Seaside Hearts (Love in Bloom: Seaside Summers, Book 2) Contemporary Romance (23 page)

“I haven’t had a chance to say it before this, but welcome to the family, Jenna. You deserve a hell of a lot more than a plastic tiara.”

“I love my tiara.” Jenna reached up and touched the accessory she cherished the most.

His father nodded at Pete and headed back toward the others.

Jenna took a step to follow him, and Pete gently pulled her back to him.

“We should join them.”

“We will. I just want a second to say
my
two cents.” Pete pressed his hands to Jenna’s cheeks—she loved when he did that, and smiled in response.

“Jenna, you changed my world. You opened my heart and my eyes, and Pop’s right, you do deserve more than that tiara.” He kissed her forehead. “That’s why I’ve gotten the permits to add another structure to our property, a smaller one. An art studio. For you.”

“Pete. That sounds expensive, and I don’t even have a new job yet.”
Holy cow
. Jenna was used to living on an art teacher’s salary, a shoestring budget. She had enough savings to help with a few household expenses—which he continuously told her was ridiculous, but still she offered. She was enjoying settling into their new life together, and she’d planned to start looking for a job the following week.

“Shh.” He kissed her. “This is my gift to you. You can get another job if you want, but you don’t need to. I make enough money to take care of us, and Kurt hooked me up with his friend Blue Ryder, the guy who renovated his cottage for Leanna. He gave me a great deal in exchange for my refitting his brother’s boat. That’ll be mine and Pop’s next project.”

“I…I don’t know what to say.”

Pete dug his hand into his pocket and reached for Jenna’s left hand. He sank to one knee, and suddenly she felt like she was in a vacuum, her eyes fixed on Pete’s. The sound of the water splashing against the boat, the din of their friends, and the heartbeat that had been thundering in her chest—silenced.

“Say you’ll marry me.” Pete’s eyes never left hers.

Ohgodohgodohgod
. She couldn’t breathe. Her legs turned to wet noodles, and it was all she could do not to cry. She placed her hands on his shoulders for stability.

“Say you’ll let me love you forever in the ways you deserve. Say you’ll bear our children and raise them in ridiculous matching outfits and shoes. Say you’ll fill our house with rocks that speak to you, and—”

“Yes! Oh God, Pete. Yes! Yes! Yes!” She launched herself into his arms as he rose to his feet and covered his face with kisses as he stumbled backward.

“Oh my God.” She kissed him again. “I never expected…” Their lips met again. She hung from him like a monkey, arms locked around his neck, legs dangling a foot off the ground. With his help, she moved down his muscular body until her toes hit the ground, and she clutched the waist of his jeans for support as Pete slid the sparkling ring on her finger.

“This was my mother’s. If you don’t like it, then we’ll pick one out that you love.”

Tears of joy streamed down her cheeks. “Your mother’s? Is your dad okay with this?”

“I love that you’re worried about my father instead of yourself, but yes; Pop gave it to me. I asked him to come with me to pick out your ring and he offered Mom’s. I asked Sky, of course, in case she had hoped for it, and she said Mom would have wanted you to have it as her first daughter-in-law.”

“Oh, Petey.” Jenna looked at the gorgeous square-cut diamond surrounded by several smaller rubies and was powerless to stop the flow of tears spilling down her cheeks. “I’m honored to wear your mother’s ring, and there’s nothing I want more than to be your wife.”

Their lips met again, and the sounds of the morning came rushing back in.

Sky ran toward them with Joey on her heels. She squealed with delight. “You gave it to her! I’m going to have a sister-in-law!”

“We can have a triple wedding!” Bella hugged Jenna.

Jenna glanced at Amy, her smile genuine, her eyes alit with sincere excitement, but Jenna knew her heart must be aching at the idea of not being included in the wedding.

“I don’t think a triple wedding works,” Jenna said as she pulled Amy into her arms. “Either we wait for a quadruple wedding, or we each have our own.”

“No, have the triple. It will be fun,” Amy said.

Tony moved to Amy’s side. Jenna wanted to smack him into loving Amy, but as she felt Pete’s hand touch her lower back, she knew there was no rushing love.

“Jenna’s right. Sorry, Ames. I wasn’t thinking.” Bella hugged her while Jamie and Tony congratulated Pete, and his father stood off to the side, taking it all in.

After being passed around from friend to friend, Jenna joined him.

“Thank you for allowing me to wear your Bea’s ring. I’ll cherish it forever.”

