Second Chance Summer: Menage Romance Novel (Midnight Cove Menage Book 1) (4 page)

Summer’s mother glanced at it like it might be diseased, but she gave it a limp shake. “Jane Crenshaw.” Blake let her hand go and she turned to Devin.

“Devin Rogers. Pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”

She gave Devin a tight smile and shook his hand. “Thank you.”

All four of them stood there, awkward and uncomfortable and smiling for no reason.
God, why is she even here?
At last her mother spoke up.

“Well, Summer dear, I still think you should try again. Give Hillside another call. Ask for Rosalind.”

Summer couldn’t help but sigh. “Alright, Mom. If it’ll make you happy, I will. First thing Tuesday morning when I’m back in New York.”

Devin cleared his throat.
Oh, no. Don’t—

Before Summer could get his attention, he’d opened his mouth. “If you don’t mind my asking, Ms. Crenshaw, why are you so hung up on galleries in New York?”

Her mother’s lips puckered like she’d swallowed a lemon. “Excuse me?”

“Well, Summer paints West Coast landscapes and abstracts. She’d find a ton of buyers on this coast. Plenty right here in Midnight Cove.”

The indignation hit Summer in a wave as her mother straightened up. How a woman so small could look down on a six-foot-tall man was beyond Summer. But she managed. Her mother did have super powers.

“The Crenshaws are better than a small town gallery in a tourist trap. She could have been a doctor. A politician. Even a lawyer. Instead, she
paints
. The least she can do is excel at it.” The way the words spit from her mother’s mouth hit Summer straight in the gut. A punch would’ve hurt less.

Devin’s voice dropped and lost its mirth. “What about being happy? Can’t she excel in that, instead?”

Her mother’s eyes widened and she opened and closed her mouth like a puppet on strings. Devin might as well have asked her if the moon were made of cheese.

After a moment, her mother turned to her. “Well. Hasn’t this been nice? If you’ll excuse me, dear, I need to pay my respects to the groom.”

Summer nodded and watched her mother walk away. Back straight, head high. She greeted Richard with a gracious smile and Summer turned away. No matter how hard she tried, she’d always be a disappointment.

“She acts like this is a funeral, not a wedding.” Devin shook his head.

Summer turned to him. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Done what? Told her the truth? Someone should.”

“It’ll only make it worse.” She knew from personal experience.

“I don’t know why you let her get to you. So she doesn’t like your choices? Who cares?”

“She’s my mother, Devin.” Summer frowned and set her empty glass on a nearby tray. She knew this weekend would be a disaster.

Coming back to Midnight Cove after all these years. Running into the pair of them. It was rough enough if she’d had to face it alone. But with her mother swooping in and taking up residence…

Then Blake and that kiss. She ran her fingers over her lip and glanced his way.

Instead of the smug confidence of Devin, Blake was quiet with his hands in his pockets and an unreadable look on his face. His eyes were focused on her. Determined, but not angry.

She dropped her hand. “What is it?”

“If I asked you to leave the party—come away with me and Devin for a while—would you do it?”

She frowned. “What for?”

“To forget all the negative people. The bad vibe. You didn’t come here to be put down. You came here to celebrate a wedding.” His face softened with a small smile. “I know a good stretch of beach that’s empty this time of night.”

Yes! Just say yes!
Her whole body screamed in agreement. “Does it have a rocky ledge and a lifeguard station?”

“Sure does.”

“I can’t believe you remember that.”

Blake’s tongue darted out to wet his lips. “I remember everything.”

Oh.
She glanced at Devin. “How about you?”

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

Summer bit her lip. More than anything she wanted to follow them into the dark. The past. The memories that wouldn’t quit her. But could she leave Mandy’s reception? Go down the path to the place where it all started? Bodies crushed against the rocks. Sand in her hair. Lips on her skin.

She glanced up and saw Mandy laughing in a huge group of friends and family. She’d probably never notice if they left. And it would give Summer a chance to find out if what she remembered was even real.

With a deep breath, she turned back to the men. “Okay. Count me in.”

“
L
ast time I checked
, the beach is that way.” Summer tugged Devin’s hand toward the water.

