13.

 

Noelle.

 

“Have a great trip, and drive safe!”

I keep waving until Bunny’s car is around the corner and out of sight. Then I sit down on the front steps and let out a massive sigh of relief.

It’s over. The night passed without any emergency, and Bunny even came down for breakfast with a smile on her face. She chatted with the Petersons, picked at her plate of eggs, and then hit the road to make it to her next appointment in time. As she was leaving, she told me that her review would run in the next issue, on newsstands next month.

“I think you’ll be satisfied. I certainly have been,” she told me with a brisk nod before she drove away.

Mission accomplished.

I can’t believe it, that after all the drama of the past twenty-four hours, I’ve made it out alive. And I thought that my job in NYC was stressful! But Harper and his depositions are nothing compared to fixing pipes, scheduling guests, and launching this place as a successful B&B. For the first time, I really care about what I’m doing. To an outsider, Rose Cottage may not seem as important as a high-powered law career, but it is to me. I want so desperately for this place to work, for me to live up to Nana’s legacy and do her work justice.

To build a life here. A home.

And a big part of that is the other people here in Beachwood Bay: my new friends who pitched in to help when I needed it most.

I think again about Ash’s invitation. I’ve been deliberating over it all night, my brain ticking overtime in the dark of my moonlit studio, but now, in daylight, the answer seems obvious. Of course I want to go: to thank everyone, and celebrate Bunny’s visit.

And see him again.

I’ve got some time before they’re all meeting at the harbor, so I decide to whip up some thank-you cupcakes and picnic items. I go a little overboard, fixing a delicious pasta salad with fresh basil and peas from the garden and a dense focaccia bread packed with olives, onions, and hot peppers baked right into the dough. By the time I load up the car, there’s enough food to feed an army. There’s barely a moment for me to change into my bikini and a cute, breezy sundress before I have to go make the sail time.

I drive through town, nervously glancing in the rear-view mirror to check I don’t have flour dusted across my face. When I reach the docks, the group is easy to spot: unloading some coolers in the parking lot, along with beach bags and towels.

“Noelle!” Tegan greets me with a wave as I pull in to park beside them. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Oh,” I look around for Ash, but he must not be here yet. “Is that OK? I’m sorry, I didn’t think—”

“Don’t be silly, of course you’re welcome.” Her eyes land on the containers beside me in the passenger seat and light up. “Are those cupcakes?”

Ryland appears beside her in an instant. “Did I hear someone say ‘cake’?”

I laugh. “Do you have like a special radar or something?” I get out of the car, but he’s already gone around to help unload. He steals a cupcake from the carrier and bites down, smearing frosting across his chin.

“Oh my God, you’re such a pig!” Tegan playfully hits him. “There’ll be none left for the rest of us.”

“Don’t worry,” I say as I go open the trunk, “I went kind of overboard. I think I brought too much food.”

“Impossible,” Tegan reassures me, taking a bag. “Trust me, my brothers eat more than you think is humanly possible.”

“OK, good.” I follow her down to the gangway, where the boats are all moored. A dark-haired, tattooed guy who must be Dex is loading a cooler onto a yacht at the end of the row. It’s a beautiful white cruiser, and although I know nothing about boats, I can tell, this is a special one.

“It’s beautiful,” I tell Tegan as she helps me aboard. There’s a main cabin, outfitted with leather seating and steps leading down below, plus a polished deck at the nose of the boat, and more seating up on the second level.

“One of the perks of having all these over-achievers in the family,” Tegan grins, shoving Dex good-naturally as she passes. “I get to enjoy all their manly macho toys.”

“I heard that!” Dex protests. “This isn’t a toy, it’s a quality piece of machinery.”

“Like your sports car and motorcycle?” Tegan teases him.

“Abso-fucking-lutely.”

“Toys,” she repeats. “Oh, wait, you’ve met Dex, right?”

I give a little wave. “Hi.”

“Welcome on board SS Chaos,” he replies cheerfully. “You better just hope we don’t capsize out there.”

My eyes must have shown my fear, because Tegan laughs. “He’s kidding,” she tells me. “He’s a great captain. And we’re not going far, just around the bay to a private beach.”

“Oh, OK.” I feel a rush of relief. Heights may be my number one fear, but drowning comes pretty close.

The others come aboard and join us sitting up on deck. In addition to Ryland and Dex, there’s another local couple, Hunter and Brit, and a friendly red-haired woman who turns out to be Dex’s fiancée, Alicia. I study her, surprised to find someone so neat and preppy engaged to the rock star.

“Who wants beer?” Tegan asks, opening the cooler.

“Me!” Alicia exclaims, holding out a hand. She takes the bottle and swallows a long gulp. “Planning this wedding is driving me crazy,” she sighs. “I never realized there were so many details. The cake, the flowers…”

“At least the dress is taken care of,” Tegan points out. “Brit’s a designer,” she adds.

