Chapter Four
Kane had gone to his car to pick up his sander when Halley’s visitors walked to their car. He recognized her sister, both from the bar and from times when she’d come to his garage to have her car serviced. He didn’t immediately know who the older woman was, but he assumed it was Halley’s aunt. She looked enough like Phoebe for him to take an educated guess. They both appeared lost in their own thoughts, frowns on their faces.
He returned to the deck in time to see Halley walking down to the beach, her dress swaying against her legs as she moved. She paused at the water’s edge, looking out onto the horizon. Finally, she sat down on the sand, her feet in the water when it made its way up to shore. Even from behind, he could sense the sadness and turmoil rolling off her hunched shoulders.
He wanted to head down there and comfort her. To ask what had happened and how he could make it better. But he knew they weren’t at the point where she’d confide in him. If he had his way, they would get there. But for now he’d leave her in peace, as hard as it was for him to do nothing when she was clearly upset.
He got back to work, hard hat and safety goggles on. Halley passed by on her way back inside, treating him to a wave. He smiled back but kept up with the job. A short time later, he glanced up to find her waiting to talk to him.
He turned off the sander, removed his glasses then hat, and met her gaze.
“I thought you might be hungry, so I cooked breakfast. It’s a little later than planned because I had visitors, but they’re gone and there’s food on the table. If you want some.”
“You didn’t need to cook for me.” He rose to his feet. “But I’m glad you did. I just need to wash up first.”
She smiled. “Come on in.” They walked inside and she directed him to the bathroom.
A few minutes later, he joined her in the kitchen. What appeared to be egg muffins sat on a plate in the center of the table along with delicious-looking bacon strips and a carafe of orange juice.
“This is amazing. And smells delicious.” He picked up a napkin and placed it on his lap. “I really appreciate you cooking for me.” He took it as a good sign that she wanted him in her house, even if she was just showing her gratitude.
“It was my pleasure. I like cooking. So go ahead. Dig in.” She waved her hand toward the food in the middle.
He served her and then himself. Then he took a bite. Damn, she was a good cook. “Fantastic,” he said of the muffin. Bacon was bacon. Always good.
“Thank you.”
They ate in silence.
“I was named after Halley’s Comet,” she said, taking him by surprise.
“Really?”
“All of us were named after something in the solar system. You see, before my mother went off the rails with drugs and alcohol, she was smart. A science freak. She loved the planets and outer space, so she named my sisters and me that way. I’m obvious—Halley’s Comet. Phoebe is for the outermost moon of Saturn and Juliette for the moon of Uranus. Or so my aunt tells me. I was too young to remember any stories my mother might have told me.”
He barely overcame his shock of her opening up to process the wistfulness in her voice at the mention of a sister he’d never heard of. “Sisters? Juliette?” he asked.
She laid down her fork. Sad eyes met his. “I have two sisters. We have different fathers. I told you about mine and Phoebe’s, who died in combat. Well, right before Phoebe and I were sent to foster care, my mother gave Juliette, who had been two at the time, to her father. For cash.”
He wasn’t sure he’d heard her right. He couldn’t have. “Your mother—”
“Sold her daughter. You heard correctly.” She pushed herself up from her seat, grabbed her plate, and strode over to the sink. After putting the dish down, she braced a hand on the counter and dipped her head.
Never in his wildest imagination did he think she’d open up this way. But then, she obviously had no one to confide in other than him. He was grateful. He’d take it and listen, even if his heart hurt for her. He couldn’t imagine a parent that didn’t take care of their children. Even his father, for all his faults, did his best for his kids after Kane’s mother passed.
Sensing she needed him, he walked up behind Halley and touched her shoulder, turning her around to face him. “I’m sorry for what you went through. And it sucks that your mother would go to such awful lengths.”
Her bottom lip trembled and he had the desire to touch the soft flesh. With his fingers. With his mouth. Anything to comfort her.
“It helps,” she murmured. “My mother is back. That’s what my aunt wanted when she came by earlier. To tell me that my mother came by for money when she got out of jail.” She blew out a long breath, the story obviously draining her.
“You’re kidding,” he muttered.
Halley shook her head. Then she went back in time and explained more details about her past, including how old she was when the state took her away because her mother was unfit. Just three fucking years old. His hands curled into fists, disgust and pain filling him on her behalf.
“And in the decade that passed, apparently my mother hooked up with a drug dealer,” she continued. “So when the police raided the apartment and she was home, they busted her for possession and intent to sell.”
He winced. “Jesus.”
