“Yep. I knew you’d understand, babe.”
Lauren raised her gaze and expected to find Rad smiling at his joke, but he simply took another bite of his sandwich as if he had no idea he had just sent her head spinning again.
“Holy cow, I’m full.” Rad leaned back in his chair.
“Let’s walk on the beach a little instead of the Boardwalk. That’s more of a workout.”
“Lead the way.”
Lauren didn’t bother to argue. She knew it would be useless.
They both took off their flip-flops as they walked close enough to the breaking waves to let the foamy water surge across their toes.
Lauren finally broke the silence. “So, what’s your favorite song?”
“You’re going to try to analyze me by my song choice?”
“Just curious.” She cocked her head as she regarded him. “Trying to get to know you better.”
“Off the top of my head, I’ll say ‘Time in a Bottle.’ Jim Croce.”
“That’s interesting. I would have taken you for a rock and roll guy.”
“See? You are trying to analyze me.”
Lauren tried to remember the words to the song and sang a few lines. “Yeah, that’s a good one,” she admitted. “If you’re into sappy love songs.”
Rad kicked some water on her. “Love song, yes. But it’s really not that sappy.”
They both paused a moment and watched a large kite as it spiraled toward the beach and then rose into the air again.
“Your turn. Favorite song.”
“Don’t know what this says about me, but I’ll go with ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow.’”
“Seriously?”
“Can’t help it.” She gazed up at him, challenging him with her eyes to tease her.
“I get it—it’s the ‘dreams that you dare to dream,’ part. Right?”
She threw her hands in the air. “Of course. Dreams coming true. What could be better than that?”
“So, I take it The Wizard of Oz is your favorite movie, too?”
“I’ve probably seen it a few hundred times, so yes.”
“Hmmm. Definitely not sure what that says. That you like sparkly red shoes, maybe?”
“Now who’s trying to analyze whom?” She laughed. “Anyway, what it says is I believe the power to achieve lies within us. Poor Dorothy spends the whole movie looking for the wizard when, all along, she had the power to get back home.”
“Well, you gotta admit, the red shoes helped.”
“Oh my gosh. Stop with the red shoes.” She punched him good-naturedly in the arm. “Anyway, there’s another theme in there too—”
“There’s no place like home,” he finished for her.
“Exactly.” She nodded and stared out at the ocean. “And since Dorothy lived with an aunt and uncle, I think the message is that home is wherever you feel comfortable and loved.”
“Yeah, I get that. I’m kind of at home right now.”
Lauren raised her gaze to search his eyes for the meaning in his words, but he didn’t give her time analyze them.
“Anyway, not to change the subject, but I bet you have a pair.”
“Of what?”
“Red shoes. Heels.”
“Geez.” Lauren shook her head and gave up trying to get his mind off red shoes. “As a matter of fact, I wear them almost every day to work. They go perfectly with my short black skirt.”
“Umm. That’s what I figured.” He remained silent for a moment. “I could tell you were a bank executive or something, a take-charge person.”
Lauren suppressed the outburst of laughter that almost consumed her. “You nailed it. That’s me.”
They walked along in silence for a few moments, both perfectly comfortable in the quiet company of the other. Yet there was a subtle energy in the air neither one could deny, or on the other hand, outwardly admit.
“I hate to see it end,” Rad finally said.
“See what end?”
“Today.” He turned and glanced back at the sun lowering in the sky. “It feels like time is flying faster than usual.”
Lauren remembered watching the sun come up, seemingly only a few hours ago. “Yeah, it does.”
“Hey, there’s Pops and Annie.”
Lauren saw a man with salt and pepper hair helping a young woman put up a canopy. They were laughing, but it appeared things were not going smoothly.
“Hey, we’ll give you a hand.”
Rad grabbed one of the poles and Lauren grabbed another, and with all four lifting at once, the canopy maneuvered into place.
“Thanks for the help,” the woman said shyly. “We would have been at each other’s throats in another minute.” She gazed at Lauren with big, brown eyes that were full of friendliness, and stepped forward with her hand out. “I’m Annie.”
“Oh yeah, sorry,” Rad said. “Lauren, this is Annie, and that’s Pops.” Pops gave her a nod as he continued pounding stakes into the sand. Even though his hair had some gray in it, he didn’t appear any older than Rad. “They’re the old, married couple of the crew.”
“We’re not old!” Annie rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I swear, sometimes I think he needs someone to knock some sense into him.”
“Yes, I’ve thought the same thing.” Lauren gazed over her shoulder and gave him a sly smile.