“I wish she were here to be part of this.” He glanced at Pete, and Jenna saw a worried look flash in Pete’s eyes. She knew that look. She’d seen it many times over the past few weeks. Pete was worried about his father turning back to the bottle. Every day took renewed commitment from his father, and they were all bound together, equally committed to helping him through it. She realized how this emotional time could be overwhelming for him and send him spiraling backward and was relieved when Pete came to his father’s side.

Two men with a world of worry between them—and a world of love to pull them through.

“You okay, Pop?” Pete placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Fit as a fiddle. Now, get that worried look out of your eyes. I want to be sober every second of the rest of my life. I missed two years. I’m not going to miss another minute. Let’s name this boat.”

Pete and his father had nixed the idea of breaking a bottle across the bow or holding a traditional naming ceremony. Instead, they stood arm in arm before the group, with the sun shining down upon their shoulders and smiles on their lips.

“We never had any doubt about
what
we should name this boat. It was just a matter of when it would happen.” Pete glanced at his father.

“Christ. Let’s not get all sappy,” his father grumbled. He handed Pete one side of a vinyl banner and they stretched it out between them. “Without further ado, we give you
New Beginning
.” The banner read,
NEW B-E-A-G-I-N-N-I-N-G
.

“Uh-oh. I think they spelled
beginning
wrong,” Bella said with a furrowed brow.

Jenna’s heart swelled with the value that Pete placed on family and the thoughtfulness of the name they’d chosen. She didn’t think it was possible to love him more than she did, but in that moment, when their eyes met, the pride in his was palpable, and love blazed an unyielding connection between them.

Pete mouthed, “I love you,” and Jenna knew that he would always honor their love, and the family they were bound to have, with the same conviction as he did his nuclear family.

“No,” Jenna said. “They spelled it just right.”

Please enjoy a preview of the next
Love in Bloom
novel

Seaside

SUNSETS

Seaside Summers, Book Three

L
ove in Bloom Series

M
elissa
F
oster

JESSICA AYERS COULD hold a note on her cello for thirty-eight seconds without ever breaking a sweat, but staring at the eBay auction on her iPhone as the last forty seconds ticked away had her hands sweating and her heart racing. She never knew seconds could pass so slowly. She’d been pacing the deck of her rented apartment in the Seaside cottage community in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, for forty-five minutes. This was her first time—and she was certain her last time—using the online auction site. She was the high bidder on a baseball that she was fairly certain was her father’s from when he was a boy.

“Come on. Come on. Come on.”
Fifteen seconds
. She clenched her eyes shut and squeezed the phone, as if she could will the win. It was only seven thirty in the morning, and already the sun had blazed a path through the trees. She was hot and frustrated, and after fighting with her orchestra manager for two weeks about taking a hiatus, and her mother for even longer about everything under the sun, she was ready to blow. She’d come to the Cape for a respite from playing in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, hoping to figure out if she was living her life to the fullest, or missing out on it altogether. Finding her father’s baseball autographed by Mickey Mantle was her self-imposed distraction to keep her mind off picking up the cello. She’d never imagined she’d find it a week into her vacation.

She opened her eyes and stared at the phone.

Five seconds. Four. Three
.

A message flashed on the screen.
You have been outbid by another bidder
.

“What? No. No, no, no.” She pressed the bid icon, and nothing happened. She pressed it again, and again, her muscles tightening with each attempt. Another message flashed on the screen.
Bidding for this item has ended.

 
No!

She stared at the phone, unable to believe she’d been seconds away from winning what she was sure was her father’s baseball and had lost it. She hated phones. She hated eBay. She hated bidding against nonexistent people in tiny little stupid phones. She hated the whole thing so much she turned and hurled the phone over the deck.

Wow.

That felt really, really good
.

“Ouch! What the…” A deep male voice rose up to her.

Jessica crouched and peered between the balusters. Standing on the gravel road just a few feet from her building, in a pair of black running shorts and no shirt, was the nicest butt she’d ever seen, attached to a tanned back that was glistening with sweat and rippled with muscles. Holy moly, they didn’t make orchestra musicians with bodies like that. Not that she’d know, considering that they were always properly covered in black suits and white shirts, but could a body like that even
be
hidden?

He turned, one hand rubbing his unruly black hair as he looked up at the pitch pine trees.

Yeah, you won’t find the culprit there
.

His eyes passed by her deck, and she cringed. At least he hadn’t seen her phone, which she spotted a few feet away, where it must have fallen after conking him on the head. His eyes dropped to the ground…and traveled directly to it.

Jessica ducked lower, watching his brows knit together, giving him a brooding, sexy look.

Please don’t see me. Please don’t see me
.

He looked at the cottages to his left, then to the pool off to his right, and just as Jessica sighed with relief, he crossed the road toward the steps to her apartment. His eyes locked on her. He shaded them with his hand and looked back down at the phone, then back up at her, and lifted the phone in the air.

