by Addison Cole
“How’s it going, Pep?”
“Jamie?” Leanna peered over the deck as he ascended the stairs. Her hair hung loose over her shoulders, and her white tee was streaked with jam. Her eyes were wide with the smile on her lips. “Want a scone? They’re fresh.”
“No, thanks. I just wanted to pimp you for a little info.” He set Pepper on the deck and hugged Leanna, then gave Kurt a brotherly pat on the back.
Kurt looked up from the news site he was reading. “Hey, man. How’s it going? I hear you’ve got a line on the new Seaside babe.”
“Hey!” Leanna leaned over his shoulder and ran her hands down his chest. “Don’t call her that. Her name’s Jessica, although she is a total babe.”
Jamie flopped into a chair. “Everyone knows? That didn’t take long.”
“Jenna called me this morning. I’m running too late to stop by there.” Leanna went inside and came out with a mug of coffee for Jamie.
“Thanks, Leanna.” One of the things Jamie loved most about his summer friends was that their doors were always open. They didn’t rely on cell phones and email to communicate. Even though he loved his work and he loved Boston, being at the Cape with his friends rejuvenated him in ways no place else, and no other friends, ever could.
“Leanna, do you know a guy named Steve Lacasse at the flea market?”
Leanna furrowed her brow and shook her head. “I don’t know the last names of people there, but I know a few Steves. What does he sell?”
“I assume baseball memorabilia, but I’m not really sure. He used to own a store called My Mom Threw Out My Baseball Cards in Orleans, and he closed it down a little over a year ago. I did some checking, and he works the flea markets, here and in Dennis, and sells his stuff on eBay too. I just want to have a conversation with him.”
“There are about three sports guys at the flea market, but I can’t remember a Steve. I’ll check it out when I’m there today.”
Kurt ran his hand through his thick dark hair. “There is the Steve with that yellow truck. He sells all sorts of stuff—records, books, fishing rods—but I’ve seen sports memorabilia at his booth too. He might be the guy to ask.” Kurt opened a document and perused it.
“You know, you’re right.” Leanna picked up a big, colorful bag and hoisted it over her shoulder. “He might at least know who the guy is. If you want, I can talk to him today and let you know what he says. What’s this for anyway?”
Just thinking of Jessica brought a smile to his lips. She’d been so beautiful last night, so open and honest with him, that as hard as it was to wait to become even more intimate, he was glad they were waiting. He already felt like this was the beginning of a much more meaningful relationship than those that he’d had in the past.
“It’s for Jessica. He sold a baseball on eBay that she thinks was her father’s when he was a boy, and she wants to track down the new owner.”
“Fate.” Kurt’s eyes never left the laptop. He continued typing. He was a man of few words, but this one had Jamie stumped.
“What do you mean?”
“Steve. My Mom Threw Out My Baseball Cards? I assume her father’s parents lost the ball somewhere along the way and this guy got it, maybe after it passed hands a few dozen times?” Kurt shifted his eyes to Jamie. “Think like a writer. Connect the dots.”
Until then it hadn’t struck him how ironic the name of the store was, given Jessica’s situation. “So it’s fate that he works here?”
Leanna kissed Kurt’s cheek and patted his shoulder. “I’ll see you later. I’ve got to run. I’ll talk to the Steves I know and specifically the Steve that Kurt mentioned, and I’ll text you after I do.”
“See ya, Leanna. Thanks.” Jamie turned his attention back to Kurt. He wasn’t a big believer in fate, given his parents’ untimely deaths, but he was curious about what Kurt meant.
Kurt leaned back and clasped his hands behind his head. “Fate. You know, something that’s destined to happen. The development of events beyond a person’s control. Jamie, look at me and Leanna, or Bella and Caden. Would you ever have put us together as couples? Fate, man. Jessica’s here, you’re here, Steve might be here. It’s all fate.”
Kurt went back to typing, and Jamie knew it must be nine o’clock.
