Читать книгу Sea Glass Island - Sherryl Woods, Sherryl Woods - Страница 10

4

“So, when are you seeing her again?” Greg asked Ethan as they drove back to the clinic. There was no mistaking the spark of mischief in his eyes as he spoke.

Ethan frowned at him. “No idea what you’re talking about,” he insisted.

“You and Samantha. Don’t even try to deny that something happened when the two of you were out on the deck. You came back looking like two cats that had managed to dine on some very tasty canaries.”

“What a lovely analogy,” Ethan commented. “You obviously have a poet’s way with words.”

“Not exactly the point,” Greg said. “Let’s stick to the accuracy of my assessment. When are the two of you getting together again?”

“Whenever circumstances dictate,” Ethan said irritably.

Suddenly Greg’s eyes lit up as if he’d just discovered the secrets of the universe. “And you’re not happy about waiting for those circumstances to roll around, are you? Oh boy, I knew it! You’ve got the hots for her.”

“Once more you’re demonstrating your way with words,” Ethan grumbled. “I do not have the hots for anybody. Turns out she’s a nice woman, not at all what I expected.”

“Beautiful, too. Do not try to tell me you didn’t notice. Otherwise I’m going to have to check your vital signs the second we get back to the clinic.”

“I noticed,” Ethan said tightly. “Will you please drop this?”

“I’m thinking I probably shouldn’t,” Greg said cheerfully. “I’m thinking you need me to be a thorn in your side, a burr under your butt, as it were, until you finally get back in the dating game.”

“Dating is not a game I want to play,” Ethan claimed, though he was clearly not convincing his friend. He’d been happily protecting his heart for a good long time now. He saw no reason for that to change. The last time he’d taken a risk on love, it hadn’t worked out so well.

“Ah, but sometimes life just comes along and gives you an unexpected chance to reach for your heart’s desire, ready or not,” Greg said. “A smart man seizes those moments.”

Ethan scowled at him. “Heart’s desire? Game? Which is it? How exactly do you see this going?”

“What I see isn’t important,” Greg insisted. “What do you see? And do not try to tell me you’re oblivious to the possibilities.”

“I see disaster waiting to happen,” Ethan said with a level of frustration he hadn’t felt in months, maybe not even years. Shouldn’t he have a better grip on his own blasted destiny? Surely it was just a matter of willpower. If he wanted to resist Samantha, he could do it, the same way he’d avoided every other entanglement since Lisa had so unceremoniously dumped him. Of course, it didn’t help that his friend refused to let the matter drop.

“Because you’re not really attracted to her?” Greg persisted.

“No,” he bit out.

“Because you don’t think she’s attracted to you?”

He recalled the look that had simmered between them more than once on the deck. Whatever she’d said about friendship, she was interested in more, no question about it. Was he insane for not taking her up on it? After all, it wasn’t as if she’d be around for long. Her life was elsewhere. They could indulge in a satisfying two-week fling, no harm, no foul. Greg would certainly approve. Boone probably would, too, though he might get a little protective since Samantha was about to be his sister-in-law.

“It doesn’t matter if she’s attracted to me or not. We’ve agreed to be friends, period. We are not succumbing to the pressures of the meddlers, you included.”

Greg stared at him incredulously. “Whose dumb-ass idea was that?”

“Hers,” Ethan said. “I agreed.”

Greg shook his head sorrowfully. “I always thought Lisa was the idiot. Now I’m wondering if you’re one iota better.”

Ethan frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“This gorgeous woman, who’s had a thing for you for like a million years, has been delivered practically into your arms and you’re content with friendship.” Greg shook his head. “It’s pitiful, man. Just pitiful.”

Ethan was beginning to think maybe his friend was right, but that didn’t mean he intended to do a single thing to change the rules he and Samantha had just negotiated. There was safety in following those rules. There was the peace and serenity he’d claimed he wanted for years now.

And, sadly, there was total, unrelenting boredom, he admitted only to himself.

* * *

Samantha was pacing the floor with Daniella Jane, who was impatiently and loudly proclaiming that it was dinnertime. Even with the baby’s cries echoing in Samantha’s head, she felt this incredibly fierce tug as she held her niece.

“Come on, sweetie,” she murmured soothingly. “Don’t let your mommy walk in the door and get some crazy idea that I’m a terrible aunt. Settle down. Dinner is on its way, I promise.”

