Chapter Two

“Want my advice? It’s not meant to be difficult. If the relationship isn’t working, it’s not a road bump; it’s a warning sign. Get out of there before things get worse.” Blue Moon

“Ouch.” The thorn pierced her skin, and bright red blood blossomed onto her finger, the sharp, coppery scent catching in her nose. Laney winced. Getting stabbed was an occupational hazard. Especially when she wasn’t concentrating.

“Problem?” India quirked an eyebrow, though she didn’t lift her gaze from the phone in her hand.

You mean apart from the fact I hid up a tree to avoid my ex-boyfriend?

Definitely a low point.

“No, I’m fine.” Well, she would be, as long as she kept to her new plan.

Avoid him until he left.

A quick call to her sister-in-law, Jessica, had confirmed Adam was booked on an afternoon flight back to L.A. Which meant she only had to lie low for five more hours, then she’d be in the clear.

“Really? Because you’re about to put a peach rose into the middle of that bouquet, despite the fact Mrs. C hates roses on account of that second cousin of hers. And your shoes don’t match.” India finally raised her eyes from the screen. Laney pressed a tissue to her finger, then peered down at her white sandals. One had a gold buckle, and the other had tiny roses embroidered along the leather.

Crap.

“It’s been a long week,” she said, not sure who she was trying to convince. Violet let out a bark from her spot in the front window, where she alternated between napping and playing sentry.

The door chime tinkled to announce a customer.

“I’ve got it.” India flipped her long caramel hair over her shoulders and disappeared out front while Laney finished the bouquet. Violet wandered through from her spot by the window. The lavender in her floral crown perfectly matched the polish from last night’s pedicure.

India reappeared five minutes later and immediately picked up a familiar book.

Laney sighed. The other thing her assistant had been doing all morning was reading out passages from Blue Moon.

“Listen to this.” India flicked the page. “‘She’s there again. Across the street. Staring at me. Always staring.’” India shuddered and turned to Laney. “The lengths Nina went to hold onto something that was clearly doomed. Adam deserved better.”

“Except it’s not about Adam. It’s about a stupid fictional character who thinks he’s a love guru.” Laney gritted her teeth. Just breathe. Five more hours and people would stop talking about him and the book.

“Even if the characters weren’t real, the emotional nuances had to have been. Plus, have you seen the guy? He might be almost forty, but he’s freaking gorgeous. Explains why Nina went crazy.”

Laney folded her arms to hide her shaking hands.

Fine. So he was hot. As in, start-the-cardiac-machine-because-my-heartbeat’s-erratic hot. But she’d learned the hard way that hot things tended to burn, and what they’d shared had been lust, not love.

Love didn’t create flames and scars. Simon had shown her what love really meant. Gentle, secure, calm.

It was one of the many, many reasons why she didn’t want to have anything to do with Adam. Because the book had left her in no doubt of how he’d felt about their relationship, not just the breakup.

To him, she was Nina. The deluded woman who pretended to be good but who had a wild side. And sure, Laney hadn’t stalked him, but some of the things had been true. Skinny-dipping in a lake, wearing no panties out to dinner, and dozens of other things. Personal things. He’d taken their private life and mocked it to the world. Rubbed her bad decisions in her face. Rejected her.

Nina wasn’t the girl for me.

It’s why she’d never told anyone about their relationship.

And why she had no intention of signing up for a sequel. Because Adam Fitzpatrick couldn’t be trusted.

“I guess he’s okay. Anyway, I thought you were dating Drew.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate beauty when I see it.” India picked up one of the pale pink flowers that had come from her parents’ own farm. “Just because this peony is perfection with the way the hidden petals create a perfect symmetry, it doesn’t mean I don’t adore these damask roses.” She held it to her nose, long hair hanging over her face as she inhaled the scent. “Speaking of beautiful things, Drew and I were wondering if you’d like to go on a double date with us. He has this friend…”

Laney let out a groan.

Six months ago, she’d decided to start dating again. After all, she was a florist. She believed in love and romance.

It had all been a bit of a disaster. She’d tried flirting with Jacob Carmichael, the town Romeo. But all she’d managed to do was make a laughingstock of herself when he’d fallen head over heels for someone else. Then there’d been the blind dates.

They’d been even worse. And after she’d spent half a meal making small talk with her date’s mother, who’d come along to play chaperone to her middle-aged son, Laney had come to an earth-shattering realization. Simon had been the one great love of her life, and she was lucky to have found him. Not lucky to lose him, but at least she’d been happy for a little while. That kind of thing didn’t come around again.

