Moon Shell Beach: A Novel by Nancy Thayer Read Free Book Online

tonight is your choice. The door between us stays locked, or you can open it. It’s up to you.”
    “Well, okay…”
    “See you in the morning.”
    Ed walked away, down the corridor to his own room. As he did, Lexi experienced an unexpected twinge of disappointment. A sense of loss, almost.
    In her bedroom, she crossed to stand in front of the full-length mirror. She had twisted her blond hair into a simple, classic chignon. Her makeup was only a touch of lipstick, but her cheeks were rosy from the champagne. She was sleek and slim and, yes, she was elegant, standing there in the black dress and high heels.
    And she was glowing. From champagne, or nervousness, whatever—she was glowing.
    And now she thought: why
shouldn’t
she sleep with him? Probably she would never see him again in her entire life. Or perhaps next summer she would see him, and she would be waitressing at La Maison, and he would be courting and seducing another, younger waitress, and Lexi would be cast aside just like Clare predicted.
    But next summer was far away. And until this trip, she had been feeling so lonely. Her brother was in school in Boston, her parents were in the process of closing their store, and most of her friends were back at college. She was young, after all; why shouldn’t she be foolish while she was young? Why shouldn’t she have a night of frivolous sexual passion with a wealthy, fascinating man?
    She rechecked her image in the mirror. Should she change into her sexy little nightie? No. No, if she didn’t unlock that door right this very minute, she’d have second thoughts and freeze up with terror. She looked as good as she was going to, and so she took a deep breath, and she unlocked the adjoining door.
    Ed was standing by his bed. He was just removing his dinner jacket. His white shirt gleamed like snow. “Well, hello.”
    She crossed over the threshold into his room. “I thought…” Suddenly she was trembling. She’d had sex with boys before—with
boys,
inexperienced, clumsy boys. She clenched her fists and struggled to remain dignified. “I thought I’d like to go to bed with you.”
    “Did you, now.” Ed’s face softened. “I was rather hoping you’d decide that.”
    She walked toward him slowly. She could feel her thighs brushing the silk of her dress. “Do you—Would you like me to undress?”
    He pulled her to him in a gentle hug. “Lexi.” He kissed her face and ran his hands down her arms. “Yes, Lexi, I’d like you to undress. But first, I’d like you to sit down. Here.” He gestured to one of the chairs in the sitting area of his room.
    Puzzled, she obeyed. Ed sat next to her. He studied her for a moment. “You really are lovely.”
    Her throat was so dry she was afraid to respond.
    “Lexi,” Ed said, “what would you think about marrying me?” And from his pocket he brought out a small black velvet box holding a large emerald-cut diamond ring.
             

    Clare was nearly
shaking with anger. It was very early Sunday morning, a muggy hot morning in early September. “I can’t believe you made me come out to Moon Shell Beach to tell me this!”
    Lexi hugged herself defensively. “We agreed we’d tell each other the important things here!”
    Clare stamped her foot. “You’ll never forgive me for not telling you the
moment
after I first slept with Jesse, will you?”
    Lexi kicked off her thongs and drew a design in the sand with her toe as she gathered her thoughts. After a moment, she said, “Clare, this isn’t about you and Jesse. This is about you and me. Our friendship. I thought it was special.”
    “It
is.
” Clare held out her hands. “I love you, Lex, you know that. You’ll always be my best friend. And we always knew we’d fall in love—it’s part of growing up.”
    “So, that’s why I asked you here to meet me. So I could tell you I’m going to marry Ed Hardin.”
    Clare protested, “But Lexi, he’s a
horrible
man! What kind of woman have you become