Pete’s father had done well at rehab and he’d been home for almost a week. Sky was living with him now and running the hardware store until he was ready to go back full-time. He’d spent the last few afternoons helping Pete put the final coat of antifouling paint on the bottom of the schooner. Today they were taking it out for the first trip on the open water, and all their friends returned to the Cape to celebrate with them.
Jenna leaned against Pete’s kitchen counter, watching Leanna pull a tray of warm muffins from the oven. The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and felt like home with Leanna and Bella tooling around as they waited for Amy, Jamie, and Tony to arrive. After a summer of not seeing the guys, they were all excited to spend the afternoon together. Amy was over the moon. She’d talked Jenna’s ear off on the phone last night, gushing about seeing Tony again, and Pete was excited to show off his handiwork to the men of Seaside. Unfortunately, Kurt was in New York for the weekend meeting with his editor, Caden had to work, and Evan was working at his part-time job.
Jenna’s stomach got all fluttery when Pete walked into the kitchen looking sinfully sexy wearing nothing but his favorite pair of Levi’s. Bella and Leanna called Jenna’s reactions to Pete, and his to her, their honeymoon stage, but as far as she could tell, Bella and Leanna were still in that stage, too, with Caden and Kurt, and she hoped it never ended for any of them.
Pete folded her in his arms and kissed her.
“Hey, you have guests here,” Leanna teased.
“Sorry, Leanna, but I don’t think Jenna would approve of me kissing you, too.” He kissed Jenna again. “Hey, babe. I noticed that you made your way through my drawers, and I appreciate it, but where can I find my white tank tops?”
She hooked her finger in the waist of his jeans and raised her brows. “I love making my way through your drawers.”
Pete pressed his hips to hers. “You have free rein to my drawers anytime you want it,” he said against her lips before stealing another kiss. “Tank top?”
“On the closet shelves, with the rest of your white shirts. You had too many whites for the drawer, so I took over a shelf.”
“Your house will never be the same,” Bella said.
“I knew what I was getting into,” Pete said. “And our house has never felt more like home.”
Our house. Jenna hugged him tightly and shot a cheesy grin in Bella’s direction. She watched Pete walk away, embarrassed when a dreamy sigh—the kind Amy was known for—escaped her lips.
“Careful, swoongirl. You’re going to burn a hole in the man, looking at him like that. I can hardly believe that all three of us are living at the Cape now. You and Pete will still stay at Seaside during the summers, right?”
“Of course. We’ll live here the rest of the year. The same way you and Leanna have done with Caden and Kurt.”
“Good. Now we need to work on Amy. And you know, if Amy and Tony ever do get together, we’ll have to find a woman for Jamie, too. He’s too great to be without a woman.” Bella reached for one of Leanna’s muffins, and Leanna swatted her hand. “You’re so testy.”
“I want there to be enough for everyone,” Leanna said. “And you always pick at the tops and leave the rest.”
“First we have to get Jamie away from his computer. Good luck with that,” Jenna said.
Leanna turned to set the hot pad on the table, and Bella snuck a muffin. Without turning around, Leanna said, “I saw that.”
Bella laughed. “Hey, they’re here!”
They hurried out the door in one mass, pushing past one another on the way to greet Amy, Tony, and Jamie. It was a chilly morning and, as if they’d compared notes before dressing, the girls wore hoodies and jeans, and the men wore jeans and T-shirts. It might set women back fifty years, but Jenna secretly loved that men could brave the cold while women needed warmth.
Pete walked outside in his tank and jeans as Jamie hugged Jenna.
“Hands off my woman,” Pete said with a smile.
“I believe that’s, hands off my princess.” Jenna touched her tiara, because who wouldn’t wear one if she had one?
Pete embraced Jamie. “Great to see you, man.”
“It was a long summer, but the new project is off the ground with a great management staff in place, so I’m on track to spend more than just weekends here next summer.” Jamie pulled Bella into his arms. “I missed everyone.”
Pete went to greet Tony, who was still hugging Amy. Jenna gently touched Pete’s hand.
