Chapter 4

Come again?” The woman in front of Cam stared at him like he’d just crawled out of the gutter covered with goo.

“Your hearing’s worse than Bowie’s,” he mumbled. To which Bowie looked up at him adoringly. “Sorry, buddy.” He bent, a little gingerly because of his bum knee, and scratched the animal behind the ears, which gave him a minute to think. To get a grip. He hadn’t seen Hadley Wells in years. And she was…stunning.

Fresh faced and athletic, her light brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, she looked sort of like the Hadley he’d known so well at eighteen and yet not at all. The same smooth skin but no trace of the familiar freckles. No nose carelessly peeling from sunburn. No T-shirt and shorts and flip-flops, but rather, she wore a black blouse and ankle pants—a sign of her success. As were the expensive sunglasses perched on her head.

And she’d lost that starry-eyed look—the way she used to gaze at him, like he was…well, the most captivating person in the world. Like she was head over heels. No one had ever looked at him quite that way since. Not any of the women who routinely treated him with something akin to adulation.

Hadley had loved him. If you could say that what they’d felt for each other at that age was love.

He wasn’t sure, but it was the closest he’d ever come.

As her big brown eyes zeroed in on him like a target, he couldn’t help remembering how she’d always been a passionate bundle of energy. Full of fire. How all that passion extended into everything she did—including how she kissed him. And how she used to have the snortiest laugh he’d ever heard.

She definitely wasn’t laughing now. “My hearing’s excellent,” she said in a tone that made him want to snap to attention and salute.

“All right, then.” He cleared his throat. “What part didn’t you get?”

“The part about my grandmother offering this place to you. She would never do that.”

She sounded like he’d bound and gagged her poor grandma to seal the deal. So he spoke with exaggerated slowness—and patience. “Your grandmother is looking to get out of the business quick, and I just so happen to need a property quick.”

She crossed her arms and glared. “What exactly do you need it for, Cam?”

Uh-oh. There she was calling him Cam again. She’d never called him Cam.

She was frowning, standing there stewing. He understood in a visceral way that the conversation they were having now had probably started years ago. When he’d left her a sticky note that said It’s best if we call it quits.

They’d never really finished that conversation. Not in a way that had resolved anything, anyway.

The way he’d left things gave him a sick feeling. One that he thought he’d let go of long ago but, no, there it was, firing up in his chest like heartburn. Equal parts remorse and regret for being young and stupid. For being careless—with his words, and with her affection.

Well, chalk it up to youth and inexperience. They’d both moved on and from all accounts, she’d done well. He had more important things to worry about than old hurt feelings.

Like this ancient building her grandma was desperate to unload. He did need it. Hadley had no idea how badly. The next phase of his life depended upon starting over. After months of dealing with his broken-beyond-repair knee, he understood that his star was sinking. Now was the time to act, when his investors were excited and before anyone had forgotten his name. Or else…or else there would be nothing.

“I’m opening a restaurant,” he said. “This will be the flagship, the first of a national chain. Right here, smack in the middle of downtown.” No other property around offered what this one did—a central location, a killer ocean view. And he’d been having his people scout the real estate market for months.

“A restaurant.” She said it with disdain, as if he were talking about opening a seedy bar with drug dealers, the Mafia, and sex traffickers.

Her agitation discomfited him. There was a time when he would have done everything in his wheelhouse to please her, to get her to smile. But this new Hadley was clearly long over him.

“It’s going to be a gathering place with good food, a place to relax and meet your friends and catch a game.” Why was he overexplaining, being defensive? He didn’t need her to know how important this was to him. How Hadley’s grandma had offered him the perfect way to start over again after his injury. And how his restaurant would help his sister, Lucy, who deserved a break to help her realize her dream of becoming a chef.

Hadley had loved this place, long ago. Was she holding on to sentiment? Surely she wouldn’t fight her grandmother’s wishes?

“Why do we need another restaurant in town?” she asked. “What’s the draw?”

“Me.” He faced her head-on, pointing a thumb at his chest. “I’m the draw. This is my hometown, and people—my fans—would love to see it. Good food and me.” He wasn’t going to apologize for who he was just because she didn’t like him.

The only problem was, he felt bad about that. About her not liking him. Which he couldn’t entirely explain.

“This isn’t going to be a place with lots of TVs so people can ignore their dates and watch football, is it?” she asked. “A cheesy celebrity chain?”

Uh-oh. That was exactly what it was. Without the cheesy part, he hoped. “You want me to apologize for being a celebrity?”

“I want you to apologize for taking advantage of the fact that my grandma’s been through a trauma. She’s frightened. Of course she might jump to say she wants to sell.”