It had also been a reminder that she needed to look after herself. She would be in control of her future, thank you very much. No more dating. Just her, Violet, and the business. That was all she needed. She’d started looking at flower farms the very next day.

India coughed, obviously waiting for an answer.

“I don’t think that’s a great idea. Drew’s twenty-four. How old is this friend?”

“Does it matter?” India said with a dismissive wave of her hands, which suggested it did in fact matter. “A younger guy’s just what you need. Perfect for a fling. He’s a lifeguard at the pool, and he’s ripped.”

Oh. Her itch perked up. Laney pushed it back down.

“Can I take a rain check?”

“On a fling?” India raised her hand, and her silver bracelets tinkled. “That’s not the way it works. At least think about it. His name’s Cameron. He said you’re hot. Which is true. I mean, you don’t look a day over twenty-five, and I know you got carded at Terry’s Alehouse last month.”

“I’ll think about it,” she lied. Her answer seemed to satisfy India, who clapped her hands in approval. Laney swallowed and looked at the time on her phone. Four hours and thirty-eight minutes, and then her life would get back on track.

…

Miley Cyrus rang in his ear. Adam groaned and rolled over to glare at his phone. “Tell her to stop calling,” he said to the room. The room didn’t bother to answer back. He rubbed his eyes.

That was another problem with Eloise. She had his phone password and had selected her own ringtone, knowing he’d be too lazy to change it. He ignored the call and stifled a yawn. Sunlight streamed through the window, and he shaded his eyes. Coffee. He needed coffee.

Dragging himself out of bed, he went in search of his jeans. Once he was caffeinated, he’d take a shower and check out. He yawned. Still no jeans. Then he peered down.

He was wearing them. What the…

Did I drink too much?

No. There’d only been a couple of beers at the bookstore, and then he’d seen Laney.

Irritation crawled along his skin.

After she’d shut him down, he’d gone back into Paige’s store and laughed at all the jokes relating to his book like he’d never heard them before. He also managed to find out Laney had been a widow for five years and now owned a flower store. The fact she’d been married and lost her husband had competed with the building annoyance that she hadn’t let him explain what had happened.

It had been the same when they’d broken up. She’d shut down on him. Not wanting to take a chance.

I wasn’t worth the risk.

By the time he left the bookstore and driven back to the inn, the resentment at being unable to say what he wanted to had been pounding like a beat in his temples, and once he’d unlocked the door of his room, he’d…hell. The fog cleared from his mind, and he blinked.

I wrote.

He stalked over to his laptop. Words. There were actual words. He dropped into the seat, scanning the screen while his finger moved the mouse.

Okay, they weren’t great words. But there were five pages of them. Five pages that had…energy. Most importantly, they were five more pages than he’d produced in the last month.

He stood and paced the room. After a year of hoping for some kind of breakthrough, was this it?

And it hadn’t involved any ritual sacrifice.

Nope. The only requirement was running into the one person who hated his guts, in some one-horse town in the middle of nowhere.

Laughter rose in his chest as he crossed over to the coffee machine on the counter. He made himself a cup and settled down to go over what he’d written. A couple of ideas pressed against his temples, and he jotted down some notes before catching sight of the time. He needed to get going. He drained the cold coffee and shut down his computer.

Twenty minutes later, he’d showered, packed, and was climbing into his car. There was still two hours until his flight left, but he planned to get there early.

His phone buzzed. No Miley. This time it was Britney Spears.

In other words, his brother.

“Eloise, give Ryan back his phone.”

“It’s me,” his brother said in reply. “I take it she’s been calling you.”

“Only fifty times in a row.”

“Here’s a thought for you—why not just answer?” he said in a mild voice. Older than him by three years, Ryan had the magic touch that attracted just about everything to him. As kids, they’d both been obsessed with football, but for Adam, his ability wasn’t quite as big as his fantasies.

Not so with Ryan, who’d spent a decade playing for the Florida Rebels, earning a fortune and living the kind of life that usually only belonged on a magazine cover.

And he won the girl as well.

Adam didn’t begrudge him. Not anymore.

“I’ll see you both tomorrow. She can yell at me all she wants in person.”

“Better you than me,” Ryan said. “You sound tired. Big night?”

“I stayed up writing.”

Ryan let out a soft whistle. “For real?”

“Yup. And this morning I didn’t delete it.”

“Must be something in the water at…actually, I don’t know where you are.”

“Oregon. Tiny town with lots of trees,” Adam said. And one very angry ex-girlfriend. “So, did you want something, or just checking up?”

