Moonlight and Misunderstandings
MOONLIGHT AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS
RACHEL
Great. Another sleepless night. The bed was beyond comfortable. The room was spacious for a single and looked right out onto the ocean. The temperature was perfect.
And yet I tossed and turned.
The cause: Cameron Nash. What was I thinking pulling a stunt like that? Operation Green Thunder?
Hello?
What was that?
When I was around him, all reason evaporated like water in the desert. My mind drifted back to the fiery kiss we shared. His tongue in my mouth, the spearmint taste of him, his hands squeezing my ass, and his fingers tugging at my panties.
I shot up in the bed.
“Get out of there!” I said to no one. “Get out of my head!”
The glow from the moon reflecting off the ocean drew me to the window. The beach outside was empty. Maybe a walk would clear my head. I threw a sweatshirt over my tank and slipped into my flip-flops. The breeze outside was sublime and filled with the scent of the sea. I threw a hotel towel down on the beach and sat, pulling my knees into my chest.
What was I doing here?
That was the first thing I had to ask myself.
I had flown to the Cayman Islands with a man I barely knew. And yet, what freaked me out the most was that being with Cam, even sharing a room with him that first night, felt like the most natural thing in the world. It was as if I had known him for years. Even walking through the airport together, our strides fell into sync. I went there excited by the prospect of attending as friends and not having the pressure or expectation of any romance. And yet, I couldn’t seem to be in his presence without wanting to put my mouth all over him.
I needed to start fresh after I got home. Maintain a distance and recoup a little space. That would be better for both of us.
I rested my chin on my arm and squinted when I saw a figure walking up the beach toward me. He strolled with his hands in his pockets and then stopped. His face was shielded by the shadows, but I could tell he was looking my way – then, he began walking faster. Like he recognized me. I stood, dusting the sand off my legs and backside and shook out my towel Probably not a good idea to be on the beach at midnight with a stranger walking toward me.
My heels sank into the sand as I turned to the hotel. Then, I heard him call my name.
“Rachel?”
A shiver crept down my spine. A voice that sounded familiar but was also foreign at the same time. It was deep and husky. I turned as the man neared. Wavy hair, muscular, but it wasn’t Cam.
“Roman?” I asked.
He stepped into the light shining from the resort. His hair and stubble were darker than Cam’s, his eyes bluer, but he had the same freckles and handsome face as his brother. He wore khakis and a suit coat over a T-shirt.
“I thought I recognized you from the party,” he said.
My heart ticked up.
What was I supposed to say to the man who betrayed Cam?
“Oh, hello. Yes.” That was the best I could do at that moment.
“Are you out for a walk?”
I turned up my nose. “Headed back, actually.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. I was hoping I could join you if you were going to continue walking.”
My brow knit. “And why would I do that?”
A thin smile grazed his lips. “It would give me a chance to get to know the woman Cam has a crush on.”
“What? How would you even know that? You haven’t bothered to speak to him since you ruined his life.”
Regardless of the fire I just dished out, he kept smiling. “That’s mostly Cam not wanting to speak to me. And I don’t blame him. But Mom and I have started talking again. She told me Cam really likes you and that makes me happy.”
I brushed my hair over to one shoulder. “Oh … well … thanks, I guess.”
“Why are you out here at this time of night?”
“I can’t sleep.”
“Me neither. Come on.” He motioned for us to return to the beach.
I stared at him for a minute. Could I really walk with him? He definitely wanted to talk and part of me was curious enough to hear him out.
“Sure, I suppose.” I set the towel on a nearby beach chair and crossed my hands over my chest as we returned to the beach. “Where is your girlfriend? What’s her name, again?”
Roman glanced at me and chuckled. “Yeah, Britt. She’s sleeping. She spotted you and Cam at the party and wanted to go straight to bed.”
I bit my lip to keep from grinning and hollering. Yes! The operation worked!
