by Toni Blake
Tamra cast a sideways glance at Cami, now in a conversation with the seascape painter. “It won’t work. Someone like her can only see dollar signs.”
Reece took that in, weighed it. He didn’t want to be blinded here. But on the other hand . . . “I think there’s a chance. And even if I’m wrong, it doesn’t matter—she can’t buy the Crab unless I sell it. I’m just trying to take the high road and show her why her company’s plan doesn’t make sense for this part of town.”
“Well . . . I just wouldn’t want to see you waste your time on something not worth wasting time on, that’s all.”
“Don’t worry—I have the situation completely under control.”
And that wasn’t 100 percent true—but true enough for now, especially if it calmed Tamra’s worries. “So you don’t have to be mean to her on my account,” he added with a grin.
She tried to smile back, but like before, it didn’t reach her eyes. He wondered what that was about.
“Move it—you’re blockin’ my way, sonny.”
Reece turned to see the familiar grin of Charlie Knight, an old man he’d become friendly with in the last year or so. Charlie couldn’t walk with ease and was in his wheelchair tonight, but it was nice to see him out and about from the rest home up the road where he lived. His lady friend, Susan, also from the home, was at his side, though she was more mobile, using a walker.
“They let you out? Here? In a crowd?” Reece teased him. “Don’t they know what a troublemaker you are?”
“Nope, I got ’em fooled,” Charlie said. “And me and Susan talked our friend, Ron, here, into loadin’ us up into the special van to bring us out. Haven’t been out to the Sunset Celebration in a blue moon and weather was too nice to stay in.”
The man behind him wore scrubs and Reece deduced he must be “Ron the Nurse.” Reece was good friends with Charlie’s granddaughter, Christy, and her boyfriend Jack, and he’d heard them mention Ron the Nurse on many occasions.
“So you’re Christy’s friend, the Happy Crab owner,” Ron said. He was a heavyset man with glasses, a beard, and a friendly air, and who, Reece knew from Charlie, was gay. And while it surprised Reece a little that Charlie was so fond of him—Charlie was definitely a guy’s guy, even in a wheelchair—he supposed stranger things had happened. He hadn’t exactly expected to get fond of Cami, either.
“And I heard I’d recognize you by the large iguana you’d be walking on a leash,” Ron said, “but no iguana? I’m disappointed.”
“Yeah, where is good old Fifi anyway?” Charlie asked.
But just then Cami came back up beside him. And Ron said, “Well, hello—aren’t you just the prettiest thing on the pier tonight?” as Charlie asked, “Who’s this?” with a conspiratorial grin.
“This is . . . Cami,” Reece said. He fought the urge to add the part about her trying to buy his business, but he’d promised, so he didn’t. And that made him feel like he should explain his association with her in some other way, but he didn’t have one, so he just moved on. “Cami, meet Charlie, Susan, and Ron.”
“I was lookin’ forward to seein’ Fifi, too,” Charlie said on a laugh, “but a pretty girl’s a far better companion for a walk on the beach than a scaly old iguana.”
“Don’t let Fifi hear you call her scaly or old,” Reece joked with him. Then he said to Cami, “Charlie’s granddaughter is a good friend of mine.”
“And speak of the devil—there she is right now. How’s that for some timin’?” Charlie said, and Reece looked over his shoulder, spotting Christy and Jack in the distance as they chatted with Larry over his painted tiles.
“Christy! Jack!” Reece called.
A moment later, the two joined them. “Hey,” Christy said, as merry as usual, “looks like we found the party!” Then her eyes dropped to Charlie. “You’re the last guy I expected to see here! Why didn’t you text me?”
“Last minute thing and I was just about to when we ran into Reece and his new friend here.”
After Christy greeted Susan, she looked to the nurse and said, “Ron, you’re an angel for bringing him!” Reece knew that while Christy and Jack got Charlie out of the home as much as possible, they appreciated other people helping make his life more active, too.
