“Have you met someone?”
Nio laughed, but Becca’s face swam up in his mind. “You’ll be the first to know. And isn’t that Casey I hear crying?”
“Ha. Nicely played, but isn’t that the ocean I hear in the background? Where are you? Costa Rica? French Riviera?”
He held the phone out so she could hear it better. “Laguna.”
She exhaled deeply. “Really? Oh. Thank God. I feel so much better. At least you haven’t left the continent. So you’re with your dad?”
“And the guys. And I have a wedding. Not mine,” he added quickly to head off any misunderstandings.
“Sounds like a full week.”
“Something like that.”
She laughed. “Okay. Tell them all hello for me. But don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, boss.”
“That kinda gives me a wide berth, doesn’t it?”
“That was the old me,” Eliza admitted, with a smile he could hear. “The new me is wearing holey yoga pants and singing lullabies at three a.m.”
“In that case, I make no promises. But I will say hi to everyone for you.”
Nio hung up and stared off at the vast Pacific. Turbulent and unpredictable, the ocean here reminded him of how far he’d come, how many shifts his life had taken since he’d left this place. He hadn’t been a monk the last ten years, but none of the women who’d come and gone in his life had held his attention for long. Only one woman had done that and she’d cast a long shadow over those others.
When he’d heard about her father’s arrest, he was deep into Trey and the others’ recovery at his home, but he’d sent her a note, asking if he could call her or come to see her. To let him finally explain what had happened.
He’d never heard back.
He’d known fixing what had happened so long ago wouldn’t be easy. But he’d hoped she’d at least hear him out. A few months later, with a minimum of investigation, his brother the P.I. had uncovered her apparently serious relationship with Whaley. And Nio had been forced to accept her decision to ignore him. Because, damn, if she really had found happiness, even with someone else, who was he to interfere?
But now, all that had changed. And it was time to find out, once and for all, if they still had a chance.
Chapter Three
Gaslit tiki torches illuminated the patio overlooking the beach at The Inn at Laguna Beach, the hotel that had been reserved for Lilah and Graham’s rehearsal dinner. Centerpieces of white roses and hydrangeas adorned each circular table and, by the time Becca and Steven arrived—a little late—almost everyone was already there. Guests mingled with drinks in hand under the stars to the sound of the ocean just beyond the balcony. A guitarist played in one corner and caterers were circulating with trays, offering food that was being consumed before it could even reach the other side of the patio.
Lilah Pratt had grown up here in Laguna and gone to the same private schools Becca had. Her parents had spared no expense for this extravaganza and tomorrow night promised to be a wedding to remember.
While Becca and Steven had agreed, for the sake of their friends, to pretend that all was well, they’d arrived separately but walked in together. He’d insisted they’d leave the same way. For appearances’ sake. And maybe he’d pick up some more of his things afterward. But underneath his easy smile with everyone else, his coolness to her, his avoidance of eye contact, stung.
She wanted to hate him, but all she really felt, standing close to him now, was numb. After the initial shock, she realized she was not devastated. Not even heartbroken. Relieved. Like when that gut wrench you’ve ignored for months suddenly goes away and you know you somehow dodged a bullet. Apparently, he’d had his own gut-check. Did that mean they’d never really loved each other?
He’d started drinking early today with the boys. Tonight was going to be awful. Tomorrow—even worse. She looked down at the way-too-expensive cocktail dress she’d bought for the occasion. What a waste of a perfectly good dress. Not to mention two perfectly good years of her life.
Why had she agreed to this craziness?
Steven leaned close to her ear as they entered the room. “I’m going to find the bar. Want something?”
“A thousand times, yes,” she said, sending him an insincere smile as he disappeared into the deck full of guests.
Becca surveyed the crowd and immediately spotted Lana and her date, Devin Bradley, a tall, good-looking surfer/day trader who reminded Becca of Liam Hemsworth, only smaller. She started toward them, but Molly and Cameron Walsh intercepted her. Molly, whom Becca had known since high school, was also standing up for Lilah and looked positively radiant beside her handsome husband. They were Nio’s age, both a little older than Becca, but that had never mattered much.
