He wasn’t sure if she had a reason for choosing the opposite direction from the one he’d suggested, or if she simply did it to be contrary.
Probably the latter, he decided. And why that should make him want to smile, he had no idea. He fashioned a frown onto his face instead and fell into step beside her.
They’d made it maybe twenty yards down the beach when she turned to him and grimaced. “I really stuck my foot in it with Mia and Romeo, huh? Read that situation way wrong.”
Before he could respond, she lifted an imperious finger. “Although I stand by my initial assumption that she’s interested in more than friendship with him. The way she looks at him is like he dropped out of the sky. So which is it? Does she think he’s an angel or Superman?”
Doc snorted. “It’s probably a little of both. I mean, you’ve seen the guy, right? I think fallen angel meets superhero pretty much sums him up. All he’s missing is the halo and the cape.”
“Oh, I’ve seen him.” When she nodded, it caused her fallen bun to smack against the side of her face. Frowning, she pulled out the elastic holding the bun in place, and her long hair unraveled like a rope of black silk until it hung down her back in a wavy curtain.
He had the oddest urge to run his fingers through it. It looked so soft and shiny and cool. He shoved his hand deep inside his wet pocket instead.
“He’s beautiful. I’ll grant you that.” She inclined her head. “But not all women like a man who’s prettier than they are.”
“Not something you ever have to worry about,” he assured her.
The look she shot him was sharp. “Meaning what?”
“Meaning there’s not a man on the planet prettier than you are.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. And when her jaw slung open and she blinked at him, he wished he could suck them back in.
“Was that...” She shook her head. “Did you just give me a compliment?”
“Why are you acting so surprised? If I remember correctly, I complimented you plenty last night.”
“Sure.” She nodded. “When you were wearing beer goggles the size of party platters. Today you’ve given me nothing but grief.”
“Not true,” he argued. “I told you it’d be a crying shame if you only weighed ninety pounds. That might be the nicest thing I’ve ever said to anyone.”
She snorted. “Boy, do I feel sorry for the women in your life if that’s the case. And since we’re on the subject, you’re right. One minute you’re insulting me, and the next you’re trying to convince me to sleep with you so you can make up for last night. Your seduction technique is bipolar. Has anyone ever told you that?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “You’d be the first.” Then, figuring it was as good a time as any, he added, “And since you brought up last night, I really do feel like a shitheel for the way I acted. My only excuse is...” He stopped and ran a hand through his hair. The wind had dried it into a riot of crunchy tufts around his head. “Well, I guess I don’t really have an excuse,” he finally finished.
“Sure you do,” she countered. “I know a man in mourning when I see one.”
He blinked at her. Stunned that she’d so accurately homed in on the crux of the matter.
“You want to talk about it?” she asked softly.
“Lord no. Hard pass.” The words were out of his mouth before the thought behind them even had time to fully form. It wasn’t his brain that answered, it was his gut. And maybe his heart too.
“That’s what I figured.” She nodded.
Other women would have pressed him. Half of him expected Cami to press him—thirty-eight years of life had taught him many things, but one of those was that the female of the species wasn’t satisfied unless everyone was baring their souls. But she kept her lips sealed. And after a few seconds, he realized they were going to stay that way.
For a while, they walked along the beach without speaking, her painted toes disappearing in the sand, his soggy canvas boat shoes leaving large, deep footprints behind. When the silence stretching between them began to feel awkward, he returned them to their original subject.
“As for Romeo and Mia, you’re not wrong. Mia’s definitely smitten. But take it from someone who’s known Romeo for nearly a decade, he’s smitten too. He’s just better at hiding it because he refuses to admit it to himself.”
“I don’t understand.” The wind whipped a lock of hair across her face. A strand got stuck between her lips, and for a second, he fantasized he was that strand, sliding into the warm, wet wonder of her mouth. “If they’re both crazy about each other”—she pulled her hair behind her shoulder and he was able to focus again—“what’s holding them back?”
“Romeo,” he said with a frown. “He thinks Mia is the forever sort, and since he’s convinced himself all he wants out of life is to be the town bicycle, he won’t start anything with her that might end with her hurt.”
“Town bicycle?” Cami frowned. “Oh. I get it. Everyone gets to ride.” She shook her head. “Really? He doesn’t strike me as a lifetime bachelor.”
“I’m not convinced he is.” Or maybe it was more accurate to say Doc had started having his doubts about Romeo’s Hugh Hefner plan the moment one Miss Mia Ennis entered the picture.
When Cami glanced over at him, he shrugged and immediately regretted the move when it caused his already throbbing arm to grow teeth and start snapping and snarling like a rabid dog.
He must’ve groaned or winced or something, because her expression immediately melted into one of concern. “I have some prescription pain meds back in my purse that you’re welcome to use as long as they’re the kind that won’t make you stroke out or hemorrhage or whatever.” When he lifted an eyebrow, she wagged her finger. “And no. I’m not a script junkie, so you can wipe that look right off your face. I only use the pills once a month when I have terrible menstrual cramps.”
The easy way she spoke about such personal information—truly, he was beginning to think Cami lacked any sort of filter—made it tough to keep his expression impassive. He must not have been totally successful, because she rolled her eyes.
“Please. You’re a doctor. I’m sure you’ve dealt with far worse than period pain over the years.”
“Sure.” He inclined his chin. “Although I read an article recently that said the pain some women experience is like that of a heart attack. And that was a real eye-opener. I had no idea.”