Hey, want to go to lunch?” Cam asked a few days later, sticking his head around the gray fabric partition dividing the customer part of his family’s renovation business office from the desks.
His sister, Lucy, jumped in her seat, where she was loading numbers into a spreadsheet on the computer. A hand flew to her chest as she gave Cam the stink eye. “Tony! Geez. Give a woman a heart attack!” Her black-and-white Border collie, Molly, who was lying in her bed next to Lucy’s desk, startled.
Cam chuckled in the way that only an older brother could, then shrugged innocently.
“Sorry about that.”
“You don’t sound sorry,” Lucy said. Molly stepped out of her bed and ambled over to greet Cam.
“Hey there, Mol.” He stooped to pet her, catching himself before he bent too far on his bad knee. “You want to go to lunch too?”
A desk chair rolled back into view from the next cubby. Not just any desk chair. A leather model with padded head- and armrests and wait—was that a cup holder? “I can be ready in five minutes,” his younger brother, Nick, said. He grabbed a pen from behind his ear and tossed it onto his desk.
“What are you doing here?” Cam asked. Usually his brother and dad were out and about in the town, renovating one of the many Victorian-era homes that were their specialty. Seeing him in an office chair—even if it was the Cadillac of office chairs—was a little strange, since Nick loved nothing better than drilling, pounding, sawing, and stomping around a construction site.
“Hey, I have brains as well as brawn, you know,” Nick said.
“Well,” Lucy said, a devilish look in her eyes, “why don’t you use your brains to get moving on that job on Gardenia Street? I need the paperwork by one if you want that special reproduction tile by next week.”
Cam laughed. “Guess you’re getting a doggie bag today, Nicky.”
Nick shot him a look. “Where are you two going?”
Cam looked to Lucy for the answer. “Let’s go sit outside at Mussels,” she said. “Sound good?”
“Perfect,” Cam said. Dining at the oldest seafood restaurant in town would be a treat.
Nick now wore that middle-child expression over missing his favorite restaurant. “Bring me back some shrimp scampi, okay?”
“If you’re good,” Cam said, raising a brow, “we might even throw in a piece of cheesecake. And a coffee for your cupholder.”
As Nick made a face, his sister entered one last number into her spreadsheet, then closed her file. “Shall we go?” she asked as she grabbed her purse.
Lucy did a great job as the front person for Cammareri Vintage Home Remodeling Inc., and she did it with a smile. She worked some weekends for a local caterer too. But Cam understood, maybe more than Nick or his dad, how much Lucy had given up to do this job, and that made his heart ache.
She’d studied accounting in college, but that Cammareri thirst for risk and adventure had made her apply to the Culinary Institute of America in New York to pursue her dream of becoming a chef. But right after she’d found out she was accepted, she’d also found out she was pregnant, and things hadn’t worked out with her ex.
Cam had offered a million times to finance her tuition. To get her an apartment and a nanny, a car, and whatever else she needed, but she’d always refused. She’d taken the job crunching numbers at the company because it was safe and close to family, but Cam knew she loved spreadsheets about as much as he loved not playing football.
She was a big reason why he’d come back home. Now that he was back, he had a plan to help her fulfill her dream. And he couldn’t wait to tell her about it.
It made him more determined than ever to prove to Maddy that he should be the one to take over her building.
Before they could leave, their dad came in, probably to grab the sack lunch that he ate every single day at his desk.
“Hey, Dad.” Cam slapped him on the back. “Want to come out to lunch?”
“No thanks,” Angelo Cammareri said. With his leonine features and full head of silver hair, he was an imposing presence. Looking up at Cam, he said stoically, “And have my accountant back in twenty minutes.”
“I’ll be back in an hour.” Lucy kissed him on the cheek. “But we’ll bring you back a piece of cheesecake too.”
“Well, fine.” He cracked a little smile at Lucy, the only girl in the family and his clear favorite. Second only to Baby Bernadette, who was an adorable eight-month-old and already showing the discerning Cammareri taste for good pasta. “All right, then. Make it plain. With cherries on top. None of those fancy flavors.” To Cam, he said, “I ran into Mayellen and she told me you’re thinking of buying Maddy Edwards’s property and turning it into a restaurant.”
“Maddy approached me about it,” Cam said.
“But Hadley’s not having it,” Nick butted in.