“Is this yours?”

She debated staying there, crouched and peering between the railings like a child playing hide-and-seek, hoping he really couldn’t see her.

I’ve been seeked
.

Darn it!
She rose slowly to her feet. “My what?” She had no idea what she was going to say or do as the words flew from her mouth.

He laughed. God, he had a sexy laugh. “Your phone?”

He stood there looking amused and so damn sexy that Jessica couldn’t take her eyes off of him. “Why would that be mine? I don’t even have a phone.”
Great. Now I’m a phone assaulter and a liar.
She had no idea that being incredibly attracted to a man could couple with embarrassment and make her spew lies, as if she lied every day.

He looked back down at the phone and scratched his head. She wondered what he was thinking. That it fell from the sky? No one was that stupid, but she couldn’t own up to it now. She was in too deep. As he mounted the stairs, she got a good look at his chest, covered with a light dusting of hair, over muscles that bunched and rippled down his stomach, forming a V between his hips.

He stepped onto the deck and raked his hazel eyes down her body with the kind of smile that should have made her feel at ease and instead made her feel very naked. And hot. Definitely hot. Oh wait, he was hot. She was just bothered. Hot and bothered. Jesus, up close he was even more handsome than she imagined, with at least three days’ scruff peppering his strong chin and eyes that played hues of green and brown like a melody.

“Hi. I’m Jamie Reed.”

“Hi. Jessica…Ayers.”

“How long are you renting?” He used his forearm to wipe his brow. She never knew sweating could look so sexy.

“For the summer.” She shifted her eyes to her phone. “What will you do with that phone?”

He looked down at it. “I guess that depends, doesn’t it?”  The side of his mouth quirked up, making his handsome, rugged face look playful and sending her stomach into a tailspin.

Jessica needed and wanted playful in her too prim and proper life, but she needed her phone even more, in case her orchestra manager called.

“Let’s say it was my phone. Let’s say it slipped from my hand and fell over the deck, purely by accident.”

He stepped closer, and suddenly playful turned serious. His eyes went dark and seductive, in a way that bored right through her, both turning her on and calling her on her shit. He placed one big hand on the railing beside her and peered over the side. His brows lifted, and he stepped closer again. She inched backward until her back met the wooden rail. He smelled of power and sweat and something musky that made her insides quiver.

“That’s a hell of an accident.” His voice whispered over her skin.

Jessica could barely breathe, barely think with his eyes looking through her, and his crazy, sexy body so close made her sweat even more. The truth poured out like water from a faucet.

“Okay. I’m sorry. I did throw it, but it’s not my fault. Not really. It’s that stupid eBay site.” Her voice rose, and her frustration bubbled forth. “I don’t know how I could lose an auction in the last ten seconds. My bid held strong for forty-five minutes, and then out of the blue I lost it for five lousy dollars? And it was all because the stupid bid button was broken.” She sank down to a chair. “I’m sorry. I’m just upset.”

“So, let me get this straight. You lost a bid on eBay, so you threw your phone?” He lowered himself to the chair beside her, brow wrinkled in confusion, or maybe amusement. She couldn’t tell which.

“Yeah, I know. I know. I threw my phone. But it must be broken. I hate technology.”

“Technology is awesome. It’s not the phone’s fault you lost your bid. It’s called sniping, and lots of people do it.”

“Sniping?” She sighed. “I’m sorry. I know I sound whiny and bitchy, but I’m really not like this normally.”

He arched a brow and smiled, which made her smile, because of course he didn’t believe her. Who would? He didn’t know she was usually Miss Prim and Proper. He couldn’t know she never used words like
stupid
or even visited the eBay website until today.

“I swear I’m not. I’m just frustrated. I’ve been trying to find the baseball my father had as a kid. It was signed by Mickey Mantle, and somewhere along the line, his parents lost it. His sister had colored in the autograph with red ink, and I think I finally found it…and then lost it.”

“That’s a bummer. I can see why you’re upset. I’m sorry.”

“How can you be so nice after I beaned you with my phone?”

He shrugged. “I’ve been hit by worse. Here, let me show you some eBay tricks.” He scrolled through her apps, of which she had none other than what came with the phone. He drew his brows together. “Do you want me to download the eBay app?”

“The eBay app? I guess.”

He fiddled with her phone, then moved his chair closer to hers. “When you’re bidding on eBay, and other people are bidding at the same time, you need to refresh your screen because bids don’t refresh quickly on all phones.” He continued explaining and showing her how to refresh her screen.

