“I hope I can get in on that action,” a third voice said, and Aaron Tremain appeared. He was holding a gigantic golf umbrella and was almost completely dry, from the tip of his precious blond hair down to his expensive sneakers. The heat that had been dancing on Jackson’s skin turned to ice, as if someone had flipped a switch.
“Hey.” Frankie spun around, her whole face brightening. “I didn’t expect to see you here. Is everything still set for tonight?”
“Sure is.” Aaron’s mouth twisted into a wolfish smile. Jackson wanted to punch him in the face. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his soaking jacket as the water dripped down his legs. “I just figured you might not have an umbrella, so I’ve come to rescue you,” Aaron said with a gallant sweep of his hand.
“You’re a total hero.” Frankie’s cheeks turned pink. “I can’t believe this weather. I was worried the party might be canceled.”
“No way. Sam once had a party in the middle of an electrical storm. It was crazy,” Aaron said as he snapped the umbrella shut. Rivulets of water ran down into a puddle by his feet. “Anyway, I’d better go close up the store, but I’ll see you tonight.”
“Wait. You can’t go without your umbrella. You’ll get soaked. I know, I’ll walk you back. It’s a win-win.”
“Works for me,” Aaron said as he picked up the umbrella again and flipped it open. A shower of water sprayed out in Jackson’s direction. “Sorry, buddy.” He shrugged and offered Frankie his arm.
“I’ll be back in five minutes, tops,” she said, not bothering to turn around as the pair of them stepped out into the rain, cocooned under the giant umbrella.
Jackson quickly turned away and tried to ignore Frankie’s giggling as Aaron leaned close to her ear and whispered into it.
He didn’t know why he was so pissed. He had no interest in having a girlfriend. And even if he did, it would never be with his boss’s niece. Besides, girls like Frankie Hargreaves weren’t meant for the likes of him.
You don’t belong here, J.
It might be true, but he didn’t belong in his old world either. He stepped out into the rain and finished taking down the small back awning, trying not to think about the implications. If he didn’t belong in Frankie’s world and he didn’t belong in Tania’s, then where did he belong? Then again, did it really matter? He just needed to focus on what counted. His mom, his sister, and making sure they could afford to eat. Everything else was just a distraction.
xxxx
What did a person wear to a party?
Frankie picked up her cutoff shorts and then discarded them. Sure, she’d been to parties before but only with Via and the rest of her classmates. No alcohol. No Aaron Tremain. No potential kissing.
Thankfully, the rain had finally stopped and given way to a few pale beams of late afternoon sunshine, leaving the temperature almost humid. Perfect party weather.
She padded over to her closet and flicked through the hangers until she came to a sheer white shirt. The cotton was super soft, and she usually teamed it with a tank top. Her eyes drifted to the silver bikini top she hadn’t yet dared wear. Yes.
She matched it up with a high-waisted skirt of soft cotton and dug her silver sneakers out from under her bed. Lo had given her a collection of silver bracelets for her birthday last year. Frankie pushed them up her arm. There. She was casual, but not too casual.
Hopefully Aaron wouldn’t be able to resist.
A quick glance at her phone told her there was still twenty minutes before she needed to leave. She was ahead of schedule thanks to Aaron’s chivalrous appearance with an umbrella, which saved her from any other potential hair disasters. Could he be any cuter? The only one not pleased to see him was Jackson.
Though it made sense. Aaron and Jackson were night and day. Well, on the surface. Beneath his bad boy exterior, Jackson wasn’t that bad. The last few days working with him had almost been enjoyable.
Whatever weird magic he had with the older women of Cricket Bay had continued, and the arrangement seemed to work.
He served and she plated up the perfectly presented cakes and cupcakes.
Like a team.
No. Not a team. He’s just a guy my aunt hired.
She checked the time again. Eighteen minutes and counting. The waiting was killing her. She could just leave early. Aaron lived almost next door to Sam Robinson, and it’d be crazy for him to drive twenty-five minutes back into town just to collect her, so she was going to get an Uber.