“You should do what we did,” Brit smiles, leaning back against her husband. “Backyard wedding, no mess, no fuss.”

“No chance for my mom to turn into a wedding planning monster,” Hunter adds.

“Don’t tempt me,” Alicia says, rueful. “Dex says we should just elope.”

“No!” Tegan cries. “You can’t. We all need to be there with you guys.”

“I know, I’m just kidding,” Alicia reassures her. “It wouldn’t be the same without you all, and this town.”

I sit back, content to let their conversation wash over me. Then I feel the motor engine start, and see Ryland on the dock, casting off the ties.

“Wait,” I say, confused. “Where’s Ash?”

“Oh, he’s on some business call.” Tegan sighs dramatically. “Big deal negotiations, or something like that. He says he’ll meet us there later, if he gets finished in time.”

My heart falls. I thought that he’d be here, that we’d have some time to talk. I try to hide my disappointment, but Tegan’s mouth quirks in a knowing smile. “You know, I think I’ll text him,” she says casually. “And let him know you made it. Who knows, maybe he’ll find he’s finished sooner than he thought?”

She winks, and I have to turn away to hide my blush. “I’m going to go check the cupcakes are in the cooler,” I say quickly, getting up. “I don’t want the frosting to melt.”

 

In a way, it’s a good thing that Ash didn’t join us. Without him there, I can simply enjoy myself, not nervously looking to see if he’s watching me; wondering what he’s thinking, or if he’s paying me any attention at all.

I didn’t realize how on edge he makes me, that glitter of anticipation fizzing in my stomach at the smallest glance. Instead, I’m free to chat with the others; relaxing out in the sun on the top deck as we slowly cruise across the bay. It’s a perfect day: blue-skied and hot, and I soon strip off my tank and lay out in my bikini top, letting the stress and anxiety of the past weeks simply melt away.

“This is the life,” Tegan yawns from beside me.

I murmur in agreement, the sunlight bright even behind my dark shades.

“Typical Ash, staying cooped up in the office instead of out having fun,” she adds. “I know he’s my brother, but I swear, sometimes I just want to give him a good smack. He doesn’t know how to have fun.”

“He does,” I find myself protesting. I sit up. “He can be fun when he wants, he just has a strong work ethic. That’s a good thing, that he’s got a drive to succeed, and is able to stick to it.”

Tegan shakes her head. “Drive is one thing, but Ash has a total obsession with work. That’s why I was trying to fix you guys up,” she adds. “I thought maybe he could hold his calls for an evening for once in his life. But clearly, he’s got his head stuck up his ass too far to see what he’s missing out on,” she adds, raising one of my cupcakes to prove her point.

I know that Ash hasn’t exactly made his intentions clear towards me, but I feel bad, listening to her criticize him like this.

“He works because he’s got a lot of people depending on him,” I say quietly. “He always has. He wants to take care of you guys, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Tegan looks guilty. “I know he’s sacrificed a lot for us. It wasn’t fair, that he had to be the one to step up and keep everything together. But that was years ago. We can take care of ourselves now. Dex is multi-platinum, Blake’s off starring in movies. I have Ryland, we’re making a life together,” she adds. “I want that for Ash too. I want him to be happy, and settled, and…you know, free. He deserves that, after everything he’s done.”

She stops, then rolls her eyes, self-conscious. “I’m sorry, here I am blabbering all the Callahan family drama, and you’re here to have fun!”

“It’s OK,” I tell her. “I know you care about him. But, Ash is the only one who can decide what’s important to him. You can’t force anything.”

“I know,” Tegan sighs. “But wouldn’t life be so much easier if I could? I’m his sister, I know what’s best for him!”

“I’m not so sure about that,” I laugh. “If my family got to call the shots about me, I would still be trapped up in one of those New York high-rises, working eighty-hour weeks and miserable to the bone.”

“OK, so maybe not,” Tegan agrees. “But it’s just so frustrating. He plays it so close to his chest, I never know what’s going on with him. For all I know, he could be having a dozen torrid affairs, or sitting in alone every night!”

Tell me about it. I don’t let on anything to Tegan, but I know how she feels. Ash went out of his way to help me with the Bunny situation, he even invited me out today—and then didn’t show up. I’m long past trying to figure out what’s going on behind those dark eyes of his, but that doesn’t stop me wishing I could; that somehow, he would give me a sign of how he feels.

Because what we had—what we have, when his guard is down, when there’s humor in his words and that devilishly tempting look on his gorgeous face—is too good to just give up and walk away. And every time I swear that’s what I’m going to do, he gives me a glimpse of that other man hidden away inside, and it reels me back in all over again.

It’s exhausting. Confounding.

Frustrating as hell.

