Her Summer Crush, page 12
“Cody, Cody, Cody,” she chirped. “You are the first to know.”
“Know what?” he asked.
“That we are—” She cast a coy look at Ben.
“Getting mar-ried,” they said in unison.
Cody blinked. “Getting married?” he repeated dumbly. “You two?”
“Yep.” Ben nodded.
Sylvie held up her left hand and sure enough, an engagement ring sparkled in the neon light from the bar’s sign.
“Not five minutes ago,” she said, “in a cozy booth in Toby’s, he proposed.”
“And she said yes.” Ben hiccuped.
“Well, congratulations, you two,” Cody said. “I’d offer to buy you a drink, but it looks as though you’ve had—” He coughed and said, “Looks as though you’re on your way home.”
“Maybe some other time,” Ben said.
“Cody, Cody, Cody.”
“Yes, Sylvie?”
“I want you to take our picture. Right now. First picture of us as an engaged couple.”
“Sure, I can do that.” He raised his camera and looked through the eyepiece. Barely enough light, but it should work.
He snapped several shots of them kissing, of them hugging, of Sylvie holding up her ring, and one last one, which he knew would be the best—of them gazing into each other’s eyes.
“I’ll get these to you soon,” he said, when they ran out of steam and stopped posing. “When’s the date?”
“The date?” Ben frowned.
“Your wedding date. When you say the ‘I dos.’”
“Oh, yeah, that. We haven’t decided yet. One step at a time.”
With a “see you later,” they headed off. Cody continued in the opposite direction. He shook his head. They were getting married? Already? They couldn’t have met more than, what, a few weeks ago. How did they know they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together?
Then he remembered what one of his buddies at the U had said. “When you meet the right person, you just know.” Hmm. That sounded nuts to him, but he couldn’t even imagine being in a relationship right now. He still had things to do that were best done alone.
Luci’s image popped into his mind. He saw them driving out to Pine Lake together and sitting at his place, working on the article. And it dawned on him that maybe one of the reasons he was so restless tonight was because he missed her.
What was the matter with him? He and Luci could never get together. Not that way. They were miles apart in what they wanted and how they chose to live their lives.
He had to admit, though, that Ben and Sylvie looked happy. And he didn’t think it was just the liquor, either.
* * *
“THE POSTERS FOR the sand-castle contest are here.” Luci nodded at the stack on her desk. “And I want you to take them around.”
“Me?” Tessa said. “Why?”
“Because you are my assistant, and I have other things to do today.”
“Isn’t there someone else who can deliver them? I’m not finished with the files.”
Luci closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I really need you to take charge of the posters, Tessa.”
Tessa shuffled her flip-flops. “But can’t I do something more important? Delivering them will take only a couple hours.”
“Good. That sounds very efficient.”
Then Luci noticed Tessa’s wrinkled forehead and worried eyes, and realized that underneath her defiance lay fear. Gentling her voice, she said, “You can do this, Tessa. I know you can, or I wouldn’t give you the job. Come on, I’ll help you pack up, and then we’ll go over the list of who gets a poster.”
After Tessa left, Luci sat at her desk, savoring the silence. She’d been following Eva’s advice by trying to give Tessa more responsibility, but the young woman continued to present a challenge.
Now that Luci had the office to herself, she could get some work done. Pulling up the article on Pine Lake, she read it yet again. A little tweaking here and there and it would be ready to send to the Coastal Living editor.
She was deep into her work when she heard “I’m b-a-a-ck.” Tessa strode into the office. “All done,” she said in a cheerful voice.
“Everything go well?”
“I was amazing. You’d have been proud.”
“I’m sure I would have.”
Tessa sighed and her mouth turned down. “So now I gotta be file drudge again.”
Luci closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Patience, must have patience. She could do this. She must do this. This was her job.
CHAPTER TWELVE
LUCI STOOD ON the beach surveying the crowd. Sand castles were already popping up here and there. The weather had turned out as perfect as Luci had hoped, the sky cloudless, just right for Cody’s picture taking.
“We’ll start with the kids’ contest,” she said.
Cody frowned. “I would have said adults, but okay, you’re the boss. Are you sure you want to leave Tessa in charge of the booth while we’re gone?”
Tessa was perched on a stool, her head bent over her phone. Texting Carl, no doubt. “Marge will be here soon, and Jimmy will come by, too.” Jimmy was a local high school student who did odd jobs for the chamber.
Since the day Tessa distributed the posters, Luci had been giving her more responsibility, hoping to boost her self-confidence. A risk, she knew, but one she’d decided to take.
She and Cody hadn’t gone far when Hannah ran up to them and grabbed Luci’s hand. “Auntie Luci, Cody, come look at our castle.”
“Is it finished already?” Luci crouched to fix her niece’s twisted overalls strap as Hannah practically jogged on the spot, despite her tall rubber boots.
“No, but come look. Take our picture, Cody.”
“You bet.” Cody grasped Hannah’s free hand. “That’s what I’m here for.”
