Page 27 of Summer Fling (The Kingston Brothers #5)

Chapter Eighteen

Blake

T he last few weeks, Dalton was busy between work and the maze.

It left me with a lot of time to think. I'd researched the possibility of offering art classes.

But I still couldn't decide if I wanted to go back to school and get an art therapy concentration or if I just wanted to start doing it now.

If I was being honest with myself, I wanted to offer the classes now. But the logical side of my brain said to go back to school, not waste the money I'd already borrowed for tuition, and just finish the degree. It had the added effect of pleasing my parents too.

I felt like I was stuck. The only thing that got me excited was spending a day with Lilliana and Dalton or the thought of hosting a class.

Tonight, I'd finally arranged time to meet up with the girls at a local beach bar. Dalton came home early, giving me time to take a bath and get ready.

When I lingered in the kitchen, he gave me a look. "I love spending time with you, but you are going out tonight."

I pouted. "But I'm going to miss you and Lilliana."

He pulled me into his chest and kissed the top of my head. "I'm going to miss you too. But you deserve a break. I've been working extra-long hours on the maze."

I patted his chest. "That means that we should be going out together."

"Girls' night first. Then we'll talk about date night." He lowered his face, and I kissed him, wishing this could be my life all the time.

But there was no way for it to work if I went back to school. Not that I was sure I wanted that anyway. Regardless of my relationship with Dalton.

He smacked my butt. "Now go."

I hugged Lilliana in her high chair, kissing her when she lifted her lips. She was into giving everyone kisses, and I couldn't say no. It was adorable, and every day I was certain I loved her too. "See you later."

"Not too soon," Dalton called after me. "Let one of my brothers drive you home if you need a ride."

"Will do," I said, feeling weird leaving the house in the evening. We spent most nights together when he wasn't working on the maze.

The weeks when Oakley took Lilliana, we spent a lot of time swimming, taking long walks on the beach, and in bed. Those hours together were amazing, but it only made me want more. A future with Dalton and Lilliana.

I drove to the bar, feeling a little weird to be going out with these women that I didn't know that well. I'd spent time with Ivy but more as her son's nanny. Then there was the time we went to his family's dinner. But that was a while ago now.

I drew in a deep breath as I walked around to the back of the bar where the girls said they'd be. Someone had added me to their group text, which appeared to include the Kingston brothers' girlfriends and fiancées and their friends.

I hadn't been able to get out to meet other people. Most of the moms didn't socialize with the nannies. I wasn't in the same stage of life as far as they were concerned.

Elena waved me over to their picnic table in the sand. "I'm so glad you could make it."

"It must be hard to leave Lilliana at home," Daria said sympathetically as if I were her mother, which hit me in the chest.

From what I remembered of the group messages, she owned the seashell shop. "Dalton insisted I go out. He's had a lot of late nights building the maze, so he felt like I needed to get out."

Daria fanned herself. "It must be hard to leave him too."

Everyone laughed, and I found myself relaxing.

"We usually spend every evening together. It's been nice."

Elena leaned in. "Are things getting serious between you two?"

A server paused at the end of the table before I could respond. "Can I get you anything?"

I looked around at the table, and everyone had various fruity-looking drinks. "Whatever they're having is fine."

"Get the strawberry mojito. It's divine," Elena suggested.

"That works. Thank you," I said to the server who went to put in my order.

"Now, tell us about you and Dalton," Elena prodded.

"We're just so happy that Dalton found someone who isn't Oakley. She's had him in her web for so long," Ivy said.

I sighed. "Yeah, she's something else."

"Has she been hassling you?" Hazel asked, her brow furrowed.

"There was the one time she stopped by when Dalton wasn't there. She said some things."

"That girl will say anything to get Dalton under her thumb again." Elena's voice filled with disgust.

Daria bumped my shoulder with hers. "You'll have to be strong."

I dipped my hand into the basket of popcorn at my end of the table. "Anyone who ends up with Dalton will have to contend with Oakley. That's for sure."

Elena's face filled with concern. "Are you saying that you don't think it will be you?"

I looked away from her. "I don't know."

"Oakley can be a lot to deal with. But it sounds like Dalton is doing a better job of keeping her in her place and not letting her walk all over him," Elena said.