Dinner, of course, was tied directly to Gabi’s arrival. She was still nursing the baby. Normally she kept Daniella Jane with her at the gallery for that very reason, but she’d taken a visible deep breath and agreed to let her daughter come home with Samantha an hour ago. It had definitely been an act of faith. The way Samantha had heard it, the baby had barely been out of Gabi’s sight since the day she was born.

Today’s reluctant concession was supposed to be a win-win, giving Gabi an uninterrupted hour to get some work done while Samantha bonded with her niece. She had no idea how things were going on Gabi’s end, but she wasn’t exactly bonding. If anything, she felt as if she was selfishly depriving her niece of sustenance to fulfill her own maternal yearnings.

The back door of Gram’s house burst open, and Gabi’s guy, Wade Johnson, came in, grinning.

“That’s my girl,” he said, reaching for the baby, whose cries instantly changed into gurgles of delight. He winked at Gabi. “She’s already learned to let the world know when she’s displeased. Nobody will be walking all over this woman.”

Samantha chuckled. Wade might not be Dani’s biological father, but he was already a dedicated parent. “You do know that you’ve just given me a terrible inferiority complex, don’t you?” she said. “I may give up on the whole motherhood thing after the way that child started cooing the instant I handed her off to you.”

“Don’t take it personally,” he said, holding the baby high in the air. “Dani and I have a deal.”

“A deal?” Samantha questioned, smiling.

“Yep. We work at being so good together that there’s not a chance her mama will change her mind about marrying me. Right, baby girl?”

Daniella Jane giggled happily.

“So, where is Gabi?” Wade asked. “It’s not like her to be late for this little one’s suppertime. Did you convince her to take a nap?”

“Are you kidding me? She’s using my offer to watch the baby to get some work done. You can take the workaholic out of a high-powered job, but you can’t take the drive and ambition out of her. The success of that studio the two of you created is her personal mission.”

“It was supposed to be a low-key alternative to that last nightmare job,” Wade grumbled.

“Sorry. Gabi’s not made for low-key.” She studied him closely, aware of what a laid-back kind of man he was. “That’s not a deal-breaker for you, is it?”

“There are no deal-breakers for me when it comes to Gabi,” he said flatly. “She’s it for me. If she’s happy, I’m happy.”

Samantha barely contained a sigh of envy at the conviction she heard in his voice. Boone sounded the same way when he talked about Emily. Was she ever going to find the same sort of devotion? Would anyone ever look at her as if she were the sun, moon and stars all rolled into one?

Gabi sailed into the house just then, her expression frantic. “Is the baby okay? I know I’m late, and I know how fussy she gets if she isn’t fed right on time.”

“She definitely made her feelings known,” Samantha told her. “But Wade showed up with his magic touch, and she’s been good as gold ever since.”

Gabi bent down and gave Wade a lingering kiss. “Thanks,” she murmured as she took the baby from him.

“Sit,” he said, pulling her down beside him.

“But Dani needs to be fed,” Gabi protested.

“And here’s as good a place as any,” he said, his gaze locked with hers.

When the baby settled into place, Wade grazed his knuckles gently over her cheek in a touch so tender it brought tears to Samantha’s eyes. With the three of them so absorbed with this moment, she felt like a fifth wheel.

“I’ll get dinner started,” she murmured, though she doubted anyone heard her.

In the kitchen, she decided on pasta with a simple marinara sauce. While the water for the pasta was boiling, she tossed a salad with fresh lettuce and tomatoes from the local farmer’s stand where she’d stopped on her way home, added a bit of spring onion and blue cheese and then her own personal vinaigrette. She’d make her meal out of this, giving a token nod to her need to watch her weight.

She’d just minced some garlic into a skillet with olive oil and was preparing to add the tomato sauce when Cora Jane, Jerry and Emily came in.

“It smells fabulous in here,” Emily said, sniffing the air. “I had no idea you could cook.”

“All Castles need to know their way around a kitchen,” Samantha recited, grinning at Cora Jane when she said it. “How many times did you say that to us when we were here in the summer?”

“Not enough, apparently, since not a one of you went into the restaurant business,” Cora Jane said. She checked on the sauce, then eyed Samantha speculatively. “Of course, maybe it’s not too late.”

