Chapter 24
Cindy told herself she was going to the Beachcomber for the music, but if she was being truthful, she hoped to see Jace again. She felt silly to be halfway crushing on a tattooed bartender with a rough edge to him, but she hadn’t stopped thinking about him since the other night.
While laid low with a migraine the night before, she’d stared up at the ceiling in her dark bedroom and wondered what his story was, and that had brought her back to a stool at his bar for dinner.
“Hey, beautiful.” That charming smile had probably made many a pair of panties go damp. “Good to see you.”
“You, too.”
He poured an ice water and added a flourish of lemon.
“Thank you.” She appreciated that he didn’t seem to resent her for taking a place at his bar from someone who’d run up a big tab. “Anything good on the specials menu tonight?”
“As a matter of fact,” he said, producing a printed page, “the natives are raving about the seafood casserole.”
Cindy read the description of the dish and nearly drooled. “Sign me up.”
“Baked potato, fries or rice?”
“I’ll take the fries, even though I should have the rice.”
“Fries for the pretty lady. Cole slaw, side salad or veggie medley?”
Cindy felt her cheeks flush at the compliment, which was mortifying. “Slaw, please, and tartar sauce on the side?”
“You got it. Coming right up.”
As he went to put her order into the computer, she watched him covertly. His muscles bulged under his uniform shirt as he worked on the computer. When he glanced at her, he caught her watching him and smiled. “No allergies to shellfish, right?”
“Nope. All good.”
“Excellent.”
While she enjoyed her ice water and Niall’s always-entertaining music, she watched Jace move around the bar. He offered every customer a friendly welcome and fast service that indicated seasoned experience behind a bar. He laughed easily, and his friendliness had his tip jar filling up fast.
Cindy played a game of gin rummy with her new friend, Piper Bennett, who was helping Laura at the Surf. Their game ended prematurely when Piper was called back to work to deal with a crisis at the front desk.
“Is this seat taken?”
Cindy was surprised to see her brother John, who’d been keeping a low profile since he’d arrived on the island a couple of weeks ago. “All yours, brother.”
“How’re you feeling? Mom said you had a migraine yesterday.”
“Better today than last night, which was rough. The new meds help to keep them from being multiday events.”
“That’s good. I remember how bad they were when we were all at home.”
“And how Dad never wanted to hear I was sick.”
“‘Get up and shake it off,’ he’d say. The asshole.”
“Such an asshole, who’s exactly where he belongs.
” The relief of retired General Mark Lawry being in prison and permanently out of their lives was something his seven children were still coming to terms with months after he pleaded guilty to assaulting their mother.
Thankfully, she was now happily remarried to the wonderful Charlie Grandchamp.
“Have you talked to Katie?” he asked.
“Earlier in the week.”
“How’s she doing? I’ve been afraid to ask.”
“A little better. She’s hoping to go back to work next week.”
“I wonder why miscarriages happen the way they do.”
“I suppose it’s the universe’s way of saying that particular baby wasn’t meant to be. She and Shane can try again in a couple of months.”
“You’re sure she’s all right?”
“Shane is taking good care of her, and Mom and Julia have been there every day. I took food, and Laura did, too. She’s holding up okay.”
“I never want anything to hurt any of you guys after what we’ve already put up with.”
“We feel the same about you, you know.”
Jace came back to their end of the bar and took a measuring look at John, who had blond hair and blue eyes and favored their older brother Owen. Was it her imagination, or did Jace seem annoyed to see her sitting with a man? “Jace, this is my brother John. John, this is Jace.”
The two men shook hands.
“Good to meet you,” Jace said, smiling since she said the word brother. “What can I get you to drink?”
“What’ve you got on tap?”
After Jace gave him the rundown, John said, “A Sam Summer, please.”
“Coming right up. Are you eating?”
“Sure.”
Jace handed him the menu and the list of specials and then went to get his beer.
“I’m having the seafood casserole that’s on the specials list. Jace says people are loving it.”
“Jace says that, huh? He didn’t seem too happy to see you chatting with me.”
“Don’t be silly. I just met him the other night.”
“He likes you.”
“Stop it.”
John nudged her. “You’re blushing.”
“Go away.”
Her brother laughed, which was a welcome sight. He’d been in a deep funk since he’d come home for their mother’s wedding to Charlie.
“Nice to hear you laugh,” Cindy said. “We’ve been worried about you.”
His smile immediately faded. “Sorry about that.”
“What’s going on with you? And don’t you need to get back to work?” He was a police officer in Tennessee and had said something about an issue with a superior officer. But Cindy hadn’t heard any more than that.
