Ex on the Beach (32 page)

The lie lodged in Andie’s heart.

Celeste patted her hand again and leaned closer, brushing her lips over Andie’s cheek. The gentleness of the gesture almost brought Andie to tears. “Then I’m happy for you,” Celeste said softly. “That’s all I ever wanted. For you to be happy.”

Before Andie could figure out how to respond without making the fib worse, Penelope swept into the room. She wore a broad smile and had her blonde hair swept up into a loose pile on the top of her head. And she was dressed in pink again. She wore a deep-carnation-pink-and-white striped skirt with a softer pink ruffled top. Her heels matched the shirt. Andie couldn’t help but laugh at the giddy expression on the woman’s face.

Andie had found Penelope a couple days before and discussed her father’s concerns — that she was unhappy. That there was some issue with the wedding.

Penelope had assured her she was perfectly fine. She simply had normal bridal jitters, but there was nothing to worry about. Andie hadn’t been completely convinced, but with no specific issue brought to her attention, there was little else she could do.

“I can’t believe this is all for me,” Penelope gushed. She turned in a circle in the middle of the floor, taking in the decorations. “And that in only three days I’ll be marrying the man of my dreams.”

Andie couldn’t believe it either.

She rose. Seaglass Celebrations had a job to do, and she was going to make sure Penelope felt special throughout every minute of it. Even if the girl could do better for a husband.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

L
ate Wednesday night Andie decided it was time to confront her mother and aunt about the secrets they’d kept from her over the years.

She’d spent most of Sunday with Cassie since it had been Andie’s day off and Mark had returned to Boston, and though she’d been upset about all she’d learned from Aunt Ginny the night before, she’d been reluctant to bring up the subject of her father. It had seemed a better use of time to spend the day simply getting to know her mother a bit rather than immediately laying into her about the years of secrets.

So they’d gone shopping, shared a late lunch in a quaint little café on the mainland, and then met up with Aunt Ginny later that evening. The three of them had enjoyed dinner and live music at a total dive on the south side of the island.

It had been fun. A good day.

Since then their paths had crossed in the house, they made the occasional small talk, had shared a meal or two together, and generally acted as if they were all getting along.

But Andie was pissed. At both of them. She felt lied to and betrayed. And it was time for answers.

She changed from her pajamas into shorts and a T-shirt, then stepped out of her bedroom and headed down the stairs. Her mother and aunt had gone off to Ginny’s room a while ago, but she doubted either of them was asleep. Whenever she’d passed by Aunt Ginny’s room late in the night this past week, she’d heard them talking or laughing softly behind the closed door.

On the one hand, she was glad they seemed to be making up for lost time. She liked seeing both of them happy. But on the other hand, why couldn’t they have told her years ago who her father was? Maybe if they had she wouldn’t have wasted so much time wondering why her mother didn’t like her.

Maybe she would have believed there wasn’t anything wrong with
her
.

Stopping outside her aunt’s bedroom door, she paused, pulled in a fortifying breath, and then softly knocked.

Two seconds later the door swung open and Aunt Ginny stood there in cotton button-up pajamas, her face void of makeup.

“Andie, hon,” Ginny said. “Is everything okay?”

Andie glanced past her to see her mother with her feet up on the couch, wearing a similar pair of pajamas. Jealousy caught her off guard at seeing them growing closer. She and Aunt Ginny were the ones who were supposed to have the special relationship. Not these two.

She shook off the thought as quickly as it had arrived. That wasn’t fair. And she wasn’t that petty. She was simply upset and looking for excuses to be more so.

“Can I talk to you both?” she asked. Her voice was clipped and hard.

“Of course,” Aunt Ginny murmured. She stepped back and let Andie in.

Instead of sitting when her mother lowered her feet from the couch and offered the spot beside her, Andie began to pace. Aunt Ginny stood at the end of the bed, her hands gripped together, and Cassie sat stiffly on the couch. Both of them watched Andie guardedly.

When she didn’t say anything for several paces back and forth, her mother finally spoke up. “What are you most upset about, Andie? We’ve been waiting for you to tell us.”

Andie stopped in the middle of the room and looked from one to the other, her irritation rising, then planted her hands on her hips. “I want to know why you never told me about my father.”

Identical expressions formed on the faces of both women. Eyebrows lifted, eyes widened, and the corners of their mouths turned down. With the two of them having the same red hair and green eyes, it was a striking moment.

She could suddenly see them being close, as Aunt Ginny had said they’d once been.

And though angry, she found herself glad for both of them that they were overcoming their pasts. They would have a second chance. Maybe neither of them would be alone the rest of their lives.

Her mother was the first to speak. “We felt you didn’t need the confusion in your life. James was gone, so it wasn’t as if you could get to know him.”

“But I deserved to know.” Andie pointed her finger at her mother. “And you lied to me. You always told me my father was unimportant. That he was no one who would ever matter in my life.”

This had bugged Andie most over the last few days. He wasn’t unimportant. The man had paid for her education. He’d left her a house. He was somebody. And she’d been unable to feel gratitude in her heart all these years because these two women had kept him from her.

She’d been unable to pay her respects.

Aunt Ginny lowered herself to sit beside her sister, her red head nodding. “You probably did deserve to know. We were selfish. We were busy being mad at each other and didn’t want to deal with you knowing. But Andie, what good would it have done
you
? Then you would have been upset over the rift between your mother and me all this time. That would have affected you. We didn’t want that. It was our issue. You didn’t deserve to have it dumped on you.”

