Chapter 127: Madeline
I’m standing by the bar with Finn, and I can’t stop smiling. The lights, the crowd, the way the air feels charged with laughter and warmth—it’s perfect.
Finn leans against the counter, grinning at me like a proud brother. “Can’t believe you actually kept them away until seven. I thought for sure they’d catch on.”
I laugh, trying to hide how flustered I still am from earlier. “Barely,” I admit, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “We just… spent more time at the beach.”
He narrows his eyes, clearly catching something in my tone, but before he can tease me, someone shouts his name from across the room and he’s gone, swallowed by the crowd.
Charlie and Liam appear a second later, both flushed from excitement, grinning from ear to ear. I immediately wrap my arms around them. “This is so beautiful,” I say into Charlie’s shoulder, pulling back to look around again.
It really is.
I’d never been inside the Seafoam before tonight. From the outside, it always looked a little rough around the edges—old paint, fogged windows—but inside? It’s warm and glowing. Wooden tables and benches everywhere, the kind that look like they’ve been here forever. The bar runs almost the whole length of the room, solid oak polished to a shine. Fairy lights are strung across the rafters, twinkling over clusters of blue balloons—deep navy, sky blue, seafoam, all the colors of the ocean. Someone’s even arranged shells and bits of driftwood on the tables.
It feels like home, in a way. Like Northhaven distilled into one glowing heartbeat.
I turn to Charlie again, still taking it all in. “How did you get all these people here?”
She smirks, already proud of herself. “Easy. Sloane and I told the gossip crew at the bakery and the harbor café.”
“The gossip crew?” I repeat, laughing.
Charlie nods, dead serious. “Oh yeah. Those old ladies are faster than the damn internet. Once they found out it was for the twins, it spread like wildfire. Then I called a few of Reid and Jake’s friends to see if they’d drive down for the weekend, and…” She gestures to the packed room. “Voilà.”
I can’t help but laugh, shaking my head. “You’re a menace.”
“I know,” she says, grinning wider. “But I’m a useful menace.”
She’s not wrong.
I glance across the room and spot them—Reid and Jake—both surrounded by a group of guys roughly their age. Old friends, probably. They’re clapping backs, laughing, that kind of easy camaraderie that looks so natural on them. They look… happy. Really happy.
And I should be happy too. I mean, I am.
But my mind keeps circling back—to the kiss Reid pressed to Charlie’s head, the easy way she said you love me, the way his smile softened when he looked at her.
I force myself to look away, to focus on the rest of the room, the music, the laughter, anything else.
“Hey,” Liam says beside me, putting a glass of dark liquid in my hand. “You did good, Mads.”
I smile, lifting my glass back. “We all did.”
And it’s true.
Even with that small ache deep down, watching Reid and Jake surrounded by people who clearly adore them, it feels good to have helped make tonight happen.
And then, just like that, the night really begins.
Music starts—something upbeat and old, the kind everyone seems to know—and a cheer erupts through the room. Glasses clink, voices rise, and suddenly the Seafoam Bar is alive. The kind of alive that hums through your bones. Fairy lights flicker like fireflies, the floor trembles under the beat, and the smell of salt, beer, and laughter fills the air.
I follow Liam through the crowd, weaving between tables and shoulders, trying not to spill the drink he just pressed into my hand. The noise is dizzying, but in the best way. Everyone’s smiling, everyone’s celebrating, and for a second, I forget that I’m supposed to be nervous around crowds.
We’re halfway through the sea of people when someone calls out—“Yooo, Liam!”—and a guy I’ve never seen before steps in front of us. They clasp hands, pulling each other into a half-hug, half-back-slap that looks like muscle memory.
The guy grins, eyes bright and mischievous, and then he looks at me. Over Liam’s shoulder first, then directly, his gaze scanning me in a way that makes my skin tighten. “And who’s this?” he asks, voice smooth, too casual. “Haven’t seen you around before.”
I force a polite smile. “I’ve never seen you either.”
Liam snorts, already laughing. “This idiot was a deckhand on one of the fishing boats last year,” he explains to me. “Didn’t come back this season.”
The guy’s grin widens. “Clearly, I should’ve.”
My stomach flips, not the good kind. His eyes linger just a beat too long, and I feel my cheeks heat. Before I can even think of a way to deflect, Liam’s arm slides around my shoulders, easy but firm, pulling me closer to his side.
“No way, man,” Liam says, his tone light but his message not. “Not her.”
The guy raises both hands in mock surrender, still smirking. “Alright, alright. Didn’t know she was taken.”
“I’m not—” I start, but he just winks and says, “See you later,” before disappearing back into the crowd.
I exhale a shaky breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
“Thanks,” I mutter, looking up at Liam. “Seriously. That was… uncomfortable.”
He grins, eyes warm but protective. “No problem, Mads. Some of these guys think a smile’s an invitation.”
I huff out a quiet laugh. “You think?”
He laughs too but doesn’t move his arm, keeping it draped over my shoulders as he steers us through the chaos again. It’s not possessive, just… steadying. Like an anchor.
We find a bench tucked against the wall, half-hidden by the crowd. He lets me sit first, then drops down beside me, his arm still resting along the back of the bench, fingertips brushing my shoulder.
From here, I can see everything—the bar, the crowd, the glow of the lights—and in the center of it all, Reid and Jake.
They look good here. Like they belong.
And even though the air’s thick and loud, and my heart’s still beating faster than it should, I can’t help but think—
this night is only just getting started.