“Oh.” The mild tone disappeared. From the other end of the phone, Ryan sucked in his breath. That was new. “Nah. Nothing that won’t wait until I see your ugly mug tomorrow.”

“Pots and kettles, Picasso.”

“Tell it to the good folk of Hot Hunk website. Just got voted number one for the fifth year running,” Ryan countered with a laugh.

“I’d be happy to provide them an un-photoshopped picture. Probably why Eloise called. Dealing with the horror she’d woken up next to,” Adam promptly replied. His brother, never the first to back down, was silent. Also new. “Anything you want to tell me?”

“Nope. Nothing. I’ll see you tomorrow, little brother. Stay out of trouble.”

“I couldn’t get into trouble in this town if I tried.” He finished the call and started the engine. Time to get out of there. St. Clair was five minutes away and would take him toward the highway.

He was just passing the bookstore when Britney Spears blared out again. He groaned. His brother and sister-in-law had serious boundary issues. He toyed with ignoring it, but he had time to kill.

He pulled into a parking lot overlooking the sparkling bay.

“Twice in half an hour?” he said by way of greeting. “In the doghouse with Eloise? What did you do this time?”

“It’s not like that.” There was no hint of laughter.

“O-kay.” He killed the engine and leaned back in the seat. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing… Hell. Here’s the thing. I promised not to say anything until you got back,” Ryan said, almost tripping over the words as they tumbled out of his mouth. “But it just feels wrong, you know what I’m saying?”

Not a clue.

His breathing quickened as adrenaline roared through him. The last time his brother had sounded like this was when he’d admitted to sleeping with Adam’s wife.

“Spill it,” he said, and silence hung in the air.

“El’s pregnant,” Ryan finally said.

Something cold and hard hammered in his chest as the words thundered in his temples. His brother and Eloise were having a baby.

Unwanted memories slammed into him.

Eight years ago, but still the ache crawled through his gut. He’d never thought he wanted kids. But when Eloise had told him about the pregnancy—a light switched on. The prospect of his own little family filled a need he hadn’t known was there.

Six weeks later, she’d had the miscarriage, and the light turned off, leaving behind a darkness neither of them could navigate.

It was one of the reasons they’d broken up.

Well, that and the fact Eloise and Ryan had slept together.

He’d been mad as all hell. Betrayed by the two people closest to him. But as it became increasingly obvious it wasn’t a fling, he’d forced himself to accept it. There’d been times when he’d wanted to punch Ryan. Plenty of drunken arguments, until finally the three of them had found a way to make it work.

But this?

It shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it was.

“Hey.” Ryan’s voice echoed from somewhere down the line. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” He ran his hand across his brow. What he and Eloise once shared had faded away to where it probably always belonged. Friendship. But still jealousy prickled at him. They were building a life. A family. He swallowed it down. “I’m happy for you both. Tell El I said so.”

“You kidding? She’d have my balls if she knew I’d spilled the beans. You gotta act surprised when we tell you. Promise?”

“Will do,” Adam said. Before Eloise, Ryan had been a commitment-phobe, avoiding relationships like most people avoided brussels sprouts. And while he’d never seemed to waiver since the marriage, having a child was still a big step. “How you feeling?”

“H-honestly…” His brother’s voice went hoarse. “I’ve never been happier. I know this whole thing has been…difficult. But—”

“You’re going to make a great dad,” Adam said, cutting his brother off.

“Well, duh. I’ve got the jock and gaming thing covered if it’s a boy. And if it’s a girl, I’ll just scare off any guys who come sniffing around.”

“Nailed it,” Adam agreed before saying a quick goodbye and ending the call.

His head pounded. Not enough air. He yanked the keys from the ignition and climbed out of the car. Bright sunshine stabbed at his eyes as he turned toward the horseshoe bay.

A soft breeze blew in from the water, and he increased his pace.

A baby. It was great. New life and all of that.

Yesterday, he’d discovered Laney Litchfield had moved onto a new and improved life after leaving him, and so had Eloise. There was a lesson in there somewhere if he dared to go looking for it.

Not today.

He kicked off his shoes and walked onto the beach. Some of the pounding tension between his shoulder blades eased as the heat of the sand warmed his feet.

Kids laughed as the waves splashed up, then ebbed away. Farther in the distance, a tall figure walked through the water. Like really tall. He held up his hands to shade his eyes from the glare. The giant thing was still there. All gangling legs.

