Beach Wedding Weekend

by Rachel Magee

  Hadley turned back to the table. “Showtime, kids.”

  Paige ignored her snicker and tried to focus on anything other than Brody walking up to them. What did Hadley say they were talking about?

  “So, the bachelorette party. It’s tomorrow night.” True, it was stating the obvious, but at least it was on the right topic and had nothing to do with Brody and how he was hijacking their conversation.

  Ciera threw a sidelong glance in the direction of Brody and used the patient voice Paige had heard her use with kids in her art class. “Did you make the reservation?”

  She turned back to Ciera and Hadley with a renewed focus. “Yep, it’s all set. Cocktails at Skippers, then the escape room, then I’ve arranged for a table in front of the live entertainment at the Courtyard.” She could feel the presence of the power couple standing at the end of the table, but she refused to let them distract her from chatting with her friends. Well, in theory, anyway. “There are eight of us going, but I made the reservations for ten in case anyone else wanted to join.”

  “Guess we’ll see if we end up with any tag-alongs,” Hadley said, a knowing smirk tugging at the side of her mouth.

  Aiden was the first to acknowledge the couple at the end of the table. With his arm still draped over Paige’s chair, he leaned back and transferred his attention to them.

  “Brody. Third weekend in a row to see you at one of these shindigs. Looks like you’re working the wedding circuit.”

  Brody might have maintained his friendly smile, but his stare meant business. “It’s been a busy few weeks of being back in town, but celebrating with friends is always worth it. What’s your excuse?”

  Aiden shrugged. “I’m in it for the food.” He speared a giant bite of brisket and shoved it into his mouth, his wide grin still in place while he chewed.

  The joke lifted the heaviness that had descended over the table. Or at least over Paige’s mood. She’d forgotten how being around Aiden made her feel light and free.

  Brody turned to Sasha to explain the joke. “He and Lane’s dad own that restaurant you told me you wanted to try.”

  For a second she looked confused, but then her face lit up like a light bulb. “Oh, right! So he doesn’t need free food.” She giggled. “That’s funny.”

  Hadley shot Paige a knowing look.

  Paige tried to ignore it as Brody shifted his attention to her. “We stopped by to check on your ankle. I heard you were in a cast.”

  His first stop at the welcome dinner was to check on her? The realization made everything seem a bit brighter. She leaned back into Aiden’s embrace and lifted her foot up for display.

  “Not a cast. Just a walking boot. It should be back to normal in another week or two.”

  Aiden casually rubbed the outside of her arm with the hand that was draped around her shoulder in the sort of familiar gesture that confirmed a relationship to any onlooker. In fact, the gesture looked so authentic that the warm touch even flowed through Paige, sending tingles pulsing through her. Brody’s gaze went from Aiden’s hand, to Aiden, and then back to Paige.

  Oh, Aiden was good at this. She’d chosen a fake boyfriend well. Confidence tugged at the corners of her lips, pulling them ever so slightly upwards.

  “It looked like a bad tumble. I was hoping you were okay,” Brody said.

  Paige returned her foot to the ground and gazed into Brody’s eyes. “I’ve been in good hands, but thanks for the concern. It means a lot.”

  Brody’s gaze met hers in a look laced with intimacy. It only lasted a millisecond, probably not even long enough for anyone else to notice, but she noticed. She waited for the air between them to be electrified like it used to be, but the sizzle never came. Maybe she was doing a better job of blocking out his distraction than she thought she was.

  The pause was starting to become awkward and Brody reached for Sasha’s hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. “Well, glad you’re on the mend. We’re going to get some food.”

  They wandered off and Paige turned her attention back to the table, still giddy from the attention from Brody.

  “So, the bachelorette party. Seems like we’re all set,” she said and took a bite of her baked beans.

  Both Ciera and Hadley had silly grins on their faces. Hadley jerked her head toward where Brody had just been standing. “We aren’t going to talk about that?”