"Lately, he's stood strong against her demands to see Liliana outside the fifty-fifty arrangement," I said, pride in my voice.

"You know that Dalton won't let Oakley mess with you, right? He only let her do it to him because he thought he'd get more time with Lilliana. When he realized how it might affect his daughter, he set boundaries," Elena assured me.

"I know." Dalton had been upset when he found out that Oakley said those things to me. But I wasn't sure I wanted to deal with her forever. "I don't think she's ever going to let up until she has him for good."

Elena waved a hand, dismissing the thought. "That's never going to happen. Dalton knows who she is."

Ivy's nose scrunched. "He was going to break up with her before she told him she was pregnant."

Elena nodded. "He only stuck it out with her because he wanted to support her when she was pregnant and was hopeful he'd get to see his daughter more when she was born."

"That's when Oakley got even more demanding of his time and attention. No one liked seeing Dalton deal with that. His whole family is so happy he's with you."

"How's everything else?" Ivy asked me.

My drink came, and I swirled the tiny straw in the liquid, wondering how honest I could be with these women when they were dating Dalton's brothers. "I took a break from my classes to decide what to do with my life, but I still feel stuck."

Ivy inclined her head. "What do you want?"

I shrugged miserably. "I don't know. I love watching Lilliana and Henry, but I've been dying to teach art classes to more kids. Not that Henry and Lilliana aren't good students?—"

A small smile spread over Ivy's face. "But they're little."

"You want to be an art therapist?" Daria asked.

"I'd have to go back and take more master's-level classes in art for that. I don't know if I want to take out more loans. The practical thing to do would be to go back and finish my doctorate program."

"Do you always do what's practical?" Daria asked since she didn't know me as well as the others.

I nodded without any hesitation. "Except for this thing with Dalton. I knew going into it that it was a risk. His life is here, and mine isn't."

"Your life is wherever you want it to be, and who says you can't offer art classes now? Do you need a degree for that?" Daria asked.

I looked around the table. "Parents might ask for credentials."

Ivy laughed. "Ugh, no. I'm always scouring local news for classes to do with Henry. There's mommy–and-me yoga, but not much else. We're in dire need of an art studio. And I promise you; I never look at the teacher's credentials. I just want to get out of the house for a bit of fun."

I chewed my lip. "I'm not sure I'd want to open a brick-and-mortar store."

"You know, it would be easy just to post about classes and host them at Dalton's or on the beach. You could even do them at the library. We have guests come in from time to time," Hazel chimed in.

"Could she do it as part of the after-school program you run?" Elena asked Hazel, and then to me, she said, "Hazel works at the library."

"Oh, how nice," I said.

Hazel smiled. "I recently started an after-school program, and we're always looking for additional things to offer. An art class would be perfect for that."

The thought of hosting a class soon filled me with fear. "I wasn't prepared to do it so soon."

"We can do a mini summer class and see how much interest there is. Then you can decide if you'd want to do it during the school year," Hazel said. "I'll send out a flyer and a sign-up for it."

This was moving faster than I expected.

Elena nodded. "This way you'll know if it's something you want to do now or if you'd prefer to go back to school for your terminal degree."

"I don't really need the doctorate unless I'm working in a therapeutic setting. I have a background in psychology and art," I said, thinking out loud.

"This could be your way of deciding what you want to do," Elena pointed out.

"Okay. Let's do it," I said, my heart beating hard.

"Yay!" Hazel typed something on her phone, probably a reminder to post a notice about the upcoming class. “I’m opening it up to everyone so we can get an idea of how many people are interested.”

"Are you nervous?" Elena asked.

"I am actually. What if no one wants to take the class or thinks it's not good?"

"Consider me signed up with Henry. He adores you, and he loves to paint."

"I didn't realize I'd be planning art classes tonight." I thought it would be a chance to get to know these women better, maybe make a few friends.

"That's what friends are for," Elena said, surprising me.

"We'll get you sorted," Ivy said with a smile, and I felt better about the situation. This would provide me with the clarity I needed to make a decision.

If no one signed up, I'd have my answer. There wasn't a need for art classes on this small island. That wouldn't be a surprise, given the number of tourists on the island every year.

Ivy sobered and leaned in. "I've been meaning to tell you guys about something. There's been a developer asking around about buying up real estate."