“Becca! Finally. We were just talking about you. You look gorgeous, as always,” Molly said, giving her a warm cheek peck.
“Aw. Speaking of gorgeous, you both look amazing and so…happy. How’s Amelia?”
Cameron grinned. “She’s just turned two and she’s into everything. Totally keeps us running.” He laughed, his dark eyes twinkling. “But she is a bit of a drama queen.”
“Well, of course, she takes after her daddy,” Molly whispered, pulling her husband—who’d once been a child actor—in for a quick kiss.
“Hey,” he objected with a laugh.
“—her daddy who’s mad for her,” Molly continued. “She feels exactly the same. Sometimes, I have to raise my hand and say ‘Mommy, here!’ But honestly, she’s just so much fun at this age.”
Becca felt a twinge of jealousy at how settled they both seemed, but seeing them so happy, she couldn’t help but be happy for them. The longing she felt for a child of her own would probably remain just that—a longing—as she felt her mommy window shrinking, especially after Steven’s defection.
“So, how’s the Montage working with Amelia’s schedule?” Becca asked, grabbing an hors d’oeuvre as a tray passed her—a balsamic-drizzled, blue cheese and steak crostini. “That must be hard, huh?” Molly had worked the front desk there for a couple of years now and loved her job.
“Not really. They’re awesome to me. They’ve been really flexible when I needed it. You and Steven should come and book a room. I’ve got some juice there and I’ll totally hook you two up.”
Becca choked on her crostini. “Right. We’ll definitely keep that in mind.”
“Hey,” Molly said. “I’ve been meaning to tell you, you know the Montage has made the Laguna Canyon Animal Shelter one of its outreaches. And I heard you were doing some volunteer photography work for them and that the adoption rate results have been amazing.”
She nodded, surprised Molly knew this as it was something she rarely talked about. For the past year, she’d been taking “I’m super adorable, so please adopt me” shots of the dogs and cats to boost their online profiles on the shelter website. “That’s how I met my dog, Milo,” she admitted, recalling seeing him behind the fence of his kennel that first time. “I was a goner for his little lopsided smile. I’m not sure what I did without him. He’s my little shadow these days, but I left him with my mom tonight.”
Molly laughed. “Aww. I think when Amelia turns three, we’ll do the same. But meanwhile, if there’s anything we at the hotel can do, anything at all, let me know. Maybe we can post a couple of photos on our website weekly? Or sponsor some pet grooming?”
Her mind raced with possibilities. “That would be amazing.”
The bride-to-be appeared beside her, squeezing her with a hug. “Hey! You made it! So glad you’re here.” Lilah beamed at her. “Love your dress. That blue is perfection on you.” She glanced around. “Where’s Steven?”
“Thanks. Um…he’s in search of fermented sustenance,” Becca answered, hoping the bar line was long and slow moving. In the next moment, her covert search of the crowd yielded the man she was actually looking for. Standing at the glass fencing overlooking the ocean. Her heartbeat stuttered. He looked…ridiculously hot. Damn
him.
“Twenty-two hours and counting. Can you believe it? Tomorrow I’ll officially be a married lady,” said Lilah.
Becca tried for a bright smile. “I can’t wait, Lilah. Are you all set? Is there anything you need?”
“I don’t think so. But you’re coming with us tomorrow to the salon to get our hair and makeup done, right? And Steven’s going with the boys to the barbershop?”
Becca shook her head. “He is, I think, but unfortunately this girl’s gotta work.” Plus, she couldn’t really afford that elegant salon.
“Bob won’t let you off?” Lilah tsked. “You’d think someone who could actually afford one of those yachts you sell could afford to wait a day or two in the case of your dear friends’ wedding.”
“Nope,” Becca said. “Besides, one of them scheduled a marine survey tomorrow and I have to ride along. Some corporate bigwig from up north who purchased a yacht.” And for some reason, gave her credit for the sale.
