“Be careful,” she said as the path wove around an outcropping of rocks. “Can I please carry something?”
He stopped again and faced her. His sheer handsomeness bowled her over, even though he was just wearing a gray T-shirt over swim trunks. He pulled down his sunglasses and gave her a look. She wished he would stop doing that because everything he was doing today was reminding her of how they used to be. Fun, flirty, intimate. He wasn’t acting like the just friends he’d said he wanted. And every time he looked at her, her stomach plunged and she had the distinct feeling he was thinking most unfriendly thoughts. She knew she certainly was.
“I’m big and strong and I love to carry stuff,” he said. “So as long as you’ve got the towels, I’m fine.”
“All right, then, keep being a show-off. Just don’t hurt yourself.”
The next time he stopped, she realized they were there—at a very out-of-the-way, private strip of beach, sheltered by a tall outcropping of rock. And right now it was empty. No sign of humans anywhere.
Cam dropped all their stuff onto the sand. Without a word, she reached into the beach bag and handed him the little plastic drill, as they’d done countless times before. She spread out their towels, but she was really watching his biceps bulge as he rotated the drill into the sand.
She didn’t miss the fact that it would’ve taken her seventeen times longer to accomplish that task. “Did you bring the umbrella for me?” she asked, secretly pleased that he remembered how easily her fair skin burned.
He gave a little chuckle. “Let’s just say I didn’t want you turning into a lobster by dinnertime.”
“I brought plenty of protection.” She held up two bottles, SPF 30 and 90-plus. Realizing how that sounded, she backpedaled. “Sun protection. Sunblock. Protection for skin cancer. Really important.”
His gaze swept her up and down in a way that made her light-headed. Or maybe it was just the heat. He pointed to the sunblock. “Maybe you can help me with that later,” he said.
He said it like a challenge. Like she was actually going to rub sunscreen on those hills of muscle that rippled under his shirt. Not going to happen.
Once the shade was secured, she moved to set out the lunch, but Cam gently placed his hand over hers. “Oh no,” he said. “This is a surprise.”
Her heart skittered and jumped at his touch. For a second, she stared at their hands, hers small and pale, his large and tanned. He’d always had elegantly shaped hands, with long fingers. Seeing their two hands together struck her as if she were looking at a beloved old photograph, distant but so familiar.
“No peeking,” he said.
“Okay,” she said, closing her eyes, “you’re in charge.”
“I love it when you say that.” She heard the squeak of the basket hinge, the clinking of plates, the flapping of a cloth as he began setting out their lunch.
“Don’t get too used to it.”
“You know I’m teasing. We’ve always treated each other as equals.” He paused. “Except you were always the better half. Now open your eyes.”
She felt her insides tumble as he unveiled the famous crab burgers, along with a fruit salad and an ice-cold bottle of chardonnay, complete with stemmed glasses. Dessert, as promised, was homemade chocolate chip cookies, the heat making the chips melt a little in the best way.
He’d gone through all this trouble for her. To take her back to a beautiful place and to a time when she was happy. When she’d been able to relax and just be herself.
If that was his plan, it was definitely working.
They didn’t say much as they devoured the delicious lunch. Afterward, happy and full, she lay back on her towel. Cam sat nearby, finishing his wine, looking out over the sandy hill to the water.
“It’s a little weird being here,” she said. “But a nice weird.” She glanced over at him. “What do you think?”
He tossed his head back and laughed. “Yeah, a nice weird.”
“I mean, never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined we’d come back after all these years and eat lunch here.”
“Well, one thing is, we never came here in broad daylight. There’s no full moon shining on the water. No cool evening breeze.”
“No sand in our shorts.” She sat up and took a sip of wine.
“No old Astro that sometimes ran and sometimes didn’t.”
“Maybe no privacy either.” She lifted her head and looked around. “I thought I heard some hikers earlier.”
He chuckled a little. “This place has gotten far too civilized.” He paused before adding, “But some things haven’t changed.”
“Oh, what hasn’t?” He was looking at her with an intensity that made her feel as though a swarm of seabirds were flapping about in her stomach.
Cam stretched out on his side on the blanket next to her. She froze in place and swallowed hard, her pulse throbbing in her throat, at her temples, everywhere.
“Well, you’re more beautiful than you were before,” he said. “I marvel at it all the time. How you’ve changed from a girl into a woman.”
“Well, it happens,” she said, but her mouth seemed unable to form words. Or only able to form them into stupid jokes.
“More importantly,” he said, taking up her hand, forcing her to meet his gaze, “you haven’t changed on the inside.”
“Cam, everyone changes on the inside. We were just kids.”
“You’re still honest and kind and loving.”
So was he. Her heart knew it, no matter what. “I’d do anything for my grandma. Don’t make it seem like I’m something special.”
“I’m not just talking about your grandma,” he said, “but about everybody you come into contact with.” He grinned suddenly. “Not to mention all animals.”
“You’re kind too. What you did for me with those journalists—”
He cut her off quickly. “I already told you, I’d do anything for you.”
He was very near. How did he get so close? She was falling into the blue of his eyes. Maybe it was just the magic of this crazy place, this Passion Cove that brought back so many memories.
“Cam, I…I know you would.” She did know it, despite all her wariness about men in general. A thousand feelings threatened to bowl her over—hope, yearning, need. And despite their vow not to discuss it, the impossibility of reconciling their plans about her grandmother’s building.
More confused than ever, she searched his eyes. In response, he smiled, tucking a wisp of hair behind her ear. “Great memories here. But those are part of our past, and the past is done. The future is ahead of us. If we want it to be.”
“I thought you wanted to be friends,” she said.
“I said that because I saw how crushed you looked when you found out about Cooper and Maeve’s baby. I…I was afraid you still loved him.” He hesitated. “Do you?”
She shook her head. “Hearing about their baby devastated me because that was the life I wanted—babies, love, a family. But not with Cooper.”
He blew out a big breath. “I can’t even tell you how happy I am to hear that.”