by Jenny Hale
“Here you are,” Luke said, handing her and Olivia each a drink. Callie had been so taken with the view that she hadn’t realized he’d made it back up to them. “They’re mojitos,” he said, allowing a grin.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Luke!” a woman said from behind as she draped her thin arm around his shoulder and kissed his cheek.
Callie tried not to gawk when she saw her—Juliette. She looked exactly like she had in the photos; she was just as flawless. Her long brown hair was poker straight and parted perfectly down the middle. She had large hoop earrings, her make up understated with just a hint of clear lip-gloss, and her dress was amazing—soft pink chiffon, with a high neck that tied around the back in a bow and cascaded down her bare back. Her nude heels gave her a good four inches of height. Callie guessed she wasn’t planning to walk in the sand in those shoes.
“Luke!” she said again. “Introduce me to your friends!” She smiled, showing her perfect, white teeth.
“Julie, this is Callie and her friend Olivia. Ladies, my sister Juliette.”
“It’s nice to meet you!” She shimmied off her brother and held out a delicate hand. Callie shook it and then Olivia followed suit. She leaned forward toward Callie and whispered, “I like your dress.” Then she gave her a wink. Her face was kind and put Callie at ease.
Callie smiled. “It’s a great design,” she said.
“You look great in it! You’re gorgeous!”
Callie’s skin prickled with embarrassment. She’d never really given much thought to her looks more than whether she had broccoli in her teeth or not.
“Isn’t she beautiful, Luke?”
“Yes,” he said with a contemplative look, and then tipped his beer back, draining it.
“Enjoy the party! Off to celebrate!” She kissed Luke on the cheek again, disappearing into the crowd at the bar.
Olivia waved to Wyatt, who was still jumping in the bouncy castle, his shirttail untucked and his hair a mess. “I’m going to go see him,” she said as he beckoned her down. “He looks so cute! I want pictures!” She’d pulled her phone from her handbag and was already taking them from the deck.
“If I could, I’d like to steal Callie away for a moment anyway,” Luke said seriously. He set his empty beer bottle on a table and a member of staff swooped in and scooped it up immediately.
Olivia was already heading down the stairs, still snapping photos. She turned around and threw up her hand with a smile.
“Slip your shoes off,” he said, leading Callie down the steps toward the bouncy castle where Olivia had her hands cupped around her eyes, peering in at Wyatt while he showed her the tricks he could do. “Let’s go down to the beach.”
She got to the bottom of the steps and took her sandals off, placing them neatly under the deck with one hand, her mojito in the other, and followed Luke down the wooden sidewalk that divided the yard in half and led straight to the ocean.
He walked quietly beside her and she wondered what it was that he had to say.
They walked along the walkway, the lush grass giving way to taller sea oats and wild grasses along sand fences that were all part of the dunes that had been created to prevent erosion on the small barrier islands. Callie stepped down the few steps at the end and put her feet in the sand, immediately responding to the heat of it. The intense sun beating down on it relentlessly made the surface feel like hot coals.
Luke took her hand. “Run,” he said, pulling her toward the water.
He took off, and Callie had to work overtime to keep up, his hand gripping hers as she pushed herself full speed along the powdery beach, trying to hold her drink steady, her feet feeling like fire, until they reached the wet gritty shoreline. A wave broke, fizzing and bubbling its way toward her, the gurgling spray cooling her feet immediately. Luke dropped her hand and walked closer to the waves, the current sliding up around his ankles. Callie moved beside him. She pushed a runaway strand of hair off her face.
“They’re all liars,” he said, looking out at the water.
She didn’t understand, so she waited for more.
He finally turned to look at her. “Those articles. They aren’t real. They don’t know. None of them know.” Any trace of sarcasm or arrogance was gone. He looked exposed, vulnerable. “They say I’m shallow, that I date models and actresses just so I can have a pretty face to look at… I date them because they understand. Their lives are even more in the spotlight than mine. I own a sailing company. Who am I? But this town has made me into someone; they’ve built me up into this character—for what? To increase tourism? To give people something to talk about? They say that I don’t understand the locals. It’s not that I don’t understand them. It’s that I can’t just be. I always see a judging eye, someone who has some opinion about my life’s choices. So I keep to myself.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I had no idea.”