She sniffed. “And I’m not finished. She sobered up while incarcerated and called my aunt. She told her she had kids, two who were in foster care, and my aunt claimed us. My mother got out six months ago and came to my aunt for money.”
“Not to see her girls?” he asked, shocked by the story that was her life.
“No. But my aunt hoped my mother would get her act together and come back to see us.” She had settled a hip against the counter. Now she straightened. “My mother came back, all right. And wants more money. Aunt Joy said no and my mother snuck our cell phone numbers from her phone. So I expect to hear from my mother. In fact, I had one hang-up this morning and another one while I was cooking, both from blocked numbers. Phoebe is furious. She wants nothing to do with her.”
“And you?”
He grabbed her hand as she spoke. Her sister was mad and her aunt was probably at a loss over what to do.
But Halley? “What do you want?” he asked. Because that’s what mattered to him. What Halley wanted or needed.
No one had given her that before. No one had been there for her as a child and it was obvious she didn’t let anyone in now. He wanted to be her person.
“I want… to go back and erase the past. Barring that, which I know is impossible, I want my mother to come forward now and have changed. To be the person I missed all those years in foster care,” she admitted, her voice trembling. “Does that mean I need to meet her and see for myself? Do I need to be hit upside the head with a two-by-four, or can I take my aunt’s word for the fact that she’s selfish and only wants money?” She sighed. “When I say it out loud, I know the answer,” she said before he could comment. “I just wish…”
“I know,” he said, squeezing her hand. “I understand dealing with a parent with an addiction. My dad has a thing for gambling. I’m usually the one who steps up to be the adult.”
She shook her head and let out a soft laugh. “That’s a pretty crappy thing for us to have in common.”
He chuckled. “Well, it’s something. But I do think you should follow your heart and not what your sister or aunt thinks is right.”
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“For what?”
“For listening. For not judging.”
“I’m happy to be there for you. Any time.”
“I guess you earned another home-cooked meal,” she said, smiling brighter now.
“You’ve got yourself a deal. I’ll try to come by after work this week depending on how busy we get at the garage.”
He grasped her shoulders and leaned in close, inhaling a hint of a fruity scent in her hair. One that went straight to his dick and made him hard. He wanted to kiss her pretty pink lips, to slide his tongue inside her sweet mouth, but after she’d unloaded all her pain, to act on his desire would be taking advantage of her. And that he wouldn’t do.
There would be another time. He was sure of it.
* * *
The week had been a hectic one at the garage, and by the time Friday rolled around, Kane was exhausted. Although he’d have liked to make it over to Halley’s one or two of those evenings, they were overloaded with repairs and he’d been working late. He needed to hire another mechanic and he’d have to get on that soon.
And though the part for her SUV had arrived, he’d been out on a service call when she’d come in to pay and pick up the vehicle. He was left wondering how she was doing, if she’d heard from her mother, and whether or not she’d thought about him at all. Yeah, he had it bad. Something he wasn’t used to at all.
He’d gone out for an hour last night but he hadn’t run into Halley at the Blue Wall and he wasn’t surprised. She’d been dragged there by her sister last week. Maybe he could convince her to join him one night… and actually enjoy herself.
Early Saturday morning, his phone woke him, startling him out of sleep. He rolled over and grabbed his cell.
“Hello?” he asked, without checking who was calling first.
“Hi, Kane.” He recognized his sister’s voice.
He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. “Why are you waking me at the crack of dawn?” he asked with a yawn.
“Is Dad with you?”
“What?” That woke Kane up fast and he sat upright in bed. “Why would he be here when he lives with you?” he asked, a sinking feeling in his gut.
He looked around his room and saw his jeans on the floor. “Didn’t he babysit last night?” He always watched Nicky when Andrea worked her shift at the Blue Wall.
“No. He said he wanted to go out with Walter and Pete,” she said, naming their father’s oldest friends. One of whom liked a good card game as much as Joe.
He tucked the phone in his ear and climbed out of bed, reaching for his pants. “You think he pulled an all-nighter?” Whenever their dad would go to a high-stakes poker game and drag himself home late, their mother would say he’d pulled an all-nighter.
“I don’t know but he hasn’t checked in and I’m worried.”
He pulled on his jeans and grabbed a shirt from a drawer. “Don’t worry. I’ll go to his usual haunts. Donny has a place above his pub. He runs games out of there.”
“Thanks, Kane.”
“Don’t thank me. It’s what I do. I’ll call you when I find him.” He disconnected the call.
