Back to the Beach (Hunt Family Book 4) (7 page)

Chapter 9

We'd been in the house for five days now, and I was still just as confused about Nico. Our time together would be over soon, but we never did connect the way we did on that first night. We didn't have many private moments, and when we did, it always seemed like we were being interrupted.

Nico was really sweet to me every time we had the chance to interact, but I could tell he wanted to keep our relationship at a friendship level. The attraction I felt towards him was monumental, and it made my heart ache that he was able to turn off his feelings like a switch. I used my best acting skills to pretend I didn't mind, treating him like we were friends, which was obviously what he wanted.

He and Evan, being the only two bachelors, had been sleeping outside in the hammocks every night. It was a family tradition for some of the guys to sleep outside one or two nights while we were here, but Nico and Evan wound up staying out there every night after the first one.

A few times during the week, Nico did something that made me feel like he might be pretending also.

One time, the guys were playing football on the beach, and I almost got hit in the head with a poorly thrown pass as I was walking by. Nico caught it right before it hit me, and he called me "baby" when he jumped in front of me. He said some phrase like, "Watch out, baby," as he caught the ball right before it hit me. The term of endearment made no sense at all based on how he had been treating me in the days before it happened, but I knew in my heart I hadn't misunderstood him. He called me baby, and we both knew it.

Also, we had several conversations about my job and his job, and he would always say things like, "I could really use you in California for some retail marketing," and "we'd be unstoppable business partners."

The other thing that happened was that we all went out to eat as a family one night, and when I came downstairs dressed and ready to go, Nico suddenly got a business call that couldn't wait, and he had to stay behind to take care of it. It was obvious by the way he looked at me that he was trying to avoid seeing me all dressed up, and that fact gave me a little satisfaction, even though I missed having him at dinner.

It was now the week's end, and we had plans to go to Travis's house. Travis was calling it a get together at first, but he must've invited more people than he thought because the last time I talked to him he was referring to it as a party. He asked me how many I'd be bringing with me, and I told him there were six. Cody and Paige were staying home with the new baby, so that left myself, along with Evan, Logan, Rachel, Charlotte, and Cub. Nico wavered some on whether or not he would come, but he ultimately decided to stay back and get some work done. He caught a bunch of flack from Logan about being a workaholic on vacation.

I was really sad he decided not to go. Not that I thought anything would happen between us, because I didn't—I was sad because the California crew was leaving the next morning, and I knew I wouldn't see Nico again once we left for the party. I was tempted to stay back once I found out he wasn't coming, but I couldn't do that since I was the family's main connection to Travis, and I had already promised them we'd go.

The six of us that were going had plans to meet on the deck at 8PM so we could walk over there together. Travis, along with his best friend, Jackson, created an extremely successful app when they were younger. Travis now owned one of the most beautiful homes in Myrtle Beach and maybe even all of the east coast.

Part of me wanted to stay back and make the most of every last second I had with Nico, but I knew we'd have fun catching up with Travis and checking out whatever new stuff he had at his house.
Who was I kidding? I didn't want to go at all, but I was making the best of it. Telling myself that it would be fun could only help because I was stuck going anyway.

All of the girls came up to the third floor so that we could get dressed and Paige could help us with our hair. I bought a little off-white romper when we went shopping earlier in the week, and that's what I decided to wear. It wasn't immodest, but it was fairly low-cut and sleeveless, and it was shorter than anything else I had worn that week. I had to do a thorough job of shaving before I got dressed.

I put on some jewelry and a pair of comfortable sandals to go with the outfit. Paige styled my hair in loose waves that hung over my shoulders with the sides pulled back. Ryan came upstairs with a little tiara that she wanted one of us to wear. Everyone voted for me since I was the most likely one to wear something like that in my normal life, and I agreed easily, knowing Paige would make it look like a million bucks in my hair in spite of the fact that it had most likely come from Claire's in the mall.

I smiled as I looked in the mirror once she was done. My hairstyle had enough volume to it that the tiara was hardly noticeable. It was understated and maybe even appropriate for the occasion.

"You look like a princess, Aunt Mia," Ryan said, coming up to stand behind me as I made last minute adjustments on my jewelry and makeup.

"Your mama did that," I said. "And you're the one who let me borrow your tiara."

