Chapter 9 #4
While Adam exchanged texts with his mother, Abby kicked off her shoes and wandered down to the water, dipping her toes into the chilly surf.
By the time he joined her, she’d rolled up the cuffs of her jeans and wandered in farther.
The sand between her toes was a welcome reminder of summer days at the beach, one of her favorite places to be.
“We used to come down here to skinny-dip when we were kids,” Adam said when he joined her.
“I’ve never done that.”
“Never? You grew up on an island, and you’ve never skinny-dipped?”
“Nope.”
“You really did miss out, didn’t you?”
“I was too busy being a good girl. They don’t have as much fun as the bad girls.”
His lips quivered with amusement. “So now you’ve gone to the dark side.”
“You know it, and I’m never going back. It’s all about me now. It’s all about what I want.”
“Good for you.” He bumped against her playfully. “You should have everything you want.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” She thought of something else she wanted to say, but hesitated.
“What?”
“I don’t want you to get the wrong idea if I ask about Grant, but I can’t help being concerned about him after what you told me yesterday.”
“I understand. My mom said he slept better last night and seems to be more like his old self today, according to Stephanie.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” She glanced up at him. “You don’t think it’s weird that I asked about him, do you?”
“Not at all. You were with him a long time, and you still care about him. I get it.” He took her hand. “Let’s walk.” They wandered along the shore, enjoying the view of the sandy cliffs and ocean. “You ever miss him?”
“I did for a long time. The first year was a nightmare. I missed him so much. Every day I questioned whether I’d done the right thing leaving him in LA.”
“Why did you leave?”
“He didn’t have any time for me. He was always working, and I felt like a distraction rather than a girlfriend. My mom was hassling me about whether he was ever going to marry me. After a while, I got tired of telling her we were getting married and then having it never happen.”
“Did you guys ever talk about getting married?”
“Occasionally, but it never went anywhere, so I decided to leave. Part of me thought he’d come after me,” she said with a bitter laugh.
“But he didn’t. That told me a lot about where I stood with him.
The next time he came home, before Mac’s wedding, I was already seeing Cal.
Of course, once he heard I had someone else, Grant was all about trying to get me back, but it was too late. ”
“Were you still in love with him?”
She shook her head. “It took me a long time to realize that died long before I left him. I used to think Grant couldn’t love anyone as much as he loves his career, but then he met Stephanie. They seem really good together.”
He dropped her hand and bent to pick up a rock that he sent skimming over the waves. “Does that bother you? That he has with her what he never had with you?”
“Not really. We weren’t meant to be. I accepted that years ago. I’m sure he knows that by now, too.” She glanced at him. “Your brother never told you any of this?”
“My brothers and I have long-standing, unwritten rules on not grilling each other about our girlfriends. We have all we can do to handle our mom’s questions. We don’t pile on.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
“What can I say? We McCarthy boys stick together.”
“I’m concerned about causing a rift between you and Grant with this deal of ours. I’d hate that.”
“Maybe I’ll talk to him about it.”
“Really? You’d do that?”
“If it would make you more comfortable with it, then yeah, I’d do it.”
“What would you tell him?”
“That we’re hanging out, having some fun, helping each other through a rough time. Something like that.”
“How do you think he’ll react?”
“Truthfully, I think it’ll be the least of his concerns. He’s got something else weighing on him.”
Abby wasn’t sure how she felt about the idea of Grant not caring—at all—that his brother was seeing her. “You know, girls have a secret girlfriend code.”
“Which is?”
“No dating my exes.”
“Guys aren’t usually as territorial, especially years after they’ve moved on with someone else.”
“So you’d be fine with one of your brothers dating Sasha?” she asked with a smile.
“I’d probably warn them to lock up their valuables, but otherwise, I don’t suppose I’d care.”
Abby laughed at the valuables comment. “And you just broke up with her a few days ago.”
“So Grant ought to be fine with it, right?”
“If you say so. It’s not like this is a relationship or anything. That would probably be different.”
“Exactly.”
“So when can we skinny-dip?”
Adam stopped walking and turned to her. “That’s usually done under the cover of darkness.”
Abby took a long look around the deserted stretch of beach. “Who would know?”
“You’re serious.”
She forced herself to look at him, wishing he wasn’t wearing sunglasses so she could see his eyes. “Dead serious.”
“I’ve never done it during the day.”
“So we’d both be doing something new.”
“I don’t know, Abby. We might get caught. Would you be okay with that?”
“Would we get arrested? Fingerprinted and all that?”
He laughed. “Why do I get the feeling you might enjoy that?”
“Another thing I’ve never done. Have you?”
“I’ll never tell.”
“You have! What’d you do?”
Adam laughed and shook his head. “No way are you getting that out of me.”
“Come on! After what I told you last night, you have to tell me.”
“Nope,” he said as he took off down the beach, jogging away from her and her questions.
Abby gave chase, and when she got close to him, she leaped onto his back, expecting him to keep moving.
Instead, he went down like a fallen oak, landing with an oof in the wet sand.
Somehow she ended up on top of him. Shocked by the turn of events, Abby burst into laughter. That hadn’t gone as planned.
“Shit, girl,” he said when he could talk again, “are you trying to kill me?”
Abby was crippled with laughter.
“Glad you think it’s so funny. I may never walk again.”
That only made her laugh harder. And then she realized their bodies were perfectly aligned and one part of him was letting her know it approved of her proximity. She pushed up his sunglasses so they rested on his forehead. “That’s better,” she said.
His arms encircled her, keeping her pressed to him. “Now that you have me where you want me, what do you plan to do with me?”
The old Abby would’ve apologized for tackling him, for getting his clothes wet, for acting less than ladylike. The new Abby stared into his eyes and took the wordless dare he issued. She bent her head and kissed him, keeping her eyes open and fixed on his as their lips met tentatively at first.
“Tell me about being arrested.”
“Make me.”
Abby had no idea how to make him do anything, so she gently pressed her lips to his again, hoping to cajole him into talking.
“That’s the best you can do?”