Brant’s jaw dropped, and he made an incredulous sound. “You’re a pepperoni hater?” He looked at Abby. “Did you know this about her?”
Abby laughed. “Yes. I’m surprised you didn’t.”
“Then you don’t mind if I eat them?” Randi reached for a pepperoni, and Brant swatted her hand.
“She’s my girlfriend, so those are my pepperonis.” Brant popped a pepperoni into his mouth.
Everyone laughed, and Ford said, “Randi, you can have my pepperoni anytime you want.”
Randi rolled her eyes at her tall, handsome friend. Ford had short brown hair, a great personality, and a penchant for flirting with Randi, who must be used to it, because he’d been doing it since they’d arrived, and his comments just rolled off her back.
“My grandmother Lenore would love you, Ford,” Jules called from the other side of the blanket, where she was sitting with Grant.
“I’ve seen your grandmother topless,” Ford said.
“Half the island has,” Jock said. “If you’ve seen Lenore topless, you’ve probably seen all of our mothers topless, too. They’re all part of the Brigade. So be careful about what you say.”
Ford joked about getting an invitation to their next meeting, and as Randi gave him a hard time, Brant nudged Cait and said, “So, pepperoni hater, what else should I know about you?”
“That I won’t be sunbathing topless.”
“Unless you’re with me.” He leaned in and kissed her. “I sure like being able to do that when I feel like it.”
She pressed her lips to his. “I like that you can, too.”
He pulled her closer, bringing them nose to nose. “You shocked the hell out of me, baby. I can’t think of a time I’ve been happier than right at this moment.” He kissed her again. “No pepperonis and no topless sunbathing. Is there anything else I should know?”
As he plucked another pepperoni off her plate, she said, “I’m not usually a big food sharer.”
“Oh man. I should’ve given you a questionnaire to fill out before we started seeing each other. I can forgive the pepperonis, but we’ll have to work on the food-sharing thing.” He eyed her pepperonis, and she handed them to him. “You just got even cooler. What else should I know about you?”
“She’s a nightmare on roller skates,” Aiden chimed in.
“Don’t remind me,” Cait said. “I had a bruised butt for a week after Aiden tried to teach me and Abby to skate.”
Brant put his arm around her. “You should have told me. I could’ve kissed your bruises better.”
“You’re as bad as Ford.” Tessa tossed a piece of sausage at him, and Scrappy caught it, making them all laugh.
“Don’t feel bad, Cait,” Daphne said. “I can’t roller skate, either. My sister tried to teach me once, but I couldn’t do it. Jules promised to show Hadley how to skate when she’s six.” Hadley was spending tonight with Shelley and Steve.
“Hadley is lucky. Nobody ever tried to teach me until I came here.” Cait could have just as easily been talking about public displays of affection. She looked at Brant and said, “I may not be able to skate, but I can sketch you a pretty picture or tattoo a mermaid on your chest.”
“You sure as hell could. If he wasn’t afraid of needles,” Grant said.
“I guess Brant didn’t show you his tattoo,” Cait said.
All eyes turned to Brant.
“Christ,” Brant uttered, shaking his head, and he went on to tell them the story of the tiny line on his chest, leaving them in hysterics.
They finished the pizza and devoured the delicious cake. After cleaning up, they settled in for the movie. Their coupled-off friends snuggled together, and Ford squeezed between Randi and Tessa, putting an arm around each of them. Cait sat between Brant’s legs with Scrappy curled up beside them, as she had last night.
Brant whispered, “This is quickly becoming one of my favorite positions,” and pressed a tender kiss to her neck.
Abby buried her feet in the sand, tucked against Aiden’s side, and said, “I needed this tonight. Thanks, you guys. Being here brings back good memories. My parents used to bring me and Dee to movie nights, and we’d run around the entire time. I don’t think we ever watched a whole movie.”
“None of us did,” Brant said, looking over at Grant and Jock. “Our parents would have to track us down and drag us home.”
“I’ve always loved all of the island events,” Jules said. “I remember running around at the Christmas tree lighting with Bellamy and Tara when I was just a little girl.” Bellamy was Grant’s youngest sister, and Tara Osten was the mayor’s daughter.
Cait listened to them telling stories of their youth, wishing she had stories to share. She looked over her shoulder at Brant and said, “I would have given anything to have even one night like this when I was young.”
“I know, babe. We’re going to make sure you have only good memories from now on. Memories of movie nights, holiday celebrations, and moonlight kisses in the cove.” As the movie screen lit up and the din of the crowd hushed, he whispered, “Years from now we’ll be sitting on this beach with even more friends, and you’ll have so many memories to choose from, you won’t remember a time when you had none.”
She had no idea how he could be so sure, but she trusted him, and in the safety of his arms, surrounded by her sister and friends that he’d rallied for them, she borrowed Brant’s surety to bolster her own, hoping he was right. As the movie began, she was glad for the darkness to hide her tears, because for the first time in her life, she wanted to slow down and enjoy her present instead of trying to outrun her past.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
BRANT WAS TOO drunk on Cait to watch the movie. He hadn’t even known that was possible. He looked around them at their friends and family cuddling and whispering as the movie ended and realized how they—and he, in his pre-Cait days—took intimacy for granted. The magnitude of courage Cait had exuded the night she’d shared her past with him was immense, and being close to her last night had left him feeling so much, he’d been speechless. But tonight, the way Cait gave of herself so freely in front of not just their friends but everyone on the whole damn beach had blown him away.
As the credits rolled, he kissed her cheek, reveling in all that she was. “Did you like it?” he asked, and heard her sniffle. “Caity?”
She turned on her knees, wiping her eye. “I just have sand in my eye.”
He pulled her into his arms. “Hey, my girl has a mushy side.”
“I have sand in my eyes, too,” Jules said, swiping at tears.
“Come here, Pix.” Grant lifted her into his lap.
“I have sandy eyes, too,” Daphne said, and Abby nodded in agreement, burying her face in Aiden’s chest.
“Not me!” Randi popped to her feet, and then her eyes widened at Ford. “Oh my God, Ford, are you crying?”
Ford pushed to his feet, glowering at her. “Shut up. It was sad when E.T. left.”
Tessa laughed. “Softy.”
“You two have hearts of stone,” Ford said, and Brant’s sisters cracked up.