"I can barely see it," she said, standing on her tiptoes as she craned her neck to see the top of my head in the mirror.

I stooped down and faced her to let her get a better look. "That's because my hair's so big, you little peanut," I said, reaching out to tickle her.

She giggled before stretching up to see the top of my head.

I looked down.

"I see it," she said. "There it is."

"Yep," I said. "Your mama put it in just the right spot."

"Uh-huh," she agreed. Before I knew what was happening, she put her hands on each side of my face. "You will be the most beautiful princess at the whole party," she stared at my face like she really meant it.

I couldn’t help but smile at how sincere she was. "I think I'm going to be the
only
princess there, and that's all because of you. Thank you for letting me borrow this."

She smiled proudly just as Charlotte came into the bathroom. "Aw, that looks really good," she said, glancing at the top of my head since I was still stooping down.

"Thank you," I said.

"Are you gonna grow up to do hair like your mama?" Charlotte asked, looking at Ryan.

"Uh-huh," Ryan answered.

"Yes ma'am," Paige corrected as she came to stand in the doorway next to Charlotte.

"Yes ma'am," Ryan said.

"She's gonna be great at it, too," Paige said, winking at Ryan. "She's got natural instincts."

"I guess so," I said, sounding impressed. I stood up to take one last look at myself in the mirror. "I never would have thought to wear one of these, and I love it. I might have to borrow it again to wear to work sometime."

Ryan was so delighted with all the praise that she started making pretty eyes at all of us, which made us all giggle at her.

"Are you ladies ready?" Rachel asked, coming to join the group that had congregated at the bathroom door. "Logan just texted me and said they're waiting on the deck for us."

Paige had done a beautiful job with Rachel and Charlotte's hair as well, and all three of us headed downstairs feeling as confident as ever about how we looked. We thanked Paige about ten times as we made our way downstairs, and she said it had been her pleasure to do it.

Ryan held my hand down all three flights of stairs, and when we got to the living room she yelled to get everyone's attention. My parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandma all looked in our direction the second Ryan yelled, "
Introducing
…"

I had no idea she was going to make such an announcement, so I was pretty shocked when she did. I stopped short when everyone turned to us, and Ryan held out her hand as if presenting me at a royal ball. "Princess Mia!" she yelled.

My whole family gave me an impromptu round of applause, to which I bowed lavishly. Ryan cracked up at that, and everyone else laughed at her precious giggles.

"And princesses Charlotte and Rachel," Paige said, as the rest of them made their way to the foot of the stairs. Everyone clapped again as Rachel and Charlotte bowed.

"You girls look beautiful!" Dee-dee called.

"I hope the boys are going with them," my dad said, with a somewhat concerned expression from his place on the couch.

"I hope so, too," Uncle Rob added.

"They are," Charlotte assured them.

We started to cross the living room in the direction of the deck, but Paige and Ryan excused themselves to go back upstairs and do their nighttime routine. The three of us thanked them again for helping us with our hair and told them goodnight.

We stopped in the kitchen to hug our moms, and let them check out our fancy hairdos before going out onto the deck to meet the boys.

Andy and Willow were sitting out there along with Evan, Cub, and Logan. All of them looked at us when we opened the door, and my first thought was wondering where in the world Nico had run off to. I knew it would be my last time to see him, and I felt like I wanted to give him a hug and say goodbye before we left. I had expected to see him in the living room, and when he wasn't in there, I just knew he would be out on the deck.

I was disappointed for a second until I realized that he was under the trellis, playing a ring toss game with Cody. It was one of our favorite games and was a staple every year at Dee-dee's beach house. There was a small, metal ring attached to the trellis by a thin piece of rope. The idea was that if you swung it just right, you could get it to land on a hook, which was attached to the house. It was more difficult than it sounded, especially when you were first learning. The boys played all the time, so they were all really good at it, and were constantly challenging each other for bragging rights.

Nico and Cody were obviously in an intense match up because they hardly even noticed when we walked onto the deck. Charlotte and Rachel automatically walked in the direction of their husbands, which left me with a choice. I could either follow them to the table where Cub and Logan were sitting, or I could cross the deck to talk to Nico. Obviously, I wanted to do the latter.

