“It’s a good thing I did.” She wrapped her arm around her friend.
When they pulled up, she convinced Zoey to head into Dr. Val’s office to look over the scratches on her legs.
“I’ll help you inside.” Elle held on to Zoey’s arm.
“I can . . .” Dylan started, but Elle raised her eyebrows at him, and he backed off. “Let me know how it goes,” he added before he retreated.
“So,” Elle said when they were a few feet away from the brothers, who were by now all standing in the parking lot together. “Sounds like you two were very lucky you were there this morning. Together.”
“Shut up,” Zoey hissed as she hobbled toward the doors.
As Zoey was getting looked at by the doctor, Elle sneaked out to talk to Julie, who had been informed that mama bear along with the babies had been relocated, and she’d given the all clear already.
“Thanks.” She took a deep breath. “Exciting morning.”
“Elle, there’ve been a few messages for you. I’ve left them on your desk.”
“Who from?” she asked.
“He wouldn’t leave his name, just a number,” Julie answered.
“Thanks.” She frowned and wondered why someone wouldn’t leave their name in a message. But then she turned back down the hall in time to see Zoey hobbling from the doctor’s office and dismissed the missed calls to rush to her side.
“I’m okay, no stitches,” she said and was quickly hugged.
“You’re taking the rest of the day off,” Elle insisted, “and heading upstairs right now. I’ll have breakfast delivered.” She motioned for Scar to help Zoey up to the apartment.
“Really, I’m fine. I can . . .” Zoey started, but she stopped when Elle turned and looked at her.
“Okay, seriously, you have to show me how to do that look,” Zoey said with a slight frown.
“Go.” She nodded to the stairs and nudged Scar along.
“Okay, but get me some cookies. I want chocolate!” Zoey called back as she was being pulled up the stairs.
“Julie, can you order Zoey and Scar some lunch? Just have it delivered upstairs,” she said, checking her calendar on her phone and moving around a few things of hers so she could fill in for Zoey.
“With cookies,” Julie agreed. “Need anything else?”
“No.” She turned and, instead of heading to her office, jogged down to the changing room to take over Zoey’s morning yoga class before she taught her own class.
She enjoyed yoga, but not as much as ballet. Fortunately the yoga class was almost full and even included several men. Afterward, she changed and went about her day, filling in for Zoey where she could. It worked out smoothly, since there were four of them to help out.
When dinner rolled around, she rushed back up to the room and changed into her best 1950s outfit.
Hannah had come up with a fun idea of having a themed dinner once a week for the guests. Everyone could dress up in costume if they wanted to.
She was happily surprised to see how many ladies had poodle skirts. Even the men had gotten into the swing of things. Some were dressed as greasers, while others wore old sports outfits.
Fifties music played loudly from the speakers, and during the meal, tables were moved aside so everyone could dance.
She even started relaxing and danced with a few guests when asked. It was good form to let people see her.
She’d just been swung around when she bumped solidly into Liam’s chest.
He grinned down at her. “Having fun?”
“Yes.” She laughed.
“Looks like you’ve done this a time or two before.” He nodded to the busy dance floor.
“I took several different dance classes. Shall we?”
“I’ve never taken classes.” But he took her hand as “Chances Are” started playing.
Just swaying with him in a crowded dance floor had her heartbeat speeding up. Their bodies swayed together as the lights were dimmed.
“You look amazing tonight.” His smile grew. “I really like leather pants. I don’t think girls really wore that stuff in the fifties, though. Did they?”
She glanced down at her outfit. “I’m not completely sure, but they did in Grease.” She shrugged. “That should count for something.”
He chuckled. “It does, believe me.”
“Thanks.” She rested her head against his shoulder.
“I want to hold you again, to be with you.”
She felt her knees go weak. “Me too.”
“Soon,” he said when she looked back into his eyes.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Soon.”
“I’d better get off the dance floor before your fan club decide to kick me out of here.” He glanced over to where the other men she’d been dancing with were watching them. “Good night.”
“Night.” She stood in the middle of the dance floor, feeling her body vibrate with want as she watched him leave.
It took a few days for the bear talk to die down. Elle found herself so preoccupied that she hadn’t found any more free time to be with Liam again.
Every night as she crawled into her own bed, her body ached for his touch as she fell asleep. She dreamed of him making love to her, kissing her everywhere, so much so that she woke soaking wet with her desire building until she thought she’d jump him the next time she saw him.
The guest parties had died down, and she had only heard of a few rumbles of further private parties from Zoey or Hannah.
The Youngs seemed to have settled down. She counted herself lucky.
She was in her office, going over their latest financial reports, when Zoey walked in. Stormed in was more like it.
She slammed the door and plopped down on the chair opposite her desk.
Elle shut the accounting program down, since she knew she wouldn’t get anything else done for the day. “What’s up?”
“I’ve fired Ryan.”
“O . . . kay,” she said, crossing her hands on her lap. “What happened?”
Just then there was a knock on her door.
“Yes?”
