Page 34 of Awake in Cheshire Bay
“There’s a group going skinny-dipping at the cliffs.”
I gave her my best not-going-to-happen look. It wasn’t my thing, Cedar’s for sure, and I expected her to part take in that.
“Chicken.” She skipped off over to the bonfire bathing the beach in an ocean of oranges and yellows, with dark shadows.
My phone pinged. Dale had arrived. Finally. Needed to give the guy explicit directions. Turn left here, turn right at the rock, sheesh. He was a great short order cook, but lousy with directions.
I walked between Eric and Lily’s houses, onto the grass and out to where the vehicles filled the driveways and road. Thankfully, they were at the end of the road, so there was ample room to park.
Dale jumped out of his jeep and popped the hatch. With a quick flick, he opened the end gate.
“Thanks for bringing all this. I appreciate it.” I reached into the back as the front passenger side door closed.
“Can I be of assistance?”
No-freaking-way.
Chapter Twelve
That accented voice had haunted my dreams over the past few nights.
“Antonio?” But I already knew as I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He was too sexy in his tailored suit, with the top button of his dress shirt undone – a GQ model for the well-dressed man issue.
“Ember.”
Damn, my name still sounded so sweet rolling off his lips. Before his true intentions were revealed, I’d entertained a thought or two of changing it to that, but I rather liked how he was the only one to swap the Ah for the Eh so I decided against it. But that was then, this was now. He’d broken my heart with his abrupt departure, but more so from his lack of communication since. Even though we both knew he was leaving, and he’d only be here for one night, it was the way the whole situation unfolded like an explosion that left me reeling.
All the anger I had managed to tamper down, came roaring back to life.
I flipped my narrowed gaze quickly over to Dale.
He shrugged. “He came inta the pub asking for ya, just after ya called. When he said who he was, well, I just knew he hadda come.”
I glared and all the hurt and rage inside me built to epic levels of madness and shot out at Antonio. “You’re a jerk.”
Yep, that was the best I could throw at him. I dropped my flat down and yanked another, adding it on top and debated adding a third. Anger-fueled adrenaline made me super strong. A tad crazy, but freakishly strong.
Dale lifted them all from my hands. “I deliver. Ya talk.”
“I have nothing to say. I waited for some form of contact, and it was radio silence. Yeah, I’m so done.”
I grabbed another two cases and stacked one on top of the other and wrenched my back by twisting so violently away.
“Ember?” His voice was soft and genuine.
“God damn it. Why now? Why come back?” I dropped my head and took a breath.
This wasn’t the time or place. Hands in a death grip around the beer boxes, I stormed between the houses and onto the beach, wrapping back to Eric’s back porch.
We stacked them there where Eric was dumping in bags of ice to a couple of coolers. His head perked up as I climbed the stairs and set the cases down. “Great. This really should do…” He stopped and stared, so I spun around.
Antonio was right behind me carrying the final two cases.
“You have a lot of nerve showing up here, buddy.” Eric’s narrowed gaze shot daggers towards Antonio. “Who do you think you are?”
“I guy who came long way for bun-fire.” His voice had an icy edge.
Eric stormed closer, and I immediately thrust up my hand and pushed against his shoulder, speaking in the calmest, but most collected voice I could conjure. “I will handle this.”