“Come on, I see someone I want you to meet.”
Rex followed me through the crowds toward the bandstand.
“Kell!” I shouted.
The short blond spun around from speaking to some guy crazy enough to wear a leather jacket in the heat, and Kell broke out into a huge grin at the sight of me. “Bailey!” He hugged me, deftly avoiding my ice cream. “It’s been a while, lovely. Since that terrible incident with Devlin.”
“I know. But we’ve both been so busy. It can’t be helped. Kell, this is my friend Rex. Rex, this is Kell Summers. He’s one of the town councilors and the official events organizer around here.”
“Nice to meet you.” Rex held out his hand.
Kell peered up at Rex as he took it and shook it vigorously. “Friend?”
I laughed and leaned against Rex. “Yes. Friend.”
“Who is a friend?” I turned as Kell’s partner, Jake, arrived on the scene. While Kell was cute, blond, and excitable, Jake was tall, dark, and more reserved than his partner. He enveloped me in a warm hug, kissing my temple before stepping back. “I keep meaning to pop by the inn, make sure Devlin isn’t causing you any more trouble.”
“He’s not,” I promised him. “Believe me, you would already know if he was.”
Jake nodded, satisfied, and then turned to Rex.
“This is her ‘friend,’” Kell air-quoted.
I rolled my eyes as Jake chuckled and held out his hand to Rex. “I’m Jake.”
“Rex.”
After they’d shaken hands Jake gave me that focused, soul-searing stare of his. “Are you doing okay? We heard your sister has come home.”
“Yeah.” I gestured around. “She’s around here somewhere.”
It had been a week since her arrival and so far it wasn’t too bad. The first few days were hell but the last few days she’d been a little too preoccupied with her mystery man to annoy us at the inn.
“How’s that going?”
“It could be better. It could be worse.” I shrugged. “Family.”
Kell grimaced. “I hear that.”
“So you guys have done a great job again.” I gestured to the bandstand and the cordoned-off area around it. It was alive with activity as the first two bands prepared for sound check.
“We have a special day planned.” Kell clapped his hands together in excitement. “We have amazing bands this year. And guess what?”
“What?” I grinned. His excitement was infectious.
“Vaughn Tremaine helped me get some great bands from New York. Apparently he knows people.”
“Vaughn Tremaine? Helped?” I was amazed.
“Oh yeah,” Kell said. He looked up at Jake. “And wasn’t he lovely? He was lovely.”
Jake grinned. “He was lovely.”
“Lovely how?”
“Oh, he’s charming. I don’t know why more people don’t realize that. Everyone thinks he’s got a giant stick up his butt, yet he was so down to earth with us.”
“How much time did you spend with him?”
“He invited us to have dinner with him at the hotel and asked us how he could help with the events this year,” Jake said.
Shock held me to the spot.
Vaughn had listened to my advice. Wow. “Okay then.”
“Anyway, sweetie, I’d love to stay and chat but we have to get on. We’ll catch up later, yes?” Kell kissed me on the cheek and then smiled mischievously at Rex. “Be sure to show this young man a good time.”
I laughed as Rex and I walked away but I was still kind of in a daze.
“So, Vaughn, huh?” Rex said.
Oh no. It was music festival day and I did not want to discuss Vaughn with Rex.
“Bailey!”
I had never been more thankful for the sound of Jessica’s voice. Following it, I zeroed in on Jess standing near the market stalls where Dahlia had set up her jewelry to sell. Jess stood beside Cooper with Louis at their feet, surrounded by Cat, Joey, and Emery.
Emery was at the festival.
Progress.
I rushed toward my friends and playfully nudged Emery. “You’re here.”
She blushed, smiling at me. “I didn’t know it would be like this . . .” She gestured around. “It’s quite atmospheric.”
“I know, right? Guys, you all know Rex.”
Everyone nodded but Joey. “I don’t,” the kid piped up, staring shrewdly at Rex.
