Chapter Three
THE NEXT MORNING Jenna crouched beside the basket of flip-flops on the front deck of her cottage. Crows cawed from their perches atop pitch pine trees surrounding the small community. The stupid things had been cawing since dawn, grating on Jenna’s nerves, which were already fried. She’d been up all night organizing and reorganizing in an effort to figure out what Pete was doing at the Beachcomber last night. She turned at the sound of tires on her crushed-shell driveway.
Leanna jumped out of her 1968 Volkswagen Bus, or as she called it, her happy mobile, because of the hand-painted beach scene that ran from front to back and the gigantic blue dragonfly covering the driver’s door. Her father had restored the van as a college graduation gift. Never one for subtlety, Leanna adored the bikini-clad women that covered the center of the van and the half-moon with a face painted on the rear panel.
“Did I miss coffee?” Leanna set a plate of scones on the table.
Jenna shaded her eyes from the morning sun and smiled up at her friend. Leanna’s tank top was already streaked with jam. Her cutoffs had red finger marks along the hip.
“No. In fact, we need to get Bella and Amy because I’m going to burst if I don’t get out of my own head.” Jenna set the flip-flops that she was stacking in neat color-coordinated piles into the basket by the door. “Come on.” She pulled Leanna by the hand, and as they rounded Jenna’s cottage, they ran into Bella and Amy, coffee mugs in hand.
“We were just coming over.” Bella was still in her nightie, while Amy had on flannel pajama pants and a T-shirt that read, Purrdy, above a picture of an animated kitten wearing lingerie and lying in a provocative pose.
“Sorry we took so long. I wanted to bring you these, but it took me forever to find them.” Amy reached into her pocket and handed Jenna a pair of thick, black sunglasses.
“What are these for?” Jenna put on the glasses on the way back to her deck, where her tepid coffee cup awaited. They settled in around the table.
“It’s Tuesday.” Amy nodded toward the pool. “I figured if you’re really trying not to focus on you know who, better to make it hard for you to see him.”
“Shoot. It’s Tuesday?” Pete cleaned the pool Tuesday mornings. Jenna ran to the edge of the deck and looked down by the pool, where Vera was already sitting beneath an umbrella reading. Luckily, Pete’s truck was nowhere in sight. She looked down at her clothes before joining the others. At least she’d already showered and changed into her bikini and cutoffs. Wait. Why do I still care what he thinks?
“Don’t worry. You look hot.” Bella held up a scone like she was toasting champagne.
“I don’t care if I look hot.” Bull. “I’m pissed at him anyway.” Jenna snagged a scone and shoved it in her mouth. Raspberries melted in her mouth alongside a buttery shortbread flavor that caressed her taste buds into a frenzy of delight.
“Wow, Leanna. How do you make these so good?”
“I use the right amount of ingredients, and I don’t mix up the salt and the sugar,” Leanna answered. Jenna couldn’t cook if her life depended on it. For a woman who needed everything in order, when it came to ingredients and directions, she had yet not to ruin whatever she was making. Needless to say, Jenna ate a lot of toast, salad, and frozen dinners.
“Ha-ha. I did that once,” Jenna said with a smile.
“Twice,” Amy said.
“Thirteen times,” Bella added.
“Whatever. I think if you queried men, they’d choose a woman being good in the bedroom over the kitchen.” Jenna popped another piece of scone into her mouth. “I happen to be amazing in the bedroom.”
“Hey! I happen to be good in both, thank you very much. More importantly, why are you pissed at Pete?” Leanna cocked her head in question.
Jenna leaned forward and lowered her voice. “He showed up at the Beachcomber last night and totally messed up my perfect date!”
“Whoa. Hold on.” Bella set down her coffee and held her hands up, palms out to silence everyone’s gasps. “Pete showed up? Coincidentally, or showed up like”—she deepened her voice—“I’m gonna check out my competition?”
“I don’t know. I was up all night trying to figure it out, but whatever it was, he was there. And, of course, when I saw him, I froze.” Jenna threw her head back with an exasperated groan.
“Oh, hon, I’m sorry.” Amy patted her forearm. “But can we rewind just a tad? Perfect date? So body boy had more going on than pecs and privates?”
Jenna laughed. “Pecs and privates. Love that, and especially love that it came out of our prim-and-proper sister’s mouth. Yes. He was interested and interesting. It turns out he’s a big-time reader, and you know me and books. We talked about all sorts of things.”
“And?” Bella ran her hand through her thick blond hair.
“And nothing. The minute my eyes connected with Mr. I’m Not Interested, I lost it. I was like a mute bimbo. I couldn’t even dance. And the jerk took off right after he saw me.” She pointed at Bella and narrowed her eyes. “I think Pete was spying on me.”