Ginny’s words resonated deeply with Andie, causing her take a step back. Would the knowledge have impacted her? She tried to imagine being at Ginny’s for the summer, knowing her mother hated her. Knowing she was there because her father had cheated on Ginny.

Then she tried to imagine being at home with her mother, calling Aunt Ginny up to talk when all the while knowing her mother hated her. And why.

Probably she wouldn’t have called as often.

Or maybe she would have asked to live with Ginny instead of her mother.

And though her childhood hadn’t been perfect, Andie couldn’t imagine that scenario either. She loved her mother. She wouldn’t have wanted to live year-round anywhere else.

Tears suddenly appeared from nowhere to pour down her cheeks, and both women rushed to her side. Four arms closed around her. The three of them stood there for several long minutes, Andie crying, both of them holding her tight.

It was unfair that she’d never known the truth. It was unfair that James had died before she’d gotten to meet him.

And it was unfair that she felt like this knowledge was now shifting the world beneath her feet.

The man had been gone for years. There was nothing that could change that. Only, for the first time in her life, she felt as if she had a parent who’d loved her unconditionally. And she hadn’t even known about him so she could love him back.

“I feel betrayed,” she finally said. A hiccup came out with her next sob. “And I feel like we should have done better for him.”

Both women nodded against her as the three of them remained clutched together.

“We should have handled it better,” Aunt Ginny said. She stroked a hand down over Andie’s hair.

“We shouldn’t have remained angry with each other for so long,” her mother replied.

At the words, Ginny lifted her head off Andie’s shoulder and peered at her sister. “I shouldn’t have caused it,” Ginny whispered.

Two sets of green eyes stared at each other with Andie caught in the middle watching. She’d come in to have it out with them, and in the end, it seemed she’d helped them take another step in their recovery. It was powerful to witness the connection build between them.

It made her wish she’d had a sister to be close with.

It made her wish she had a bond with someone who would stick over the years, no matter what they went through.

It made her think of Mark.

She closed her eyes and cried some more. There was a mix of grieving for the father she’d never known, happiness for her aunt and mother, and sadness that she and Mark would never be more than a couple of weeks. There might be a bond between them, but she wouldn’t wait around for something that wasn’t going to happen.

And then she realized what else she’d been upset about this week. Her mother was stealing her aunt from her. And Andie had to step back and let it happen.

The two sisters deserved the chance to renew their bond.

More tears fell as Andie accepted that her life was changing. Nothing would ever be the same again.

She only hoped she could eventually figure out a way to make it okay.

Headlights flashed over the roadside parking lot, briefly highlighting the crowd of people waiting on the beach, then blinked out. Andie’s blood began to pump. The car door opened and closed, and a tall, broad man emerged. He also appeared to be wearing a suit. It was Mark.

She let out a breath and forced herself not to hurry to his side.

She’d missed him. And she was really glad he’d gotten back in time for the sea turtle walk. Looking for nesting turtles was one of her favorite things to do in the summer. She’d wanted to share the experience with him.

The tour guides had already given their presentation, and the group was just about to head off down the beach. They’d been waiting a few more minutes to see if Mark would arrive in time.

Barefoot, sans suit jacket, and with his slacks rolled up at the ankles, he reached her side, and she grinned up at him, happier to see him than she wanted to admit. She kissed him lightly on the cheek, and then he kissed her on the mouth.

It wasn’t light.

And she almost forgot they were in the middle of a crowd.

It had been a long four days.

“Good trip?” she asked when they’d finally pulled apart. There was some snickering among those in the crowd around them, but she ignored it. She and Mark had talked briefly on the phone a few times over the past few days, but that didn’t compare to having him there with her. It would take the earth opening beneath her feet to get her focus off him.

“Fruitful.” He snuck in one more kiss, his warm lips grazing the spot just in front of her ear, and he whispered, “I missed you.”

She melted a little. “I missed you too.”

The tour guides got everyone’s attention, and the group took off down the dark beach, the moon hidden by clouds. Andie and Mark hung back to bring up the rear. She put enough distance between them and everyone else so they could talk without being heard, then pulled a pair of night-vision goggles out of her bag and handed them to Mark. The guides had a couple of pairs to share with others in the group, but these were her private set.

There were also turtle-safe flashlights that had been passed around to at least half the members of the party, which meant the lights had red filters over the bulbs. Red light doesn’t confuse the turtles’ sense of direction the way the white light does.

Mark held the goggles up to his eyes. “These are amazing,” he whispered. “I feel like I’m spying on everyone.”

Andie laughed lightly as she walked by his side. She wanted to wrap her arm around his waist so they were touching, but she kept reminding herself that what they had was temporary. There was no purpose in acting like it was more. “You’re supposed to use them to look for turtles,” she told him.

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled. “That too, but is that your mother and aunt I see up at the front? They’re walking so close together they’re practically holding hands.”

“They seem to be making up for lost years,” Andie informed him. It was still odd, seeing the two women hitting it off so well. But after their talk the evening before, the new closeness between them was beginning to feel more natural. “I ended up spending Sunday with Mom,” she said. “And then she moved into the house.”

He pulled the glasses from his face and peered down at her. “She moved in?”

“Aunt Ginny invited her.”

“Wow,” he said. “Big strides. How did your day with her go?”

She nodded and slipped an arm through his, unable to help herself. “Really well, actually. She seems legit in saying she wants to have a relationship.” She shrugged. “We’re working through it. The three of us had another good talk last night.”