Lovers at Heart (The Bradens, Book One: Love in Bloom Series)

Chapter Nineteen, Lovers at Heart

Chapter Nineteen

TREAT PULLED ON a heavy sweater and cursed beneath his breath when he checked his voicemail and there were no messages from Max. He’d called Max several times that afternoon, and each call went straight to voicemail. He’d driven to where the shuttle had last dropped off, but she wasn’t anywhere in sight. He was so damned sure it had been her on that shuttle bus, but it made no sense at all. What the hell would she be doing in Wellfleet? He had to be wrong. His eyes were just playing tricks on him. If only Bonnie hadn’t called to him. If it had been Max, she’d be in his arms instead of on the shuttle, watching Amanda kiss him.

Amanda was nothing like any woman he’d ever want to date. Sure, she was smart as a whip—a real estate attorney, in fact—but she was pushy in a way that made him feel dirty—and not the good kind of dirty. What kind of woman whispered something so suggestive the first time she met a guy? Bonnie had been her normal peppy self and was completely oblivious to the way Amanda’s eyes undressed him. He knew damn well what a woman like that was after. She looked at Treat and saw eye candy and dollar signs, while Max looked right past all of the meaningless facade to the man he was inside. She also saw the shadow of the mistake I made. His muscles tensed against the thought.

He’d committed to the damned bonfire, and he would honor the commitment, if for no other reason than to tell Chuck to ask his wife to refrain from setting him up with any other women—ever.

He tried calling Max one more time before driving over to White Crest.

THE WIND PICKED up, turning Treat’s thick hair into a mass of dark waves. He stood at the top of the dune looking down at the beach. The town of Wellfleet distributed four bonfire permits per beach, and as he counted the flaming pits, he realized that he had no way of knowing where Chuck and Bonnie’s bonfire was. There were enormous groups of people around each bonfire, and for a minute Treat considered going back to the bungalow. Maybe Chuck and Bonnie wouldn’t even notice his absence.  

Can this day get any worse?

Chuck and Bonnie had been good friends to him for more years than he cared to remember, and as he kicked off his loafers and descended the steep sandy ramp to the beach below, he was glad that he’d made the effort to come out and meet them. The deep, cold sand covered his bare feet with each determined step. Before approaching the gathering of people around each bonfire to find Bonnie and Chuck, he took a moment to listen to the waves as they broke against the shore. The moon hovered over the water like a beacon in the clear dark sky. Laughter filtered up from his right, where children were tossing a ball and diving into the sand to retrieve it.

The feel of the salty sea air on his cheeks had always been one of his favorite sensations. It reminded him of playing along the water’s edge when he was younger, while his mother and father watched from the dry sand. He bent down and rolled up the legs of his gray linen pants. From his crouched position, he watched a group of teenagers drawing pictures in the air with sparklers, just as he and his siblings had done. He sank into the sand, remembering his mother’s sweet laughter as she teased him, chasing squeals from his lungs as she’d swoop him from the sand and tickle his belly before she’d been too weak to even lift her own chin. He didn’t allow himself to visit those memories too often. But now, while he was missing Max and feeling a bit uncomfortable in his own skin, he needed the warmth of them.

“Go ahead. I’ll catch up!” Treat heard someone yell. He blinked away the memory, rose to his feet, and headed down the beach toward the first bonfire. Might as well get this over with.

A few minutes later he heard his name from behind.

He turned, expecting to see Chuck. Smitty stood where he’d just been sitting, carrying an armful of blankets. He walked back through the dense sand and took the blankets from Smitty’s arms.

“Smitty!” Treat embraced his old friend. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“Oh, you know Vicky. Any excuse for a party.” Smitty’s white hair looked almost gray in the moonlight. “Are you with our bonfire tonight?”

“I don’t know. I’m looking for Chuck and Bonnie Holtz.”

Smitty shook his head. “They’re not with our group.” He scanned the people closest to them. “Isn’t that them right there?” He pointed to a couple roasting marshmallows around the nearest bonfire.

“Your eyes are better than mine. I think you might be right.”

“Treat!”

Amanda. Treat groaned. How was he ever going to make it through the evening?

“Looks like you have a lady friend waiting for you. Here. Give me the blankets and you go join your party.” Smitty reached for the blankets.

“That’s okay. I’ll bring them to your bonfire.” Anything to avoid Amanda.

Smitty yanked the blankets from his arms, eyeing the woman who was heading their way with a determined look on her face. “That one’s not taking no for an answer. We’re the last bonfire down on the left. Stop by later, and bring your friend if you’d like.”