Bella, Leanna, and Amy exchanged knowing looks and coy smiles.
“Mm-hm.” Amy smirked. “So, our friend Pete might be more jealous than we thought. I told you he had that look in his eyes when you and body boy were talking.”
“Charlie. Okay? His name is Charlie.”
The sound of tires on gravel sent their eyes to the road. Pete pulled up in his old blue truck, one arm casually hanging out the window, tanned biceps on display.
“Shoot,” Jenna whispered.
“Hey, ladies.” He waved and flashed a killer smile that made Jenna’s entire body tingle.
She turned away, embarrassed that while she was supposed to be pissed at him, her body betrayed her.
“Hey, Pete.” Amy waved. “Want a scone?”
Jenna slapped her leg under the table.
“Oh! Sorry. I forgot.” Amy covered her mouth and flashed a smile at Bella.
“My eye, you forgot,” Jenna grumbled.
“No, thanks. I’m just on my way to clean the pool but wanted to check on the landscaping by the fire pit. Theresa said animals were digging in the plants. See you around.” He parked at the laundry building, catty-corner to Jenna’s cottage. Theresa Ottoline lived in the big house on the other side of the laundry building. The big house was the original house on the Seaside property, before the land was subdivided and the cottages were built. Theresa was a stickler for rules and spent time at the cottages during the winters when most of the Seaside owners couldn’t be there. As such, she was the elected property manager for the third year in a row.
As soon as Pete was beyond hearing distance, Jenna smacked Amy again. “What was that?”
“I’m sorry. I’m used to being nice to him, and I still don’t believe you’re over him.” Amy picked at her scone.
“You’re supposed to be my friend, not his. Geez, Amy, and you—” Jenna pointed at Bella, who was smiling with a glint of mischief in her eyes. “What was that look between the two of you?”
“I saw it, too,” Leanna said. “They’re up to something.”
“Yup. I smell two blond rats.” Jenna got up and moved to the chair beside Leanna. “At least I have one loyal friend.”
“Oh, bull. You have all of us. We’re loyal as can be and you know it.” Bella shrugged. “We just know you, Jenna. You’re as OCD with Pete as you are with everything else in your life. Once you set your mind on something, it sticks like glue. And your mind has been on Peter Lacroux forever. There’s no way Charlie measures up to Pete. I don’t care how good of a body he has. What’s Pete, chopped liver? That man’s sizzling hot.”
No kidding, Sherlock. “That was the old Jenna. The new and improved Jenna realizes when she’s taken on a losing proposition. The new Jenna liked being out on a real date with a man who was interested in more than what I say, but in me as a woman—as opposed to Pete, who can’t see this body for what it’s worth.”
They all turned at the sound of Bella’s cottage door closing. Caden and Evan, Caden’s fifteen-year-old son, came around the side of the cottage a minute later.
Caden smiled when he saw Bella. “There’s my beautiful wife-to-be.”
“Hi, babe. Hey, Ev, ready for work?” Bella rose and hugged Caden.
Caden looked handsome in his police officer uniform, and even though he and Bella had been together for a year, he still looked at her like he was as hot for her as the first night they’d met. Jenna longed for that. She’d had boyfriends and she’d dated one or two guys for more than a year, but she’d never been with a man who adored her the way Caden adored Bella or Kurt adored Leanna. And now that she’d witnessed what true love could be, there was no way she was settling for anything less.
“Ready to roll,” Evan said. Last summer, unbeknownst to Evan, he’d been hanging out with a few kids that were breaking into cottages and cars. His friends had broken into Vera’s cottage and scared her half to death. Evan had stopped hanging out with them as soon as he found out what they were up to, and once school started, thankfully, he’d met a nice group of kids with similar interests. Evan had worked hard to regain the trust of the Seaside residents, and Bella was proud of him.
“I’m taking him over to TGG before my shift.” Caden put an arm around Bella’s shoulder. TGG, The Geeky Guys, was one of the companies taking part in the work-study program Bella had developed for the high school. Although Evan’s job with them wasn’t part of the program, Bella had connected Evan with them last summer when she learned of Evan’s love of computers and programming. Evan had spent time with Jamie last summer, learning to program, and had been working part-time with TGG ever since. “Did you ask everyone about the movie tonight?”
“Not yet.” Bella turned her attention back to the girls. “They’re putting on a documentary film behind Town Hall tonight about shark migration on the Cape. It’s being put on by the Brave Foundation. Want to go?”
“It’s gonna be so cool,” Evan added. “The guy who runs the foundation is going to be there, so we can ask him anything. Dad said I could ask him if I can go out on one of their shark-tagging missions.”
“That’s Dane Braden,” Leanna said. “His sister, Savannah, is married to Kurt’s brother Jack. We’re going to see it, but I didn’t think you guys would be interested.”