  Paige tried to act nonchalant about it, praying she didn’t have her own silly grin plastered all over her face. “What’s there to talk about? He was checking on my injury. Manners dictate it’s the polite thing to do.”

  “Manners? Or male ego?” Ciera said.

  Aiden rubbed the side of her arm again, sending another jolt of confidence through her. Then he pulled it away to take another bite of his meat. “Looks to me, Smoochems, like step one of your plan is complete.”

  “He’s jealous, all right. Did you see the way he glared at Aiden?” Ciera giggled.

  “What’s step two, again?” Hadley asked.

  “Point out what’s missing in his relationship.” The words ran through Paige’s mind even as Ciera said them.

  Hadley chuckled. “That shouldn’t be hard. From what I’ve heard, Sasha will be able to do that all on her own.”

  Chapter Seven

  Friday morning, Paige stepped off the final step onto the powder-white sand and paused to draw in a long, deep breath.

  “Walking down four flights of stairs on a bum ankle is no joke.” She sat down and rested her sore leg while she surveyed the pristine beach in front of them. This view would never get old. “But this makes it all worth it.”

  Georgia, who had been wrestling a pop-up canopy down the wooden staircase, paused to catch her breath. “It’s a perfect day. Let’s hope my wedding day looks like this.”

  Ciera dumped the four chairs she’d been carrying in the sand next to the canopy and squeezed Georgia’s shoulders. “It will. The whole weekend will be perfect.”

  “It will be perfect as soon as we get it all set up. Let’s go, ladies. The sooner we get done, the sooner we can relax.” Hadley reached the bottom step with her large cooler and breezed right past them.

  “She is so bossy.” Ciera’s blond curls were a little frizzier than normal, and she tried to tuck them behind her ear before she reclaimed her stack of chairs.

  Paige pushed herself up and held onto the railing for balance as she slung the beach bag full of towels over her shoulder. “Does Hadley relax? I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it.”

  “I heard that,” Hadley called over her shoulder. She dropped the cooler in a prime spot in the middle of the beach and turned to face her three friends. “I do plenty of relaxing. As long as there aren’t other things that need to be done.”

  Paige and Ciera exchanged a knowing look. Hadley’s take-charge, get-’er-done attitude served her well as a construction project manager in a male-dominated industry, but she rarely sat still—even on the beach on a perfect day.

  She jogged back to help Georgia, who was now attempting to drag the canopy through the sand. It took ten more minutes of work to get the tent up and everything arranged, but as soon as it was, all four girls fell into the low beach chairs.

  Paige wiped the sweat from her forehead and propped her throbbing ankle on a stack of towels. The sound of the waves washed over her and relaxation seeped into her body. “Life should be lived on the beach.”

  Hadley took a big swig from the water bottle in her hand. “Agreed. This beach always seems especially calming.” She paused and looked at her watch. “But at the moment it’s a little too calm. Where is everyone? It’s already ten-thirty.”

  “Lane texted me a little bit ago and said he and the guys were headed in this direction.” She leaned forward and craned her neck to look in the direction of Lane’s parents’ beach house. “Maybe the half-mile walk is taking them longer than
they thought it would.”

  “Which gives us some extra time to hear how Paige is going to implement phase two of her plan.” Ciera glanced over her sunglasses at Paige.

  Paige groaned. “It is far too pretty outside to waste on planning. Today should be about having fun.”

  “Exactly.” Hadley maneuvered her chair into the sun and stretched out. “Having fun is a great way to show him what he’s missing.”

  Ciera slipped on a sun visor. “What kind of fun are we talking? Does it include chillaxing in this chair?”

  “I am at my favorite beach with all of my favorite people. How can we not have fun?” Georgia grinned at the rest of them. “Speaking of which, there’s Lane.” A group was rounding the curve in the beach about two hundred yards down. The cartoon hearts shooting out of her eyes were almost visible. She jumped up and ran to meet them.

  “I can’t decide if their love is sweet or going to throw us into sugar shock,” Hadley said.

