Chapter 21
twenty-one
ROWAN
“I wonder what the girls are talking about,” August says curiously.
“I don’t know, probably girl stuff.” Beau shrugs.
“And what would that be?” I turn toward Beau, who sits across from me in the boat's seating area up front.
He looks around at the group while we drink and eat the food that the crew provided. He pinches his brows together, thinking, like he’s making sure not to sound stupid with whatever it is he’s about to say.
“I don’t know. Leonardo DiCaprio?” he suggests.
James quirks a brow. “You think the girls are talking about him? Why him?”
Beau shrugs again. “I don’t know. Women seem to be obsessed with the dude.”
“I’m pretty sure they can have more intellectual conversations than that,” I add.
Beau raises his palms upward. “You guys asked.”
“Yeah, should’ve known better,” James says before taking a drink from the liquid amber in his glass.
We hear someone come down from upstairs and see Riley beaming with excitement as she walks to the bar to get a drink.
Beau raises his brows. “See? They are talking about him.”
Riley comes out from the bar, and before she heads upstairs, James calls her over.
“What’s up?” she asks.
“What were you guys just talking about up there?” James tilts his chin toward the upper deck.
Riley arches a brow. “Nothing you need to worry about.”
“Just humor me,” James asks smoothly.
“Well, if you must know.” Riley’s smile is back on her face. “Addie has this crazy idea about what Ellie should do.”
I lean in, barely noticeable, just to make sure I hear whatever it is that’s going to come out of Riley’s mouth.
“And what would that be?” August cocks his head with a smile.
Riley’s smile drops when she looks at August and then turns back to look at us, her smile back on display.
“Addie thinks that Ellie should take part in The Taste of Dove Point. You know, baking is what used to make her happy, and none of that fancy shit she does. Cookies, brownies, cupcakes. The other night, when we were all talking about how she hasn’t been happy at her job, she had full-on waterworks. I swear, she almost made me cry, and you know I don’t cry. But seeing her heartbroken like that, I couldn’t handle it. Did you know that she blames herself for what Charlie did? She says she was so focused on this big event, and Charlie tried talking to her while that was going on, and she was too mentally exhausted to keep up with everything.”
I look at August, who looks just as confused as I feel. Clearly, she didn’t tell him or her parents that part. What else could she be hiding? Why wouldn’t she tell me? I press my lips together, and my brows furrow while I wrap my head around all this.
“Is she okay?” I ask.
“She says she’s fine now, feeling better after taking some days to herself.”
“I have an idea.” Beau holds out a finger, gesturing at us to listen, “Operation get Ellie to move back home .” He looks at us and smiles.
“What?” Riley squints at him with pinched eyebrows. “This isn’t Mission Impossible , Beau.”
He raises both his hands and shakes his head. “Someone doesn’t know how to have some fun.”
Riley waves him off and says, “But Ellie said there needs to be a purpose behind her doing it, like when she would host the bake sales at school.”
Twice a year during high school, Ellie would hold a bake sale, and the girls would help her with that. One year, she made 700 dollars and donated it to a charity to save bees after a hurricane damaged 95,000 hives.
She had pamphlets about the charity, where to donate if you didn’t want to buy baked goods (which, let’s be real, she sold out within two hours), and they made a presentation board about bees and why they are needed for our environment.
“She can easily find something that would be worth signing up for the festival,” James said.
“Well, Rowan.” Riley looks at me with her head tilted. The look she has in her eyes is starting to scare me. “Your sister said that Ellie would have the best reason to raise money from what she sells.”
“And that would be?” I gesture my hand in a circle, telling her to continue.
“To move back home, permanently, and open her own bakery!” Riley shouts with an excited smile.
We all look at her dumbfounded because that is a wild idea that involves so much work . Don’t get me wrong, if Ellie decided to leave what she built on the other side of the country, you would catch me doing backflips. And I don’t know how to do that.
But no one would just leave all that behind. A successful job, which is burning her out, a nice apartment that probably cost more than my mortgage, and—wait—is that all she would have if she went back? She’s not with Charlie anymore. I’d never heard her mention any friends. Was it just her and Charlie? Maybe Charlie’s friends?