“Give them a sec,” she whispered.
“They’re just friends, Jenna,” Pete reminded her.
“So were we.” She smiled up at him, and he draped an arm over her shoulder and pulled her close.
“What’s with all the touchy-feely stuff?” Pete’s father and Sky had taken a walk together on the beach, and judging by their smiles, it had done them both a world of good. Joey trotted along beside them. Joey and Pete’s father were as close as Pete and the lovable pup.
Pete’s father had looked relaxed in the days since he’d come home, and now his eyes had a sparkle in them that Jenna hadn’t seen when they’d visited him in rehab. He had a long road ahead, but he was working closely with his counselor to ensure his transition into living a sober life went as smoothly as possible. Pete, Jenna, and Sky attended weekly meetings for families of alcoholics to learn how to support him in ways that would make sobriety easier for him, and it had brought all three of them closer together.
Sky smiled at Pete, and Jenna saw a silent message of something positive pass between them. Pete had told Jenna that Sky had grown up over the past six weeks. The hardware store customers loved her, and although Pete visited her daily and helped her with shelving supplies and handling the books, she was already putting her own touches on the shop with plants on the counter and in the window and colorful knickknacks that should look totally out of place in a hardware store but somehow warmed it instead. Pete must have told Jenna a hundred times in the last few weeks how proud of Sky he was, and Sky seemed to flourish with his praise.
“Mr. Lacroux, how was Florida?” Jamie asked.
Jenna had kept Pete’s secret about his father’s rehab. He hadn’t asked her to, but she’d known it was the right thing to do. Even friends could make a mistake and let something slip out in the wrong company.
Pete’s father slung an arm over Pete’s shoulder. “It wasn’t what I expected. You know, helping my cousin care for his wife and all. It was touch and go for a while, but they pulled through and were even stronger than they’d been before the whole nightmare arose.”
“Glad to hear it.” Jamie held a hand out to Sky. “We’ve never officially met. I’m Jamie Reed.”
“Oh gosh.” Jenna ran over to Sky. “I’m sorry. It feels like you guys all know each other. Sky, this is Jamie, and the guy glued to Amy is Tony.” Jenna hoped that the endless hug was a sign of more to come for Amy and Tony.
Tony set Amy on the ground and they joined the group.
“Hi. Pete’s talked about you guys forever. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Sky crossed her arms over her long-sleeved cotton shirt. She looked like she’d walked out of a summer clothing magazine with her long skirt, sandals, and layers of bangles on her thin wrists. “I’m going to grab a sweater.” She headed for her car, and both Tony and Jamie watched her walk away.
Amy swatted Tony. “She’s too young for you.”
“Pfft. What’s age but a number?” Tony bumped her with his elbow and winked.
Amy rolled her eyes.
They took two cars over to the marina. The boat looked picture perfect in the water with a bright red ribbon running along the railing. It had leaked for the first few days until the wood swelled into place. Jenna had fretted over the leaks, imagining the boat sinking while they were at sea, but both Pete and his father had assured her that minor leaks were normal in older wooden boats that had been out of the water as long as his had.
She stood on the deck of the schooner, watching Pete and
his father talk on the dock. Pete’s head kicked back with a loud laugh, and his father’s shoulders moved up and down with a chuckle.
“I missed your whole courtship.” Jamie leaned on the railing beside Jenna.
“No, you didn’t. Pete still courts me every day.” She smiled at Jamie as their other friends gathered around them.
“I’d say you’re a pretty lucky lady, then, Jenna.” Jamie glanced at Sky, talking with Amy and Bella. “At least now Bella and Amy can stop sneaking into your cottage to break things.”
“Yeah, as much as I’d like to bonk them on their heads for turning off my hot water, I can’t.”
“And the dishwasher last summer. And the roof the summer before…”
Jenna’s jaw dropped open. “What? Are you shitting me?”
“Nope. They’ve been working their magic for years.” Jamie laughed.
