The next afternoon, Scarlett sat drinking strawberry lemonade on the beach with Charlene, Marissa, and Tami. Marissa wasn’t talking, just looking down at the sand while the rest of them were busy weaving little crowns together today for all the little children who came.

Blah. She couldn’t stand the bad mood behavior because Kurt probably had done something stupid. Plus, another DIY project Charlene thought would be fun. Argh! Scarlett didn’t complain about the projects, though and truthfully, what else did they have to do anyway? It was kind of nice to keep her hands busy.

Brent had insisted on taking all the boys out on their speedboat to go water-skiing and tubing. Scarlett hadn’t minded not going; she knew it would be competitive enough with just her brother and Kurt and Victor, and Walker wasn’t the type of guy to make it less competitive.

This morning, they’d been texting, and he told her he didn’t know how to water-ski or anything, but she knew he’d be a quick study. He’d also told her he missed her, and her heart pitter-pattered.

She thought of being in his arms last night and dancing on the pier. It’d been so perfect. She thought about all the things he’d told her and the things she’d told him. It kind of made her feel exposed, but she trusted him. Which was strange. She hadn’t had anyone since Kurt that she really felt safe with.

As Charlene continued to prattle about the wedding arrangements and who was going to be in attendance, all Scarlett could think about was Walker. How he’d looked that day on the lake when he’d thought he was saving her. It made her giggle to think that he’d thought he would save her. He really was a hero.

“Scarlett, are you listening?” Charlene turned to her.

“Yes,” she answered quickly, refocusing on the weaving.

But her thoughts drifted back to Walker. She thought of last night, of how vulnerable he’d looked when he’d told her about his dishonorable discharge. How broken he’d looked when he’d talked about the gunman he’d lost. The memory made her feel mushy inside.

She was still surprised she’d divulged her cancer secret and still ticked Grant had told him. Pausing on the crown making, she pulled out her phone and texted Grant. You are so dead.

Surprising her, he texted back instantly. I’m sorry. But you can trust him.

Hesitating, she texted, You’re coming tomorrow, right?

Of course.

Unable to stop herself, she texted Walker. Having fun?

He also texted right back. Can’t quit thinking about you.

Warmth filled her.

Or smelling you, he added.

Little happiness explosions went off inside of her. It was still a marvel to her that she’d fallen for him so quickly. Or that dance, she replied.

He texted back a heart. It was so silly, but it made her so happy. This huge man was texting her hearts. She giggled. Then it hit her. She had fallen for him. Crap.

“Scarlett …” Charlene said. “Tell us what you’re happy about.”

She turned her phone over on her lap. “Nothing.”

“And not to be picky about this, but you haven’t brought Walker to a lot of the festivities, Scarlett. You guys didn’t go horseback riding. Then I found out you went on the helicopter with him to the carnival when everyone thought he was sick.”

Scarlett knew she would find out, because you couldn’t really hide a helicopter landing. Still, she winced to see Charlene looking so hurt. “I’m sorry. You’re right.”

Tami let out a low whistle. “It seems the bad-boy Kent brother is living up to the reputation all his brothers are said to have.”

It ticked Scarlett off that Tami would say that. None of them knew, couldn’t know—just like she hadn’t known—what Walker was really like. What he’d really been through. Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell them. She didn’t want to fight, so she changed the topic. “I was thinking that we should have a dance tonight.” Really, she just hadn’t been able to get it out of her mind.

“Ha!” Charlene clapped her hands together and her face brightened. “Yes!”

Tami looked skeptical. “A dance?”

Marissa pulled her sunglasses off and tossed them onto her chair, still weaving. “Who would come to this dance?”

Scarlett thought of being in Walker’s arms. Swaying with him had been so intoxicating. She didn’t know why she’d said that idea, other than the fact she wanted to have another opportunity to be in his arms that way. “Just us.” She flashed them a smile and focused on Charlene. “Don’t you remember when we were kids and we’d put on those grand balls in the library? We would decorate, and we would have fun food, and then we’d dance all night until we fell asleep watching a television show waiting for our parents?”

Charlene grinned, and her eyes misted. “Yes, those were so much fun, weren’t they?”

“So much fun!” she agreed, taking Charlene’s hand and thinking of how it felt when they were small, even though she couldn’t help thinking about Kurt, which was a downer. She put it out of her mind. “We could do a luau! Get dancers to perform and then get down ourselves.”

“It sounds fun,” Tami said softly. “I have some décor in mind, ladies!” She and Charlene and Scarlett all laughed.

“Another DIY project!” Scarlett exclaimed, feeling lighter than she’d felt in months.

Marissa turned to them, frowning. “Those parties when we were kids weren’t that great.” Scarlett and Charlene turned to look at her and saw she was focused on her crown. “Because even though some of us were there, we never felt a part of it.”

Irritation coursed through Scarlett. She knew that Marissa was talking about the fact that Kurt had liked her and Brent had liked Charlene and she’d always been the one on the outs. It was the argument that Scarlett had endured from her best friend their whole life. How many nights had she listened to her friend whine that she had no one?

Letting out a soft sigh, she turned to Marissa. “I guess you’re with the guy you always wanted now, aren’t you? So you’ll love this little dance the most.”

Marissa’s gaze flicked to her, and she looked hurt.

Scarlett felt bad, but she refused to apologize. She reminded herself of how much pain she’d endured the last year with no one. Her fiancé and best friend had both betrayed her at once. So she’d gone to New York, and she’d thrown herself into her work, which always helped. Until the cancer. Again, when Scarlett should have been able to go to her best friend for support, Marissa had not been there for her. A tear pooled in her eye, and she dashed it with her fingers before it could run down her face. She sucked in a breath, thinking of Walker last night and how he said that rowing helped, breathing helped.

Scarlett hadn’t been through a war. She didn’t know what it was like to have gunfire raining down on you. She didn’t know what it was like to land a helicopter and hope you could get your precious cargo and get out. She did know what it felt like to drive herself to the surgery and fill out all the paperwork with shaky hands. She did know what it was like to feel humiliated that she had to ask Grant to be there to pick her up. The worst part was all the waiting. Waiting for the lab reports, waiting for the next appointment with the doctor to find out if they got it all. Even waiting now for her last test results to come in. Even though she was taking the chemo pills, they still tested her every couple of weeks to make sure there were no new cells. The feelings of loneliness mixed with being terrified were still so fresh.

She thought of Walker, the fact that his wife had died in that accident, not to mention his mother dying. He’d lost so much. Pain seared through her chest, and she couldn’t breathe. She stood, putting a hand over her heart.

“Scarlett?” Charlene was up and beside her, putting a light hand on her back. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah.” She pulled in a long breath, finding it compelling and strange and irresistible and terrifying all at once that she seemed to be tapping into Walker Kent’s feelings enough to grasp what he experienced in hard times.

Charlene steadied her. “You sure you’re okay?”

Marissa sidled over. She bit her lip, then opened her hand, and in her palm was a pile of peonies.

Scarlett was confused.

Marissa smiled at her, the first real smile she’d seen in a long time. “I know you love these. I thought you might want them.”

The gesture felt off. Was this an apology? With cautious fingers, Scarlett took the peonies. “Thank you.” She focused on Charlene and took her hand, wanting to make this a great night for her. “Let’s plan the luau. We could have it right by the dock where we ate last night.”

Charlene smiled. “Yes, I love it.”

“I love it too,” Tami chimed in.

Marissa concurred. “I’ll help.”

Scarlett hesitated. Marissa was offering a truce. This was about Charlene and her happiness, so Scarlett put her own feelings aside. “Great. Let’s get it planned.”

.