Cam gave his brother a look. “How do you know that?”
Nick sat back and propped his feet up on his desk. “You can’t argue with your old flame in the middle of the street and not expect people to notice.”
Small towns. He kept forgetting how quickly everyone figured out his business.
“I’ve always liked Hadley,” was all his dad had to say about that. “She back in town?”
“Just for the summer,” Cam said.
“And how does she feel about you being around?” his dad asked.
Cam shifted his weight a little nervously. Something he probably hadn’t done since the age of twelve. “It’s complicated, Dad.”
His dad didn’t say anything for a long moment. “Okay, well, as far as the food, I can give you all the old family recipes.”
“Even Grandpa’s pizza dough?” Lucy asked. His dad kept that sacred recipe on top of his dresser, in a polished wooden box that his grandfather had brought over from Italy.
His dad smiled at him. “If Anthony wants it, yes.”
Whoa. No one saw the famous dough recipe. No one. It was no secret that his dad had been worried about Cam these past few months as he’d struggled through rehab and the fact that he could no longer play the sport he loved. Even though Cam always did his best to show that he was doing just fine.
But then his dad had worried about all of them. He’d raised them as a single father since their mom jumped ship when Cam was eight and Lucy was just a toddler. From what Cam could gather from his dad, she’d followed another guy out West somewhere and had never looked back. As the oldest, he’d driven all this from his mind as best he could and focused on helping his dad keep the family together.
He attributed the fact that he and his siblings were so close to his dad, who had taught them to value family above all else. Angelo was practical, no-nonsense, and loved them all down to the bone.
But his dad must really be concerned if he was offering the recipe.
And that touched Cam greatly. He liked—no, loved—the idea of using their family’s recipes from Italy in his restaurant one day. Of course, his investors had pitched his new restaurant as a sports bar, trying to take full advantage of his career. They hadn’t been interested in a mom-and-pop type of place with homemade recipes…so far.
“I’m speechless.” His dad hated it when they made a big deal of things, so he didn’t rush to hug him. “Thanks, Dad,” he said, a little flummoxed.
“Wow,” Lucy said, incredulous. “And I thought I was the favorite.”
“Hey, what about me?” Nick said, lowering his boot-clad feet to the floor with a clunk.
“No one’s my favorite unless the work gets done.” His dad shook a warning finger.
“I’m staying to get my work done, Pop,” Nick said, always the charmer.
“Good boy, Nicholas.” His father patted his brother on the shoulder. Then he turned to the other two. “So, get going on the fancy-schmancy lunch so you can get back to work.”
“You mean it about the dough recipe?” Cam asked, still a little stunned at the offer.
“Only if it’s an Italian restaurant,” his dad said. “By the way, I’m making ribs on Sunday with my famous sauce,” his dad added. “Come for dinner.”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Cam said.
“Definitely wouldn’t miss it.” Nick rubbed his rock-hard belly.
“Maybe you could bring Hadley,” Cam thought he heard his dad say as he headed for the back.
* * *
“So,” Cam said, once he and Lucy were seated on the oceanfront deck at Mussels with some Cokes. His knee was a little stiff and creaky today, but with the warm breeze, hot sun, and miles of sparkling blue ocean spanning in front of them, Cam realized how lucky he was to call this place home. “You know I’m trying to figure out my next steps.”
He’d spared his family as much of his problems as possible over the past six months. It was what came naturally to him as the oldest and the one who’d needed to step up for Nick and Lucy after their mom left.
He was supposed to be tough and strong, not weak and floundering. But that was exactly how he’d felt these past months, mourning the sport he loved and would never play again. Struggling to find a way to carry on.
“Everything you’ve done so far has been football,” Lucy said, sipping on her Diet. She looked happy to be out of the office. It reminded him of when they were teenagers and he used to take her out for burgers, mostly to get her to talk and keep tabs on her. “But this restaurant thing…it makes sense to me. You love food, you love being around people. I think it might be a good fit.”
He nodded his agreement, even though just talking about leaving football behind forever made him break out in a cold sweat. But Lucy seemed like she was in a good mood today and he didn’t want to spoil that with his own troubles. He hoped she’d be open to his idea for her. “You love good food too…”
Cam waited for his opening.
“You bet.” She took a warm roll from a basket and passed it to him. “And I’ll be happy to eat there all the time.” Lucy looked young and pretty, her dark hair piled on her head in a messy bun. It was hard to believe she was all grown up and a mom.
