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“Dude, you’ve got it so bad,whichis exactly why I’m going to do this for you. Let me make sure Damien is down for a last minute, impromptu trip to the beach.”

“Ah! You’re the best!” Blair was so excited she could have screamed. She didn’t, of course, since that would’ve woken Erin up and ruined the amazing surprise she had planned for the next day.

Chapter 18

Erin

When Erin awoke on the fourth day of their beach vacation, she was surprised to find Blair not only awake, but also staring at her. As soon as Blair noticed Erin had opened her eyes, she snapped her own shut. Erin giggled because Blair was so unsmooth.

“I know you’re awake,” she whispered. “I saw you watching me, creep.”

“Was not,” Blair said, her eyes still forced shut.

This made Erin laugh even harder. “If you weren’t watching me, then how do you know I was talking to you? I could’ve been talking to Nolan.”

Blair opened her eyes and looked at Nolan who was miraculously still fast asleep between them. “Anyway, what’s the plan for today?”

Erin shrugged. Why was Blair suddenly worried about their plan? She was normally all about going wherever the day took them. “Beach? Pool? I don’t know.” She looked at Nolan. “Dowereally have a choice?”

Blair laughed. “Good point.”

As if he sensed they were talking about him, Nolan’s eyes popped open at that very moment. “Is it done raining?”

“It is, which means today is going to be a very special day!” Blair said, sounding way too excited. She jumped out of the bed and held her hand out toward Nolan. “Speaking of which, will you come with me, buddy?”

“Secrets?” Nolan asked excitedly as he took Blair’s hand and jumped out of the bed as well.

“What am I? Chopped liver?” Erin asked jokingly. Although, she was extremely curious what the hell Blair was up to.

“Don’t worry about it,” Blair said with a devious smile.

“Yeah, Mommy. Don’t worry about it,” Nolan repeated.

The two of them walked out of the room before Erin could ask any more questions.It’s fine. Nolan can’t keep a secret to save his life. He’ll tell me as soon as he walks back in.

Erin waited for what seemed like forever, but in reality, was probably just a few minutes. When Blair and Nolan finally came back into the room, Nolan had his hand over his mouth and was giggling.

“What’s so funny?” Erin asked him.

“We have a special day,” he said between giggles.

What the hell does that even mean?Erin looked from Nolan to Blair. “What’s going on?”

Blair smirked and crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t worry. You’ll find out soon enough.”

Nolan stared at Blair for a few seconds then copied her stance. “Yeah, Mommy. You find out enough.”

The rest of the morning and into the afternoon was spent with Nolan and Blair whispering to each other while Erin tried to figure out what the hell they were planning. A mission she had failed at so far. After they spent most of the day at the pool and managed to coax Nolan to at least goontothe sand, Blair announced it was time to go back to the hotel.

“And why are we going back to the hotel?” Erin asked. She had been waiting hours to find out what was happening. Blair had to finally tell her.

Apparently, she was wrong. Blair’s only response was to shrug and pack up their beach bags. As they walked to the hotel, Erin tried to think of what Blair could possibly have planned, but she kept coming up blank.

As soon as they walked into the hotel lobby, Blair shouted, “There they are!”

Erin looked across the lobby to find Blair’s best friend, Marisol, standing beside a guy, waving to them. That was strange. Erin had enjoyed Marisol when she met her at the Fourth of July party, and Nolan had also taken to her quicker than he usually took to most people, but was this the surprise? Blair invited her friends to hang out with them? Erin didn’t care, of course. She just didn’t understand why it had to be such a big secret.

“Have fun, Mommy!” Nolan said, before skipping away from them right over to Marisol.