He was wearing khaki shorts and a white, V-neck shirt. I was staring at him when he first noticed our arrival, and I watched his expression change when he noticed me.

I smiled at him, but he didn't smile back.

He rubbed the stubble on his jaw as if he was thinking about something while he looked at me. I knew I couldn't stand there and stare at him, so I began walking in his direction. Cody was standing beside him, and he said something to Nico, but Nico didn't respond—he just continued staring at me.

I smiled the whole time I was on my way over there to talk to him, but Nico never smiled back. The serious expression he wore had me feeling even more nervous than I was before.

"Who's winning?" I asked, casually.

"You need a jacket," Cody said, ignoring my question. "And some longer pants."

"Thanks," I said sarcastically as I looked at my brother.

"I rarely agree with him, but I have to say he's right on this one," Nico added, taking me completely by surprise.

"Thanks
a lot
," I said, with even more sarcasm just in case he hadn't picked up on it the first time.

I was only a few feet away by that point, and Nico hadn't taken his eyes off me the whole time I'd been walking. His expression was still serious, and I had no idea what he was thinking.

"I came over here to give you a hug and tell you goodbye, and you're gonna tell me I don't look good?"

"I never said that," he said.

"Obviously, the opposite is true," Cody said, "which is exactly why you need more clothes on."

"You boys need to stop," Charlotte yelled from where she was standing across the way. "Her outfit's adorable. I helped her pick it out. You two are just being protective."

"What's wrong with that?" Cody asked, defending himself.

I ignored the conversation Cody and Charlotte were having and continued staring at Nico, who hadn't, even for a split second, taken his eyes off of me.

"I guess this is goodbye," I said to him with a regretful smile.

He shook his head. "I'm going," he said.

"What?" Cody and I both asked at the same time.

"I was planning on going anyway," Nico said.

"That's what I'm talking about," Logan yelled, letting his hands come together with a loud clap to show his enthusiasm about Nico's change of heart.

I could barely breathe at the thought that he might come with us.

Chapter 10

"I thought you had to work," Cody said, looking at Nico with a confused expression.

"I can take care of it from the party," Nico said. He regarded seriously and said, "Your friend gets cell phone reception at his house, doesn't he?" He had a straight face, but it was obvious that he was being sarcastic.

I nodded in answer to his question even though we already knew it.

"It's settled, then," Nico said. "I can work from her friend's house." He glanced at Logan. "I'd like to change if you guys can wait five minutes."

"Do it, bro," Logan said, thrilled by the idea that his best friend would be coming with us.

Logan attracted quite a bit of attention every time he went out, and Nico always knew how to help him handle it gracefully. It was for this reason that Logan had gotten used to having him around in social situations and preferred it that way.

Of course, I loved the fact that Logan was encouraging him to come. I was so excited about the change of events that I had to work hard to stifle the huge smile that threatened to cover my face as I watched Nico disappear into the house to get dressed.

During the conversation we had while waiting for him, Cody almost changed his mind about going as well, but ultimately decided that he needed to stay home with Paige and the kids. He made sure Evan knew to look out for me, which made the rest of us give him a hard time about being so protective.

I couldn't understand what had gotten into him. My outfit wasn't really that revealing, and besides, I was a grown woman. I had my own apartment and made my own living. It wasn't like Cody or Evan escorted me everywhere when I was back home in Charlotte. If anything, I could get in
more
trouble back home than I would at Travis's. I thought maybe Cody was just acting that way because we were on vacation and we were all together.

I tried not to overthink it or let it annoy me. I gave my brother a big hug and assured him I'd be fine once he made his final decision to stay behind.

"All right," Nico said a few minutes later when he came back onto the deck. He was wearing dark jeans and a shirt I hadn't seen on him. It was a light green button-down shirt with a subtle plaid design. It was fitted, but he had the sleeves rolled up and the top button undone making it more casual. He had run a comb through his hair, and he must have put on some cologne, because he looked and smelled like a million bucks. I couldn't believe it was the same guy who ran upstairs a few minutes before. My heart skipped a beat as I took him in. He had obviously been in a hurry because he was still working on getting his sleeves rolled up when he came outside.

"A little overdressed, don't you think?" Cody asked.

"No," Charlotte said emphatically, taking up for Nico. You could tell by her tone that she was also accusing Cody of being rude when she said it.