Jenna narrowed her eyes and glared at Bella. “Nope. I still can’t be mad at them. They deserve medals for not giving up on us.”
Jamie draped an arm over her shoulder. “You know better than that. Seaside friends never give up.”
“Jesus, Jamie. Get your own girl already.” Pete’s smile told Jenna he was kidding. He knew how close she and her friends were, but she also knew that Pete had at least one jealous bone in his body, though he hid it fairly well most of the time. She didn’t mind, as she felt the same pangs of jealousy when other women ogled her man.
“Ready to christen this baby?” Pete asked. He helped his father onto the deck of the boat and stepped on behind him.
“I thought we already did that,” Jenna whispered.
Pete patted her butt and leaned in for a kiss. “How about we name it, then?”
Pete hadn’t even revealed the name of the boat to Jenna yet, and she was dying to know what name he and his father had chosen. His brothers had come to visit the day his father came home from rehab, and even after hours of brotherly pressure, Pete hadn’t caved.
His father came to Jenna’s side and placed his hand on her elbow. “Son, can I have a moment with you and Jenna before we do this?”
“Sure, Pop.” Pete said something to the others and followed Jenna and his father to the far end of the boat.
Jenna had gotten close to Neil over the past few weeks, and she saw Pete in many of his mannerisms—the way he ran his hand through his hair when he sighed, the dichotomy of his soft tone to his masculine breadth when they were having a private conversation, and maybe the most striking of all, his protective nature toward his family. The last one struck her, because he seemed to have forgotten that one when he was drinking. Luckily, Pete had a long memory, and he’d never given up on his father finding it once again.
“I have spent six weeks trying to figure out what I wanted to say to you,” his father began. “At first, I was pretty pissed at you, Pete, and at you, Jenna. I figured that Pete’s demand for me to go into rehab was because of you.”
Oh shit.
“Pop, please.” Pete reached for Jenna.
His father drew in a breath and set a serious stare on Pete. “Peter, I’m going to have my say, so settle down and have a little faith, will you?”
Pete tightened his arm around Jenna’s waist.
“Into rehab. I can say that now without feeling like I want to choke someone.” He smiled at them. “When you lose someone you love, you have two choices. Handle it like a man, or run like hell from the pain. I ran. Straight into the bottle. Pete, I know I put you through the type of hell that no son should ever have to experience, and God only knows how, but you managed to keep our family together, and you never gave up on me.” He slid his gaze to Jenna. “I know now that it was your relationship with Jenna that finally pushed you to give me that ultimatum.”
Jenna swallowed hard, unsure of what was coming next.
He continued and held Pete’s stare. “And I’m damn glad she did.” He turned a soft gaze to Jenna. “Jenna, I owe you my life as much as I owe it to Pete, and in the end, to Sky, too.”
Pete had told Jenna that when Sky and Pete were working together one morning at the hardware store, Pete had come across his father’s stash of alcohol. He hadn’t even realized he’d had one there at the store, but he wasn’t surprised. By then he’d read the books Jenna had bought at the book sale and he’d spent time with his father’s therapist and learned of the many ways alcoholics hide their drinking. Finding a box marked varnish full of bottles of alcohol was par for the course. Pete, Jenna, and Sky had scoured every inch of the store after that. Turned it upside down and cleaned out every hateful reminder of the two years that nearly ruined their family. Sky had gone through every emotion in the book—anger, sadness, guilt—and finally settled on not taking apart what she felt, but honoring each of those feelings until she came back to her normal self. She spent most evenings with Pete and Jenna, talking through her feelings, which had been good for all of them. She and Pete had become even closer right before Jenna’s eyes.
“I didn’t do anything other than fall in love with Pete. It was his efforts that made the difference.” Jenna smiled up at Pete and he kissed her forehead.
“No, Pop’s right. It was my love for you that made the difference. You were my eye-opener, Jenna.”
“And you were mine, Peter,” his father said. “I guess I just wanted to take a moment to say that I love you both, and, Peter, your mother would be proud of you for standing up to an old, stubborn goat like me.” He embraced Peter, then extended that embrace to Jenna.