Jamie thought about fate on the short drive back to Seaside. How could that be? Would fate have caused his parents’ safari vehicle to break down in the bush? Would fate have driven them into the bush without their guide that morning? Or placed the hungry lions there when his mother left the vehicle, he assumed to go to the bathroom? Would fate have put the video camera in his father’s hands as he filmed in the opposite direction and caught her screams as a backdrop to the beautiful scenery—or when the camera crashed to the ground and his father’s frantic footfalls and guttural, terrifying screams could be heard sprinting toward his dying wife? Against Vera’s pleas, Jamie had insisted on watching the video when he was in his late twenties. That video had taken the story of his parents’ deaths and made it real. He’d watched it over and over ten, twenty, maybe thirty times in a row—and then he’d buried the sights and sounds so deep he hoped they never resurfaced. But sometimes, when his mind was unoccupied, they did.
As Jamie pulled into Seaside, a painfully familiar thought pressed in on him. Had his father died saving his wife, or had he given himself over to the lions because he loved her too much to live without her?
Jamie wasn’t buying fate, no matter how well it fit his and Jessica’s lives at the moment. Fate was an invisible enemy with, in his eyes, an evil history that he didn’t care to have touch his future.
JESSICA BALANCED HER laptop on her hip and crouched at the bottom of the stairs to her apartment to pick a few wildflowers. She carried them across the quad toward Jamie’s cottage, intending to give the flowers to Vera and to ask Jamie for help finding the eBay seller again, since they got a little sidetracked last night. Deliciously sidetracked.
“Jessie, Jessie, Bo-Bessie!” Jenna waved from Amy’s deck. “Come on over and join us.”
Jessica loved that they included her. She stepped onto the deck and noticed that Bella and Amy were still in their pajamas. Bella’s nightshirt barely covered her butt, while Amy had on pink plaid pajama pants and a tank pajama top with a picture of a sexy cat with an hourglass figure, wearing a black bikini and holding a bottle of wine, and MAKE ME PURR embroidered above it. Jenna grabbed Jessica’s arm and guided her into a chair. She put her hands on her hips and looked pointedly up and down Jessica’s outfit.
Jessica swallowed hard. She and Jenna were both wearing cutoffs and white tanks, each with bikinis beneath. Of course Jenna was as voluptuous as Megan Fox while Jessica was less curvy, like Jennifer Aniston, but they looked like they’d coordinated their outfits, and from the look on Jenna’s face, Jessica guessed this wasn’t a good thing.
“Well, well, look at us.” Jenna narrowed her eyes and raked them down Jessica again as Amy disappeared inside the cottage.
Gulp.
“Now we’re total Seaside sisters!” Jenna leaned down and hugged Jessica. “Don’t worry. I can help you match your sandals a little better. Something blue to go with your suit would be nice.” She lifted her foot and wiggled her toes. “See? Green. Matches my suit.”
“It’s way too early for one of your OCD matchy-matchy lectures.” Bella rolled her eyes as Amy came out with a cup of coffee and set it in front of Jessica. “Sit down, Jen. Jessica, don’t let her anywhere near your apartment, or everything you own will be color-coordinated, alphabetized, and heaven only knows what else.”
Jenna flopped into a chair and stuck out her lower lip.
Amy patted Jenna’s shoulder. “We love your organizational skills. Don’t worry. Bella just didn’t get any last night, so she’s cranky.”
Bella slid her a shut up look.
“Did you get any?” Jenna asked Jessica with wide eyes.
“Me?” Jessica froze.
“Oh, come on. We know you spent the ent
ire day with Jamie, and he’s such a doll. I mean, really. Easy on the eyes and sweet as pie.”
“Cliché,” Bella said. “Sweet as jam.”
“That’s a good one,” Amy said.
“Kurt gave me a thesaurus because I kept calling Caden hot and he got sick of hearing it.” Bella smiled and tucked her thick blond hair behind her ear. “So now I use other words, like sexy, smoldering, scorching…”
“Okay, okay, back to Jessica and Jamie.” Jenna touched Jessica’s arm.
“Jenna! She doesn’t have to kiss and tell,” Amy chided. “She’s nosy, Jessica. Sorry.” She sipped her coffee, then added, “But we are all curious. We love Jamie, and we only want him to be happy.”
