Alli shifted in her seat, acutely aware of Sam's eyes on her. What on earth was he staring at? Her blue jeans weren't new, neither was the gray cap-sleeve T-shirt she wore. And she hadn't refreshed her makeup since she'd put it on at seven in the morning.
Finally, she drummed up enough courage to look over at him. "What?" she asked.
"I can't look at you?"
"You haven't in a long time."
"Well, maybe I feel like it now."
Alli took in a breath and let it out. In the past three months, she'd tried to separate herself from him. Slowly she was beginning to understand herself better, to believe that she could survive without Sam. But surviving and being happy were two different things, and being near him made everything so much harder. She decided it was time to change the subject.
"Megan wants to know if you can work on the kite tonight after the soccer game."
Sam groaned. "I forgot about the kite."
"Is there a problem?"
"I planned to work on the Thunderbird tonight."
"You can't wax it another day?" She felt a bit peeved by his response. If Tessa had always had one half of his heart, the T-Bird had had the other.
"I'm not waxing it, I'm showing it to a potential buyer," he replied.
Her jaw dropped. "No way. You love that car. You've spent half your life caressing it with hot wax. I can't believe--”
"I'd hardly call a few weekends half my life."
"I'd hardly call it a few weekends." She searched his eyes for the truth. "You said you'd never sell the Thunderbird. When we had that horrible summer of rain and we had to repair the roof, you wouldn't even consider selling it."
He played with the keys still dangling from the ignition, his gaze fixed on the front window. "You said I was stuck in the past. Well, maybe you were right." He glanced over at her, his eyes serious. "I need some things for the business, equipment, maybe a new boat down the road. I could use the money. And the car is a good place to get it. I saw an ad for a Thunderbird on-line recently and the car went for thirty thousand dollars."
"Unbelievable."
"I know. It's a lot of money."
"Not the money, you. You're unbelievable.”
He turned sideways in his seat. "Why?"
"Because you love that car. You worked forever to buy it from Mr. Carlton's widow—nights, weekends, summers. You were obsessed."
"I was sixteen. A car and sex were pretty much all I had on my mind."
"But I can still see you and Tessa driving around town in that car. You thought you were so cool."
"It was a long time ago, Alli. And you and I have driven in the car since then. Hell, we've done a few other things in that car as well, if you remember."
She cleared her throat at the piercing look in his eyes. She didn't want to be reminded of exactly what they'd done in that car. "You've surprised me."
"Maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do."
"Maybe I don't," she admitted. "When did you decide to sell it?"
He thought about her question for a few moments, then said, "Since I moved it out of our garage and into my father's garage. I started wondering why I was holding on to it so tightly when everything else in my life was slipping away."
She caught her breath at his words. "I never thought you wanted to hang on to me, Sam. I thought I was hanging on to you."
He opened his mouth to reply, but whatever he was going to say was cut off as a loud motorcycle sped into the loosely graveled parking lot, kicking up dust and tiny pebbles. Alli was surprised to see Tessa hop off the back of the bike and pull the helmet from her head, shaking out her blond hair with a laugh. Tessa on a motorcycle? Tessa dressed in faded blue jeans with holes at the knees? Tessa?
Alli snuck a glance at Sam, who seemed as dumbstruck as she was.
"Hey," Tessa called out with a wave.
Sam opened his door and stepped out, leaving Alli to follow.
"I can't believe you're riding a motorcycle. What happened to thinking that was like riding down the road in a garbage can?" Sam asked her.
She laughed again. "Oh, I still think that, but Jimmy has a way of convincing me I should try new things."
"Nice to see you," Jimmy said to Sam, then he flung a charming grin in Alli's direction. "And I'm more than happy to see you again."
Alli couldn't help responding to Jimmy's sexy smile, especially since Sam was staring at Tessa like he'd never seen her before. So much for thinking he was having second thoughts about their marriage. "Likewise," she replied.
"So what do we do now?" Jimmy asked.
"We'll take a boat out to the far end of the bay and pull up some fresh oysters. Hunting for a wild pearl is a little like looking for a needle in a haystack," Alli continued. "We often had to try several oyster farms before we found anything."
"I do hope this involves some actual eating of oysters."
"By the time we're through, you'll never want to see an oyster again," Alli promised.
"Maybe, but I bet my libido will be in overdrive," he replied with a wink in Alli's direction.
"We better get started," Sam interrupted, his tone decidedly frosty.
Alli smiled to herself as they walked up to the entrance. Sam didn't like Jimmy. Good. Not that Sam was jealous on her account, more likely he was afraid that Tessa had something going on with the rugged photographer who had actually convinced her to get on a motorcycle. Oh, well, at least Jimmy would make things more interesting in what was probably going to be a long afternoon.
Jimmy dropped back next to her as Sam and Tessa spoke with Timothy O'Meara about going out in one of his boats.
"So, Alli," Jimmy said.
"What?"
"You and Tessa don't like each other?"
"Very good, Sherlock."
He tipped his head. "I'm intuitive. It's a gift.”
"One of your many, no doubt."
