Are you still up?
The text came as Ava was getting ready for bed. She’d said good-night to Sam reluctantly, wishing she could stay and chat with him longer. A little male attention felt good, especially when he looked at her with those serious brown eyes of his, as if she was the only one in the world at that moment.
She wondered if she’d be able to sleep. If her dreams would be crowded with thoughts of Sam.
Yes, she texted back to Penelope.
Her phone chirped a moment later, and she answered it. “What’s up?”
“What’s up with you? I saw you talking to some guy. Was that one of your guests?”
“Yes. His name is Sam. Get this—he’s here with his best friend and ex-fiancée, who are now engaged to each other.”
“Ouch! What’s he doing with them?”
“Apparently they all work together.” Ava filled her in.
“So he’s single,” Penelope mused. “It looked like the two of you were hitting it off.”
“We were just talking.” Ava knew what she meant, though. Sam had seemed… interested. “He’s leaving in two weeks,” she added, reminding herself of that fact as much as telling Penelope.
“So what? You could have a fling. He’s really handsome.”
“He is,” Ava agreed, but she didn’t like the idea of a fling.
“Let me guess. When you fall for a guy, you really fall for him?” Penelope asked.
“Nailed it,” Ava admitted. “I got burned badly by Todd…. I don’t need any more heartache.”
“I guess.”
“How did your day go? Get any renovations done?” She was ready for a new topic. Ava moved around her apartment, cleaning up, setting out an outfit for the next day and getting ready for bed.
“Today was a drag,” Penelope said with a sigh. “I bought the wrong color grout for the downstairs bathroom tile, and I made a huge mistake with the trim around the windows in one of the bedrooms. I got the angles all wrong. I can’t decide on what furniture to order, either. I’m so sure I’m going to make a mistake. Why on earth did I think I could cater to a high-end clientele? I don’t know what rich people want.”
“You’re doing fine,” Ava assured her. “You know I’m willing to help anytime, right?”
“I know.” Penelope sighed. “I’m really afraid I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. Now that I’m getting close to opening, the thought of actually hosting people makes me feel nauseous. Just because I helped Mom with her wedding last year doesn’t make me an expert. What was I thinking?”
Ava wished she could soothe Penelope’s nerves. She was glad she’d never need to have the level of interaction with her guests that Pen would have when she was ready to open. It seemed like she was trying to be a cross between a wedding planner and a bed-and-breakfast owner, with little experience in either role.
“Starting to wish you’d stuck to fishing charter clients?” she teased. “Did you ever try to run a charter by yourself?”
“Not exactly. Like I said earlier, my uncle thought women couldn’t handle the job. He wouldn’t let me take the boat out by myself, but there were times when he was so hungover I ended up doing everything myself anyway. He’d just sit there in the shade of the awning while I handled the clients and the boat, but according to him, his presence was still necessary.”
“Was he hungover a lot?” Ava ventured to ask.
“Now and then. The point is, I know that boat backward and forward. I can fix every part of it, I know the feel of it in different weather and waters.” She cut off with a sigh. “And yet I haven’t taken it out once since I inherited it. Can you believe that?”
“Sounds like your uncle undercut your confidence.”
“I guess. I feel like I need someone’s permission before I can take it out, but whose?” She shook her head. “I can’t bring it up with my cousins. I think one or two of them still think they should have gotten the boat instead of me. I’m too busy to fish, anyway. This house isn’t going to fix itself.”
“Your house is going to be wonderful when its done,” Ava assured her. Surely running a wedding venue would be easier than fishing charters. Far less blood and guts, for one thing, she thought with a shudder. She didn’t enjoy fishing.
“I hope so. I’d better get some sleep. See you in the morning?”
“Of course. See you then.”
“You talked to her?” Chitra demanded. “What happened?”
Sam didn’t know why he’d texted his sister to tell her about his conversation with Ava. Maybe because he was too restless to sleep. He’d been pacing his room and knew Chitra was always up late.