“No way. Really?” Evan pushed his shaggy brown hair from his eyes. He’d grown three inches over the winter and stood almost eye to eye with Caden. He was beginning to fill out and wasn’t quite as lanky as he’d been last summer.
“Yeah. I bet Kurt can get you on the boat if there’s space available.” Leanna dug her phone from her pocket and typed in a text. “I’m texting him. I’ll let you know.”
“I’m in,” Amy said. “Jenna? Want to go with me?”
“Sure. Charlie and I didn’t make plans, so why not?” The truth was, Charlie had asked her out for tonight, but when she’d seen Pete, her mind had begun playing tricks on her, and she’d begun comparing the two men. And no matter how much she tried to deny it, there was no comparison. Pete already owned too big of a piece of her heart to open it to anyone else.
“Great. So we’ll all go. It’s at eight.” Caden kissed Bella again. “See ya, babe. Ready, Ev? I want to talk to Pete before we take off.”
Bella stared after them. “Gosh, I love them.”
“We know,” Leanna, Amy, and Jenna said in unison.
They sat on Jenna’s deck and talked about Leanna’s business and Bella’s new life on the Cape. Jenna could barely concentrate when Pete drove by on his way to the pool.
“Jenna, you look like you’re worried about being chosen for the Hunger Games. What’s up?” Amy tucked her legs beneath her on the deck chair.
“I’m just…You guys, you don’t really think Pete was checking up on me, do you? I mean, he’s never seemed very interested. Why would he be interested now?”
“You’ve never given him any competition before. It’s always been all about Pete. Every summer, Pete, Pete, Pete.” Bella waved her hand. “Now, with Charlie, you’ve shaken Pete up like a snow globe and upended all that stuff in his head.”
Leanna’s phone vibrated and she read a text. “I hate to change the subject, but that was Kurt. He said he’ll do what he can for Evan and that Dane loves to take people out on the boat, so it looks good.”
“Thanks, Leanna,” Bella said. “Please thank Kurt for me, too. Evan will be so happy. After last summer’s fiasco, and how hard he’s worked to rectify things with everyone, I’m glad this might come through for him.”
“I’m excited for him to meet Dane.”
Bella smiled and waved to Caden and Evan as they drove by on their way out of the community.
“Can we circle back to my issue for a minute, please?” Jenna waved her hand. “I’m in serious agony here. I’ve reorganized everything in my entire house, and I’m about ready to start on each of yours.” Jenna tugged at her bikini top, which was headed for a wardrobe malfunction.
“Yes. Focus. I just got my cabinets back to the way I like them after the last time she got ahold of them.” Leanna brushed her dark hair from her eyes.
“Kurt loves when I organize your cottage.” Kurt was as organized as Leanna was disorganized. When Jenna had organized the cabinets in their cottage after Leanna had spent the weekend there while Kurt attended a writer’s conference, he’d praised Jenna for a week.
“Yes, that he does. Thank goodness he didn’t rescue you from the water.” Kurt and Leanna met on a stormy night when Kurt rescued Leanna’s dog, Pepper, after he’d been swept out to the deep water.
“Oh, please. We’d totally knock heads. He likes quiet, and I’m anything but quiet.” And he’s not Pete. Jenna pressed her palms on the table. “Okay, so here’s the deal. I have a confession.”
“You love Pete; we already know,” Amy said as she nibbled on a piece of scone.
“No. Maybe. I don’t know. The truth is, Charlie asked me out for tonight, and I really liked him, but Pete showing up got me all confused, so I told Charlie I had plans.”
“Face it, girlie. You’re hooked on Petey,” Amy said in a singsong voice.
Jenna groaned and buried her face in her hands. “No, I kind of regret telling Charlie no. And if I am still hooked on Pete, then I’m an idiot.”
“No. He’s the idiot for waiting so long to really take notice,” Bella said.
“Yeah, but who hangs on to a crush for this many years? I think I have to go out with Charlie again, don’t you? I mean, to be fair, he really was pretty great.” Jenna ran her finger along the edge of the table, remembering what it felt like to be with Charlie. “He was attentive and not at all like I expected. I thought he’d be rough around the edges, which I know is a gross generalization because he’s a construction worker, but he wasn’t at all. He was easy to talk to and fun and…” Not. Pete.
“So, what’s the issue?” Amy leaned her elbow on the table, her chin in her palm. “Did you kiss him?”
Jenna smiled.
“She did,” Bella said. “And?”
“And he kissed me good night despite my being a mute bimbo…It was nice. He’s a good kisser.”
“Therein lies the problem,” Bella said. “Nice? Really? Nice?”
“It was. He was sweet and kind, and—”
“Come on. Your first kiss should never be nice. It should be wild, passionate, intense.” Bella slid her eyes to Leanna. “Right, Lea?”
