Jake was such a flirt, I thought while he kissed me. Hearing the sizzling sounds of the sausage cooking made me break off the kiss.

"That's one kiss!" I said while smiling. "You can get the butter and syrup. Put them out on the table for everyone."

He groaned and let go of me. "Yes ma'am!" he said with a salute and went to the fridge.

I laughed as I opened the waffle iron to pour in the batter. Soon the food was all ready and everyone sat down to eat.

"So Jake, what did you have planned for Delphine today?" Wyatt asked him.

"I'm thinking of taking them to Folly Beach. It's warm today so it should be perfect!"

Lexine's eyes got big at the word beach and even I got excited. "We haven't been to the beach since California!" I said.

"Then it's settled!" Jake said with a wink at me then Lexine. It made her giggle. I giggled too. Wyatt and Brady smiled indulgently at us.

"Who knew that giggles were so nice to hear all the time?" Brady said. Wyatt agreed.

We finished eating breakfast and the guys cleaned up the kitchen as usual. I went upstairs with Lexine to grab some things for today at the beach. We packed a tote bag with sunblock, flip flops and a couple of towels. I also grabbed some lightweight jackets in case there was a cool breeze later. I switched purses to a crossbody and we took all that downstairs.

"There's my girls!" Jake exclaimed when we got back to the living room. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, we are Jake!" I said smiling at him. Lexine ran over to him and tugged on his hand. He laughed and picked her up. Brady and Wyatt came out of the kitchen. I went over to them and gave them both a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Have fun today!" Brady said after kissing my cheek back.

"Don't forget, it's my turn tomorrow." Wyatt whispered in my ear and ran his hand down my hair. I smiled and poked him on the chest. "Don't worry, I won't."

"OK, lets get going!" Jake said enthusiastically.

"Oh, wait! One more thing! I'll be right back." I said and ran into the kitchen. I had a Ziplock bag in my hand when I came back out.

"What is that for?" asked Jake with a puzzled look.

"Obviously you have never been to the beach with a little girl. Shells of course!" I said laughing.

"Oh, I forgot how you are always a prepared mom! That's a good idea."

I grabbed our tote and jackets and we headed out the front door to the family car. I remembered that it was only days ago when Jake took us to the grocery store in this car and had to smile at the memory.

"What put that pretty smile on your face?" asked Jake as he backed the car up.

"I was just remembering the day you took us to the store in this car. It seems longer than just days."

"That really wasn't that long ago was it? Wait, longer than just days? Is that good or bad."

"Good of course! It feels like I have known you guys for longer than about a week."

He pulled up to a stoplight, reached out his hand to my face and caressed my cheek. "When you feel like you've known someone longer than you have, it's because you are comfortable and happy with them. Like we are a family. I just know that all of us feel like that too. I remember the first time I saw you at Bob's Diner. Sitting in the booth with Brady, looking so lost and shy." Directing his voice towards the backseat he continued. "Then later a little head pops up from under the table and I saw the cutest little girl ever!" Lexine giggled.

I smiled at Jake loving how he just included my girl in our conversation. I fell a little in love with him right then. I really wanted to kiss him, but that would have to wait until later. The rest of the car ride went fast while we chatted about various things.

"How about we walk around for a bit looking at shops and things and then have a nice lunch? After that we can hit the beach and do some fun things there." Jake asked me.

"That sounds good!" I answered.

Jake found a parking spot and I left the tote and jackets in the car for now. Jake got Lexine out of the backseat and he came over to hold my hand while he carried her. We walked for about a block before going into a store filled with nautical things. We browsed around and looked at the glass floats in pretty colors of green and blue. We walked out and at the end of the block there was golf cart rental place. I couldn't help but stare at them.

"You know what? That's probably a good idea to look around town without the car and us getting too tired from walking." Jake said and went to the office. Within minutes he had the keys to one and told us to hop on. I was excited!

