Page 24 of Reality With You (Arden Beach #1)
T he clean-up began smoothly. Once the coffee kicked in and the producers had all the establishing shots they wanted with the group, Lennon and Dylan walked along the beach as they collected debris from the shore.
It allowed her space to get lost in her thoughts, with the ocean at her side and the crisp morning air filling her lungs before the humidity ramped up.
The seagulls cawed, searching the sand for food, and the pastel seashells carried in by the surf looked particularly majestic in the soft morning light.
Lennon hadn’t seen the beach that early in the morning in a long time. It was beautiful.
As the air warmed, she shed her jacket. Beneath it, buttery yellow, high-waisted bike shorts and a matching sports bra clung to her body.
Freema had even provided her with padding to make her chest look more endowed.
Dylan did a double take as she tied the jacket around her waist, clearing his throat and fixing his eyes on the sand again when she looked up at him. She fought the urge to smile.
Though they mostly remained silent, wandering in their own little worlds, she and Dylan fell into each other’s orbit, occasionally exchanging comments. The majority of the cameramen focused on other conversations happening down the beach.
Lennon wondered what the others were talking about—what was interesting enough to be filmed. She hadn’t given much thought to what Avery and the others were choosing to share on camera besides the obvious. How personal were they getting?
One cameraman followed Lennon and Dylan, maintaining a safe distance but keeping a close eye on them in case anything interesting happened.
Being watched like that was a strange sensation.
Lennon would think of something she wanted to say to Dylan, only to catch herself, not wanting to share it with an audience.
Like at brunch, she became hyper-aware again of every facial expression she made, every word she said, and every move she made, as if she were on stage but without anything specific to perform.
More worrying was how close she came to forgetting about them. How easily she realized she could become content and let the wrong thing slip. It was like her own version of The Truman Show .
They were just following her around, waiting for her to be … interesting? Say something scandalous? Admit something personal and shocking? Make out with Dylan on the beach?
That last thought stirred something low in Lennon’s abdomen and magnetized her attention to him.
To his biceps flexing as he squeezed the trash picker to grab a crinkled water bottle and toss it in his bag.
His sculpted arms and part of his shoulders were exposed in his fitted black tank, which stretched under every movement, revealing more ridges and valleys of muscle. He was so lean yet solid .
Lennon noticed the cameraman looming in the distance along the brush, and she quickly began searching the sand in an overt, almost comical fashion.
Shit .
If it hadn’t been obvious enough she was checking Dylan out, her overzealous attempt to hide it probably sealed the fucking deal. Thank God her sunglasses at least hid her eyes.
Lennon slowed her pace to no longer match Dylan’s, and gradually veered closer to the surf to put more space between them and—hopefully—calm the rising pressure in her pelvis. She was at work. And volunteering. And already breaking the rules they’d set for themselves, for God’s sake.
Calm down, Lennon.
Dylan glanced to his side, then past his shoulder, brows dipping as he found her several paces behind him.
She sent him a tight-lipped smile, which he returned, but something in his eyes made her heart sink a little.
She sensed sadness in them, making her wonder what had been plaguing his thoughts that morning.
Her lips parted to ask, but the cameraman and his black cargo pants lurked in her peripheral vision.
Not the time nor the place to ask something personal.
“Hey, Strickland,” Tana called from the other end of the beach. Lennon and Dylan both looked behind them, finding Tana standing with Chad and Trey. “Can we get some more muscles over here?”
“You think that’s code for ‘come help me with something seemingly innocuous so I can interrogate you on camera’?” Dylan asked.
“Most definitely.” Lennon gave him a pitying smile. Hopefully, he’d have an easier experience than she did at brunch. “Send me a signal if you need me to cause a distraction and bail you out.”
“If you don’t come fast enough, I’ll just feign an injury. I already have one I can work with.”
“Ask not what you can do for your injury, but what your injury can do for you.”
Dylan sprinted toward Tana. She directed the guys to some large items further down the beach, presumably to be hauled to the area where all the collected trash and debris were being organized. Lennon went back to picking up trash on her quiet stretch of seashore.
A couple of minutes later, the crunch of sand announced Kelsey’s arrival. Lennon silently thanked her sunglasses again for hiding her knee-jerk eyeroll.