"Why is it you MacGuire girls seem to be immune to my charm?"
"You mean Tessa isn't falling at your feet?”
"Does it look like she is?"
Alli glanced over at Sam and Tessa in deep conversation with Timothy, an old friend of her grandmother's. "They fell in love with each other when they were twelve, you know."
"Then how did you end up married to him?”
"I'm sure Tessa will tell you."
"Actually, she's not one for details. Why don't you tell me?"
"I could tell you it's none of your business.”
Jimmy put a hand to his heart. "That would really hurt. I thought we were friends."
She shook her head in amusement. "Friends? I don't even remember your last name."
"Duggan. Jimmy Duggan."
"Fine, I know your name, but I don't know you well enough to share my private life with you."
Jimmy nodded. "All right. Maybe tomorrow.”
He stared at her so long she grew uncomfortable, since for the second time in less than an hour a man couldn't take his eyes off her. Was there something stuck in her teeth? She ran her tongue around the edge of her teeth in search of anything offensive. Finally, she gave up and asked, "What are you looking at?"
"Your face. You have incredible bones."
"Uh, thanks, I think."
"I'd love to photograph you."
"Oh, please, there's charm, and then there's stupidity. I'm not a model."
Jimmy rubbed his chin. "You don't like what you see in the mirror?"
"No, I don't. Especially since I grew up looking across the room at someone else."
Jimmy put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick squeeze. "I know how it feels."
"How could you possibly?"
"My brother is a state senator in Virginia. He graduated magna cum laude from Yale and made a fortune in business before he went into politics. He has the perfect wife, three incredible children, and a house with a foundation that goes back to the eighteen hundreds."
"Wow. What happened to you?"
He stuc
k out his tongue at her. "My parents ask themselves the same question. I think they sometimes wonder if they brought the wrong baby home from the hospital."
"I'm sure they love you anyway."
"What's not to love? But respect, that's a different animal."
"Yes, it is." They exchanged a look of complete and utter understanding. "You still try, don't you?" she asked.
"I shouldn't."
"Me either."
"They don't deserve us."
"No, they don't." She laughed and so did he. "You know, I'm glad you're here."
"I don't think I'll ask why."
"Jimmy," Tessa called impatiently. "Are you ready?"
"You bet." He looked over at All. "How about you?"
"I want to get this over with as fast as possible.”
"Worried we won't be able to find a pearl?"
"No, I'm worried that with the four of us in one small boat, we may not all come back alive."
"Who do you think is the most likely candidate to go overboard?"
"You never know."
"Maybe I'll just stay close to you," Jimmy said. "Somehow I think you may be more prone to violence than your older sister."
* * *
Traitor, Tessa thought, fuming to herself as Jimmy took a seat in the small aluminum boat next to Alli, sitting so close he was practically on her little sister's lap. And Alli was lapping it up like a cat with a bowl of cream.
"What's bugging you?" Sam asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"This whole pearl thing is crazy. It could take us days to find one—if we do at all." She looked away from Jimmy and Alli and concentrated on the water. Princeton Bay was beautiful, the water as still as glass with only a light breeze to ruffle its smooth surface. "I don't understand why Grams suddenly decided she needed the pearl now."
"Does it matter? You're still going to find it for her."
"I'll try, because Grams was always there for me, and I want to be there for her, even if it means spending the afternoon with Alli. She hasn't changed a bit."
"How would you know? Have you talked to her since you've been back?"
Tessa looked him straight in the eye, irritated by his defensiveness where Alli was concerned. He'd never been like this before. He'd always agreed with her on the subject of Alli. And now, with Alli kicking him out of his house, keeping him away from his daughter, his defense of her just didn't make sense.
"Why do you stick up for her, Sam?"
"Maybe because you seem intent on picking on her."
"Do you stand up for me when she rips me apart?"
Sam sighed. "I wish the two of you could figure out a way to get along."
"That's never going to happen." She took a breath. "Why are you doing this with us, Sam? Whose side are you on?"
"I'm here for your grandmother," he said sharply. "She asked me to help, and I owe that woman more than I could ever repay. Do we have to have sides?"
"We've always had sides. Since we were kids we had sides, and you used to be on mine."
"Looks like you already have someone on your side," he said pointedly. "Is Duggan your boyfriend?"
"He's a photographer. We have an assignment to do together. And you're avoiding my question. Why are you here, Sam? You could have made an excuse. Grams would have understood. She knows it's awkward for the three of us."
"She wants us to do this together, Tessa."
"I just don't understand what is going on with you and Alli. You say you're getting a divorce and yet you're with her every other second." Sam stared at her, but she couldn't tell what he was thinking behind his dark sunglasses. "Well?"
"What do you want me to say?"
"I don't know—something. We used to be able to talk, to finish each other's sentences. Now it feels awkward all the time. I don't know who you are anymore."
"I don't know who you are either."
"Do you want to find out?" she challenged. Almost instantly she wanted to take the words back, but she couldn't. Ever since Alli had told her Sam was still in love with her, ever since she'd realized that if she was going to have a second chance with Sam in her life it would probably be now or never, she'd been unable to think of anything else. "Why don't we spend some time together tomorrow?" she suggested.