“It was for only a few minutes.” He picked up and put down each of the decorative carved wooden fish that sat on the dresser. “She was out on her balcony talking to her friends.” He told her about the women in the neighboring houses and the way one of them had sent the other two bottles of wine via the clothesline pulley system.
“I love it,” Chitra said. “I wish I had friends living next door to me. What did you find out about her?”
“She’s a teacher. And she doesn’t like online education. She thinks kids ought to spend their days outside.”
“A teacher, huh? Does she want kids of her own?”
Trust Chitra to focus on that. “She says she does.” He paced the room again, coming to a stop in front of a small bookcase.
“Hm.”
“Don’t start.” He scanned the titles, old hardcovers from the past century. Mysteries, adventure stories. That kind of thing.
“She sounds smart,” Chitra pointed out. “She shares a common interest with you—and she wants a family.”
“So?” Sam pulled a book from the shelf. A copy of War and Peace.
“You said she’s pretty.”
“She is.”
“So why are you talking to me? Why aren’t you wooing this woman? You’ve got only two weeks.”
Sam sighed and replaced the book, turning on his heel to pace again. “You’re getting way ahead of yourself.”
“I’m just pointing out the possibilities.”
“Why are you so invested in my love life?” He stood in front of the sliding glass doors, staring into the darkness at the ocean.
“Because I don’t have one, and you’re thirty. You want a family. Your biological clock is ticking.”
“I’m going to hang up,” he warned her. He might be used to his sisters bossing him around, but he drew the line when they tried to treat him like he was one of the girls. A man had to keep his self-respect.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t tease you about it. You do want a family, though, and you’re not dating anyone seriously. Why shouldn’t you fall in love with Ava?”
“A mutual desire to settle down doesn’t mean we’re right for each other. It’s not convenient to try for anything long term with someone who doesn’t live in Chicago.”
“It wasn’t convenient for our grandparents to move from India to the United States, and yet they did. When did you get so lazy?”
“I’m not lazy.” He’d brought a start-up almost to fruition. If Scholar Central could get a school district to buy into its idea, others would follow, and the sky was the limit.
“Then act like a go-getter. Go get her.”
“I’m going to bed.”
“At least think about it,” Chitra said.
“Believe me, I am.”
Only her sister-in-law, Marie, would call her before sunup, Ava thought the next morning when her phone buzzed as she walked out the door. She was on her way to meet Emma and Penelope for their sunrise walk and hesitated as she looked at her screen. Marie was difficult at the best of times, but she was also persistent, and Ava had the feeling if she didn’t pick up, Marie would keep calling.
Besides, someday she and Oliver needed to patch up their feud. He couldn’t stay angry forever.
Could he?
Ava accepted the call. “Hello?”
“Hi, Ava.” Marie was relentlessly cheerful. “Just calling to remind you it’s Mom’s birthday in three days.”
Ava bit back the first reply that sprang to her mind, which was definitely unkind. The “mom” in question was her mother, not Marie’s, but Marie had begun calling her that the moment she became engaged to Ava’s brother. Ava knew lots of people called their in-laws Mom and Dad, and she understood that Marie missed her own mother, who had died when she was eleven. By all accounts her father was an introvert. It must have been frustrating for Marie, who loved large gatherings, especially around the holidays, to put up with his quiet ways. That didn’t give her the right to try to take over Ava’s family, however. She got so little of her parents at the best of times it grated on her to share them.
“I know when Mom’s birthday is,” she said, keeping her tone even. She wondered what Marie’s real purpose for calling was. Marie liked to manage people. She wasn’t exactly passive aggressive, but she wasn’t exactly forthright, either.
“Want to go in on a present with us? I have my eye on this gorgeous throw blanket from Malaysia I saw at a shop downtown. It’s authentic.”
Ava’s suspicions increased. Why would Marie want her to go in on a gift? So she could take all the credit for it and make Ava look worse in her parents’ eyes than she already did? They already disapproved of just about everything she did these days. “I’ve already got a present for Mom, but thanks.” A blanket from Malaysia wasn’t going to impress Ellen Ingerson, anyway, she thought. Her parents’ home was filled with artifacts from around the world given to them by the artisans themselves after they spent time in their villages. She thought about warning Marie but knew her good intentions would be misinterpreted as criticism. Marie could be as prickly as Ellen was.
