I pretend to think for a minute. Let’s see, my hot as hell fiancé, in a wet-suit. Yes, I’ll take the visual any day of the week. Unless it’s on Sunday and he’s wearing his tight pants that make his ass look amazing. “I’ll use the time to get to know Nola.”
“I think Quinn would love that as I’m sure Elle is avoiding her.”
I slip out of bed, braid my hair, and slip into my flip-flops. “Elle’s just worried about her business. I would be too. She has a lot on her plate right now. She wants to succeed, and Quinn is a big part of that. And, she’s trying to make sure his foray into the industry is a better experience than the one our dads had. We’ve all heard the horror stories. The last thing she wants to be is someone like Sam.”
Noah doesn’t say anything. I brought up a sore subject. Although I don’t remember Sam, he does. He remembers the arguments his parents had about her and how much his mom worried when the band would go on tour.
“I’ll see you there.” I give him a quick kiss and make my way out of the room. As I pass by Quinn’s, I notice the door is open. From the living room, I can see a faint outline of our family outside and off to the side is a sole person. Nola, I’m assuming. That’s where I head.
About five steps into the sand, I’m kicking off my flip-flops. Turning to the left and then right, I realize that I do want to live here. Maybe not right next to my parents, but somewhere along this stretch of beach. It’s what I know, and it’s where Noah told me that he’d fight for us.
The benefit of walking in sand is that you can sneak up on people. I don’t know what I expected to find when I stood behind her. Maybe her texting someone about our family or looking at her phone instead of watching my brother and Eden surf. I hate that I thought negatively about her because she’s laughing each time Quinn crashes and gasping when Eden catches a wave and rides it flawlessly.
As soon as Noah runs by, I must choose. Either I sit down or walk away. “He’s been doing this since he could walk.” I decide to take the spot next to Nola. “You should go out there, Quinn’s a good teacher. He taught us.”
“I think I’m okay being a spectator. How come you’re not out there?”
I don’t tell her that sometimes my leg hurts and that the only thing I want to do is sit. Or that I’m afraid my leg might give out while I’m standing on the board. Not that I haven’t fallen before, but falling when I’m out there, with the guys around me, would be a circus. What I do tell her is that I’d like to get to know her better and that Quinn must think she’s the one if he brought her into our madhouse. Because that’s what we are, a highly functioning blended madhouse of a family.
“We haven’t known each other long.”
Of course they haven’t. However, it’s been long enough that some paparazzi picked up on the fact that they’re spending time together. I wonder if she knows, and I wonder if they’ve made Page Six or some other gossip magazine out there. It’s been years since I looked at those sites, not since Noah and I finally got together.
“My brother doesn’t do things hastily. That’s Elle. She’s the jump first, ask questions later. I’m the planner in the family. I have a plan for everything, except my wedding but that’s another story for another day.” I purposely leave out that a date’s set, I have my dream dress, and my flowers are on order. While I think Quinn is serious about her, I’d hate for her to assume she would be his plus one. “Quinn? He’s the one who sits on the sidelines and makes sure everyone’s taken care of, never worrying about himself. It’s nice to see him with his guard down. Like I said, you must be it for him.”
Nola and I both stare out at the surf, watching Eden, Quinn, and Noah wait until a wave big enough starts to form.
“I’m not sure I believe in love at first sight,” she says.
“I do. I’ve been in love with him for as long as I can remember, before I even knew what love was, I knew I was going to marry him.”
“When was that?”
I laugh because it’s so absurd to think I fell in love with Noah w
hile in kindergarten. “Oh, when I was about five or so.”
“Oh, wow.”
“Yeah, it took us a long time to figure things out, plus there’s an age difference. I’m fairly sure my parents would’ve killed Noah if we started dating when I was fifteen or sixteen.”
“How far apart are you?”
“Five years, but when you’re young, age matters.”
“Yeah, I suppose it does. When’s your wedding?” I give her the song and dance about wanting a winter wedding and tell her Noah wants a summer one. Truth is, Noah would get married right this second if I yelled out to him that it had to be now. He doesn’t care about the formalities, just that we’re going to be husband and wife. I explain the issue with his schedule, and now mine and tell her why a winter wedding won’t work. I should tell her the truth, but I don’t want to put Quinn into a situation he may not be ready for. Although, I can’t imagine he wouldn’t bring her if they’re together.
“Why not just elope?”
I pull my legs to my chest and instantly feel her eyes on me. It’s too late to hide my scar or to run away. The only thing I can do is ignore her penetrating gaze. “We’ve been through a lot, or I have, and I want the fairy tale.”
“Quinn said you were in an accident.”
Nola looks like she’s been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, but it’s the opposite. “Yeah, you’re definitely the one. Quinn doesn’t talk about much of anything to people outside our family so if he told you, he must trust you.”
She looks away immediately and I sense that she’s hiding something. I want to ask her what’s on her mind, but I don’t want to be nosy. We sit in silence until Mom approaches us.
“Peyton, do you think I could have a minute with Nola?”