Fumbled (The Girls of Beachmont #1) (3 page)

Most people would
probably be appalled by our banter, but Nick was the closest thing I had to a
brother. Many even thought we were actually related because of our auburn hair
and blue eyes, but that’s where the similarities stopped. Nick was slightly taller
than I was, and his olive complexion gave him an exotic appearance. But then
again, his family was from Italy.

The moment he and Millie
started dating, I adopted him. He was like the stray dog you couldn’t get rid
of, even if you wanted to.

They met our junior year
at Beachmont University and were inseparable. I was a bridesmaid at their
wedding, along with my other two roommates, Viola and Jolie. Our foursome
welcomed Nick with open arms.

“So Philip is
not
coming over, right?”

Nick rubbed his hand across
his forehead and looked at me like I had grown horns. “Do I have ‘idiot’
written across my face?”

I looked at Millie, who
seemed to be irritated with her husband, and pointed at her angry scowl.
“Aren’t you afraid of
that
?”

“There are two things I
know: one—you don’t get involved in other people’s business.”

“And two?” Millie asked
with a raised brow.

“If you piss off your
wife, you leave the kid with the best friend and take her anywhere she wants to
go.”

Millie smiled lovingly
at her husband and all appeared right in their little world. I didn’t envy
their bubble. I’d always felt they married young, but who was I to stand in the
way of their happiness? And it was clear they were happy.

I plucked Colton from
Millie’s arms and started making faces and weird noises to entertain him while
his parents chatted. They were speaking in hushed tones, so I knew they were
talking about me.

“So tell me about this
guy,” Nick pried, but I shook my head.

“Nothing to tell. He
changed my tire and got my number. That’s it.”

“This was yesterday?”

“Yep.”

“I bet he calls on
Monday,” he said with finality.

I turned to look at him
and wanted to laugh at the confidence in his statement. While I was
disappointed he hadn’t called the day I met him, what Nick suggested was almost
insulting.
 

“Monday, huh?”

“Yeah. Three-day rule.
If he calls today, he’s too eager. If he waits longer than three days, he’s a
player. My guess, he’ll call on Monday. That way he looks busy, but not too
busy. And interested, but not too interested.”

I looked from Millie to
Nick and back. “Is he serious?”

“Everyone knows the
three-day rule, Dani.”

“Clearly,” I said,
pointing to myself, “I must have been sick the day they handed out the memo.”

“If I’m right, you owe
me a kid-free night so I can be with my wife,” Nick said, smirking at Millie.

“And if you’re wrong?”

“I won’t be wrong,” he
said.

I looked down at Colton,
who was mesmerized by the necklace I was wearing, and kissed his chubby little
cheeks. When I looked at my friends, they were exchanging looks that I’d rather
they kept to themselves.

“Ew. Go. Now.” I waved
toward the door, shielding Colton’s eyes. “Go out and get that out of your
system. This poor kid doesn’t need to see that.”

“Are you serious?”
Millie asked, standing up hesitantly. “Because I will so take you up on the
offer.”

“Go. Colton and I have
an exciting night of cartoons and sleeping planned.”

Nick grabbed Millie’s
hand and pulled her behind him, waving as they left.

“You’re the best, Dani,”
he said. “We won’t be long.”

“No worries. I have the
better end of the deal,” I teased.

I heard the door shut
and I was alone with Colton, who seemed utterly content in my arms. I was
swaying from side to side while he continued to grab whatever was catching his
attention at the moment.

“Three-day rule, my
ass,” I muttered and Colton made a weird noise. I looked down at him and kissed
his head. “You’re not going to grow up to be a jerk like all the other guys,
are you?”

His response was to
drool, spit, and laugh.

“Typical,” I laughed.

D
A N I

My evening with Colton
was uneventful…and that was a good thing. Millie was always going on about the
lack of sleep she was getting, and how he constantly wanted to be held. That
wasn’t the case for me. He had a bottle and was asleep by nine, leaving me to
channel surf until my eyes could no longer remain open.

I was certain that the
issue wasn’t Colton, but Millie. Something told me she probably kept waking him
up to snuggle and kiss him all night. But who could blame her?

By the time she and Nick
got home, I’d already tucked myself away in the guest bedroom, but not before
checking my phone. I couldn’t tell if I was disappointed or grateful that Tabor
hadn’t called.

Since I hadn’t made it
to Mom and Dad’s the night before for the obligatory family dinner, I decided
to make a surprise appearance after I left Millie’s. Sundays in the Miner home
were always reserved for church and family, so I knew they’d be happy to see
me.

At least that’s what I
thought.

“What are you doing
here?” Mom asked, giving me a quick hug when I opened the front door. “I’m
heading to the mall, want to come with?”

I shuddered at the
thought and shook my head. “Not even a little.”

“Just like your dad,”
she scowled playfully.

“Is he here?”

“He’s inside debating on
whether or not he’s going to get to the yard work. Head on in. Wanna stay for
dinner?”

“We’ll see,” I answered.
“Have fun in hell.”