“Well let me rectify that.” I laughed. “Joseph Cooper Lawson, this is Rex McFarlane, my friend from Dover.”
“Everyone calls me Joey. I’ll let you know by the end of the day if you can, too.”
Rex grinned. “I’ll try my best to make that happen.”
“How you doing?” Cooper held out his hand to him.
They’d already met but this was Cooper. He was reminding Rex that I had a Cooper in my life, a Cooper who would do him bodily harm if he hurt me.
I rolled my eyes at Jessica but she just snuggled deeper into Cooper’s side, loving him for being protective of the people he cared about.
What wasn’t to love about that?
“Forgive him.” Cat ruffled her son’s hair. “He’s playing today at the festival and he’s full of beans and smartbuttery.”
“Smartbuttery?” I said.
“Mom doesn’t want to use the a-s-s word around me,” Joey explained.
“Ah, smartassery,” I deduced. Everyone groaned in amusement as I made a face at Cat. “Oops. Sorry.”
“It’s not like I don’t know what the word is,” Joey blustered. “Mom is just being silly.”
“I quite like the word ‘smartbuttery.’ I think I’ll add it to my personal vocabulary,” Em said.
Joey, who worshipped Miss Tall, Blond, Kind, and Beautiful, stared up at her. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. I guess it is kind of funny.”
“Oh, sure,” Cat said. “I say it, it’s embarrassing, Elsa says it and it’s kind of funny.”
“Watch it, Catriona.” Cooper tapped her nose. “Your envy is showing.”
She grunted at her brother and turned to Em. “Do you want to come live with us? Make it a permanent thing?”
Emery rolled her eyes at her, which was a vast improvement, too. Cat could be a little intimidating and Em still wasn’t too sure how to act around Joey’s mom.
“When are you playing?” I said to Joey, looking forward to hearing him.
“In a couple of hours.”
“Can’t wait.” I turned to Rex. “Joey is a pianist and somewhat of a protégé.”
“Is that so?” Rex looked impressed. “Well I can’t wait to hear you.”
“Are you Bailey’s new boyfriend?”
“No,” I said so Rex wasn’t left floundering in awkwardness. “Have you all had ice cream yet?”
“Vaughn!” Cooper shouted instead, staring off to our left.
I froze. Rex followed Cooper’s gaze with intense focus. Jessica caught my eye and winced sympathetically. Emery surreptitiously squeezed my wrist and I gave her a grateful smile.
This all happened just before Vaughn appeared, Jessica and Cooper moving back to let him into our circle. I drank him in like a parched, parched woman.
In deference to the hot weather and the casual event Vaughn was wearing a polo shirt that showed off his great physique, and slim-leg light-colored chinos and boat shoes. Even casual he reeked of money. It had something to do with the quality of his clothes, his confident air, and the beautiful Rolex Submariner on his wrist.
The unfairness of his good looks made my heart pound fast and my stomach flutter.
Worse still was his complete lack of annoyance when Louis jumped up on him for attention. Vaughn just laughed and rubbed behind his ears, making me melt a little. Once Je
ss had pulled Louis back down, an awkward silence fell over the group.
“Enjoying the festival?” Vaughn eventually asked Cooper.
“Got a beautiful day for it. I was going to grab a beer. Do you want one?”
Vaughn’s eyes flickered to Emery and me. “Maybe later. Miss Saunders, Miss Hartwell.” He looked at Rex, and his expression blanked. “I don’t believe we’ve met.” He stuck out his hand. “Vaughn Tremaine.”
For a moment I thought Rex wasn’t going to accept the offer. I let go of the breath I was holding when he reached out to take Vaughn’s hand. Even I could see Rex’s grip was too tight, and mortification swept over me. “Rex McFarlane. I’m a friend of Bailey’s.”
That dark smirk crept over Vaughn’s lips, his gaze piercing. Whatever Rex was trying to do didn’t work and I saw a flicker of frustration on his face as he let go of Vaughn’s hand.