“What did you get her?” Marie asked.
“A gift certificate to the Leaping Dolphin.” It was a high-end sushi restaurant in Philadelphia, one of the few her mother actually seemed to enjoy.
“Again? You gave her that last year.”
And you gave her a bracelet that was supposed to be imported from Borneo. How did that go? Ava thought the question but didn’t ask it. It had taken her an entire childhood to learn how hard it was to please her mother. She couldn’t blame Marie for taking a few years to do the same.
“It’s my signature gift,” she said lightly.
“How is the Blue House? Did you replace those bedspreads you were talking about?”
How on earth did Marie remember details like that? Every time Ava talked to her, she felt like she was being interrogated. “I did.”
“Text me a photo,” Marie said. “That room definitely needed refreshing, and I suppose bedding is the simplest choice.”
“I will.” She didn’t say when, however. Marie had an annoying way of expecting you to meet your deadlines, no matter how trivial.
“How are your bookings? A house like that must generate a solid income.”
Ava wasn’t going to talk about the Blue House’s income. Sometimes she wished Marie would follow Oliver’s example and stop talking to her altogether. She didn’t appreciate the constant reminders she should feel guilty that Aunt Laura hadn’t given anything to her brother.
“I’ve got to run. I’m heading out for my morning walk,” she said quickly to Marie.
“With your friends Emma and Penelope? They inherited beach houses, too, didn’t they? You three are so lucky.” Marie always remembered everyone’s names, which annoyed Ava since she struggled with names herself.
“We are,” Ava admitted. “I’ve really got to go.”
“Talk soon,” Marie chirped.
“Sure. Talk soon.”
Marie was right about one thing, Ava thought as she entered the gate to the Cliff Garden. She was lucky to have such good friends close by; their morning ritual started her days on the right note. Today the marine layer was already thinning. It would burn off much earlier than usual, leaving a cloudless blue sky for most of the day. She spotted Emma’s sister, Ashley, at work weeding a flower bed at the other end of the garden and waved.
Ashley waved back and kept on working.
“Hello,” a masculine voice said in Ava’s ear, making her shriek and jump away. A man caught her arm and kept her from falling.
“It’s just me—Sam. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Her heart was beating wildly, and Ava put a hand to her chest, willing it to slow down. At the far end of the garden, Ashley had stood up and was looking their way. Ava waved again to let her know everything was okay. “I didn’t hear you coming.”
“I wasn’t being quiet. You were lost in thought.”
“I guess I was.” Ava wasn’t sure what else to say to Sam. He’d taken her by surprise, and now she couldn’t collect her thoughts. She was grateful Ashley hadn’t come to see what the matter was. That would have made things only more embarrassing.
When the garden gate opened again and Penelope came through, Ava sighed with relief.
“Morning, Ava,” Pen called out.
“Morning.”
Penelope reached them, waited a beat, then asked, “Who’s your friend?”
Ava wanted to roll her eyes at the way Penelope emphasized the final word, but instead she said, “This is one of my guests. Samuel Cross.”
Penelope raised her eyebrows, and Ava nodded, sending a silent message. Yes, the man from the balcony. The one I was telling you about. Pen looked suitably impressed now that she could see him up close.
“Hi, Samuel.”
“You can call me Sam.” He shook Penelope’s hand.
Emma arrived, and they did it all over again. “Too bad Noah isn’t along today,” she told them. “He’s surfing again. Are you coming on our walk, Sam?”
“Sure.”
They set off, Sam keeping pace as if it was natural for him to be there. Ava wasn’t sure how to behave toward him. Was he simply a guest at loose ends, up too early in the morning, or had he deliberately kept watch for her?
Did he… like her?
Ava told herself to get a grip. Sam was from Chicago. Any interest he might be feeling was in the vacation-fling direction, and she wasn’t the sort for short, torrid affairs.
