Page 10

“I was moving in, and there she was, in her backyard made of sand, rocking a sports bra with bikini bottoms and preparing to get some training in.”

“She has a backyard made of sand?” Everly asked.

“Yes. I noticed it when I was looking at the house, and it didn’t bother me or anything, but I didn’t know the house was hers.”

“Do you not like her or something? Aspen’s cool, I thought,” Wyatt said.

“No, it’s not that. I like her. I don’t really know her, but she’s nice.”

“O-k-a-y…” Everly prompted.

“It’s just a little strange.”

“Why?”

“Kind of like bringing my work home with me. I’ve interviewed her before and after matches, and now, she lives next door to me.”

“You don’t have to be the kind of neighbors who borrow cups of sugar, if you don’t want to,” Wyatt suggested. “Does she even know you live there now?”

“Yeah, she saw me. We talked a little. She invited me over for coffee; said it was an open invitation.”

“So, you feel obligated or something?” Everly asked.

“No, but yes. I don’t want her to think I’m rude. I need her to be okay during interviews. She’s the face of beach volleyball right now. DJ is fine, but she doesn’t have the TV presence Aspen has, and she also doesn’t really like doing interviews. Aspen doesn’t seem to mind them.”

“She’s good on camera; I’ll give you that. It doesn’t hurt that she’s got those Hollywood-actress looks.”

“Excuse me?” Everly asked her wife.

“Stating a fact, Ev. I love you and your looks. In fact, I think I showed you how much just–”

“She doesn’t need to know that,” Everly interrupted.

“She’s right,” Kendra agreed with a smile. “Glad to see that two people can still be so in love after being together for years. What’s that like? I wouldn’t know.”

“Pretty great,” Wyatt said. “When we get back to the hotel tonight, Julia will fall asleep between us on the bed, somehow take up more room than both of us combined, and I’ll just stare at her, thinking about how much she looks like Ev and how lucky I am to have both of them and this little one now, too.” Wyatt placed her hand on Everly’s stomach. “To love, be in love, and like the person you’re with is something to be grateful for. And I am.”

“Okay. I’m not mad at you about the whole Aspen thing now,” Everly said, teasing her wife before Wyatt leaned down and kissed her.

Kendra looked away in that moment and wished she had someone talking about her like Wyatt always talked about Everly. Then, she pictured Aspen in that bikini bottoms and sports bra combo and promptly drank half her margarita.

CHAPTER 5

“So, what he had you two doing just doesn’t work.” Their potential coach shook his head. “DJ, you’re too long when you pass. You’ve got to get lower. And, Aspen, when you set, you’re better with your hands, so set traditionally.”

Aspen glared at the guy. She now understood why he’d been fired by another pair of beach players and was currently unemployed. They’d been desperate, though. She’d always had a coach on the beach, even though it wasn’t a requirement and many teams went without. That was usually because beach players paid their own coaches, and most teams didn’t make enough on the tour to afford that. Many players already had two and, sometimes, even three jobs. Aspen knew of one player who was a tutor because she couldn’t be a teacher and travel on Thursdays or Fridays during the season, and she also drove for Uber to make ends meet. The woman lived in a one-bedroom apartment near the beach that she had to share with a roommate because its location meant the rent was ridiculous, but it got her close to the sand, and that was more important to her than anything else.

Aspen and DJ were lucky that at this point in their careers, they could afford a coach, and a good one, too. They’d had one for two years, and he’d warned them that he wanted to retire to spend more time with his family ever since his daughter had given birth a few months ago to his first grandchild, but they’d been lax finding a replacement, thinking he’d change his mind and stay on at least through the Olympics should they qualify. They’d been wrong. He’d given them notice and told them he couldn’t stay on any longer than that because of a family vacation he’d not only agreed to go on but was paying for, and they’d still not found a replacement.

“She’s 6’2”. If she gets any lower, she’ll be sitting down,” Aspen retorted in the guy’s direction.

“She’s not sitting in the position right; I think is what you mean.”

Aspen glared at him again. She’d intentionally tried to challenge him to see what he’d do and, unfortunately, no one had warned them about his obvious issues. She wasn’t sure how he’d gotten this far in coaching when he seemed to be a ‘my way or the highway’ kind of a guy, and not a very nice one at that.

“And we’ll work on your swing, too, DJ. I was at the match in Chicago. Your line needs work.”

“Her line is one of the best in the sport. She just had an off day. We’d played a tough match that morning, and her shoulder didn’t get enough rest.”