Beach Blanket Bridesmaid (Necessity, Texas)

by Bond Collins,Margo

  Kristin ignored him, choosing instead to chatter away about the various things that they would all need to do to prepare for the wedding the next afternoon—or rather, the things the wedding coordinator had done that Kristin wanted Ava to double-check before the ceremony.

  Ava might have assumed the other woman was oblivious to the underlying tension among the other passengers if not for the fact that as they disembarked, Kristin took the chance to lean in to Ava and say, “Don’t worry about Seth. I’ll make sure he’s okay. You and Grant have a great time.”

  With that, she had invited Grant to join her in her room, where he had spent the night.

  This time, he had stayed through breakfast—and although she was exhausted, Ava couldn’t quit smiling. She hadn’t seen Grant again since he had left, though she knew he was helping Seth get ready, just as she had kept Kristin company in the honeymoon suite while the various people the bride had hired to do their hair and makeup had buzzed around them.

  Now, Ava and Grant walked down the short aisle into the gazebo and took their places on either side of the officiant. Rose, the wedding coordinator, gave some sort of signal, the music changed, and Seth and Kristin appeared at the end of the aisle.

  Back in Necessity, Ava had been certain that Kristin’s decision to have her wedding dress altered to tea-length was a bad idea.

  In Necessity, she had thought that everything about this trip was a bad idea.

  Unexpected tears popped up in Ava’s eyes. Only a few days ago, she had feared that Seth was making the wrong choice by marrying Kristin. Now she was certain that they belonged together.

  The light wind blew the scent of flowers through the gazebo as Kristin and Seth vowed to love, honor, and cherish one another. Rose, who was moving around to take pictures, leaned over and tucked a tissue into Ava’s hand.

  She gazed down at Seth’s ring in her hand, turning it over a few times until it was time to hand it to Kristin, who looked as beautiful as ever.

  As the officiant announced, “You may kiss your bride,” Ava’s gaze flicked toward Grant, only to discover him staring at her intently, his expression inscrutable.

  Then the wedding was over. The whole thing hadn’t taken more than ten minutes, but it was one of the most beautiful ceremonies Ava had ever seen.

  “We have a small cake and a bottle of champagne waiting for you in the restaurant,” Rose told them, moving them along so she could make sure the gazebo was ready for the next wedding later that day.

  “Will you go on a picnic with me after the cake and champagne?” Grant asked as Kristin and Seth left, oblivious to everyone but each other.

  “I will.” Flustered by her own word choice, Ava turned away from him and took one long, last look out at the ocean, then followed her brother and her new sister-in-law back toward the resort’s buildings.

  * * *

  I need to get Ava to come stay with me in Nebraska until this job ends. Then maybe I can get one closer to home.

  Grant spread out the beach blanket and set down the basket of food he’d had the resort restaurant pack for them.

  Ava stood at the edge of the blanket. “Are you sure no one will see us here?”

  “As sure as I can be in this situation.” Grant brushed sand away from the basket and began pulling out boxes of food as he cast a grin over his shoulder. “Anyway, we’re just having a picnic.”

  He dropped down and stretched out on his side. “Want to join me?” he asked, patting the fabric in front of him, a gleam in his eyes.

  A long time later, they collapsed back on the blanket, breathing heavily and staring up at the sky.

  Grant rolled over onto his side and ran one finger lazily up and down Ava’s arm. “When we get home—” he began.

  “Wait,” Ava interrupted. “What do you mean, ‘when we get home’? We catch our flights tomorrow morning, and when we arrive in Dallas, I’m getting my car and driving back to Necessity. You’re headed back to—where is your latest job?”

  Grant frowned. “This one’s in Nebraska, but…”

  “But nothing.” Ava shook her head emphatically. “You have always been absolutely certain that you needed to get out of Necessity. Grant, this has been amazing, but it doesn’t change anything. You can’t leave your job, and I can’t leave Necessity.”

  “Why not? It’s not like you have the kind of job that would keep you there.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew they had been the wrong thing to say.

  Ava began gathering her clothes to dress.

  That is not how you ask her to come with you, dumbass.

  Grant’s heart constricted in his chest as he began pulling on his own clothes.

  He could barely breathe. She wasn’t going to come with him.

  What had he been thinking, anyway? It’s not like she had ever promised him anything. But he had built a fantasy of a future together anyway.

  Based on what? The fact that she was charmed by Antigua? That she was willing to go on a few island adventures with him?

  Is that what I am—another island adventure?

  This is exactly what he had done to her that New Year’s Eve. Had amazing, mind-blowing sex, then … left.

  Not exactly without saying goodbye—he wasn’t that much of an ass—but definitely without finding out what, if anything, she wanted from him. No, he had made that decision for her.

  Just like she was making this decision for him.

  For the first time ever, he wondered if maybe she hadn’t wanted anything other than a one-night stand, even back then.

  * * *

  Ava finished getting dressed, then turned to face Grant again. “You know, I may only be a waitress, but that doesn’t mean my job is any less important than yours.”