“I’m not taking advantage of anyone.” He surveyed the mostly empty room. “Take a look around. No business. Nada.” He swept the room with a flourish. “Your grandma’s dealing with a new hip. Maybe she’s tired of running after dogs. Maybe she wants to travel. Relax. Do needlework.”

Hadley rolled her eyes. “She doesn’t do needlework.”

“Whatever she wants, Hadley. She’s given her life to this business. You can’t blame her if she wants to change course.”

“She’s just been through a major operation.” Now it was her turn to sound overly patient. “She shouldn’t have to think about selling her beloved business.”

“She has been thinking about it. That’s why she asked me.”

“My grandma would not choose you over me. I’m her blood!” She was more than a little fired up.

“Mayellen and Ivy told me you’re only here for the summer. So maybe you’re her blood but I’m best for her future plans and goals.” He tried to sound calm and not let unresolved issues from the past make him overly emotional. But he was failing epically.

He saw his words strike a chord, and it wasn’t a good one. “You will never be best for my grandmother.” She snorted. “That much is obvious. I just can’t believe she would sell this place willingly.” Then she added, “To you. You’re…you’re just as cocky and arrogant as ever.”

Yeah. Ouch. Maybe she hadn’t resolved those issues either.

Then she whirled on him. “Maybe you intimidated her.”

He gave a quiet snort himself. At six four and two twenty-five, he probably did look a little intimidating. But he’d never physically threatened anyone off the football field. Except maybe his younger brother, Nick. But that was mostly in fun. “You know I’d never do that.”

She was still feisty, that was for sure, and part of him was relieved to see it. He’d worried that all the negative media attention surrounding her breakup from that ass Cooper Hemsley had squeezed the feistiness right out of her.

On the other hand, that feistiness could be a real problem. Because even as a teenager, she’d fought tooth and nail for passion projects. Like the time she’d picketed a construction zone for a new business that was about to be built over loggerhead turtle nests. And when she took the SAT three times to try to get into NYU. Which she ultimately did. With a scholarship.

And him. He’d been a passion project. In that she’d loved him wholly and completely. But he’d always questioned whether what she felt for him was real, never allowing himself to believe someone could love him like that. So he’d ruined it. He’d ruined them.

“That’s just the point, Cam,” she said softly. “It’s been a long time. I don’t know who you are anymore.”

Her words punched at him more than he cared to admit. He knew exactly what she thought he was. A first-class jerk. To her, he’d been exactly that, many years ago.

He’d fallen for her in high school, bad. But she’d always been out of his league. So before college, he’d dumped her before she could dump him. And he’d broken her heart. Stupid.

Such was first love. Innocent and sweet and sometimes foolish. He’d grown up and moved on, and he’d left his young self far behind.

But judging by the way his blood was coursing through him right now, maybe not as far behind as he’d like.

“Your grandmother told me to put in an offer,” he said. “She sure was in a hurry to unload this place is all I’m saying.” Since he’d come back home, Madeline Edwards had accepted him as a friend and a neighbor despite his history with Hadley. And he helped her out when he could. Like taking Bowie while she was in the hospital.

Hadley frowned, a little V delicately creasing the space between her brows. Which distracted him in a crazy way until she said, “Was she medicated at the time?”

“Oh for the love of—” Irritating, that’s what she was. He suddenly remembered she’d been really good at pushing all his buttons too.

“Okay, you two.” Mayellen rolled her eyes. “Enough.” Her voice brought Cam back to Pooch Palace, and the fact that there were actually other people in the room. Mayellen’s stern look reminded him that she’d had a lifetime of disciplining schoolchildren and he had the feeling she wanted to put both of them in time-out. “You’re disturbing the pets.”

Neither pet looked very disturbed. Bowie had fallen fast asleep at Cam’s feet. And the ratty-haired schoodle or doodle or whatever it was raised his head as if to say Hey, is anybody paying attention to me? Then dropped it again and went back to snoozing.

“I want you to know,” Hadley said, hands on hips, her parting shot, “that as soon as my grandmother recovers a little, I’m going to tell her that I can help run the business. There’s no need to sell.”

Cam eyed her with what he hoped was a neutral expression. Maddy had approached him about buying the building long before her accident. And so he spoke as calmly as he could. “You may think you’re going to blow in here for a few weeks and make everything right, but I moved back here. I want to be part of the community. Real solutions for this building and for our downtown take time.”

“The way I see it,” Ivy said, stepping between them like a disgruntled umpire, “there’s only one person who can clear this up pronto and she’s recuperating from surgery. Which I’m sure you both will take into consideration. Now, we’re closing for lunch, so you’ll have to continue your argument outside.”