“A Marine survey? I sure hope that’s taking place at Camp Pendleton,” the bride-to-be said with a wink.
Becca laughed. A survey of oh-so-hot Marines at the nearby base sounded a whole lot more fun than the mechanical yacht inspection she had scheduled. “If only. This is more of a ‘let’s make sure this yacht isn’t going to sink in the middle of the channel’ kind of thing. I have to go. You know…” She made a face, air quoting her boss. “‘Yachts don’t just sell themselves.’ But I’ll be with you ladies in spirit.”
“Well, that’s just terrible.”
“What is?” Lilah’s fiancé, Graham Traynor asked as he joined them with a wink. “Don’t tell me we chose the wrong napkin color?”
Like Steven, Graham looked a little sunburned from his time on the boat they’d taken out of Dana Point this afternoon. Steven and a few others had gone with him, but he’d said little to her about the trip. Now she studied Graham’s eyes for signs that Steven had confided in him about their breakup. But clearly, he hadn’t.
Lilah punched her fiancé playfully. “The napkins are perfect. But Becca can’t come to the girls’ stuff tomorrow. Her boss is making her work.”
Becca took a deep breath as a few heads turned her way. Most here knew the sordid history of the Howard family and knew how drastically life had changed for her. Rather, how life had become…unrecognizable after her father’s abrupt but slow-motion fall from grace. Two and half years of innuendo, indictments and ultimately his surreal corruption convictions. The terrible, telling atrophy of long-term ‘friendships;’ her mother being forced to resign from charity and hospital boards she’d been on for years; the money, the house, the cars all gone to the lawyers. And finally, the last irreconcilable blow, her father’s suicide, one day before his sentencing hearing this past June. He’d been, her mother had said, too proud to face that.
Oh, yes, the Howards were rife with scandal in Laguna but she’d tried hard to put all that behind her. She had sworn off social media and hadn’t gotten near a local paper for more than a year. She would have left Laguna altogether if not for her mother, who clung to the beach town like it was a life preserver, despite its abject rejection of her. Like Becca—with Lilah, Lana and Molly—her mother had a few friends here who’d stayed true through it all. And that was enough.
It seemed like needing a job at the local yacht sales office wasn’t really much of a sacrifice at all, in Becca’s opinion. Even if she had to work weekends. She liked working, earning her own money, being self-sustaining.
“Anyway, I’ll be off in plenty of time for the last-minute wedding stuff. Don’t worry.”
“You’d better be there,” Lilah teased. “Now relax and enjoy the party. Come and meet my soon-to-be in-laws. By the way, have you two set a date yet?”
Becca shoved down the lump that rose in her throat. “Um, not yet.”
“Hurry up, girl!” Lilah said, smiling. “I already know what I’m getting you as a wedding gift.”
“Oh, really, no need to think about that yet.” Or ever.
“No time like the present. You two will love it.” She followed Becca’s gaze over to the man at the rail. “Oh, and don’t look now, but that gorgeous guy standing by the railing over there? That’s Nio Reyes.” She pointed to the figure with his back to the party. “I know, right? I would have warned you, but we weren’t sure he would even come, after all these years. Wow. Just look at him now.”
She was. She already had. Tall, handsome and impeccably dressed. And, shockingly, alone. At that very moment, he turned his head, his focus lasering in on her as well.
“Uh-huh. Go on,” Lilah told her. “Just get it over with. You know you want to.”
“I definitely do not,” she muttered mostly to herself. He was wearing a surprisingly expensive-looking suit, appearing every bit as hot as he had in a wet suit. Minus the half-nakedness.
Help me.
Becca’s cheeks flushed hotly at his intent look and she nearly stumbled into Lilah as the bride-to-be stopped to say hello to someone. Looking around for an escape, she realized there would be none now. He’d spotted her. Sooner or later, she’d have to talk to him.
With Lilah distracted, Becca tipped her chin up and walked over to Nio. No rush. Just a slow saunter in his direction.
“Hi, Bec,” he said, straightening.