“Hey, girl. Can we talk?” Kelsey’s tone was honeyed, like they were friends who’d had a minor quarrel.
Designer sunglasses rested atop her head, and two hot pink triangles held in place by a string barely covered her breasts.
It was a miracle she could perform the tasks at the clean-up without having a wardrobe malfunction.
“I feel like we got off on the wrong foot at brunch the other day.”
“What makes you think that?” Lennon asked with a touch of sarcasm. She continued scanning the beach for manmade debris. Some seagulls rushed away from the rising surf, then followed it back toward the sea as it retreated.
“Well, you seemed upset. I don’t know if I said something that triggered you, but obviously, that wasn’t my intention.
” Kelsey used her picker to swat away the seagulls as they approached them, sending them scattering and cawing.
It then went back to its place at her side with her near-empty bucket hanging from her elbow like a handbag.
“I was just trying to get to know you. Now that you’ll be in the bridal party, we’ll be spending a lot of time together.
This is one of the most important events in Avery’s life. I don’t want anything to mess it up.”
Lennon glanced at the cameraman following them along the beach. “Well, since we’re being honest, it didn’t feel like you were trying to get to know me. It was more like an interrogation.”
Kelsey pulled a confused expression. “Avery’s my best friend. Wouldn’t you do the same for yours?”
“If she’d already decided the person was worthy of her friendship, I wouldn’t need to. I trust her judgment.”
Blue eyes analyzed her. “Why did my questions make you uncomfortable?”
Lennon used the picker to dig a crushed water bottle from the sand. “Well, they felt a little invasive.” She dropped it in her bucket. “And you were basically telling me I was too over the hill for a music career and needed to switch my focus to popping out babies before I’m too old for that, too.”
Kelsey’s eyebrows jumped up. “OK, that’s not what I said.”
“Except it is. It’s literally on tape.”
The blonde popped her glossy lips. “Look, I came to smooth out any drama and misunderstanding between us, but now you’re putting words in my mouth. I don’t appreciate it.”
“They were your words .” Lennon almost laughed at the absurdity of this conversation.
“I was showing compassion for you getting dumped by your record label. I felt bad for you. I don’t know how you got all of that other stuff from what I said.”
“You don’t need to feel bad for me. I’m fine,” Lennon stated sharply, her patience wearing thin.
Kelsey huffed a little chuckle. “I’m sure you are now that you’re back in touch with your famous ex-husband,” she remarked, looking down the beach.
Lennon stopped short, facing her. “What are you implying?”
Kelsey eased to a halt. “I’m not implying anything. All I’m saying is, things are looking up for you. You’re on a TV show and part of a big, glamorous wedding thanks to Avery, and you seem to be getting pretty cozy with Dylan. That solves a lot of your problems, doesn’t it?”
Waves rolled and crashed along the shoreline as Lennon’s frustration crested. “I didn’t come back to Arden Beach for Dylan’s money, if that’s what you’re saying.”
“There you go putting words in my mouth again,” Kelsey said flatly. “But, I mean, if you did, you could just admit it. People respect honesty. No one likes people who pretend to be something they’re not.”
A low, dark laugh escaped Lennon’s throat. “Wow. That’s rich coming from you.”
Kelsey crossed her arms. “I don’t appreciate your tone.”
“Well, I don’t appreciate yours.”
“I’m trying to be friends with you, Lennon . For Avery’s sake.”
Lennon smiled at the mocking emphasis of her name. “You have a funny way of doing it, Kelsey .”
Kelsey shook her head again, chuckling humorlessly. “Wow. I don’t know what your problem is, but I can tell this conversation is going nowhere , so I’m going to get back to work.”
Yeah, I’ll bet you’ve been real busy .
Kelsey turned back toward the rest of the group at the other end of the beach, mumbling “I tried” with a dramatic sigh.
For a moment, Lennon stood there, the surf rising to engulf and slide away from her feet as her blood buzzed uncomfortably under her skin. The cameraman who had followed them kept his lens trained on her, while another, who Lennon hadn’t noticed before, followed Kelsey.
A pit formed in her stomach.