“That’s just great.” Rad threw his hands in the air. “Two women ganging up on me already, and the party hasn’t even started.” He turned back toward Pops. “Where is everyone anyway?”
“They’re coming. Getting prettied up, I reckon.”
Rad rolled his eyes. “That could take a while.”
“Actually, that sounds like a good idea,” Lauren said. “I need to change into a pair of jeans at least.”
Annie talked while setting up chairs under the canopy. “Yes, the mosquitoes get bad at night, and it’s supposed to cool down later.”
Before Lauren had time to say anything else, a group of men came into view. A couple of them lugged coolers, others carried a lawn chair in each hand, and at least one carted a case of beer on his shoulder.
“Looks like the gang’s arriving.” Annie stood with her hands on her hips, eying the boisterous group, then turned her head toward Lauren. “I hope you aren’t offended by foul language and bad jokes.”
“She can take it.” Rad came up behind her and put his arm around her waist possessively while leading her toward the men.
“Hey guys, this is Lauren.”
Lauren noticed a slight pause as they all surveyed her, as if they were taken somewhat by surprise, but then they smiled and nodded. “Nice to meet you.”
All but one, that is. He put his cooler down inside the canopy and then strode up to her, looked her straight in the eye and said, “What in the hell is a good-looking dame like you doing with him?”
Rad shook his head. “This is Wynn, Lauren. Do your best to ignore him.”
Lauren laughed and held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Wynn.”
He winked at her to let her know he was kidding, and then went back to the cooler and grabbed two beers. “Ready for a cold one, Miss Lauren?”
“Sure.” She watched Wynn twist the top and hand her the bottle. He wasn’t quite as tall as Rad but was just as broad shouldered. His hair was dark, and even with at least a week’s worth of facial hair, he was still incredibly handsome.
“Guess I have to get my own.” Rad reached into the cooler, shaking his head.
“Yeah, I’m not waiting on you, bro. You’re on your own.”
“Where’s your better half anyway?” Rad straightened and twisted the cap before taking a quick sip. “She leave you before the wedding?”
“No, she didn’t leave me.” Wynn shook his head. “She stopped to buy something on the Boardwalk. You know how women are.”
Another one of the guys walked up and nudged Rad. “Wondered where you’ve been all day.” He glanced over at Lauren and gave her a big smile. “It just wasn�
��t the same without Rad around.”
“Yeah, right.” Rad slapped the man on the back. “You probably didn’t even notice I was gone until just now.”
“Someone say there’s cold beer in here?” Another one of the men strolled up to the canopy.
Rad turned toward Lauren. “That’s Bipp on the left and Reese looking for beer. And stumbling up the beach, that’s Tork and Crockett.”
Lauren tried to memorize the names and features. Bipp was a little shorter and huskier than the others but still athletic looking. Reese had a couple of tattoos on his arm and was as big as a bear. Tork and Crockett were shorter, but lithe and trim.
She couldn’t help analyzing them because it wasn’t hard to see they were all Alpha males. Probably all cops—maybe even specialized SWAT.
“Uh oh,” Reese said as he lifted his gaze from the cooler. He locked eyes with Rad who stood right beside Lauren. “Trouble at your four o’clock.”
Lauren automatically turned her head over her shoulder to the right, as did Rad, and saw two young women wearing very short shorts carrying a cooler between them, struggling to walk through the sand.
“You said you wanted to go change. Right?” He started to lead Lauren away.
“Hey, Rad!” The girls set the cooler down with a loud thud, and one of them ran over to Rad. “Where have you been all day?” She threw her arms around him, though he didn’t exactly return the gesture.
“Jackie, I’d like you to meet a friend of mine. This is Lauren.”
Jackie turned around slowly and studied Lauren as if noticing her for the first time. “Nice to meet you.” Despite her words, there was no mistaking the animosity in her gaze as she perused Lauren from head to toe.
Lauren nodded and forced a smile. “Same here.” She sensed a history between this girl and Rad, and a feeling almost like jealousy crept up her spine. She scolded herself instantly. So what if Jackie was an old girlfriend?
“And that’s Jasmine.” Rad nodded toward the other girl, who had taken a beer out of the cooler and was already chugging it down.
“We’ll be right back.” Rad took Lauren’s arm and led her away. “Going to change clothes,” he said over his shoulder to Annie.
When he took her hand this time, it was with a tight clasp that afforded no refusal.
“You seem to be in a hurry all of a sudden.”
“Just want you to get into some warm jeans,” he answered curtly.
