“I promised Annie we could hunt for gold and ghosts,” Jo said.
“I don’t mind.” Annie settled onto the end of Kat’s lounger with her cardboard container of chicken nuggets. She began meticulously squeezing the ketchup out of a pile of tiny packets into the empty compartment of the container, but her eyes remained glued on Nico. “We can go on our adventure after. I want to watch the game.”
“Are you sure?” Jo asked.
“Mmhmm. Didn’t you need to take pictures of the band? This is a way better view than over there.” Annie dunked a chicken nugget in the ketchup and ripped off a large bite with her teeth, smiling around the mouthful before chewing.
“If you’re sure it’s okay,” Jo said to Derek.
But he had already pulled over another lounge chair. Jo sat on the lounger, kicking her feet up as she settled back with her foil-wrapped taco. The sarong tied around her waist slipped open, long lines of tan skin from her toes to the tops of her thighs taunting him.
Oblivious to his fixation on her bare legs, she bit into her taco, groaning around her first bite. “You don’t know what you’re missing, kid,” she said to Annie, gesturing with her taco.
“I like my chicken nuggets.”
“Want a bite?” Jo held out the foil packet towards Derek.
Yes. He did. He very much wanted a bite. He wanted to sink his teeth into her thigh, drag his tongue along the crease where her leg met her hip, and—
Jesus Christ, your daughter is here. Get it together.
“No, thank you,” he said.
A whistle sounded at the edge of the volleyball court. Derek was fairly certain the referee was one of the Hotel Bellwether’s lifeguards, but he was also confident no one particularly cared about the outcome of the volleyball tournament. It was an excuse to get all the celebrities in bathing suits and have them jump around on the beach for a few hours to entertain the guests.
“Is it over?” Jo asked, reaching for her phone.
“One more set,” Kat replied.
“Princess Annie, did you come to cheer us on?” Nico said as he and his bandmates ambled off the court towards their little group.
“Uh huh! Is it working?” she asked.
“I think it might start working now,” Nico said with a wink as he swiped one of her chicken nuggets, popping the whole thing in his mouth in one bite.
“That’s good. You guys areterrible,” Annie said. Derek choked on a bite of his taco at his daughter’s blunt reply. “What? It’s true.”
Zach appeared next, helping himself to the chips and salsa and slinging an arm around Nico’s shoulder. “Nico and I were thinking we should go to that dance party thing tonight.”
Derek frowned, reaching for his phone. “That’s not on your schedule.”
“It’s for the fans,” Nico said. “But we thought it would be fun if we showed up unannounced. Build some buzz for tomorrow night’s concert.”
“No. No unscheduled dance parties,” Derek said, scrolling through the NostalgiCon official schedule to try to find exactly what the guys were talking about.
“Relax, Derek. It’s the family-friendly party, right?” Kat asked.
“The one and only,” Zach said. “And, if I remember correctly, the poster promised milkshakes and donuts.”
“Since when do you eat donuts?” Beckett grumbled as he joined their group, his gait off as he favored his right knee on the uneven terrain. At the edge of the court, Jackson and Logan were locked deep in conversation, the expression on their faces setting Derek’s nerves on edge.
“We don’t all want to live a life without sugar,” Kat said before biting into her taco. Beckett grunted in reply, looking away.
“Can I go?” Annie asked.
“I can take her,” Kat offered before Derek could respond. With a pointed glare in Beckett’s direction, she added, “I love milkshakes and donuts.”
“Everyone loves donuts,” Zach said.