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4
Harrison Tate pulled up to the appointed pick-up spot, easily spotting Grant and Bea—and a beautiful brunette.She stood taller than Bea by several inches, and she had the long limbs and grace of a woman who came from wealth.
Harrison tried not to judge her so quickly, because he’d heard Bea and Grant talk about her plenty.A widow for over a year now.Three kids.Parents and a sister in Texas.A golden retriever, whom he didn’t see.So she’d left him with someone, and Harrison found himself wondering who the lovely Cassandra Haslam might trust enough to leave her beloved pet with.
He came to a stop and immediately jumped out of his SUV.He owned a couple of cars, as well as a truck for work, and as he rounded the tailgate and came face-to-face with Cassandra, he was glad he’d brought this vehicle.“Hello,” he drawled to her, his face feeling hotter than it should.He reached for her bag at the same time Grant did, and Harrison found himself wanting to swat his friend’s hand away.
For Harrison wanted to help Cassandra.
He pulled, and Grant pulled, and the suitcase went nowhere.“Oof.”Grant stepped back, and Harrison still had a grip on the bag.It suddenly came in his direction, and he flinched away from it so he didn’t get hurt.He stumbled slightly, catching himself against the brake light, and the suitcase toppled to the ground.
“Sorry.”He hurried to retrieve it, then fumbled with the button to get the back hatch to lift.Grant stared at him as if he’d grown an extra eye, and Harrison’s whole body flamed with South Carolina heat as he hefted Cassandra’s bag into the back of the SUV.
“There’s another one, Harrison,” Bea said, and he bustled over to the sidewalk like he was Cassandra’s personal butler.He told himself to calm down.He shouldn’t be acting like an overeager dog to please this woman.
He didn’t even like women.He wasn’t dating, at least.He amended his thoughts, because he did like women.If he was going to start dating again—which he wasn’t—he’d pick a woman.
This woman, his brain shouted at him, but Harrison silenced it.
“Cass,” Bea said as he rolled the bag closer to the back of the vehicle.“This is Harrison Tate.”
He grunted as he lifted this much bigger and much heavier bag into his car.He dusted his hands as he turned to face the pair of women.“Nice to meet you,” he said.
“Harrison,” Bea said.“This is Cassandra Haslam.My best friend in the whole world.”She linked her arm through Cass’s, and the two of them smiled at one another.
Cass then faced him, her smile staying clipped in place.She had long eyelashes framing her dark eyes, and a maturity in her face that only came with age.Her teeth sat straight and white in her mouth, and she gripped his hand firmly as they shook.“It’s great to meet you, Harrison,” she said.Even her voice painted pictures in his ears.
Pure adrenaline soared through him, and he couldn’t release her hand.She didn’t pull back either, and they stood there, looking at one another.He wasn’t sure if the charge filling him was adrenaline anymore, but perhaps…electricity.
“You can’t park here,” someone said, and Harrison startled.He pulled back and Cass did too.He turned to face the airport attendant.
“Yeah, we’re going,” he said.He glanced back to Cass, but she’d ducked her head and started to move around the corner of the SUV to get in.
Harrison did the same, berating himself for falling into some sort of trance.How old was he?Fifteen?
Starstruck by a beautiful woman.He ground his teeth together and shook his head.“Don’t act like a fool,” he muttered to himself.Then he yanked open the door and got behind the wheel.
Grant sat in the passenger seat, and Cass and Bea rode in the back, already talking about something.Harrison liked Bea just fine.She complemented Grant perfectly, and he sure did love her.
“Did you get all the bags?”Grant asked, fluttering his eyelashes at Harrison.
Another round of embarrassment drove through Harrison, igniting a flush in his neck, chest, and face.“I think so,” he muttered.He gripped the wheel and eased into the pick-up traffic.The drive to Hilton Head would take an hour, and he suddenly had nothing to talk about with Grant, or either woman in the back seat.
Grant never had a problem chatting, but he remained quiet too, and the two of them listened to Bea and Cass talk about their friends in Texas, how their adult children were doing, and who had taken Beryl.
The dog, Harrison assumed.
“You’ll have to bring him if you’re going to stay for the summer,” Bea said.
Harrison perked up.Cass was going to stay for the summer?“Where are you staying?”he asked.
“I don’t know,” Cass said.“I don’t have a place yet.”
“It’s almost peak tourist season,” Harrison said.
Cass met his eye in the rearview mirror, a hint of challenge in hers.“I’m aware.I just decided today.I’ll have to start looking when I get to Bea’s.”
“Grant will help us,” Bea said.“Right, Grant?”
