Reckless (Pier 70, 1)

by Nicole Edwards

  “Some guy and his assistant. They want to rent a boat next week to take out their work group.”

  “Cool.” Roan didn’t seem at all interested.

  “Everything okay?” Cam asked, reaching for the coffeepot and pouring what was left of the three-hour-old coffee into his mug.

  “Maybe.”

  Cam replaced the carafe, then faced Roan.

  “It’s my sister,” Roan said.

  “Cassie?” Roan had two sisters, one older, one younger. His older sister, Eva, was married with two kids, living in Ohio, while his younger sister, Cassie, was still in the area, though Cam didn’t know for sure where that was. She moved around a lot.

  “Yeah.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  Roan shrugged. “My stepmom called this morning. She didn’t say much, just asked if I’d call Cass.”

  Before Cam could inquire further, the door chimed and in walked a group of people. A dull roar erupted as they chattered amongst themselves, obviously there to rent a boat.

  “Mornin’,” Cam greeted, then glanced over at Roan. “We’ll talk later, yeah?”

  Roan nodded, then disappeared out the back door, leaving Cam to deal with the incoming.

  “That guy was totally checking you out,” Milly said when Gannon pulled out onto the road that would lead back to the office. “Holy shit. Did you see his tattoos? And those muscles.”

  Yeah, Gannon had seen them, all right.

  “And I’m pretty sure his nipples were pierced?”

  Gannon didn’t take his eyes off the road, not wanting Milly to see the confusion on his face. “Pierced? Why would…? What makes you think that?”

  “I could see the outline through his shirt. Sheesh. Pay more attention, Gannon.”

  Oh, he’d paid plenty of attention. Too much attention.

  Milly continued. “He was hot, right? You thought he was hot?”

  Gannon chuckled, amused by her excitement. It wasn’t new for Milly. She was constantly attempting to set him up with someone, and on the off chance Gannon showed even the slightest hint of interest, she was all over it.

  “You should call him,” she said, still rambling incessantly. “Ask him out. Or maybe he’ll call you. If he does, will you go out with him?”

  “Take a breath.”

  Milly made a dramatic effort to inhale and exhale, giggling as she did. “That was so worth the hour trip,” she told him.

  “So does that mean we don’t have to go out on the boat then?”

  She leveled him with a glare.

  Couldn’t blame him for trying.

  “I wonder if he’ll be the one to take us out on the lake next week.”

  Gannon did, too. Part of him hoped he did; the other part, now that he’d had a chance to get his bearings, wasn’t sure he could handle being close to Cam for any extended period of time. As it was, every time he blinked, Gannon saw him as vividly as though he were still standing only a few feet away.

  That couldn’t be good.

  “When we get back to the office,” Milly began, “I’m gonna send out a memo and let the team know this is a mandatory team-building event.”

  “Mandatory?” Gannon glanced over at her.

  “If I give them an option, they’ll stay right there in the office.”

  True, they would. He would, too.

  Thankfully, Milly was silent for a few minutes. Long enough for Gannon to gather his thoughts about Cam.

  He wondered if Milly was right. Maybe he should ask Cam out.

  It’d been a long time since he’d felt this sort of attraction to a man; surely he shouldn’t ignore it. If he did, who knew how long it would be before it happened again.

  You’ll see him on Tuesday, remember?

  Okay, so the voice in his head had a point, but could he wait until then? What if he didn’t get to see Cam on Tuesday? What if someone else took them out on the boat? Then what would he do?

  What if Cam wasn’t interested? What if Gannon made a fool of himself?

  Gannon took a deep breath.

  The pessimism didn’t suit him. He didn’t like to think negatively. Though he hadn’t always had the easiest life, he had set out years ago to think positive. He attributed his success to that, the fact that he didn’t look for doom and gloom around every corner.

  So, yeah, what could it hurt?

  “You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?”

  Gannon shot a look at Milly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Milly’s husky laugh filled the car. “And now I know you’re lying.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “Because you didn’t answer my question with a question.”

  Turning back to face the road, Gannon smiled to himself.