Hannah led them down the beach to where Spencer and Betsy, also wearing rubber boots, were intent on shaping their sand castle. An array of buckets and shovels was spread out around them, as well as piles of displaced sand. Hannah dropped Luci’s and Cody’s hands and ran to join her brother and her cousin.
Spencer waved at them with sand-encrusted hands. “This is fun. ’Specially ’cause I’m the boss.”
Betsy wrinkled her nose. “You’re always boss. But it’s still fun.”
“Your castle is really elaborate,” Luci said. “Look at all those turrets.”
“And we have a flag for the top.” Betsy held up a small red-and-white flag attached to a stick.
“Mom made the plans for us.” Spencer pointed to a piece of paper lying nearby, the corners anchored to the sand with seashells.
“I found them in a library book,” Arliss said from her spot on a blanket nearby.
Cody stopped and aimed his camera. “Smile pretty, Arliss.”
“Don’t take my picture.” Arliss thrust her hands in front of her face. “I’m a mess today. Didn’t have time to do more than lipstick.”
“You’re gorgeous,” Cody said as he took the photo. “But, okay, I’ll concentrate on the castle builders.”
Luci looked around. “Where’s Don? And Will and Francine? And Megan? I thought this was a family effort?”
“Don and Will took Megan to get something to drink,” Arliss said. “The other kids were giving her a bad time.” She sighed. “They all started out okay, and then suddenly there were tears.”
“Where’s Francine?”
“You need to ask?” Arliss pursed her lips. “Saturday is her best selling day—along with Sunday, and Monday through Friday. Don’t get me wrong. I love taking care of the kids, but her job’s running away with her, if you ask me. Which no one does.”
“Mom and Dad coming later?” Luci asked.
“Should be here anytime.”
“Are Don and Dad still on the outs? I’ve asked Mom a couple of times, but she never answers my question.”
Arliss laughed. “Typical Anna. Much as I love my mother-in-law, she’s good at avoiding questions that make her uncomfortable. But, yes, Don and Erv are still having problems. They have to speak to each other at the bank, but who knows how long that will last?”
Luci would have asked more, but just then, Don, Will and Megan returned. Don carried two cups of coffee. Will, wearing his Jackson’s Boat Works cap, held his coffee in one hand and clasped Megan’s hand with the other. She trudged along, head bent, clutching a can of soda to her chest.
“Hey, you two,” Will said. He tugged Megan’s hand. “Say hi to your aunt and Cody.”
“Hi,” Megan mumbled into her can of soda.
Will shrugged and shook his head.
Don greeted Luci and Cody. He handed Arliss her coffee and then put his arm around Luci’s shoulders. “Look at you, Miss Important Person. Or is he the one I should bow down to?”
“It’s a joint effort,” Cody said.
Luci raised her eyebrows. “Uh-uh. Truth is, we pretty much do our own thing and if we’re lucky, we can put something together and call it a project.”
“Aw, now, Luci,” Cody began. “I’m not that hard to work with.”
“Okay, you two,” Don said. “Time out. We’ve got some kids here who want their pictures taken. Right, kiddos?” He focused on the children clustered around the sand castle.
“And now that Megan’s here, we’ll get some pictures,” Cody said.
Will gave Megan’s shoulders a gentle nudge. “Go sit with the other kids, Meggie.”
Megan pushed out her lower lip. “No.”
“Come on, honey,” Arliss said. “Cody wants to take your picture.”
“I don’t care.”
Cody went over to Megan and knelt beside her. “Want to see some of my pictures?” He held out his camera.
Megan squeezed her eyes shut. “No.”
“I have one of you. Right here.” He tapped the camera’s screen.
Megan opened one eye. “You do?”
“Yep. I took it a few minutes ago when you were running to catch up with your dad.” He held the camera closer.
“Wow.” Her face lit up. “Is that me?”
Arliss leaned over to look, too. “It is. What a beautiful picture.”
“Would you like to have it?” Cody asked.
“Maybe.” Megan eyed him cautiously.
“It’s yours, but I need one of you with the others while you’re working on the sand castle. Then Auntie Luci will put both pictures in pretty folders and you can have them.”
“I don’t want a picture of them.” She turned away from the other children.
“Your parents really want one of all of you. Can we make a deal? What if the picture of you by yourself is just for you?”
“Well...okay.”
Cody stood and held out his hand. Megan set her soda down and put her hand in his. When they’d joined the other children, Cody said, “Okay, kids, I’m calling a truce while we do some picture taking.”
“What’s a truce?” Spencer stopped shoveling sand to look up at Cody.
“That means we stop fighting and get along. Luci and I know what a truce is, don’t we?” He turned to give Luci a wink.
“We do,” Luci said with an exaggerated nod.
“So, do I have your cooperation?”
“I guess so,” Spencer grumbled. “But she didn’t want to help before.”
“Did, too!” Megan said.
Cody held up a hand. “Truce, remember?”
“She can help dig the moat,” Spencer said, “but not the tower. That’s mine.”
“I don’t care about your old tower,” Megan said, and she picked up a shovel and knelt at the half-dug moat. Betsy and Hannah were building the wall that surrounded the castle. With all the children in place, Cody raised his camera and began taking pictures.