Jace returned with John’s beer.
“Thanks. I’ll have the same order as my sister.”
“With fries, slaw and tartar sauce?”
“Yes, please.”
“You got it. Want me to bring them out together?”
“That’d be good,” Cindy said. “Thanks, Jace.”
“Anything for you,” Jace said with a wink and a smile.
“I rest my case,” John said.
“He probably says that stuff to everyone. Check out his tip jar. Charm pays.”
“He likes you.”
Hearing her brother confirm what she already suspected made Cindy feel like she’d been dropped off the steep side of a roller coaster. “Enough about me. Let’s talk about you.”
“I’d rather talk about you,” he said glumly.
“I’ve got nothing to say. You, on the other hand, haven’t been yourself since you got here, and the fact that you’re not in a big rush to get back to work tells me something’s up.”
“Yeah, something’s up.” He sipped from his beer and shredded the cocktail napkin into confetti. “I was, um, seeing someone I worked with, and it ended badly.”
“I’m so sorry. Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really, but I, um, quit the department.”
Cindy was shocked by that news. John had loved that job. “For real? It was that bad?”
“It was with my sergeant. One of us had to go, and it wasn’t going to be him.”
Him.
“Oh, I, um… I hadn’t realized.”
“That’s because I went to great lengths to keep my private life off the general’s radar. You’ve heard his hateful rants about ‘fags’ and how they’re ruining everything.”
“You dated women. A lot of women.”
“To keep him off the scent.”
“God, John. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”
“We all went through something horrible at his hands. Why should I be any different?”
“True.” Cindy sipped her water as she tried to process what her brother had told her. “You quit your job, though. What about your pension?”
“I get to keep a portion of it, which I’ll invest. I’ll figure it out. I couldn’t stay there after people found out about us, and it turned into a BFD. I was afraid he was going to kill me.”
“You really worried about that?”
“He was so angry that people found out about us. I think he thought I told someone, which I didn’t. I never would’ve done that to either of us.”
“So how did they find out?”
“That’s a good question. I think he told someone and then tried to blame it on me.”
“That’s screwed up.”
“Yep, and now here I am out of a job and a relationship all at the same time.”
She put her arm around him. “I’m so sorry that happened to you, Johnny.”
He leaned into her embrace. “Thanks, sis. I’ll be okay. I’ve got some money saved, and Mom and Charlie told me to stay as long as I need to. I’ll figure something out.”
Jace returned bearing plates he put in front of them. “Clams casino, specialty of the house.”
“Uh, we didn’t order that,” Cindy said, glancing at her brother.
“It’s on me,” Jace said with the charming smile that made her heart beat a little faster. “Enjoy.”
“He likes you,” John said the second Jace moved on to other customers.
“Shut up and eat your clams.”
John’s laughter rang through the bar. “Cindy’s got a boyfriend,” he said in a singsong voice, “and may I say, he’s a fine-looking man.”
Yes, he certainly is, Cindy thought. What did it mean that he was treating her—and her brother—to something special off the menu?
Gigi woke to a text to her and Jordan from Matilda. Rise and shine, ladies! I need a meeting with you two this morning at nine to discuss the final episode. Please come alone to my hotel. This meeting is just for the three of us, and I’ll provide breakfast. Thanks!
Jordan replied a minute later. Why does she have to be so chipper in the morning? It’s annoying.
Seriously annoying, Gigi said.
Matilda responded with laughing emojis. I can hear you two! Get your asses out of bed and get to work!
Gigi groaned and started to carefully extricate herself from the tight hold Cooper had on her. She usually hated when guys slept all over her, but she didn’t seem to mind it with him.
All her usual rules had gone out the window since she met him, and with shooting coming to a close, she needed to get back to normal, whatever that was these days.
She managed to get out of bed without waking him and took a long, hot shower to clear her mind and body of thoughts of the man who’d rocked her world three times during the night.
But when she emerged from the shower twenty minutes later, she was still thinking about him, still reeling, still reliving every second with him and still trying to believe she might get to keep him.
Despite the seismic shift that had occurred yesterday, a big part of her still refused to believe something this good could last forever.
“Why you up so early?” Cooper asked, his eyes still closed.
“Got a meeting with the producer. Don’t you have your thing with the McCarthys this morning?” He was pitching his business idea to Big Mac McCarthy, Luke Harris and Kara Torrington at the marina.
“Uh-huh. It’s in an hour.”
“You’d better get moving.”
“Only takes me a minute to get ready.”