Seaside Secrets (28 page)

“Jamie and Jessica will be back next week, but I’m not sure how long they’re staying. I know they’re bringing Vera,” Jenna said. “She should be here with us anyway.” She scribbled something on the pad. “I think Pete is meeting a new client the second weekend in August. Do we care if it’s a weekend or weekday?”

“I need to check Caden’s schedule, and weekends are out because of Leanna’s flea-market stuff,” Bella reminded her.

“I could run her booth,” Sky offered. “Oh, wait, then I’d miss the wedding. But I bet Carey would.” Carey ran a booth at the flea market where he sold old records and other music paraphernalia. He and Leanna were close friends.

“Is Carey here this summer?” Amy asked. “I haven’t seen him.”

“No, but he was up in April and said he was doing the flea market scene off Cape on Tuesdays and Wednesdays,” Sky explained. “He told Leanna if she and Kurt wanted a weekend off, he’d run her booth if she’d let him sell his records, too.”

April?
Amy wondered what else happened in the months when she was gone. And after she married Tony and they moved to Australia, what would it be like when they all had kids? If she could have kids, of course.
Of course we’ll have kids. Stop thinking like that
. She had a feeling that she’d miss out on a lot. She envisioned the others getting together to talk about their pregnancies, all round bellies and glowing cheeks. They’d probably even make sure they conceived around the same time.

“Anyway, Amy is only here through August eighteenth before she goes back to work and I guess starts to wrap up her business—right, Ames?”

“Uh-huh,” she mumbled, thinking about leaving on August eighteenth. That was something else she and Tony had to discuss. She always left around that time. Would he come with her? Should she try to stay longer? Could she? What about her clients? There was too much to think about. She felt like she was drowning.

“So we’d better do it soon. And Amy’s moving in December, so…” Bella tapped her fingernails on the table.

Amy banged her forehead on the table. “I’m already feeling a little like an outsider during the months when I’m not here and you guys are all together. How bad is it going to be when I live in Australia?”

“Oh, Ames. It’s not that bad, and isn’t it only for two years?” Jenna asked.

“It
is
that bad.” Amy set sad eyes on Jenna. “I mean it’s not that bad when I’m busy running my business and not thinking about it. When I
don’t
know that you guys are taking fun trips and buying matching stuff.”

“It’s not like we’re excluding you or hiding it from you,” Bella reminded her.

“I know that. I just…I keep thinking about how it will be when we’re having kids, you know? I want to go through all of that
with
you guys, not a million miles away.” Amy sat back and fidgeted with the edge of her tank top. “I’m also a little afraid.”

“What of?” Jenna’s tone was full of compassion.

Amy’s eyes welled with tears, and she turned away.

“Ames?” Jenna came around the table and crouched beside her. “What’s wrong?”

“What if I can’t have kids?” Amy said just above a whisper.

“Did your doctor say that’s a possibility?” Bella asked. “If you can’t, we’ll surrogate for you. Or at least I will.”

“Me too,” Jenna offered.

Tears slid down Amy’s cheeks. “You would do that so easily?”

“Of course,” Bella said. “Why wouldn’t we? I mean, I’m not going to sleep with Tony, but turkey basters, you know.”

Amy laughed and wiped her eyes.

Sky moved her chair closer to Amy’s. “Amy, just because you had a miscarriage once doesn’t mean you will again. When I was living in New York, my friend Carol had one, and the next year she and her husband had a beautiful baby boy.”

Amy swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I know. I just feel like I went through it once by myself. I know that was my choice, and I know Tony would be with me if it happened again, but…it’s just everything. I want to be with you guys. You guys have your men, your lives, and you get to live near one another. I want to go on the ferry with you guys and make out with Tony. I want to see Carey in April. Well, not specifically him, but you know what I mean. Is that selfish of me? Because I feel like I’m being wicked selfish right now.”

“I like
selfish Amy
,” Bella said. “I never wanted you to take the job in the first place.”

She banged her head on the table again and groaned. “The job. I love that job. I want that job. I just want to
live
here.”

Amy lifted her head at the sound of Tony’s voice and saw him hurrying across the quad.

“What did you do to my fiancée?” He took the deck steps in one giant leap and crouched beside Amy. “What’s wrong, babe?”

