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Chapter 19
Though she’d have liked to spend the full day with Sam, especially after the explosive heat of last night, Brooke sent him home with instructions to review the trajectory of John and Patricia’s romance.
She busied herself with her own work, which included job searches, proposal revisions, and a few hours’ worth of research about romance novel structure. She printed out worksheets and stuffed them into her backpack before heading out at dusk to meet Sam down by the beach.
The Bliss Cove boardwalk had always been one of her favorite places. She loved the whirling carnival lights, the sticky-sweet smells of cotton candy and funnel cake, the mechanical sounds of arcade games, and the bustling, cheerful crowds.
As she caught sight of Sam standing by the pier railing, her heart did a little cartwheel. The wind rustled through his dark hair, and he wore jeans and a long-sleeved, cotton shirt that hugged his broad chest. He turned as she climbed the stairs, as if he sensed her approach. His slow smile made her all soft and gooey inside.
“Hey.” He stepped forward, bending almost as if he were about to give her a kiss hello. Then he caught sight of her face and stopped. He pulled his eyebrows together. “What?”
“We’re, um…” She indicated the crowded boardwalk. “I just realized we might run into someone we know. They’re going to wonder what you’re doing here. What we’re doing here together.”
He frowned. “None of their business.”
“I know, but you don’t need people wondering any more about you than they already do. And I don’t want to be responsible for someone discovering your secret superhero identity.”
“Okay.” He glanced past her. “We’ll tell people you’re doing a story about independent bookstores. You’re interviewing me.”
She chuckled. “After the half-dozen times you’ve turned me down for an interview?”
He scratched his jaw, looking slightly abashed. “We’ll say you made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Which wouldn’t be far from the truth.”
He winked at her. A pleasurable glow lit in her belly as they started toward the carnival.
She was determined to keep her head on straight where this thing with Sam was concerned—she was helping him out and they were indulging in some fun, sexy times with no expectations—but she was “in touch with her feelings” enough to recognize how much she enjoyed being with him.
The sex had been spectacular, as she’d anticipated it would be, but she also liked waking up beside him, drinking coffee across the table from him, talking about the latest news and weather, even watching him scratch Jojo behind the ears.
The warm, fuzzy feelings might even be the roots of full-fledged love—a notion she had to keep locked away deep inside her. Though she wished they could explore all the nuances of arealrelationship, she would never coax him into something he didn’t want.
Not to mention, he was under pressure to get his book finished. He didn’t need the distraction of her growing feelings for him. She’d be happy just to continue the camaraderie that had started so unexpectedly in the cabin.
Even on a Thursday night, the carnival at the end of the pier was in full swing. Multicolored lights shone against the dark sky, and the Ferris wheel spun like a kaleidoscope. People sat at picnic tables eating burgers and corndogs, while others crowded around the game booths, trying their hand at ring toss and balloon popping.
They ate deep-fried pizza for dinner, played several games, and went on a roller coaster, an airplane ride, and the Ferris wheel.
As the gondola ascended up the side of the wheel, the earth below became a constellation of bright lights and distant noise. The ocean stretched out from the pier like a pool of ink, and the cold wind rocked the gondola back and forth.
“I’ve always loved it up here.” Brooke dragged her fingers through her wind-whipped hair and peered down at the roaming crowd. “After I moved back to Bliss Cove, one of the first things I did was come on the Ferris wheel. Even though my life was in shambles, coming up here and just looking at the ocean reminded me that things were still good at home. Maybe my life would be good again one day, too.”
“Did it turn out that way?”
“For the most part.” She straightened and shifted to face him, admiring the contrast between his strong features and the thickness of his eyelashes. “I felt guilty and kind of weak that I couldn’t handle the big leagues, but like I said, coming back here was one of the best things I’ve done. It just took a while for me to figure that out. I spent a lot of time wondering if I’d made a huge mistake.”
Sam settled his hand on her thigh. “I cheated on the SATs in high school.”
She lifted her eyebrows. “Really?”
“Long time ago, obviously.” He gazed out at the ocean. “Junior year. I paid another kid to take them for me. Got caught. My father cut a deal with the school to keep me enrolled, but I didn’t want to stay. So I dropped out.”
“I had no idea.”
“Not many people do.” He gave her a faint, humorless smile. “But I’ve done a lot of other things worse than that. So have thousands of other people. Leaving a job that was running you into the ground wasn’t anything close to a mistake. And you had a place to come back to. Not everyone can go home again.”
She put her hand over his. She’d learned many hard, often heartbreaking truths about people’s lives during her years as a national news reporter, but she also knew—to the center of her being—that hope andhomecould always be found.
Not that Sam needed or wanted to hear her philosophizing. She squeezed his hand as the gondola began its descent to the other side. After it stopped, they exited the ride and walked back to the midway.
