jumped right on that. “Sort of?”
“He said he ended things before I could break up with him. He felt certain I would once I left for New York. He said he was sorry.”
“For breaking up with you?” Darla said.
“Uh-oh.” Kit shared a look with Darla.
“What?” Hadley said. “What’s the uh-oh for?”
Kit licked the wing sauce off her fingers, then wiped them on her napkin. “He’s sorry. He’s single. You two kissed.” She threw up her hands. “Do I have to spell out the possibilities?”
Hadley watched her friends chuckle. She shouldn’t have gone so easy on Kit for sure.
“There’s something else,” Hadley said. “He let something slip at the football field. He said he felt like an imposter talking to the boys. Someone who can’t practice what he preaches. Weird, huh? When he’s one of the most famous football players in the world.”
“Wait a minute,” Kit said. “He told you he feels like an imposter?”
“I don’t think he meant to say it. It just kind of came out.”
“That’s…that’s really telling, Hadley,” Kit said.
Darla nodded in agreement. “Cam has always had a big personality—confident, fun. To say something like that…well, that sounds serious. Especially after what happened to him.”
“Maybe he’s struggling,” Kit said. “For a man who’s had such a huge amount of success, it’s probably terrifying to be sort of free-falling like he is.”
“But he’s a bajillionaire,” Hadley said. “He can do anything he wants. Or nothing.”
Darla shook her head. “I can’t imagine Cam ever doing nothing.”
“And yet his main goal seems to be going after a crumbly old building in the middle of his hometown. That happens to belong to your grandma.” Kit leaned forward. “Why do you think that is?”
Hadley lifted her shoulders and hands in a demonstrative shrug. “Because he lives to torture me?”
Kit tapped her lips, something she always did when she was in deep thought. “Maybe he’s latching on to this so tightly because he’s…afraid.”
Hadley snorted. “He’s six four and built like a tank. Cam’s not afraid of anything.”
“I mean, like, of failure,” Kit said. “If he fails at this, what has he got? He’s not one to rely on his past achievements like some people would do, especially if he’s thinking he’s an imposter. Maybe he’s looking for something else to replace his football career—in a desperate sort of way.”
Darla put down her glass. “A career-ending injury might be like cancer. I’m sure it changes your life in ways you can’t even imagine.”
Kit nodded solemnly. “Maybe he’s sort of subconsciously reaching out to you—the kiss, the little confession—at a time when he feels a little…confused. I mean, that’s probably a foreign feeling for him.”
“I don’t know if you’re right,” Hadley said, “but that’s a lot to think about.” Cam at a crossroads and confused—yes, it did make sense. And it might also explain why he was reaching out but then pushing her away.
“Sorry if I’m a little too enthusiastic,” Kit said. “I’ve already made it through the entire online general psych curriculum from Princeton.”
“You mean you’ve been following a syllabus?” Darla asked.
“A bunch of them,” Kit admitted. “I get the used textbooks cheap online.”
“This is what you do for fun?” Darla shook her head sadly. “You definitely need to get laid.”
Kit shrugged. “I want a better way to support Ollie. Something I’m interested in.”
Hadley put down her spoon and leaned over the table. “Kit, let Alex fix that awful old place up. Then you’d have college money for Ollie. And yourself.”
“She’s got a point,” Darla said. “Plus, if he’s grouchy and doesn’t talk, that might be a positive. If he wants to work silently and get stuff done, let him.”
“This has been great, but I still feel anxious.” Kit placed a hand over her heart.
Hadley didn’t mention the uncomfortable, steady pounding of her own heart. She knew Cam well enough that she totally understood his unilateral focus on a goal. But what her friends had just said took Cam’s dilemmas to a whole new level. One she wasn’t sure she really wanted to understand.
Chapter 14
The day of the Blueberry Festival dawned clear and hot, a perfect summer day. Hadley was up early setting up her booth on the green, along with what seemed like every other business in town, artists and artisans alike. She loved being part of this yearly ritual, loved being around all these talented people taking pride in their town.
Food trucks were stationed in the lot of the oceanside park, filling the air with wonderful aromas from all kinds of delicacies. Like