Page 34 of The Restaurant on Plum Island
“As long as Reef is being a good cousin and looking out for her,” Carly said.
“Oh, yes.” Daniella nodded. “He’s taken on the big brother role and takes it seriously.”
“I’m glad.” Carly nodded, pulling her feet up behind her. “I miss him so much.” She sighed. “Stopping past Uncle Sam’s daily to see him isn’t the same as having him here in his room.”
“Hopefully, all this will blow over soon,” Daniella reached over and affectionately squeezed Carly’s hand. “But trust me, while I know he misses you too, Harley and Uncle Sam are teaching him how to build things. At the same time, I believe Reef is also learning how to make surfboards alongside Tucker under Finn’s guidance.”
“I know. He told me this afternoon when I went to get his laundry,” Carly said.
Having had enough of the small talk, Daniella pinned Carly with a gaze. “Okay, now that the pleasantries are out the way, spill it. What happened with Ethan?”
Carly hesitated, biting her lower lip. She knew she could trust Daniella with anything, but putting her confused feelings into words made them seem all too real. So, she started off by explaining how Alex had pretended to be Ethan.
“That jerk!” Daniella hissed, her eyes flashing with anger. “I tell you, that man is a menace. I don’t understand why Ethan doesn’t send him back to Hollywood.”
“New York!” Carly corrected Daniella. “They’re from New York.”
“Nope.” Daniella shook her head. “That’s not far enough away.” She kicked off her shoes and pulled her feet up, getting comfortable. “It’s better if he got sent to the opposite side of the country, like Hollywood.”
Carly laughed. Her cousin didn’t like Alex Blackwell one little bit.
“I think he and Ethan had a huge falling out because of me.” Carly’s brows creased, and she pulled a face, shaking her head. “I nearly opened up and said everything I wanted to tell Ethan to Alex! Thankgoodness Ethan spotted us going into the office, and the front desk clerk at the hotel informed him I was actually looking for Ethan.”
“What happened?” Daniella’s brows rose.
“Ethan flew into the room and was furious,” Carly told Daniella. “I didn’t want to be caught in the middle of that sibling fight, and the implications of what Ethan said, as well as how easily I’d mistaken Alex for Ethan, overwhelmed me.” She swallowed and glanced at her hands. “It made me wonder…” She looked at Daniella, knowing her cousin would think she was a fool.
“Wonder how often Alex had fooled you by impersonating Ethan in the past?” Daniella guessed, her eyes filled with compassion and understanding. “When you mentioned that you’d thought Ethan had a multifaceted personality, I must admit wondering about this.”
“I wish you’d said something before I blindly followed Alex into Liam’s office. I was about to have a heart-to-heart with him, thinking he was Ethan!” Carly breathed.
“Sorry!” Daniella looked contrite. “But I think deep down you did know, but your soft heart and the way you always want to see the good in people didn’t let you see it. You didn’t want to believe someone would do that to their brother or another unsuspecting person.”
“That’s just a nice way of saying I’m naive and too trusting,” Carly pointed out.
“No.” Daniella shook her head emphatically. “Don’t put words in my mouth.” Her tone brooked no argument. “You’re neither naive nor too trusting. You’re just too nice, and while you can be reserved, you still have a soft, kind, and forgiving heart.”
“You make me sound like a teddy bear,” Carly moaned. “And not just any teddy but one of those squishy ones.”
“What’s wrong with those squishy teddies?” Daniella asked her. “Everyone loves them.” She grinned, and Carly threw a cushion at her. “Okay! You’re not a squishy teddy. You’re just a nice person.” Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized Carly. “What else aren’t you telling me?”
“How do you do that?” Carly shuddered. “It’s like you can see into a person’s soul.” She shuddered again. “Stop it. It’s creepy.”
“I can’t help it. I have a fine-tuned radar for when my loved ones are hurting, in turmoil, or hiding things from me!” Daniella said pointedly. “Like I know you are right now, as you just confirmed it by trying to change the subject.”
Carly sighed and closed her eyes for a few minutes before blurting out, “We kissed.”
Daniella’s eyes narrowed a little more as she asked Carly to clarify, “Who did you kiss?”
“Ethan!” Carly spluttered, annoyed that her cousin wasn’t keeping up.
“Are you sure it was Ethan?” Daniella couldn’t resist saying it, and Carly threw another cushion at her. “Hey!” She ducked the flying object. “I was just asking because you didn’t know who you were talking to a few minutes before that.” She frowned. “When and how did this happen?”
Carly told Daniella what had happened and how she and Ethan had kissed. By the time she was finished, her cousin was gaping at her.
“Wow!” Daniella said. “That was like a movie scene.”
“Danny!” Carly said exasperatedly. “Right now, I need a level-headed Danny, not a secret romantic Danny.”