“Why the hell would Ellie just up and move back home? Do you know how hard it is to start a business? I would know,” August tells Riley.
August and Mr. Thompson own the surf shack. August and Ellie’s dad opened the shop before they were born and has had it ever since. After college, August joined his dad, and now they co-own the business.
Riley glares at him. “Yeah, August, you do know. So, maybe you can convince your sister how much of a great idea it is?” she retorts with a smart-ass tone. “Plus, Rowan and James also run a business. Obviously, it’s doable.” She rolls her eyes at him.
“I mean, sure,” James replies. “But it’s time-consuming and can be stressful if you do it by yourself. You need to find a location, get a loan, get permits, and then construction. It’s a lot of work.”
“Well, good thing she has friends who can help her.” Riley looks at us like she’s about to chew us up and spit us out. “Plus, you think I want to work at my dad's dentist's office my entire life? I have a yoga studio, but it’s not a full-time gig. I can co-own the bakery with Ellie.”
“You really think you can convince her?” Beau pulls her attention.
“She’s only been here for two weeks. That means we have plenty of time to drill the idea into her head. I mean, come on, she ran back home away from a shitty relationship and a job that has taken over her life. She isn’t happy. Any time she visits home; she looks tired and worn down. When she gets ready to leave, she looks like her normal self again but goes back to the stressful environment she came from. I think she needs to be surrounded by a group of people who will always be there for her. A support system. It seems like she doesn’t have that where she is now.”
“What did she say when Addie brought this up?” I ask as my nerves take over my body.
Riley lets out a laugh. “Oh, she thought it was hilarious. She laughed for about five minutes, and that’s when I came down here to get a drink. The look on Addie’s face when Ellie started laughing was pure gold.” She mimics the expression, and it looks like a toddler who was told no after asking for a toy they saw in a store.
I tap my fingers on the seat while I think to myself about the possibility of Ellie staying in Dove Point for good. I want her to be happy, and I want to be happy with her. If she is willing to change her life and come back home, then why can’t I support that?
An hour later, everyone is hanging out in front of the boat, but Ellie is nowhere to be seen.
“Hey, where’s El?” I ask Hailey.
“I think she’s still upstairs. She was lying down when we decided to take a break from the sun, but she didn’t come with us,” Hailey says.
I get up and find myself walking toward the stairs to where Ellie is by herself. The idea of her opening her own place and staying home puts a smile on my face. I would pour all my money into the venture if she could stay home for good.
When I get to the top of the stairs, I look at where the white tanning chairs are, and holy hell. Ellie’s ass is…tan. I swallow and then clear my throat when I slowly approach her while she lies on her stomach. She turns her head to me, and she moves her sunglasses to her forehead, giving me the smile I always melt for.
“Hey, what’s up?” she asks.
“I, uh.” My eyes quickly roam her body. She’s never worn something like this around me before.
I watch her as she turns over, and sure enough, her nipples are showing off through the fabric of the small bikini top. I would do anything to see the tan lines she gets after today.
The skinny straps tie at her waist. A simple pull at the strings, and it would fall down her legs. My hand stays where it’s at, but I can feel my fingers move like they’re imagining gliding down her soft, golden skin.
“Rowan,” Ellie says, snapping me back into reality.
“Yeah?” I squeeze my eyes shut and then open them, putting my hand over my eyes.
“Are you okay?” she asks timidly.
I wave her off and place my hands on my hips before saying, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just got a lot of sun today. It’s making me a little tired. Don’t worry.”
She lets out a laugh and then pats the seat next to her. “Come sit. Talk to me.”
I feel my legs move before my mind can process what she asked, and when I’m done processing what she said to me, my ass is already on the chair next to her. I can’t control my legs, but I swear I need to control my eyes. How am I supposed to think or function when her boobs are right there?
It’s not like I haven’t seen her boobs before. I mean, I’ve only seen them a few times, and dumb-ass teenage Rowan was so busy being in shock each time that I never took a mental image in my head. It was the first time I saw boobs in person and not on a screen. I didn’t know what to do.