"I've never been on a golf cart before!"

"What! A California girl like you has never been golfing?"

"Uh, no. Any sport involving any size ball does not go well for me. I end up getting hurt."

"That's not good! I'll keep you away from playing any sports like that then."

Jake got behind the wheel with Lexine sitting between us on the bench seat. We drove around a few blocks and got out to explore a new block of shops. One of the gift shops had a beautiful beach glass mosaic in a circle about 12 inches big. It was done in various shades of blue and I couldn't keep my eyes from going back to it. Jake picked it up and said, "We are getting this for you." I opened my mouth to object and he just kissed me and of course that shut me up. I had to laugh. He was going to use any excuse to kiss me!

Noticing that Lexine had her eye on a stuffed seagull, he grabbed that as well and headed to the counter. He had them wrap up the mosaic with bubble wrap then placed in a box. The stuffed seagull he handed to Lexine after having them cut the tag off. She grinned and hugged it tight to her.

"Those things are rats with wings! But if it makes her happy..." he whispered to me. I nodded my agreement. They are aggressive scavengers all along the coast. Pulling out my phone I took a picture of a happy Lexine hugging her seagull and sent the pic to the rest of the guys. They responded with comments of how cute she was.

We continued to drive around in the cart and seeing what the small coastal town had to offer. It was a lovely place and it was a nice day to visit it. Eventually we got hungry and Jake asked me if I like seafood.

"I love it! I haven't had much since we left the west coast. Texas wasn't so big on it." I said to him.

"Good! I have the perfect place."

We drove up to a place with the sign proclaiming, "Folly Beach Crab Shack". The back seat of the golf cart lifted up into a trunk and that's where Jake put my mosaic in and locked it. Lexine wanted to keep the seagull with her and I told it her was fine. He picked her up and put his arm around me and we went inside the restuarant.
The hostess greeted us and showed us to a table. Lexine and I took one side and Jake sat on the other side across from me. Menus were handed to us with a kid's menu and crayons for Lexine. She wasn't in the mood for seafood so she wanted the corndog and fries. I opened my menu and looked at the items listed. I was having a hard time deciding.
"What are you getting Jake?"
"I'm thinking of maybe a steamed bucket of crab and shrimp. What about you?"
"What you are getting sounds good."
"Lets get the extra large bucket of that and share it ok?"
"Yes, I'd like that." I smiled at him and thought it would be nice to share a meal like a real couple would do.
Our server came by to take our order of drinks and food. I got a lemonade for Lexine and a Dr. Pepper for me and Jake ordered one too.
"So we seem to have the same taste! Or maybe you are just copying me." Jake accused me playfully.
"I ordered my drink first so maybe you are copying me! I said trying to keep a stern look on my face.
"Maybe we should just chalk it up to us both having great taste." suggested Jake.
"Ok, maybe we should." I agreed with a smile.
"So Lexine, does that seagull have a name yet?" Jake asked her.
She pulled me over to whisper in my ear, "I named him Scuttle. Like the Little Mermaid." That was one of our favorite movies.
"She named him Scuttle, like in the Disney movie." I told Jake.
"I like The Little Mermaid too!" Jake said with a grin.
Lexine giggled and picked up her fork and pretended to brush her hair with it. Jake and I had to laugh at that. Our server came by with our drinks and told us that the food should be out soon. I looked at Jake and started to slide my hand across the table to hold his but then felt shy and hesistated. He reached out and grabbed my hand before I could pull it back.
"You can always hold hands with me." he said to me with a smile. "Did your husband not like holding hands with you?"
"He didn't really like physical affection too much." I told him.
"Well, I am the opposite. The rest of the guys are too. If you want to hold hands just grab ours and we won't have a problem with it. If you want a kiss, just grab us and plant one. If you want to have your wicked way with me, just go ahead and do what you want. I promise not to complain!" he said with a wicked grin.
He knew just how to make me laugh!