Seaside Hearts (Love in Bloom: Seaside Summers, Book 2) Contemporary Romance

by Melissa Foster

  Jenna was on the deck with her mother when he went outside, bag in hand, Joey on his heels. Gina was taller than Jenna by a few inches. She wore her hair shoulder length, and she wore a tight red dress that barely covered her thighs. Jenna had mentioned that she was going through a hard time and dressing younger, and still Pete had to mask his surprise with a fake cough. If the short dress wasn’t enough to tip him off, the heavy makeup on a face that he’d always seen almost bare would have.

  “Pete? I didn’t know you were here.” Gina embraced him, and her smile lit up when she noticed Joey sniffing around her feet. She crouched to pet her.

  He shot Jenna a look over her shoulder. Didn’t know? What the hell is going on? It never dawned on him that Jenna wouldn’t tell her about them.

  “Were you fixing something?” Gina’s eyes bounced between Jenna and Pete as she ruffled Joey’s head.

  Jenna nibbled on her lower lip and set a pleading gaze on Pete. Bella and Amy had the same look in their eyes. He got the hint, but it pissed him off—and confused the hell out of him.

  “Yeah. The sink.” He touched Jenna’s arm. “You should be all set now. Call me if you need anything.”

  Jenna let out a breath. “Okay. Thanks, Pete.”

  He nodded and hoped like hell her mother didn’t see the confusion or the anger he felt. He climbed into his truck after Joey jumped in, and a minute later Jenna was standing at the window of his truck.

  “Pete,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t plan on not telling her, but she started right up with, Where are the hot men?” Jenna let out a frustrated breath. “I didn’t want her getting into our business.”

  He didn’t know what to say. He was hurt and angry, but the sincere, worried look in Jenna’s eyes softened his annoyance. He glanced at Amy and Bella ushering Jenna’s mother into the cottage.

  “You could have warned me, babe.” He stroked her cheek.

  “I’m sorry.” Jenna put her hand on his. “It was a split-second decision. I just…She talks about sex and stuff, Pete. She’s not like she used to be, and I don’t want her in that part of our lives.”

  “Babe, I get it, but I’m not a liar or a sneak. I can’t look into your mother’s eyes and pretend I’m not falling for her daughter. You’re either all in or you’re not. I’m all in. Can’t you just define boundaries? Tell her what aspect of our lives are off-limits?”

  Jenna nodded, but the worry in her eyes seemed to magnify with his words.

  “Jenna, is there something else going on?”

  Her mother came back outside laughing with Bella and Amy. Jenna took a step back from the truck. He had half a mind to step from the truck and tell her mother himself, but again, Jenna’s pleading look kept him in line.

  He ran his hand through his hair and spoke quietly. “Do whatever you need to, but after all this time, the last thing I want to do is pretend you’re not everything to me.”

  JENNA SPENT THE day with her mother and Amy at the beach. Her mother wore enormous sunglasses and a bathing suit with cutouts at the waist. Gina Ward was petite like Jenna, without the mammoth-sized bust, and Jenna had to admit that she looked great for a woman in her late fifties. But she lowered her sunglasses and leered at every guy who walked by, and Jenna was mortified. She’d tried to dissuade her, but her mother’s retorts came quick and sharp. Oh, please. They know they’re hot. Or, I’m not doing anything more than looking. Maybe you should look, too. Or the one that grated on Jenna’s nerves the most. I settled for years with your father. He never looked that good a day in his life. No more settling for me.

  Her mother’s comments about her father put Jenna on the defensive. It was a struggle not to snap at her and remind her that she’d once loved everything about him, from his paunchy stomach to his dry personality and silver hair. But she knew from experience over the weeks before she came to the Cape that comments like that would only feed her mother’s venom toward him and put Jenna in the middle of an even more uncomfortable situation.

  Jenna had been mulling over what Pete said all day, and she knew he was right. She needed to tell her mother about their relationship, and she could define boundaries with her mother. She had to, and she wanted to, but every time she tried to bring up Pete, her mother would point out another twentysomething guy on the beach, or bring up a memory of a guy she dated before she’d met Jenna’s father, and Jenna held back.

