Page 52 of Secrets at Seaside
“Ask Tony what?” Tony stepped from the laundry room, shirtless, tanned, and gorgeous, carrying a basket of freshly folded clothes.
“I don’t think there’s anything sexier than a guy doing laundry.” Amy rose up on her toes and kissed him. “Especially this man.”
“I don’t know. Caden in his tool belt is pretty hot,” Bella teased.
Amy laughed. “We were talking about going to the Beachcomber tonight.”
“Sounds great.” Tony slipped an arm around Amy’s waist and whispered, “I need to shower. Want to join me?”
Amy felt her cheeks heat up. “Uh…yeah. Of course.”
They made plans to meet the gang later and headed to Tony’s cottage. Theresa pulled up as they crossed in front of her driveway. She waved, and Amy stopped to greet her.
“Hi, Theresa. We’re going to the Beachcomber tonight. Would you like to come along?”
Theresa pressed her lips together in a way that made Amy feel stupid for asking. She was probably angry about Bella’s prank, although Theresa never really got angry, at least not that Amy had ever witnessed.
“The Beachcomber is for you young’uns,” Theresa said.
“We’re not that much younger than you,” Amy reminded her.
“Oh, I think anything more than ten years counts as older. You guys have fun and be safe.”
“Okay, maybe next time.”
Theresa made that face again. Amy waved as they crossed the quad toward Tony’s cottage. Her cell phone rang as they stepped inside. It was Duke.
Time to face the music.
IT HAD BEEN a long few days, and Tony was ready to chill. He leaned back and enjoyed the view from their table at the Beachcomber restaurant. It wasn’t the view of the ocean that drew his attention, although the Beachcomber was built on a bluff overlooking Cahoon Hollow Beach. It was Amy’s hot little body moving seductively on the dance floor that drew his eyes. She was dancing with Bella, Jenna, Leanna, and Sky, and she was the most beautiful woman in the place.
“Dude, I’m pretty sure you can go blind staring like that,” Caden joked.
“Then blind I shall be.” Tony took a sip of his drink. He could watch Amy dance all night long. He really wanted to be out there with her body pressed against his, but she was having too much fun with the girls for him to step in.
Pete patted Tony on the back. “Glad to see you guys together, man. This is the way it should be. Now Jenna and I can finally get married.”
Tony shifted his eyes to Pete. “You needed me and Amy to be together so you could get married?”
Pete took a swig of his beer. “Not me.” He nodded to the girls. “You really think they’d do something that big without each other? They can barely pee without holding each other’s hands.”
Tony laughed. “Yeah. It’s one of the things I love about Amy. She’s loyal to the bone.”
“That’s why Duke offered her the job,” Blue said. He and Sky had been joining their group outings ever since last summer, when Sky had moved back into town and Blue had built Jenna’s art studio. “He said she’s not only one of the best logistical coordinators he’s ever worked with, but that she’s loyal and dedicated. In our family, loyalty trumps all.”
As if Tony hadn’t known that from the day he first kissed Amy so many years ago. She’d kept the secret of their relationship from their families and best friends, and if that wasn’t enough, she’d gone fourteen years without being intimate with another man. She was the most loyal person he knew. Well, at least as loyal as he now knew his mother had been to his father. She’d kept a secret of her own for the same amount of time.
Tony scrubbed his hand down his face. Amy had spoken to Duke earlier in the evening and she’d scheduled a meeting with him for the following weekend, when he was coming to the Cape to look over a property that Blue was thinking of purchasing. Tony hadn’t pushed her for information even though he was dying to know if she’d made a decision. But after they’d made love and showered together before coming to the Beachcomber, he’d asked if she had a plan for the job. She’d said she wasn’t sure, but she’d made it real clear that she wanted their relationship to work, and Tony could only hope that meant she’d consider staying in the States.
“How do you feel about her going to Australia?” Blue asked. “You surf there, right?”
I feel like I don’t want her to go. “Yeah, I do. Whatever makes her happy.”
“You’re a better man than me,” Pete said. “I’d tell her to stay.”
Kurt looked at him sideways. “And Jenna would listen?”
Pete ran his hand through his thick dark hair and shifted his eyes to Jenna, who was shimmying up Bella’s body on the dance floor. “Jenna doesn’tlisten. She makes her own decisions, but I know she’d never leave me.”