He wanted Lucy to be happy. To have a chance to live her dream. To do anything she wanted, to again become the adventurous soul he’d known her to be. To do anything but sit in the corner of that office entering charges all day, watching others pass by the big plate-glass window, living their lives. “I was sort of thinking of something more than that,” he said.
“What are you talking about?” She put down her butter knife.
“You always wanted to go to cooking school. So go, then come back and be my chef.”
Her mouth dropped open, and she looked genuinely startled for the second time that day. “You’re insane.”
He took her hand from the table. “Now’s your chance, Luce. Go. You’ll have a job waiting for you right here when you get back.”
Cam looked hopefully at his sister. But Lucy wasn’t meeting his eyes. And she wasn’t smiling.
“You’re angry,” he finally said. He’d thought this would be it. The magic bullet that would get her excited enough to jump back into her life. That was the other thing about Cammareris, besides pretending they were fine. They were as stubborn as they come.
“Bernie is just a baby,” he said, trying to make his case one more time. “By the time you’re done with school, she’ll be ready for school. It’s perfect timing.”
Her eyes flicked up. They looked a little watery. “Look, Cam, I love you. You’re the best big brother anyone could have. But you don’t have to take care of me anymore. In fact, the idea that you feel you have to is sort of insulting.”
Ouch. All right, then. How could he make her see? “Look, I’m reinventing myself. What’s wrong with including you in my plans? I want you with me at the helm. It’s win-win for both of us.”
“I know what you’re trying to do. Whenever there’s a crisis, you always jump in one hundred percent and start swimming. And handing out the lifeboats. But I’m different. I’m not you. And I’m not ready to go to cooking school. Bernie needs a mom around and I need family, for her sake. I can’t just go off to upstate New York by myself and start over.”
“I just want you to be happy,” Cam said. “It’s not the money, is it? You know I’ve got enough to send everyone in Seashell Harbor to cooking school.” In Paris, he added to himself.
Lucy pulled her hand away. “You can’t swoop in just like that and solve people’s problems.” She was killing him. Because he was a man of action. Every success he’d ever had was because he’d done anything and everything in his capability to make it happen. Her resistance to his help was endlessly frustrating.
“I love you,” Cam said. “You know that, right?”
She nodded, clamping her lips together to keep from crying. “I know that. But this is something I have to figure out for myself. Okay?”
Cam wondered if this was what being a parent was like, this kind of awful helplessness. The thing was, he knew his sister too well. She used to laugh out loud—a lot. And crack jokes. And be bawdy and rambunctious. She wasn’t just suffering from heartbreak over the idiot she’d dated for four years, who’d then left her when she was pregnant. Nor could he attribute her seriousness to the maturity that came with being a parent—at least, he didn’t think that was the case. She’d lost her confidence, her joie de vivre, her sparkle. Sparkle was a word he’d never admit to using but that was how he saw the problem. And he had no idea how to help her.
“Okay.” He acquiesced for her benefit. For now.
He was about to say more, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw a petite woman with short hair approaching, her stride fast and purposeful. As she came closer, he recognized her as his former sister-in-law, Darla Manning, Nick’s ex-wife. She was also a very successful thriller writer and one of Hadley’s posse. Of Hadley’s two best friends, Darla was the feral one. Always passionate and protective. And clearly she was on a mission.
Cam was always a little relieved over Nick and Darla’s breakup, for the simple reason that Darla never hesitated to give her opinions on any injustice. Like his breakup with Hadley, which she regarded to this day as an unforgivable offense.
And right now, he had a feeling she was about to let him have it.
“Hi, Darla.” He tried for an upbeat tone as she approached, hoping friendliness might preempt her anger.
No such luck.
“Hi, Lucy,” she said, ignoring his greeting. “Pardon me for talking to your brother for a sec.” Then she turned to Cam. “Hadley’s in the bathroom,” she said without saying hello, “so I’ll get right to the point.” But he’d almost stopped listening. Hadley was here? He scanned the deck until he saw Hadley’s other best friend, Kit, sitting with her little son, Oliver.
They were right near the table he and Hadley always occupied when they’d come here long ago. The two of them would hang out and view the water and share the restaurant’s signature steamed mussel dish. Or sometimes just split dessert. Except what he remembered most about those times was staring not at the ocean but at her. Usually as she enjoyed the mussels, butter sauce dripping down her chin.
