Bonfire Beach Read Online Free PDF Page B

raised knee and squeezed. Meeting Greta’s anguished gaze head on, she said, “I asked my father once if he ever thought about how different his life would have been if he’d married someone else. We’d been up all night after an emergency trip to the hospital because Mom slipped and fell. She turned out to be fine, but we were all exhausted. I don’t know what I expected him to say—something about being a tenured professor, maybe, or going out dancing because my parents used to love to dance, before Mom got sick—but I didn’t expect him to laugh. He laughed for a solid five minutes, until he was almost crying. When he caught his breath, he wiped his eyes and—I’ll never forget this. He said, ‘Oh, honey. No. Why would I want to contemplate something so awful? Your mother is the one for me. The one and only. And I’d rather sit up all night in a hard plastic hospital chair at her side than dance a single dance with someone else.’”
    Felicity’s voice broke, her breath tearing hard at her chest, and when she looked up, Greta was crying openly. But she was smiling through her tears, and that gave Felicity the strength to smile back.
    Ivory silk and chiffon whispered as Greta stood up and crossed the small bedroom to envelop Felicity in a crushing hug. “Thank you,” Greta whispered, her tone thick with emotion. “I needed to hear that so much, and I know it was hard for you to talk about.”
    “But worth it, if it helps you believe that it’s not up to you to decide what will make Miles happiest,” Felicity said, pushing to her feet and holding her trembling bride at arms’ length. “He’s already made his choice—and he chose you, even if that means hospital beds someday, instead of dancing all night. We should all be so lucky to find someone who feels that way about us. Hold onto that, and hold onto him. Leave the rest to me—I’ll make sure the day you commit your lives to each other is absolutely perfect.”
    Greta hugged her again, and Felicity returned the squeeze and repeated her vow silently.
    Making this the wedding of the year wasn’t simply about money and ambition—it was about helping this couple, who could almost be a younger, wealthier version of her parents, start their lives together the way they deserved. It was about making their dreams come true.
    And maybe this time, if she was very lucky, some of the magic of their happiness would rub off on Felicity and let her start to dream again, too.
    ***
    Backing away quietly, Zane leaned against the wall of the hallway beside Greta’s bedroom door. He shouldn’t have listened in, especially once it was clear how deeply personal that conversation was, but he couldn’t help himself.
    Done in by his need to know everything there was to know about Felicity Carlson. Who was unreasonably intriguing and unfairly tempting, for a woman who’d given up on fun.
    But after what he’d overheard, knowing what she must have gone through when she was younger, maybe he could begin to understand her. The only trouble was…well, the same thing that always gave him trouble. He wanted more.
    And he wanted to hear it directly from Felicity. He wanted her to want to tell him whatever was left. Everything she hadn’t said to Greta—because she’d been holding back. After only a few weeks together, Zane could tell when Felicity wasn’t going all in. He wanted to know the parts of the story she’d left out.
    So he’d ask. In a roundabout way, and already knowing the right buttons to push. Stomping on the tickle of guilt at the idea of using the knowledge he’d gained while eavesdropping, Zane rapped his knuckles lightly on the doorframe.
    He’d made himself a promise a long time ago to never pass up an opportunity, to always go big or go home, and it had served him well. He’d go for it with Felicity and see what happened. Worst-case scenario, she’d shut him down and he’d lose all the progress he’d made in getting her to loosen up over