Because of Sydney (20 page)

“Connor, this is Sydney. She just moved here.”

“Nice to meet you. Are you one of Eden’s friends from back home?” He tipped the corner of his Stetson. I realized I was meeting an authentic Texas boy.

“No, we only met last week.”

“Who do we have here?” A guy almost a head shorter than Conner slung an arm around the cowboy’s shoulder.

“Pick, meet Sydney.”

I smiled at him. He was cute and athletic, but if I had my stories straight, this was the guy Eden said was married. “Nice to meet you. Welcome to our little part of heaven.”

He tipped his hat. I was starting to think there was a kind of guy I had been missing out on. The hat trick was nice.

I couldn’t help but blush. They were sweet. “Thanks. Glad I could make it tonight.”

“Have either of you seen Grey?” Eden scanned their faces. “He said he would be here before me working on the fire.”

“Oh yeah,” Connor offered. “He should be back in a sec. He and Mason went to bring another cooler of ice. No one brought ice.” Connor started laughing. It quickly turned to a snort.

Eden looked at me. It was probably written on my face. I was analyzing my escape routes. There was no way I was staying if Mason was on his way back here.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know he would be here. He usually stays home and does work.”

I handed my cup to her. “It’s ok. He’s family and he lives here. I’ll just go before things get awkward.”

“Good lord,” Connor slapped the top of his head. “What is it with pretty girls and Lachlan boys?”

I looked at him, not sure I understood what he referenced, only picking up on his frustration.

“Thanks, Eden. Really. Maybe another time when he’s out of town?” I suggested.

“You don’t have to go. I’ll text Grey and see where they are. Maybe he changed his mind.”

I considered it for a second. But I knew it wasn’t right for me to stay. I didn’t want to see him and the longer I stayed the more I risked that happening.

“Come on, girl. Stay for one song.” Connor shoved the red cup back into my hand. “If Mason gives you any trouble I’ll take care of him.”

I stifled a laugh. The most Connor could do to Mason was wrinkle his clothes. The lean cowboy was lacking the muscle and shoulders. I looked around the circle. Whether I wanted it to happen or not, it had become awkward. They were waiting to see how I would handle the situation.

“Ok. I’ll stay and finish my drink.” I looked at Connor. “And for at least one song.”

He looked happy. “All right. Now you’re talking.”

I wanted to stick next to Eden. “Did you text Grey?” I asked.

“He didn’t answer.” She scrunched up her nose. “Sorry.”

“Pickford?” A girl with dark hair shuffled through the sand. Her eyes landed on Pick, and he tossed her in the air as if she were a feather. She started giggling.

Eden leaned toward my ear. “Marin. They’ve been married less than a year, but it’s like a constant honeymoon. I apologize ahead of time if they make you want to vomit.”

I laughed. “It’s fine.”

She wasn’t kidding. Pick’s arms were wrapped around Marin, while her legs hooked against his waist. They seemed oblivious to the rest of the party.

“I’ll introduce you in a minute.”

“Yeah, I’ll just wait on that one.” I turned away from the couple. “I’m going to feel the water. I’ll be right back.”

I walked toward the surf. There was enough light from the bonfire to illuminate a path to the waves. I felt the water splash around my feet. It tickled at first, but I sunk into the wet sand when the waves pulled hard with the current.

I sipped the drink. The lime drink reminded me of the margaritas in San Antonio. The night of tequila shots at Pete’s. The lime tasted too much like Mason’s lips. I closed my eyes, wishing for a second I could let the waves pull me out too. I could float on top of the swells. My body listless and light, carried by something stronger than me.

My hair blew across my face, but I kept my eyes closed. I didn’t want to open them and face the party. I wanted to imagine for a few more minutes what it would feel like to let go of everything and wash out to sea.

“T
here is a hell of a lot of ice in this cooler,” Grey grumbled.

He held one handle, and I lugged the other over the sand. It shuffled under our feet, making a path to the fire pit ask if it had been formed by a couple of sea turtles.

“Can’t drink warm beer though.” I nodded at him.

“Oh no. Not doing that.”

We had to make two stops before we had the cooler full. We weren’t the only ones in search of ice on Friday night. It had been a long time since I went to one of these parties. They always had a good time on the beach. Music. Drinks. Pretty girls. Someone usually ended up in the ocean before the night was over.

We dropped the ice cooler near the end of the row, as the crowd parted for us. The chatter quieted the closer we got. Something was up. No one was dancing, and it looked as if they had forgotten to throw wood on the fire.

“Hey, you’re here.” Eden smiled, but I could see it. She was hiding something.

Grey examined her. He could see it too. He glanced at me. “Something happen while we were gone?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I might have screwed up. A little.”

Connor traipsed over. “Eden’s not the one who screwed up.” He was always puffing out his chest where Eden was concerned. I didn’t know how Grey put up with it.

“Technically I did. Sorry, Mason.”