“Yeah, so if you plan on using him and then tossing him aside, just forget it, because it’ll bring my claws out.” Bella blew on her fingernails with a serious, dark stare.
I wouldn’t know how to use a guy and toss him aside.
A smile spread across Bella’s lips. “We take care of our own.”
She didn’t know what to say, but her heart was galloping in her chest.
“They terrified me when I was younger,” Amy whispered to her.
Jenna playfully pushed Amy’s arm. “We did not. Bella’s all talk, Jessica. So, how was your date?”
Now she was afraid to answer, and she was pretty sure the word flying through her mind wasn’t appropriate. Wonderful. She opened her mouth, intending to say something benign, like, It was nice, or, We had a lovely time, but her voice had a mind of its own, and out came a long, dreamy sigh, followed by, “A-ma-zing.”
The girls squealed. She felt her cheeks pink up, but she had no hope of keeping to her prim and proper upbringing. The girls were just as excited as she was. She sensed she could trust them as much as she feared Bella’s threat. She had a feeling that the threatening banter, the inquisition, and the smiles they were sending her way were all part of the sisterhood they shared, and she wanted in.
“He’s so…I need that thesaurus.” She laughed.
“Oh my.” Amy raised her brows.
“We didn’t do that.” Here came the prim. “He’s warm and kind, a great listener. Interesting and generous.”
Jenna and Bella rolled their eyes.
“And?” Jenna pushed.
Forget prim; she wanted girlfriend talk. She leaned in close and lowered her voice. “And the best kisser on the planet.”
Bella and Jenna high-fived.
“You guys, she’ll never talk to you again if you do that,” Amy warned. “Jamie never dates girls up here, and he never talks about the women he dates back home. He’s like our sweet, very private brother. We’re happy for you.”
“Thanks. Honestly, I’m happy for me.” Just thinking about Jamie made her smile.
“So were you going over to pretend that you needed computer help?” Jenna pointed to her laptop.
“Pretend? My computer hates me. I’m like the anti-geek. Give me a cello and I’m right at home. Give me a phone or computer? It might as well have dropped into my lap from Mars. But Jamie’s helping me. I’m trying to track down a baseball my dad had as a kid.”
“I knew you were some kind of musician. You were watching Vera with stars in your eyes the other night,” Amy said.
“She was looking at Jamie, goofus,” Bella added.
“Both, probably,” Jessica admitted.
“Speaking of Mr. Amazing Kisser.” Bella nodded toward Jamie’s car as it came up the gravel road and pulled into his driveway.
Jessica’s pulse ratcheted up a notch. “Please don’t say anything to him about what I said.”
All three of them pretended to lock their mouths and toss away the keys.
Jamie crossed the road, a lustful look in his eyes as they connected with Jessica’s.
“Hi, handsome,” Bella said.
“Want some coffee?” Amy asked.
He walked right past them, making a beeline for Jessica. “No, thanks.” He leaned down and pressed a tender kiss to her lips. “Hi, beautiful. Did you sleep okay?”
I can’t breathe. Heat swirled between them so thick she was sure it would sear the deck around their feet.
“Yeah,” she finally managed.
He placed a hand on her shoulder and eyed the girls’ wide-eyed gazes, the smirks on their pretty faces. His lips curled up.
“Did you get the scoop? Am I all that?”
Oh no…
“You’ve been all that since you were a kid.” Amy smiled at Jessica. “Now you’re all that with an awesome girlfriend who refuses to kiss and tell.”
She wanted to run over and hug Amy. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
“But we love her anyway.” Bella winked at Jessica.
She looked up at Jamie, standing behind her, his hands on her shoulders, that easy smile she adored on his lips. “I brought Vera flowers, and I was hoping you might help me with tracking down the baseball guy.”
He leaned down and whispered, “Already done. Come on. I’ll explain.”
When he kissed her cheek, all the girls awwed in unison. She must be getting used to them, because she didn’t feel her cheeks pink up this time. Thank goodness. It was embarrassing to be a blushing twenty-seven-year old.
Jessica thanked Amy for the coffee and followed Jamie across the gravel road to his cottage.
