* * *
Beau had picked up the phone to call Liddy last night, but changed his mind. She would have sent it to voice mail anyway. Right? Now as he drove along the water’s edge, he glanced over at Sea Glass Inn, the tourist spot looking especially regal today with its flag-flanked curved driveway and pristine, palm tree-lined grounds. The sun appeared overhead as if shining a spotlight on his chance. He could pull over and try her number. He tapped his thumb on the steering wheel over and over then froze. This was not a conversation for the phone.
Abruptly, he made a U-turn and pulled his car into the hotel parking lot, taking in the lack of vehicles in view. Thankfully, the lot was nearly empty. On the one hand, she probably would not be too busy to talk to him face to face. On the other, he did not want to say what he had to say in front of a lobby full of bored employees.
He pulled into a spot, exited the car, and made his way toward the hotel where several valets loitered in front. She may not be happy with him for showing up here, but if she wasn’t taking his calls, he had no other choice. He wasn’t about to just drop the matter and scurry away like a wounded animal. Beau slowed his pace, his eyes focusing on those gleaming doors. Hopefully, he was not about to make another big mistake.
* * *
A small crowd had formed around her and the others at the desk, including Trace, who had returned from lunch. Liddy had recovered from a bad marriage and survived brain surgery, but this … this did not look good. She kept her eye on the office corridor, silently willing Meg to appear. Come on, come on … Meg did not disappoint. She came skidding around the corner without allowing one strand of hair to rustle out of place. Liddy raised her brows, her eyes locking on Meg’s, but she said nothing.
In a blink, Pepper appeared behind Meg, following after her at a fast clip. How did she know … ? A barely perceptible glance passed between Pepper and Hannah, who stood stalwart at the bell captain’s desk, one hand resting on the phone.
Liddy held her expression in check and turned, hesitantly so, to find Jackson scowling. She thought about interjecting something witty or stupid, since either one might break the taut strand of growing silence. But when she lifted her chin to make eye contact with Jackson, another man caught her eye.
Beau.
Wendy had lost her mind—Beau exuded strength. He looked strong, sexy, and vulnerable. She made herself breathe. He stood off to the side, watching the spectacle silently, as if he could sense that this was no ordinary day at the inn. His presence both calmed and stirred up the tempest brewing within her, her reaction to him an unlikely mix. Still unable to make sense of where their relationship was headed—where it should be headed—she blinked away the tears.
Jackson’s unmistakable voice punctuated the murmuring and broke Liddy’s reverie. He pinned his gaze on Meg, and Meg alone. “Why didn’t you tell me about all this?”
Meg made her way forward, her stance professional and unyielding. She stopped in front of the group, her eyes unreadable. She breezed a look at the faces of the camera crew, lingering a second longer on the host, and finally on Jackson. “Why don’t we step into the back office?” she said.
Pepper cut in, waving her tanned bare arms, her metal bracelets rattling into the air. “Gentlemen … and ladies. Of course, we can accommodate your request. But first, you”—she pointed toward the man with the camera—“turn on your camera and make sure that your assistant has me in the best lighting. Hurry now.”
By this time, the crowd around the concierge desk had grown to include other members of the hotel staff. Pepper flashed a smile at the onlookers first, then at the camera.
Jackson spun around, and in one quick and impressive move he leapt on top of the concierge counter.
Trace gasped. She reached for a stack of fliers, her pencil holder, and a statue of a cat holding an “Open” sign in its paws, and cleared them all away.
“Hold on, everyone,” Jackson said, his hands splayed in the air.
“Get off that desk right now,” Pepper demanded. She crooked an arm into her side and proceeded to further solidify her prima donna reputation by tapping one pointy, high-heel-shod toe vigorously on the tile floor.
Jackson didn’t acknowledge her except to say, “Quiet!”
The murmurs stopped.
“Now,” he said, “will somebody please tell me what this is all about?”