“Uh-oh,” Emily teased. “Grandmother’s got that look in her eye. You’d better run for your life, Samantha, or you’ll be running Castle’s before the summer’s out. If that sauce is as delicious as it smells, there will be pasta dishes on the menu and you’ll be in the kitchen making them.”

Samantha handed the spoon she’d been using to stir the sauce to Cora Jane. “Not a prayer,” she said at once. “This is your domain, Grandmother. I’m just an innocent bystander. I’m only in the kitchen because Gabi, Wade and the baby are having family time in the living room.”

“And you let them chase you off?” Cora Jane asked.

“They didn’t even know I was in the room, much less that I’d left,” Samantha said. “I think we’d better get a wedding date on the calendar for those two soon.”

“We’re eloping,” Gabi announced, arriving in the kitchen just in time to overhear the comment. “All this fuss is way too much.”

“You’ll do no such thing,” Cora Jane said, looking horrified. “Get Wade in here right this minute, and I’ll set him straight about that.”

“He’s putting the baby down,” Gabi said. “And he and I are agreed about this. No hoopla when our time comes. Just a quiet ceremony with family.”

Samantha noticed the color rising in Emily’s cheeks at Gabi’s words.

“Are you suggesting that my wedding is over-the-top?” Emily asked, an edge to her voice.

“No one is saying any such thing, honey bun,” Cora Jane said quickly, shooting a pointed look in Gabi’s direction.

“I’m just saying it’s a lot of work and stress for a party,” Gabi said defensively. “But I certainly don’t begrudge you and Boone for having the wedding of your dreams. It’s just not Wade and me.”

Emily burst into tears at that and fled out the back door.

“That girl’s nerves are getting to her,” Cora Jane assessed. “I don’t think it’s all about the wedding, either. I suspect there’s something else on her mind.”

“Such as?” Samantha asked.

Cora Jane huffed a sigh of frustration. “No idea.”

“I’d better go,” Gabi said with a sigh. “I should have kept my big mouth shut. I know she’s sensitive about the wedding spinning a little out of control.”

Samantha held up a hand. “I’ll go. I know I’m not the traditional peacemaker around her, but I’m thinking she might not want to hear anything you have to say right now.”

“Go ahead,” Cora Jane said. “I’ll finish up here and get dinner on the table. Don’t be too long, okay?”

Samantha kicked off her shoes on the porch and walked barefoot through the grass down to the pier. Emily was sitting on the bench at the end, her shoulders hunched, her face streaked with tears.

“You probably agree with Gabi,” she accused when Samantha sat next to her.

“Not the way you’re thinking,” Samantha said.

“See, I knew it! You always think I make lousy choices.”

Samantha was saddened by yet more evidence that the two of them had a long way to go before they’d ever understand each other.

“And you always anticipate the worst from me,” Samantha replied quietly. “Did you not hear what I said? I told you that though I agreed with Gabi, it was probably not in the way you were thinking.”

Emily scowled at her. “You either agree or you don’t.”

“Does everything always have to be either black or white to you?”

“It generally is,” Emily said.

“Oh, sweetie, there is an awful lot of gray in the world. Believe me, you’ll figure that out eventually.”

“And now you’re saying I’m not that experienced or wise or something,” Emily said, obviously taking offense when none had been intended.

Samantha frowned at her. “And people think I’m the drama queen in the family,” she murmured dryly, knowing the comment would only add fuel to the fire. “Will you please just listen for two seconds?”

“Go ahead,” Emily muttered.

“I agree with Gabi that the two of you are very different people. In fact, the three of us are very different women, despite a few similarities here and there. I think you started dreaming about the perfect wedding on the day you first laid eyes on Boone. When things fell apart and you went off to follow your career, that dream didn’t die. It was just put on hold.”

She took heart from the fact that Emily was still paying attention. “The minute the two of you were reunited and engaged, it’s not even a tiny bit surprising that you wanted the whole fairy-tale wedding you’d always envisioned.” She tucked a finger under Emily’s chin. “And there is nothing wrong with that, you hear me. Nothing! None of us begrudge you this moment, Em. Not even a tiny bit. Every woman should have the wedding of her dreams.”

“But Gabi said—”

Samantha interrupted. “All Gabi said was that she didn’t want this same kind of hoopla. Gabi probably doesn’t even want to take off a couple of hours from work to go down to the courthouse to get married.”