  “I didn’t mean that at all.”

  “I think you did. More to the point, I’m pretty sure you’ve already decided exactly how this relationship is going to go, without even asking me what I want. For your information, this doesn’t mean anything.” She waved her hand in a wide arc, encompassing Grant, the beach, possibly the entire trip. “This is nothing more than a … a last fling.” She practically spit the last words at him.

  “Last fling? What the hell, Ava? Are you engaged or something? Have you been cheating on someone with me?”

  She felt her cheeks go hot, but did her best to ignore the blush. “You wouldn’t know, would you? You didn’t even stop to ask. You just assumed I would fall in with whatever plan you had.”

  “I thought, when you said you wished you could travel—”

  Ava interrupted him. “Maybe I did. But that doesn’t mean I will drop my whole life and follow you wherever you go. I do have a life back in Necessity, you know.” Even if it isn’t much of one. “And people who rely on me.” Like Gran.

  Grant’s brow furrowed into a scowl, exactly as it always had when he was upset and trying not to show it.

  Dammit. I know him far too well for my own good.

  Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and puffed her cheeks out on the exhale for a slow count of five. Opening her eyes, she tried to moderate her tone. “Look. I can’t go running off with you just because we have amazing sex.”

  His eyes brightened a bit at the change in her tone, and the frown smoothed out as soon as she said “amazing sex.”

  Leave it to a man to decide that’s the most important phrase in that sentence.

  “Grant, when I get back to Necessity, I am moving back in with my grandmother. She can’t afford to keep up her house by herself. She needs me.”

  When Grant didn’t answer, she shook her head and walked away.

  She had promised herself that she would never again be surprised to discover that she and Grant wanted different things. That had lasted all of two days.

  I hope Seth and Kristin are doing better with their vows than I am with mine.

  Chapter 9

  Outside on the circular drive the next morning, Av
a took a deep breath. The soft breeze continued, carrying the scent of the ocean and blowing away Ava’s earlier foul mood. It didn’t matter that she and Grant were at odds again—she was here, on the last day of the vacation of a lifetime.

  And she was determined to enjoy herself.

  Grant Porter be damned.

  So today, she was spending the day away from the resort, and as far away from Grant as she could get. So she had pulled out the guidebook she had bought and charged an excursion to the eighteenth-century fort to her emergency credit card.

  This is an emergency. I desperately need to get away from Grant.

  More than that, she needed to escape the idea that she could have ended up with him—that this could have been more than a vacation fling, if only she could find a way around needing to stay in Necessity.

  But I can’t.

  Scanning the placards held by the drivers standing by the excursion shuttle vans, Ava finally spotted one that read Jordan Party.

  “Jordan, party of one,” she muttered to herself, grinning a little darkly.

  Flashing a smile at the driver as he opened the door for her, Ava slid into the back seat of the resort’s shuttle van. “There you go, miss,” the driver said, his soft accent containing hints of the island patois she had been hearing ever since she stepped off the plane several days ago. “I’ll be coming back in a minute, and then we’ll go.” His dark brown eyes sparkled at her as he turned away, leaving the sliding van door open to catch the breeze.

  With a shrug, she applied herself to the guidebook, double-checking her marks in it, the stars next to all the things she had wanted to see while she was there.

  The armory. The old fort. St. John’s, with its stores and markets. 365 beaches.

  Okay. So she hadn’t had time for everything. But she had one last chance to sightsee.

  And avoiding Grant as much as I can.

  The van rocked, and Ava glanced up, planning to ask the shuttle driver to tell her a little more about the history of the West Indies.

  The words died in her throat.

  “Hey, Ava.” Grant nodded at her as he moved toward the back of the shuttle.

  So much for avoiding Grant.

  Of course he’s coming on the tour, too. That’s the kind of luck I have.

  And now he was sitting behind her, staring a hole in the back of her head.

  It’s clear he can’t stand me.

  She blinked back tears.

  She had spent most of the night fantasizing about how she might behave when they met up again.

  Sometimes she envisioned Grant dumbstruck by the sight of her in the mini dress.

  Other times, she imagined herself giving him the cold shoulder as she swept past him the next time she saw him in Necessity.

  And every so often as the night wore on and she found herself still unable to sleep, she allowed herself to dream of a scenario that ended with them together, kissing, touching…

  They were silly, childish daydreams. She knew that. And she didn’t expect any of them to really come true.

  For one thing, not a single one involved him refusing to sit next to her on a tour bus while she stewed in her own misery and tried to keep from crying.

  She rubbed her temples, then went back to watching the brightly painted buildings of St. John’s slide by her, until the city ran out and all that was left was rolling countryside.

  Leaning her forehead against the glass, she stared out across the landscape as far as she could, hoping for another glimpse of the ocean. When it finally came, the early morning sunshine glinted off the ocean like diamonds flashing, dazzling her eyes.

  Instead of soothing her, as she had expected, the sight simply gave her a headache, and she closed her eyes.

  Tomorrow, she would head home.

  Maybe tomorrow will be better.

