Seaside Sunsets(5)

She also had time to date.

Date. She’d gone on a few dates in recent years, but without fail, her dates would go on and on about something and her mind would fall back to her need to practice. Or, maybe most embarrassingly, she’d simply rather spend time playing her cello than with any of the men she’d dated. But now, as the breeze brought the music from the string quartet to the beach across the street and the notes threaded their way around her like an old friend, images of Jamie and the idea of dating danced closely together.

She couldn’t shake the look in his eyes as they rolled down her body, drinking her in as if he were dying of thirst. He probably thought she hadn’t noticed, but that quick look had sent an unfamiliar, and surprisingly welcome, shudder through her. He had an easy smile, and when she’d lost her mind and snapped at him, he hadn’t gotten angry or taken it as a personal affront. He’d simply offered to help her understand how to use eBay.

She’d put off thinking about how she’d lost that bid, too. She’d wanted so badly to win that auction that even now, thinking about it, made her throat swell. The music stopped, and she inhaled deeply, rose to her feet, and gazed across the street to where the string quartet was playing. The white tent rippled in the breeze as she made her way across the cool sand to the parking lot.

The music started up again, and she crossed the parking lot, her eyes on Vera, sitting proudly, playing her violin. She looked regal in a long black cotton skirt and blouse. Jessica had no hope of stifling the smile on her lips as she lowered herself to one of the metal chairs in the front row. Vera was right; there were only a handful of people in the audience.

A breeze picked up the hem of her dress, and she settled the bouquet she’d brought for Vera over it. She probably should have worn something longer to ward off the chill, but she loved the summery feel of the dress, and she felt more her age in it. She was so used to dressing conservatively for the symphony and social events surrounding her career that when she’d gone shopping for her vacation, she’d had to ask the salesgirl what women her age were wearing these days. She hadn’t realized how out of sync she was with other twenty-seven-year-olds.

“Hey there.”

She turned at the sound of Jamie’s deep voice. She was so caught up in the music that she didn’t realize he’d slid into the seat beside her, and now she couldn’t take her eyes off of him in his slate-blue long-sleeved shirt, which looked so soft and worn that she wanted to cuddle up to him, and a pair of jeans that had the faded marks of an old favorite where his muscular thighs tested the strength of the denim.

“Hi,” she whispered. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“My grandmother is playing.” He nodded at Vera. “Vera Reed, on the violin.”

“She’s the one who invited me here. I met her at the pool.” She glanced at Vera, who was watching them with a smile. “She plays beautifully.”

“She does. I love to listen to her.”

“Shh.”

They turned, and a white-haired man sitting behind them pointed to the stage.

“Sorry,” they said in unison.

Jessica knew better than to speak during performances, but she could barely restrain herself from talking with Jamie. Jamie lifted one shoulder in an easy shrug.

They listened in silence to the rest of the concert. Jessica felt the heat of his gaze as he stole glances at her, and it took all of her efforts not to shift her eyes to him. She held on to the bouquet to keep herself grounded. When the music ended, she finally allowed herself a good look at Jamie. His dark hair was rustling from the breeze, and his warm, contagious smile reached his eyes as he applauded and lifted his chin in Vera’s direction. He glanced down at Jessica, and she didn’t know if it was her newfound sense of freedom, the lingering loveliness of the music, or the way his lips turned up at the end and slipped into something more flirtatious, but butterflies took flight in her stomach.

She felt herself grinning like a sixth grader crushing on a boy when she spotted Bella, Amy, Jenna, and a beautiful, tall brunette coming toward them. She dropped her eyes, hoping they wouldn’t notice the way she was swooning over him.

“Hey, handsome.” The tall brunette embraced him. She, like the others, had on jeans and a hoodie.

“Sky, this is Jessica.” Jamie touched Jessica’s arm. “She’s renting at Seaside. Jessica, this is Sky.”

She wished she could pretend that Jamie touching her arm had meant something, but his other hand was on Sky’s lower back, and she realized they must be dating.