  When they arrived back at Jenna’s cottage in the afternoon, Jenna promised herself she’d say something.

  “That was such a fun afternoon,” her mother said as she carried her beach bag to the deck. “Jenna, you’re here with all these available men. I just don’t get why you never seem to date.”

  “Mom, I have to—”

  Her mother set her bag on the table on the deck and interrupted her. “And Peter?” She fanned her face. “He’s a doll, baby. If one of you ladies don’t go after him, I will.”

  Amy choked on her water, and Jenna elbowed her.

  “Mom! He’s at least twenty years younger than you.” And he’s mine!

  “That didn’t stop your father.” Her mother took her bag and went into the cottage, leaving Jenna to stew on her words.

  “I thought you were exaggerating about her,” Amy said. “But she was like a woman in heat on the beach. I swear she said something about every man who walked by.”

  “No shit.” Jenna’s insides were simmering. She felt as though she was on the verge of blowing up, and it took all of her efforts to remain calm. She stomped back to the car with Amy by her side and grabbed the beach chairs from the trunk. She reminded herself that what her mother was doing was a hundred times less painful than what Pete was going through with his father.

  “How am I going to tell her about Pete? You heard her on the beach, talking about all those guys. I don’t even want her thinking about Pete that way.”

  Amy laughed. “Too late. She clearly has thought about him in that way already, so if I were you, I’d nip it in the bud.”

  “Right. I’ll get right on that.” Jenna rolled her eyes. “Library in an hour?”

  “Sounds good.”

  PETE HELPED HIS father stock the shelves with a shipment of paint. His father had been busy with customers when Pete arrived earlier in the day, so Pete had gone to work on a boat repair at the marina. He’d needed the time to calm down anyway, as he was still upset over Jenna keeping their relationship from her mother—even after he’d confided in her about his father. And the fact that she hadn’t told him she’d done it made it even worse. He knew she had her reasons, and by the time he returned to his father’s store a few hours after lunch, he was pretty much over it, but he worried about her. Whatever she wasn’t sharing with him about her mother was obviously eating away at her, and he could only hope she’d grow to trust him enough to open up. He sent her a text before heading into the hardware store. He knew she didn’t carry her cell phone, but she’d promised to check her messages when she was back at the cottage.

  Hey, babe. Sorry I was upset. Do whatever you feel is right. I’m not going anywhere. Miss you.

  He noticed that his father was moving slower than normal, an indication that he’d had very little sleep last night. That was okay. Pete hadn’t had a lot either, and he was thankful his father hadn’t called in the middle of the night. He treasured the night he’d had with Jenna. His mind drifted to making love to Jenna in her cottage, and his body went hot. He struggled to push the lustful thoughts away, scrubbing his face, focusing on Joey as she sniffed around the store, and finally turned his attention back to his father.

  “Pop, can we sit down for a minute?”

  His father looked at him out of the corner of his eyes while he lifted a can of paint to the shelf. “I’ve got work to do.”

  “Yeah? So do I. It’ll only take a minute.” He knew this wasn’t going to be easy, and he hated how his stomach clenched tight at the prospect of bringing up his father’s drinking, but he had to try.

  “I’ve
got three more boxes in the back to unload.” His father wouldn’t meet his gaze. He rubbed his hands on his faded jeans and pulled at his leather belt. It was the same belt he’d worn for as long as Pete could remember. His father was a creature of habit—and Pete hoped his drinking was a habit he could break.

  “Luckily you’ve got enough paint on the shelves for the next hour. Come on, Pop. Five minutes.” Pete arched a brow and set a hand on his father’s shoulder. He felt his father exhale. A reluctant acceptance of the inevitable.

  “Fine. Five minutes,” he grumbled under his breath as he ran his eyes over Pete’s face. “You look different.”

  “Yeah, so do you.”