“I haven’t had a chance to say it before this, but welcome to the family, Jenna. You deserve a hell of a lot more than a plastic tiara.”
“I love my tiara.” Jenna reached up and touched the accessory she cherished the most.
His father nodded at Pete and headed back toward the others.
Jenna took a step to follow him, and Pete gently pulled her back to him.
“We should join them.”
“We will. I just want a second to say my two cents.” Pete pressed his hands to Jenna’s cheeks—she loved when he did that, and smiled in response.
“Jenna, you changed my world. You opened my heart and my eyes, and Pop’s right, you do deserve more than that tiara.” He kissed her forehead. “That’s why I’ve gotten the permits to add another structure to our property, a smaller one. An art studio. For you.”
“Pete. That sounds expensive, and I don’t even have a new job yet.” Holy cow. Jenna was used to living on an art teacher’s salary, a shoestring budget. She had enough savings to help with a few household expenses—which he continuously told her was ridiculous, but still she offered. She was enjoying settling into their new life together, and she’d planned to start looking for a job the following week.
“Shh.” He kissed her. “This is my gift to you. You can get another job if you want, but you don’t need to. I make enough money to take care of us, and Kurt hooked me up with his friend Blue Ryder, the guy who renovated his cottage for Leanna. He gave me a great deal in exchange for my refitting his brother’s boat. That’ll be mine and Pop’s next project.”
“I…I don’t know what to say.”
Pete dug his hand into his pocket and reached for Jenna’s left hand. He sank to one knee, and suddenly she felt like she was in a vacuum, her eyes fixed on Pete’s. The sound of the water splashing against the boat, the din of their friends, and the heartbeat that had been thundering in her chest—silenced.
“Say you’ll marry me.” Pete’s eyes never left hers.
Ohgodohgodohgod. She couldn’t breathe. Her legs turned to wet noodles, and it was all she could do not to cry. She placed her hands on his shoulders for stability.
“Say you’ll let me love you forever in the ways you deserve. Say you’ll bear our children and raise them in ridiculous matching outfits and shoes. Say you’ll fill our house with rocks that speak to you, and—”
“Yes! Oh God, Pete. Yes! Yes! Yes!” She launched herself into his arms as he rose to his feet and covered his face with
kisses as he stumbled backward.
“Oh my God.” She kissed him again. “I never expected…” Their lips met again. She hung from him like a monkey, arms locked around his neck, legs dangling a foot off the ground. With his help, she moved down his muscular body until her toes hit the ground, and she clutched the waist of his jeans for support as Pete slid the sparkling ring on her finger.
“This was my mother’s. If you don’t like it, then we’ll pick one out that you love.”
Tears of joy streamed down her cheeks. “Your mother’s? Is your dad okay with this?”
“I love that you’re worried about my father instead of yourself, but yes; Pop gave it to me. I asked him to come with me to pick out your ring and he offered Mom’s. I asked Sky, of course, in case she had hoped for it, and she said Mom would have wanted you to have it as her first daughter-in-law.”
“Oh, Petey.” Jenna looked at the gorgeous square-cut diamond surrounded by several smaller rubies and was powerless to stop the flow of tears spilling down her cheeks. “I’m honored to wear your mother’s ring, and there’s nothing I want more than to be your wife.”
Their lips met again, and the sounds of the morning came rushing back in.
Sky ran toward them with Joey on her heels. She squealed with delight. “You gave it to her! I’m going to have a sister-in-law!”
“We can have a triple wedding!” Bella hugged Jenna.
Jenna glanced at Amy, her smile genuine, her eyes alit with sincere excitement, but Jenna knew her heart must be aching at the idea of not being included in the wedding.
“I don’t think a triple wedding works,” Jenna said as she pulled Amy into her arms. “Either we wait for a quadruple wedding, or we each have our own.”
“No, have the triple. It will be fun,” Amy said.
Seaside Hearts (Love in Bloom: Seaside Summers, Book 2) Contemporary Romance Page 23