Jules knew that Rob Dixon Sr., a judge in the area, was now spending the rest of his life behind bars.
After the case went public, there had been a lot of changes in the local government. More than five county commissioners had been exposed for taking bribes and embezzling. They had been caught writing checks to friends or family members and then getting paybacks. The good ol’ boys, as the five had been dubbed, were no longer in charge, and four of them were rotting in cells along with Rob Dixon Sr. The fifth had committed suicide after the story had broken, leaving behind his wife, three children, two mistresses, and a pile of debt for his family.
Shortly after all this went down, the town voted in a more diverse set of commissioners, both in gender and race.
“And you are no longer paying attention,” Lea joked as she poked Jules’s arm.
“Sorry.” She laughed. “Okay, so, how many bridesmaids again?”
Lea shrugged. “Two. Only two. We don’t want anything as extravagant as the last weddings.”
“Right.” Jules nodded, thinking back to Aiden and Aubrey’s perfect wedding. “There have been some pretty amazing ones in the past few years. Are you going to have it at the camp?”
“No, Brett wants it on the beach.”
“The beach at the camp is nice,” Jules offered, making Lea laugh.
“That’s what I said. But he’s leaning more towards Destin so a lot of the on-duty officers can swing by. We’re thinking of having the reception in the Grand. Owen says he can arrange for us to get a deal, since he owns the building.” She rolled her eyes.
“Right, they just purchased that a few months ago.” Jules glanced over to where the three Costa brothers were wrestling for the football. Two of them were holding the other down. At this distance, with all of their dark hair wet, it was hard to distinguish who was who. Especially since they were all very tall, tan, and quite muscular, more so than most of the men around them. With the exception of Damion, of course.
Jules’s eyes moved to Damion, and she watched him laughing and catching the football that one of the Costas had thrown.
Just the way he moved had her mouth watering. Remembering what the kiss last night had done to her, what it had awakened in her, had her knees going weak again.
“Oh!” Lea said suddenly, getting Jules’s attention.
“What?” Jules instantly looked around the water for a shark.
“You got it bad.” Lea poked her again. “I see you looking at Damion.” Lea’s eyes narrowed. “Has he finally made his move on you?”
“What?” Jules’s face heated, and she wished she wasn’t wearing makeup so she could dunk her entire head under the water. “No,” she lied.
Lea’s eyes narrowed slightly, and she tilted her head. “I’m a doctor. I know the signs of someone lying to me.” She moved closer. “Tell me everything.” Then her chin rose. “There is such a thing as patient-doctor confidentiality.”
Jules smiled. “You’re not my doctor.”
“But I am your friend. So, spill,” Lea retorted.
Jules glanced over to where Damion was now wrestling Brett for the ball. She remembered how she had begged for details when Brett had made his move on Lea, how she’d been there for Lea when she needed help after the attack, and softened.
“He kissed me last night,” she said quietly. “Just a kiss but…” She took a deep breath.
“Need me to restart your heart with some paddles?” Lea joked.
“If you had been there, yes. It took me two hours to fall asleep last night.”
Lea laughed. “You know he’s been crushing on you for years, right?”
“No.” Jules shook her head. “No, he hasn’t.” She shook her head again. “He has?”
Lea just laughed and then the conversation changed when Zoey asked them to play volleyball with the rest of the gang.
They took a break for lunch and ate a variety of wonderful sandwiches and snacks that Isaac had made in the full kitchen below deck. She and Damion, along with Dylan and Zoey, sat off the back of the sailboat and ate while dangling their feet into the water.
After lunch, she went with Elle, Hannah, Lea, and Scarlett as they weaved around the floating boats, making a point to not trip over any anchors. They crossed the shallow waters and waded through the crowd of people to use the porta potties on a floating barge.
When they returned, Levi, Brett, Owen, Dylan, and Aiden were pushing and shoving a group of overweight, exceedingly intoxicated men while Liam and the rest of the men were either standing in front of Damion or holding him upright.