  His dad laughed. “Nothing different in this old man, but you? You’ve got a spark in your eyes.”

  He was surprised to hear that when he felt like his body was on fire and every nerve was strung tight.

  “Sky called me last night,” his father said.

  Pete drew his brows together. “Yeah? What did she want?” They’d never discussed the fact that Pete protected Sky from his father’s drinking, and Pete wondered if his father had figured it out. He’d have to be blind not to notice how many times Pete had swept Sky away to his house under the pretense of wanting to spend more time with her rather than have her spend the night at his father’s house.

  “She said she’s thinking of coming for a visit.” His father rubbed his chin.

  “It’d be nice to see her,” Pete said to assuage his father, and made a mental note to call Sky again. He thought he’d taken care of this little visit.

  “Well, looks like we may have company.” His father’s eyes drifted to the photograph of Pete’s mother beneath the counter, pushing Pete’s mind back to the reason he’d come.

  He’d thought about how to bring up his father’s drinking a million times throughout the morning and finally decided the best tactic was indirect.

  “Pop, I met someone.”

  Neil smiled and lifted his hands in the air. “Finally. I was getting worried about you.”

  Pete shook his head, agitation dulling his father’s jest. “I go out with women all the time.” I just don’t see them more than a few times. “I didn’t just meet her, but we just started dating. You know her. Jenna Ward.”

  “Oh.” His father raised his brows. “Jenna Ward. I always liked Jenna. What took you so damn long?”

  “My life isn’t exactly conducive to long-term relationships.” He held his father’s gaze and saw discomfort skate across his face as he shifted his eyes away. “Pop, we need to talk about this. I really like her, and I can’t keep coming over at all hours of the night to take care of you.”

  “I don’t need you to come over.” His father waved a dismissive hand and stepped away.

  “Pop.” He followed Neil back to the paint aisle and watched as his father began stocking the shelves again. Pete put his hand on his father’s arm, stopping it in midair. “Pop, this isn’t going to go away by ignoring it.”

  His father pulled his arm from his grasp and set his eyes on the paint can, his jaw set firm. Pete knew he was raging his own silent battle, and he felt guilt grip him again. When Neil raised his eyes, they were narrow, determined.

  “I love you, Pete, but why can’t you do as your brothers and sister do and go live your life and let me live mine?”

  “Let you…Pop, really? Is that how you see this? As me messing with your life? You know why they let you live your life? Because it’s easier, and because you call me, Pop, not them. Me.” Anger brewed in Pete’s gut. “The last thing any of them need is to have their lives fucked up by this nightmare.”

  His father fisted his hands, and his cheeks reddened. Those were the only visible indications that he’d heard Pete’s words. With a deep exhalation, he calmly went back to shelving the paint.

  “You’ve always been afraid to commit to a woman, Pete. It sounds like I’m a good excuse for you not to.”

  Pete ground his teeth together to keep from yelling. “You know what, Pop? I’m not afraid to commit to Jenna. I already have, but I can’t live a normal life when I have to come drag your drunken ass into bed every night. Mom’s gone, Pop. She’s not coming back, and this double life you’re living? She’d be ashamed of it.” Fuck. They were the last words he’d expected—or wanted—to say, even if he meant every word.

  The color drained from Neil’s face. He set a hand on a shelf, as if Pete’s words hit with the impact of a bullet and he needed the shelf to remain erect.

  Pete grabbed his arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

  His father shook his head, and when he looked up, his eyes had turned to liquid steel, but his tone was calm and even. “Son, I think you’d better leave.”

  Like hell. The can of worms was open and Pete wasn’t about to stop there. “No, Pop, I’m not leaving. We need to talk about this, even if it’s difficult. I worry about you.”

  “You have no idea what it’s like to lose the person you loved most in this world, and I pray to God that you never do. I know you worry about me, and God knows I love you for it. But do yourself a favor, Peter. Go live your life, and stay the hell out of mine.” His voice was as icy as his words, and when he walked away, Pete felt his heart split down the middle. Living his own life sounded easy, even doable. But he could no sooner turn his back on his father than he could walk away from Jenna.

