Coming Home to Seashell Harbor (Seashell Harbor #1) - Miranda Liasson Page 0,53
going to tell him there’s no need to feel this misguided loyalty to Carson.”
“Maybe he’s doing it for you,” Hadley said. “And Ollie,” she made sure to add, because any suggestion that the daredevil fighter pilot might have a thing for Kit would be very unwelcome. “Regardless of why, if he wants to have a go at it, why not let him?”
“Sit down with him when he gets here and discuss the possibilities,” Darla said.
Kit snorted and rolled her eyes. “Alex barely speaks to me. He prefers grunting or flat-out ignoring me. Honestly, having to actually speak with him would be…unsettling. He didn’t even leave a phone number.” She picked up the envelope and waved it in the air. “And look how he communicates. Via letter. It’s like he’s trying not to discuss this at all. So I got his email and told him thanks but no thanks.”
“You told him no?” Hadley leaned forward.
“I can’t bear dealing with him through an entire house renovation. And I don’t want him paying out of pocket for anything. Plus, I don’t need his help. Ollie and I are doing just fine.” She held up a different finger for each excuse, one-two-three.
She’d certainly given this some thought.
“Do you think he still wears black all the time?” Darla mused as she grabbed a blue-cheese-crusted wing. “He’s so dark and broody and sexy. There’s a story there, Kit. Waiting to be unlocked.”
Hadley would’ve teased, too, but she could tell Kit was growing even more uncomfortable.
“I’m changing the subject,” Kit said. “I’ve already said no. It was just a little bit of a shock hearing from him after all this time.” She folded the letter back into the envelope and flicked her gaze to Hadley. “How’s everything going after the roof disaster?”
“The roof’s getting fixed,” she said. She did not want to discuss the roof. Or the kiss.
“It hasn’t discouraged Cam from pursuing the building?” Darla asked. “I was sort of hoping that would happen.”
“Of course not,” Hadley said. “Cam is like a missile locked on a target. Nothing stops him from getting what he wants.” It had been like that with football and everything else he’d set his sights on. Once, it had been that way with her too.
Kit took a sip of her chocolate martini. “But surely this competition, or whatever it is, is giving you two opportunities to work together and reconnect?”
“The only thing we’ve done together is mop up water from the floor. And that ended in disaster.”
Oh no. It had taken less than thirty seconds to spill to her friends.
“Disaster?” Kit asked.
“It’s nothing,” Hadley rushed to say. “Just that the gross drop-down ceiling was caving in from all the water and he pushed me out of the way. I literally fell into his arms and…”
“Oh no.” Darla tried to disguise her smile with her hand. “Not on the floor of Pooch Palace.”
“Nothing happened,” Hadley said hurriedly. “It was just a kiss.” She shrugged. “Okay, quite a kiss. Like, a ten out of ten. Old hormones just took over.”
Both of her friends stopped eating and stared at her. “It was an accident.” Hadley wished she hadn’t brought it up. “We both regret it. He told me so today. It was just the weird situation and the fact that I landed on top of him…”
“Of course,” Darla said. “I mean, when I accidentally fall on top of men, I always kiss them. That would be a natural reaction.”
Kit giggled. “Darla’s right. That kind of thing doesn’t happen by accident. Especially with you two.”
“He’s not happy it happened. And…and I’m not either. It’s just that I’ve had moments where I’ve seen this other side of him and those are…confusing me.” There. She’d said it and felt an immediate sense of relief at telling her friends. Who wouldn’t judge her. Too much.
Darla raised an elegant brow. “Moments?”
“He brought my grandmother a bouquet of flowers when she was in the hospital that he took the time to pick from her garden. And he gave this cute—well, it was a little boring, but still—inspirational spiel to the boys on the football team. And he talks this silly nonsense to Jagger, sort of treats him like he’s an AKC breed instead of a gangly one-eyed mutt. And part of the reason he wants to do a restaurant is to help his sister out. Not that any of that excuses him but—”
“Whatever happened to ‘Cam’s a jerk’?” Darla asked.
“Well, he did sort of apologize for that,” Hadley said.