Page 65 of Dreaming at Seaside
Chapter Sixteen
CADEN RAN AT a fast pace along the beach. It was only six o’clock Sunday morning, far too early to call Bella, but he’d been up half the night worrying about Evan—and his relationship with Bella—and he needed to blow off some energy. Evan hadn’t given him any insight into what was bugging him beyond having played a PC gamewith a group of jerks.He’d tried to get Evan to open up more, but Evan had clammed up, and Caden didn’t press the issue. He was glad Evan had told him as much as he did. They’d watchedThe Replacements, and by the time Evan went to bed, he seemed more like himself again. It had been a while since they’d spent any quality time together, and he realized that as Evan spread his wings of freedom, the opportunities to spend time together would become few and far between.
Caden felt horrible about Bella leaving early, and he’d called her before he’d turned in for the night, but he still hadn’t heard back from her, which made him worry that she was upset about their evening being cut short.
Bella’s comment about Evan not wanting to share him had also nagged at Caden. He’d asked Evan last night if he had an issue with him dating Bella, and Evan had been adamant about being fine with it. He’d gone so far as to say he was glad Caden was finallygetting a lifeand that Bella wascool. But Caden couldn’t help worrying that adding his relationship with Bella to Evan’s list of stresses—moving from Boston, having to make new friends, going to a new school—might be too much. That reality cut like a knife, and rather than contemplate what it would mean and what the remedy might be if itweretoo much, he pushed the awful feeling away.
As he headed home, feeling no less confused than he had at the beginning of his run, the sun burned through the gray morning and smiled down on the beach with a promise of a glorious day. Caden could think of a hundred things he wanted to do with Bella today, and the truth was, even if they did nothing at all, it would be more than enough.
BELLA AWOKE TO the smell of eggs and coffee Sunday morning. Amy was sprawled across the center of the bed with her arms and legs splayed as if she’d fallen face-first and hadn’t moved since. Jenna was curled up along the headboard hugging a pillow, and Bella was so close to the edge of the bed that if she rolled over she’d tumble to the floor. How many mornings had they awoken in a similar fashion since they were little girls? Bella smiled at the familiar scene.
She padded softly out of the bedroom and was not surprised to find Amy’s counters covered with flour, sugar, eggshells, and other accoutrements of Leanna’s morning meal. Bella was greeted by the homey scent of warm baked goods. She put her arm around Leanna, who was busy cooking omelets.
“I think I love you.”
Leanna smiled. Her hair was still damp from a shower, and she smelled of soap and floral shampoo. “Because I’m messing up Amy’s kitchen instead of yours?”
“No. Maybe,” Bella teased.
Leanna pulled a tray of muffins from the oven.
“You are a goddess. I hope you know that.” Bella reached for a muffin, and Leanna slapped her hand. “I take it back. Meanie.”
Leanna laughed. “Can you get the jams from the fridge?” She put the muffins on a decorative plate. “Kurt’s down at the bay running, but he should be back soon. I thought we could eat out on the deck.”
Bella tried to sneak a crumb from the pan, and Leanna pointed a finger at her.
“Okay, June Cleaver,” Bella teased.
Jenna came out of the bedroom with her hair askew, blinking the sleep from her eyes. “Something smells delicious.”
Bella pointed to the muffins, and Jenna reached for one. She got slapped, too.
“Aw, come on, Mom. Just a taste?” Jenna stuck out her lower lip.
“You guys always eat the tops and leave the rest. Can’t you wait just until Kurt comes back? Then you can tear them apart.” Leanna carried the muffins outside.
As soon as she was outside, Jenna turned to Bella. “She slapped my hand.”
“Mine, too. She just wants to do something nice for Kurt.” Bella grabbed coffee cups and plates, wishing she had woken up in Caden’s arms and made him coffee and muffins. She wondered what he was doing and how things had gone with Evan.
Jenna snagged jam and butter from the refrigerator, then gathered utensils and napkins. They brought everything to the table on the deck in front of the cottage, and Jenna went back in to check on Amy. She came back out with the coffeepot and creamer.
“Sleeping Beauty is totally zonked.” Jenna poured coffee for each of them. “Where’s Pepper?”
“Kurt took him with him on his run. I’ll get sugar.” Leanna went inside and returned a few minutes later. “I slept like a baby last night. Did Amy get up at all?”
“Not that I remember,” Bella said as she fixed her coffee.
“She kept grabbing my boob in her sleep and mumbling.” Jenna pulled off her sweatshirt from the night before. She tugged at the tank top she had on beneath.
“There wasn’t much room. It’s not like she could avoid them,” Bella teased.
Jenna put her hands under her boobs and pushed them up. “Jealousy will get you nowhere.”
Speaking of jealousy…Seeing Leanna and Kurt last night had twisted all sorts of jealous twines in Bella’s stomach. She knew she’d done the right thing by leaving Caden and Evan alone, but that didn’t stop her fromwantingto be with them.
Jenna leaned across the table and squeezed Bella’s hand. “Your face is all pinched, so either you need to get laid or you need to get something off your chest, and given that you and Officer Hottie nipped that first one in the bud, what’s going on?”