“Let’s head straight down to the beach today,” Emma said. “I want to see Noah surfing, and maybe some of the Surf Moms will be around and we can ask about lessons.”
They had made it only a dozen yards down the street, however, when a truck pulled up behind them and slowed to match their pace.
“Hi, Emma! Hi, Ava! Hi, Pen,” a woman called out the window.
It was Kate Lindsey, one of Emma’s first guests last spring at Brightview. She’d fallen in love with Seahaven and decided to stay and open a landscaping business with a friend she’d made in town, Aurora Bentley. Aurora was in the passenger seat. She leaned forward and waved at them.
“How’s business?” Ava asked them.
“It’s great. We’ve already got more work than we can handle, especially since Aurora really needs to slow down soon.”
Aurora was four months pregnant. She’d be taking over the office jobs until her baby was born and she was cleared for physical labor again.
“I’m glad to hear you’re so busy,” Ava told them.
“We need to hire someone to help,” Kate said. “I want to talk to you about that, Emma. I know Connor just finished his stay at Westside Recovery. Do you think he might want a job?”
Emma brightened. “I’m sure he would. Call me later, and we’ll talk.”
“How is Connor doing?” Penelope asked Emma when Kate and Aurora drove away. Ava waited for the answer, curious. She hadn’t heard any news during the time Emma was on her honeymoon. She turned to Sam.
“Connor is a young man Emma helped a few months ago, when he was struggling.” She wasn’t sure how much she should say. Connor had been in the throes of addiction when Emma found him on the Trouble Bench in the Cliff Garden one day. She’d called the Surf Moms for help. Through their network of connections, they’d been able to get Connor into a detox-and-recovery program. Emma had kept in touch with him ever since and updated them when she got news. Even though Ava had never met him in person, she felt invested in his progress.
“He’s doing really well,” Emma said. “I think he could be a good addition to Kate and Aurora’s team, as long as they’ve got a contingency plan in place. It’s one thing to stay sober when you’re in a treatment program and another thing altogether to do so out in the world. They’ll have to be realistic about his temptations and make sure they know someone they can call to take his place if he ever falls off the wagon.”
They took the stairs down the bluffs to Sunset Beach, the one closest to their homes, and struck out across the sand to where surfers dotted the waves. Winston, who must have come to the beach earlier with Emma’s husband, noticed them and came loping over to greet them. As the sun rose over the horizon, the last of the fog burned off, making the early morning gloriously warm. Ava kicked off her sandals and led the way to the water’s edge where they could walk along in the surf. Winston resumed his spot on the sand, his nose pointed toward the ocean.
“There’s Noah.” Emma pointed to a man straddling a surfboard taking photographs of some of the other surfers as they rode waves. “He’s just playing today. These waves aren’t big enough for him to get any really great shots.”
“Is he a professional photographer?” Sam asked.
“Yes. He just got the cover of SurfWorld,” she said proudly.
Noah must have spotted them because he waved suddenly and began to paddle their way. A minute later he was on shore, setting his board on the sand and shaking the water out of his hair. Winston’s tail thumped on the sand as Noah approached. Noah gave him a good petting before he came to meet them.
“There’s the love of my life.” He and Emma exchanged a long kiss that had Ava turning away. She didn’t begrudge them the love they had for each other, just wished she could find it, too. She caught Sam watching them, and when he lifted his gaze to hers, a zing of interest shot through her. His mouth curved into a smile, and something tugged inside her in answer. She remembered what he’d said about wanting to settle down and have a family soon. Did he go through life as aware of all the happy couples as she was? She always wondered when it would finally be her turn.
“This is Sam Cross,” Emma said, introducing Sam to her husband when they’d broken apart. “He’s one of Ava’s guests.”
“Just got here last night,” Sam said as he shook Noah’s hand. “Looks fun out there.”
“Do you surf?”
“Never tried it.”
“Want to try now?”
“Sure.” Sam looked surprised, but he jumped at the suggestion. “I don’t have a wetsuit, though.”