Sam tipped his head in Jimmy's direction. "Your friend won't mind?"
"I'm asking you, not him. Jimmy came here on his own. I'm not planning my life around him. But if you don't want to..."
Sam hesitated for a long moment. "I want to," he said finally.
"Where?"
"Let's take that sail I promised you. If we go anywhere in town, we'll be the topic of conversation at every dinner table in Tucker's Landing. I'd rather be alone with you."
"A sail sounds perfect," she said, feeling an unexpected thrill run down her spine, another sign of a long-ago attraction that was starting to smolder again. She didn't know if she should throw a log on the flames or try to douse the sparks before they caught fire. Loving Sam could hurt. She knew that firsthand. And she certainly didn't want to go through that pain again.
Tessa looked over at Alli and wondered if the connection between Alli and Sam was truly broken. Before she could ask, the boat came to a halt at the far end of the bay, next to a long line of black buoys. In between the buoys, oysters hung in bags off the lines that held them less then two feet under the surface of the water. Tessa moved to one side so Timothy O'Meara could pull up one of the yellow nylon lines.
"How come they're so shallow?" Jimmy asked her, moving away from Alli for the first time since they'd boarded the boat.
"The oysters grow faster in warmer water," Tessa replied. "Plus, they can access the oysters at any time of the day. At some of the other oyster farms, you have to wait until low tide to wade in and scoop them off the bottom."
"Are we going to do that, too?"
"Depends on whether or not you're feeling lucky today."
He flashed her his patented smile. "I'm always feeling lucky, babe."
"Then it's a good thing we brought you along."
"Really? I thought you'd forgotten all about me," he murmured. "You seemed in rather deep conversation with Sam."
"We have some things to work out," she said evasively.
"I'll bet."
"What does that mean?"
"Nothing," he said innocently. "But..." His smile disappeared. "I hope you work it out."
She eyed him suspiciously. "Why do you care?"
"Because something has been holding you back all these years, and I just figured out what, or should I say who, it was."
Tessa was grateful when Timothy dumped a bag of oysters between them. She couldn't talk about Sam or Alli, not with the two of them standing just a few feet away.
"What now?" Jimmy asked.
"Now we go back to shore and start shucking," Tessa replied.
"Excuse me?"
"I'll show you how. It's easy."
"You know how to shuck oysters? You are full of surprises."
"I once shucked ten oysters in one minute. A family record," she said smugly.
"In case you haven't guessed, Tessa was the best at everything," Alli interjected.
"There's one in every family," he replied.
Chapter Thirteen
“Okay, I want a kiss," Jimmy said to Tessa a few hours later as the four of them sat at a picnic table overlooking the bay with piles of empty oyster shells in front of them. "I have eaten more oysters today than I have in my entire life and I am definitely in need of one juicy, wet kiss." He puckered up his lips and waited for Tessa, who was sitting next to him, to kiss him.
She put a finger against his lips instead. "No way. I am not giving you a kiss just because you got turned on by a mussel."
"You are an unfeeling woman, hard, cold, absolutely no compassion," Jimmy said.
"My God, someone who actually knows the real you," Alli mocked from her vantage point on the other side of the table.
Tessa sighed, realiz
ing their unspoken truce had come to an end. For most of the afternoon, their conversation had centered on the oysters and the scenery, with Alli and Sam on one side of the table, Jimmy and her on the other. Now the gloves were apparently off.
"I'll kiss you, Jimmy," Alli offered, leaning across the table.
"Okay," Jimmy said easily.
Tessa had to bite down on her tongue to stop herself from shouting "No." She looked over at Sam. "Aren't you going to stop her? She is still your wife—at least for a few weeks."
"Alli pretty much does what she wants," Sam said tersely.
"Come here," Alli said.
Jimmy met her halfway, planting a brief kiss on her lips.
"You're never satisfied, are you?" Tessa couldn't help asking Alli. "If there's a man around, and he's with me, you have to have him."
"But they always ask you first, don't they, Tessa? I just get your leftovers." She stood up abruptly. "I think we've done enough for today. I'm going to wash my hands." She glanced over at Sam. "I'll meet you at the truck. We should go if we want to get to Megan's soccer game on time."
"Fine," Sam said, getting to his feet. He paused and looked back at Tessa. "I'll see you tomorrow.”
She nodded. "Ten o'clock."
"Tomorrow?" Jimmy asked as Sam walked away. "What's tomorrow?"
"I'm going sailing with Sam. I'm sorry, but you can always go back to L.A. if you're bored."
"You sound like you're mad at me," Jimmy said with a quirk in one eyebrow. "Now, why would you be angry? Alli was right. I did ask you to kiss me first. You turned me down."
"I thought you were kidding. You're always kidding. But I don't care who you kiss."
"As long as it's not your sister."
Tessa played with one of the empty shells in front of her. "Alli stole Sam from me. I'm a little touchy where she's concerned."
Summer Reads Box Set, Books 4-6 Page 42