He turned back to the ocean again as if it held answers somewhere far off in the distance.
Callie didn’t talk. With the wind in her ears and the whooshing of the ocean, she let the silence settle between them. He seemed like he’d wanted to get that out, and she was glad he’d confided in her.
“I’ve never told anyone that.”
“Really?”
“I’ve never felt the need to.” He picked up a shell and chucked it into a breaking wave. “But when I’d heard you’d read some of those awful things about me, it frustrated me and I wanted you to know.”
He’d surprised her again. And she couldn’t help the flutter in her chest at the thought that he’d wanted her to know the real him, but it scared her as well. She wasn’t ready for things to get real. He’d trusted her with his thoughts. She wasn’t the best person at relationships and, while they weren’t in one yet, this was how they usually started.
She mustered all the strength she had to respond to him. She didn’t want to do this wrong; she wasn’t any good at it. “I’m glad you trust me,” she said, her words feeling flimsy as they came out of her mouth. But the concern he seemed to have at making sure she understood him made her let go of her worries and speak from her heart. “I don’t believe those articles,” she said, watching the bubbles rise in her mojito, the ice melting in the heat. She looked up. “I guess I kind of did, when you took me on that big boat of yours and ordered that lobster what’s-it-called. I thought maybe the guy in the burger joint was just an act to appeal to me. But I know now that’s not true. Not at all.”
He let out a breath as if he’d been holding it in and smiled at her—a genuine smile, one that gave away how thrilled he was with her comment—and she knew she’d said just the right thing. And she hadn’t even had to try. She’d just done what had come naturally.
Twelve
“Look at these two,” Olivia said with a giggle, pointing into the bouncy castle, as Luke and Callie walked up from the beach. Mitchell and Wyatt were still bouncing and they were going up and down with each other, doing some sort of gymnastics routine they’d created while the other kids bounded around inside. The two of them jumped up and did a toe touch before bouncing again and doing a flip. Both Olivia and Juliette took photos, laughing together.
“Looks like fun,” Luke said, crawling in. He barely fit through the small door.
When he stood up, the boys squealed at his arrival.
Luke’s weight, as he bounced, made both children soar into the air with uproarious laughter. Callie couldn’t help herself—she was laughing right alongside them while Luke jumped up to do a toe touch like the boys, both of them doubling over, heaving with giggles.
“Come in!” Luke said, bouncing to the side and putting his face right up to Callie’s, only the mesh netting between them. “You know you want to.”
Callie shook her head. “I have a dress on.” A very expensive dress.
“I dare you.”
“Go on,” Olivia urged.
“I’ll go easy. We’ll just jump—no funny business.” He made a face
at the boys, causing them to cackle again. A few of the other kids were now watching with interest.
She deliberated. There was absolutely no reason for her to get in there and jump. She wasn’t dressed for it. She’d spent too much time on her hair to have it go all a mess…
“Please, Callie,” Wyatt said, an enormous grin on his face, those little eyes pleading.
He’d sat quietly so many days while they’d worked, he’d trudged along beside them as they ran errands for the house, he’d never once complained.
“Okay,” she said to the cheers of Luke, Wyatt, and Mitchell. Handing her mojito to a grinning Olivia, she slipped off her sandals and carefully climbed through the precariously small entry onto the wriggling, unsteady floor of the bouncy castle.
Luke took her hands and held her steady as she stood up, his grip more affectionate than she’d expected. That confident smile had returned, sending her heart racing. Slowly, still holding her hands, he bounced up and down just enough to put a little air between her feet and the floor.
“Higher!” Wyatt called.
“Hang on. I’m getting her used to it,” Luke said over his shoulder.
