by Taylor Hart
They both laughed, and she felt the group around them getting bigger.
“They’re kinda taking our picture,” she said. “Like a lot.”
He leaned in, putting his hands on her hips and whispering into her ear. “Should we give them one of my remaining church kisses to really get them going?”
She literally felt weak in the knees. Of course, she would never tell him that. She had no idea what it would mean to be Ocean Brady’s girlfriend, or fake fiancée, or whatever. But all she could think about was how close his lips were. On impulse, she leaned in, gently pressing her lips to his.
The rush of emotion that followed eclipsed the excitement of Fourth of July fireworks, the joy of Christmas Eve dinner, and the contentment of long nights on her front porch while growing up. She felt herself melt into him, and when he pushed his hands into her hair, she put her hands on his shoulders and drew him close.
“Whoo!” she heard someone call out.
Ocean pulled back, his eyes sparkling blue. “What happened to a church kiss?”
She laughed. “Are you complaining?”
He laughed too and put his arm around her, moving them through the crowd and toward a large shop. “Nope.” He waved a hand to the people. “Go on, folks. You’re at Disneyland; go have fun!”
Most of the crowd dispersed quickly.
Augusta and Ocean approached the nearest clothing rack and sorted through the selection there. Most of it was souvenir shirts, but she was able to score a pair of sweatpants as well as some flip-flops. She wouldn’t be winning any fashion awards, but at least they were dry. They made their purchases, and the attendant steered her toward a spot where she could finally get out of her wet, smelly clothes. She hurried inside to change.
The whole time, hyper butterflies swarmed inside of her. That kiss had been crazy.
Once she was dressed, she made her way back to Ocean. He took her hand like it was the most natural thing in the world, and together they began making their way toward the Guardians ride.
After a bit, he laughed and stopped, waving their hands between them. “You’re overanalyzing it, but you shouldn’t.”
She put her free hand to her forehead. “I can’t believe I did that.”
He leaned into her, whispering, “So I still have two church kisses left. Because that definitely wasn’t a church kiss, and you initiated it.”
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Come on.”
He rushed in front of her. “Hop on my back, and we’ll go face our fears together.”
At this point, she wasn’t shy about hopping on his back. Once she’d climbed on, he took off quickly. She laughed, thinking how crazy life turned out sometimes.
“What are you laughing about up there?”
She ran her hands through his hair. “Just that it’s going to be fun to hear Ocean Brady scream like a little girl.”
At this, he laughed so hard he nearly dropped her. “Maybe so. Maybe so.”
Chapter 12
Ocean stood on his deck, facing the ocean. It was almost one in the morning. He’d just taken Augusta home and then brought his whole clan back here.
Inside Disneyland, they’d eaten at a little diner called Flo’s Café that looked like it was out of the nineteen sixties. Then they’d stayed for the parade and fireworks. During the parade, he and Augusta had sat on the edges of the street, eating cotton candy and wearing glow sticks around their necks. Her ankle was still swollen, so he’d pulled her foot onto his lap again and propped it up. He wanted to kiss her the same way she’d kissed him earlier.
Ty had acted like a crazy person, whipping the glow stick around and joining in with the singers and dancers. At one point, the crowd called out his name so much that the Disney people asked if he would sing with them. Man, he’d loved that. Ocean smiled just thinking of how his brother had pulled Luna up on the float with him, and how they’d laughed and laughed.
Now Ocean sat in a lounge chair and closed his eyes, letting the sound of the waves soothe him. This was what he loved most about his house. He could always get some downtime with the ocean. It was heaven.
His mind kept returning to the woman that he’d known for almost three days. He thought about how she teased him about being an egomaniac, about how she held his hand and pretended so easily to be his fiancée. He had to admit that he was growing more and more attracted to her, and he loved that she was telling him more and more about herself. But it was also a bit scary. He wondered if it was actually real, or if he was just getting swept up in the fakeness of it all.
His phone buzzed. He tugged it out and grinned, seeing it was her.
Thanks for today.
Which part of today? He responded wickedly. He knew what she was saying, but he liked teasing her.
Only an egomaniac asks that.
You’re welcome. Thank you.
She sent him a heart.
He wanted to spend his kisses right now, with her next to him. Tonight, as he was dropping her off, he’d resisted, and he could tell that she’d resisted too.
Why didn’t you kiss me on the porch?
He laughed at himself. He was texting a girl at one in the morning like a teenager. ’Cause I only have two left. After a moment of no response, he tried again. The truth is, I don’t want to cross boundaries you don’t want crossed during the next two days.
Three days. That was all they had left. The thought irritated him.
But I wanted to kiss you. He thought of the jerk who had caused her so many problems. Part of the reason he hadn’t pushed was because he didn’t want to be like stinking Jason.
She texted back. Thank you for being a gentleman.
What did that mean, exactly? His mind was drawn back to Disneyland when she’d initiated the kiss. It’d been wonderful, and he’d loved the feel of her arms around his neck.