“I know.” He craned his neck and flashed her a grin. A sexy, take no prisoners grin that had her sucking in her breath and trying not to stumble. Damn that dimple.

“So where are we going?”

He turned back toward the path with a shrug and his voice carried over his shoulder. “You’ll see.”

Summer frowned. Surprises weren’t her thing. And when Devin got it in his head to do something…

“Please tell me there’s nothing criminal involved.”

“Nothing
too
criminal. Relax. Just roll with it.”

Roll with it. Right.

Footsteps sounded behind them and Blake jogged up. “Talked to Mandy. She’s cool with us taking off.”

“Oh! Thanks.”
How sweet
. Summer glanced at his profile. Short brown hair, beard that would tickle her neck and scrape her jaw. He smiled and her heart thump-thumped. How had she walked out of their lives? Out of her own life?

Summer swallowed and called out to Devin. “If we’re going off on a crazy hike, I should at least change my shoes.”

“No hikes. Just a quick pit stop. Come on, my car’s this way.”

The horn beeped and lights flashed on a Jeep Wrangler in the parking lot.
So Devin.
“It’s been four years and you still drive a four-by-four?”

Blake jogged ahead, pulled open the passenger door and flipped the seat. “We need it—how else are we going to hit the north beach before dawn?” He climbed in the back and pulled the front seat back into position.

Summer climbed up and pulled the door shut. “You still surf?” She remembered sandy wetsuits and surfboard racks. Endless stretches of waves. Canvases filled with blues and greens. A friendship that tipped into so much more. Her cheeks heated and she glanced out the window.

Devin hopped in and revved the engine. “We own a surf shop on Main now. It’s kind of what we do.”

She whipped her head around. “You do? So no more waiting tables? Bartending?”

“We’re about to get back into that, too. We’re turning our upstairs into a bar with Ian.”

Wow
. “So it’s what? In one of those little houses turned into a shop?”

“The wood-shingled one on the corner of Wisteria. It’s got enough room for the shop and our apartment on the first floor and the whole upstairs is empty.”

“And you own it?”

Devin pulled out of the parking spot with a nod. “We saved up everything from working for Richard and bought the first house we could.”

Summer shook her head. She’d been so wrapped up in herself and her own career that she’d never stopped to think the two of them might have grown up. But businessmen? It was amazing. “You two live there together?”

Blake slid forward in the back and rested his arm on the edge of her seat. “It’s easier to live at the shop. When it’s a good surf day, we open early.”

“That’s…impressive.” They’d found a way to turn what they loved into a business. All while staying put in Midnight Cove.

Summer looked out the window as the town rushed by. Little shops and restaurants. The occasional house tucked in between. Street lights on every corner with ferns and trailing flowers. God, she loved this town. If only…

The Jeep whipped into the gas station parking lot and Devin killed the engine. “Let’s go. We need supplies.”

Summer frowned. Supplies? Before she could ask what that meant, Devin had pulled her car door open and helped her out. Blake hopped down from the other side and all three walked into the convenience store together.

“So what are we here for?” Summer bit her lip and looked around. They used to go there after the bar closed. Grab bright blue Slurpees and head down to the water. Goof off in the lifeguard’s station after hours. Play hide and seek like kids between the rocks and pillars.

One time they’d even TP’ed the whole station—it’d looked like a giant marshmallow had landed in the sand. Thank God they’d never been caught.
Wait. Oh, no
.

She spun around as Devin picked up a giant pack of toilet paper and tossed it to Blake. “That should do it, right?”

“Guys, I don’t think—”

“Exactly. Don’t think. Just relax, have some fun.” Devin flashed her a grin and grabbed a giant Slurpee cup. “Blue raspberry? Three straws?”

Blake pulled out a pair of oversized, zebra print sunglasses. “You think we need some accessories? Wouldn’t want to get caught on camera, would we?”

“Guys, come on. We’re grown-ups.”

“So what?”

Summer glanced up at the cashier. Teenage eyes were glued to some car race on repeat on the tiny TV above his head. Oblivious to the antics of people old enough to know better. “Twenty-five-year-olds shouldn’t be acting like this.”

