Page 164 of Just Another Summer Escape

Cal nods once and grins. “He probably deserves it. What did he do this time?”

Cal and Dayton went to school together, so they are friends but give each other crap.

She tosses the paper bag at him. “Exist.”

I lean back in my chair, watching the way the breeze moves through the palm trees. The way the ocean glints. The way this place feels steady.

I never thought I’d split my life between Manhattan and Coconut Beach. Now I can’t imagine not having both. I love my husband and the family we’re making, but I hate seeing my friend go through a bad time.

Summer stares at the horizon like she’s trying to solve something as well. “What if he ruins everything for me?” she asks quietly.

“What if he makes it better?” I say lightly.

She looks at me.“And, what if I want him?”

Cal makes a noise in his throat.“I didn’t hear that,” he says.

Summer laughs, but it’s softer now.

The sun dips lower, painting everything in warm gold. My hand slides into Cal’s automatically. His thumb brushes over my knuckles, grounding me.

“You don’t have to decide anything today,” I tell her. “Let’s see what he does.”

She watches a figure walking along the distant shoreline.Tall. Broad shoulders. Familiar stride.Dayton.

Cal leans closer to me and murmurs, “This should be interesting.”

I smile slowly.Summer’s story is about to get very interesting.

Six Months Later

“Who is Carl the cab driver?” Wilby asks, “And why are we sending him a Christmas card?”

I laugh. “It’s a long story. But he’s the cab driver when I left the wedding with Tyler. And if it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t have ended up in Coconut Beach.”

Wilby nods as if this makes perfect sense. Because it does.

Sometimes life has a way of working out how you least expect it.

The End.