  “This isn’t the end, Pop.”

  His father stilled.

  “She was my mother, and she’d be ashamed of me if I didn’t try to help you. And whether you choose to remember it or not, you have kids who love you, and you owe us more than this.”

  His father’s neck bowed, but he didn’t turn to face Pete. He stood still, staring at the floor, and Pete couldn’t imagine what was going through his head.

  “I’m not giving up on you.” The promise sailed heated and honestly from Pete’s lips. “You have a lot of years left. Years to refit boats with me, years to meet your future grandchildren. Mom died, Pop. You didn’t.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  WHEN JENNA WAS young, her mother volunteered in the elementary school library, and later, in the town library. Now Jenna watched her mother sorting through books and chatting with the other men and women library volunteers who were closer to her mother’s age. She pictured her mother as the person she’d been before her father had sent her world spinning with the news of his impending marriage. She missed that person, and she hoped like hell she wasn’t gone forever.

  Amy sidled up to Jenna, her eyes on Jenna’s mom. “Even though she’s acting weird, it’s really good to see your mom. I missed her.”

  “I still miss her,” Jenna admitted.

  “Aw, Jenna. She’ll be back to her old self in no time.” Amy patted Jenna’s shoulder. “This is a phase, like when a man goes through a midlife crisis. Did you tell her about Pete yet?”

  Jenna sighed. She’d received a sweet text from Pete saying to do what felt right and that he wasn’t going anywhere, but she knew it was wrong to keep their relationship a secret. “No, but I need to. She’s talking about going to drag queen karaoke tonight in P-town, and I want to ask Pete to join us. Is that awful of me? Should I give her all of my attention? I’m so torn. I know she’s only doing this because she’s hurt over my dad getting remarried—speaking of a midlife crisis.” She rolled her eyes. She had no idea if her father was going through a midlife crisis or if he really loved the woman he was marrying, and she didn’t really care either way. She just wanted her parents to be happy, and she didn’t want to be part of defining how that happened.

  “I wish your father would just wake up and realize he’s made a mess of things and fix it,” Amy said.

  Jenna crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes in her mother’s direction. “You don’t really think she’d take him back? After all this time? I think she’d feel humiliated after he’s been with someone so young.”

  Amy shrugged. “Love’s a powerful thing.”

  You
’re telling me. Jenna thought of waking up in Pete’s arms, and the intimate things he’d shared with her and said to her over the past few days. It wasn’t fair to Pete, or to herself, to act as though they weren’t in love. In love. She was definitely, one hundred percent, in love with Pete, and as she watched her mother heading in their direction, she drew in a deep breath and prepared to do what she should have done at the cottage.

  “Speaking of love.” Jenna nodded to her mother. “I guess I better come clean about Pete.”

  “That’s my cue to take off. Good luck.” Amy hurried to another table and went back to sorting and pricing books.

  “Well, that was nice. It was refreshing to be with people my own age and not feel like I had something to prove.” She looked fondly at the group she’d just been talking with. “Thanks for bringing me with you today. At home I feel like I have to prove something to my friends because, before they were my friends, they were our friends. There’s a whole different dynamic. ”

  Something to prove? She’d never considered that her mother might be facing such pressure. “I’m sorry you’re going through that, Mom.”

  Jenna’s mother patted her hair. “How are you, sweetheart? You look a little worried.”

  You could say that. “I’m good.”

  She brushed Jenna’s hair from her eyes. “I do love your hair this way. It’s less severe. Sexier.”

  “Mom. It’s weird to hear you talk about things that are sexy.”

  “Oh, honey. Please. You’re a grown woman.”

  “Yes, but you’re still my mother.” And Dad’s still my father. And Pete’s the man I’m in love with. She didn’t know what was worse, knowing her mother was comparing young men to her father or worrying her mother would say things about having sex with Pete. Jenna took a deep breath and took her mother’s hand in hers.