Luci sat beside Arliss to watch.
“He’s good with kids,” Arliss said, sipping her coffee.
“He is. I’d no idea. He was an only child, too.”
“Must be instinctive. Whatever it is, he’s got the touch. He’s a keeper, Luci.”
Luci shook her head. “Not for me. By the time he gets ready to settle down—if ever—I’ll be old and gray.”
Arliss laughed. “I don’t know, you two seem pretty close to me.”
“That’s only ’cause we have to work together.”
“No, it’s more than that. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”
Luci drew back and raised her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
“You know, the way a guy looks at a woman he’s in love with.”
Luci shook her head vigorously. “No, no. He’s just a friend.”
* * *
AS SHE FOLLOWED Cody down the beach to photograph the next sand castle, Luci tried to forget Arliss’s words. Cody was not in love with her.
As though sensing her gaze on him, he turned to her. “What?”
“Just thinking how good you were with the kids. Getting them to pose. Arliss thought so, too.”
He shook his head and laughed. “I’ve never worked so hard in my life. I’m used to letting a picture just happen.”
“Well, I’m glad you worked on that one. The family will be grateful to have the photo of all the kids together, and it will make this a really memorable occasion. And I’m betting that in years to come the kids will be thankful, too. By that time, they’ll probably all be getting along famously.”
She hoped.
They worked their way down the beach, Cody photographing the kids building their castles, Luci recording contact info and handing out claim tickets.
“Hey, there’s Mark and Eva and the kids.” Cody pointed to a group clustered around a sand-castle-in-progress.
Luci spotted the couple, along with their daughter, twelve-year-old Sasha, and their four-year-old son, Elijah. With them were the Herald’s advertising manager, Bernie Sanchez, his wife, Maria, and their two children. Bella was Sasha’s age, and the girls were best friends. Manuel, seven, was Maria’s nephew, whom they’d adopted after his parents had passed away.
Mark looked up as they approached. “Hey, good to see you’re on the job.”
“Are you going to take our picture?” Sasha asked. She and Bella were working on the castle’s round tower. Elijah and Manuel seemed more interested in throwing globs of sand at each other.
“I sure am,” Cody said.
“Then I need to wipe off Eli’s face.” Eva dug a tissue from her tote and, despite his protests, cleaned the sand from his cheeks. Maria did the same for Manuel.
Luci studied Eli, unable to decide whom he resembled the most. He had his mother’s dark hair and deep-set eyes, but his father’s wide-mouthed grin. Either way, he was a cute kid.
While Cody took the kids’ pictures, Bernie said, “This is like old times, seeing you two working together.”
“Not quite,” Luci said. “At the Herald, Eva and Mark were the bosses.”
Cody lowered his camera between shots. “And now she thinks she’s the boss.” His eyes flashed as he tipped his head toward Luci.
She stuck her hand on her hip. “I am the boss.”
Cody backed up. “Whatever you say.” He winked at the others.
Luci shook her head. “He’s almost as bad as my other assistant.”
“Assistant? You have an assistant?” Mark handed a shovel to Elijah.
“Yep. Eva’s already heard about her.” She filled the others in on Tessa and her attitude, hoping her friends might have some advice.
“We can relate,” Mark said. “We had someone at the Herald a few years ago who caused trouble.”
“Remember April?” Eva asked.
Luci and Cody both nodded.
“Did she want your job?” Luci asked.
Eva laughed. “Not exactly. She wanted Mark.”
Mark shrugged and grinned. “Hey, what can I say? I can’t help that women find me irresistible.”
“You wish.” Eva gave him a soft punch on the shoulder.
“You have to watch these men,” Maria said. “A little female attention goes to their heads.”
“Aw, throw us a bone now and then, why don’cha?” Bernie raised both hands in a begging position.
They all laughed.
* * *
“THOSE WERE GOOD TIMES,” Cody said as he and Luci continued down the beach. “When we were both at the Herald.”
“They were.” Luci stepped aside to dodge a group of kids running by. “Your encouragement meant a lot to me.”
“Glad I could help.”
She glanced at him and their gazes collided. His smile faded, and for a moment he looked as though he wanted to say something else. Something serious.
Then the moment passed. He gave her a pat on the shoulder and said, “Yep, those were good times.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
AFTER THEY FINISHED photographing the children’s contest, Luci and Cody ventured into the adults’ territory. Here the sand castles tended to be more elaborate, with many of the contestants following professional-looking blueprints. But the adults seemed just as pleased as the kids to have their photos taken, and Luci was busy handing out claim checks.
“Hey, there’s Sylvie and Ben.” Cody pointed toward a couple busy constructing a castle.
“So, they’re still together.”
Cody gave a short laugh. “More than that—they’re getting married.”
Luci stopped and stared. “What?”
“I ran into them the other night, just after he popped the question—in Toby’s Bar and Grill.”
“How romantic.”
“She thought it was,” Cody said. “She was bubbling over. ’Course they’d both had a few. C’mon, we’ll do them next. You can get the scoop.”