As they bounced, still holding hands, she started to feel stable, relaxing into the movement of the floor beneath her as the other kids jumped. Luke must have sensed it, because he did a giant jump, shooting her into the air. She let go of his hands and grabbed her dress, coming back down and having to grab on to him to stay on her feet. She gave him a playful but cautionary look.
“Sorry,” he said, chewing on a smile. She was holding the top of his arms still, his face too close to hers as he looked down at her. She pulled away and straightened her dress.
“Do it again!” Wyatt said, his smile spread from ear to ear. He bounced around in a circle, clapping his hands.
“I got a photo!” Olivia called in.
“Awesome,” Callie said, laughing.
Luke bounced again, sending her up. When she came back down, Callie gave him a light-hearted push, at which he dramatically fell into a back roll before looking at the boys with wide eyes. “She’s really strong,” he said with mock seriousness and Wyatt could hardly catch his breath, he was laughing so hard.
He righted himself and stepped over to Callie. “We’ll let you two work on your routine some more. I’m going to take Callie back to solid ground again.”
Mitchell and Wyatt both booed him before bouncing off into the other kids.
Callie climbed out carefully, put her sandals back on, and ran her fingers through her air. She pretended to be put out, but she knew Luke could see through it. He handed her the mojito with a devious grin. Then he tipped his head toward the bouncy castle. “Look.”
Olivia and Juliette were climbing in. Callie laughed, covering her mouth. When she turned back to Luke, he looked pensive. “I want to show you something,” he said, as if he’d just decided right then. “Come with me.”
Callie looked around at all the people. “Shouldn’t we stay at the party?” She didn’t want to monopolize all his attention.
“I think they’ll all survive without me,” he teased.
Luke headed around the house toward the private tennis court. It was hidden from view by landscaping. They carried on down the path until they reached a large garage. It was the size of a barn; four towering sets of double doors faced the ocean. They were open. He gestured for Callie to enter. She walked into the garage and found herself speechless as she took in the walls, plastered with surfboards—all with brightly painted artwork on them: floral designs, geometrics, waves, and sea creatures.
“These are amazing, Luke,” she said. “What is all this?”
“I painted them,” he said, and she only noticed just then that his eyes were on her. “Have a look around.”
She ran her hand along one that was still on the workhorses, the colors so vibrant and beautiful that they almost took her breath away. A wave crashing on the shore in electric blue with perfect shadows and shading to make it look so real that she could almost feel its spray.
“How come no one has written an article about this? It’s fantastic.” She took in the boards hanging from the rafters, more climbing every surface of the walls, others lying on the floor.
“Because no one knows I paint them. I created a brand name called Salty Tides, but I haven’t done anything with it. See the logo there? I designed it.” He tapped just under the picture on the board, zeroing her in on the scratchy two-line lettering spelling Salty Tides with the “i” in Tides as a little wave.
“Why haven’t you done anything with it?” Unable to keep her curiosity at bay, she walked over to another board, the slick surface like glass under fingertips.
He took in a deep breath. “My dad thinks it’s a waste of time when I’ve got millions riding on real estate. I spend most of my time learning how he manages the company so I can take over when I’m ready. It’s better not to be distracted, so I keep this little hobby from the public.”
She couldn’t imagine keeping this a secret. His talent was so clear to her that the possibilities for this were coming at her one after another. She didn’t know the surfboard industry but there was no doubt in her mind that these would sell. The artwork alone was just incredible. “Do you have to take over the company?”
“I want to. Like I said, I want to prove that I can be trusted.” Before she could challenge him, he took her hand, leading her over to a worktable. “Look at this,” he said, showing her a large pencil drawing. “It’s that flower you put in your hair when we had dinner on my boat. I’m going to make a stencil out of it so I can paint it on one of the boards.”
She smiled. “It’s called a gaillardia,” she said, feeling like that day was ages ago. So much had happened since then, and she would never have thought in a million years that she’d be standing here with him, feeling the way she did every time he looked at her.
