Page 28 of Sweet Love at Bayside
She swallowed hard, her brows knitting. “As you can imagine, those visits were stressful and disjointed. There was no time to get reacclimated to one another before they were leaving again. During the summers, Violet and I would come here to stay with my grandmother, but they weren’t joyful reunions. We didn’t really know each other, and as we got older, it became even more awkward, and we spent less and less time together. And then I went to college, and our visits became even more sporadic.”
Regardless of how good she said it had felt to tell him, he saw pain in her eyes. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, hoping to soothe it. “I’m sorry you went through that. It must have been heartbreaking.”
“It was. And frustrating.” A small smile lifted her lips. “I told you it was complicated.”
She was revealing so much of herself, he felt even more protective of her. “And I told you, I can handle complicated.”
That brought a bolder smile, and a sigh of relief. “That’s good. Because it gets even more so.”
He couldn’t imagine that she’d been through more than what she’d already described.
“Before last year at my grandmother’s funeral, it had been a few years since I’d seen either Lizza or Vi. And then out of the blue, a few days ago I received an email from Lizza saying she needed me to come to the Cape to prolong her life.”
Holy crap.
“I felt about how you look right now. Likewhat the heck, right?”
“Something like that,” he mumbled.
“When I got here, I found out she wasn’t sick. She wasboredlooking after the house, which isn’t surprising considering she never stays in one place very long.”
“Wow, Desiree. I’m sorry, but who would do that to her daughter? I’m having a really hard time liking your mother right now.”
She laughed, and it caught him by surprise. “You and me both. Anyway, the long and short of it is that she’d also sent an email to Violet sayingIneeded her here to help prolongmylife. I had only just arrived, and Lizza was all packed up and ready to leave. Right before she climbed into a cab she told us she’d taken out a mortgage on the house, and unless we wanted to lose our grandmother’s estate, we needed to stay and run her business to pay the mortgage. Now she’s off at an ashram for the summer.”
She told him about the lack of renovations being done and their plans for marketing with flyers and signs. She’d clearly accepted that this was her lot for the summer, and she was facing it head-on.
“No wonder you feel off-kilter. You’re a strong, loyal woman, Desiree. I think most people would have turned around and gone back home, leaving Lizza to clean up her own mess.”
She took another sip of wine. “Don’t give me too much credit. I wanted to leave, but I couldn’t strap Violet with all of this. It’s so crazy, it doesn’t even feel real.”
Thinking of when they’d lost his father, he said, “I know all about things being so far out there they don’t seem real.” He pushed those memories away, as he’d been doing his whole life, and focused on the brave woman baring her soul before him.
“Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.”Because it brought us together.He tried to lighten the mood and earn one of her beautiful smiles. “Think of it this way. You’re learning a new trade, living in a beachfront housewithoutthe headache of renovations, and you have time to get to know your sister. I’d say that’s a heck of a good summer.”
Her smile reached all the way up to her eyes, and then all that brightness smoldered. “You left out the best part of all.”
He put an arm around her, drawing her closer. “That you’re dating a guy who’s getting more into you by the second?”
“Yes.That.” She lowered her voice and said, “You should probably seal that thought with a kiss.”
“If I don’t, can we visit the naughty corner?” He slanted his mouth over hers, swallowing her sounds of surprise and turning them into somethingmuchsweeter.
Chapter Seven
WHEN THEY ARRIVED back at the resort for the bonfire, Desiree and Rick left their shoes in the truck and crossed the dunes to find the others. The sand was cold beneath Desiree’s bare feet, but she was warm snuggled up against Rick’s side. She had worried that her confession would make him think twice about getting any more involved with her, but as they walked along the shore, serenaded by the bay lapping at the sand, she knew it had brought them even closer. They’d talked and laughed over dinner, and she’d shared so much of herself that she felt like Rick knew her better than most people who had known her for years. But when the flames of the bonfire came into view, her nerves sprang to life, pushing all that goodness to the side.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Just a little nervous.”
He stopped walking and wrapped his arms around her with a wide grin. “I promise you will like them, and they will adore you.”
“Why won’t Iadorethem?”
He laughed and touched his lips to her hers. “You are forever the teacher, aren’t you? I’ll have to be more careful with semantics. You willadorethem.” His eyes darkened, and that playful grin turned serious. “Just don’t adore them too much. I don’t share well.”
“Is my big, confident guy jealous?” She flattened her palms on his chest, going up on her toes, anxious for another kiss. “What happens when you get jealous?”