He shook his head. This was a woman who still had old-fashioned values, who only wanted church kisses, who was strong and determined and savvy. This whole fake fiancée thing had been her idea, but she was also a good person who’d rushed off to save that boy at cost to her ankle.
You really are a superwoman, you know that? he texted. Also, do you use tangerine shampoo? Readers want to know.
A nervous pulse swept through him as he saw she was typing.
I’m not telling, she responded.
Of course she would tease him. He just stared at the text, not wanting to seem too weird.
Do you wear Gillette aftershave?
So she was thinking about what he smelled like? No, it’s pricey and gets sent to me in the mail.
She put a smiley face. Of course it does, egomaniac.
He roared out a laugh.
A voice sounded behind him. “Bro?”
Startled, Ocean whipped around, dropping his phone.
Boston was closing the sliding glass door and holding two waters with his free hand. “You’re jumpy.” He tossed him a water.
Ocean caught it in one hand and fumbled to find his phone. “Why do you get such joy out of shocking the crap out of me?”
Boston laughed and sat in the lounge chair next to him. “Because you’re easily startled and that makes it fun.”
Ocean didn’t want to talk to his brother right now. He wanted to keep flirting with Augusta. That made him pause. Was he flirting? He guessed he was.
“Whatcha doing?” Boston said, his eyes on Ocean’s phone.
Ocean turned his phone over, noting that the screen had lit up again. “Nothing.”
Boston shoved him, a stupid smile on his face. “Dude, you are so whipped. And I’ll tell ya, I’m happy to see it.”
Ocean let out a low rumble of laughter and opened his water, taking a huge sip. “Yeah,” he said noncommittally.
“You know, it’s funny that we came here, and not only have you broken up with Susan, but you’re already engaged to Augusta.”
Ocean remembered when they’d been growing up. Sure, he and Boston were tight, but they were brothers
three and four, so of course there’d always been lots of competition between them. Boston never just gave him a win, Boston was hard on him, sometimes brutal. It was what made Ocean one of the fastest running backs in the league.
Boston leaned back, smiling at him like he would beat him into the end zone.
“What?” Ocean needed to keep a cool head right now.
“Nothing.” Boston stared at the ocean. “I like her. I mean, she’s pretty, and she’s hardworking. The more I find out about this girl, like the fact you both rescued a kid today, the more it’s like watching some fairy-tale movie where she’s a princess and you’re the knight in shining armor just waiting to do her bidding. And she’s totally the girl next door.”
Ocean gave his brother a blank look. “I like girl-next-door types.”
“True. You always have liked the good girls.”
“Like who you ended up with?” Ocean asked, grunting
Boston laughed. “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with a good girl.”
Ocean thought of the woman Boston had dated for three years before Addison, and all the social media fights she’d started. “Dude, Addison reformed you, put a spell on you or something, and I’m grateful. I think the whole family is. You caused so much grief to all of us before her.”
Boston stared at the ocean, looking thoughtful. “Look.” He tapped some buttons on his phone, then turned it to face him. “I’m always skeptical, and I had my guy dig into Augusta. And I found this.” It was a copy of the restraining order she’d filed.
Ocean was stunned. “Why did you do this?” He didn’t know whether to be ticked or appreciative that his brother cared that much.
“Did you know?”
“Of course I know.”
Boston’s eyebrows went up. “How could a guy know about you dating her and still dare to mess with her? Because that is messing with us.”
Warmth filled Ocean. The Bradys were the protective types. They might fight as brothers, but no one messed with any of them without all of them being in the fight.
Ocean put up his hand. “Listen, we’ve kept our dating private. I—” He pointed to his chest. “—unlike you—” He pointed to Boston. “—choose to keep my personal life personal as much as possible.”
Boston crossed his arms. “Really?”
“Really.” Ocean explained the situation with Jason as best he could, according to what she’d told him.
Boston’s disdain turned to a dangerous expression. “My guy had an investigator poke around and the cop who filed the restraining order said Augusta told him the guy roofied her. Why is he still breathing?”
What could he say? He’d felt the same way when she’d told him earlier. “I know. But she wanted to handle the situation herself.”
“But she’s going back to school? Where this guy is?”
Ocean fidgeted. Hearing Boston talk about it like this made Ocean feel more unsettled, too, but she wasn’t his real fiancée.
“What?” Boston pushed. “Why don’t you just marry the girl now? Bring her out here so she can go to school here, far away from that jerk.”
When he put it that way, the solution sounded so easy. “Oh.”
“You know, once I decided to marry Adds, it was pretty much two weeks.”
“I know, idiot. I was at your wedding.”
Boston put a hand on Ocean’s shoulder. “What does our little annoying brother always say?”
They grinned at each other and said in unison, “‘Live like you were dying.’” It was strange, but saying those words with Boston sparked something inside of Ocean. What if … but no. Everything was fake.
“Anything else you want to tell me, little brother?” Boston demanded.
It had always annoyed him when Boston played the big brother card. “No.”
Boston crossed his arms. “Dude, I’ve been giving you chance after chance to tell me the truth. I even admitted that I’d been investigating your girl.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Dude, I ran into Susan a couple of months ago.”