“His store was in Orleans, but he closed it a while ago. He lives in Plymouth, and you won’t believe this, but he works the bigger flea markets around the Cape in the summers, and of course sells his stuff on eBay.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“Bread crumbs. Geeks know how to follow them. Anyway, I went to the flea market, and he wasn’t there, so I went to see Leanna. She’s going to talk to the Steves that are at the flea market today and figure out if one of them is the right guy. Kurt seemed to think one of them was. Anyway, she’ll text his info if he’s the right guy so we can call him.”
They were standing on his deck. Jessica hooked her finger into the front pocket of his shorts. “You did all of that for me?”
He smiled with a casual shrug.
“Thank you so much.” She went up on her tiptoes and kissed him just as the glass door slid open. Jessica stumbled back on her heels, and he caught her by the hip as Vera stepped outside carrying a beach tote.
“I’m sorry to have startled you. Please, continue.” She waved her hands with a conspiratorial grin and sat in one of the deck chairs.
As Jamie ran his hand down Jessica’s arm, his gaze lingered on her, warming her all over.
“Good morning, Gram. Want some coffee?”
“No, thank you, dear. I had some already. Did you two have fun last night?” Vera took a paperback out of her tote.
“We did,” Jamie answered.
The way the corner of his mouth kicked up combined with the heat Jessica saw in his eyes brought back the memory of being with him. Feeling his weight on her, the passion in every heated kiss. Oh, gosh, I am breathing hard again.
He squeezed her arm. She saw the recognition of her heady state in his eyes and had to look away. She handed Vera the wildflowers to distract herself from thinking of Jamie.
“I picked these for you.”
“Aren’t they lovely. Thank you, Jessica.”
“I’ll get a vase.” Jamie went inside the cottage and Jessica sat across from Vera.
“It’s going to be a beautiful day. Do you and Jamie have plans?” Vera asked.
“No, we don’t.” She just realized this was true, and yet it felt like a given that they’d do something together.
Jamie brought out a vase full of water and arranged the flowers in it. “There you go. What do you want to do today, Gram?”
“I’m still a little tired, so I’m going to sit and read for a while. Why don’t the two of you go do something fun?” She smiled up at Jessica.
Jessica recognized the matchmaking Jamie had mentioned, and when she glanced at Jamie she knew he felt it, too.
> He touched her shoulder. “Do you like to bike?”
“Bike? Gosh, I haven’t been on a bicycle since I was little.” She honestly couldn’t remember how long it had been, but she had a vague memory of riding a bike before the cello took up all her free time.
“Oh, Jamie. Good idea. Jessica can use one of ours.” Vera patted Jessica’s leg. “It’s like reading music. It’ll come right back to you.”
“Sounds perfect.”
Jamie loaded the bikes on the rack on the back of his car, and they drove down to Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham. The glass and brick building was built just off of Route 6, with a large amphitheater off to the side.
“Have you been here before?” Jamie took her hand as she stepped from the car.
“No. Other than one weekend trip as a teenager, this is the only time I’ve been to the Cape.” The air smelled like wet earth and sulfur. “What’s that smell?”
“Nauset Marsh. It’s behind the building. Let’s go inside before we ride. This is something you shouldn’t miss. I come every year, even though I’ve seen everything a million times.”
His hands were big and slightly calloused, manly and strong, like him. She loved how her hand felt in his. He had on a pair of army-green cargo shorts and a white tee, and he looked like every one of the words Bella had used to describe Caden. Only better.
“Did the girls grill you this morning?” he asked.
“A little, but it was obvious that they were just looking out for you. Especially Bella.”
He held open the door to the visitor center. “Bella’s protective of everyone, but her bark is worse than her bite.”
The atrium of the visitor center was spacious and busy with people milling about, talking to the forest rangers behind the information desk and hovering over a diorama of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem in the center of the room. The glass back wall offered a spectacular view of Nauset Marsh. Jamie led Jessica through the atrium and down a hallway.
“There’s a bookstore we can check out afterward.” He nodded to a small bookstore as they passed, but continued walking through a set of heavy wooden double doors. “This is my favorite exhibit.”