Liddy teetered on the edge, her eyes shifting nervously toward Meg. The man had asked for the chef. Did this have something to do with the drug investigation? He looked more like a reality show host than a hard-nosed journalist, but it occurred to her that these days they were often one and the same.
Liddy sensed Beau’s gaze on her cheeks and she flicked a glance at him. She didn’t know whether it was possible to sense a gaze, but her cheeks had gone warm and not in a particularly bad way—which surprised her, considering the drama unfolding.
A murmur drew her attention. Chef Franco appeared in the midst of the crowd, as if from a secret passageway, his uniform uncharacteristically crisp and white. “I believe I know what’s happening here.”
Pepper clapped. “Turn on the camera,” she shouted, while sidling up to the chef.
Chef beamed, his animated gaze commanding the camera lens. The bright grin on his face barely flinched as he stood his ground, holding off Pepper’s battle for the camera’s attention.
The crew moved into position.
Lights burst on.
The leader of the crew, Nethering, the man who looked as if he had stepped off the cover of a slick brochure, jumped in front of Chef and Pepper, his smile brighter than the pristine uniform cinched just below the chef’s girth. He spoke into a microphone. “I’m Brian Nethering and welcome to the reveal episode of ‘Best Chef’!”
Someone on the bell staff whistled. A passerby cheered, inciting a round of applause from inside the hotel lobby. Pepper kissed Chef Franco on the cheek, while never taking her eyes off the camera. She left a splotch of deep, dark red on the robust man’s already rosy face.
Liddy’s gaze moved away from the impromptu taping to Meg who returned a tentative smile. Jackson, however, stood out awkwardly, his face a riddle of confusion.
“Meg?” he said, glaring now.
Meg shrank back—out of character for her—but said nothing.
His mouth hung open wide, his eyes black and tiny. He gestured toward the TV crew, and shook his head. “You knew about this?”
Liddy leaned her head to one side. Did she?
“N-not originally.” Meg tried to smile, but her cheek twitched under Jackson’s glare. “I found out accidentally … and was sworn to secrecy.”
Jackson let out a sarcastic laugh. His words sliced the air. “I thought we meant more to each other than that.”
Chins swiveled upward toward Jackson, as did the cameraman.
Meg pulled her shoulders back, and lifted her own chin. “Do we?”
Liddy swung a lip-biting look at Beau. He in turn watched her, a question in his eyes.
Meg and Jackson were at an impasse, and Liddy feared that pretty soon her best friend and her boss would be starring in a show of their own. Liddy raised a hand into the air. “Meg didn’t mean to keep anything from you, Jackson.” She paused. “Everybody knows that she’s the best thing that ever happened to this inn.”
One pencil-sharp brow attempted to rise on Pepper’s line-less face. “Oh, really?”
Meg shook her head. “Liddy, stop,” she hissed. “Why didn’t you just call me when I asked you to?”
Liddy’s mouth popped open but she hesitated. Was Meg blaming her for this fiasco?
Jackson scoffed. “Now you’re calling on the staff to go sneaking around my back?” He pointed at Liddy as if she were Exhibit A. “Hasn’t this woman been through enough after her husband’s betrayal? You said yourself that the man she was married to even made a pass at you!”
It took a solid three seconds for Jackson’s words to settle in Liddy’s mind, and another three to
drive them deep into her wounded heart.
Trace, who had held her tongue for the past several minutes, let out an “oh boy” under her breath.
Liddy set her chin, her thoughts severe, smoldering. After a long pause, she looked up. “Well, Mr. Riley,” she said, evenly, “I’ve heard about your family troubles, too. I guess we both know firsthand about betrayal by those we trusted.”
Meg frowned at Liddy, Jackson glared at Meg, and Pepper? Pepper managed to mug for the camera while surreptitiously darting unpleasantly wide eyes at her brother.