He finished getting ready, ran downstairs, wishing he had time for coffee, grabbed his keys, and headed out. He stopped first at Walter’s, hoping the old man was home with his wife, but no luck. Edna said he hadn’t come home last night, but unlike his father, he’d called. Told her he was feeling lucky because his palms were itchy, an old superstition that meant he was coming into money. Edna was used to her husband doing his own thing and didn’t think anything of it. The only issue was Walter hadn’t said where he was going.
Which was fine. Kane could guess.
He arrived at Donny’s Pub and headed around back, walking up the stairs to the back room. He banged on the door hard, and when no one answered, he banged again.
“Hold your horses,” a voice inside yelled.
Kane leaned against the doorframe. The door swung open wide and Donny, eyes bloodshot, met his gaze. Donny, who had inherited the bar from his father but wasn’t as smart, gripped the door. His salt-and-pepper hair stood on end. “Joey’s boy,” he said.
Kane pushed the door open, causing Donny to stumble back. “Where’s my father?”
“Easy.” He held up both hands. “Joe, your kid’s here.” He looked at Kane. “Back there.”
He gestured to the living room, where his father was passed out on one side of a beat-up old sofa with holes in the fabric. Walter was on an old piece-of-shit chair and ottoman, also out cold.
“Dad.” Kane slapped his father’s cheek. “Dad. Wake up.”
Walter could wake up and head home on his own time.
“What the—” Joe shook his head and pushed himself to a sitting position on the sofa. “How’d you find me?”
“Where else would you be, Dad?” Kane asked wearily, despite the fact that he’d barely just woken up himself.
“I had a good night,” he said, patting his full pockets, as if winning excused him from falling back into old, bad habits.
“Did Walter?”
His father laughed, the sound dry and rusty. “Lost his shirt.”
Kane shook his head. “So much for superstition,” he muttered.
“Get yourself together and let’s go.” He assumed Walter had driven and could get himself home.
He walked out in silence and got into the car, waiting for his father to climb into the passenger seat of his Camaro. Finally, they headed home. Kane drummed the fingers of one hand on the wheel. His anger had been building since his sister called and told him his father was missing. It had only grown, his father’s glib pronouncement of having a good night feeding his exasperation.
“Did you even think to call Andrea? She was worried when she realized you didn’t come home last night.” He glanced to the side.
His father’s eye twitched. “I meant to but the game started and I got sidetracked.”
Kane blew out a sharp breath. “Yeah? Well, it’s damned selfish if you ask me. And didn’t you promise to cut out the gambling?”
He’d never been able to get his father into any kind of addiction treatment program. Even at his lowest, when he’d lost his wife and was in such serious debt that he’d had to take a second mortgage on the house, he’d refused to go.
With a groan, his father shifted in his seat, facing him. “I should have called. I’ll apologize. But I won. She’ll be happy.”
“Trust me, she won’t be,” Kane muttered. He gripped the wheel tight in his hand. “Dad, you cannot run off and piss away money. You won’t always win. You know this.” He reined in his frustration, because when it came to his father and this subject, he never won.
After dropping his dad off at home, Kane headed over to Halley’s. Jackson had assured him he had things under control at the garage, so he had the day to himself.
A day to handle his side job and catch up with Halley. After his shitty morning, he needed something to offset the frustration his father caused, and being around Halley helped to soften him inside and make him feel better.
* * *
The sun shone over the ocean, reflecting off the water, as Halley looked out the window from her seat in front of the easel. Her work was always dark, intense, suiting the mood she usually found herself in, but again today, streaks of lighter colors found their way onto the canvas. She didn’t know what to make of the change but she didn’t fight the muse.
Lost in work, she was startled when the sound of a drill cut into her concentration.
“Kane,” she murmured, her stomach fluttering with sudden awareness. Putting down her brush, she rose and walked into the kitchen. As she washed up, cleaning the paint off her hands and arms, she thought back to when she’d seen him last week.
Since then, she kept returning to their conversation. She was shocked at how much she’d revealed to Kane. She never confided in anyone, let alone about her family history, but he’d been there right after an upsetting conversation with her aunt and sister, he’d wanted to listen, and God, had she needed an ear. An objective point of view about a subject she could never be detached about.
He’d asked her what she wanted and hadn’t told her what to do, unlike her sister, who had, again on the phone, been adamant about neither of them speaking to or seeing their mother if she surfaced. Phoebe might not be happy that Halley was entertaining the notion, but if she acted on her desire to see her mother again? Phoebe would be furious. Undecided still, Halley forced her mind off the unpleasant subject and on to one much easier to take.