  This woman knew him too well.

  Six

  Sunday evening

  Cam tilted his beer to his lips, letting the warm breeze blow across his face, trying to relax as he sat on the edge of the pier, bare feet dangling in the water. Behind him, Lulu was snoring, zonked out after spending an hour leaping into the water to retrieve the stick Cam had tossed her.

  He couldn’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday evening.

  “Tell me this…” Roan said quickly, his beer bottle dangling between two fingers as he sat on the edge of the pier beside Cam. “What made you think you could beat him in the first place?”

  Okay, so maybe a little less chatter would be good, but he hadn’t said it was a perfect Sunday.

  Roan’s question was followed by a laugh, and Cam smiled, staring down at the water. “I did beat him,” he reminded his friend.

  “It was close.”

  “Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades,” Cam refuted. “I still beat him.”

  They’d been sitting on the pier as the sun started its slow descent in the sky, enjoying the solitude that only a Sunday evening could afford them. They closed the marina early on Sundays, which left them with a little free time for themselves. Dare and Teague had opted to go out, something Cam didn’t much care to do these days. The gay bars that Teague was fond of didn’t do much for Cam, but he knew Teague would likely never give up trying to get him to go. After the first time he’d mistakenly agreed, Cam swore he’d never do it again.

  “One of these days, those young punks are gonna best you,” Roan offered, tilting his beer to his lips.

  “Probably,” Cam agreed. “But I ain’t ready to give up yet.”

  “Obviously. That’s why we nicknamed you Reckless. So what’s next? You gonna try skydiving?”

  “It’s on my list, so yeah, why not?” Cam spent most of his time on or in the water, whether he was working or not. And yes, as Roan had mentioned, Cam was somewhat wild, perhaps a little careless at times, never finding a dare he wouldn’t take. It was the reason they’d started calling him Reckless.

  That and a few years ago, he’d started a list of all the things he wanted to do, and once his friends had found out, they’d made it their mission to add more to it.

  “You’re gettin’ a little old for that shit, aren’t ya?”

  “Old? Who’re you callin’ old, grandpa?” Cam laughed. He certainly didn’t consider himself old; however, he didn’t consider himself young by any means.

  “Hey, watch it,” Roan screeched. “I’m only eleven days older than you.”

  “And?” Cam took a long pull of his beer.

  “Bro, that kid you beat today was twenty-one, max. That makes you old.”

  “Twenty-two.” Not that it really mattered. “And I beat him, didn’t I?”

  Roan clearly couldn’t let it go. Just that morning, Cam had rented out two of the personal water crafts to a couple of young guys. While they were out on the lake, Cam had opted to take his own jet ski out to check on them, make sure they were doing what they were supposed to. While he’d waited for the pair to finish a race they’d started, he’d floated in the general vicinity. And when they’d returned, the youn
ger one had been hyped up on adrenaline, excited that he’d beaten his buddy. That was when the guy had offered Cam a dare, insisting there was no way Cam could beat him.

  Well, Cam had easily accepted, as he always did, and twenty minutes later, the young punk wasn’t quite as cocky as he had been. That short amount of time he’d spent out there had been fun, making Cam realize he didn’t do nearly enough of it these days.

  And now, as he sat on the pier with Roan, he thought back to all the crazy things he’d done up to this point in his life. He’d surfed the Pipeline in Oahu, gone zip-lining in Montana, swum with dolphins, once with sharks, been white-water rafting in Salmon River, went snowboarding every couple of years because he loved that shit. The list went on, but the list that remained was equally long. Sure, he was somewhat reckless by definition, but only in certain aspects of his life. When it came to recreation, he hadn’t met a challenge he couldn’t accept. However, in other areas, he was likely far too cautious for his own good.

  Likely the reason for his nonexistent love life.

  His thoughts strayed to Gannon Burgess, the pretty-boy executive who’d waltzed into the marina looking to rent a boat. Every time Cam closed his eyes, he saw the handsome face and dark eyes, not to mention the suit. Although Gannon was definitely Cam’s opposite in every way, there was something about him, something that Cam couldn’t quite put his finger on. Something that he couldn’t stop thinking about.