Liddy pivoted away from the fray and Beau’s sight. She headed for the exit that would take her to the harbor, and once outside, drew in a clumsy breath as she raced away from the hotel. She needed to think. Had Jackson really just announced how pathetic she was to the hotel staff? And to the cast and crew of a TV show while the camera rolled? She flushed, embarrassed. All those times Jackson had spoken to her, he knew that her ex-husband had made a pass at her best friend.
Liddy shook her head tightly, her jaw set. Jackson knew something about her that she, until this very moment, had known nothing about. She swallowed a garbled groan and darted a look back. Any hope that Beau might give up and leave her alone was dashed when she noticed him following her at a fast clip as she marched past the marina, and all the way down to the beach.
When she heard him breathing, she stopped, and swiveled around. Strands of his hair fluttered in the breeze. “This is not a good time, Beau.”
He reached for her elbow. “Will there ever be?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You haven’t answered my calls.”
“Well … I’ve been busy!” She waved a hand toward the resort in the distance.
He wanted to smile. She could tell by the way his lips twitched. He was laughing at her!
She bit her lip, forcing back a tide of emotion. “Beau,” she whispered, “this isn’t funny. I’d really … I’d really like to be alone. Could you please leave?”
He stared at her, and for a split moment, she thought he might comply. He shook his head then, his mouth falling into a grim line.
Her heart sank in her chest, sending her stomach into a tumble. She gulped fresh salt air and crossed her arms. “Is life ever not like a roller coaster?”
“Not as long as I’ve been alive. But I suppose that would be boring anyway.”
She turned away from him now, willing herself out to sea. Even if she could catch a departing ship, would there be any way to control the roll of the waves? She sighed, giving up, then pressed into the railing that kept her from tumbling into sea water. “I have some news,” she finally said.
He put a tentative hand on her shoulder and leaned into her back, lightly resting his chin on her. She kept staring at the ocean, not really seeing it. Instead, she pictured his expression to be much like a forlorn puppy dog. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“Wait, I—”
“Shh. Please,” he said. “Let me get this out.”
From its spot low in her chest, her already damaged heart twisted, sending her stomach in an all-out assault on her equilibrium. She swallowed, and bit the inside of her lip. The chance existed that her time at the resort was swiftly coming to a close. Suddenly Beau’s decision to say goodbye to her now seemed all that more appropriate …
Beau’s tentative touch tightened on Liddy’s shoulder and he guided her to turn around and face him. He steadied her with a long, slow gaze and caressed her cheek. “I love you,” he said, simply.
Liddy tilted her head into his palm, reveling in its embrace. She fought back another bout of dizziness, but instead of it being the sort that came from some kind of illness, this feeling came from something more serious—like a man’s sudden and inexplicably-timed confession of love.
He closed the slight space between them. “I’m sorry for backing away from you, and that you haven’t been feeling well … it tears me up inside. But it doesn’t change how I feel about you, and it won’t. I can’t stop myself from pursuing you.” He kissed her lightly, then whispered it again, “I love you, Liddy.”
Pursuing her? When had a man pursued her for anything other than the convenience of her presence? For anything … lasting? Her resolve to resist him floated away, and she closed her eyes. Despite the drama she’d just run from, Liddy felt herself free falling now, like in a dream where there’s no worry, just a sense of weightlessness. I have loved you … with an everlasting love. The words that had drifted into her mind the last time she had run to this very spot sprang to life, releasing her from the fears that held her captive.
She opened her eyes, her own failings washing over her. “I’m the one who’s sorry, Beau. I-I’ve been hiding things from you, hiding things from myself, too.”
He watched her, but didn’t move.
“I let my fears control me.” She sniffled, tears prickling her eyes. “Never a good idea, you know?”
He nodded. “I know.”
She searched his face, his eyes, seeing something in a man’s face she had never seen before … and it took her breath away. She inhaled, and said, “I love you, too, Beau.”
Beau’s strong arms slid around her waist, and she allowed him to mold her into him. The days apart from this man that she loved had been too much. She breathed in his scent, letting it fill every one of her senses, and then …
She sneezed.