“What have you been up to these last couple of days?” Ellie asks.
“Not much. Working. Hanging out with Mom and Aunt Rosey.”
She lets out a small gasp and asks, “Oh my gosh, how are they? I haven’t seen them yet. I miss your mom's baked ziti so much. Ugh, it’s so good. And your Aunt Rosey, is she still dating around?”
I laugh at that last part. “Yeah, Aunt Rosey goes on dates here and there, but not as much lately. My mom is doing well. She’s happy you’re back for the summer. You should definitely stop by. I know she would love to have you over for dinner. You were always her favorite. And Aunt Rosey—she always loved having you around. You can keep up with her wit.”
I feel her knee brush against mine and she doesn’t move it right away. I wonder if she misses me just as much as I miss her. Or if she thinks about me when she looks up at the stars at night, like we used to do as kids. Being around her is just a reminder that I’ve always let the relationships in my life dwindle because she’s never left my mind or my heart.
Not even when she left to get on that plane.
“We should totally plan a dinner at their house,” Ellie says. “That sounds like fun.”
“Okay, sure. I’ll ask them what day works out for them. Now that they’re both retired, they have a lot of time on their hands. My mom would love nothing more than for you to see her. When was the last time?”
Ellie scrunches her nose, her freckles squishing together. “It’s been long enough. I know I come to visit when I can, but since it’s always in such short bursts, I only ever have time to see family. Sometimes I’m lucky enough to see you guys. I should bring her flowers.”
A corner of my lip tilts up. “Or you could bring her favorite brownies.” I raise my eyebrows in question.
She tilts her head at me. “Rowan, you know I’m here to relax. Not to work.”
“That wouldn’t be working, and you know it,” I tease.
She lets out a huff of a laugh and says, “Yeah, I know, but I don’t know.” She sighs. “I’m scared to step into the kitchen again. I know I’ll need to get over that soon enough, considering I said I would cater Mrs. Anderson’s art show.” She looks down at her lap.
“Wait, you’re going to cater? What made you say yes to that?”
She deadpans. “You know I can’t say no to people.”
I go against what I know I shouldn’t do, but I pull her into me, wrapping my arm around her in comfort. I feel her arms wrap around my waist and feel the sensation of her shoulders rise and fall as she takes a deep breath.
“You’re too nice. It’s okay to say no sometimes,” I say quietly.
“ I know . I just don’t like seeing people upset.”
My hand starts to rub at her back, and all I want is to feel her shoulders relax and her breathing slow down.
“Sometimes you need to think about yourself before you put others in front of you. It’s okay to look out for yourself.”
“I know,” she mutters.
“Are you sure you want to deal with catering? You can change your mind.”
“I need the money. I’m dipping into my savings while I’m here since it was an unexpected stay.”
I rest my cheek on the top of her head. The warmth of her head pressing into my skin makes me feel like I can stay here all day.
“Ellie, if you need money, I can take care of that. I just want you to feel relaxed and have a good summer. I’ll take care of everything for you while you’re here for the next two months.”
I feel her body move, and I pick my head up to look at her. She’s giving me a look I know all too well. Her mouth tightens up, and her eyes are questioning me.
“I’m not letting you spend a dime on me, Rowan. I’m a grown adult and I can handle myself. I’m sure catering will be fine. Plus, it’s only chocolate peanut butter squares. Nothing crazy. It’s the simplest thing she can ask me to do for her.”
“Then let me at least help with that.” My arms are still around her, and hers are still wrapped around me.
“I’m not letting you burn the chocolate,” she says playfully.
“Fine, I can handle the peanut butter.”
She raises her brows and looks away from me.
“It’s peanut butter? How can I mess that up?” I ask.
“Fine, fine. If you want to help, who am I to say no to that?” She gives me a lopsided grin.
I let out a sigh before saying, “What am I going to do with you?” And give her a kiss on her head.
“Oh, shut up. You love me.”
If only she knew just how much.