What? Ocean’s heart thrummed like it was time to hike the ball and get on with the play. “Oh.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone that you dumped her?”
“So you’ve known but you didn’t tell me you knew?”
Boston sighed. “You’re the type who likes to handle it all on your own, so I was waiting.”
“I—” What could he say without telling the truth? He didn’t want to have all of it unravel right now. They were almost done. They just had to get through two more days with his family. “I’m sorry.”
Boston tsked and said, “I still don’t understand why you didn’t tell anyone about the breakup. And then you didn’t tell anyone about Augusta?”
Ocean’s mind was spinning, trying to decide what his brother knew.
Boston shook his head, moving toward the door. “You know I see you. I see how you try to be immovable, but let me tell you that in a relationship, you’re going to have to let her be part of your life. Not be who Dad wanted you to be.”
The comment took Ocean off guard. “What do you mean, ‘what Dad wanted me to be’?”
“You always tried to please Dad, but I don’t think you ever understood he was just waiting around for you to figure yourself out. He didn’t want you to do what he wanted; he just wanted you to be you.”
“Just because I don’t broadcast everything on social media doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with me.”
“Look, I don’t care about your social media.” Boston put up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I just wish you would let us help you sometimes, you know?”
Ocean raised his eyebrows in surprise. Where was this coming from?
Boston looked him up and down. “You walk around acting like everything is fine when it’s clearly not. And I get that. You’ve always held tight to stuff. But even when something good happens, like Augusta?” He shrugged. “You don’t share that either.”
There was no answer Ocean could give Boston, at least none he was willing to share.
Boston sighed. “I just want to be close to you, bro. We all do, but you gotta let us in. It’s like you have this vision of who you should be and you can’t stand to let any of us see the real you, but we do, and we love you anyway.”
Ocean watched his brother leave, then gazed out at the churning tide. Was that true? Did he not let them in? Did they all see him anyway, even though he pretended to be something else?
His mind searched the past couple of years of his life. He thought he was close to his brothers, but on some level, Boston was right: he didn’t share some things—not with his brothers or anyone else.
Ocean sighed and slumped back into the lounge chair. When he looked at his phone, he saw three missed texts from Augusta. He grinned.
Between what Boston had said and how Augusta had gushed over his art, he was coming to realize that they were right. He was important too.
Chapter 13
Augusta was waiting on the porch as the Brady van pulled up. Today they were hiking to the Hollywood sign. She waved to the van and then called inside, “They’re here!” Larissa and Dave were coming today. Augusta was a bit nervous to have both families all together. But this wasn’t real, she reminded herself.
She rushed back to grab a cooler, and Ocean took it out of her hands as she walked out. He wore a tight Under Armour shirt with sports shorts and tennis shoes, similar to how he’d looked when she’d first met him on the beach. Man, he was hot. “Checking me out all the time, Superwoman,” he said.
Dax walked by and rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry about him; he thinks he’s always being checked out.” He flexed and winked at Ocean. “But he’s always outdone by his big bro.”
Ocean laughed.
Beside him, Sky laughed too and touched Augusta’s shoulder. “Every Brady male thinks he’s all that. It comes in the DNA.”
Boston grunted at her. “Dang straight.”
Addison elbowed him. “Be h
umble.”
Augusta couldn’t help but like all of these people. They were all working so hard to make her feel a part of the family.
“What can I do to help?” Ocean’s mother asked.
Larissa came out, looking excited and a bit overwhelmed. “I wasn’t planning on you all helping. I’m the caterer.”
Ocean’s mom waved a hand through the air. “Nonsense.”
All the women went back in and began grabbing things while Larissa began organizing the back of the van.
Ty was humming something to himself, and he nudged Augusta as she walked by. “I’m writing your and Ocean’s song right now.”
This took her by surprise. She set her load in the van. “Really?”
Ty added a couple of bags of paper products. “Yep. Luna was helping me last night.”
Luna moved next to him and shook her head, grinning at him like he could save the world. “‘We met on a beach when I spilled that drink,’” she suddenly sang.
Ty joined in. “‘I couldn’t help but think you were chic.’”
They both laughed, lost in each other. Ty’s hands rested on her waist, and hers were on his shoulders. They sang to each other, and it was like Augusta was witnessing a private concert as everyone gathered around. Her heart raced as she marveled at how in love these two were.
“‘And I was tired of being lonely. I was tired of being scared. I was tired of feeling like my whole world was in despair.’”
Ty kissed Luna and sang, “‘And then I met you.’”
“‘And then I met you,’” Luna echoed.
“‘And then it felt like my world started over.’”
“‘Started over. Started over.’”
Their kiss brought the song to a close, and the Bradys clapped. Augusta joined in the applause, floored by the performance.
“Might be their song,” Ocean murmured, bumping into her shoulder.
She laughed, still amazed by their raw emotion and talent.
Dax pointed at Ocean. “I think you might be right, bro. Seems like the baby bro is in love.”
Ziggy passed by them. “Oh dear, another make-out session?”
