Page 18 of Blame It on the Bikini (Ocean Shores #4)

Before she could answer, Hunter and Grayson entered the bar, and she felt both relieved and a little nervous as they made their way across the room. Her chest tightened as Grayson's gaze drifted to hers. Why did he have to be so damned good-looking?

Dressed in dark jeans and a blue button-down shirt, he looked more like the man who'd explored the caves with her and less like the businessman in the designer suit that had shown up a week ago.

"Now, you can relax," Emmalyn said. "He's here, and Hunter is getting him a drink at the bar."

She felt anything but relaxed, but she gave Emmalyn a smile. "You're right. Sorry I drifted off in the middle of your story."

"Oh, you didn't miss a thing. I think I've bored you all enough with stories of five-year-olds."

"They're always funny," Kaia said.

"Where's Ben these days?" Serena asked. "I don't feel like I've seen him in a while."

"My brother is at a wedding in Hawaii, the lucky guy. He'll be back tomorrow."

"Be sure to introduce him to Grayson," she urged Kaia. "Grayson needs to know our building is serving the community. You're a paramedic. Ben is a cop. Hunter is involved in search and rescue."

"I will," Kaia promised. "But you need to chill, Lexie. You're not going to solve this problem tonight."

She knew that, but she couldn't help moving her gaze to Grayson and Hunter, who were talking to Brad at the bar. They seemed to be getting along, drinking what looked like whiskey, and sharing conversation.

Grayson really was a handsome man. A yearning knot tightened in her gut as she imagined being in his arms again…

It was still surprising to her that she found Grayson so attractive, so desirable.

She'd hated him at their first meeting and been annoyed with him for months when he never replied to her emails.

She'd thought she'd have trouble even tolerating his stay at Ocean Shores, but now, she felt much differently.

"Lexie, are you in?" Kaia asked.

She gave her a blank look. "Uh, for what?"

"Another pitcher of margaritas."

"Sure. I'll go to the bar and get us one."

"And get me a nonalcoholic one," Serena put in.

"Okay," she said, happy to make her way to the bar. As she got up from the table, she purposefully did not look back to see the knowing smile on Kaia's face.

When she got to the bar, she said, "Hi, guys. Brad, we need another pitcher of margaritas, and a virgin one for your wife."

"Got it," Brad said.

She smiled at Hunter, then at Grayson. "It's nice to see you both here."

"Hunter suggested I check it out," Grayson replied. "He said you're having a girls' night."

"We try to get together here a few times a month to catch up. The guys usually give us an hour or so to do that before they show up. How's the Mustang coming along?" she asked. "I heard you and Frank were working on it today."

"It's going well. Hunter helped us with an issue we'd been stuck on, so that really changed things up."

"You and Frank were almost there," Hunter said.

"We were close, but we'd been close for an hour before you showed up," Grayson said. "At any rate, the car is in good shape, and Frank should be able to have it ready for the show next Saturday."

As Brad set down the pitcher of margaritas and a separate drink for Serena, Hunter said, "I'll take this to the table for you, Lexie."

"Okay, thanks." She looked back at Grayson. "Do you want to come and sit with us?"

"I'm going to finish this drink and go. I have an early call tomorrow with an associate in London."

"Of course. I'm glad you made it, though."

"Me, too." He finished his whiskey but didn't immediately move to leave."So, how did the photographs come out?"

"Amazing," she said, finally feeling more comfortable with the turn in the conversation. "I can't wait to show them to you. I'm getting the digital prints tomorrow. I developed the film in my apartment, so maybe you can stop by and take a look sometime."

"Definitely. I'm very glad it worked out."

"It more than worked out. Seeing those photos made me realize how much I want to do more of the same, not the caves, but that kind of interesting location shoot that's thoughtful and provocative and takes the viewer of the picture somewhere else, someplace that they didn't even know existed."

"Well, I have to say the caves took me somewhere else."

"But you were there. I hope the photos will take people into that cave even if they're not physically there."

"I love the way your face lights up when you talk about photography," he murmured. "You really love it. Did you always? Were you carrying around cameras when you were a little girl?"

"No, but I loved photos, and I liked to steal my mom's phone and snap pictures when she wasn't looking. I didn't really get into it until after high school when I took a summer photography class. Then I was hooked."

"But you didn't go into photography; you became a lawyer."

