Page 78 of Plotting Summer

“Ah.” He takes a step away, his gaze sliding between us. “Tala’s going to be thrilled to hear we’re getting a free month of babysitting.”

Tristan shakes his head. “My guess is she’s not going to be happy you agreed to give me your bike.”

Heath just laughs and turns in the other direction.

“We’ve got this.” I say it mostly to myself as a little pep talk because with how bad I want to slide my hands around Tristan and touch his glorious, smiling lips to mine, I worry Heath might be right. But he can’t be. I can be strong for a couple of hours.

“Absolutely,” Tristan says, sounding as hesitant as I feel. “Should we go find some of our friends? Make a quick appearance in case we need to get out of here early? Heath never stipulated how long we have to stay.”

“You stole the words from my mouth.”

His gaze flicks to my lips, and he breathes out a slow exhale. “Let’s get this over with.”

I laugh and step in next to him but at a distance that shouts: Nothing to see here! We’re just friends.

After a minute of making our way through the crowd, Tristan glances over at me. “I think we’ve been spotted,” he says, and I notice the group of our peers several paces away. Jane breaks away from the others and hurries over to me. By her panicked expression, she must be coming to warn me about Bridget.

“Can I speak with you, Capri?” she asks, already latching on to my arm.

Tristan gives a smile. “I’ll see you over there.”

Jane pulls me in the opposite direction. “Okay. Don’t freak out, but you’ll never guess who’s here.”

“Bridget Hall.”

Her eyes widen. “You already know?”

My stomach knots at the reminder. “I ran into her before the parade.”

“And did you hear she and Logan split?”

“Tristan mentioned it.”

She leans in close, making sure no one will overhear her. “Apparently, Mr. Pro Football cheated on her, and rumors are that it wasn’t a one-time event but that it’s been going on for months.” Jane’s lips form into a straight line, and I’m confident she wants to say something else but is deciding how to go about it.

“And … ?” I say, encouraging her.

Her shoulders fall. “Speculation is that she regrets ending things with Tristan and that’s why she’s back. Not that you need to be worried, I just …”

I take her hand. “I’m not worried.”

Jane’s gaze searches mine. “He really does love you, doesn’t he?”

I laugh. “I don’t think he loves me, but he told me he has no intention of getting back together with Bridget. Then, after having dinner at Tala and Heath’s, we went back to his house, and he spent the last hour kissing me senseless.”

Jane squeals. “Oh my gosh! I’m going to need all the details later.”

“And I want to hear all about your day.” I glance around at the crowded beach, people laughing and talking, and some even dancing near the stage where Mo and the Kokomos are rocking out. “Look at everything you pulled off. I’m so proud of you.”

“It’s not over yet,” she says dismissively, but her smile is full of pride. “But with Mayor Barnes in charge of fireworks, I get to simply enjoy the dance.”

I pause, not sure exactly how to broach the next subject I want to speak with her about. “I saw Walker helping today.”

Jane’s smile falters briefly before brightening again. “Yeah. I think he doesn’t quite know what to do with himself, so he asked to be put to work.”

I want Jane to be as happy as I am, and I honestly wish my brother was the answer. But I really don’t think he’s what she needs. “Is he still here?”

“I have no clue. I haven’t seen him for a while. But let’s not ruin the night talking about him.”