Page 11 of Love Everlasting

He peered up beneath shuttered eyes that had seemed so safe and soothing before, and she sat back down to face him head-on, scooting a hair away when his fingers casually brushed her shoulder. His patient smile never faltered. “Too soon?”

The lump in her throat bobbed like the boat in the water. “No … not too soon … a little more like too late.”

He barely blinked, the look on his face far more serene than the waves churning all around.

“You s-see,” she stumbled on, “I’m … pretty serious with someone else.”

A breeze stirred one of his clipped tawny curls the wind had disheveled, and yet his demeanor remained unruffled. “I expected as much, although you never made mention. You’re an amazing woman, Tess, and I’ve spent the last five months wondering why someone hasn’t snatched you up.” He paused, his manner casual. “Anyone I know?”

Heat broiled her face like a bad sunburn. It was awkward enough turning Cam down. If he found out it was Ben—the ex-brother-in-law he despised as much as Ben despised him—that unflappable calm of his would blow like a dozen foghorns. Besides, nobody was supposed to know, right? So, Tess was completely within her limits to withhold the truth for now. She thought of how Ben had barely contacted her in the last two months and not at all in the last two weeks, and her ribs constricted.

If it’s even the truth anymore …

“It’s someone with whom I was pretty serious before Adam returned,” she said slowly, sidestepping the issue of identity, “so he left town for a while to give me time and space until …” Her voice trailed off, and she hated the stupid tears that blurred in her eyes.

But they only gushed all the more when Cam pulled her into a firm hug. The smell of Coppertone and a hint of his cologne—Guilty, by Versace, no less—only reminded her of what a good friend he had been when she’d needed one most. “It’s okay, Tess,” he whispered against her hair, the massage of his hand on her back providing a tranquility she’d come to expect from this rock-steady man. “I completely understand, and he’s a very lucky guy.” He pulled back to fish a Kleenex out of his pocket—a staple of his since he’d been spending time with Tess—and carefully dabbed at her tears. “But if it doesn’t work out” —he paused, handing her a fresh tissue as he fixed her with that penetrating stare that always settled her down— “you know where I am.”

She nodded and sniffed, swiping at her nose.

“But …” He lowered his head to fix her with a parental look laced with his trademark half-smile. “Just because I’m backing off doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. I’m going to need lots of advice on women now that I’m back home and looking to settle down, so I’d like to continue our occasional lunches if that’s okay?”

Her rib cage expanded. “Sure, Cam.”

“And maybe we can even double after you and this guy reconnect because I’d like to meet him.”

No you don’t, Cam, trust me. She gave a quick nod while she chewed the edge of her lip.

“Good.” He rose and squinted at the horizon. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m starving, so what do you say we head in for an early dinner before calling it a day?”

Relief expelled from her lungs in one undulating wave. “I’d like that a lot,” she said, gratitude warm in her eyes. All tension blew away with the wind as she sat beside him on the fly bridge while he drove back to the marina. By the time they eased into the slip and tied up, they were laughing and sparring like siblings over who had the best barbecue—Sandfly or Wiley’s.

“Mmm … sounds like a challenge to me.” Opening the door to the marina office, he chuckled, steering her back to Marv’s cubicle before hooking a loose arm over her shoulder. “So how ’bout Sandfly tonight, and we’ll do Wiley’s for lunch next time?”

“It’s a date,” Tess said, peering up with a tilt of her head as they arrived at Marv’s cube. She slid Cam a sideways grin. “And a bet, Admiral, so prepare to lose because you’re going down in flames.”

“So, what do you think?” Marv glanced up with a smile when they walked into his office. “Ready to sign your life away?”

Tess’s snappy response died on her lips when a black lab pounced on her chest, squealing and slathering her face with drool. Her grin immediately molded like plastic, all air sucked from her lungs as effectively as if they were vacuum-sealed.

Talk about going down in flames!

Neither she nor Cam answered the salesman’s question because they couldn’t—oxygen failed as they stared at Ben Carmichael, reining in his dog with a stony press of his lips. “Beau, sit!” he commanded, his gaze thin as it flicked from Tess to Cam and back, making Cam’s arm over her shoulder feel like a two-ton weight.

Guilt flamed in her cheeks as she eased away from Cam’s hold. Ready to sign her life away? Heart ramming her ribs, she tried to breathe, but there was no air to be found.

I think I just did …

Chapter Six

“Wow, what the heck happened to you?”

Sam looked up as Jack strolled into his office without knocking, the toothy smiles on his framed Rugrat cartoon characters in direct contrast to the scowl on Sam’s face. Stifling a groan, he wished he had locked the door after his final patient. The last person he wanted to see right now was Jack O’Bryen, not when Sam sported a truly impressive shiner and rainbow bruise on his cheek, compliments of Jack’s sister. Which is why Sam had been avoiding Jack all day—easy enough to do since the three-day holiday backlogged them both.

Jack plopped into one of Sam’s shocking orange Bola chairs and hiked his legs on the desk, head resting back as he eyed him with a shuttered grin. “Some girl finally wise up and knock you for a loop?”

Something like that. Sam sagged back into his chair with a groan, scouring his face with both hands so Jack wouldn’t spot the fire heating his cheeks. “Hit my head on the dash,” he said, rubbing his skin briskly to account for any flush that might remain. His hands dropped to hang limp over the arms of his chair like he’d been deboned as he faced Jack head-on with a dry bent of his mouth. “Don’t ask.”

Jack’s brows cut low. “You weren’t in an accident, were you?”