“I try,” Ron said kiddingly but preening a bit.
Turning her attention to Cami then, she introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Christy. And you are?”
“Camille,” she answered, and Reece realized he’d nearly forgotten she chose to use that more formal version of her name. He really did think Cami suited her better, especially as he’d gotten to see the friendlier side of her.
“But I call her Cami,” Reece chimed in.
“To get on my nerves,” Cami added. And everyone laughed. But Reece could still feel their curiosity, too. He didn’t show up at the Sunset Celebration with a woman at his side—ever. He just usually preferred his liaisons to be more private. Because it kept people from asking questions or speculating. So why had he suddenly forgotten about that and brought Cami with him tonight?
After Jack introduced himself as well, he asked, “Where’s Fifi?”
That seemed to be the question of the hour. “Gave her the night off,” Reece replied, and everyone laughed a little more.
“Did you know Mike and Rachel are here?” Christy asked Reece, and was then polite enough to explain to Cami, “They’re old friends from my hometown—Destiny, Ohio. Mike’s parents have lived here for years and Mike and Rachel are here visiting on vacation this week.”
“Didn’t they have a baby or something?” Reece asked, trying to remember what he’d heard from Christy—or maybe it had been from John or Nancy Romo, Mike’s parents.
“Yes—this is their first trip since then! And wait ’til you see the baby! Adorable.”
“I bet,” Reece said. He wasn’t that into babies, but he respected that other people were.
Then Christy changed the subject. “Hey, when are we going snorkeling?”
“Anytime you guys want,” Reece told them.
“Well . . . then how about tomorrow?” she suggested with playfully raised eyebrows.
“We’re both taking a couple of days off to unwind,” Jack explained.
Only then Christy looked to Cami. And then back to Reece. “Or if this isn’t a good time . . .”
“No, it’s a great time,” Reece replied quickly. Because it was. “Not like I have a lot of customers to be taking care of, after all. And sounds fun. So it’s a date.”
AFTER leaving Reece’s friends, Camille and he continued perusing the wares on the pier. The old man, Charlie, had been right—it was a beautiful night out, and after checking out all the vendors’ tables, Reece suggested they cross the sand toward the water to better take in the sunset. Now they sat side by side in the sand on a quieter stretch of beach looking out over a neon pink and gold sky.
“Your friends are nice,” she said. Excluding Tamra—who clearly didn’t like her. But she left that part out. She could understand why, after all, and that made it mostly about business, so it didn’t bother her.
Unless . . . maybe it was about more than just business. She could have sworn Tamra had looked at Reece in a way that struck her as . . . romantic. She hadn’t noticed that at the pool when they’d first met, but something about tonight had seemed different.
“It was easier when I was allowed to explain who you are,” Reece said. “Now they all think I have a secret girlfriend.”
Hmm. Something about the idea made Camille’s chest warm. Maybe she wanted to be Reece’s secret girlfriend. “So you don’t? Have one?” It dawned on her that it might be a good idea to verify that.
“No, secret or otherwise,” he confirmed.
Good. Maybe it wouldn’t ever really matter—but on the other hand, maybe it would. Every time he touched her, she thought it would.
Still, she couldn’t help wanting to find out more about that situation. “Why not? Tamra seems . . . enamored of you.”
“Then . . . why no one else?”
He took his time answering, still peering out over the water, watching as a pelican dove for a fish. “Let’s just say I’m a no-strings kinda guy,” he finally replied.
Hmm. “How old are you?”
“Thirty-five.” He glanced over. “Why?”
“Just curious. Though . . . that’s an age when a guy usually starts wanting to settle down if he hasn’t already.”
He appeared completely unfazed, hands planted in the sand behind him as he leaned back onto them. “Not me. I like my life exactly the way it is.”
“You don’t want kids?”
He gave his usual Reece shrug. “Kids are great, but not in the cards for me.”
“Why not?”
He cast a critical look in her direction. “Damn, you’re a nosy woman.”
