Chapter 16
Okay. That had been absolutely awkward. There was no other definition for it. Getting caught red-handed by Kean’s brother would’ve been embarrassing enough, but the fact that he was also Ellie’s husband made it all downright uncomfortable. Now he’d think she was one of those women who slept around and had no principles. Not that she should really care what Adam thought but, well, she didn’t like people thinking she was easy. Although what had happened with Kean, especially the speed at which it had all evolved, was unusual for her standards, she couldn’t bring herself to regret crossing that line. She’d felt the chemistry long before she’d ended up giving in to the attraction, and she couldn’t chalk it up to being heartbroken over Lousy Pig. The sting of betrayal still bothered her, but she definitely wasn’t pining over him. With hindsight, she could tell for sure she’d never really been in love with him. She liked spending time with him, but if she had to be completely honest with herself, it was probably because they spent most of their time talking about work.
Things were different with Kean. She didn’t know how he’d managed to get to her so fast, but she found she enjoyed talking to him about trivialities, as well as more serious things. She enjoyed listening to him telling her things about his life, as well as the occasional funny tale of his childhood, as they lay snuggled in his bed. She’d never told anyone the story of how her parents had fallen in love—except for Ellie of course, but she was her best friend, so that didn’t count—but she’d liked sharing it with him. None of the guys she’d dated in the past knew her middle name or its meaning. Nobody had asked what her brothers’ names were. Nobody had ever bothered getting behind the wall that protected her most private details, those things she’d only ever shared with Ellie and, some, not even with her.
But Kean had. He’d wanted to get to know her, really get to know her, even though she’d made it clear this thing between them, whatever it was, was doomed to fail, since she wasn’t going to stay in town longer than it was necessary. Even so, he’d climbed over that wall, asking questions and sharing personal things from his own life, thus turning them from barely strangers who’d accidentally slept together once, to some kind of friends with benefits.
She reached her car at the far border of his property and got inside. Although he insisted she could park in front of his house and nobody would notice, she still preferred to hide her car from view. Not that it had made any difference when Adam had shown up. He hadn’t seen the car, but had caught her anyway.
She banged her head against the headrest and let out a frustrated groan. She didn’t feel like going home just yet. If Adam had gone blabbing to Ellie, she was sure her friend would wait for her on the doorstep of her cottage, arms crossed and a scowl on her face, ready to chastise her. She wasn’t ready to face her. She would rather have stayed with Kean a little while longer, have breakfast with him and enjoy a few more cuddles while they ate pancakes.
Her stomach grumbled. Thanks for making me skip breakfast, Adam.
She started the car and drove away, albeit a little reluctantly, glancing briefly at his parents’ ranch as she passed by, just to make sure nobody spotted her. The road was clear, so she drove past it and onto Hillside Road, the street that led into town. She passed the church opposite the elementary school and the high school, and as she drove past the preschool where Ellie worked, her stomach grumbled again, louder. She wasn’t sure she had anything edible at home, considering she’d set out to go grocery shopping yesterday and had quite inexplicably ended up at Kean’s instead. Perhaps stopping in town for breakfast wasn’t a bad idea.
She turned left onto Cypress Road—seriously, who names their main street after a tree?—and parked her car in the free parking lot behind the Shark’s Tail. As she walked down the street toward Spring Delights, her step had a lightness to it. Maybe it was the sun peeking out of the clouds now, or maybe it was the endorphins—or whatever they were called—that the night with Kean had woken up and set free in her body, or maybe it was the town’s quiet that little by little had been growing on her.
Her phone rang just then, effectively killing her happy buzz when she read the name on the display. Adam had already spilled the beans, great. She considered letting it go to voicemail, but she’d done that all the time she’d been with Kean and, if the positions were reversed, she would be worried about not knowing where Ellie was.
She swiped her thumb across the screen and had to move the phone away from her ear when Ellie’s voice nearly pierced her eardrum.
“Oh, thank God, you’re all right! I’ve called you at least ten times but you never picked up. I was so worried I nearly called 911.”
She’d said it all on one breath, and Charli couldn’t help rolling her eyes. She’d survived in San Francisco—what could possibly happen to her in such a tiny town?
“Ellie, you live with 911. And you actually did send him out on a search, so chill out. I’m fine.” She swallowed and braced herself—there was no reason to delay it. “As your husband has probably already told you, nobody kidnapped me.”
“Um, yeah… Adam said you, um…”
“Spent the night at Kean’s. You can say it, Ellie. We’re adults, there’s no need to beat around the bush. Yes, I slept with Kean. Multiple times. There, it’s out in the open now. Happy?” She looked over her shoulder to make sure she was still alone. She didn’t feel ashamed of what she’d done, but she didn’t want the whole town to know about it either.