“They’re walking on stilts,” a voice said, and he spun to where Paige and a teenage girl were standing. He’d met her yesterday. Kylie? Kris? Kira. Paige was engaged to her father.

He raised an eyebrow. “Is there a reason they’re doing it in the water?”

“So they don’t scare the fish,” Kira explained with a giggle. “See. They’re trying to catch them with some nylon wire. But they’re really just showing off for the tourists.”

“Well, as a tourist, it’s working,” he said before frowning. “I think. I’m not sure where stilt-walking fishermen should be filed in my brain.”

Paige let out a throaty laugh. “Want some advice? Don’t try and make sense of what happens in St. Clair. It exists in a different realm.”

“That’s her way of saying we’re weird.” Kira grinned with pride as she executed a dance move, which involved her standing on one leg. Then she let out a little squeal and darted toward a figure at the other end of the beach.

“Boyfriend,” Paige said. “Though don’t call him that in front of Luke. He’s still coming to terms with the fact she isn’t going to wait until she’s thirty-five to get her first crush.”

“Sounds like someone else I know,” Adam said as Ryan’s words floated into his mind. He pushed them away.

“So, you’re getting in one final breath of fresh air before heading back to L.A.?”

The stilt walker began to wobble, then fell into the water. A roar of applause from the beachside watchers followed. The wind whipped sand around his ankles.

“Something like that. Thanks for inviting me. Sorry if I was short at the book signing. It’s been a long tour.”

“Please. I used to work as a publicist. I know what your schedule is probably like. Until you demand scented candles and rose petals, I won’t consider you a total diva.”

It drew a smile from him. “You really like this place?”

“I love it.” Her face brightened as her eyes tracked Kira who slowly walked toward them, a gangly teenage boy dressed in black jeans and a black hoodie beside her. “It’s hard to explain how much my life has changed since I moved here. All in nine months. People who live here have a hundred reasons about why it’s special, but if you ask me, it’s magic.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“All I know is something here changed me,” she said, then let out a groan. “Luke would gag if he heard me telling you that. I’m like a reformed smoker. Except my vice of choice had been living in a big city.”

“I get it,” he said as the five magic pages of words flooded his mind. “I stayed up half the night writing.”

“That’s great. I know I’m not the only one dying for your new book to come out.”

“It’s been…tricky. Staying up writing isn’t something that’s happened for a while. My brother reckons there must be something in the water.”

“You do get it!” Paige’s eyes widened, and she let out a little squeal. “You could stay here longer. Like a writing retreat.”

“I couldn’t.” He shook his head as his L.A. life called out to him. Sure, he didn’t have a family to go home to. Or even a pet. But he did have obligations. There were a couple of boards he belonged to, some business meetings, and he’d promised to do a keynote speech for his old college.

Her face fell. “Too bad. But let me know if you change your mind. My tenant just moved out from the apartment above the store, and the new tenant can’t move in for two months.”

“It’s a nice offer. But I—”

He broke off as the stilt walker reappeared high above the water, waving at the crowd. Kid knew how to put on a show.

None of which was the point. He couldn’t stay in St. Clair right next door to a woman who hated his guts.

But what’s waiting for me?

His brother and ex-wife in the glow of pregnancy.

Staring at a blank screen and avoiding emails and phone calls from his assistant, agent, and editor. An empty apartment that mocked him every which way he turned.

His mind whirled. If he stayed for two months, he could finish the book. Get his life back on track. Give him time to adjust to the new dynamic between him, Ryan, and Eloise. And he could shuffle his responsibilities, even fly in and out for the events that couldn’t be cancelled or postponed.

It could work.

“I think you’d really love it here. You’d be next door to Laney, who is literally the sweetest person in the world, and Sam owns the café at the end. It’s just her and Cal,” she said, nodding to the skinny guy talking to Kira. “He’s a great kid, though, full disclosure…he’s learning to play the drums. Right now he’s more enthusiastic than he is good.”

Adam’s mind continued to whirl.

Drums he could deal with, but there was still the small issue of Laney.

If I could talk to her…

He didn’t expect she’d ever forgive him. She’d made that perfectly clear, but it would only be for two months. He’d stay out of her way, and she could stay out of his. Of that part, he had no doubt.

It could work. He’d finish the book and then leave.

He turned back to Paige. “I’m interested.”

“How wonderful. St. Clair’s very own writer in residence. Everyone will be thrilled if you move here.”

Not quite everyone. But at least this time he would tell her in person. She might not like it, but they were both adults. They’d find a way to make it work.

My career depends on it.