Beyond The Waves

Twenty-Three | One, Two, Three

Weston appeared at my door a quarter till six with grocery bags in hand and Masie.

He held up the reusable bag. "Steaks, potatoes, and veggies. Like the first time."

"Does that mean we are getting wine drunk? Because I've got options."

"Obviously," he said and stepped into the house, following me into the kitchen.

If Weston noticed the covered furniture, he didn't say anything.

We moved around the kitchen easily, listening to the folk music that ebbed from the living room, ignoring the ticking time bomb looming over our heads.

"Did Nora come in today because karma made her sick for acting like a bitch?"

Although I could not see his face, I heard him snort. "Nope, she probably drove forty minutes off the island to be taken care of instead." The cast iron sizzled when he placed the raw meat down. "Zoe swung by, though."

"How's she doing?"

"While we can laugh about what happened yesterday, Zoe can't."

My knife froze mid-chop. "I feel like this is partially my fault, and I shouldn't have entertained Nora for as long as I did."

I was wondering why I went along with the fundraiser. Part of me believed if I got in her good graces, the rumors about me would end, and the town would forgive me for something I should not need to be forgiven for. The maternal praise also felt good at the moment, even if none of it was out of the kindness of Nora's heart.

Weston leaned against the counter and crossed his legs, holding the stem of his wine glass. "It's not your fault. Trust me, whatever is happening between Zoe and Nora has been brewing for a while, and I'm surprised it took this long."

My head shook in disbelief. "I can't believe she came over and said everything yesterday."

"Zoe recorded it all and threatened to share the video with the entire town if Nora said a bad thing about us."

"Holy shit."

"Yeah," he said, wide-eyed.

Between Zoe being the daughter of Nora and not understanding her relationship with Weston, my perception was skewed. But after getting to know her, my opinion of her had changed drastically, and I almost felt like I owed her an apology for my judgmental inner thoughts.

She was great and had my back more times than necessary on this trip.

"She's headed back to New York anyway," Weston added.

"That'll be good for her."

The thought of Weston all alone after tomorrow flooded my mind, and I shoved it away.

When dinner was ready, we carried it to the patio and small-talked until we finished one bottle of wine and opened another.

"Oh! I nearly forgot." I dashed into my parent's office to grab the photos I printed from yesterday. "Here," I handed him an envelope, my cheeks reddening at the surprises I had wedged between the pictures of us.

He raised a curious brow. "Are these the photos?"

"Mmhm."

He did not know I had taken extra photos for him, ones that lacked most of my clothes. It was silly, but I figured he would enjoy them when I was gone. His face lit up as he thumbed through the candid photos of us, then turned beat red when he flipped to one of me in the mirror.

"Ivey," he nearly choked.

"Do you like them?"

"I do, I do." He rubbed the back of his neck, laughing nervously. "You look so sexy. When did you take these?"