He drew back slightly. “Gesundheit.”
She sniffled. And sneezed again.
He began searching his pockets.
Liddy ran the back of her hand across her nose and sniffled once more, letting out a giggle this time. “If only you were older,” she said, finally.
He furrowed his brow, a quizzical half-smile on his face.
She pointed at his chest. “Then you’d have one of those little tissue packets in your shirt pocket.”
A smile broke out on his face, and he reached for her again. “You’re too much.”
Her smile faded slightly. “Seriously, though, I have to tell you something.”
His brows lowered, turning his kaleidoscope eyes darker, but his embrace never faltered.
Liddy lifted her chin, looked squarely into his gaze, and spoke, keeping her voice calm. “I have a deviated septum. A small one.”
“Excuse me?”
“The dizziness … I saw the doctor and it turns out it’s a sinus condition.” She allowed herself to breathe normally again, and stifled another sniffle.
“That’s all it was?”
She shrugged, and gave him a little smile. “Or maybe I’m just allergic to you.”
He let out a low whoop and pulled her body against his, hugging her so tightly that it was unlikely she could take a breath even if she needed to.
Chapter 25
“Liddy?”
Liddy stared straight ahead.
“Liddy?” Meg called, her voice rising. “Are you okay?”
Liddy pulled her eyes away from the vast and deep blue sea. She dug her toes deeper into the sand and rested against the back of her beach chair. “Of course I am. Just mesmerized by the beauty of it all.”
“Well, don’t do that!”
She laughed and hung her chin. “Sorry.”
Meg huffed a sigh and returned to an old copy of People magazine. She thumbed through the pages, settling on one featuring last year’s sexiest man alive.
“I’m guessing you haven’t heard from Jackson, huh?”
Meg frowned. “Hardly, and that’s okay by me. He took off as soon as the infamous taping was in the can, and I’ve only spoken to him by email.”
“I’m sorry for my part in that.”
“Please. I’m the one who should do penance for a year for all that I didn’t tell you.”
“You’ve already apologized for that.” Liddy sighed. “I know that by keeping Shawn’s advances to yourself you were only trying to protect me.”
“Big mistake. I’m still sorry.”
“I know.”
/>
Meg shrugged. “Just wish I could make it up to you somehow.” She shook her head. “And also for telling Jackson things about you that I never should have.”
“Forget it, please. What I wish, well, what I wish is that you and Jackson could find some way to talk through this strange relationship you have. I mean, since you have to work together …”
“At least I still have my job.”
“As well you should! You took that family fiasco and turned it into marketing genius … concocting a plan for Chef to visit our other resorts around the country? Who else would’ve come up with that?”
“Anybody worth their salt would have.”
Liddy scoffed. “Right.”
Meg turned to her. “Don’t forget, your man helped immensely. His knowledge of social media marketing is beyond! The resorts are packed—I’m lucky to have a room for myself. Anyway, please give him my thanks again for allowing me to harvest so much of his brain.” She laughed. “That sounded odd, didn’t it? I mean, considering …”
“You can thank him yourself.”
Beau arrived and plunked his chair in the sand next to Liddy. He leaned over and pecked her on the cheek before nodding at Meg. “Thank me for what?”
Meg tossed the magazine onto the towel stretched out by her feet. “For your marketing mojo. You’re the bomb.”
He chuckled. “Any time.”
Meg stood and stretched, sighing deeply. She folded up her beach chair, stuffing her towel and magazine inside.
Beau looked up. “Don’t leave on my account.”
“Wish I could stay here and relax with you lovebirds, but I have a date with my carry-on and I still have laundry to do.” She took another look out to sea. “May even have to check a bag this time.”
“Do you really have to go for so long?” Liddy whined.
Meg peered at her. “Franco’s pretty in love with himself, wouldn’t you say? No, I have to go and keep that man in line.” She cracked a smile. “At least the food’ll be great.”
Walking on Sea Glass Page 22