After a while, Emma looked up again and caught Brandon watching her. She raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
He gave her a small smile and shook his head. "Nothing."
She held his gaze for another moment before turning back to her plate, but the faint smile on her lips remained.
After lunch, everyone headed down to the beach. The pups ran toward the sand as soon as their shoes were off, with the adults following more slowly behind them. Elara called after them, "Don't go too far!"
Bryan turned around long enough to answer, "We won't!" before returning to the others.
The pups gathered their buckets and shovels and began building a sandcastle together. Bryan carefully packed wet sand into a bucket while Zoey decorated the top with seashells. Nearby, the maids kept a quiet watch, staying close enough to step in if the pups needed help.
Charlotte handed Zoey another shell. "Put this here." Zoey placed it crookedly on top and smiled. "Perfect."