Words tumbled out, along with a new river of tears. “I don’t want to move to Australia. I want to live here and make out on the ferry with you.”

Tony furrowed his brow and smiled. A little laugh escaped his lips as he stroked her cheek. “I’m all for making out on the ferry, although I’m not sure how that ties into Australia. Babe, we can live wherever you want. I don’t care where we call home. I told you that. I want you to choose what will make
you
the happiest.”

“Aw,” Jenna said.

“Is that really true, Tony?” Bella held his gaze. “I mean, do you really not care where you live? I don’t mean just this second while Amy’s in tears. Don’t you have a traveling schedule and other things to consider?”

“My only consideration is Amy.” Tony turned his attention back to Amy. “Wherever you want to live, we’ll make it work. You don’t have to work another day in your life if you don’t want to. Neither do I, for that matter.”

“Wow,” Sky whispered.

“No shit. Wow,” Bella reiterated.

“I love working.” Amy swiped at her tears. “I want the job with Duke, but I want to live here, with you and the girls. I want to have kids at the same time as them and listen to Jenna bitch about her boobs getting too big with her pregnancy. I want to see Leanna dress like a hippie when she’s pregnant, and I want to go shopping with Bella so she can tell me it’s not fair that my stomach is cuter than hers.”

“Hey,” Bella teased.

“You know what I mean,” Amy said. “I want to go to the bay and watch Jenna paint in her studio while it’s snowing outside. I want to see Evan come home for winter break and see his smiling face as he tells everyone about how his first semester of school was.” Amy inhaled a deep breath and blew it out slowly.

“I’m not making any sense. I have to tell Duke I can’t take the job, because I really, really want to live here with everyone more than I want the job, I think.”
Do I?
Yes? Maybe?
She realized she was making huge assumptions that Tony really meant what he’d said about living anywhere. She’d always wanted to live here, but she’d never considered really taking the plunge. She had a whole life to consider back home, but if she was considering moving all the way to Australia, why not move where she really wanted to be—with the friends, and the man, she really wanted to be with?

“I mean if that’s okay with you,” she said to Tony.

Tony pulled her in close. “Babe, it’s perfect with me. This is where we became a couple. It should be where we become a family, too.” He held her close until her tears dried up.

“What should I tell Duke? I hate letting him down.”

“Duke’s a businessman, but he’s all about family. He’ll understand,” Tony said.

“He’s here this weekend,” Sky said. “He and Blue are looking at the lighthouse over on Bowers Bluff.”

“I know. I have a meeting with him tomorrow morning. I just don’t want to disappoint him.” Amy reached for Tony’s hand. “Why didn’t you go with the guys over to the marina?”

“I’m heading over now. I needed to grab my keys, and when I saw you banging your head on the table, I got worried.”

“Aw, thank you. I’m fine. I think.”

“Well, take your time and decide what you want to do. I’m sure Duke will understand either way. You sure you’re okay if I take off to meet the guys?”

“Of course.” She kissed him goodbye, feeling relieved and a little conflicted about the job. She and Tony wouldn’t know anyone in Australia, but the job really sounded like everything she’d ever wanted in a career. The best next step she could hope for.

She looked around the table and her heart won out. She definitely wanted to live at the Cape. She was sure of that much. She just wished there were a way to have both the job and the Cape. Then again, she counted herself lucky. She was with Tony, and that was more than she could have hoped for. It was time to pull up her big-girl panties again and hope Duke didn’t hate her for changing her mind.

AMY SAT IN her car Sunday morning in front of the Bookstore Restaurant, trying to get her hands to stop trembling. She’d changed her clothes three times before leaving her cottage, finally deciding on a simple floral summer dress. Duke had seen her in her bathing suit, shorts, and dressed up. They’d known each other for a few years. She shouldn’t be this nervous. They may not be super-close friends, like she was with Jamie, Caden, Pete, or Kurt, but they were still friends, and that meant a great deal to Amy. He was a smart, rational man. Surely he’d understand her decision.

Wouldn’t he?

He spent so much time looking after his siblings that Amy was sure at least a part of him would understand. The question was, would it be a big enough part of him to save their friendship? She gave herself a little pep talk, then headed inside, hoping for the best.