“No, I’m not, actually.” Ellie’s tone was grim, and it took Charli by surprise. She didn’t expect Ellie to be over the moon, but she definitely wasn’t expecting such a curt reply either. “Of all the men you could sleep with, why did you have to pick Kean? He’s a good guy.”
“And I’m not? I’m not the one who was dating a married man.” That was a low blow, and she regretted the words as soon as they were out. But her friend implying that she wasn’t good enough for her brother-in-law stung. Ellie didn’t reply, and guilt gnawed at Charli, knowing she’d hurt her. “That was uncalled for, sorry. But seriously, you make it sound as if I’m some sort of man-eater—”
“I’m just saying that since you knew you weren’t going to stay, you shouldn’t have led him on.”
Charli huffed. “I didn’t lead him on. We both agreed to a temporary thing, and nobody was forced into anything. We’re consenting adults who enjoy spending time together, simple as that. Not everyone wants a husband and kids.”
A long silence followed, and Charli checked that the call hadn’t been disconnected.
“We really need to talk about this, but not on the phone. Where are you now?”
“In town. I was going to get some breakfast. Your husband barging in was a major buzzkill, so I thought I’d better get going.”
“It’s not his fault. If you’d only told us—”
“Stop. Right. There. As much as I appreciate your worrying about me, you aren’t my mother. I don’t have to tell you who I sleep with.” Her tone probably came out a tad too harsh, but they had to set some boundaries. The fact that Kean was her brother-in-law didn’t mean Ellie had to know everything he was up to. She was pretty sure, from the way he’d talked to his brother earlier, that he didn’t go around telling everyone who he was dating or sleeping with. “I’m going to have breakfast now, and we’ll talk about it when I come home, okay? I don’t really want to get into a fight. I haven’t even had my fix of caffeine yet.”
Ellie agreed, although her tone said otherwise. Well, she could suit herself. After she hung up, Charli took a long, fortifying breath before resuming her stroll toward the bakery. Perks of small towns, her foot. If they’d lived in a city, nobody would’ve wondered why Charli wasn’t back home. They would’ve thought she was probably in a club, and she was pretty sure Kean’s brother wouldn’t have shown up if he lived ten blocks away. Just the ride would have discouraged him from going out. But since pubs and diners closed no later than one in the morning in this godforsaken place, it was obvious that if she wasn’t home, she couldn’t be in a bar. How Ellie had found out Charli wasn’t home was beyond her. Did she spy on her? Did she go and knock on her door, then use her spare key to walk in and make sure she wasn’t dead? And why wasn’t she in bed with her own hunk instead of checking on Charli’s whereabouts? She hated small towns—nobody would change her mind about that.
“Hi, there, Charli.”
A voice coming from her left made her flinch. She turned to find the owner of the pub—Myles, was it?—walking toward her with a to-go cup from Spring Delights and a paper bag with some kind of treat. She was a bit surprised he remembered her name, considering she’d only been at the pub a couple of times.
She smiled. “Hi.”
“Good to find another early bird under fifty.” He chuckled and brought his cup to his lips. She bet being friendly with strangers came with the territory when you owned a pub, but his amiable approach was a nice change. He could’ve said hello and walked past her, or he could’ve ignored her and carried on walking with his head hanging down, just like almost everyone in the city. “Heading for the bakery, are you?” She nodded, and he lifted his cup in a toast. “I won’t keep you, then. I have a sweet tooth myself, and if someone tried to stop me on my way to get my breakfast, I would probably bite.”
Charli chuckled. She wouldn’t put it past herself to bite someone right now—but mainly because if she didn’t eat something in the next three minutes, she’d probably end up lying flat on her back. After the nightly workout with Kean, she barely had the energy supply to walk up to the bakery and collapse in a chair.
Myles said goodbye and walked on, but three steps later another voice calling her name drew her attention. On the other side of the street, a tall, dark-haired guy waved at her. It took her a moment to recognize Cayden, Kean’s firefighter cousin. She waved back, and he told her from his side of the road that he was going home after a night shift at the firehouse. She wished him goodnight and walked on.
“Morning, Miss Charli.”
How did everyone in town know her name? She squinted a little, trying to put a name to the middle-aged man in front of her but failing. She knew she’d seen him somewhere, but…
“I’m Ambrose. I work at the grocery store.” He smiled, and she finally recognized him. He’d been there and greeted her when she’d walked into the small store last week, but they’d barely said hello—how did he even know her name? “Did you like that wine you bought? Because we’ve just received a delivery of Merlot I’m sure you’d like.”
Okay, this was bordering on stalking. Did the man know all of his customers’ purchases? Because, in that case, she might want to go shopping for other items at the mall outside town. Also, she should probably make sure Kean shopped for protection outside town or next thing she knew, the whole town would be talking about her sex life.
“Yeah, uh… I’ll stop by and check it out. Thanks.”