Julie poked her head in. “Dr. Val was called to the pool area.”
Elle stood up. “Is a guest hurt?” Their occasional medical help had so far focused mostly on bad sunburns or hangovers.
“No, Dylan—” Julie started, but at this point, Zoey jumped up.
“Wait, what? Is he okay?”
“Ryan hit him over the head with a tequila bottle.”
Quickly, they both rushed out the door and ran down the hallway.
“He’s in Dr. Val’s office already,” Julie called back, and the two of them quickly switched directions.
“Looks like we had plenty of reason to fire her,” Elle said. “Julie, have the police—”
“The guys said no police.” Julie’s words stopped her in her tracks. “Dylan didn’t want the bad publicity for the camp.”
“Right.” She hadn’t thought of that. “Okay, then . . . have Aiden and a few of his men help remove Ryan from the premises.”
Julie nodded and rushed back to her desk. Zoey had disappeared through the doctor’s office doors. No doubt she was already by Dylan’s side.
When she stepped in, Dr. Val was already done assessing Dylan.
“He has a nasty bump, but other than that, he’s fine. He’ll need someone to look out for him for the evening.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Zoey said, holding an ice pack to his head, then turned to speak to him.
Elle stood back as Liam and Owen rushed into the room. No matter what she thought of the brothers, the bond there was obvious.
Which had her heart doing little flips even more when she was around Liam.
Jeff had been an only child, like her. He didn’t even have a best friend, which should have been a huge warning sign.
As she watched Liam with his brothers and with guests of the camp, she could tell that he was as far from being like Jeff as anyone could be.
&n
bsp; CHAPTER ELEVEN
A few nights later, Liam was asked to help set up several campfires along the beach area for the guests. He had an idea to drag some of the heavy logs over to the pit areas for people to sit on. What he wanted to do was build some benches and chairs for people to use instead, but he figured he could add that to the growing list of items he wanted to get done around the place.
He felt like the investigation into his dad’s whereabouts had stalled. Dylan was off on his own adventures with Zoey, while Owen was more withdrawn than before while he focused on nothing but trying to find their father. It really felt like they were all going in different directions, when they were supposed to be working on their common goal.
After Liam had set things up, Aiden walked over to him.
“Hey, did you get that sign done for the new cabin?”
“Yeah, I finished it up just today. Want to head out and hang it up?”
“If you have the time,” Aiden said. “I’ve got a cart.” He nodded to a golf cart.
They swung by the woodshop and picked up the new sign he’d carved, then headed toward the new cabin. They were going to hang his hand-carved sign over the cabin, which had technically saved his brother’s life.
“So, you and Elle?” Aiden asked as they pulled up to the cabin.
“Who told you?” he asked.
Aiden chuckled. “Everyone’s talking about it. Dylan and Zoey and you and Elle—it’s the only thing everyone can seem to talk about lately.”
“Yeah, well . . .”
“What’s up with Hannah and Owen?” He pulled out a ladder from the back of the cart.
He thought about their tactics to get information out of the women and felt dirty. So, instead of answering, he just shrugged.
“I’ve known Elle a long time,” Aiden said, motioning for Liam to climb the ladder and hang the sign himself. “That last guy—”
“I’m nothing like him,” Liam broke in, his eyes on Aiden’s.
“No.” Aiden smiled. “Even a blind man could see that. And, I and a few other people are thankful for it, but the fact remains, she’s been hurt once.” His voice lowered. “I’d hate for it to happen a second time.”
Aiden’s warning was clear.
“I have no plans to hurt anyone.” He rolled his eyes at the thought. Whatever was building between them had nothing to do with his father or the money he’d taken with him.
“Thanks also—good to know.” Aiden held the ladder as Liam hung the sign.
He stood back and looked up at his handiwork. He had spent a day etching the words “Bear-Foot Bungalow” into a piece of pine and had even taken the time to carve out a black bear and her two cubs in the corner. He had stained the whole thing for good measure. He had rather enjoyed making the sign and thought about doing others for the rest of the cabins. He’d always liked working with his hands, ever since finding an old chunk of driftwood one summer and turning it into a stork that still sat on his mantel.
“Perfect.” He dusted his hands off.
“Yeah.” Aiden slapped him on his back. “Now all we need is to let Elle know it’s ready.”
“I’ll do that. I’ve got to stop by the bonfire again before making my rounds.” He helped Aiden clean up the mess they had made hanging the sign.
Aiden held out his hand, and Liam took it easily. “Thanks for everything. Want a ride?”
“No, I’ll walk. I could use the fresh air. Good night,” Liam called back as he headed toward the main part of the camp.
As he made his way down the lit pathway toward the bonfires, he thought about convincing Elle to stay with him again in Elle’s Hiding Spot. He’d even carved her a sign for the outside of the place—one that he intended to give her soon.
“Hey.” He glanced up when he heard someone approaching and smiled when he saw Elle walking toward him.
She stopped directly in front of him. “Why didn’t you tell me your father is Leo Costa?”