Kane. She might find him ridiculously attractive and want him sexually, but there was something about him that had always gotten to her on a deeper level. Because he had a good soul and an even better heart. He’d reached out to her when she was obviously in need and had been there for her when they barely knew one another. Now? He was slowly ingratiating himself into her life. And she was having trouble finding the will to care.
So despite telling herself she was being silly, she went into the bedroom, looked in the mirror, fixed her hair, and swiped a quick hint of gloss on her lips.
She hoped he’d knock or let her know he was there, but he didn’t, and after an hour, she decided to go out and see if he needed anything. But first she went back to the kitchen and poured a glass of ice water, then headed out to the deck.
Not wanting to interrupt him, she waited for him to notice her. Besides, watching him work was no hardship. The pull and flex of his muscles was a treat and she ogled him without shame, until finally, he glanced up.
She held up the glass for him to see.
“One sec.” He shut off the machine he was using and pulled off his hard hat and goggles. He walked over, taking the drink from her. “Thank you. I could use it.”
He gulped down the contents of the glass in what felt like four big swallows and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm. “Damn, it’s hot out today.”
She took in the moisture dampening his shirt. “Want to come in for a little while? The air conditioning will feel good.”
He shook his head. “I’m going to keep working.”
She glanced at his serious expression and furrowed brows. He wasn’t his usual smiling self. “Is anything wrong?” she asked.
He met her gaze. “Shitty morning.”
She felt for him and knew what it was like to have problems you didn’t know how to solve. “I’m a good listener.” The offer was the least she could do after she’d confided in him the last time they were together.
He shook his head and grunted his reply. “Nothing you want to hear.”
“Really? Because I remember dumping on you the other day and you seemed to want to listen. Why wouldn’t I do the same?” she asked, not taking his dismissal as definitive.
His lips lifted a little at the reminder. “Okay, then. I’ll take you up on that.”
Everything inside her eased. “Good. Now, I always find it better to brood down by the water. Want to take a break and talk there?” she asked.
He shrugged, his muscles moving beneath his shirt. “Why not? Maybe it’ll help.”
She placed the glass down by the sliding door and kicked off her shoes.
He glanced at her bare feet and shook his head. “I’m working with nails. I’d rather not have to rush you to the hospital.”
“Gotcha.” The last thing she wanted was to get hurt and need a tetanus shot. Ugh. She slid her sandals back on and led the way down the stairs and across the sandy expanse leading to the water.
They sat down in what she liked to think of as her spot and kicked off her sandals once more, sliding her feet forward so when the water lapped up the shore, it covered her toes before receding again. He didn’t remove his shoes but settled in beside her, keeping his work boots safe from the water.
“How’s the painting going?” he asked.
“Good. Something feels a little different but I’m going with it.”
He nodded. “Follow your muse.”
“That’s the plan. Maybe different is good. I mean, every summer I hope that one of the big New York gallery owners ends up seeing my work and asking me to show in Manhattan. They haven’t so far but I keep hoping anyway.” Because summers brought the wealthy vacationers and winter just brought snow, she thought to herself.
He shaded his eyes with a hand and glanced at her. “You could beat the pavement,” he said. “Go to the city and show them your paintings yourself.”
“Have you met me?” she asked, laughing. “Did I ever give you the impression I’m the type of person to head to the city and push my work on unsuspecting gallery owners?”
He tilted his head, amusement lighting his handsome features. “You could try and step outside your comfort zone.”
She merely laughed harder. No one was more a creature of habit and home comforts than her. “You sound like Phoebe.”
“Because we both want what’s best for you.”
She leaned back against her hands. “And who would know that better than me?” she asked.
He looked out over the ocean and let out a low groan. He wasn’t thinking about her art, that much she knew. But she also understood that someone would only speak when and if they were ready. So she waited, focusing on the scenery, because otherwise she would look to her right again and drink him in. His strong profile, straight nose, full lips. Not that she’d noticed and memorized his profile or anything.
“My sister called this morning,” he said at last. “My dad didn’t come home last night. I found him at an all-night poker game with his friends.”
She winced. “Ouch. I’m sorry.”
“Thing is, he knows better. And he fucking won, which means he’s going to think he’s invincible and keep going, looking for bigger and better games until he loses and gets in serious debt.” He kicked at the sand with his big boot.
She sighed. “Addiction is hard and not just on the addict.”