We stepped through the sand as the tide nipped at our feet. I carried my flip-flops, and he had tennis shoes in his hand. The cool breeze brushed against my face, carrying the faint scent of salt and seaweed, and I closed my eyes for a moment, letting it wash over me. The steady rush of the waves felt like a heartbeat, a constant rhythm that settled something deep inside me. I released a long, heavy sigh and glanced at him again. “Can I ask you something?”
He met my eyes. “Sure.”
“What the hell were you thinking?”
He flattened his lips and hung his head. “I ask myself that every day. It’s a long story, and frankly I don’t think there’s enough beach ahead of us for me to get through it.”
I kept stealing glances at him. From the way he carried himself, he seemed lost, defeated, full of regret.
“What I do know is,” he continued, “that I miss my brother.”
“He misses you too.”
He kicked at the sand. “Did he say that?”
“Yes,” I said, stepping in front of him. “He said he’s angry that all he has is memories of you. You should talk to him.”
Roman smiled. “I can see why he likes you.”
“We’re, uh, we’re just friends helping each other out by being each other’s plus ones for events we don’t want to go alone to.”
“Really? What I saw at the party looked like something … different.”
“That was part of Operation Green Thunder.”
“It was … what?”
“Nope. Nothing.” The night air started to chill me. “You really should talk to Cam.”
“I’ve tried. He never responds to my calls or texts. After a while, I stopped trying. I wouldn’t want to talk to me either, though, so I get it.”
“You should keep trying. One of these days you’ll get through. The fact that Cam told me he misses you is something.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“Mind if we turn around?” I said, rubbing my arms. “I’m getting chilly.”
“Oh, here.” Roman pulled off his coat and tried to put it around my shoulders. I protested at first and then accepted.
“Thank you,” I said, hugging it around me. “So you’re a doctor?”
“Yes. Just transferred to St. Joseph’s in Phoenix.”
“Wow. It’s so confusing. You save lives, you’re good-looking. You gave me your coat so you’re obviously caring. It makes no sense that you would settle for a woman like Britt.”
He didn’t respond for a long beat and walked silently alongside me until we got back to the resort. “Look. I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes?—”
I put my hand up and handed his jacket back to him. “You don’t need to explain them to me, you owe those explanations to your mother, brother, and more importantly, to yourself. You seem like a good guy, Roman. You have a family who loves you. I would give anything to have the family you have. The real question is, are you willing to lose your family for Britt?”
He opened his mouth to speak, but something over my shoulder caught his eye, giving him pause. “Uh, thanks so much for the kind words. I appreciate it.”
He hustled off, his pace almost reaching a jog. I looked behind me to see what had spooked him. The silhouette of a woman on a third-floor balcony sent a shudder through my bones. Who knows how long Britt had been watching us. What I did know is that there would be repercussions from our stroll along the beach.
When I met Cam in the hallway at 9 a.m., I gulped, unsure if I wanted to tell him of the moonlight walk I had with his brother. Instead, I decided to bring up something I thought about while I was getting ready.
“Good morning,” he sang, leading me to the elevator.
“I owe you an apology.”
He arched an eyebrow. “For?”
I swallowed the hard lump forming in my throat. “For last night.”
He held the elevator door, and I stepped in. He turned to me once he pushed the lobby button. “I don’t know what you could have to apologize for.”
“I shouldn’t have kissed you. We don’t want to complicate this, and, well, kissing leads to complications.”
He leaned up against the elevator wall flashing his sexy smile. “I accept your apology, but it’s not necessary. Kissing was an integral part of Operation Green Thunder.”
“Right. And it worked. It really did make Britt jealous.”
Cam cocked his head. “How do you know?”
Shit.
I bolted out of the elevator, Cam right on my heels.
“I’m hungry. Are you?” If only I could get to the breakfast buffet before Cam pressed me for an answer to that question.
“Kicklighter?”
“Let’s get something to eat and then I’ll tell you.”
He gently touched my arm stopping me. “Did you somehow talk to her after we went to our rooms?”