Mom swatted at my arm
playfully and walked past, shutting the door behind me.

“Dad,” I called out.

“Kitchen,” he hollered
in response.

I laughed when I saw him
standing at the back door, his arms crossed as he stared at the yard. I figured
maybe he was snacking on something, watching TV, but there he was simply
observing.

“What’s the verdict,
Dad?”

“I think the lawn can
wait,” he chuckled, walking over and hugging me. “What brings you by?”

“Felt bad that I
couldn’t make it Friday night. Car troubles,” I admitted.

“What’s wrong with the
Bel Air?”

“I got a flat tire when
I got off work,” I recalled, embarrassed.

“Good thing I taught you
how to change a flat,” he said, but his proud smile faded when he looked at me.
“Right?”

“Yeah, not really,” I
scoffed. “Changing a flat on your own is great…if you can get the lug nuts
off.”

“You’re joking.”

“I wish. Nope, I was
sweating like a pig, covered in grease, and this guy pulls over to help me fix
it.”

“You didn’t let him
help, did you?”

“What choice did I
have?”

“Danielle, that’s
dangerous. What were you thinking?” Dad scolded. “You should have called me.”

“I was about to, but
then this guy swooped in and saved the day.”

“Don’t do that again,”
he warned. “I don’t want to see my daughters’ faces appearing on the
news—missing—because they were caught off guard.”

“Got it,” I answered,
and didn’t say another word about the stranger. Or that I had given him my
phone number. That would have gone over about as well as the time I told them I
was moving out. Not. Well.

Before he could say
anything else, we heard the front door open and I looked back to see whom it
was.

“Tessa?” Dad shouted.

“Not going to the mall,”
she answered.

I looked at Dad and
laughed. “How’d you make that happen?”

Mom going to the mall
spelled trouble for Dad. She was notorious for going to the store for one thing
and coming back with armfuls of junk.

“Make what happen?” Mom
repeated.

“Why are you back?” I
asked, changing the subject.

“Can’t I decide I want
to see my daughter?” she smiled and hugged me.

“You could…but it’s not
true,” I snarked. “So what’s really going on?”

“Mimi!” the familiar
shouts of little Cleo echoed throughout the house. Her footsteps pounded
clumsily on the wood floor with my sister, Grace, trailing behind her. Grace
smiled down at her daughter, who was in the middle of enjoying hearing her own
voice.

“What about me?” I
asked, scooping the blond-haired cutie when she tried to run past me. “Where’s
Aunt Dani’s hug?”

Cleo looked at me with
shock-filled eyes and I set her on the ground where she began looking around.
Her palms were facing up while she walked around pretending not to see me. It
was our game and she loved it.

“AuDani! AuDani hug!
Whereyougo?”

Mom started laughing and
Cleo kept up the charade.

“Where is it, Cleo?” I
asked again.

“I no-no,” she said with
a silly smile.

“Is it…over there?” I
asked, pointing to the pantry door.

Cleo ran over and tried
to open the door, but turned and shook her head when she didn’t get it opened.

“What about over there?”
I asked, pointing to the couch, but she didn’t budge. “Is it,” I looked around
and saw Cleo’s face lit with the cutest smile, “here?”

I squatted down and opened
my arms where my precious niece ran into them and wrapped her chubby little
arms around my neck. She placed a sloppy, wet kiss on my cheek and I set her
back on her feet.

“She loves her Aunt
Dani,” Grace said, giving me a hug as Cleo ran between my parents.

“Who wouldn’t love me?”
I joked. “I’m amazing!”

Mom hoisted Cleo in her
arms and walked off with Dad to let her play outside. When Grace and I were
kids, they were always shoving us outside to run around in the yard and stay
there until the sun went down. Unfortunately, where Grace lives there is very
little yard to play in, so our parents make sure Cleo gets the full Mimi and
Papi experience.

“Millie told me that
Nick ran into Philip the other night,” I said when our parents were gone.

“Don’t even think of
getting back with that one,” she warned. “I never liked that guy.”

“I know. Trust me, no
plans there. I’m so much better off without him.”

“Agreed. We need to find
you someone who’s not so controlling. I don’t know what it was about him, but
Philip gave me the creeps,” she admitted.

Philip and I had ended
dramatically—dramatic in that when I told him it was over I did it
outside, in the rain, on the sidewalk in front of a popular restaurant. He was
always so worried about appearances and I’d had enough. I hailed a cab and
jumped in, but not before he grabbed me by my upper arm and I swear there was
steam coming out of his ears.

“We’ll finish this when we get back to my apartment,” he
seethed and then pushed me into the back seat.

Luckily, someone saw and
pulled him away from the car, giving me time to slam the door shut and yell at
the cab driver to leave. Of course Philip wasn’t one to let things go, so he
called my place a few times and then took to calling Grace.

“You know, you never
said anything to me about not liking like him, but I guess I always knew,” I
told my sister.

