Page 103 of Flirting with Trouble

“I’ll drink to that.” I hold up my beer, and the guys do the same, saying, “Hear, hear,” and we all drink.

“I’m glad things worked out for you and Vic,” Fitz says.

“Yeah, bro,” Grant says. “You guys are good together.”

“Thanks.”

“I haven’t seen Vic this happy in years. You’re doing something right,” Flynn says.

That means the world to me coming from him. “I hope so, because she’s really special, Flynn. I know how big of a deal it is that she let me into her life after everything she’s been through, and I intend to stay there.”

“If he doesn’t fuck it up,” Archer says.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, asshole.”

“I’m kidding, Wells. She looks at you like you’re all she could ever want,” Archer says. “And you look at her like she’s your queen, which is how it should be. To Wells and Victory.” He holds up his beer, and as we toast again, I know it’s another moment I’ll never forget.

I steal a glance at Victory. She looks my way as she slides a marshmallow off the skewer. Her cheeks are pink from the warmth of the fire, her hair is wilder than when we arrived, and those gorgeous eyes are indeed looking at me like I’m all she could ever want. And I know without a doubt, my once-bitten, twice-shy girl, who isn’t shy at all, is the only one for me.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Victory

I’ve only been on the island since Wednesday, but the time here is like a dream. Getting to know everyone better last night and seeing Wells with the friends and family who know him best were wonderful. Even though I’d met them all before, last night was different. I felt like one of them, not just Flynn’s sister who was visiting. I haven’t felt that type of connection with people other than my family in so long, I’d forgotten how it could breathe new life into time itself.

The same way Wells breathes new life into my soul.

We spent the night on the boat in Lover’s Cove, where we had a gorgeous view of the Silver House and the Bistro. I can’t imagine a more perfect night, and it was followed by another wonderful morning spent tangled up in each other. We hit Keira’s coffee shop, the Sweet Barista, for breakfast, and we ran into Keira in the parking lot. She was leaving to get ready for the Bra Brigade outing. By the time we got back to Wells’s house, Leni and her sisters and sisters-in-law were pulling in to pick me up.

We drive to what looks like a deserted backroad and park by a handful of other cars.

Leni’s wearing a bride-to-be sash and a crown, and we walk about a half mile through the woods to get to a hilltop where we meet up with the rest of the Bra Brigaders. I’m thrilled to see Shea and excited to see Keira, Bellamy, Cait, and Tessa again. Cait’s sisters, Abby and Deirdra, and Tessa’s sister, Randi, are there, too, along with about three dozen other women ranging in age from early twenties to probably early eighties. I was a little nervous about seeing Wells’s mom, Margot. I have no idea whether she heard about our falling-out last Friday or not, but she, Gail Remington, Shelley Steele, and even Shea’s mom, Faye, and Leni’s grandmother, Lenore, welcome me with warm embraces and no interrogations about Wells, which takes the edge off.

The sun warms my shoulders as we follow Lenore and a gaggle of her feisty friends wearing colorful floppy beach hats and sunglasses down a rocky hill toward a hidden stretch of beach. These women have their outings down pat, dressed in shorts, tank tops, cover-ups, and sundresses, carrying beach chairs—I borrowed one from Wells—blankets, towels, umbrellas, coolers, a hibachi, and bags full of what Keira calls vital beach-babe stuff.

“Mom, please slow down and let me help you,” Shelley pleads for the third time.

Lenore and her friends have rebuffed all offers to help them on our walk, preferring to hold on to each other, giggling up a storm like teenagers. I admire their strength and determination and pray nobody falls and gets hurt.

Lenore waves her off. “I’ve been scaling this hill since I was Joey’s age.”

“You tell her, Gram.” Leni turns to me and says, “I’m going to be just like her when I’m older.”

“You already are,” Indi says.

“That’s a good thing,” Tara chimes in. Levi’s willowy blond fiancée does not look like she had a baby only nine months ago. “I love Leni’s confidence.”

Tara’s mother and grandmother are with us today, too. Her mother seems reserved, and her grandmother is as brazen as Lenore, as is Roddy’s mother. I know my mother would enjoy getting together with these women, and I wish she were here with us.

“Why didn’t Joey come with us?” I ask.

“She’s still a little young, and as much as she loves our girl time, her heart lies in skateboards and biker boots,” Tara answers.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” I say, remembering that Levi is a member of the Dark Knights motorcycle club.

“The sisterhood got smart and stopped allowing little kids on the outings a few years ago to give moms a break,” Keira says.

“Days like today give us a chance to get advice from women of all ages without having to worry about what we say,” Tara adds.