"It's all right," Nico said. "I know I look good."

"You do look good," Charlotte said, taking up for him.

He did. He looked so good I wanted to go stand right beside him—so close that he had no other choice but to put his arm around me. I wanted to hug him and never let go.

"Let's go," Logan said, reaching out to take Rachel by the hand.

My heart was beating a thousand miles an hour as we walked down to the beach. Logan and Rachel were holding hands, as were Charlotte and Cub—that left Nico, Evan, and me in our own little group, trailing behind. I was between them until Evan came up behind us, putting his arms around each of our shoulders as he positioned himself in the middle.

"I'm glad you decided to come," he said to Nico. "There's gonna be tons of single ladies there, and I need a wingman since these two went off and got married."

"Oh yeah?" Nico asked, not sounding very amused.

"Yep," Evan said proudly. "You're gonna be glad you came once you see all the beach babies Mia's boyfriend invited."

"He's not my boyfriend first off, and second, you're just being weird, Evan. And how do
you
know who he invited?" I added, with a sharp look at my brother.

"Because I went to the last one," Evan said. "Nico's gonna love it. It'll be just like all the parties he goes to out west."

"You been to a lot of parties out west, Evan?" Charlotte asked from a few paces in front of us, giving Evan a good-natured hard time.

"No, but Nico has. I'm sure he can teach me a few things about getting a lady you just met to come home with you."

Charlotte glanced back at Evan with an expression that said she was wondering what got into him. "I don't think Dee-dee would appreciate y'all bringing girls home, anyway," she said.

"Oh, come on," Evan said. "You have to let me learn from the master."

"That's good, Evan," Nico said as we walked.

I wasn't entirely sure what he meant by that, but it made Evan stop acting a fool, and I was grateful for that. I knew Nico had a bit of a reputation, but the last thing I wanted to do was imagine all of the parties he had been to out in California and all of the girls he had brought home from those parties. I certainly didn't want to think about him bringing someone home tonight.

Travis had a huge bonfire going at his property. We could see it from quite a ways off as we approached. When we got closer, we noticed that there were eight or ten people standing around it, but none of them were the host, so we bypassed the bonfire to head for the backyard.

The area between the shore and Travis's house was more wooded than Dee-dee's, and we had to walk down a narrow, wooden pier through some shrubbery to get to his backyard. At one point in the path, there was a gate with a big, burly man sitting in a chair nearby. I knew he'd be sitting out there, and I had moved to the front of the pack so I could talk to him. He recognized me, and we had a brief, cordial conversation before he let us in.

I had to forget about Nico.

I continually told myself that as we came into Travis's back yard. He was leaving in the morning, and even if he wasn't, he had made it perfectly clear that he wanted to remain friends with me. I had spent the entire week giving him opportunity for more, and he never took me up on it. It was exactly this thought that propelled me across Travis's backyard, onto his patio, and into his arms. I didn't throw myself at him or anything, but I definitely gave him a hug and smiled really big like I was excited to see him.

Travis kissed me on the cheek and told me how beautiful I looked, which did nothing to calm my nerves. I could barely even take in what he was saying. I was glad I wasn't being forced to do anything that required a steady hand, because I was shaking like a leaf with nerves and adrenaline. The music was loud, which only added to the general feeling of chaos stirring inside of me.

I felt wrong pairing up with Travis while Nico was standing so close, but I reminded myself that it was better this way since he would probably be pairing up with someone else before long, anyway. I glanced at him just to see if he was affected by my proximity to Travis, but he wasn't even looking at us. I could only see his profile. He was staring at a group of people on the other side of the swimming pool, wearing a serious expression.

There were more guests there than I expected. Not as many as there had been the first time we came to his house, but still more than I thought.

"I guess your guest list got out of hand," I said to Travis in a teasing tone.

"Isn't that how it always happens?" he said, smiling and hugging me back like he was happy to see me. I was relieved for the warm reception even though it felt kind of wrong. "Who'd you bring with you?" he asked, since everyone who had come with me had gathered around.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I forgot you didn't know everybody," I said.

"I know these three," Travis said, leaning forward to shake Logan, Evan, and Charlotte's hands one by one.