Duke was sitting on the front patio at a table for two. He waved Amy over. Even without his suit Duke had a regal air about him. He had all the hallmarks of classic good looks: broad shoulders, square jaw, intelligent eyes on the small side but offering a welcome and warm gaze. He rose to greet Amy, and she noticed that his gray T-shirt and jeans were nicely pressed. His dirty-blond hair was slightly askew, giving him a casual edge.

His embrace engulfed Amy’s small frame.

“Good to see you again, Amy.” He pulled out a chair for her and waited for her to settle into it before sitting down. Always the gentleman.

“It’s nice to see you, too, Duke. Did you and Blue like the property?” Her pulse was racing so fast she was afraid she might blurt out,
I can’t take the job!
She was doing all she could to try to distract herself with other topics.

“Yes, very much. I think it has a lot of promise, although knowing my brother, he’ll keep it for himself instead of renovating it for a business. He had that look in his eyes.” Duke flagged over the waiter. “Amy, would you like something to eat? Some coffee?”

“Just ice water, please.”
I’m too nervous to eat
.

Duke asked the young man for a cup of black coffee, then turned back to Amy. His eyes dropped to her engagement ring, sparkling like a beacon on her left hand, and his lips curved up in a smile.

“Ah, I see congratulations are in order.”

Amy felt her cheeks flush. She dropped her eyes to her ring, and a smile pressed at her lips. “Yes, thank you. Tony and I are getting married.”

Duke nodded and lifted her hand to inspect the ring. “It’s a beautiful ring. Tony’s a lucky guy. And that explains the possessive vibe I got from him at the wedding.”

“Possessive vibe?” Amy flashed back to the wedding, when Tony had seen them talking right before he’d told Amy to take the job. She swallowed the uneasy feeling the memory brought with it. Tony’d tried so hard to fight their attraction—she was so glad that it was bigger than he was.

“Sorry about that. It was a confusing time for both of us. There’s a lot of history there.”

“Amy, you don’t have to apologize. I’m happy for both of you. Tony’s a stand-up guy. I’ve got nothing but respect for him. And he’ll love Australia.”

A pang of guilt tightened her throat. Amy was relieved when the waiter brought her ice water.

“Thank you.” She was afraid to pick up the glass because her hands were shaking again over the Australia comment and what she had to tell him.

“So when’s the big day?” Duke asked.

She breathed a sigh of relief. This was a conversation she could handle much better than the whole
I’m not taking the job
talk looming over her. “Soon. We’re thinking of having a small wedding here on the beach with the girls and then we’d each have a bigger family wedding at another time. You and Blue will come, won’t you?” She couldn’t believe she was actually talking about getting married to Tony and it was really happening. She’d dreamed about it for so long, and here she was, inviting Duke and his brother to their wedding.

Our wedding!

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Duke sipped his coffee. “I’d like to gift each of you a honeymoon suite for a week at whichever Ryder Resort you’d like.”

Amy’s jaw dropped. “Duke, you don’t have to do that.”

“It’s your wedding, Amy. Hopefully this day will come only once in your life—same for Bella, Leanna, and Jenna. It’s my pleasure to do this.”

“Really? That’s so generous of you.” How could she turn down the job after he offered her
that
?

“What good is owning luxury resorts if you can’t share the fun with friends?” Duke leaned back and looked out over the harbor. “I’m a sucker for love. You guys just let me know when and where you want the rooms and consider it done.”

She dropped her eyes, trying to gather enough courage to tell him what she’d come there to say. She drew her shoulders back, settled her hands in her lap, and locked her fingers together in a death grip. When she met his gaze again, he was still smiling. Her stomach sank, knowing she was about to upset his apple cart.

“Duke, before I accept your generous gift, I need to talk to you about the job.”
I can do this. I can do this
.

  He drew his brows together. “Should I worry that we need to talk
before
you accept the gift?”

“Probably.”

He leaned back in his chair and crossed an ankle over one knee, resting his elbow on the arm of the chair. “Might as well give it to me straight, Amy.”

“Straight.”
Right
. “Okay, well. This is really hard for me to say, because I really, really want to work with you. The position you’ve offered is exactly what I’ve been working toward all these years, and I know I’d do an excellent job.” She paused, and his facial expression didn’t change at all. She straightened the silverware on the table and refolded her napkin, anything to release the nervous energy buzzing beneath the weight of his steady gaze.