  Paige watched as Georgia reached the group. She threw her arms around Lane and he picked her up and swung her around. It was a picture of pure, innocent love. The fact that her friend had found it caused joy to blossom inside her. “I think it’s sweet. Georgia deserves someone who loves her like that. We all do.” Her gaze drifted to Brody, who was in the middle of the group of guys, tossing a volleyball up in the air and catching it. Their relationship had been different from Lane and Georgia’s. It had a slower transition, almost as if they were wading in, instead of cannonballing the way Georgia and Lane had. It didn’t mean they weren’t as in love, they just hadn’t had all the time they needed to get to that same level. But they were destined for that same sort of all-in, no-holds-barred kind of love that Lane and Georgia had. She was almost sure of it.

  As if feeling the connection between them, Brody broke away from the group and jogged over to the tent where they were sitting. “Morning, ladies. Perfect day for the beach, huh?”

  “There’s nothing like Florida’s Emerald Coast.” Paige squinted up at him.

  “I had forgotten how beautiful it is.” He glanced over his shoulder at the water to take in the view. He tossed his volleyball in the air. “Who’s up for a volleyball game? We were thinking groomsmen verses bridesmaids?”

  “Don’t you think that’s a little unfair?” Hadley didn’t bother to open her eyes. “We’ll annihilate you.”

  “How about a friendly wager to back up your big words?” Lane walked up on the conversation.

  Georgia snaked her arm around his waist. “Guys win, we serve you breakfast on the beach tomorrow morning. We win, you do the same for us.” She patted his chest. “And just so you know, I usually like fresh squeezed orange juice and omelets at eight-thirty sharp.”

  “Then you better eat before you come serve us at nine.” He kissed her forehead and turned to the groomsman behind him. “Let’s get the court set up.”

  “I better oversee your work. To make sure you’re keeping it fair.” Hadley jumped out of her seat and followed them over to an empty patch of sand.

  Ciera and Paige were left alone in the shade of the tent. “Do you think we should help them?” Paige asked.

  Ciera shook her head. “Too many people will only get in the way. Besides, someone needs to enjoy these chairs. It took a lot of effort to get this set up.”

  “Well, in that case, I better take our job more seriously.” Paige slid her legs out into the morning sun to drink in its warmth.

  As she was angling her chair in the right direction, she caught sight of Aiden jogging down the beach coming from the other direction. Other than his phone strapped to his arm, the only thing he wore was swim trunks. It had been a long time since Paige had seen him shirtless. Something inside her stirred.

  He spotted her and Ciera, waved and slowed to walk through the loose sand toward them.

  “You’re staring,” Ciera said. “At my brother.”

  A warmth flushed her cheeks. “Am I?” She put on the most nonchalant expression she could manage. “Just trying to make our relationship look legit.”

  Ciera rolled her eyes, but thankfully let it go.

  Aiden pulled his earbuds out as he got close to them. “Morning, Cici. Morning, Smoochems.” He dropped into the abandoned chair next to Paige.

  “How was your run?” Paige asked.

  Aiden’s breathing was still more rapid than normal, but he smiled a contented grin. “Nothing feels as good as running on the beach.” He pressed a button on his phone and unstrapped it from his arm.

  Paige stared down the beach, her legs longing to stretch out, to feel the burn in her lungs as she breathed in the salt air. Dumb ankle injury. “I love a morning jog.”

  Aiden twisted around in his chair to look at the action behind them. “What’s going on here?”

  “Volleyball game,” Ciera said. “Bridesmaids verses groomsmen. There’s breakfast on the line.”

  “The most important meal of the day, huh? Those are some serious stakes.” He glanced at Paige’s ankle before he leaned in to Ciera and pretended to whisper. “What are you going to do about this one and her bum ankle?”

  “I can still move. I’ve been walking all week.”

  “Hobbling. You’ve been hobbling all week.” Ciera said.

  Aiden patted her knee. “You’re doing the best you can, Smoochems.”