“Absolutely.” Leanna glanced at her cottage. “Your first kiss should basically suck the air from your lungs and leave you mindless.”
“Spineless,” Amy added.
“You’re such romantics. It should leave you wanting to rip his clothes off and take him right there and then.” Bella raised her brows in quick succession. “Listen, Jenna. Your first kiss should leave you hot and flustered. Anything short of that? Or nice?” She wrinkled her brow. “No one wants to take nice to bed.”
Jenna rested her forehead in her hands. Maybe Pete thinks of me as nice.
“I would take nice to bed,” Amy said.
Jenna turned her head, looking up at Amy from her bent-over position. “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“Well, I would. I like nice. I like hot and sexy, but nice is…nice.” Amy glanced at Tony’s cottage.
“Geez, Ames.” Bella rolled her eyes. “There’s no way Tony is nice in bed. With a body like that, my money’s on animalistic. Pure passion. Take-me-to-the-moon-and-back passion.”
Jenna shot to her feet. “Okay, well. I think I need to give Charlie a second chance. I’ll bring him with me tonight. Is that all right, Amy?”
“Sure. Blow me off for a nice kisser.” Amy shrugged one shoulder.
“You could set him up with Amy, and then you could ask Pete out,” Leanna suggested.
“No sloppy seconds for me.” Amy pushed to her feet. “I need to go take a shower.”
“And I need to bonk my head against the wall about a hundred times before going to the library. Anyone want to join me?” Jenna arched a brow in Amy’s direction. Amy never turned down a trip to the library.
“I’m in for the library, but you can head bonk by yourself.”
The roar of a motorcycle drew their attention back to the road.
“Holy cow. Who is that?” Amy’s eyes widened as a muscular, tanned man parked by the laundry room and stepped from the motorcycle.
He pulled off his helmet and Jenna gasped. “Charlie? Still think he’s nice in bed?”
Bella grabbed Jenna’s hand. “Nice just got a whole lot hotter.”
FRUSTRATED, EDGY, AND still confused over the way his body and mind were reacting to Jenna, Pete put the cleaning supplies in the pool house and forced a smile for Vera. She often sat down at the pool in the morning, before the sun got too hot. She’d tried to spark up a conversation with Pete when he came down, but he was in no mood to chat, and he was in no better frame of mind now.
Today marked one of the very few times that Jenna had been home when he was cleaning out the pool, and she didn’t peek at him from her deck or happen to walk by with Amy, Leanna, or Bella. Not only did she completely ignore the fact that he was there, but she’d fricking turned away from him when he stopped by in his truck. She might be shy around him, but she’d never before intentionally turned away. She did at the Bookstore Restaurant.
He’d taken it as a good sign that she’d come home last night. At least that indicated that she probably hadn’t slept with Doophus.
Who was he kidding? It indicated exactly nothing.
Stop thinking about her.
Yeah, that’s not happening anytime soon.
He waved to Vera. “Have a nice morning, Vera.”
She smiled and nodded as he climbed into his truck. A motorcycle roared into the complex as Pete started up his engine. Seeing Jenna with that guy last night should have been enough to quell his attraction to her. Instead it fueled his passion for her and made him realize how close to losing her he really was. Caden had invited Pete to a documentary at Town Hall tonight, and he thought he might use that as a chance to get closer to Jenna. Until now Jenna had been insanely sexy, confusing as rain on a sunny day, and safely nestled in the friend zone. Pete was about to kick the stupid friend zone into oblivion.
He was going to drive by Jenna’s cottage one last time. If she ignored him again, he’d forget her altogether. He wasn’t a glutton for punishment after all. That’s exactly what he’d do. Forget that she was ever interested in him. He’d drive out of Seaside, and the next time he returned, his mind would be solely focused on his duties as related to the cottages and pool maintenance.
Jenna crossed the road in front of his truck wearing her red bikini top and a pair of too-short cutoff shorts. Pete’s eyes lingered on her butt.
Her eyes were locked on the guy climbing off the motorcycle.
The construction guy drives a Harley? Pete white-knuckled the steering wheel. He shifted his attention back to the road as he rolled past, just as Doophus bent down and took Jenna in a hot and heavy kiss.
Look at the road. Look at the stinkin’ road.
His eyes did not get the message. They shifted right and caught on Jenna, her arms wrapped around Doophus’s neck, her sweet hips pressed against his, and that was no little kiss. He was devouring her.
Pete hit the gas.
There was no way he was going to let that jerk take Jenna from him. So what if she confused him, or lost that blazing confidence around him? So what if his nights were interrupted by phone calls from his drunken father? One way or another, he’d make darn sure that he was on the other end of Jenna’s next kiss, and he’d make her forget the Harley-driving construction worker ever existed.