Now it was she who shrugged. “I was just asking. And I’ve answered your nosy questions.”
He returned his gaze to the horizon. “It’s like I said, I’m happy the way things are.”
“I’m starting to think Fifi is your girlfriend,” she told him, letting the tiniest hint of dryness color her voice.
This time his look came from beneath shaded lids. “That was a weird thing to say.”
She gave another easy shrug. “It just seems like people expect you two to be together all the time, joined at the hip.”
“She doesn’t really have a hip,” he pointed out. “But any guy iguana would be lucky to have her.” Then he tossed her a glance, now looking amused. “Jealous, Tink?”
She gave an exaggerated eye roll and said with a thick dose of sarcasm, “Yes, you figured me out. I’m jealous of a humongous, scaly—”
“Dinosaur,” he cut her off.
Funny, a couple of days ago that would have pissed her off, but now it made her laugh. And his suggestion that she might be jealous, that there was something between her and Reece, didn’t bother her. She didn’t think it was any big secret that they were attracted to each other, so she decided to officially not deny it or be embarrassed by it.
As the two of them sat watching the last remnants of the sunset, a stylish-looking thirty-something couple with a baby in a stroller came into view near where the water met the sand. The broad-shouldered, dark-haired father pushed the stroller and Camille could see the couple’s shoes stowed in a mesh compartment beneath the baby’s seat.
“See that guy?” Reece said softly.
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“I know him. That’s Mike Romo and his wife, Rachel, who Christy mentioned being in town. And I like the guy—but do you know what I see right now?”
“What?” Camille asked.
“I see a guy who’s given up his life, his whole identity.”
Next to him, Camille balked. “What?”
“I’ve known him for years—from his visits to see his parents. And he’s a cop. And he always acted like a cop. He used to be a pretty hard-edged dude. Kind of a tough guy, or at least a no-nonsense guy. But look at him now.” Reece motioned toward where the trio had stopped to peer out over the ocean. “Wife. Baby. Pushing a pink stroller even. I barely recognize the guy—and he’s definitely not who he used to be.”
The good-looking dad then stooped down next to the stroller to re-tie the baby’s little yellow hat under her chin. “How’s my sweetheart?” Camille heard him say in one of those playful, exaggerated voices people use with babies. “Daddy loves you so, so much. What a pretty girl!”
Then he stood up and smiled into his wife’s eyes to say, “Almost as beautiful as her mother.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere, Officer Romeo,” the wife replied.
Then he slid his arm around her waist and said, “Give your sexy husband a kiss.”
As they stood exchanging a long kiss that turned Camille warmer just watching, the surf washing up near their toes, she said to Reece, “Yes, he looks absolutely miserable.”
Reece just shrugged. “Different people value different things, I guess,” he answered. But Camille thought he was faking it now, just sticking to his guns to be stubborn—because different people might want different things, but she thought all people wanted to be happy, and Mike Romo certainly looked like a man succeeding at that.
“So what about you?” Reece asked then. “Do you want kids? Want to be a mom?” And then he flinched. “Wait,” he said. “I forgot for a second that I really don’t know you very well. And that for all I know, you already have some.” She thought he suddenly looked worried—whether about having made the assumption or about her possibly having kids, she didn’t know. She only knew his eyes stayed wide and he now appeared uncharacteristically off his game. “Do you?”
She decided to cut him a break, put him at ease. “No, no kids—and never been married or anything like that.” In case he was wondering. “And . . . I’m not sure if I want kids or not. Under the right circumstances, maybe. But my life right now is mostly about work and travel, so if kids are in the mix, it’ll be down the road.”
He nodded. Then told her, “I’ve never been married, either.”
“I know.”
He slowly turned his head to look at her, silently asking how. “Please tell me you didn’t do some entire background check on me.”
She let out a laugh. “Don’t be so paranoid, Donovan. I know you’ve never been married because everything about you screams ‘never been married.’ Right down to your—”
“Dinosaur?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said with a smile.