  The beach around them continued to fill up as more of the wedding party made their way down. The volleyball net was in place and Hadley volleyed with one of the groomsmen.

  “All right, girls. We’re ready. Time to show those boys how to play volleyball,” Georgia called. “Elle and Tara, you want to play?” She waved to her cousins who had just settled into chairs under the canopy.

  “Afraid you can’t win on your own?” Lane taunted.

  “Just trying to be friendly, babe.”

  “Plus, we have Paige who can’t walk.” Hadley pointed to her boot as Paige limped over to the court.

  Going up and down all of the stairs had made her ankle start to swell again, and she could feel the sand stuck inside the boot starting to rub a blister.

  “I’ll admit, I’m not in my prime, but I can hop.” Paige demonstrated by hopping the last two steps onto the court, which left her more out of breath than she had anticipated. She stopped to catch her breath and heard Aiden chuckle behind her. “Well, I still have my awesome serve, anyway.”

  “Since Paige only has one good leg, I’ll be her human crutch.” Aiden appeared next to her and slid his strong arm around her waist. “Come on, Smoochems, I’ll get you where you need to go, and you can take care of the rest.”

  Paige giggled. “This is going to be interesting.” She leaned on him and hopped on her good leg, only using her toes for support. Having Aiden at her side touched her in ways she hadn’t anticipated. Sure, his physical support allowed her to take her weight off her ankle, which was a welcome relief. But there was something else about having him at her side, something that filled her with encouragement. It was as if together they could do anything, even maneuver a sandy volleyball court with a hurt ankle.

  As they hopped onto the court, Sasha finally made her way down the wooden steps to the beach. She paused on the bottom step.

  “Morning, babe. Come play with us,” Brody called from the other side of the court.

  “No, thanks. I’m not dressed for volleyball.”

  “I don’t think there’s a dress code,” Brody said. “Come on. It’ll be fun.”

  Sasha slid off her sandals and examined the court. “It’s not really my thing.” She wrinkled her nose. “I think I’m going to do some lounging.”

  Brody’s gaze followed her as she walked through the sand to one of the beach chairs in the sun. Paige could tell he was frustrated by his strained smile, but he didn’t say anything else. He spun the ball between his hands. Everything got uncomfortably qu
iet for a second before Hadley broke the tension.

  “So, are we going to stand around all day, or are we going to play some volleyball?”

  Brody shook his head and tossed the ball over the net to Paige, who was standing in the service spot. “Just giving you guys a few extra minutes of peace before you lose.”

  “How noble of you,” Paige said. “Serving.”

  She hit the ball with all her might, and it sailed over the net. Lane dove for it but missed. It landed, untouched, in the middle of the court.

  The girls cheered. Aiden high-fived her, the proud look in his eyes filling her with confidence. Lane dusted the sand off of himself.

  Brody picked up the ball and rolled it under the net to her. “Lucky shot,” he said, looking equally taunting and impressed.

  Paige could feel her smile radiate all the way through her body. “I’m just getting warmed up.”

  “Atta girl. Show ’em how it’s done.” Aiden retrieved the ball and tossed it to her.

  Paige winked at him and got ready to serve again. Step two of her plan was well underway.

  It was a close match, but after winning a game each and keeping the tie-breaking game neck-and-neck, Paige served her final ace for the win. The girls bounced and cheered in a big huddle-hug, and the guys offered their humble congratulations before they decided to go for a swim to cool off. Everyone jogged down to the beach and dove into the water. Everyone, that was, except Paige.

  Even with Aiden there to help her hop around the court, the game had taken a toll on her ankle. She walked slowly down to the shore and paused at the water’s edge to take off her boot.

  The rest of the party had made it through the deep part to the sandbar fifteen yards out, oblivious that she wasn’t with them. Laughter rang out over the splashing and the whole scene made Paige happy. She loved it here, in this place, with these people. She paused to watch the scene for a second and caught Aiden’s gaze. He smiled and left the group on the sandbar to swim back for her.