We were close in so many
ways, but it was always hard for me to someone when I was defeated. Especially
when that someone was my sister, who I admired. And Philip had defeated me… For
nearly six months, I was a mess. His verbal abuse was bad, but apparently not
bad enough for me to leave. Fortunately, that changed when the physical abuse
started. Therapy was the only thing that had seemed to help me get my life
back.

“You seemed happy and it
just wasn’t my place to say anything,” she admitted. “But I was damn glad to
hear it was over.”

“Yeah, well, tell Millie
that. She was pushing for a Dani-Philip reunion. Hard. Trying to sell me on a
happily-ever-after because it’s worked out so well for her. But that’s not what
I’m looking for right now. I wish she could understand that.”

“She just wants you to
be happy.”

“Millie acts as if I
don’t go out, but there’s been a few dates. Let me tell you, Gracie, you are
lucky. It’s scary out there. Dating…no thank you. And then there’s the whole
apps thing to meet people,” I said with a shudder.

“Apps?”

“Yeah, like dating
websites.” My mouth puckered. “I don’t think so. What happened to meeting some
nice guy by chance where it isn’t so orchestrated? I want that old-fashioned
lightning bolt, ya know?”

“It’s not as hard as you
think—just stop being so picky.” She smirked.

“I’m not picky!” I
defended. “Just because I prefer a guy who has a job, opens doors, treats his
momma right, and you know—worships the ground I walk on doesn’t mean I’m
picky. Not all of us find
the one
right away.”

“Trevor’s a pretty good
judge of character,” she gushed about her husband. “Maybe he could set you up.”

“No, thank you,” I
laughed. “No more setups.”

“No
more
? When have you gone out on a blind date?”

The back door opened and
Cleo ran through, jumping into her mom’s arms.

“It was just one, but
enough for me to swear off going on one ever again.”

“What are we swearing
off this week?” Dad asked. “Beef? Corporate America? Wine? Just, for the love
of God, don’t say beer! Tell me where to sign and how long we’re boycotting.”

Mom wrapped an arm
around Dad’s waist and rubbed his small beer belly. “I think it’s beer.”

“This isn’t from beer,”
he bellowed. “This is from stress-eating because of all the estrogen in this
house.”

“Considering that I’m
the only bit of estrogen left in this house on a daily basis, care to
elaborate?” she challenged.

Dad’s eyes shot up and
he looked over at Grace and me for help, but I took a step back to avoid the
fallout. Grace started laughing and I joined in.

“I didn’t mean anything.
You know I was kidding,” he backpedaled. “Did I tell you how pretty you look
today?

“Pretty enough to take
to the mall?” she asked, making me laugh a little harder.

Dad hung his head in
defeat and started to walk out of the room. “I’ll go get my shoes,” he muttered
with his head hung low.

“What are you two
laughing about?” Mom asked, pointing between the two of us with a smirk on her
face.

“You totally played
him,” I answered. “Well done, Mom.”

“Hey, you don’t stay
married to a man for almost thirty years without learning a trick or two.” She
smiled.

Mom and Dad had the
easiest relationship I’d ever seen. I’m sure it was tougher than they made it
look, but they never had to pretend how much they loved each other. When they
thought no one was looking, they’d blow kisses or grab each other’s butts or
some otherwise randomly embarrassing gesture. It was cute. Grace and I were
always in awe.

“Mimi. Hungwee,” Cleo
said as Grace set her down. “Canny?”

“No, you can’t have
candy, Cleo,” Grace warned. “You already had a piece.”

“Pweese?” she asked, her
little lip poking out sadly.

“No, ma’am,” Grace said
sternly.

“But Mom,” Mom said to
Grace, “she said
pweese
.”

My sister glared at our
mother before breaking. She could never say no to Cleo, and add Mom to the mix
and it was game over. Someday that would bite her in the ass, but not yet.

“Fine,” she conceded.
“Just one, Cleo. I mean it.”

“Yah, ma’am,” Cleo
answered, skipping off holding our mom’s hand.

“You realize
you
were played, right? Cleo played both
of you,” I muttered under my breath.

“Yeah. I know,” she
answered in monotone.

I glanced at my watch
and decided it was time to go. My date with the recorded television show and a
bottle of wine would not wait. Okay, so it could wait, but I wanted climb into
my yoga pants and oversized T-shirt and make myself comfortable for the rest of
the night.

“Hey guys,” I called
out. “I’m gonna head home. Lots to do.”

“Already?” Mom asked,
wrapping me into a hug. “I barely got to see you.”

“I know, and I’m sorry I
missed dinner. But I’ll be here next week. I promise.”

“Okay, well be careful,”
she said, hugging me once more and kissing my cheek.

“I will. Gracie,” I
hollered, looking for my sister. “I’ll see you Tuesday. Right?”

“Yeah. See you then.”

“What’s Tuesday?” Mom
asked.

“I told her I’d go over
and hang out. I was so busy during the school year that I didn’t get over there
much. She wants to show me how she’s going to redecorate Cleo’s room.”

“Oh, it’s adorable,” Mom
gushed. “You’re going to love it.”