“Frank, you home?” Lo called from downstairs as the front door creaked open.
“Yes, but not for long.” She poked her head out of her room. “Did you have a good day?”
“You could say that,” Lo replied, her voice breathless. “I have news.”
“She sure does,” Johnny added, which for some reason made Lo giggle. Okay. That was weird. Her aunt was many things, but a giggler wasn’t one of them. “You might want to come downstairs.”
“Be right there.” Frankie tucked her phone into a small purse and slung it over her shoulder. She wouldn’t bother putting on lip gloss until she got to the party. She left her room and headed to the staircase.
Lo’s love of the nineteen-fifties was everywhere, from the floral-patterned carpet to the ceramic flying ducks along the wall. When Frankie had first arrived, it had been hard to adjust to the styled interior, which had been so different to their cramped L.A. apartment with bad wallpaper. But now she hardly noticed.
Lo and Johnny were in the middle of the room, their arms wrapped around each other. Johnny was stick thin and shared Lo’s vintage love, usually wearing a bowling shirt and slicked-back hair. Although it was almost impossible to tell what he was wearing now thanks to the embrace.
“Seriously, you two? I thought I was the teenager around here.” Frankie raised her hands and covered her eyes before letting out a dramatic groan.
“Trust me, the last thing I want is to relive my teenage years.” Lo untangled herself and spun around. Her immaculate beehive was rumpled, and her red lipstick was smudged. Then she held out her left hand and something glinted in the last rays of sunlight that were still trying to push through the window.
Was that a diamond?
As in a diamond diamond?
Frankie’s mouth dropped. “Is it real—”
“It sure is. All one and a half beautiful shiny carats of it.” Lo’s emerald eyes glittered with tears. She opened her arms and Frankie found herself wrapped in a hug. Her aunt’s familiar scent surrounded her, and Frankie tightened the hug.
“I can’t believe it,” she said once they broke apart and Lo held out her hand for the ring to be inspected. Frankie didn’t know much about diamonds, but she knew that the ring was huge. And pretty. “Tell me everything.”
“Johnny picked me up from work and said he needed to stop off to see a client on the way home,” Lo said.
“Except I didn’t really,” Johnny interjected with a grin.
“He sure didn’t.” Lo gave him a loving kiss before resuming. “He took me to our favorite spot overlooking the beach. It was too wet to get out, but he still produced this giant picnic basket. Champagne, chocolate, and so, so many cheeses.”
“I figured she couldn’t say no to cheese,” Johnny added before they reenacted the entire proposal. When they were finished, Lo’s smile faded and she caught Frankie’s gaze.
“So…what do you think?”
“I think it’s amazing,” she said truthfully. If anyone deserved to be happy, it was Lo. Her aunt hadn’t wanted kids of her own but had never thought twice about taking Frankie in. Then she gave Johnny a smile. “Really, I’m so pleased for both of you.”
“Thanks, Frank,” Johnny said, and she was dragged into another hug. “I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”
“Yeah you are,” Lo said, sounding a lot more like herself as her smile lost some of its sparkle. “But Frankie, Johnny and I have talked about this, and nothing’s going to change. You understand what I’m saying? I’m not going a
nywhere.”
Emotions lodged in Frankie’s throat and she nodded.
Lo had never made her feel less than important. Less than safe. It’s what had helped her survive that first terrible year, and all the years since. She glanced at the photo of her mom. It was in a silver frame and nestled next to one of Lo’s favorite ceramic deer.
The photo had been taken a few months before she’d died, and Frankie had purposely cut out Keith, who’d been standing next to her mom. The biker who’d disappeared one night, taking all their money with him. The guy who’d left them unable to afford insurance. Insurance that might have saved her mom’s life—
Nope.
Not thinking about that. Especially when Lo was getting married to someone who was the exact opposite of Keith. Johnny was kind and sweet and stable and just the sort of guy to make her aunt happy.
“I know,” she said, and this time they both sandwiched her in a hug. After a few seconds Frankie let out a smothered plea. “You guys, breathing is starting to become a problem.”