“Just tell us what’s going on,” I suggested.

She looked over her shoulder. I could see from where we stood there was someone down by the waves. I thought it might be a girl. What the hell? I started to lay into Eden, but she was already scrambling.

“I didn’t know you were going to be here tonight.” Her eyes darted in my direction. “And she’s leaving anyway. I didn’t want you not to come, and she didn’t want you to have to leave.”

“Darlin’, darlin’.” Grey put his hands on her shoulders. “You are talking a mile a minute. Who is here?”

But I knew. She didn’t need to say her name or explain how it happened. I took off for the water.

“Mason, wait.” Eden tried to follow me, but Grey pulled her back in the circle.

“Let him go,” he instructed.

I didn’t know what I was going to do. I only knew I had to see her.

The music died down the closer I got to the surf. The fire bounced shadows off the water. Her silhouette was still. I stopped before I was close enough to touch her. She was staring ahead. Maybe at one of the ships sailing by. The wind kicked up and my body seized involuntarily when I smelled her shampoo. Her long hair danced all around her.

“Syd?” I called her name.

She turned around as if she had been expecting me to call her name. “I’m leaving. I swear I didn’t come here to crash your party. Eden didn’t know you would be here.”

“I know. She stopped me at the top of the beach.” I paused. “Second time today this has happened.”

“Second?” Even in the dark I knew the confused look on her face.

“I saw you earlier at the press conference.”

“You were there and you didn’t say anything?”

“You were working. I was working.” I wasn’t going to tell her what seeing her did to me.

“Right. Because uncomfortable isn’t fun, is it?” She started to walk up the beach away from me.

“Hey, I thought we were talking.” I jogged to catch up to her.

“I’m going to tell Eden goodbye and head home. I don’t know what to say to you, Mason.”

“How about something that doesn’t make my head spin?” I glared at her harder than I intended to. She had me switching emotions faster than the waves rolled in.

“Your head? Are you saying I’m throwing mixed signals?” She sounded incredulous.

“Just tell me what in the hell happened in San Antonio, Syd. Can you do that?” I stopped huffing for a second to calm my voice. “Let’s not argue about it. Let’s not get mad. I want the straight, honest truth.”

“Which part? The part when I confided in you and told you things I’ve never told anyone, and then you kicked me out with a fucking credit card the next morning. Because that’s the part that really sticks out to me.”

I scratched my head. “I told you I had a business meeting. Two to be exact. How could you be mad at me for that? I made sure you were taken care of.” Was she seriously mad about that?

She stormed farther down the beach. “I can’t do this. I’m angry. I can’t talk about it without getting angry. I can’t look at you without wanting to claw your eyes out.”

“That sounds a little harsh, sweetheart.” She had walked past the bonfire party. This part of the beach was completely dark. I had to step closer to try to see her face.

“I’m serious.” She spun to face me. “I’ll leave. You can go back to the party. We don’t have to do this.”

“We need to do this. I don’t play games. If this is some kind of game to you, which I’m starting to get that feeling, I’m out. When I saw you this morning and then down by the beach again tonight, I thought I needed to say something. Try to apologize for something. Although I don’t know what had you so pissed.”

“
You
. You had me pissed,” She seethed.

“Because of the credit card? What about the stunt you pulled? I called. I texted. I had the damn bellhops looking for you. Do you know what it felt like when I thought you were missing?”

“Missing? Why would I be missing?”

I threw my hands in the air. “I don’t know. Maybe because you had just told me a horrific story about how your sister is on the run.”

“You thought I ran?”

“No. I don’t know what I thought. I only knew I couldn’t find you. I thought you were lost or someone took you.” I sat on sand. “Saying it out loud sounds damn ridiculous.” I laughed.

She sat next to me. “So you weren’t mad about the schedule? You were trying to find me?”

“I thought I had made that clear. I turned the hotel upside down.”

She stared ahead. The green light passed the red one on the horizon. “I’m sorry I made you worry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“No, you shouldn’t have.” I hung my head. “But I know now why you did it. You thought what you told me didn’t matter.” I shifted in the sand, twisting my body toward her. I didn’t care that she closed her eyes when I held her face between my hands. “I know what it’s like to carry family secrets. I wouldn’t disregard something like that. I felt honored that you shared it with me.”

Her eyes fluttered open. I wished I could see the hazel flecks under the stars. “But, the way you acted. You were a jackass.”

“Ok, so maybe I was focused on the meetings. They are multi-million dollar contracts. Fifty million if you want to know. I was slightly preoccupied. It didn’t mean that night wasn’t important to me.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.” I leaned toward her. The air suddenly seemed still and calm as if the waves weren’t rolling toward us any longer. Nights on the beach could be cold, but I didn’t feel the chill on my skin. How was I back in this situation again? The same beautiful girl kept landing in my hands. “I’m going to ask you something I have never in my life asked someone.”

“What’s that?” Her voice had lost some of the anger and resentment.