“You’ll be okay for a couple of runs. In the middle of summer like this, the water is tolerable. You’d need a suit if you wanted to stay in for hours.”
“Sounds good. See you back at the house,” Sam told Ava.
“Let me show you a few things on land,” Noah was saying to him when Ava went back to walking with her friends.
She had no reason to feel disappointed, Ava told herself as they trailed down the beach, but somehow she was. She’d hoped to spend more time with Sam and find out who he was.
“He’s pretty cute,” Penelope said.
“He is,” Emma agreed. “Did you invite him on the walk?”
“No. He just showed up. Nearly scared me to death.” She told them what had happened at the Cliff Garden. When they reached the end of the beach, they put on their shoes and went up the steps to the street, continuing on. “He’s here for only two weeks,” she concluded.
“So what?” Emma asked.
“So I don’t want to fall for someone who’s just going to leave again.”
“Why not just enjoy yourself and see what happens?”
“That’s what I told her,” Penelope said.
Ava shrugged. “And I told you I get too attached to people. No sense getting hurt.” Even if her body reacted the way it did every time she saw Sam.
She was grateful when Penelope changed the subject. “Have you heard about the owls roosting in the eucalyptus grove at Two Arches State Beach?” she asked Ava.
Ava shook her head. “What kind of owls?”
“Great horned owls. Someone told me they’ve been there for months.”
“I’d love to see them.” Ava perked up. Maybe she could show them to her students this fall if they stuck around that long. “Do you want to come with me? Maybe we could all go tonight.”
“Sunset wine with the owls?” Emma suggested, laughing.
“Something like that. Maybe we should bring binoculars instead of wine.”
“I can’t tonight,” Penelope said. “I’ve got my exercise class.”
“I can’t, either,” Emma said. “Noah and I are going out.” They reached the end of Cliff Street, turned around and headed for home.
“You could invite Sam,” Penelope suggested to Ava.
“Sam will be busy,” she said confidently. “Chloe Spencer will make sure of that.”
“Who’s Chloe Spencer?” Emma asked.
“His ex-fiancée and the one in charge of his vacation. Did I tell you how he got the best room in the house?”
Penelope nodded. “But Emma doesn’t know.”
“And I have a feeling there’s a lot to tell,” Emma said. “So get talking.”
Ava did, keeping her friends laughing all the way back to their homes.
“There he is,” Ben exclaimed the moment Sam walked in the door. Sam recognized immediately his business partner was stressed out. Whenever something was bothering him, he got very cheerful. It was maddening.
“Where the hell have you been?” Chloe demanded. “We were about to leave without you.” No cheerfulness there. You always knew where you stood with Chloe, and it was clear he was in the doghouse. She was dressed up, obviously ready for an excursion. Sam had found an itinerary slid under his door when he woke up this morning, but he’d made it only to the line that said, “Art galleries,” before he’d tossed it aside, losing interest. He figured he’d simply show up and get in the van each morning and go along with whatever was planned. He didn’t need to know what that was ahead of time.
“It’s still early,” he pointed out. “I’ve been surfing.” He’d even managed to catch a wave—for a few seconds, although most of the experience involved paddling out into the surf, trying to stand up and pitching right back into the water. He couldn’t wait to try it again when he was dressed for the sport. The shorts he’d worn this morning were made from a quick-drying material that was close enough to what swimsuits were made of, so he hadn’t been too uncomfortable, but he really needed a wetsuit if he was going to spend any real time in the ocean.
“Surfing? We’re supposed to leave in fifteen minutes. Everyone else is ready.” Chloe gestured to the rest of the group, who were clustered around the entryway. “We’re all waiting for you!”
“I’ll be ready in fifteen.” He went to push past her, but Chloe stepped in his way.
“I hope you can be a team player. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover today. Ben and I need art for our condo, so we’re covering five galleries before lunch. Afterward, we’re driving up to wine country for some tastings. It’s going to be an amazing day.”