  For two days, he had spent far too much time thinking about the guy since he’d watched him walk out of the marina office and climb into his fancy Lexus. And for whatever reason, erasing him from his mind wasn’t happening.

  “Hand me another beer, would ya?” Roan asked, nodding toward the cooler of ice sitting beside Cam.

  Retrieving another, Cam handed it over. He watched Roan for a moment, noticing the way his forehead pinched slightly.

  “What’s on your mind?” Cam inquired.

  “Nada,” Roan said a little too quickly, a clear giveaway that his friend was hiding something.

  “Is it Cass?”

  Roan shook his head, obviously not intending to elaborate.

  Cam knew better than to push Roan to talk when he didn’t want to. Roan was usually relaxed and calm, but when he was irritated, he was downright impossible to deal with.

  Prime example was his argument with the printer a couple of days ago.

  Rather than interrogate Roan, Cam sat silently.

  “Is this enough for you?” Roan finally asked after several minutes of silence.

  Cam looked over at his friend. That pinched look from before was replaced by what appeared to be confusion. “What? The marina?”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  Cam knew that Roan was a little restless these days, but he wasn’t sure what was spurring it on. He didn’t open up much, choosing to keep to himself most of the time, but he wasn’t good at hiding it.

  “Talk to me, man,” Cam coaxed, but before he could encourage Roan more, his cell phone rang. Fishing it out of his pocket and seeing that it was Dare, he hit the talk button. “What’s up?”

  “Where’re you at?”

  “On the pier, why?”

  “There’s, uh … someone here who wants to talk to you. I’ll send him down.”

  “Who is—” Cam’s question was cut off when Dare disconnected the call.

  “What’s up?” Roan’s curiosity had replaced his somberness from moments ago.

  Cam shrugged. “Dare said someone’s here to see me.”

  They both turned at the sound of footsteps behind them. Lulu lifted her head as well, but she clearly didn’t see the stranger as a threat because she let out a soft snort and went back to sleep.

  Suddenly grateful that the sun was setting low on the horizon, casting shadows around them, Cam prayed that his surprise didn’t register as he watched the man approach.

  “Who the hell is that?” Roan asked, his voice so low Cam barely heard him.

  “A client.”

  “Well, that’d be my cue to go.” Roan was up on his feet in an instant. “Come on, Lu. Let’s get dinner.” Without saying good-bye, Roan headed up the pier with Lulu at his side, stopping briefly to greet Gannon with a casual, “Hey, how are ya?” before casting Cam a smile, then disappearing toward the marina.

  Not bothering to move from his seat, Cam took a deep breath as Gannon cleared the distance between them.

  Clearing his throat, Cam found his voice. “What brings you down here? Doin’ some research?”

  Gannon’s husky chuckle sent a chill dancing along Cam’s spine. That was another thing he couldn’t seem to forget about Gannon, that deep, sexy baritone.

  “Actually…” Gannon began. “Mind if I sit?”

  “Go for it,” Cam told him. “Wanna beer?”

  “Sure.”

  Cam retrieved another beer from the cooler and handed it over to Gannon. He had absolutely no idea what the guy was doing there. Had Cam somehow conjured him up from all the crazy thoughts he’d been having? Surely the guy wasn’t lost. Whatever the reason, Cam prayed his confusion didn’t show. It was bad enough he’d spent two days thinking about him and now he was face-to-face with his most recent fantasy.

  Okay, no. Not fantasy.

  More like…

  Ah, hell.

  His fantasy took a seat and… Wait, start over…

  Gannon took a seat and Cam smiled to himself. Gannon had shed the suit, but he was wearing a navy blue polo, dark jeans, and … Cam fought the urge to laugh. Though he looked pretty damned irresistible, Gannon was wearing a pair of Vans that appeared to be brand new, which didn’t work well with the water lapping beneath them. Not that Cam noticed for long. Gannon’s intoxicating scent drifted past him on the breeze, and Cam’s body hardened.

