until she was on the opposite side of the island from him. That was closer to him, which she wanted to be, but with a barrier between them. Not that she thought she needed it because of him. She was feeling like she was the one who was on the verge of doing something stupid. Something naked… but stupid.
She was surrounded by the smell of chocolate and he had a smear of it on his left biceps. As if she didn’t want to lick the swirling tattoo there already.
“I wouldn’t bet on it. But tell me about this big day.” She eyed the bars. That were now covered.
“Let’s see. It started with margaritas by the pool.”
Whitney lifted her brows. “So that was real.”
“She told you?”
“Yeah. But she also thinks you’ve been here for a few weeks already, so I wasn’t sure.”
He laughed lightly. He seemed to be in a great mood. And didn’t seem tired. She always felt tired this time of night.
“Well, they were real in that we had drinks in margarita glasses out by the pool, but I didn’t put any tequila in them.”
“Oh, really? I always…” Maybe she shouldn’t admit that she let her seventy-six-year-old grandmother drink whatever and whenever she wanted to.
“You always?” Cam asked, bracing his hands on the counter across from her and leaning in.
She was distracted for a moment by the way his triceps bunched and how big his hands were.
“I, um…” She winced but said, “I let her drink whenever. She gets her time mixed up and I figured it wasn’t the worst thing. It’s not like she’s driving anywhere or going to work with a couple of martinis in her.”
“She likes martinis too?” Cam asked.
Whitney laughed. “She likes all of it. Any of it. I don’t always know what inspires her to want certain drinks. I mean, she wants the hard root beer with burgers and usually saves the margaritas for fajitas or nachos, but she likes martinis and pina coladas and fuzzy navels almost any time. Oh, and Kahlua and cream. She loves Kahlua and cream.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Whitney just stared at his smile. She couldn’t remember when she and Cam had just smiled at each other over a minor shared amusement. That was stupid.
“You think it’s okay I let her drink?” she asked.
He looked surprised for a moment. “I have no idea. I didn’t let her drink because I didn’t know if it was okay and was going to ask you. I didn’t know if it would interact with medications or anything.”
It probably was surprising that she was asking him if something was okay for Didi. Wasn’t she supposed to be the one who knew that stuff?
She shook her head. “It’s not a problem with medications. She’s very healthy. Other than the… Alzheimer’s.” Dammit, she always tripped over that word. Whitney took a breath. “She’s always been very healthy. She’s also always been a big personality. A little…”
“A little what?” he asked when she trailed off.
“I was going to say kooky. That’s what my dad and grandpa called it.” She met Cam’s eyes. “But that’s not right. She was fun. That’s what it was. It was just that they were allergic to fun. Or just incredibly unfamiliar.” She sighed. “That made me sad when I realized it. I think my dad must have thought she was fun when he was growing up, right? At some point when he was little? But my grandpa convinced him it was weird and he got serious and took after his dad instead.”
She sniffed, then lifted her chin. “Anyway, that’s why it took so long to realize something was going on with her mentally. She was always fun and liked to do off-the-wall things. If it wasn’t for her not remembering TV shows and books and how to do basic things, I wouldn’t know now that anything was really wrong.”
“Well,” Cam said after a moment, his voice a little gruff. “For what it’s worth, I think you can stop using the word was. She is fun. We had a great day.”
Whitney felt her heart melt a little at that. Yes, Didi was fun now too. She got a little confused and the fun happened at strange times of day, but it was definitely still entertaining.
Whitney gave him a smile she was sure looked wobbly. It felt wobbly. “I’m glad you think so.”
He simply nodded. He was looking at her but the smile was gone. Now he was watching her.
She drew in a deep