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“What fear?” Lucas had to come closer to be heard. His face wrinkled in confusion.
So she’d never told him. And now Breck was revealing secrets that wer
en’t his to tell. His stomach fell. Why the hell couldn’t he keep his mouth shut? “Oh nothing.”
“Come on. What are you talking about? Is my sister afraid of something?”
His lips felt as dry as the sand surrounding them. He took another mouthful of soda to moisten them. “Not that I know of. I haven’t seen her for years.”
Lucas wasn’t letting go of it. He was like a dog with a bone. “But you said she was. Come on, man, what are you talking about?”
“I was kidding. You know, the way we used to call her Vampira? I was making a joke, a stupid one. Pretending she was afraid of the daylight.”
“But it’s not even light. The sun’s going down.” Lucas looked more confused than ever.
“That’s why it was a stupid joke.” Breck was a moment away from slapping himself. Why the hell did he start this? Only the worst kind of asshole spilled secrets about their friends. He could only hope his lame-ass explanation kept Lucas happy. Otherwise he was going to have some explaining to do.
* * *
“Honey, we’re going out for an evening walk,” Deenie called to Caitie. “We’ll lock the door behind us. Try not to work too hard.”
“I won’t. Have a good walk,” Caitie called out, turning back to her laptop. She was sitting on her bed, her MacBook balanced on her bare thighs. She’d changed into her pajamas after her shower; plaid shorts and a tank that revealed her pale skin in all its glory. Her wet hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her reading glasses were balanced on her nose. Harper always called this her ‘Clark Kent’ look. She wasn’t sure it was a compliment.
Caitie had already bookmarked twelve venues to call in the morning. Her plan was to find at least three she could take Lucas and Ember to look at. They’d told her they wanted a luxury hotel, one big enough to hold all the guests. Somewhere they could decorate with the holiday theme Ember loved. Of course the decorating would be easy – it was Caitie’s niche – but unless she found somewhere to decorate, they’d be out of luck.
The sharp shrill of the doorbell made her jump. Caitie moved her laptop to the bed, securing it among the folds of the duvet, and ran to the hallway, assuming her mom had forgotten her key.
She pulled the door wide, her mouth open, ready to tease her mother. But standing there, beneath the glow of the lamp, was Brecken Miller, not her mom. He was leaning against the doorway, his golden hair ruffled by the breeze blowing in from the ocean.
“Breck?”
“Hey.” He was smiling at her, that familiar, Brecken smile. All warm and full of sun. “Am I disturbing you?”
Hell yes he was disturbing her, but not in the way he’d meant. Her chest fluttered as he glanced down at her legs, taking in their bareness. “No,” she said, smiling at him. “You’re not disturbing me at all. Would you like to come in?”
He hesitated for a moment, looking at her with those warm eyes.
“You don’t have to,” she added quickly. “Mom and Dad are out if that’s who you’re looking for. They’ve gone for an evening walk. It’s only me here. Or are you looking for Lucas?” Why wouldn’t she shut up? Caitie tried to bite her tongue to make the agony stop.
“I know Lucas isn’t here. I just left him at the beach.”
“You were at the cottage?”
“Yeah, at their party. I was surprised not to see you there.”
“He asked me, but I’m too busy.” She gave him a tight smile. “I have a wedding to organize and an inbox three feet deep.”
“I have something to tell you. I think I really messed up,” Breck told her with a quiet voice.
“Messed up how?” Her brows knitted together.
He cleared his throat. “I said something about you being afraid of the water.”
“Afraid?” She wrapped her arms around her torso. “You said that?” Her breath caught in her throat.
“Yeah. I know you used to be when we were kids. Do you remember the time Lucas and Griff tried to drag you down there? You ran away and I found you crying. It only occurred to me when you didn’t turn up tonight that you might still feel the same way. Somehow I started blabbering about it to your brother. I don’t think he heard me though.”
A shiver wracked through her. “Oh.”