“Whoops.” Johnny gave her a sheepish smile and stepped back, though he never let go of Lo’s hand.
“Toughen up,” Lo teased as she inspected her ring again. “Now, the big question is, where do we go to celebrate? I was thinking The Hungry Owl would be good. What do you say, Frank?”
Frankie stiffened. Celebrate?
As in tonight?
“You want me to come?” She licked her lips as she went from Lo’s glowing face to Johnny’s. They both nodded.
“Absolutely. We’ll have a party in a couple of weeks, but tonight’s special. Just the three of us,” Lo said before her eyes swept over Frankie’s outfit. “Did you have plans?”
Frankie opened her mouth to speak. To say she had a date. Her first date with Aaron. But this was Lo. The woman who’d raised her for the last eight years. And in that time Frankie had never seen her happier.
Aaron would understand. They could go on a different date tomorrow. She slipped her phone out of her purse.
“Nothing that can’t wait,” she promised as she sent Aaron a quick text. Then she smiled at the engaged couple. “Now, let’s go celebrate.”
xxxx
“Lo and Johnny are engaged? No way.”
“Way,” Frankie assured Via the following morning as she slipped out of the house and filled her friend in. The sun was in full force. Her sneakers scuffed as she walked, and she stifled a yawn. She was tired from the late night, but it had been impossible not to get caught up in the excitement.
“I do love a happy ending,” Via said in a dreamy voice from the other end of the phone. “I wish I could go to the engagement party. It will be amazing.”
“You’ll be there in spirit,” Frankie said. “So, how’s Camp Doom going?”
“Leaching me of the will to live. Which is why I don’t want to talk about it. For five minutes I want to hear about town things. About places that have electricity and coffee to go. Understand?”
“I’m pounding the sidewalk just for you.”
“Ah…sidewalks. It’s been so long.” Via let out a wistful sigh. “By the way, you didn’t tell me how Aaron was when you cancelled the date. Was he okay?”
A very good question.
Her smile faded as she crossed the road to the bus stop. “I don’t know. He never replied to my messages.”
“Oh.” Via sounded like she was frowning. “Maybe he had his phone turned off last night?”
“Yeah,” Frankie quickly agreed. She’d been telling herself the same thing all evening. And as for why he hadn’t replied this morning, there could be any number of reasons. Cyclone. Phone-eating dog. Zombie apocalypse.
Or because he hates me.
“I know that voice,” Via said, proving she was somehow wired up to Frankie’s brain. “And you can stop right there. If he asked you on a date, he’s hardly going to dump you just because you had to cancel. Trust me, there’ll be a legitimate reason for his radio silence. You just need to apologize. It’ll be fine.”
Frankie brightened. “Actually, I was thinking about that and have come up with a brilliant new plan.”
Via laughed. “Why am I not surprised? Go on, hit me with it.”
“I thought I could make it up by asking him out.”
“Definitely proactive behavior. So, what were you thinking?”
“Remember I told you he was wearing a Waves T-shirt? Then we were talking about how they were playing here at Summerfest. So, this morning I booked two tickets and am going to his house to ask him.”
Silence.
Okay. That wasn’t quite the response she’d been hoping for. Besides, it was a genius idea.
“That’s a pretty big gesture.” Via paused, as if considering her words. “Those tickets are expensive.”
“They’re not too bad,” Frankie said, though it was a lie. Truth was, it had cleaned out her savings. But what was the saying? Go big or go home.
Well, this was her going big.
“Are you sure you shouldn’t just invite him for a coffee first? I mean, you canceled a date, you didn’t cut off one of his limbs.”
“I can have a coffee any old day. I want this to be special. And what could be more special than Summerfest?”
More silence.
“I’m still not sure,” Via said, just as Frankie was starting to think they’d been cut off. “Especially about the part where you go out to his house. Doesn’t he live at the Point? How are you even going to get there?”
