” A woman he was in love with, the one he thought he’d marry.
“Weird. But also good. Validated what I already knew, that she’s in the past.”
“Does she know that?” Because I can only think of one reason why a girlfriend is messaging her ex so much.
The firelight casts just enough of a glow for me to see the truth in his eyes as he says, “She does now.”
“Good.”
His answering smile is crooked. “By the way, are you sure it’s okay for Britt and Dani to crash here this weekend?”
“Yeah, as long as they’re okay with sharing the spare room.”
“They won’t care. They’re like two peas in a pod. It’s just for two nights, anyway. But I can put them up in a hotel?—”
“No, don’t be dumb. The more, the merrier. Besides, I can’t wait to meet her.” What is Ronan’s sister like? And his mother and father? Will they like me? Will I like them?
