Page 29 of Nights at Seaside
“Want to bring your guitar down?” she asked, patting down her long yellow skirt as it lifted with the wind.
“Maybe next time. I can’t hold you if I’m strumming my guitar.”
She felt her cheeks flush at the reference tostrumming.
Pete and Jenna’s golden retriever, Joey, bounded over the rocks and made a beeline for them. Sawyer dropped to his knees and ruffled her fur.
“Aren’t you a fluffy pup,” he said as Joey licked his face.
“That’s Joey. She’s Pete and Jenna’s.” Sky crouched to love up Joey, and as Sky and Sawyer reached for each other’s hands, Jenna and Amy came over the dune and waved, looking adorable in their maternity sundresses. Sky was excited to introduce Sawyer to her friends. Even though this was only their second date, she felt like she’d been dating him forever.
“The shorter one is Jenna, my sister-in-law,” she filled him in quickly as she waved to her friends. “She’s five months pregnant. You’ll love her. And the otherverypregnant woman is Amy, Tony Black’s wife.”
“The professional surfer?” Sawyer asked.
“Yup. Tony’s a great guy. I know you’ll love him and all my friends, and hopefully my brothers, too. Amy’s just about the sweetest person on earth.”
He pulled her against him. “I doubt that.You’reabout the sweetest person on earth.”
Jenna and Amy greeted them with open arms. After hugging Sky, Jenna put her hands on her hips and smiled at Sawyer. “You must be Sawyer the strum…guitar-playing boxer.”
Sky’s and Amy’s eyes widened with surprise at her slipup.
“And you must be Jenna, Joey’s mom,” Sawyer said, petting Joey’s head.
Jenna spread a hand on her baby bump as Pete and Hunter came over the dunes behind them. “And soon-to-be a human baby’s mom, too. It’s nice to meet you, Sawyer.”
Amy walked right up to Sawyer and hugged him, shifting her belly slightly to the side. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, and Sky knew that Jenna had picked out Amy’s yellow bracelets to match her dress, because Jenna was the queen of making sure the girls’ outfits were perfectly coordinated.
“Hi. I’m Amy. Soon-to-be mom to a little surfer girl or boy. It’s nice to meet you, Sawyer.” Amy hugged Sky and whispered, “He’s even cuter up close!”
He sure is.“Where are the others?” Sky asked.
“Bella was tired, so she and Caden stayed home. Leanna got a huge jam order, so she stayed home to work, and Jessica and Jamie called to say they wouldn’t be able to make the trip yet because something came up at Jamie’s office.” Jamie and Jessica were married last summer. Jamie had developed one of the world’s largest search engines, and Jessica was a cellist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. They lived in Boston full-time and summered at the Cape with Jamie’s grandmother, Vera, who raised him after his parents were accidentally killed while on safari.
Pete put an arm around Jenna and extended a hand to Sawyer. Like Sawyer, he was over six feet tall, making Jenna look even more petite. “Hi. I’m Pete. Sky’s oldest brother.”
“Nice to meet you, Pete.”
“SongbirdBass. Hunter filled me in.” Pete nodded to their brother.
Hunter shook Sawyer’s hand. “I’m another one of Sky’s older brothers. I saw you play the other night. You were great.”
“Thanks. I remember seeing you at the table with Sky,” Sawyer said.
A motorcycle roared down the street.
“Here’s Blue,” Jenna said.
They turned as Blue stepped from his bike and hung his helmet on the back.
“Do you guys get together often?” Sawyer asked.
“We get together pretty often over the summers,” Pete explained.
“Hey, guys.” Blue reached out to touch Sky’s arm, then shoved his hand in his pocket.
For a brief second Sky held her breath. She realized that she’d never brought a guy with her to one of their bonfires before. This was going to take some getting used to—for both her and Blue.