“When they’re sad and stuck in a rut, they most certainly should. Now stop talking and put these on.” Devin opened up a pair of neon green sunglasses adorned with more rhinestones than Dolly Parton. He slipped them on Summer’s face and stepped back. “Perfect. Let’s go.”

They all walked up to the cashier and Summer tried not to fidget. The last time they’d done something like this…It’d ended in the three of them tangled up in Devin’s sheets and a morning full of regret.

But before that? She’d had so much fun, Slurpee came out her nose. With a bite of her lip, she glanced at Blake. He’d been quiet inside the store. Did he have second thoughts too? Hands in his pockets, lips thinned into a line. Maybe he’d back her up. Stop this ridiculous game.

He sensed her eyes on him and looked up.
Oh. Wow.
Instead of wariness or concern, all she saw was heat. Lust. Unabashed need.

Thank God for dark tint, over-the-top shades. Otherwise, he’d see the same reflected right back.

Summer climbed out of the front seat and Blake had to bite back a groan. The green swoosh of her dress slipped higher up her thighs and the curve of her ass had him wishing for a hotel room instead of the beach.

He knew Devin meant well—a trip down memory lane to fire up a good mood and rekindle what they’d shared. But Summer was right—they weren’t kids out on a joy ride anymore. Couldn’t they hit a bar and chat in a booth like normal people?

Summer slipped off her sandals and Blake clenched his jaw. The beach did have some advantages.
Shit
. He needed to rein it in before he said something stupid.

“You coming, man?” Devin held open the door and Blake stood up.

“Yeah, sorry.” He hopped out and followed Devin and Summer as they made their way down the rocky slope to the beach. His feet hit the sand and he exhaled.

Midnight Cove might be the vacation spot for billionaires and movie stars and a whole host of people with egos bigger than the damn Pacific Ocean. But for Blake? It was magic. The salty surf crashing against the sand. The waves that carried him and a board in the air. The lighthouse spinning its web of light over the rocks and water.

He glanced over at Summer. She stood on the beach, sandals in her hand and toes flexing in the sand, staring out at the inky blackness. She’d always been that type of girl. The one who felt deeper, fell harder, laughed louder. The one who could take one look at the ocean and visualize a painting that captured more than just waves.

It captured Blake, too.

“Still beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Mm-hmm.” She nodded. “It never changes, does it? No matter what we do or where we go, this—” Her hand waved at the shoreline and the water. “It never changes.”

“No, it doesn’t. It’s always here, waiting.”

She turned to him, crazy neon sunglasses pushed up onto her head to hold back her hair.
God damn.
So beautiful. Wild. And she wanted to cage herself into the streets of New York. He’d never understand why.

“So are you two done staring at each other? Cause we’ve got a lifeguard station to TP!”

A roll of toilet paper sailed through the air and Blake caught it before it hit the ground. “Brad’s going to have a conniption if he finds out we did this.”

Summer spoke up. “Who’s Brad?”

“The head lifeguard and Midnight Cove’s building inspector. He’s the only thing standing between us and the bar.” Blake raised his voice as Devin jogged away. “He’ll probably deny our permit on principle!”

“Then stop shouting so we don’t get caught.” Devin stopped in front of the lifeguard hut. Fifty years old, with whitewashed wood walls perched ten feet off the sand, that place had seen more teenage action than anywhere else in the Cove.

Blake glanced at Summer. Some twenty-one-year-old action too. He still remembered her hair pulled back in a ponytail. Black tank top and jean skirt. Just enough thigh to grab ahold of as he pressed her against a pillar.

Maybe a break from real life wasn’t a terrible idea. Maybe it would show Summer what she’d been missing.

With a deep breath, Blake tossed the roll to her. “Come on, let’s have some fun.” He pulled his sunglasses down—oversized and bright red—and loped after Devin.

As he stopped beneath the lifeguard station, a toilet paper roll sailed over the roof and landed with a soft thud on the other side.
Summer
. Blake laughed and let his tension go. If Brad had an issue with them, he’d deal with it. Just not tonight.

Devin picked up the roll, pulled back and
whoosh!
Over the roof it went. A few seconds later, back it came with Summer’s warm, bubbly laugh hitching a ride.

