hauling herself up and out the window. Her heart was pounding with excitement as she landed on the soft grass. She’d made sure the coast was clear, checking on her sleeping parents before slipping away. They’d made it very clear they didn’t like her sneaking around and ignoring her curfew, but who cared? Ever since she and Dane had started dating, she wanted to be with him every second. And if it meant getting in trouble, again, he was worth it. No way would she let being grounded keep her from the party Dane was throwing for her birthday.
He’d told her to join him at midnight. Right on time, she jogged onto the beach, her flip-flops kicking up sand as she ran, heading toward the beacon of a roaring bonfire. Once she arrived, Dane pulled her into his embrace.
“Happy birthday.”
She threw her arms around his neck. “You are my hero.”
He grinned, a lock of his long hair falling into his eyes. “And the best boyfriend ever.”
“That, too.”
“C’mon.” He took her hand and led her toward the action. A group of girls, including her good friend Lilli, hugged her, giggling as they pointed to the boys gathered at the far side of the fire. Knowing the boys as she did, they were most likely up to no good.
“Are you sure this was a smart idea, Nealy?” Leave it to Lilli to voice a concern, always worried about getting into trouble. “When your parents find out you snuck off again, they’ll ground you forever.”
Nealy laughed. “It won’t be forever. Once I leave for college I can do whatever I want.”
“Like you don’t do whatever you want now?” Marianne, her friend from homeroom, snickered.
“Okay, so yeah, I might have gotten into trouble one too many times this summer.”
“Ya think? If you ever decide to go on out to the causeway late at night and get stuck in the mud, be sure to find another driver,” Marianne huffed. “My parents are still ticked at me.”
Dane swooped in behind Nealy, circling his arm around her waist to draw her close. “No talking about parents and trouble. Tonight is all about you. I have something planned you’ll never forget.”
“Really? What is it?”
He kissed the side of her neck. “Just wait and see.”
Even late at night, the sultry summer heat saturated the air, scented by the damp sand and burning logs. Sparks drifted from the fire, escaping into the star-filled night.
Nealy sighed. She’d never been this happy, or this in love, ever.
This year had been the worst. The more her parents had tried to convince her to go to a college that would ready her for law school, the more she’d refused. It seemed as if they’d always been at odds over this and would never be able to reach a middle ground. But this summer they’d hit the ultimate height in their disagreement. They didn’t get that pushing her to be an attorney, only made her push back, or rather, act out. She’d been unhappy until she met Dane.
As soon as Nealy started hanging out with him at work, she developed a crush on him. The night she’d decided to spray paint the pier and Dane showed up to help her, she lost her heart to him. Subsequently getting caught and grounded hadn’t kept her from him, which made her parents just that little bit crazier. Served them right for always bullying her to do what they thought was right, never caring about what she wanted. Once she left for college, and freedom, they’d lose the power to make her miserable.
“Ready?” Dane whispered in her ear.
“Are you kidding? I’ve been going nuts since you told me about this party.”
He looped his arm over her shoulders and pointed across the bonfire. “Watch the sky.”
She heard shouts. Suddenly a light flared, followed by a whizzing noise as a swirl of red, yellow, green and blue erupted in the darkness. Surprised gasps could be heard all around her. Before she knew it, another colorful burst of sparks shot into the sky, followed by another, then another.
“What do you think?”
Nealy crossed her hands over her heart. “You got me fireworks for my birthday?”
“Yep, since you light up my life.”
She snorted. “Lame.”
“But true.”
Her heart melted as another round of fireworks went off. “I love you,” she said. “More than anything.”
“I love you back.”
They stood side by side, lost in the wonder of being a couple and sharing this special moment. Nealy secretly wished it could last forever, but her hopes were quickly dashed as the familiar-sounding sirens rang in the distance. Before she knew it, she was running, had to before the police arrived. A stitch tweaked at her side and her breathing grew labored as she made her escape, but not badly enough to keep her from laughing.
Best. Birthday. Ever.
AFTER BEING AWAY from Cypress Pointe, Florida, for more years than she cared to count, Nealy Grainger expected to find more changes in her small hometown. Sure, a few new businesses had taken up residence on Main Street, but the familiar sights of Milly’s Gifts and Things, Rascal’s Candy Shoppe, Duke’s Grill, and Cuppa Joe, her grandmother’s coffee shop, remained the same. Maybe she expected more because her life had changed so much since she left. Shouldn’t everyone else’s life have changed, too?
Late-afternoon sunlight sparkled off store windows while tourists browsed from the sidewalk, some seeking protection under the store canopies to escape the afternoon heat. She drove the candy-apple-red rented convertible toward the north end of town, deeply inhaling the salty air as she cruised past the public beach, the location where countless days had been spent lounging in the sun, splashing in the waves and hanging out at late-night bonfires.
From the radio, Trisha Yearwood’s lyrical voice crooned a soulful melody about driving past an old boyfriend’s house after many years away.
Nealy snorted.
Yes, it had been years since she’d been home, but the old boyfriend part? The term boyfriend, even if she had considered him a quote-unquote boyfriend, would have been used quite loosely. What they’d had was intense, quick and forever burned upon her heart. Boyfriend? No. They’d fast-forwarded through that phase and went straight to the altar. Husband? Yes, with a capital H.
Actually, ex-husband was a more accurate description.
Her cell phone rang to the tune of “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” a peppy Beach Boys song she’d come to love since living in California. She snatched up the phone and noted the caller ID. Her boss’s number. If she was calling, it meant some kind of drama had transpired. Nealy had had everything in order before leaving. As executive assistant to the party planner of the celebrities, every detail must be perfect. Expensively perfect.
“Hi, Crystal. Is everything all right?” she asked while silently praying she hadn’t forgotten anything.
“Mr. Taylor wants the color scheme changed.”
“Now? The party is Friday night.” She’d checkmarked each detail with the man weeks ago, from the monogrammed napkins to the rented crystal chandelier he insisted on dangling from a tree on his oceanfront property.
“His astrologist says blue is not a good color for him this month. She insists he should focus on red.”
Nealy worked for Milestones by Crystal, a much sought-after event planning company in Los Angeles. They had three huge parties booked for the upcoming weekend and even though she’d put her vacation request in weeks ago, her boss didn’t let the pesky little inconvenience of Nealy being out of town stop her from calling.
“Can’t