“Okay.” He acquiesced for her benefit. For now.
He was about to say more, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw a petite woman with short hair approaching, her stride fast and purposeful. As she came closer, he recognized her as his former sister-in-law, Darla Manning, Nick’s ex-wife. She was also a very successful thriller writer and one of Hadley’s posse. Of Hadley’s two best friends, Darla was the feral one. Always passionate and protective. And clearly she was on a mission.
Cam was always a little relieved over Nick and Darla’s breakup, for the simple reason that Darla never hesitated to give her opinions on any injustice. Like his breakup with Hadley, which she regarded to this day as an unforgivable offense.
And right now, he had a feeling she was about to let him have it.
“Hi, Darla.” He tried for an upbeat tone as she approached, hoping friendliness might preempt her anger.
No such luck.
“Hi, Lucy,” she said, ignoring his greeting. “Pardon me for talking to your brother for a sec.” Then she turned to Cam. “Hadley’s in the bathroom,” she said without saying hello, “so I’ll get right to the point.” But he’d almost stopped listening. Hadley was here? He scanned the deck until he saw Hadley’s other best friend, Kit, sitting with her little son, Oliver.
They were right near the table he and Hadley always occupied when they’d come here long ago. The two of them would hang out and view the water and share the restaurant’s signature steamed mussel dish. Or sometimes just split dessert. Except what he remembered most about those times was staring not at the ocean but at her. Usually as she enjoyed the mussels, butter sauce dripping down her chin.
That thought made him smile a little. Until he realized Darla was lecturing him.
“…She came home to escape the media attention,” Darla was saying. “She doesn’t need more headaches on top of all that.”
Cam opened his mouth to respond but Darla kept talking. Lucy was taking it all in from across the table and, of course, learning all his business. “You have money, fame, and anything else you could ever want,” Darla continued. “Why on earth you’ve got your sights set on a run-down building in the middle of downtown, I have no idea. Build your restaurant anywhere else.” Darla waved her hand at the surrounding beachfront. “And leave her be, okay?”
“Darla?” Hadley came up and stood next to his chair, right in the crossfire between Darla and him. Cam was both surprised and a little relieved to see her, and not just because he was hoping she’d call off her friend. “There you are,” Hadley said. “Our food just came.” She pointed to their table where Kit was feeding Ollie a bread stick.
Hadley looked like a breath of fresh air, standing there in a yellow sundress with strappy sandals. The breeze off the ocean blew her hair into little wisps and molded her dress against her soft curves. And she had red lipstick on. And, if he wasn’t mistaken, she smelled good, something summery and fruity and lemony that made him want to sniff her neck.
What? Sniff her neck?
Cam forgot everything—his restaurant, the angry woman at his table, the trouble about the building, and most of all his injury, which always monopolized every other thought. Hadley had somehow pushed everything else out of his brain.
She didn’t seem to notice his confusion. In fact, she barely noticed him at all. “Lucy!” Hadley said. Next thing he knew, Hadley and Lucy were hugging and talking animatedly with their hands, Lucy laughing loudly.
As Hadley and Lucy chatted, Darla dropped her voice and bent close to Cam. “We’re watching every move you make, and we’re not going to let you hurt her this time. And in case you happen to forget, just know that every day, I google hundreds of different ways for people to get away with murder.”
Cam put his hands up. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind, Darla,” he said as innocuously as possible. “But I’m not thinking about pursuing a relationship with Hadley.” He lowered his voice. “I’d be the last person she’d want one with.”
“Darla, let’s go.” Hadley grabbed her friend’s elbow. “Our lunch is getting cold.”
He felt a sense of relief as Darla left. But also guilt. Darla had been through hell for the past two years with her cancer treatment, and he understood she was defending her friend. He respected that.
And he’d meant what he’d said. A relationship with anyone, especially Hadley, was the last thing on his mind.
“Stop by and see me at Pooch Palace,” Hadley said to Lucy, giving a little wave. But she barely glanced back at Cam.
“I really like Hadley,” Lucy said once their food came. “I always have. Now that she’s back, I was hoping we could get together. You wouldn’t care if I did that, would you?”
“Of course not. There’s nothing between Hadley and me.”
“Oh, okay. Because you’ve been staring at her ever since she came over to our table.”
“I have not.”
Lucy grinned. “Have too.”
Just then, Hadley looked up and caught him looking at her. All his muscles froze, and, dumbfounded, he could not look away. Until Lucy poked him gently in the arm and he felt himself blushing. Blushing! That’s what it took for him to break his gaze—and the weird spell Hadley seemed to cast upon him.
Cam tried to nonchalantly take a drink of water and turn back to Lucy but she was totally on to him. She’d always had a knack for reading his mind. “I know you might think it’s too late to apologize, but it’s never too late.”
“Trust me, it’s too late.” He’d screwed up his relationship with Hadley so badly, there was no making it better. He wouldn’t even know where to begin. And he wasn’t touching that hot potato with a six-foot poker.
“You might think it’s impossible but it’s not.” She smiled at him. “It’s just hard. But you’re really good at doing hard things.”
“It runs in the family.” Cam turned her words around on her. Their father had raised them all to understand that any worthwhile venture took hard work and effort. “But some things are better left alone.”
Lucy took a sip of her drink and let out a big sigh. “I’m really glad you’re back home.” She reached over and gripped his hand. “Even if you are extremely hardheaded.”
What lay unspoken between them, steady as the sea breeze, was that they’d both have to figure out their own best ways forward. “I’m glad I’m back home too,” he said.
Lucy shot him a mischievous grin. “Now, can I have some cheesecake?”
Chapter 7
After lunch, it was Hadley’s job to get the wine. That made her the last one of her friends to arrive at Darla’s brand-new beach house. She’d also brought a friend—Jagger, the long-legged Labra-something who needed a change of scenery. Or at least, he’d given Hadley such a forlorn look when she’d stopped by the Palace that she busted him out for the afternoon.
As they climbed one side of a giant double staircase leading to a second-story front door, a seabird made a cross between a screech and a caw. It sounded like a warning. What are you getting yourself into? Go back to your old life now!