He nodded in agreement. “It’s been going on for years. When we were growing up, one year, my mother had been saving for Christmas. I don’t remember how old I was. Maybe twelve or so. And Dad, he had this bright idea that he could double her small savings and get me and Andi even better gifts.”
She held her breath, knowing where the story was going and almost afraid to hear.
“He lost it all. Dragged himself home and had to face my mother’s wrath. Andi and I heard the yelling from our rooms.” He swallowed hard. “Mom sold her sewing machine that year to make sure we didn’t miss Christmas. And the thing is, what Dad didn’t understand was that we didn’t want big presents. We just wanted a fucking holiday. A few gifts under the tree like the other kids so when we went to school and people asked what we got, we didn’t have to say nothing.”
“And your mother gave that to you. She sounds like a special person.” She was probably where Kane had gotten his warmth and generous spirit.
“She really was.” His expression softened. “There was nothing she wouldn’t do for her family. And we lost her too soon. Her death threw Dad into a spiral he’s still digging his way out of with a second mortgage on his house.”
She surprised herself by reaching out and placing her hand over his. “You can only do so much to help him. Obviously, you can’t change his habits, and he clearly isn’t interested in stopping. But you can alter your reaction to him. You need to divest yourself of the need to fix him or you’re going to drive yourself insane.”
He snorted at that. “Easier said than done. But you’re smart and you’re right. I need to work on it.” He turned toward her and she shifted her weight so she was closer to him.
“Did it help to talk?” she asked, knowing it had lifted a burden off of her when he’d listened.
“It all helped. Talking, the water… you.” He stared into her eyes, the dark brown depths sparkling with something that beckoned to her.
Seconds passed. The roar of the ocean waves mixed with the swell of noise echoing in her ears as he leaned toward her. His lips called to hers. She didn’t know who moved first but suddenly they connected. Meshed. Harmonized in utter perfection. He glided his mouth over hers, back and forth until she parted her lips, letting him in.
The warmth of the sun beat down at the same time heat filled her from the sensuality of the kiss. He brought a hand up to cup her neck, his hard grip an erotic counterpoint to the softness of his mouth. He sucked on her bottom lip and nipped with his teeth, causing her to moan and lean in, needing to get closer to him.
Over and over, his lips slid over hers, alternately sipping, then devouring, his tongue thrusting into the deep recesses of her mouth, the thrust and parry of his tongue a prelude of how he’d take her body. Gentle sometimes, rougher others, both ways erotic and hot, arousing her mind as well as her body.
He gripped her neck tighter and pulled her to him, her breasts crushing against the cotton of his shirt. Her nipples were hard and needy and she wished she could rub them against his hair-roughened chest. Instead she was stuck with a kiss and soft whimpers escaping her throat.
He nipped at her lip one last time, swiped his tongue over her in a soothing motion before pulling back and gazing into her eyes.
“So much better than I fucking imagined,” he said in a gruff voice.
She let out a hesitant laugh as reality drifted back and settled on her shoulders. “Kane…”
“No regrets,” he warned her.
She shook her head. “I don’t. I can’t regret that kiss. But you need to know, I’m not a good bet for a relationship.”
He narrowed his gaze, that heady stare still hot on hers. “What makes you say that?”
She swallowed hard. “I’m different. You know that about me. I like being alone. I work hard, get lost in my paintings. I forget what time it is. Sometimes I don’t pay attention to days and nights. I spend more time alone than with people and most guys don’t want a girl they can’t take out with their friends because she doesn’t like big crowds.” There. She’d said it all, put her truths out there for him to hear.
Not all of her truths, of course. There were some she didn’t drag into the light of day. Ever. She didn’t even allow them in her nightmares if she could help it. The problem was, sometimes she couldn’t control her dreams. She wished she could.
“And?” he asked, as if what she’d said meant nothing.
“I’ve had unsuccessful relationships. And do you want to know why they were unsuccessful? Because I’m odd,” she said before he could answer. “And they got frustrated with me and broke things off. So I don’t do relationships anymore. I don’t like disappointing people and I don’t like being hurt when things inevitably end.”
“Hmm.”
She opened her eyes wide. “That’s all you have to say? Hmm?”
An understanding smile curved his lips. “You’re forgetting that I know you and I like what I see. I’m not looking to change you. And I’m not looking to force you into a relationship you don’t want.”
She blinked and braced herself up with a hand on the sand. “You aren’t?”
He shook his head. “I like you. I like spending time with you. And yeah, I like kissing you. A fuck of a lot. And I plan to do it more often. But trap you in a relationship if that’s not what you want?” He shook his head. “Not happening.”