Without a word, Cam found himself nudged outside and standing next to Hadley on Petunia Street, the Pooch Palace sign swinging in the breeze above their heads. Pride had him working hard to disguise the slight limp that still plagued him after three knee surgeries.

The last time he’d stood there with her…well. They hadn’t been arguing, that was for sure.

She’d been on a ladder painting that sign. The poodle with a crown and the lettering underneath that read WE TREAT YOUR PET LIKE ROYALTY. He could still see his eighteen-year-old self impulsively grabbing her and swinging her around and kissing her. She was so startled she’d dropped her paintbrush and he’d worn his jeans for the rest of the school year with white paint splatters because he couldn’t afford new ones.

But it had been worth that kiss.

Part of him wanted to squeeze her shoulder and comfort her, tell her everything was going to be okay. And ask her why didn’t they go get a drink and talk about old times?

Maybe if he was a gentleman, he’d let this whole thing go.

But while the building was ancient and in need of new everything, the location was prime, right in the middle of the best block of foot traffic downtown. The main municipal parking lot was right across the street. And best of all, there was a view, from the unused second floor anyway, of Petunia Street dashing down to the spectacular Atlantic, where on any given day you could see white sails dotting the endless blue water.

Hadley wasn’t even looking at him anymore. She was focused on something in the distance, at the downhill slant of Petunia Street as it sloped toward the ocean. “I need to find out what my grandma really wants.”

He hadn’t intended for this to get so complicated. The idea for the sports bar/restaurant had taken hold and had got him excited, the only thing that had even mildly interested him in the past six months of merciless rehab.

It was a way for him to come out swinging. He had to.

He hadn’t even granted any interviews since his injury, which was driving the press crazy. But when he did speak, he wanted to have another life plan locked in place, or the whole world would look on him as a sad sack. Something he could not tolerate.

In his career as a tight end, he’d learned to trust his instincts. And his gut was telling him that Maddy hadn’t been kidding about wanting to get rid of her business, no matter how fired up her granddaughter was. So she might as well sell the building to him. He’d give her a great price. Make sure she’d have lots of extra padding to retire well.

Hadley stared dead at him. “Until I’m convinced that my grandma really wants out of this building, you’re not getting it.”

He stabbed a finger in the air. “You’re just as hardheaded as ever.”

She folded her arms. “And you’re just as arrogant as every celebrity client I’ve ever had.”

They were standing in the middle of the street arguing like an angry divorced couple. Heads were turning. She was fighting for her grandma, of course. And he couldn’t blame her. He couldn’t blame her at all.

He struggled not to look directly at her because when he did…when he did, their gazes snagged. Locked and held. And that zippy, crackling electrical current got to buzzing again. The same wild, untamed one from—what was it—seventeen years ago.

He almost cracked a smile. But softening toward her and remembering a crazy teenage romance were not going to help him focus.

The fact was, he needed this deal. He needed to take this opportunity before people stopped asking him to take opportunities. Before his fame faded.

Plus downtown was sagging, businesses gradually closing up shop. People were feeling the pinch, even with the draw of the beach. Downtown needed a shot of something to invigorate it.

And so did Lucy.

For all these reasons, Pooch Palace would save the day.

And Hadley would have to accept that life had changed, that her grandmother just might want to move on. Once Hadley sat down with her and had a heart-to-heart, this would clear right up, he was certain. And with Hadley here for such a short time…she’d soon be out of the picture anyway.

The door opened, and Ivy came out with Bowie. “We got him ready for you.”

“Thanks, Ivy,” he said, reaching for the leash.

Uh-oh. Someone was getting their hackles back up, judging by the way Hadley’s face had turned bright red, her hands fisted at her sides. “Wait.” She sounded hurt. “You’re…you’re taking Bowie?”

Oh geez. He wished this old geezer of a dog would remember Hadley better. Actually, he probably did; he just couldn’t see more than two feet in front of his nose. And he wouldn’t hear the Rolling Stones if they were jamming right in front of him.

Hadley looked stricken. So forlorn that he wavered. “I’m just keeping him while your grandma’s in the hospital.” He held out the leash. “Here, you can take him.”

She looked at the dog and then at Cam, shaking her head. “I’m going to go home and shower and head back to the hospital. It’s better if he stays with you.”

He nodded. Stress was written all over her face, and he cracked, trying to wave the peace flag one last time. “I’m sure we’ll clear this up, Hadley.”

She wasn’t buying that, as evidenced by the fact that her lips didn’t even budge an inch in the smile direction.

“The only one who can clear this up is my grandma.” She paused and looked dead at him. “Put that on your next sticky note.”