“I’ve got the route all planned out,” Frankie said, not bothering to add that she had to change buses three times. Details schmetails. “And Rosie’s closed today, so it’s not like I have to rush back. He might even want to go for a walk on the beach.”
“I guess. Though it seems like you’re going to a lot of trouble. What does Jackson think?”
Frankie came to a stop. “What’s he got to do with anything?”
“It just seemed like you two had become friends this week. You’ve been buying each other coffee, and his sister gives you drawings. And he’s a guy, so I figured you might have run it past him. To get a testosterone point of view.”
“You know that sounds gross, right?” Frankie said, still frowning. “And we’re not those kinds of friends. I mean, yes we get along better than I thought, but it’s just because we’re working together.”
“Oh. My mistake. I just thought—”
“Well, don’t,” Frankie said in a rush as an image of Jackson’s arms flashed into her mind. So what if he had strong muscly arms? Lots of people did. More importantly, even though they were getting along better, that didn’t mean anything. Jackson might be a nice guy, but that’s what her mom probably thought when she’d met Keith.
Yet he’d come with more baggage than an airport carousel, and her mom had ultimately paid the price.
Besides, she’d seen Jackson’s ex the other day. If that was his type, then clearly he and Frankie weren’t suited. After all, Tania Wise had curves for days and already had at least three tattoos. They couldn’t be more different if they tried.
Definitely from different worlds.
Anyway, it was all irrelevant. Aaron was everything she wanted.
“Of course,” Via quickly said. “You know I’ve got your back, and if you think this plan will work, then go for it.”
“Thanks,” Frankie said as she began to walk again. The bus stop soon came into sight and she said goodbye to her friend. She didn’t care what Via said, it was a great plan. No way would it fail.
5
Jackson pushed a strand of hair out of his eye as his pencil flew across the surface of the sketch pad. He’d been up since five trying to get the drawing finished before it faded from his mind. He yawned, and with a final stroke, he sat back. It was of the fountain in the square. He’d never paid much attention to it before. Just a mermaid, there to impress the tourists. But yesterday, while taking the trash to the allocated dumpster, he’d caught the curiosity in the brass eye
s. As if she wanted to climb out of her watery perch and explore the world.
To do something different.
To be someone else.
I know a thing or two about that.
He studied his work and frowned. He wasn’t quite sure he’d nailed it, but he’d give it another shot later in the day. The front door opened, and he shut his sketch book. Even though he’d managed to keep most of his work private, his mom had insisted on hanging up a few of his pictures. They were mainly of the beach, reflections of his attempt to capture the waves and the ever-changing skies.
His only consolation was that no one ever came over, which meant he wouldn’t be forced to endure other people commenting on his work.
For him, it was private. The one thing his father’s reputation didn’t touch.
The one place where he could be himself.
“You’re up early.” His mom dropped her keys into the bowl on the counter and rubbed her eyes. “Everything okay? Chelsea?”
“Still asleep.” He poured himself a coffee from the percolator. It wasn’t the best stuff around, but the caffeine helped his brain kick into gear. He poured a second cup for his mom and passed it over. “Work okay?”
“The usual.” She shrugged and automatically started to make Chelsea’s breakfast. “You want anything to eat?”
“I’m good. I just need to grab a shower and then I’m heading out.”
A frown crossed her face. “I thought you had the day off?”
“I want to go to the beach. To draw before it gets too busy.”
“That’ll be nice,” his mom said, and Jackson headed to the bathroom. Ten minutes later, he’d showered and shaken out his hair. At least he didn’t have to grease it back today. His leather jacket was still damp from yesterday’s rain. He left it where it was and threw on a denim jacket over his black T-shirt.
When he returned to the kitchen, Chelsea was awake and chatting as she drew a picture. Miss Sparkles sat watching. He ignored the doll and ruffled his sister’s hair.
“I’m off.”
By the time he hit the road, tourists were already out in force, most of them carrying sun umbrellas and brightly colored blow-up animals to take into the water. Usually he hated this time of year, but most of the people who’d come to the teashop had been okay. Decent even.
How to Kiss a Bad Boy Page 5