The wind picked up, sending a gust into the garage, the drawing paper lifting off the table and flying into the air. He caught it and set a paint can on top of it. Luke had the doors open on both sides of the building, most likely to vent the place while he painted, but it was starting to cause a wind tunnel, a constant stream of air blowing against them.
Her hair blew into her eyes and she thought Luke was going to put it behind her ear, but instead, he cupped his hand around her face, looking down at her with those blue eyes as if he wanted to kiss her. After last time, she worried he might not try. She wanted to kiss him, but things were moving along faster than she could process them, and she still didn’t know if she was ready. She was concerned with what would happen if she let him. She feared that she might not be able to recover if he broke her heart. Callie looked into his eyes, wanting to tell him all this, but instead, she looked away, and he let the moment go. She noticed she was smiling and when she looked at him, he was too.
“We should probably get back to the party,” she said.
“Yeah.”
As they walked up, the bouncy castle was still abuzz with children’s laughter. Olivia walked toward them, her stride almost a skip, an excited expression on her face. “Look who I found!” she called out. She was on Aiden Parker’s arm.
“You know each other?” Luke asked. They were standing by the juggler, who was tossing bowling pins for a crowd of kids and parents while riding a unicycle. They moved aside to be out of the way of the performance.
“Olivia and I went to college together,” Aiden explained to Luke. “I’m mixing a little business and pleasure while I’m here for Mitchell’s party.”
“He’s the architect who’s working on The Beachcomber,” Olivia added. “How long have you two known each other?”
“A lifetime. Aiden’s my cousin.” Luke clapped him on the back. “Did you just get here? Let’s all have a drink.”
Thirteen
When Callie and Luke got up on the deck with Aiden and Olivia to get their drinks, the thump of live music echoed in Callie’s chest and she peeked inside
the house to see that a group of musicians had set up and begun to play in the corner of the great living room.
Juliette appeared, a glass of white perched delicately in her fingers. “Don’t you just love this? I got a band!” she said dramatically, a delightful grin on her face. “I rented out a string of small cottages for everyone here, since they’re all from out of town. I have a shuttle running the whole night. I figured that once the kids get tired, the daddies can take them home and the mommies can party into the night.”
“Fun for the daddies,” Aiden laughed.
Juliette gave him a light-hearted eye roll. “These women are my good friends. The men are lovely, don’t get me wrong. But we girls need some time to let loose too, don’t you think?” Aiden opened his mouth to speak, but Juliette gasped, cutting him off, clearly a little chattier after a few drinks. “You and Callie should stay late with us tonight,” she said to Olivia. “And Mom! Where is she? We need to get her a drink!”
“Speaking of drinks,” Aiden said. “What would you ladies like? Another… Is that a mojito?”
They both nodded.
“Great. Luke and I will get you one.”
After Juliette had run off into the crowd, Olivia turned to Callie. “I’m having so much fun,” she said. “We should stay. Maybe Gram can watch Wyatt for us—she’s always asking for him to stay over. If I text her, and she says yes, would you stay?”
Callie chewed on her nail.
“Don’t think so much,” Olivia said, that sisterly look in her eyes. Callie and Olivia had shared so many moments together that they might as well be sisters.
“Okay,” she relented. Olivia rarely got time to herself and if she wanted to stay, then Callie should put her own confusion aside and stay with her.
Looking deliriously happy, Olivia pulled out her phone and started texting madly. “Thank you,” she said, looking up for a moment before turning her attention back to her phone.
Luke and Aiden came back with more than their drinks. Juliette was with them, but also another woman walked beside Luke: An older woman, she was thin, with salt-and-pepper hair styled just so, fanning across her forehead and diamond earrings the size of small buttons in her ears. Her demeanor seemed slightly stiff, given the party going on; her expression was serious, yet gentle. Luke leaned down to say something to her, and she smiled warmly at him before the sober expression returned.