“You’re a freak.” Bella threw her a dish towel. “Won’t that stain your Good-Times Barbie outfit?”
Jenna had on a short, black sleeveless top and a tan miniskirt. “That’s clever, Good-Times Barbie.” She wiped her chest with the towel. “What did you want me to do? Fish it out?” She laughed. “Anyway, technically speaking, you could have slept with him without a commitment. You’d have stuck to your plan better if you had done the deed and then said goodbye.”
Bella took out a head of lettuce and began chopping it on a thick wooden cutting board. “You’re doing a great job of making me feel like crap.”
“Don’t you get it? You invited him and Evan to our barbeque. You are seeing him again. If you had slept with him, then, according to your plan, you’d have left it at that. See?” Jenna stole a piece of lettuce and popped it into her mouth.
“Okay, so you have a point. You’re not as much of a jerk as I thought you were.” Bella tossed the lettuce into a bowl and cut up tomatoes and cucumbers. “I’m not abandoning my plan.” At least I don’t think I am. “We had such a nice day at the flea market and the beach—”
“And his living room. Don’t forget his living room.”
“Shut up.” She tossed a piece of cucumber at Jenna and it stuck to her cleavage.
Jenna snagged it and tossed it in the sink.
“I like him, Jenna. He’s sweet with Evan, and he puts Evan’s needs ahead of his own, which I think is very admirable.”
“Careful,” Jenna said in a singsong voice. “That sounds a lot like, I like him, Jenna, and I hope this leads to a commitment.”
Bella carried the salad outside. “I hate you when you’re right.”
“Hey, Bell,” Jamie, the friend Kurt had stayed home with instead of going to the bonfire, yelled from the quad. “We moved your table and Leanna’s. Tony’s bringing extra chairs.” Jamie’s grandmother, Vera, spent summers at Seaside, and Jamie drove in from Boston most weekends to spend time with her.
“You stole my table before you hugged me hello? Get over here, you pest.” Bella set the salad bowl on the table and opened her arms.
“Good to see you, gorgeous.” Jamie kissed her cheek. The quietest of their group, Jamie, like Tony, was like a brother to Bella. He was soft-spoken and kind, and in all the years they’d known each other, he had never led her astray. She trusted him completely, as did half the world. Jamie had developed a search engine that was second only to Google. “Did I hear that you had a date that lasted all day?”
She shot a look at Jenna.
Jenna held her hands up in surrender. “You know I can’t lie.”
“It wasn’t a date.” Was it? No. She’d been clear about that at the bonfire, but that was before his living room—and before she invited him to the barbeque, which seemed very dateish to her. Don’t admit it. If you don’t say it out loud, it’s not a date. “He’s coming tonight. You’ll like him. He’s a cop, so you can tell him about all the naughty things I do.”
“And send him running for the hills? No way. I almost forgot. Leanna and Kurt aren’t going to be here tonight. Leanna had a big rush order come in, and she said she needed to work late and get up early.”
“Is that why she wasn’t at the flea market?”
“Yeah. She got the order early this morning.”
“I wish I had known. We could have helped her.”
“She knows. I offered, too, but two of her employees are coming in for the evening, and Kurt’s on a deadline. She said they’d make it next time.” Jamie headed for his cottage. “I’m gonna get the steaks and see how Gram’s doing.”
An hour later, the smell of sizzling steaks filled the evening air. Vera and Jamie sat with Amy and Jenna, chatting about their afternoons. There was a fire in the fire pit and citronella candles at the center of each table. Jenna had made a fresh bean salad, and Leanna had left them two loaves of homemade bread with two jars of strawberry-apricot and apricot-lime jam and a jar of her newest flavor, watermelon jam. Amy had made chocolate chip brownies for dessert, and Bella had already snuck one while no one was looking.
Bella joined Tony by the grill. He had hair the color of sand after a rain, interspersed with streaks of sun-kissed blond, and he wore it long and shaggy on top, shorter in the back. Not only was Tony a world-class surfer, but he was also a popular motivational speaker. Despite his fame, he wasn’t full of pomp and circumstance. He was easy to talk to and a good friend to all of them.
Bella inhaled deeply. “That smells amazing.”
“What can I say? My meat is sweet.” Tony lifted his thick brows and flashed a mischievous smile.
Bella poked him in the ribs. “Pig.”
“You left yourself wide open for that one. Where’s your date?” He looked at his watch. “Dinner’s going to be ready in a few minutes.”
“He’s not my date, and I’m sure he’ll be here soon.” Bella wasn’t about to admit that she was wondering the same thing.
“Okay, well, I hear not-your-date has a son. That’s new for you.” He grabbed a plate and loaded it up with steak.
“New? He’s not my date, so there’s nothing new to consider.” Except maybe that my nerves have been tingling with anticipation for the past two hours. She caught Amy stealing a glance at Tony and thought what she was feeling must be similar to what Amy felt when she waited for Tony to arrive—even though the man acted completely oblivious to her crush.
“Hey, Ames,” Tony yelled. “Can you grab the mayo from my place? I forgot it.”
“Sure.” Amy looked adorable in her white halter dress and sandals.
Tony’s eyes followed her across the lawn.
“Not-your-Amy looks pretty cute tonight, doesn’t she?” Bella teased. She was sure that one day Tony would see Amy for the adorably sweet, smart, fun woman that she was and would be unable to resist her. A little nudge in that direction every now and then wasn’t a bad thing.
“She always looks cute.” Tony handed her the plate of steak and piled chicken onto another one. He leaned in close and whispered, “Your not-my-date is here.”
She turned to greet Caden, and the sight of him in his dark linen pants, white, short-sleeve button-down shirt, and provocative smile weakened her knees.
Not-my-date is smoking hot.
CADEN CAUGHT HIMSELF sizing up the man standing beside Bella as he and Evan crossed the lawn. He lowered a hand to her hip and kissed her cheek, silently staking claim to her.
“You look gorgeous.”
The heat in her eyes flared between them, and he realized that there was no need to stake claim to Bella. One look at her eyes, and he was sure the world could see how she felt about him as clearly as he could. He held a hand out to the muscular dude in the board shorts.
“Hi. I’m Caden Grant, and this is my son, Evan.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Tony Black, or if it’s easier to remember, the guy in the blue cottage.” He nodded to the blue cottage behind him. “Here. Let me take that.” He reached for the dish of pasta salad that Caden carried in his other hand. “Come on, Evan. I’ll introduce you around.” Tony and Evan headed toward the others.