Seaside Kisses: A Sweet Romance (The Seaside Hunters Book 4) (13 page)

"If I ever acted like that to you in the past, I apologize."

Amara's eyes widened, and she put her spoon down. "I wouldn't say you were like that… I don't think you were ever outright rude. Jackson, he—he's always been like that." She paused as if remembering something, and then shook her head. "No, you were never like him. Don't worry about it. Even though you were popular, you were always nice."

He took her hand and ran his thumbs along her knuckles. "Are you sure?"

"Completely. We never talked because I was shy, and also because we ran in different circles. You had more opportunities than anyone to be mean to me, but you never were. Never once did you throw food at me or try to hurt me."

"He tried to hurt you?" Rafael could feel defensiveness building. He was about ready to go punch his old friend. "What did he do?"

Amara shrugged. "It doesn't matter now. It was a long time ago."

"Yes, it does matter. What happened?" Rafael squeezed her hand, mostly to keep himself from acting on his impulses.

She turned away. "It wasn't just him. Hardly anyone liked me."

Rafael squeezed his free hand into a fist. "If I didn't do anything, then talk to me. Look at me."

Amara turned her gaze back to him. She appeared to want to say something, but didn't. She glanced down to his hand holding hers, and then back up to his eyes. "Really. It was a long time ago. None of it matters."

"It does to me," Rafael said. "I want to know what happened to you, and I hope I didn't have any part in it. It bothers me that I don't know what you're referring to."

She pulled her hand away from his, but continued to look at him. "Some of the kids you hung out with were really rude to me. Not all, and never you. Kids threw gum at me, called me names a lot worse than four-eyes, tripped me on purpose, laughed at me, shoved me into lockers, and whole lot more." She took a deep breath. "Some of them broke my stuff. They made fun of everything about me—my weight, my hair and skin, various body parts… you name it."

Rafael saw red. "How dare anyone! What about Alex? Did he ever stand up for you?"

"He punched a kid who made fun of me, so after that, everyone was careful to throw spitballs and insults when he wasn't listening. You were usually with him, so you probably missed most of it, too."

Rafael shook his head. "I'm so sorry that anyone ever treated you like that. It's no wonder you never talked to me if my friends acted like that."

"I just wanted to be invisible, hoping it would be enough for them to leave me alone. Sometimes it worked, but usually not."

"And you stayed in town after high school?" he asked, incredulously. "Why?"

She glanced down and moved her spoon back and forth in the chowder bowl. "I didn't want to go to college and meet more people like them. I was happy enough staying here, working at the candy shop. Now I run it, and I don't have to worry about anyone treating me the way they used to."

"What happened? How did you go from… the way you were to how you look now?"

"I'm not really sure, to be honest. It wasn't some overnight transformation, and maybe that's why no one here sees the change. It started with a new hairstyle, and then I decided to lose weight. That took a while, but it worked. I had no choice except to buy new clothes, and I guess I had enough sense to buy things that were stylish. The next logical step was to figure out makeup."

Rafael took her hand and squeezed it again. "I'm sorry that no one saw how beautiful you are before, myself included."

She looked back at him, not saying anything.

"I mean it. You're beautiful, inside and out. Gorgeous, actually."

Amara still didn't say anything.

"It's true. And thanks for giving me another chance."

"You never did anything wrong," she whispered.

"Did I intimidate you?"

"No. Maybe. I don't know. It was years ago." She squirmed in her seat.

"I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable. I just want to understand."

She sighed. "When people treat you like that, it's hard to trust anyone. You don't want to set yourself up for more. There were kids who pretended to be my friend just to turn around humiliate me. I needed those walls to protect myself."

He frowned. "I had no idea what you went through."

Amara shrugged. "I wouldn't expect you to. But because of how I felt about you, I couldn't bring myself to risk talking to you."

"You really liked me back then?"

Her face turned pink and she nodded.

They sat in silence as Rafael let everything she'd just said sink in.

She ate again, but he couldn't. After she pushed the empty plate away from her, he gazed into her in the eyes. "I know it doesn't change anything, but on behalf of everyone who ever hurt you, I apologize."

She half-smiled. "Thanks, but it was a long time ago. I've moved on."

"But I'm still sorry you went through any of that. I can't even imagine what that must have been like."

Amara shrugged again.

"You didn't deserve any of it. I've never met anyone so nice or generous."

"Maybe it's because of everything I went through. Who's to say I would've been any different if I'd been popular?"

Rafael shook his head. "I can't see it. I wish I could do something to make up for everything."

She pulled out her phone, staring at the screen. "I'd better get going. Alex needs me at the shop."

"I'm sorry I've kept you so long."

Amara smiled. "Stop apologizing for things that aren't your fault. Other than the stroll down memory lane, I had a nice time."

The waitress came to the table. "Are you in the mood for desserts?"

"Maybe next time," Rafael said.

"Are you sure? It's on the house, remember?"

"I have to get going," Amara said. "If you want to stay and have some—"

"No. I'd rather walk you back."

"Tell you what," said the waitress. "I'll package a couple pieces of turtle pie. It has a day's worth of calories, but it's so worth it."

Amara laughed. "If you insist."

The waitress took off and Amara pulled out her phone and sent a text.

"Is Alex mad?" Rafael asked.

"Mad? No. Overwhelmed, yes. I wish we could hire help for the Halloween season."

"Why not? Don't you hire out for the summer?"