Emily giggled at that just as Samantha had hoped she would.

“You’re probably right,” Emily conceded. “She’s pretty focused on the studio these days, and the baby, and Wade. The ceremony is just some kind of technicality to get out of the way.”

“Exactly,” Samantha said. “And that’s okay, too, if it suits the two of them.”

“I suppose, even if I do think it’s kind of sad.” Emily studied her curiously. “What about you? What kind of wedding do you want?”

“I haven’t looked that far ahead,” Samantha said, her tone neutral. “After all, there’s not even a man in my life at the moment.”

“Liar,” Emily taunted. “You’ve seen every kind of wedding imaginable on those soaps you used to do from time to time. Which one struck you as the most devastatingly romantic?”

Samantha leaned back, finally relaxing now that the crisis appeared past, and gave Emily’s question some thought.

“A destination wedding,” she said eventually. “On the beach, maybe, with the wind in my hair and the sand beneath my feet.”

When she glanced at Emily, there was a sheen of tears in her eyes.

“It sounds perfect,” Emily whispered. “And it does sound like you. It needs to be at sunset, though, with all that glorious color in the sky.” She glanced over at Samantha and added, “I hope you get it.”

“One of these days, if I’m lucky,” Samantha said.

“Maybe it’ll be even sooner than you think,” Emily replied, a glint in her eyes. “And last time I looked, Sand Castle Bay was known all over as a terrific spot for a destination wedding.”

Samantha frowned at her. “Do not even go there, you hear me? Or I will take back every nice thing I just said about you.”

“I can take it,” Emily said, grinning. “It’ll be worth it to watch this thing with you and Ethan unfold. Don’t forget I was right there with the two of you today when you came back inside the restaurant. Sparks were flying all over the place. It’s a wonder Greg and I didn’t get burned.”

“Didn’t it occur to you that those sparks were anger directed your way for the meddling you did to throw us together for the second time in one day?”

Emily waved off the suggestion. “Not a chance. This was all about a man and a woman who’ve taken a real shine to each other. Pheromones, chemistry, whatever you want to call it.”

“Enough!” Samantha said, her voice rising as she tried to get the point across once and for all. “Ethan and I agreed to be friends, nothing more.”

Emily merely laughed. “I know. I can just hear the two of you being all rational and determined. I had a similar conversation with Boone when I first came back to town.” A grin spread. “I’ll tell you now exactly what you told me then.”

“What?”

“That all that denial is what’s going to make this so much fun to watch.”

“Enjoy yourself, but I think you’re going to be disappointed,” Samantha told her. “Now I have another question for you before we go back inside and you make peace with Gabi.”

“What’s that?” Emily asked, not arguing that it was up to her to apologize.

“Grandmother’s worried that there’s something else on your mind. Is there? Are you worried about the wedding? About Boone? About his nasty ex-in-laws? Anything else?”

Emily’s expression immediately shut down in a way that was more revealing than words would have been.

“Emily?” she prodded.

“I don’t know if Boone loves living in Los Angeles as much as I do,” she admitted eventually.

Samantha had wondered when that issue was going to show up. “It’s still new to him.”

“But Sand Castle Bay is in his blood.”

“Has he said anything about coming back?”

“No, and I thought when he moved out there to open this restaurant, it would be okay.”

“Maybe it will be. Ask him what he’s feeling.”

“I’m half afraid to. What if he wants me to move back here, after all?”

“What if he does? What will you do?”

Emily sighed and regarded Samantha with a bleak expression. “I honestly have no idea.”

“Then, sweetie, you need to talk to him now, before this wedding.”

Emily shook her head. “No, absolutely not.”

“But—”

“No,” Emily repeated, then stood up. “We need to go back inside. I have some fence-mending to do.”

She took off for the house, leaving Samantha to stare after her, far more worried now than she’d been when she’d come outside.

* * *

On Sunday evening, Cora Jane looked around the backyard with satisfaction. With the help of Jerry, Gabi, Wade and Samantha, it had been turned into a showcase of tiny lights, huge pots of colorful summer flowers and tables laden with food and gifts for Emily’s bridal shower.

Samantha draped an arm around her shoulders. “You’ve outdone yourself, Grandmother.”