“Reece Donovan? Is that you?”
They both looked up as Mike Romo headed their way; then they got to their feet. He had to pick up the stroller to more easily transport it through the softer, hillier sand, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“Hey Romo, what’s up?” Reece said in return.
“Just brought my two best girls for a little vacation—and some grandma and grandpa time for this one.” He pointed to the baby, then introduced her. “This is Farris.”
“Cute kid,” Reece said.
“Aw—how sweet,” Camille chimed in, smiling down at the baby girl—and that prompted the usual introductions between them all.
“Hey, where’s Fifi?” Mike asked after that, and Reece looked tired by the question, and Camille wanted to laugh but didn’t.
“I left her on her own at the Crab tonight,” Reece replied. “I only hope she’s not throwing a wild party while I’m gone.”
After a little more small talk, Reece mentioned having heard they were here from Christy. “I’m taking Christy and Jack snorkeling tomorrow if you guys want to join us.”
“Sounds good to me,” Mike replied.
Then Reece looked to Camille, apparently remembering he hadn’t ever explained about that. “I have a couple boats docked behind the Crab. Don’t know if you’ve seen ’em—but I take motel guests and friends snorkeling on the catamaran.”
Huh. Of course Camille had seen the boats docked in the slips behind the Happy Crab, but she’d continued to think it highly unlikely that any of them were his. Because they were big boats. Nice boats. And there were more than two of them, but no matter which two were his, they were impressive assets.
And crap—this made him a good guy all over again. To just take people snorkeling because he could. And his guests, too. Not that he’d offered that amenity to her—but she decided to let that go under the circumstances.
“Then it’s a date,” Rachel replied with a smile. “Mike’s mom will watch the baby and all six of us will go snorkeling. It’ll be fun to do something with other couples on vacation.”
When Camille shifted her glance to Reece after that last part, he was looking back at her. Then he said, “We’re not . . .” and stopped.
“Not what?” Mike asked easily.
Reece hesitated. “We’re not . . . sure what time yet, but give me your
number and I’ll text you in the morning.”
Hmm. She’d been sure he was about to correct that whole couple assumption—but then he’d changed his tune. What was that about? One more example of him just being a decent guy? Too decent to hurt her feelings? Though she wasn’t sure that made sense given that he’d said plenty of things since they’d met that could have hurt her feelings.
Still, as they walked back toward the Happy Crab a little while later in the dark, a salty breeze wafting past, she decided it was only fair to let him off the hook one more time. After all, Rachel had sort of put him on the spot, even if unwittingly. “You don’t have to take me snorkeling with your friends,” Camille told him, “if you’d rather not. I’d understand.”
He looked up, their gazes meeting dimly in the moonlight. “You don’t want to go?”
“Well, you didn’t really ask me—you just kind of got roped into taking me.” And when he didn’t immediately respond, she added, “Maybe you should bring Fifi instead since everyone loves her so much.”
She’d looked away, but another quick glance over as they traversed the sand revealed the amused expression on his face.
“What?” she asked. Had she sounded terse? She hadn’t meant to. Exactly.
“You really are jealous of a dinosaur,” he said with the same smug little grin she’d seen on his handsome face when they’d first met.
She simply rolled her eyes. “I am so not jealous of your silly dinosaur. But you should have told them we aren’t a couple.”
“I started to,” he explained, sounding slightly exasperated now, “but I was afraid that would be like saying you’re not my friend and I’d be accused of the whole ogre thing again. It’s hard reading your mind, woman.”
They walked in silence once more, approaching Coral Street, the neon Happy Crab sign smiling at them from across the way.
“Still, I don’t have to go,” she offered. “If you’d prefer I didn’t. They’re your friends, and I’m . . . not, as you’re so fond of pointing out, so I won’t be offended.”
“You would be totally offended,” he argued. But then his voice softened, deepened. “And . . . I’d like you to go. If you want to. Okay?”