“Um, okay.” He felt his throat close. “I thought you knew. You said that Zoey told you—”
“That your name was Costa, not that Leo was your father.” Her eyes were searching his. He could see something close to hurt behind them and wondered why she’d be upset.
His eyes narrowed as all the reasons they were at the camp surfaced. Suddenly, the thoughts that Elle was more to his father than he knew surfaced again. Could she really have been his mistress at one time? “How do you know my father?” he asked, his hands moving to her shoulders, but she jerked away from him.
“It doesn’t matter, what matters is . . .” She threw up her hands. “Hell, I don’t know what matters anymore.” She started pacing in front of him. “Zoey’s going with your brother to spend a few days at his place . . .”
She started rambling, and he allowed her to chatter as she moved back and forth in front of him. His eyes tracked the sway of her hips as she went. Hell, his mind had been on getting her in bed before she’d stormed up to him, and he wanted her even more now that he’d seen her angry.
“It’s all lies, everything,” she was saying when he focused again.
“What is?” he asked.
“You haven’t been paying attention,” she accused him and moved closer.
“No,” he said. “I get that you’re pissed that I didn’t come out and tell you my father was Leo Costa, but you’ve known our real last name for a while now. As I said before, Owen didn’t . . .”
She moved closer, and his eyes moved over her skin and fell onto her lips and stayed there. “Didn’t . . .”
He couldn’t think anymore. He’d lost track of what he’d been saying. What she’d been saying. “God, I really want to kiss you right now.”
When she frowned, he knew he’d missed the mark.
He shook his head clear and tried to focus. “Sorry, I’ve told you all this before. I honestly thought you knew who our father was when you found out my real last name. I didn’t think it mattered.” For some reason he felt the need to apologize. Not everyone knew who Leo Costa was. Did this mean she had known more about his father than she’d first intimated?
“I didn’t.” She had her arms crossed over her chest again. “It doesn’t . . . not really.”
“I’m sorry.” He moved closer to her, his hands going to her shoulders. “Really I am. I thought when we talked . . . I thought you knew. That you understood everything.” He was having a hard time coming up with the right words.
“I didn’t,” she said softly.
“My mistake. I’m so sorry. I should have made sure”—he rested his head against hers—“that you knew everything. Including my father’s name.”
“Yes.” She nodded. “You should have.”
“My brothers . . . think that you’re my father’s mistress.” His heart skipped as he waited for her response. Instantly she tensed; then she shocked him by laughing.
“That is the best joke I’ve heard.” She wiped a tear from her eye and then focused on him and stilled. “You’re serious?”
He nodded. “It’s one of the reasons we kept our last name from you.”
She stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s bull,” he said quickly, earning a nod from her.
“At least we have that.”
He walked over to her and took her arms again. “I stopped thinking that before I kissed you. I would have never done so if I believed—”
“My relationship with your father is anything but sexual.” She looked away from him.
He could tell she was closing up again and knew that he didn’t want her to make some excuse to disappear on him again tonight. So, instead, he changed the subject.
“How was the bonfire?”
Her eyes returned to his, and he could see the internal struggle she had.
“Fine,” she finally said and rolled her shoulders. “I guess I overreacted.”
“It’s probably the wine,” he suggested, earning him
a look. “I stopped by earlier and saw you and your . . . Wildflowers enjoying the fire and the s’mores. I really am sorry. I thought you knew everything when . . .” He shook his head. “Well, you know.”
“I suppose we should have talked about it more.” She closed her eyes. “So much has happened in the past few months. I feel like I haven’t even had time to breathe.”
“We have a few days off coming up.” A thought rushed into his mind. “Let’s get away together? That way we can have time to catch up on . . . things.”
“Get away?” she asked, her voice sounding unsure.
“Sure.” He nodded. “I’ll take care of everything. You’ve been so busy; I bet you can’t tell me the last day you really took off, and not just sitting on the beach doing work. I mean, really getting away.”
She bit her bottom lip, and he could tell she was thinking about it. “Okay,” she finally said. “After Zoey and Dylan return.”
He nodded and felt like jumping into action. “Now, how about we head back to the campfire?”
“I . . . can’t.” She took a step back. “There’s a few things I have to take care of tonight.”
His eyebrows shot up. “It can’t wait?”
She shook her head.
“Elle . . .”
“Liam.” She stopped him. “I need to get a few things done tonight.”
He nodded and took a step back as she started walking away. “By the way, Bear-Foot Bungalow is all set to go.” He caught up with her quickly as they made their way toward the main building. “Aiden and I just put on the finishing touch.”
“Thanks.” She glanced over at him. “I’ll let Julie know.”
He held the door of the main building open for her and waited until she stepped through before saying, “Aiden was telling me you have a few more cabins going up soon?”
“Yes, one is in the framing stages, and we just cleared the areas for two more,” she answered, heading toward her office. He followed her, not wanting their time together that evening to end.
“You must be confident that there’s going to be a need for them.”
She stopped outside her office door and turned toward him. “We’re booked solid for the next six months.”
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