“No.” I felt as though and invisible weight settled on my shoulders as his eyes searched mine. “I … I talked to your brother.”
His eyes bulged. “What?”
Thankfully, Jill spotted us and rushed over.
“Good morning, you two. How’d you sleep?”
“Great!” I lied. “How are you? Are you nervous at all?”
Jill waved her hand at me. “Not at all. It’s going to be casual and fun. Sunset on the beach and then a party. I can’t wait!”
Trent and his brother came over to Cam, passing backslaps and greetings around, which gave me the opportunity to go through the breakfast buffet with Jill. “I can’t say this enough, I’m so grateful you’re here with Cam. I know he wouldn’t have come without you,” Jill said, handing me a plate.
My eyes zeroed in on the potatoes, but since I was in public, I only grabbed a few. “I’m happy to be here.”
“Plus, I think you being here is making Britt crazy, so that’s even better,” Jill offered.
I looked at Jill while she spooned some oatmeal into a bowl. “Do you not like Britt?”
“I hate her. Hate her for what she did to Cam, but my mom is Victoria’s sister, and she made me invite Britt and Roman.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, reaching for the scrambled eggs. “Well, here’s hoping her presence doesn’t dampen your special day.”
“It won’t. I won’t let it. I’m so looking forward to tonight and then tomorrow’s activity. Are you and Cam coming to Stingray City with us?”
“Is that an actual city of stingrays?”
Jill giggled. “Kind of. Stingray handlers lure them into this area with food and they swim up on you and you can kiss them.”
“Do the stingrays buy us dinner first?”
Jill let out a cackle, but I was actually pretty serious about this.
“You’re so funny. OMG, I’m so glad you came. Will you and Cam sit with my parents and me?”
“Sure, let me find him first.”
Cam had already found a table alone, to the side of where most of the wedding party and other guests were already sitting. He was texting and only had a cup of black coffee in front of him. A second cup of coffee sat in front of the seat across from him, with cream and sugar waiting on the side. I couldn’t help but smile—he’d remembered how I liked my coffee.
“This seat taken?” I asked.
Cam glanced up but didn’t smile. “Why, no. Be my guest.” He hopped up to pull out my chair.
“Jill invited us to sit at her table, would you like to move there?”
“Not until after you explain when you had a conversation with my brother.”
I sipped my coffee. “Last night.”
An avalanche of color rushed back into Cam’s face.
“I’m not trying to upset you,” I said.
“I’m … I’m not upset.”
“You’re clenching your fist so hard that you could make a diamond if you had a piece of coal in your hand.”
Cam relaxed his fist and swallowed hard. “Please tell me what happened.”
I told him how I couldn’t sleep and went and sat out on the beach. Cam’s expression relaxed somewhat when he realized it was a coincidence that Roman and I had bumped into each other. He did not, however, appreciate the part where I’d urged Roman to talk to his brother.
“That’s out of the question,” he said.
“Cam—”
His chair scraped across the floor when rose to his feet.
“Where are you going?”
He raked a hand through his curly hair. “I thought I could handle this wedding. I don’t think I can.”
I stood and reached out for his arm, but he stepped away. “Cam. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to?—”
“You have done nothing wrong. This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have asked you to come here. I shouldn’t have come here.”
“I’m sorry to do this.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I need to be alone for a bit. Can you hang with Jill for a little while?”
“Sure. I’ll be okay. Take some time. Text if you need me.”
His misty eyes doubled in size. He stared at me for a minute, reached for my hand, and squeezed it before he hurried out of the room.
I gobbled my breakfast and took a fresh cup of coffee outside. When I reached Jill, Trent, and her parents’ table, I made up a story about Cam needing to deal with a work problem and Jill patted the seat next to her, her smile warm and inviting.
Though I laughed through the rest of the morning with Jill, my thoughts drifted often to Cam. I totally respected his need to be alone, but I wanted to go to him, comfort him, make it better. I didn’t want to use a mulligan on this trip, but I had a feeling I was going to have to.