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He remembered he was in public, so he didn’t kiss her for too terribly long or go too deep—he could do that later—and he pulled away gently.They both sighed and looked out over the city again, and Harrison sure did enjoy holding her within the circle of his arms, breathing with her, and experiencing this night with her.
Memories, he thought.That was what he wanted to create with a person.Real, true, tender memories he could reflect on time and again.Experiences he could think about andfeelthings for someone.This night had definitely done that for him and Cass.It had brought them closer together, and as she gushed over the cheesecake and then the chocolate mousse, Harrison could only smile—and add her excited face to his memory bank.
“Come on, Spence,”he said to his brother a couple of weeks later.“Get the paddle board, and let’s go.”
Spencer looked up from his phone as if he didn’t realize they were going to the beach that day.“Right.”He didn’t get up though, and Harrison rolled his eyes.He wasn’t in the mood for tonight’s beach picnic for some reason.
“I’m headed outside,” he said.“Come out and down to the beach when you’re ready.You’ll see us.”He left his brother inside the house and went out onto his back patio.His nerves fluttered at him, because he’d finally organized a meeting for Cass and Spencer.
Baby steps, he told himself.She hadn’t met his mother yet, and Harrison hadn’t wanted to bombard her with new people.He trusted his brother, and he wanted his opinion first.
They both knew this afternoon on the beach was for the two of them to meet, and Harrison felt like a hinge that had been put in the wrong place.He carried a small cooler with drinks in it, a big denim blanket his momma had made for him years ago, and a plastic grocery bag with sunscreen and his bucket hat in it.
August was only days away, and Harrison couldn’t believe how quickly the summer had passed.He’d gone to the Everglades with Cass, Bea, and Grant exactly two months ago, and while he hadn’t started dating Cass for another couple of weeks after that, it still felt like longer than that.
Cass was bringing Lauren and Conrad to the beach with her, though her son could only stay for about an hour before his tour tonight.Harrison didn’t mind.He wanted more people there so things wouldn’t be awkward for Spencer.Frankly, his brother was awkward in family situations, making his job in publicity all the more baffling.
He said he could handle strangers, because they didn’t know anything about him.Harrison had told him Cass would be a stranger to him, but his brother would probably still say something awkward.He was a good judge of character, though, and Harrison figured he would be safer than unleashing his mother on Cass.
Harrison looked north when he reached the sand, but he saw nothing from Cass’s back patio.It still sat a distance away, and he walked toward it.His back had been healing steadily since he’d been doing the therapy his doctor had told him to do, and he’d determined to keep doing it though he was better now.
His first indication that Cass had opened her back door was the sound of Beryl’s voice.The golden retriever loved the beach, and Harrison grinned as the golden-brown bullet came flying down her steps.He whistled through his teeth, and Beryl changed his course to come toward Harrison.
He laughed as the dog came wagging up to him, his whole body snaking back and forth in greeting.“Howdy, buddy,” he said to the dog.“Did she finally let you out, huh?”He looked up to Cass’s house, but it was Lauren coming down the steps.Conrad came behind her, with no sign of Cass yet.
They met on the sand, and Lauren started telling him about something at work.Harrison loved her stories, because she worked with some real bigwigs—or people who thought they were bigwigs—and they did some stupid things sometimes.
“Oh my goodness, Harrison,” she said.“You’ll never believe what happened.”
“What?”he said.
“Well, you know how a lot of us work remotely?”she asked.She spread out a blanket and put her beach bag down on it.She flipped her sunglasses back so he could see her eyes.“Myself included?”
“Yes.”He glanced back to his house, but he didn’t see Spence.
“Well, we’re in a meeting, and the Senior VP says, ‘I need everyone to be in the office next week.Like, back to full-time, in your local office.’He looks at me and says, ‘We can talk about your local office, Lauren.I know you’re in South Carolina, working for the Miami office, but have a house in Texas…’” She trailed off, because her situation was unique.“Anyway, it goes silent.He’s looking around.I’m looking around.Everyone’s looking around, and we’re all online, right?This weird array of screens with everyone just hoping they don’t have to be the first one to speak.”
“This is gonna be good,” Harrison said.He spread his own blanket next to hers, noting that Conrad had set up chairs.Three chairs.
“Finally, the Marketing Manager—theMarketing Manager, Harrison.”She thumped his chest.“Says, ‘Uh, I can’t be in my local office next week.I don’t live in Houston anymore.’”She trilled out a laugh.“It was dead silent, Harrison.Like, graveyard silent.”
“He doesn’t live in Houston anymore?”
“He’d been working remotely for so long, he moved.To Saint Louis!”She laughed again, though Harrison was sure it hadn’t been funny to anyone else in the meeting.“I guess his wife’s parents are there, and he figured…I work remotely now.He hadn’t toldanyone.Sold his house.Moved to a completely different state—and not that close either—and said nothing.”She shook her head, and Harrison said nothing, a bit shocked.
“He’d moved?”
“Took his family and moved.”Lauren grinned like the Cheshire Cat.“And the best part?He wasn’t the only one!Our lead analyst, who worked out of the parent company office in Manhattan goes, ‘I moved to Arkansas.What’s the closest local office to that?’It became an uproar!”She turned back to the house.“About half of them had moved without saying anything.Mark wassomad.”She smiled like this was great news for her, but Harrison wasn’t sure how.“I wonder what Cass needs help with.I better go see.”
“I’ll go get my brother,” Harrison said.“I don’t know what’s taking him so long.”
“I’ll keep an eye on Beryl,” Conrad said, but he’d really buried himself in his phone.
Harrison started back toward his house, and it was definitely the longer of the walks.Lauren and Conrad had come straight down from Cass’s, but he had to walk back down the beach and around the curve of the island.He’d just gone over a swell in the sand, which housed a long line of grasses that swayed in the breeze when he heard someone laughing.
A voice he knew well.
Cass’s voice.