  But with Grant on the tour with her, Ava feared she was going to end up saying something, and get hurt.

  Again.

  * * *

  Well. So much for avoiding Ava.

  Grant had stooped to climb into the van, choosing to turn sideways and scoot to the back row rather than share a bench seat with Ava. He knew she wouldn’t want him that close to her, anyway.

  As he took his seat behind her, Grant regarded the back of her head.

  Should I say something?

  Or should I let her start the conversation? If, of course, there’s supposed to be a conversation at all.

  Now, Grant tried to focus on the tour. He caught a glimpse of the old British fort at the top of the hill, and craned his neck to see more.

  Nice spot for a fortification. Easy to defend, hard to attack. Good line of sight to the bay below.

  The stones seemed more weathered than a building from the eighteenth century ought to be. Compared to, say, the Alamo, this fort was practically decrepit. Then again, Grant was used to the older buildings in the western United States. The sea air probably ate away at the stones here.

  He pulled his attention away from the fort and examined the rest of their surroundings.

  I wish I knew how to ask Ava to come with me.

  But he knew she would say no. Better to say nothing, even when he couldn’t stand to see her sad.

  Instead, when he exited the van, he moved around to follow the guide, accidentally bumping into Ava as she headed the same direction.

  The glare Ava gave him wasn’t really the reaction he was searching for. As much as he wanted to take her in his arms and soothe her hurt away, though, he couldn’t. He didn’t even know how to start.

  Instead, he would suffer through this tour—the one he had signed up for in order to stay away from Ava—and tomorrow, he would go back to his job in Nebraska.

  Maybe tomorrow will be better.

  * * *

  Ava hit the snooze button on the alarm, rolling over to bury her face in her pillow. As much as she was ready to leave Antigua—especially after spending several hours yesterday not speaking to Grant as they toured the island’s historic sites—she wasn’t exactly ready to go home either.

  She had to figure out what to do about Grant.

  It was one thing to be mad at the man she’d had a fling with.

  Being angry with her brother’s very best friend was something entirely different.

  Dragging herself out of bed, she took a long shower, pulled a simple sundress over her head, and then began packing her suitcase, thinking about Grant the whole time.

  Why did he say he wanted to go home to Necessity with me?

  She replayed their conversation.

  He hadn’t actually said that, she realized. But when she confronted him with trying to decide the course of their relationship without consulting her, he didn’t deny it.

  Why had that bothered her so much? What was it about him wanting them to go home to Necessity together that made her head spin?

  The answer hit her so fast and hard that her knees gave out, and she landed on the bed with a thump. She sat there for a long time, turning the idea over in her mind, much as she had spun Seth’s wedding ring around and around during the ceremony, looking at it from all angles.

  No matter how she spun it, all the parts connected.

  Grant wanted them to have a real relationship. One that involved them making a life together, either in Necessity or wherever his job took him.

  When he had hinted at that, she had instantly shut him down, accusing him of trying to control her life and explaining to him why they could never have a relationship.

  Why?

  Because the idea of a real relationship with Grant terrified her.

  I’m in love with him, and being with him means my boring, predictable life would get a lot less boring and a lot less predictable.

  * * *

  Grant knew that Kristin and Seth had planned to spend the next several days alone together, but they were the only ones who had the information he needed, so he hadn’t hes
itated to call them that morning.

  He’d spent all night tossing and turning, trying to figure out exactly what to do about Ava. Now he was at the airport, standing at the ticket counter, continuing to turn the issue around in his mind.

  There had to be more to her rejection of him than just her need to take care of her grandmother. They could figure out an answer to that. They could figure out anything together. Unless, of course, she simply didn’t want him, and he refused to believe that—not after their time together in Antigua.

  Everything about the last few days had been perfect. They worked well together. If only he could get her to talk to him, he was sure they could work it out.

  Refusing to speak to her on the tour yesterday had been a mistake. Several times, he had started to say something to her, only to change his mind at the last minute.

  I should have made her talk to me then.

  He could fix that today.

  In fact, he had fixed it.

  He only hoped his plan didn’t backfire.

  As he turned away from the ticket counter, he caught a glimpse of Ava’s brown curls, and called out her name.

  The words died in his throat as she moved around several other people, pulling her suitcase behind her.

  She strode up to him, watching him carefully for a reaction.

  All he could do was stare.

  She was wearing that minidress. The tiny one, the one she had called the Floral Floozy dress.

  “Like it?” she asked.

  “You look amazing,” he finally managed to choke out.

  “I call it my Island Adventure dress.”

  His heart stopped in his chest, and when it started again, it was pounding hard and fast. “Oh, really? Why is that?”

  “It’s not even close to my usual style. So it’s the dress I am wearing to start a new adventure in my life.” The silence between them stretched out for what seemed like hours, but could only have been a few minutes. “If you still want me to come with you, that is. Or if you want to come back to Necessity with me.”

  Slowly, Grant nodded. “What about your grandmother?”

  “We can figure out how to help her and still be together, I think.”

  A smile began spreading across his face. “We’ll have some time to figure that out.”