  “Where’s your lady friend?” Cam asked.

  “My assistant?” Gannon twisted the cap off his beer.

  “Yeah, her,” Cam answered, needing to keep his mind from drifting to places it didn’t belong.

  “Knowing Milly, she’s probably gettin’ ready to go out.”

  “What is it with going out on Sunday?” Cam mused, thinking back to Teague’s request for Cam to go out tonight.

  “No idea,” Gannon said. “I’m more of the stay-at-home kind, myself.”

  Cam was, too, but he didn’t say as much. Instead, he settled for, “What brings you down here?”

  What Gannon said next shocked Cam to the roots of his soul, and he knew for a fact there was no way he hid his surprise that time.

  Before he could think better of it, Gannon blurted the first thing that came to mind. “I wanted to see you.”

  Well, hell. That had come out far too quickly, and the stunned look on Cam’s face confirmed it.

  Although it was true, Gannon hadn’t intended to show up at the marina when he’d first set out from his house, but somehow he’d found himself there. Milly had attempted to get him to go out to a club tonight, but he’d turned her down, pretending he had work to do. When she hadn’t believed him, Gannon had used the it’s Sunday, tomorrow’s a workday routine. She’d finally given up.

  And after nearly two hours of driving around, desperate for something to take his mind off things better left alone—namely the man now less than a foot from him—Gannon had still ended up here, despite the voice in his head telling him this was a stupid idea.

  Then, as though that weren’t bad enough, for the last thirty minutes he’d been sitting in his car, staring out at the water, trying to get up the nerve to talk to Cam, wondering if he was even around.

  Gannon had taken it as a sign when he’d seen another guy walk out of the marina office, locking up behind him. Figuring it was someone who worked there and he’d likely know where Cam was, Gannon had climbed out of his car, smoothed down his wrinkled polo, and made his way over, forcing his hands into his pockets in an effort to look casual.

  He’d blown that all to hell when it’d taken him two tries before he managed to ask
if Cam was around.

  Although helpful, the guy had looked at him as though he were half out of his mind.

  Perhaps he was.

  And here he was, exactly where he’d told himself he shouldn’t be, no matter how much he wanted to be. On top of that, Gannon wasn’t sure what the hell he was supposed to say now that he’d revealed the truth.

  “You wanted to see me?” Cam didn’t sound at all as though he believed him.

  “Yes,” he confirmed. “I wanted to see you.” There. Now that there was no confusion, Gannon felt… No, wait. It didn’t help. He was still wound tight, maybe more so now.

  Cam chuckled, the sexy, dark rumble reflecting what Gannon suspected was shock.

  “He wanted to see me,” Cam muttered, evidently talking to himself.

  Gannon didn’t say anything to that. He took a sip of his beer, then glanced down at the label. Not bad. Not exactly his thing, but tolerable. While he let the silence settle between them, Gannon peered over at Cam from beneath his lashes, trying to get a better look at the tattoos that covered the majority of his left arm, running from shoulder to wrist, revealed by the sleeveless shirt he was wearing.

  “So, seriously?” Cam looked over at him, those pretty blue eyes glittering in the last of the sun’s rays reflecting off the water. “You drove an hour to … see me?”

  “How do you know I don’t live here?”

  Cam cocked an eyebrow.

  “Fine,” Gannon admitted. “I don’t live here. I did drive an hour to see you. Wait. How did you know I live an hour from here?”

  Cam turned back to face the water. Gannon grinned. Cam hadn’t been the only one interested.

  “Okay, fine. Don’t answer that.” Gannon didn’t need an answer. “But is that hard to believe?”

  Sure, it was a stupid question. And he already knew the answer because yes, it was apparent Cam found it hard to believe. As a matter of fact, Gannon still didn’t know what had prompted him to come all the way down to the marina just to see a man he’d spoken to for all of fifteen minutes.

  But here they were and he wasn’t ready to leave.

  Cam twisted around to look at Gannon, his bicep and tricep flexing when he planted his hand down on the wooden plank. “Has this worked for you in the past?”