“Nio.” She swallowed thickly. “Can’t say you didn’t warn me.”
That look that used to come over him, the one that said he found her fascinating, stole over his expression just then. It was only in that moment that she realized Steven had never once looked at her that way.
“You look great, Bec. Really great.”
“So do you,” she admitted reluctantly, eyeing his suit that must have cost him a few months’ salary. She had no idea what he’d become. A banker? Maybe even a professional surfer? She had deliberately stayed uninformed about Nio over the years. She resisted looking him up or asking friends, though she knew some of them had kept in touch with him. Pro surfer wouldn’t really surprise her, considering what she’d seen this morning. “Been a long time.”
“Too long.”
A scent that was purely Nio brushed up against her, nearly causing her to sway in his direction. Not cologne. He still didn’t wear that, but soap-and-water freshness and some indefinable scent that belonged only to him. That scent conjured up memories of walking beside him in the sand, kissing him until she forgot where he ended and she began. Was everyone cursed with the same sort of sense memory about old boyfriends?
“So…you came home for the wedding,” she pointed out needlessly.
“Partly.”
What did that mean? “I didn’t realize you and Graham were still friends.” They’d gone to public school together, played sports together and been great friends once. All that was a lifetime ago. But, somehow, he’d managed to keep in touch with him. Just not with her.
But he said, “We hadn’t spoken for years. Not until recently. It was nice of them to invite me.”
“Ah. When, exactly did that happen? I mean, I’m curious, because you and I haven’t spoken in, oh, ten years?”
His gaze dropped to the ring on her hand, then returned to her face. “I wrote to you.”
Shock sent a cool jab up her spine. “No, you didn’t.”
“Yeah, I did. You never answered.”
“When?”
“When your father was first…when everything happened.”
A flush heated her cheeks. “That was almost three years ago, Nio.”
“I know.” His gaze found hers and he seemed to be waiting for her to put the pieces together.
“And that’s after seven years had already gone by without so much as a Christmas card from you.”
“I know, Bec. There were reasons why I—”
“—why you couldn’t call? I suppose you had your reasons. Anyway, I never got any letter from you.”
He nodded. “Would you have answered me if you had?”
She looked away. “Maybe. Yes. But I�
�ve moved on with my life. And so have you.”
“I heard you were with someone else. And then my life got…complicated.”
Complicated by someone else, no doubt. She glanced down at his hand. No ring.
He went on. “My brother, Trey, came home from the war, injured. Along with his brothers from his unit. They stayed with me for a while. It took a long time to get them back on their feet again.”
Becca flushed, embarrassed by her uncharitable thoughts. “Oh, God, Nio. I’m sorry. I heard he joined the Navy. Are they…? Is Trey all right?”
“Mostly. Yeah. He’s good now. He’s become a private investigator up in Montana. Working for some attorney up there. He was with me this morning, surfing. They’re actually all here in Laguna for a reunion of sorts.”
Despite the time she’d spent hating him since that day ten years ago, that story didn’t surprise her. That was so Nio. His family had always been everything to him. Which is what had made his disappearance from everyone, so long ago, inexplicable.
“And you,” he prompted. “Are you still—?”
“Engaged,” she blurted, playing with the convenient lie still glinting on her fourth finger. “He’s here. He’s just…getting me a drink.”
He stared openly at the ring now, his expression tightening.
Why had she told him that? Because it was easier than the truth? Because the lie would buffer her from risk? Her engagement—and the ring she was still wearing—had become her security blanket of sorts, her entrance into a club of together couples, her proof of belonging when she really belonged nowhere anymore.
Nio’s gaze had locked on Steven, still standing in the drink line. Had he seen them come in together?
“Is he good to you?”
His question made her catch her breath and her traitorous eyes sting. “What?”
“Simple question, Bec. Does he treat you right? ’Cause if he doesn’t—”
She raised her brow questioningly. If he doesn’t—what?
He turned fully toward her now. “If he hurts you, I’ll make sure he never does it again.”
Unsung Hero Page 4