“Nice to meet you.” Jessica shifted her eyes away from Jamie’s hand connecting him with Sky and hoped the disappointment in her voice wasn’t as evident to them as it was to her.

“Sky’s my fiancé, Pete’s, sister. She hangs out with us a lot,” Jenna explained. “I’m sorry about the whole thong thing,” she added.

“Yeah, that was meant for Theresa, but we didn’t expect that you’d be there when she came down,” Amy added.

“I did,” Bella said. “That was the whole point, for all of us to do what we’re not supposed to.”

Amy elbowed Bella.

Jessica didn’t know how to read Bella. If everyone was supposed to wear a thong, how come she was the only one who didn’t?

“What?” Bella’s brows knitted together at Amy. She sighed, and her voice softened. “Okay, so here’s the deal. Theresa’s a stickler for rules, and I like to break them. So…yeah, I knew you might go down to the pool, and if you did, I, like Jamie, hoped you’d wear a thong—”

“Don’t bring me into this.” Jamie held his hands up in surrender, which made Jessica laugh. “I wasn’t even at the pool.”

Maybe he wasn’t dating Sky after all.

“Anyway, it was way more fun with you wearing one, but I never expected Theresa to bare her ass.” Bella laughed. “What was up with that?”

“Oh my God, I know.” Amy’s eyes were wide.

“What’s wrong with wearing a thong?” Sky asked.

Jenna explained Bella’s prank to Sky, and Jamie leaned down close and whispered, “Sorry you got caught in the crossfire.”

“Your grandmother saved me. She covered my butt with a towel before Theresa saw me.”

Jamie glanced at Vera. “Did she? Good old Gram.”

“Hey, are you guys up for a few drinks?” Sky asked. “We could go to the Beachcomber.”

“I’m up for a few drinks, but I’m not sure I can handle the Beachcomber tonight. Why don’t we light a bonfire in the quad?” Amy suggested.

“The quad?” Jessica asked.

“That’s what we call the grassy area between the cottages. I have no idea why, but Bella said it one night when she had too many glasses of Middle Sister wine, and the name stuck.” Jamie touched Jessica’s arm again. “It’ll be fun. Join us?”

“Sure.” She tried to ignore the heat his hand was causing to sear through her veins.

“Okay, but there aren’t any single guys at the quad, so you blew my chance at a hot date night.” Sky set her hands on her hips. “Are you single, Jessica? Maybe you and I should hit the Beachcomber.”

I guess Jamie’s not your boyfriend after all.

“I am single, but I’m not really up for a bar tonight. Thank you anyway.” No Jamie, no bar. Quad, here I come.

“Excuse me a sec.” Jamie went to help Vera with her violin, and when he returned with Vera on his arm, Vera ran her eyes over the group and sighed.

“Do you know how much it pleases me to see all of you here?” Vera met Jessica’s gaze. “Together.”

Jessica handed her the bouquet. “These are for you. The consonance was lovely, and the capriccio at the end…” She covered her heart with her hand. “Took my breath away.”

“Why, thank you.” Vera exchanged a look with Jamie that Jessica couldn’t read. “Do you play?”

“A little,” Jessica answered. It was hard for her not to talk about her career, but she knew it would lead to all sorts of questions about how someone so young played with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and then Vera would want to know why she’d taken an extended break. She wasn’t ashamed of her reasons, but she also wasn’t ready to give up being a regular person yet. Being a regular person, it turned out, was really fun.

“What’s a capriccio?” Amy asked.

“A quick improv. The spirited piece they played at the end,” Jamie answered.

Holy cow. You just got a million times hotter.





JAMIE HELPED VERA out of the car and into the small cottage. “Are you going to join us for the bonfire, Gram?”

“I think I’m going to turn in. We had a nice turnout tonight, didn’t we?” She sat on the couch, and Jamie spread a throw blanket across her lap.

Jamie had enough money to buy one of the million-dollar estates overlooking the water, but he loved the three-bedroom cottage and the memories it held. Before his parents were killed in a freak accident while on safari, they summered at Seaside as a family. In addition to the few memories of his parents he’d retained over the years, the friendships he shared kept him in the community.