He smiled and with a nod, he walked on, leaving her slightly dumbfounded and wondering whether he was some kind of stalker or was simply being polite.
“Hey, Charli!”
“What now?” She whirled around to face the umpteenth resident who’d decided to spoil her morning. “What’s a girl got to do to get her breakfast around here?”
“Uh-oh. Got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning?” Jared, the funny journalist-slash-rocker, stared at her with his head tilted to the side and a cheeky grin on his face. Despite her annoyance at the interruption, she couldn’t help smiling back.
“Sorry. I was trying to grab some breakfast, but it seems like an impossible task in small towns.” He frowned, and she shrugged. “People stopped to say hi and chat. The guy from the grocery store even remembered I’d bought a bottle of wine last week and promptly informed me he had a delivery of some other wine I might like.” She shuddered. “Creepy.”
Jared laughed. “Yeah, Ambrose is very efficient and takes his job seriously. Well, welcome to Spring. You definitely can’t be a face in the crowd here.” He stepped closer and cupped his mouth with his hand, lowering his voice. “Just make sure you keep your secrets inside a bolted safe if you don’t want to end up on the front page of the Gazette.”
Her eyes widened in pure horror just thinking of an all-caps title about Kean and her sleeping together. Jared laughed harder at her reaction.
“I was kidding—about the Gazette. The rest is true.” He shrugged. “Perks of small-town life. We’re like one big happy family.”
“Yeah, well, I prefer city-life anonymity, especially when I’ve yet to have my coffee.”
“In that case,” he bowed and offered her a hand, “please let me escort you to Spring Delights, so you’re sure to get your dose of caffeine without further interruptions.”
She curtsied in response and took his proffered hand. “I gladly accept, my lord.”
They walked into the bakery, and Kean’s mom looked up from the muffins she was placing into the display counter.
“Hello, Charli. Jared.” Her smile was bright and genuine. In a way, it resembled Kean’s. It was probably the only similarity with her son, since his hair and eye colors were the same as his father’s. She wondered if the woman would still smile at her like that if she knew what Charli had been up to all night with her older son.
“Good morning, Mrs. Cavanagh.”
“Will you ever just call me Enya?”
Charli chuckled. “Sorry, you’re right. Can I please get a latte and the biggest muffin you have, Enya? I’m starving.”
“It took her half a day to get from the parking lot at the Shark’s Tail to here.” Enya frowned at Jared’s comment, and he smiled. “Charli discovered the perks of being a person with a name, not just a face in an anonymous city.”
Enya chuckled as she reached for a muffin in the display case. “That’s always been my favorite thing about Spring, although to a city girl it might seem a little… overwhelming at first. You’ll get used to it, love.”
What was with all this calling her ‘love’? Was it an Irish thing or just a Cavanagh thing? This wasn’t the first time one of them had used the term of endearment with her, but luckily it had never been Kean. It would’ve been odd to say the least. Because what they had was far from love.
She wasn’t planning on staying long enough to get used to it—although she obviously refrained from saying that out loud. Then the swinging door leading to the kitchen opened and Lauren’s mom, Jenna, walked out, carrying a tray of freshly baked cinnamon rolls. The smell wafted in the air and Charli’s stomach grumbled loudly.
“You’re just in time for some fresh treats.” Jenna smiled broadly as she placed the tray on the counter and reached for the tongs.
“I’ll have two of those with the muffin, please.” The words tumbled out of her mouth as if her stomach had taken full control of her voice. With her genetic tendency of slow metabolism and ease at gaining weight, she should probably keep her sweet tooth in check, but ever since discovering the bakery she’d had a hard time giving herself the usual pep talks she’d become so good at when she was in San Francisco. Lousy Pig had never wasted the chance to point out her round hips whenever she’d wanted to treat herself to dessert or an extra pastry. Kean, on the other hand, hadn’t stopped praising her “luscious curves” as he called them, and had shown her more than once how much he appreciated them. Besides, she’d burned quite a few calories last night and, if Ellie or Adam didn’t get in the way, she planned on burning many more tonight. So, yeah, she deserved those rolls.
“Take a seat. I’ll bring your order right away.” Enya went to operate the professional coffee machine, and Jared tilted his head at Charli.
“Fancy a bit of company, or were you hoping for a quiet, lonely, and probably miserable breakfast? Because I can totally sit at another table, you know.” His grin was infectious. In the short time she’d known him, she’d come to love the guy’s liveliness.
“How could I refuse the company of such an esteemed member of the community? I’d be crazy not to jump at the chance to have breakfast with you.”
And to be totally honest, she wasn’t looking forward to her conversation with Ellie. Lingering in town a little longer might help them both cool down and avoid a heated discussion about Charli’s romps with Kean. Or at least, she hoped it would.