That thought made him smile a little. Until he realized Darla was lecturing him.
“…She came home to escape the media attention,” Darla was saying. “She doesn’t need more headaches on top of all that.”
Cam opened his mouth to respond but Darla kept talking. Lucy was taking it all in from across the table and, of course, learning all his business. “You have money, fame, and anything else you could ever want,” Darla continued. “Why on earth you’ve got your sights set on a run-down building in the middle of downtown, I have no idea. Build your restaurant anywhere else.” Darla waved her hand at the surrounding beachfront. “And leave her be, okay?”
“Darla?” Hadley came up and stood next to his chair, right in the crossfire between Darla and him. Cam was both surprised and a little relieved to see her, and not just because he was hoping she’d call off her friend. “There you are,” Hadley said. “Our food just came.” She pointed to their table where Kit was feeding Ollie a bread stick.
Hadley looked like a breath of fresh air, standing there in a yellow sundress with strappy sandals. The breeze off the ocean blew her hair into little wisps and molded her dress against her soft curves. And she had red lipstick on. And, if he wasn’t mistaken, she smelled good, something summery and fruity and lemony that made him want to sniff her neck.
What? Sniff her neck?
Cam forgot everything—his restaurant, the angry woman at his table, the trouble about the building, and most of all his injury, which always monopolized every other thought. Hadley had somehow pushed everything else out of his brain.
She didn’t seem to notice his confusion. In fact, she barely noticed him at all. “Lucy!” Hadley said. Next thing he knew, Hadley and Lucy were hugging and talking animatedly with their hands, Lucy laughing loudly.
As Hadley and Lucy chatted, Darla dropped her voice and bent close to Cam. “We’re watching every move you make, and we’re not going to let you hurt her this time. And in case you happen to forget, just know that every day, I google hundreds of different ways for people to get away with murder.”
Cam put his hands up. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind, Darla,” he said as innocuously as possible. “But I’m not thinking about pursuing a relationship with Hadley.” He lowered his voice. “I’d be the last person she’d want one with.”
“Darla, let’s go.” Hadley grabbed her friend’s elbow. “Our lunch is getting cold.”
He felt a sense of relief as Darla left. But also guilt. Darla had been through hell for the past two years with her cancer treatment, and he understood she was defending her friend. He respected that.
And he’d meant what he’d said. A relationship with anyone, especially Hadley, was the last thing on his mind.
“Stop by and see me at Pooch Palace,” Hadley said to Lucy, giving a little wave. But she barely glanced back at Cam.
“I really like Hadley,” Lucy said once their food came. “I always have. Now that she’s back, I was hoping we could get together. You wouldn’t care if I did that, would you?”
“Of course not. There’s nothing between Hadley and me.”
“Oh, okay. Because you’ve been staring at her ever since she came over to our table.”
“I have not.”
Lucy grinned. “Have too.”
Just then, Hadley looked up and caught him looking at her. All his muscles froze, and, dumbfounded, he could not look away. Until Lucy poked him gently in the arm and he felt himself blushing. Blushing! That’s what it took for him to break his gaze—and the weird spell Hadley seemed to cast upon him.
Cam tried to nonchalantly take a drink of water and turn back to Lucy but she was totally on to him. She’d always had a knack for reading his mind. “I know you might think it’s too late to apologize, but it’s never too late.”
“Trust me, it’s too late.” He’d screwed up his relationship with Hadley so badly, there was no making it better. He wouldn’t even know where to begin. And he wasn’t touching that hot potato with a six-foot poker.
“You might think it’s impossible but it’s not.” She smiled at him. “It’s just hard. But you’re really good at doing hard things.”
“It runs in the family.” Cam turned her words around on her. Their father had raised them all to understand that any worthwhile venture took hard work and effort. “But some things are better left alone.”
Lucy took a sip of her drink and let out a big sigh. “I’m really glad you’re back home.” She reached over and gripped his hand. “Even if you are extremely hardheaded.”
What lay unspoken between them, steady as the sea breeze, was that they’d both have to figure out their own best ways forward. “I’m glad I’m back home too,” he said.
Lucy shot him a mischievous grin. “Now, can I have some cheesecake?”