She only half listened. She simply didn’t get technology, and she was used to sitting next to men in suits and tuxedos, not half-naked men with Adonis-like bodies wearing nothing but a pair of shorts with all their masculinity on display. She could barely concentrate.

JAMIE COULD TELL by the look in Jessica’s eyes that she wasn’t paying attention. As the developer of OneClick, the second-largest search engine rivaling Google, he’d been in his fair share of meetings with foggy-eyed people who zoned out when he started with technical talk. But refreshing a screen was hardly technical, which meant that either beautiful Jessica was really a novice and had lived in a cave for the past ten years or she was playing him like a cheap guitar. She sure as hell didn’t look like she’d been living in a cave. She was about the hottest chick he’d seen in forever, sitting beside him in a canary-yellow bikini like it was the most comfortable thing in the world. Maybe she was a fashion model with handlers that did these kinds of things for her.

Her light brown hair brushed her thighs when she leaned forward, and her bright blue eyes, although looking a little lost at the moment, were strikingly sexy. She had a hot bod, with perfect, perky breasts, a trim waist, curvaceous hips, and legs that went on forever, but that didn’t change the fact that she’d tried to avoid admitting that the phone was hers. The last thing Jamie needed this summer was to be played, even by a beautiful woman like Jessica. This was his first summer off in eight years, and he intended to relax and spend time with his grandmother, Vera, who was in her mid-eighties and wasn’t getting any younger. If the right woman came along, and he had the time and interest, he’d enjoy her company, but he had no patience for games.

“Either your phone is new, or you don’t use many apps.”

“No. To be honest, I don’t even text very often. I’ve been kind of out of the swing of things in that arena for a while. And after this I’m not sure that I really want to dive in.”

He handed her the phone. “You can do this on your computer. Some people find that easier.”

She closed her eyes for a beat and cringed. “I get along with my computer even worse than I get along with my phone.”

He still couldn’t decide if she was playing him or not. She sounded sincere, and the look in her beautiful baby blues was as honest as he’d ever seen. Oh hell, he might as well offer to help.

“Then you’ve met just the right guy. I can give you a crash course in computers and phones.”

“I’ve taken up so much of your time already. I would feel guilty taking up any more on a beautiful day like today. But I really appreciate your offer.”

Are you blowing me off?

Jamie rose to his feet. “Okay, well, if you need any help, I’m in the cottage on the end with the deck out front and back. Stop by anytime.” He hesitated, knowing he should leave but wanting to stay and get to know her a little better. If she was playing him, she would’ve taken him up on his offer for sure.

Jessica rose to her feet, grabbed a towel from the back of her chair, and picked up a tote bag from beneath the table. “I’m heading to the pool, so I’ll walk down with you.”

They walked down to the pool together in silence, giving Jamie a chance to notice how nice she smelled. It took all of his focus not to run his eyes down her backside—he was dying to see her ass, but why rush things and make her uncomfortable? She’d walk into the pool and he’d have his chance.

Jessica dug through her tote bag. She placed a slender hand on her hip and sighed. “I forgot my key. Why do they keep the pool locked, anyway?”

He had no idea why, but she looked so curious that he made up a reason. “To keep the derelicts out.”

“Derelicts? Really? My friend suggested that I rent here. He said there was almost no crime on the Cape.”

Jamie wondered who her
friend
was. “We had some trouble with teenagers two summers ago, but other than that, your friend was right. There are no derelicts lurking about.”

“Oh, thank goodness. I didn’t think my coworker would lead me astray. I guess I’ll go get my key.”

She turned to leave and—
holy hell
—her bikini bottom was a thong. A thin piece of floss between two perfect ass cheeks. How had he missed that?

It was all he could do not to drool. “Nice suit,” he mumbled.

She looked over her shoulder. “Thanks! I saw the Thong Thursday flyer and thought, why not? I bought this suit when we were overseas and wore it there once. I brought it with me, but I never would have had the guts to wear it here, until I saw that you guys had an actual
day
for one.” She waved and disappeared up the steps to her apartment.

Jamie spun around and scanned the bulletin board where the pool rules were posted. A blue flyer had been tacked front and center:
JOIN US FOR THONG THURSDAY!

Thank you, Bella
.

Jamie jogged up to Bella’s cottage. The screen door was open.

“Bella?” Bella Abbascia owned the cottage across from the apartment Jessica was renting. Bella was the resident prankster. Her favorite person to play tricks on was Theresa Ottoline, the Seaside property manager. Theresa oversaw the homeowner association guidelines for the community—including the pool rules, which included a rule that clearly stated,
No thongs on women or Speedos on men
.

Her fiancé, Caden Grant, walked out of the bedroom in his police officer uniform. “Hey, Jamie. Come on in.”