“Good thinking. I’m starving.” We walk hand in hand down the boardwalk. The beach is already crowded with picnickers, and the water is dotted with boats. The sun is out in full force, with only a few clouds in sight.

It’s going to be perfect.

To my surprise, Danielle and her friends haven’t arrived yet. Ben and I eat warmed-over bacon and eggs—which isn’t as bad as it sounds—and go down to the dock with Jake to wait for his fiancé. The boat is loaded with beach towels, food and drinks. Dad makes sure everyone has a life vest, then goes to help some of the renters with the boat they checked out for the day.

Ben and I sit in the back of the boat. He drapes his arm around me and I do my best to take a few selfies of the two of us. I look like a hot mess: frizzy hair, red spots visible on my cheeks, and puffy tired eyes.

But I look happy.

That’s what matters. I like the picture and stash my phone in a cubby to keep it dry. I stretch out my legs, feeling the heat of the sun.

“Sorry if I blind you with my albino skin,” I say to Ben.

“It is hurting my eyes,” he says and shields his face with his hands. “You’re glowing.”

I elbow him. “Shut up.”

He grabs my arms. “You’re two different colors. Tan arms, tan face, but pale legs.”

We laugh. “I know. I used to be super tan all the time living by the lake. I don’t lay out or go tanning now, so this is the best I can get.”

“Maybe you’ll even out after today.”

“Maybe. But probably not. Is it bad I don’t care?”

“Not at all. I’m glad you don’t care.”

“Really?” Because I do care, just a bit. I want to look good head to toe, even though I know that’s a bunch of bullshit. People don’t really look like that.

“Really.” He seals it with a kiss. “I haven’t been out on the lake much,” he admits. “Even though I’ve lived in Michigan most of my life.”

“That’s kind of sad,” I tell him “I love the lake.”

“I don’t remember it being this big.” He looks out at the water. “And with traveling for the military, it made family vacations hard to plan. We went to Disney World a few times, but that was kind of it.”

“I’m glad you’re here with me now. We can make up for it.”

“This definitely helps,” he says with a smile. “And my childhood wasn’t bad or anything. Just different, I suppose, than most.”

“It makes me feel like I took mine for granted. As many times as I wanted out of this town when I was a teen, it would have been ten times harder to start over multiple times.”

He nods. “You get used to it. Well, I assume most people do.”

Jake stands and waves to Danielle as she comes into view. Ben is still talking about the lake and something that has to do with his childhood, but his words go in one ear and out the other.

Danielle leads the way down the dock. She’s wearing a bright-red bikini with a white scarf tied around her waist. Her sandals are jeweled and sparkle in the sun. Her hair falls in loose waves around her face. She smiles behind oversized sunglasses, looking ridiculously put together for someone in a swimsuit. Her friend Zoey, who I recognize now as the tall girl who scoffed at me during the shower, is next to her. She’s too done-up too, but she’s nothing compared to the tan woman walking next to her.

White wedge heels cover her feet, attached to lean legs, smooth and golden. My gaze travels up to her thin waist, tight and small with just a hint of muscle. Her bikini top is as small as her bottoms, hardly covering large, perfectly round breasts.

Her face is hard to see behind large sunglasses and a floppy hat. But I know who she is right away.

Mindy fucking Abraham.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I blink. I’m still drunk. Got too much sun already. I’m dreaming. No, I’m having a nightmare.

I can’t stop watching Mindy walk toward us. My blood boils and my skin prickles as the devil herself nears. My heart skips a beat. Mindy is Zoey’s sister. Holy fuck, the universe really does hate me, doesn’t it?

My mind immediately goes into stupid compare-mode. Mindy is tall, thin, toned, and tan. Her breasts, though fake, are perky and shaped like beach-balls, holding themselves in place. Her makeup is flawless and not a strand of hair is out of place in the fishtail braid that falls over her shoulder.

Wait a second. Her hair isn’t really that long. Seriously? She put in extensions just for today?

I blink again.

No. No, no, no. And why the fuck is Erin not getting here until after noon?

“Felicity?” Mindy says, literally stopping in her tracks. Our eyes have met. I should turn to stone or something, right? She flicks them to Ben. “And Ben?”

Ben turns, looking confused to see his secretary standing before us.

“You guys know each other?” Jakes asks, helping Danielle into the boat.

“She works for me,” Ben says matter-of-factly and my head shakes, still wishing I would lie and say I have no idea who the fuck this blonde bimbo is.

“What are you doing here?” Mindy asks, and I’m not sure if she’s talking to me or Ben. She looks at her friends, my brother, Ben, and then me, playing the Which One of These Does Not Belong game.

Clearly, it’s me.

“This is my boat,” I say and blink. Jake helps Danielle and Zoey into the boat, unaware of the complete nuclear disaster that’s taking place right now. Mindy takes her sunglasses off and looks at Ben.

“And you’re here…?”

Ben arm is still around me. His fingers press into my waist and he leans a little closer. “I’m here with Felicity.”

Mindy squeezes her sunglasses so hard I think they are going to break. “You two are here together?”

“Generally, that’s what ‘I’m here with’ means,” Ben quips, and I see a side of him I haven’t really seen yet: annoyed. At least I’m not the only one instantly irritated by Mindy.

“Min,” Zoey starts, turning around. “Aren’t you coming?”

Jake is still standing by the dock, hand out, waiting to help Mindy into the boat. She shakes herself, smiles, and climbs aboard.

“I don’t get it,” Mindy says as Jake works on untying us from the dock. “How…” She shakes her head and looks at each of our faces again. “How do you know them?”

“Jake is my brother,” I say slowly so she can follow along. “He’s getting married to Danielle, who’s friends with Zoey, who apparently is your sister. And I invited Ben for the weekend.”

I grab a wine cooler from the insulated bag full of alcohol and ice and twist off the cap, needing booze. A lot of booze. I’m spending the holiday with Mindy fucking Abraham.

Deep breaths. It’ll be fine.

I lean back against Ben and let my head rest on his shoulder. The boat idles out past the no-wake zone and Jake pushes it ahead out to sea. Okay, out to lake.

Water splashes the girls up front and they shriek like the Wicked Witch of the West and dash back behind the windshields … and closer to Ben and me.

“It’s so cool you and Mindy know each other!” Danielle says, much to Mindy’s chagrin. I know she talked shit about me when they were up front. “Crazy how small the world is.”

“Crazy,” I echo.

“And Mindy knows him,” she goes on, eyeing Ben. “It’s like it’s meant to be or something.”

“That’s not the words I’d use to describe this,” I mumble and Ben stifles a chuckle.

“So,” Danielle says carefully. “Do you have a date for the wedding? Jake says no but…” Her eyes go to Ben and Mindy snickers.

“Looks like it’s the singles table for you,” Mindy says softly, but we can still hear her.

“I’m her date,” Ben says and puts his hand on my thigh.

“Oh, great!” Danielle says and turns away. I let out a breath and watch the lake zoom by. I know where we are going. It’s a small, man-made cove off the shore that’s perfect for swimming. Or just floating and drinking, in our case. It’s about half an hour away from the dock. The girls chatter about wedding stuff, all the while Mindy shoots us dirty looks. Is it my imagination or is she glaring at Ben and not so much me? Ben tells me about some upcoming projects he’s working on, and says I’ve been a good muse.