As for Vaughn he quirked an eyebrow at me as if to say, This guy? Really?
If looks could kill, mine would have sliced and diced him. “Getting involved, Tremaine?”
He shrugged, his stare too focused on me, too searing. “Just removing that stick from my ass.”
No one else got it but I did, and I couldn’t help the smile that played around my lips despite myself. “I think I still see a few splinters.”
Amusement danced in his eyes and it thrilled me. I didn’t want it to thrill me, obviously. But thrill me it did.
“Why Hartwell?”
We all looked at Rex upon his abrupt question. Directed at Vaughn.
“Excuse me?”
“Why choose Hartwell to settle down in? Don’t you own hotels all over the world?”
Vaughn nodded, his focus still on me. Holding my gaze, giving me that smoldering, I’ve seen you naked look again. “A self-made man can choose his view. I guess I just like the view here.”
I felt a familiar tingling between my legs, a tightening in my breasts, and my blood burned.
There was definitely subtext, right?
Oh, my God!
Stop, Bailey! Stop caring!
It was so much easier to tell myself that than to make myself stop caring. He was messing with my head. Warning Vanessa not to cause me trouble, looking at me like no man had ever looked at me before. There was this longing mixed in with that fiery, lusty storm in his pale gaze and, dear heaven, it tugged on all my mushy heartstrings, and teased all my erogenous zones.
A killer combination.
A throat cleared next to me.
Rex.
The sound broke through our staring contest and I looked around to see everyone shifting, not meeting my eyes, and definitely trying to hide their smiles.
My newest friend wasn’t impressed, however. “Self-made? Really? Isn’t your father wealthy?”
The group seemed to inhale simultaneously at the passive-aggressive comment.
But Vaughn didn’t even flinch. “Yes.” That was it. He didn’t take time to explain himself to Rex, how he did everything off his own back, and not through his father’s success.
Just like always.
Because Vaughn never explained himself to someone he didn’t feel deserved an explanation. I realized then that I admired that quality in him. I respected that he couldn’t give a shit what some stranger thought of him.
But at the same time . . . he never explained himself to me, either. And that was what hurt about his rejection, because I didn’t want to be some stranger to him. I wanted him to think I was important enough to be owed an explanation.
He looked from Rex to me, and whatever he saw in my expression made him frown and glance away. “I should get going.”
“No, stay,” Jess tried to insist.
“Yeah.” Joey surprised me. “I’m trying to talk Mom and Uncle Coop into taking me to the fun park. The lines won’t be nearly so long as usual because everyone is here.”
“I thought you were playing today,” I said.
“Yeah, later. I want to go to the fun park first.” He looked at Vaughn. “You should come.”
Vaughn looked just as stunned by the invitation and also uncomfortable. “Oh, I’m not sure about that. I should probably stay here.”
And that’s when the little imp in me just couldn’t hold her tongue. “Why? Don’t you like the fun park?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“You’ve never been to the fun park?”
Vaughn sighed and it was an irritated sound. “No, I have not.”
“You’ve never been?” Joey repeated my question. “You should so totally come with us.”
“Yeah, Vaughn. I think I’m starting to see a quarter inch of stick growing back out of your ass,” I teased.
He glowered at me but I could see his heart wasn’t really in it.
This was fun, I realized. Teasing him was fun. And I should stop. But I couldn’t seem to help myself.
“Fine. Only if Miss Hartwell joins us.”
Oh, shit.
Well I walked into that one.
“Please, Bailey, please,” Joey begged. “If you say yes, Mom will say yes.”
I looked at Cat and saw the evil glint in her eyes. “Yeah, if you say yes, Mom will say yes.”
They were all against me.
I looked up at Rex, who was the only one not amused by my predicament. “How would you like to go to the fun park?”
“That’s fine, I guess.” He shrugged.
Clearly it was not fine.
