in her easy chair. She’d hugged and kissed Hadley when she’d finally walked in safe but she’d made her mop the Palace floors for the next month. And made Cam scoop poop. And she’d given both of them lectures on responsibility and being in love and using birth control and he’d almost died of embarrassment.
“You can’t wave a magic wand over this and make it go away, Cam,” Maddy said. “There was misbehavior. Bickering. Runaway dogs.” She tossed a glare over at Jagger, whose good ear drooped as he became aware that he, too, was on her Z list. Finally, she threw up her hands. “You two became the story, not your dog rescue, Hadley. Or your restaurant, Cam.”
That made him feel awful. Leave it to Grandma to bring him, a six-foot-four former tight end, to his knees.
“I think you may both want to do some damage control after the little stir you caused.”
“We’ll tone it down,” Hadley said, looking at him. Her expression was somber but she had a little glint in her eyes. Not mischievous, exactly, but something that showed him she saw a little bit of humor in this. He couldn’t help smiling a little, despite everything.
Cam cleared his throat and sat up. “Maddy, we’ll do what we can to show everyone we’re serious about helping.”
“Yes. Good,” Gran said. “And I have just the thing to help you do that. I have a responsibility I need to hand over because I’m laid up, and I’ve decided that I’m giving it to you two.” She put on her bifocals and pulled out a letter from a little red crocheted pouch hanging on the side of her wheelchair. “Both of you. Together. And it means forgetting about repurposing this building for right now.”
Gran didn’t wait for protests as she read the heading on the paper. “The Annual Seashell Harbor Medical Services Benefit. Margie Goldman took my place as chair after my accident but her daughter had her twins early and she’s already flown to San Francisco to help her. So, I’m putting you two in charge.”
Cam stifled a groan.
“Wait a minute,” Hadley said. “That’s just two weeks away.” The big themed outdoor party took place the third weekend in July and was the town’s largest fundraiser.
“Correct,” Gran said. “And if a world-class PR expert and a world-famous ex-football player can’t pull this off, no one can. The goal is to bring in gobs of money to build the new regional pediatric outpatient center, so kids don’t have to drive an hour and a half with their frazzled parents to see specialists at the children’s hospital. Most everything’s been done, thanks to Margie. You just have to make sure it goes off without a hitch. This will show everyone you both truly have the best interests of Seashell Harbor in mind. And then the town can decide which idea they’re most inclined toward.”
One glance at Hadley showed that she looked about as happy as he did.
He did not want to spend more time with her. Work with her. Be in the same room with her. Just when he needed to focus on sealing the deal. He couldn’t allow his unruly feelings to ruin his opportunity to build a future here.
Chapter 18
Where the heck are those keys?” Nick asked a few days later as he groped around the dashboard of the Cammareri van, patted his pants pockets, and felt above the visor, all to no avail.
Cam reached into the cup holder, grabbed the keys his brother had clearly overlooked, and dangled them in front of his face.
“I knew that,” Nick said, snatching the keys and starting the truck. But finding the keys didn’t lift his mood. He kept smoothing down his hair and tapping his fingers on the wheel. Cam understood his normally laid-back brother was definitely not laid-back about the thought of fixing his ex’s rotted screened porch ceiling.
“So why are we doing this again?” Cam asked. “I thought your goal was to avoid Darla at all costs.”
Nick sighed and fidgeted his fingers on the wheel. “She only acts like she’s tough. I mean, she is really strong, because she got through the cancer and everything, but all that toughness is a front.”
Cam held up his hands. “I was just wondering how we happened to be doing a job on her beach house when you two are barely speaking, that’s all.”
“I hate to break this to you, but this is what I do for a living,” Nick said.
“I get that,