Charlotte introduced him to Cub, and Logan introduced him to Rachel, and Travis got a kick out of learning that they were siblings who ended up marrying siblings. We joked about that for a minute before Travis asked about Nico, and they shook hands. As they were greeting each other, Logan identified Nico as his best friend from back home, and this got them off on a whole conversation about California.

Nico spoke to Travis when spoken to, and he came across as nice enough, but I could tell he was bothered. He smiled, and talked, and did all the things a gracious party guest would do, but he only looked at Travis when he had to, and he barely looked at me at all.

We stood there talking to Travis for five minutes or so before Evan put his arm around Nico's shoulders and said, " It was nice talking to you guys and everything, but me and my bro are going to take off and see if we can talk to a few of these beautiful ladies."

"I don't blame you one bit," Travis said. "I'd be doing the same thing if any of them were as lovely as your sister."

This made Evan laugh loudly and clap Travis on the shoulder a few times like he was proud of him for saying something so nice.

"So
he's
okay?" Nico asked Evan with a slight gesture toward Travis.

"I'm sure he is," Evan said in a way that said he wasn't even quite sure why Nico would ask a random question like that.

"That makes no sense," Nico said with a frustrated expression aimed at my brother.

"What makes no sense is me and you standing around here like we have nothing better to do." Evan paused and looked at all of us with a huge smile. "We'll catch up to you guys in a little bit," he said, offering hi-fives to all of us. And just like that, he and Nico we're gone.

I tried not to watch as they made their way across the backyard in the direction of the beach. I assumed they were going back to the bonfire. I couldn't stand it. Watching him walk away made me want to do something crazy like jump in the pool so that he would be forced dive in and rescue me.

I felt like I was in some sort of alternate reality.

I should have been thankful that the handsome, rich party host was paying attention to me, but thankfulness was not in my list of emotions at the moment.

We told Travis that Rachel and Cub had grown up in Africa, which led to us talking about how impressed Cub would be by all of Travis's gadgets. This made him offer to give us the grand tour so that he could show off some of his newest, coolest things.

Logan got some of the movie star attention he was used to as we were walking around, but most of the guest were too rich and proud to rush up to him like someone on the street would do. Most people just acted like they didn't recognize him, which was fine by us.

We spent a half-hour or so going through the house and all of its cool features before Travis had to excuse himself to speak with some other guests. I assumed he was going alone, but he said he wanted me to come with him, and I did so without much coaxing at all.

Travis introduced me to what seemed like fifty people while we mingled around his house and patio. They all seemed wealthy and important, but none of them were Nico, and I couldn’t help but look for him as we walked around.

"It looks like your brother found Claudia," Travis said.

"Huh?"

"Your brother," he repeated, laughing a little. "Somehow he and his friend managed to find a seat at the table with Claudia. She's a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model."

I glanced in the direction he was looking to find that Evan and Nico were sitting at a table with some other people, and all of them were girls. Every girl at this party looked like a swimsuit model, so I had no idea who this
Claudia
was.

It didn't matter. I felt infuriated that Nico was content to be over there talking with them instead of hanging out with me like he should have been doing.
Where had the week gone, and why was he leaving in the morning? Why was he over there spending his last night talking to random strangers instead of me?

"I'm not feeling very good," I said.

"You okay?" Travis asked, with a concerned expression aimed at me.

The site of Nico laughing and chatting it up at the table made me feel sick to my stomach, but I honestly hadn't realized I complained about it out loud until Travis responded.

"Not really," I said, grabbing my stomach. "I don't know if it was something I ate or what, but my stomach hurts all of a sudden."

"Can I get you anything?" he asked. "I'm sure the bartender has some ginger ale."

I shook my head. "I'm probably gonna head back," I said.

"Are you sure?" Travis asked. "I'd hate for you to leave so early."

I continued steal glances of Evan and Nico interacting with the girls at their table, and I felt more and more overwhelmed by the second.

"I'm just not feeling good," I said, shaking my head.

"Can I arrange a ride for you?" he asked sweetly.

"It's okay," I said. "I'll see if my brother will walk back with me."

"Are you sure?" Travis asked, looking really concerned.

I nodded. "I'm fine. I just have an upset stomach. Walking might help."

"I would offer to walk you home, but—"

"It's fine," I said, cutting him off. "I know you can't leave."