"Because that had always been the plan," she said. "It was expected, and I didn't feel like I could change it up." She paused. "Have you ever considered walking away from your father's company?"

"No. I probably like the company more than he does at this point. He's starting to put me in charge of more and more areas, so it feels like it's our company, not just his."

She wasn't thrilled with that response because being the company man he was, he no doubt had to make sure the business was profitable, which would make changing his mind about a potentially lucrative deal much more difficult.

Grayson sipped his drink as he studied her. "You didn't like my answer."

"That's not true. Your answer is how you feel. There's no right or wrong."

"There's not," he agreed. "For what it's worth, I think you made the right choice, Lexie. You hated your life, and when you talk about photography, you light up like a Christmas tree. You're where you should be."

"I'm getting to where I should be. I'm still a work in progress. But I feel like I turned a corner yesterday. I'm going to prioritize my real goals more than the ones that are easy to do and pay the bills and don't make me wonder whether I'm an imposter or the real thing."

"You are definitely the real thing."

"You haven't even seen the photos yet."

"I watched when you took them. I know they're great. But I would like to see them tomorrow." He set down his drink. "I should probably get going."

"I'm ready to go, too," she said. "I have to get up early as well. I'm shooting an engagement photo in the light of dawn, at the bride's request."

"Those brides seem to have a lot of requests," he said dryly.

"Tell me about it. Let me just say goodbye to everyone, and I'll walk back with you."

He followed her over to the table where Hunter had slid into her chair. Before he could get up, she waved him back down.

"I'm going to call it a night. I have an early job tomorrow. I'll see you all at home."

"I'll go with you," Serena said. "I feel tired."

While she was disappointed that she wouldn't be walking back alone with Grayson, maybe it was better to have a chaperone to prevent any future lapses in judgment.

Serena waved goodbye to her husband, and the three of them walked out the door.

"It feels good out here," Serena said. "Was it warm in the bar, or was it just me?"

"It was a little warm," she said as they fell into step with her in the middle, Serena on one side and Grayson on the other. "You only have a couple of weeks to go, right?"

"Two," Serena said with a sigh. "Everyone says I should enjoy being pregnant because once the baby is born, I'll be even more exhausted, but I can't wait to see her. I feel so heavy and crampy all the time. And sorry for complaining."

"You're not complaining, and even if you were, it's understandable."

"Are you sure you should be walking home?" Grayson asked. "I can run back to Ocean Shores, grab my car, and come back and pick you up."

"It's only five blocks from here. I can make it, and the doctor said it's good for me to walk. It keeps the blood flowing, and the baby seems to like it when I'm moving. That's usually when she performs her gymnastics, which involves jumping up and down on my bladder," she added with a laugh.

"Sounds awesome," Grayson said dryly.

"It is," Serena said with a twinkle in her eye. "How are you enjoying Ocean Shores? Are you feeling the magic yet?"

"You do have a good group," he admitted.

"It's your group, too. You own the building," Serena pointed out. "And now you're living there, so you're one of us."

"For the time being," he said, his tone almost deliberately neutral.

She hated that he hadn't already seen how great everything was. Grayson was the kind of man who set a goal and stuck to it. She was going to have to keep fighting to change his mind.

They had just crossed the street and gone around the corner when Serena suddenly let out a yelp and stopped walking.

"What's wrong?" she asked with concern as Serena bent over. She put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I don't think so," Serena replied, gasping. "I've been having fake contractions, but this feels like the real thing."

"There are fake contractions?" Grayson asked in bemusement.

Serena nodded, her lips tightening. "Oh, God!"

She looked at Grayson, then at Serena. "Should we go back to the bar?"

"I don't think I can keep walking," Serena said.

"There's a bench over there," Grayson said, helping her walk Serena to the bench. "I'm going to run to Ocean Shores, get my car, and I'll be back as fast as I can. You call Brad. Whoever gets here first can take her to the hospital."

She appreciated his decisiveness and the speed with which he took off. She took out her phone and called Brad, but it went to voicemail. "He's not answering."

"He's probably not near his phone," Serena said. "Maybe it's nothing. It seems to be gone."

"Okay, good, but we still need to get you home or to the hospital."

Serena let out another cry. "Not gone after all," she gasped. "It's really bad, Lexie. What are we going to do?"