Cora Jane glanced up, blinking back unexpected tears. “I can’t believe the first of my girls is getting married in less than two weeks. I’ve waited for this for so long.” She gave Samantha a pointed look. “I thought you’d be the first, you know.”

“Just because I’m older?”

“No, because boys were flocking around from the time you hit your teens, and I know for a fact it was no different when you got to New York. Every time we spoke, you mentioned one man or another.”

Samantha shrugged. “None of them stuck. I want to find what Em has with Boone or what Gabi’s found with Wade. I guess the Castle women are all romantics at heart. We want the happily-ever-after. At least I was smart enough not to settle for less than that.”

Cora Jane nodded approvingly. “You know, I think your daddy always sold you short. He thought just because you wanted to be an actress, you were flighty or something, but your mama and I always knew better. You’ve got a good, level head on your shoulders. You know what’s important. And you’ll find the right man. There’s not a doubt in my mind.”

Samantha gave her a hug. “Thanks for your faith in me. As for Dad, he hasn’t exactly been attuned to any of us and the skills we possess.”

“No, he hasn’t,” Cora Jane said. “I do think he’s coming around, though.” She glanced across the lawn to where Sam was conferring with Jerry over the grill. “Look at him. Not only is he here, but he’s really trying to fit in.”

“How’d you pull that off, especially for a bridal shower on a Sunday night? Tomorrow’s a workday, after all. I can practically hear him making a million and one excuses for not coming.”

Cora Jane chuckled. “Probably double that, but I trumped ’em all. I told him to be here. That it was an order from his mother and I’d be disappointed in him if he didn’t show up for his daughter’s big evening.”

“Good for you. I know it means a lot to Em that he came. But aren’t he and Jerry going to feel like odd men out at a party crowded with women?”

“Oh, the party isn’t just for women,” Cora Jane said blithely. “Emily wouldn’t hear of that. There will be plenty of men around, too.”

She saw the quick rise of understanding in Samantha’s eyes and then the deepening of the color in her cheeks. “I imagine Ethan’s on this coed guest list,” she said stiffly.

“Of course,” Cora Jane responded. “The entire wedding party was invited.”

“Of course they were,” Samantha said, shaking her head. “You and Emily don’t give up, do you?”

“I have no idea what you mean,” Cora Jane insisted, trying out the innocent look she’d had years to practice, but still hadn’t exactly perfected. Judging from Samantha’s skeptical reaction, it wasn’t terribly effective this time, either.

“Do you have any idea how much you and Emily are humiliating me?” Samantha asked. “Ethan’s going to get the idea that I’m desperate or something.”

“Oh, honey bun, there’s no chance of that,” Cora Jane assured her. “Any man looking at you is only going to wonder why no one has had the sense to snap you up. You’re beautiful and, even more important, you have this huge heart. You’re smart and talented and quick-witted. Any man would be lucky to have a chance with you. And a smart man wouldn’t blow that chance.”

Samantha looked pained by the recitation of her attributes, but by the end she was grinning. “So you’re saying if Ethan doesn’t take you up on this golden opportunity you’re throwing his way, then he’s a dolt?”

Cora Jane chuckled. “Well, I might have put it a bit more diplomatically, but yes, that’s exactly what I’d conclude. Just so you know, though, I think Ethan is an awfully smart man. Now go inside and put on something pretty.”

Samantha looked down at her capris and the colorful matching blouse that even Cora Jane recognized as coming from a famed New York designer’s summer collection. She’d seen an ad for it in Vogue or one of those other fashion magazines that the girls had left lying around the house.

“Prettier than this?” Samantha inquired doubtfully.

“I’m thinking a sundress,” Cora Jane said. “One that shows a little cleavage.”

“Grandmother!”

Cora Jane wasn’t bothered by the dismay she heard in Samantha’s voice. She merely held her gaze. “Can you think of a better way to let a man know what he’s missing?”

This time Samantha groaned, but she turned and headed for the house. Of course, it was anybody’s guess if she’d come back wearing that sundress Cora Jane had recommended or something that covered her from head to toe. The girl did have a perverse streak that kicked in when she’d been pushed too far. Cora Jane realized that she might have tiptoed a little too close to that particular boundary, but she still had high hopes that the evening would end with one more breach in those walls of defenses those two young people had around their hearts.