My thoughts are interrupted as Alicia collapses beside us on the deck. “Stop me, someone please,” she says through a mouthful of cupcake. “I won’t fit into my dress if I keep eating like this. Where did you buy them?”

“She made them,” Tegan tells her. “Noelle’s a genius in the kitchen!”

Alicia’s eyes widen. “You did? They’re amazing!”

“Thanks, but it’s all Nana.” I deflect the praise. “I just follow her recipes.”

“No way,” Tegan argues. “I’ve had her cakes at the diner. She was good, but you’re even better.”

“Well, thanks.” I flush. I’m used to getting compliments on my legal briefs, or arguments, but somehow this praise matters way more. “I’m getting the hang of it again. My kitchen in New York was like a glorified closet, it’s amazing just having the space at the B&B.”

“Do you take orders?” Alicia asks, licking frosting from her fingers. “Because I’ve been tasting wedding bakers all week, and nothing measures up to these.”

“You mean, make your wedding cake?” I blink, stunned. “I don’t know, I’ve never done something like that.”

“Do it!” Tegan claps her hands together. “And charge her a boatload too. Dex is picking up the tab,” she adds, mischievous. “He can afford it.”

Alicia laughs. “Not so fast. I would pay though,” she adds to me. “And maybe we could even do cupcakes for the rehearsal dinner, and some other desserts for the buffet? If you were willing to help cater.”

“Umm, sure,” I agree, quickly running the math in my head. All the repairs on Rose Cottage are adding up, and it would be great to earn some extra cash to offset my savings. “I’ll put together some ideas, and we can set up a tasting.”

“Yes!” Alicia leans over and hugs me, gleeful. “You have no idea what a favor you’re doing me,” she adds. “One more thing I can tick off my list!”

“I just hope I can come up with something good enough,” I say, already thinking of the flavor combinations. White chocolate and raspberry, maybe, with sugared rose petals on top…

“Are you kidding? You could show up with another carton of these cupcakes, and I’d be over the moon.” Alicia beams. “I better go taste some more. For research!”

 

We cruise for about an hour, until we drop anchor in the curve of a private bay. The yacht is some way out from the deserted beach, so Alicia and Dex volunteer to row all our supplies to shore. There’s room in the boat, but I’m hot and sticky now from an hour in the sun, and the water looks invitingly blue, so I strip off the rest off my clothes and dive off the side of the yacht before I can think twice.

I hit the water, cold slicing through me. I surface, spluttering. “It’s freezing!”

Tegan laughs, paddling beside me. “But doesn’t it feel great?”

It does. I lazily swim to shore, enjoying the pleasant ache in my limbs. I try to picture Lexi and the other associates at the law firm. What would I be doing now? Buried in the library, maybe. Or stealing a moment for dinner, eating takeout salad from a plastic box at my desk with a stack of briefs still left to work on.

Even though I’m taking the biggest risk of my life here in Beachwood Bay, and I still can’t be sure if it will pay off, I don’t even feel an ounce of envy, remembering the life I left behind.

Risk and all, this is way better.

I kick harder, until my feet find sand and gravel. Then I wade in, clearing water from my eyes.

“I should have guessed you’d be first in the water.”

It’s Ash. Sitting on a blanket on the beach, watching as I emerge from the ocean. He’s resting back on his elbows, wearing faded jeans and a white T-shirt that should be illegal for how good they look on him.

My pulse catches. “I nearly took the dinghy in,” I admit, trying not to be self-conscious about the fact I’m dripping wet, wearing nothing but a skimpy black bikini.

Even a wetsuit would feel indecent under the blazing focus of his gaze.

“Scared of the ocean, as well as heights?” Ash asks, a teasing smile playing on his lips. “Sorry I wasn’t around to distract you this time.”

In an instant, I flash back to our night together, and how he kissed me to distract me from our elevator ride to the top.

That kiss could distract me from a nuclear bomb.

“Well, you’re late to the party,” I manage to reply. I reach where he’s sitting and pick up a towel, drying off my face and hair.

I feel his eyes on my body, feel that prickle of awareness shiver across my skin. It sets my heart racing, so instead of quickly wrapping the towel around my body, I take my time; leisurely drying each of my limbs in turn. When I finally look up at Ash, there’s a fierce lust in his eyes that takes my breath away.

Oh.

We stare at each other, the heat between us burning brighter than the afternoon summer’s sun. Then a shout comes from further up the beach, where the others are unloading the dinghy.

“Who’s up for a little touch football?”

The moment is broken. I glance away, recovering.

“Sure,” Ash calls, getting to his feet. “But only if you’re ready to lose, big time.” He turns back to me, and his smile is quieter; more sincere. “I’m glad you made it,” he says softly, with meaning in his eyes.

My heart beats, hard, and I feel a delicious shiver of anticipation.

“Me too.”