She swiped her tongue over her kiss-roughened lips. “I don’t know what to say.” Nor did she know what to make of his proclamation and easy acceptance.
“I like you and you like me, yes?”
She nodded.
“And the kiss, it was good?” he asked, stroking a hand down her cheek and eliciting a shiver that went straight to her already erect and aware nipples and down to her sex.
“Yes,” she murmured.
“Then let’s not overanalyze or examine what this is or isn’t. My life is crazy what with the garage, my father, my nephew who hangs around every day… and now a side gig that I definitely enjoy.” He gestured back to her deck. “No need to label and complicate things.”
She was surprised to hear him be so nonchalant. With his pursuit of a date and him showing up here to build her deck in his limited spare time, she definitely thought he wanted something serious.
If he didn’t, if he could accept who she was and what she could give, then she didn’t see an issue with letting things be and taking it one day at a time.
“So are we on the same page?” he asked, his lips brushing over hers. “We have fun? We enjoy each other? And we don’t put pressure on either one of us with expectations?”
“Agreed,” she said, wondering why her stomach tumbled over the idea that he didn’t want her for anything more than just a good time. He’d given her exactly what she’d asked for.
They sat for a while longer, looking out at the ocean. She loved the feel of sand between her toes and water lapping over her feet. It soothed her like nothing else in her life ever had. And having this man by her side? Utter perfection.
Suddenly a big black dog came barreling toward them, flying into them and coming up from his head butt of her stomach licking everything in sight.
She laughed and grabbed his collar. “Bruno, you bad boy. Did you escape your house again?” She giggled into his soft fur.
“Hey, boy.” Kane patted his furry head. “Are you an escapee?” he asked.
The dog licked his cheek.
Kane grinned, earning himself points in Halley’s book. Any man who liked dogs rose in her estimation. And Bruno was discriminating. She’d seen him growl at the neighbor on the other side of Halley’s house who hated dogs and complained when Bruno escaped his home, which admittedly was too often.
Kane picked up a stick within reaching distance of where they sat. “Do you fetch?” he asked the dog, tossing the stick.
Bruno took off, running for the new toy and delivering it back to Kane, dropping it at his feet. “Good boy,” he said, running his hand over the dog’s fur.
For the next few minutes, they played fetch until Ronnie, Halley’s neighbor, sauntered over to retrieve her dog. “Sorry for the interruption,” she said, taking in first Halley, then Kane, her eyes lighting up when she looked at him.
Blonde, single, pretty, and obviously interested in Kane, she waited around instead of grabbing her dog and returning home.
Which meant introductions were in order. “Kane, meet my neighbor Ronnie Palmer. Ronnie, this is my… friend, Kane Harmon,” she said, struggling over the word choice to describe their relationship while Ronnie’s eyes lit up at that revelation.
Halley’s stomach tumbled at the sexual recognition the pretty woman gave Kane. “Ronnie is renting the house next door for the month,” she murmured.
“Why haven’t I seen you around before?” Ronnie asked, with eyes only for him.
“I own the garage in town. Maybe your car just hasn’t broken down?” He shaded his eyes from the sun with a hand, looking up at Halley’s neighbor.
She straightened further, pushing out her ample cleavage over her sheer bikini cover-up. “Well, isn’t that perfect? I just happen to need an oil change,” Ronnie said. “Maybe I’ll come by the garage instead of going to the gas station.” She fluttered her lashes.
“I’ll see you then,” Kane said. “And nice to meet you.”
Halley swallowed a groan at Ronnie’s pleased smile. She’d been adamant about not labeling their relationship, but being Kane’s friend with no expectations was going to be harder than she’d imagined.
“Come on, Bruno,” Ronnie said and sashayed her way across the beach, her dog following after her.
Kane leaned back on his hands. “So she seems typical of our town’s summer visitors.”
“What do you mean?” Halley asked.
“Beautiful, forward, and probably only interested in one thing,” he said, obviously not interested in what the blonde had to offer.
The twisting discomfort in Halley’s stomach eased. “Someone doesn’t like the tourists much. Don’t they bring in good money over the summers for your garage?” she asked.
He nodded. “They do. But you’d be right in saying I’m not a big fan.” He rose to his feet and extended a hand. “I need to get back to work.”
She recognized a subject change and placed her palm in his and he helped her stand. Together they walked back to the house, leaving Halley with churning emotions and a lot to think about when it came to her non-relationship with Kane Harmon.