It sounded boring as hell to Sam. He didn’t much care what art hung on his condo walls since the place barely felt like home to him. It would be different if he was planning a life with a woman, someone like Ava—
Where had that thought come from? Sam stared at Chloe, the woman he’d thought he’d marry until she jumped ship last year. Shouldn’t she have come to mind just now instead of Ava, whom he’d only just met?
“I’ll be a team player.” He edged past Chloe, refusing to meet Ben’s pleading gaze. Ever since he’d hooked up with Chloe, Ben had become a shadow of his former self. Always seeking to please the woman he wanted so desperately, he hovered around her, leaping to fulfill her every desire. Right now he was silently begging Sam to go along with Chloe’s itinerary. Sam knew as well as anyone how Chloe got when her precious plans were upset, but it still bothered him to see Ben so afraid to annoy her. Sometimes Sam felt like he barely recognized his best friend anymore. What had happened to the go-getter he’d started Scholar Central with? It was like they were in grade school, when Ben’s home life had him dragging through his days with his head bowed.
Sam took the stairs two at a time and unlocked the door of his bedroom, grateful he hadn’t lost his key during his surfing adventure. In minutes flat he showered and changed and made his way downstairs.
“All right, everyone, load up the van,” Ben called in that overly bright voice when he spotted Sam. Chloe was deep in conversation with Elena, one of the other women in the party, about a possible change in itinerary, both of them peering at the screen of a phone.
“I’m sure we can fit in another gallery,” Chloe was saying. “I don’t know how I missed this one before. It sounds so interesting.”
“I know, right? When I found it I was so surprised it wasn’t on your list already,” Elena said.
Six galleries in one morning? Just shoot him now, Sam thought. Did he really have to go on this outing? It wasn’t like Chloe was going to make her move to take over Scholar Central in between gazing at paintings.
Usually Sam thought of himself as up for anything. Ben used to be the kind of friend who made any task bearable, and Sam would bet his life Ava would be just the same way if her antics last night were anything to go by. Chloe was a different breed. She would discuss the merits of every piece of art she saw as if she were a professional critic, trying to decide if it was worthy to be featured on her walls.
He couldn’t imagine anything less interesting.
Sam was the first out the door, followed by Gabe and Hailey, who were discussing whether they could afford to buy some artwork themselves on this trip. His heart sank when he saw the passenger van. The ridiculously large vehicle would make them conspicuous everywhere they went, and although Ben was a good driver, he’d had trouble parking the thing when they arrived here last night. Backing it out was going to be a nightmare. Sam could just see Chloe, clipboard in hand, shouting directions as Ben maneuvered the beast.
And then doing it over and over again, all day long.
Sam shuddered. Despite his determination to keep an eye on Chloe, he wanted no part of this day’s excursion. But how could he get out of it now? He scanned the parking area. Caught sight of Ava’s vehicle, a reasonable Toyota RAV4. Moving closer to it, he saw the back seat was piled with odds and ends, including a rough-looking blanket. He didn’t see any light that would indicate a security system was on. Sam tried the door. It opened readily, and no alarm went off.
He waited until Gabe and Hailey climbed into the van before ducking into Ava’s back seat and throwing the blanket over him. He knew there’d be a fuss when he was discovered missing, and Chloe would lead a search for him, but he also knew she wouldn’t break her schedule. They were due to leave in six minutes, and in six minutes she’d be gone.
So when the RAV4’s front door opened suddenly a few moments later, Sam went rigid. How had Chloe found him already? He hadn’t even heard her come outside.
“See you all later,” Ava called out. The car door shut again, the RAV4’s engine turned on, and before he could figure out what to do, Ava was backing out around the passenger van.
“Do I have room?” he heard her say to someone.
“You’re good.” That was Ben. He must be helping her.
“Where the hell is Sam?” he heard Chloe yell from farther away, and he suppressed a grin. He hadn’t considered the possibility that Ava would go for a morning drive, but in some ways this was even better. Chloe couldn’t catch him now.
A minute later they were speeding down a road. Ava turned the radio on and was humming along to a pop song Sam didn’t know. He waited a few more minutes before he sat up.
“Hi, Ava.”
Ava screamed.