"Of course, but everyone does that. It's expected around here. If we hired in October, people would expect a year-round job."

"Not if you told them it was just for a month. Sounds like you could really use the help."

"You'll see what I mean. Have you hired anyone for your store yet?"

"Other than Zachary? Not yet. I'm probably going to have information at the grand opening for anyone interested."

The waitress brought their pies and they left. The wind had picked up while they were eating, and the air was even colder. Amara shivered, so Rafael put his arm around her again. He loved having her so close, and now that he knew more about her, it made him feel even better being able to protect her from something, even if it was just a gust of crisp ocean air.

When they finally reached their shops, Rafael walked her inside the candy shop. He caught Alex's attention in between customers. "You can blame me for her being late."

Alex waved, turning to a lady asking about chocolate jack-o-lanterns.

Amara turned to Rafael, pulling the scarf off. "Are you sure you want to give this to me? It still looks new. You could always sell it still."

He shook his head. "It looks gorgeous on you. Keep it. It's the least I can do after how much you've been helping me."

She folded it. "If you're sure."

"Of course. When you get a chance, stop by the shop and we can discuss the fashion show. Looks like I'd better let you go." Customers surrounded Alex, and a couple little kids ran around the store, bumping into displays.

"Yeah. I promise to stop by soon." She put her coat and scarf behind the register and ran over to the wild kids, calming them instantly. Rafael watched in wonder as she spoke to them with an animated smile, telling them a story that distracted them from their antics. He couldn't help wondering how she did it.

There had been times in his store back in LA when crazy kids ran around. He'd never handled it with half the grace of Amara. In fact, he'd even ordered one oblivious parent out of the store after a boy broke a picture frame. The dad had even had the nerve to blame it on Rafael, saying he should have had the place childproofed.

Rafael headed back to his store, lost in thought. He pulled out his keys and unlocked the door. When he pulled it stopped as if stuck. He pulled again, but it was definitely stuck.

He checked the lock, but it had worked properly. He moved over to the hinges, and they appeared fine. He looked down and saw something blocking the door.

A dead rat. It appeared to have froth in its mouth. Had someone poisoned it and left it there?

That was the last straw. First calling the cops, the egging, the garage door, and now this. It was all too much. Careful not to touch the pest, he closed and locked the door. Fuming, he pulled out his phone and looked for the building maintenance number. He headed for his car as it rang.

He got inside just as someone answered. He explained the situation, telling them they needed to make it a priority. "There are kids at the candy store just a few doors down. We can't have any of them coming across the dead animal."

"We'll send someone over, but it could be an hour before it's fully taken care of. There are special procedures and then we have to disinfect the area."

"Thank you." Rafael hung up, wishing he had brought his laptop with him. He thought about running home while he waited, but wasn't in the mood to find any new surprises. He'd had enough.

Something had to be done, but what? He didn't even know who was behind it. More than likely, it was the kids of the bridal shop owner, but how could he prove anything? He'd have to set up hidden cameras outside his home and store to prove anything. Money was tight, and growing tighter with the grand opening.

That was what credit was for, though. He couldn't think of a shop in town that sold anything like that. There was only one place to buy cell phones, and that was more of a kiosk than a store. He hadn't even bothered going there to get his new phone.

Rafael started his car and planned the quickest route to the best electronics store in the area. He would catch the little punks and put an end to this before his store opened the following week.

Fourteen

Amara glanced around the shop. Only a couple families wandered around, and neither wanted help. She turned to Alex, who was scrolling through his phone.

"Go home. I'll be fine."

"What if there's another rush?" he asked.

She gave him an exasperated glance. "I know you want to get home. Ashley's sick and Ella's too nauseated to make dinner. Get outta here."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Go. If it gets crazy, I'll recruit Rafael."

"Thanks, Mar." He gave her a grateful look.

"No problem. Get your girls healthy."

Alex gave her a quick hug before grabbing his jacket. "Thanks, sis. I owe you." He ran out of the shop, and Amara felt bad that he'd stayed as long as he had, but the shop had been full of people with a million questions up until just a few minutes earlier. It had been too much even with the two of them.

Maybe Rafael had a point about hiring for just the season. No, it wasn't a typical retail seasonal hire, but they needed the help. Especially if something came up. What if either she or Alex got sick? Or had to fly out of town for some reason? Neither could handle the store on their own. Not in October.

One of the families came to the register, and Amara rang them up, asking the kids about their Halloween costumes. The girl said she was going to be a karate princess, and Amara gave her a high-five. She loved hearing creative ideas like that, and it was a great mixture of sweet and powerful.

People came and went, most having easy questions. Amara could have handled all of it in her sleep. It turned into a slow trickle until by closing, there weren't any customers at all. She went around the store, humming, as she got ready to close for the night. By the time she slid on her coat and wrapped the scarf from Rafael around her neck, she realized how much more energy she had than usual.

As she stepped out into the frigid night air, Amara felt like she could take on the world.

She walked by Rafael's shop, and he wasn't there. Disappointment washed through her. She really wanted more of him, but this obviously wasn't the time.

A little voice in her head told her she was stupid for getting her hopes up. Amara stood taller, staring through the window of his dark shop. No. The voice was wrong—or at least old. She let her mind mull over all the time she'd spent with him since his return.

Her heart warmed and seemed to grow in her chest, thinking about each time. He treated her with a new respect that she'd never remembered from their school days. His kindness was part of what had made her fall in love with him so many years earlier.