Audrey tugged on her husband’s shirt and motioned for him to lower his head so she could whisper in his ear. Gabe laughed at whatever she’d said and pressed an affectionate kiss to her forehead.
Eva glanced away from the pair, only to see Jude and Libby standing hand-in-hand a short distance away, a fortified unit against the exhausting wave of well-wishers. There was so much love and trust between them, it hurt to look at.
A pang of longing struck Eva in the chest with such force it took her breath away. What was so wrong with her that she couldn’t find the kind of strong, lasting relationship those two couples had?
Must be hereditary. Certain people had to be genetically predisposed to happy marriages—the kinds of people raised in normal households, who had soccer moms and doting fathers. Not people like Eva, raised by an irresponsible mother who fell for whatever loser showed her the least bit of attention. Then one day the loser would leave and Katrina Bremer would fall further into depression and drugs until the next one came along. After witnessing what each new heartbreak did to her mother year after year, Eva supposed she’d never be able to give up enough control to put her own heart in a man’s hands.
Cam’s hand landed on her shoulder, startling her back to the present, and awareness seeped from the skin under his palm into her chest and belly, warming her from the inside out.
Oh, shit. Not this again.
He was her best friend. Best. Friend. She wasn’t supposed to light up like a firework every time he touched her. What the fuck was wrong with her?
She sidled a casual step away from him and took a long drink of her beer. Cam started to say something, but Jude and Libby had finally made it over to them. With an easy smile, he turned and embraced his new sister-in-law, then gave his brother a few solid thumps on the back. Niceties out of the way, Jude’s smile slipped a little, and he motioned to his brother to lean in as if he was about to tell a secret.
Uh-oh. Something was up.
“What’s wrong?” Cam asked.
And he was ready to jump into the situation with both feet. It was such a Cam thing to do that Eva had to bite back her smile.
Jude hesitated and exchanged glances with his wife, who nodded encouragement. He tilted his head, indicating the beach. “Seth’s here,” he said as if that explained everything. But judging by Cam’s wince, it was enough information for him.
Eva scanned the water’s edge and spotted the lone figure standing on the beach, staring out over the ocean.
“I’m worried,” Jude admitted. “He won’t say it, but he’s having trouble with all the noise and people. He’s determined to stay and torture himself even though I told him he’s not going to offend us if he ducks out early. He was here for the ceremony, which was more than enough. Can you go talk to him? Convince him to go home and take it easy? I tried, Gabe and Quinn both tried. Even Audrey tried, but the stubborn jackass won’t listen to any of us.”
“What makes you think I’ll be able to change his mind?” Cam said.
“If he’ll talk to anyone, it will be you. Everyone talks to you.”
That was true. Although Eva had no idea what was going on, if anyone could fix the problem this Seth guy was having, it would be Cam.
“All right,” Cam said, handing his empty to Jude. “I’ll give it a shot.”
Eva followed him to the end of the boardwalk, where he kicked off his flip flops, then peeled out of the gaudy Hawaiian print shirt, revealing the white tank top he wore underneath and the elaborate tribal tattoo that covered most of his right shoulder. He pulled out the linings of his shorts pockets as visual proof he had nothing on him. She’d seen him do this many times before and, like all of the other times, adrenaline spilled into her blood, kicking up her heartbeat.
“Is this guy dangerous?” she asked.
“Only to himself.” He handed her his shirt. “He has PTSD. He’s working hard at overcoming it, but he still has rough days.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“Just talk to him.” He turned toward the beach, but Eva caught his hand and gave it a quick squeeze.
“Be careful.”
His lips quirked in his funny little smile and he squeezed her hand back before releasing her. “Hang back, okay? I don’t want to spook him.”
…
Cam snagged a bottle of beer from a passing waiter, then walked down to the beach and settled against a palm tree several feet away from Seth. He popped the cap off his bottle and took a long drink. It wasn’t his favorite kind—too light for a guy who preferred stouts thick enough to chew—but that didn’t matter. The whole point of drinking it was to put Seth at ease. No big deal. Just someone out on the beach to watch the sunset with a beer. It also gave Seth the opportunity to start the dialogue. People abhor silence. It was human nature to seek to fill it, and it always worked like a charm when you wanted someone to talk.