Sighing, I avoided Vaughn’s smug gaze and looked at Joey.
Why did the kid have to be so damn cute?
“Sure.” I threw up my hands in surrender. “Let’s all go to the fun park and miss out on music festival day.”
“It’s just for a few hours,” Joey assured me. “To take my mind off my stage nerves.”
“You got your way, kid, you can stop with the emotional manipulation.” Cat smoothed a hand over his head in affection.
He grinned cheekily up at her.
“I guess we’re going to the fun park.” Vaughn gestured to Joey. “Lead the way.”
“Are you okay about this?” I said to Rex as we followed the group down Main Street.
He wouldn’t look at me. “Spending the afternoon with the guy you slept with? Not high on my list of things I wanted to do today.”
“I’m sorry.”
I was also sorry how awkward this felt. In my heart of hearts I thought of Rex as a friend, and as flattering as it was that he was attracted to me, I just wasn’t there yet. So the whole jealous boyfriend thing did nothing for me but make me feel weird about hanging out with him.
Yet, I understood where he was coming from.
Rex had made himself clear. He liked me. He was pursuing me. Patiently. Having Vaughn around was going to be uncomfortable for him.
“I’ll buy your ticket,” Rex said as we approached the park gates and ticket booths. It was the first word he’d spoken in two minutes and it was said in a conciliatory tone.
“Vaughn bought the tickets!” Cat shouted back to us, and the group started moving through the gates.
“Of course he did.” Rex sighed and shot me an unhappy look.
I grimaced.
We stopped in a circle just past the entrance to the park.
“Okay, kid,” Cat said to her son. “You’re running this show. What do you want to do first?”
Joey turned to Vaughn. “You’ve never been before, so you should choose.”
Vaughn smiled at Joey. A boyish, gorgeous smile that kicked me in the chest. “That’s kind of you, Joey.” Then that cool gray gaze of his flew my way. “And I think since Miss Hartwell seems to know so much about being a big child, we should ask her.”
Jessica and Cooper didn’t even try to hide their laughter. I shot them an evil look before tur
ning it on Vaughn. As we stared at one another, just like always, everything else melted away. “Do you want to go on a ride or play a carnival game?”
“Would playing a carnival game involve beating you at something?”
I snorted, loud and unladylike. “You think you could beat me at one of these carnival games? You who has never been here before and I who grew up here whooping the ass of men much manlier than you?”
“Ooh, fighting words,” Cat said. “Are you going to take that, Tremaine?”
“Yeah, Tremaine.” Cooper grinned at his friend. “Are you going to take that?”
In answer Vaughn crossed his arms over his chest and widened his stance.
I put my hands on my hips. “I’ll take that as a no.”
“So? What will it be?” Dahlia said. “The ring toss or the rifle range?”
Cooper coughed. “Rifle range.” He coughed again. “Rifle range.”
“I can hear you,” I grumbled. “Whose side are you on?”
“Well I didn’t know if Lawson’s less than subtle suggestion was to aid you because you’re excellent at the ring toss, or to aid me because you’re bad. Now I know.” Vaughn grinned wickedly. “Rifle range it is.”
“Oh, damn it,” I muttered under my breath as I strode through the group toward him. “This way.”
Cooper Lawson and anyone who had spent any time with me at the fun park behind the boards knew that I was hopelessly inadequate at the rifle range. Weirdly brilliant at ring toss, but terrible at the rifle range. Which made no sense because didn’t they involve similar skills?
I was so going to get my ass handed to me. Unless Vaughn was worse than me.
Oh, who was I kidding? No one was worse than me at the rifle range.
“Hey, welcome to the rifle range,” the kid at the range said, sounding bored out of his mind. I was pretty sure he was Annie from the market’s kid.
“Ben, right?” Vaughn and I each took position behind a rifle. I felt the heat of our small group of friends at our backs.
A thoroughly entertained group of friends.
Every Little Thing Page 20