Devin caught it and tossed it back. “See, I told you this would be fun.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “A half hour of this and it’ll all come back, Blake. She’ll remember.”

Blake picked up the pack of toilet paper and fished out another roll. “I sure as hell hope so.”

“Just watch.”

“Watch what?” Summer bounded through the toilet paper streamers covering the station and came to a stop in front of them. “Is there something else going on tonight?”

Devin shrugged. “No. I was just telling Blake that come tomorrow, this’ll be the talk of the surfers. We’ll probably have more business than we know what to do with.”

“And a whole big mess to clean up.” Summer held half a roll in one hand and eyed the station house. “You both are coming out here first thing and cleaning this up, right?”

Devin grinned. “I never said anything about cleaning it up.”

Blake shook his head and Summer did the same. “You’re terrible.”

“I know. Now help us out and throw that thing, would you?”

Summer shook her head with a smile. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” She pulled her arm back and launched the toilet paper over the roof.

Blake grinned and jogged through the mess to pick it up on the other side. “Here it comes!” He launched it back over and Summer caught it with a laugh.

As the station disappeared under white streamers, they all fell into rhythm. Summer’s laugh warmed and grew. Her smile turned infectious. The woman Blake had fallen for was back. Spectacular. Larger than life.

Strips of the rolls hung down on all sides of the hut in makeshift paper curtains that hid everything inside. Without saying a word, the three of them ducked beneath the white and stood under the station.

Summer dropped her empty roll and took off her sunglasses. She spun around, laughing with wide eyes. Chestnut hair streaming, dress waving in the air like the ocean.

God, to have her back. To wrap her up in his arms and forget all about the last four years.

The pain. Heartache. What happened when she left. Blake shook his head and stepped toward her. He’d never be able to let her go. Never be able to move on.

Summer spun around and laughed at the craziness of it all. Twisting loops of toilet paper hung down like an art installation. Gauzy curtains blocked out the moonlight and the houses dotting the shoreline. A tiny cocoon on the sand shutting out everything but the sound of the ocean and her own beating heart.

Blake’s feet kicked sand onto her toes and she glanced up. Swallowed. The angle of his jaw. The crease between his brows when he smiled. The sparkle in his blue eyes when he looked her over.

The kiss.

It stole her breath and turned her on and brought it all back. The heat and desire. Unchecked need. She stepped back and her arm brushed against Devin’s shirt.
Oh, my.

Her two men. Tucked inside a spontaneous cabana on the beach. She closed her eyes. This was so not New York. So not her life.

Devin’s hand grazed her bare arm and she jumped. “Tell us about New York. What’s it like to live in the big city?”

Summer let out a shaky breath as Devin’s fingers played up and down on her skin. “Huge. Impersonal. Lonely.”

“I thought you lived in the art district?” Blake’s voice was soft, floating.

“I do. A flat in a building full of other painters and sculptors and all sorts of artists.”

“Aren’t they your friends?”

Devin’s fingers found her collarbone and she opened her eyes. Blake stood a foot away. Close enough to touch. To smell his sandalwood cologne. Catch the way the dim light cast shadows on his face.

“No. I don’t have any friends in New York. Everyone is crazy competitive. Or impressed with themselves. It’s all so fake and shallow.”

Blake eased closer. His beard coated his jawline and chin and Summer struggled not to remember how it would scrape as he kissed his way down her body.

“Then why are you there? Why don’t you come back to Midnight Cove?”

Devin’s other hand slinked around her waist. Gentle fingers exploring, teasing. Summer’s breath caught and her lips fell open. “I can’t. I’ve been trying to make it in New York for so long. I’ve got an exhibit next week.”

“You could have exhibits anywhere. Live anywhere.”

She swallowed. “My mother expects me to make it. To be someone.”

Devin pushed her hair off her neck and his lips took its place. Sensual, but firm. Summer clenched her muscles and shifted her weight on the sand. Her whole body hummed like an electric circuit full to bursting with unused energy.

Every touch of Devin’s lips had her biting back a moan.

They shouldn’t be there. The weekend wasn’t about her falling back into the past. It was about Mandy. The wedding. Being there for her best friend and then going back to the life she’d constructed three thousand miles away.