Lauren could tell he was lying. “That’s nice of you.”
As if sensing her sarcasm, Rad relaxed his grip, and by the time they made their way through the sand to the Boardwalk, he was acting normally again. “Your hotel’s right down there, right?”
“Yeah, about two blocks. I think I can make it.” Lauren grinned playfully, glad he was back to his old happy-go-lucky self.
“You sure?”
“I’ll meet you here in thirty minutes.”
Rad studied her a moment as if testing the truth. “Okay. What time you got?” He looked at his watch.
Lauren rolled her eyes. “Really? We’re going to synchronize our watches?” She glanced down at her phone. “See you at 1730.”
“Okay. Don’t be late.”
Lauren turned but could still feel his gaze on her. She wondered what he would do if she didn’t show up in thirty minutes. She began to hurry.
Back in her hotel room, she hopped in the shower to rinse off, and then threw on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt. After running the hair dryer over her hair, she pulled it back into a loose ponytail and left the ball cap behind. With time running out, she applied a little mascara and some lip gloss and still had a few minutes to walk the two blocks back to where she was supposed to meet Rad.
Chapter 7
When Lauren was about a half a block away, she saw Rad pacing in front of a bench. When at last his gaze met hers, he quite openly studied her with eyes that were piercing in their intensity, but with an expression she could not read.
“Where have you been?” He smiled in a careless manner when she reached him, but his tone had revealed emotion.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re late.”
“Not according to my phone. You worried about me?
“Let’s just say I was getting ready to knock down the door of every hotel room on the block.”
Lauren chuckled even though Rad did not appear to be joking. “Yeah, right. You were probably getting ready to leave, and I was only a minute late.”
She started to walk down to the beach, but he pulled her to a stop. “Don’t underestimate what I would do to find you.”
His voice sounded serious, and the strength he exuded felt overwhelming, but when Lauren met his gaze, his expression was again unreadable. Maybe he was feeling what she was feeling. And maybe he was as mixed up and confused about it as she was.
“Anyway,” he said, smiling now, “you just said you were on time.”
“Okay. Perhaps I was a few minutes late. You can’t expect me to be under the scrutiny of your friends without cleaning up a little.”
His eyes swept her up and down appreciatively. “You win. It was worth the wait. I see you’re taking this meeting-my-friends-thing pretty seriously.”
She glanced down at what she’d thrown on. “It’s just blue jeans and a tee shirt for heaven’s sake.”
“Um-hmm. But you make it look good.”
Lauren smiled at him appreciatively while her eyes soaked in the sight of him. You don’t look so bad yourself. He wore a navy blue tee shirt that emphasized the breadth of his shoulders, along with an unbuttoned denim shirt that was so faded it was barely blue. It occurred to her she should have brought something with long sleeves as well, but he soon interrupted her thoughts.
“Let’s go.” He casually draped his arm over her shoulders and strolled toward the party that had now grown even larger. Apparently a few females who had been strolling down the beach had been given an impromptu invitation by some of the guys—and there were a number of new male faces as well.
“Hey, Lauren.” Annie beckoned her when they got near the canopy.
Lauren noticed that during their absence another canopy had sprung up, along with more coolers and food. “This is Heather, Wynn’s fiancée.” She had to speak loudly over the music now blaring. “Heather, this is Lauren.”
“Great to meet you.” Lauren shook hands with the tan blonde who wore a camouflage ball cap and a Duck Dynasty tee shirt with cut-off shorts. Petite and slim, she gazed at Lauren with big, brown eyes that reflected welcome and acceptance.
“We don’t know what she sees in Wynn, but apparently she’s here to stay,” Rad said as he opened the lid to the cooler.
“Geez Rad, that’s not very nice.” Lauren shook her head.
“Oh, that’s tame for him.” Heather’s brown eyes twinkled. “He must be on his big-boy behavior with you around.”
Rad spoke to Heather as he handed Lauren a beer. “Some things are just between us, Heather. No need to spread unfounded rumors.”
Heather spilled over with contagious laughter, which drew Wynn and a few of the other men to the tent. “Wynn, I think Rad is worried we will tell stories about him. Why don’t you share what he’s really like?”
Wynn gazed at Heather a moment and then his eyes shifted over to Rad, appearing to ponder whose side to take—his fiancée’s or his friend’s. “You mean how he’s a perfect gentleman at all times? Never late, organized, good manners, all that?”
That made the whole group laugh. Heather just shook her head and looked over at Annie, who shrugged as if to say, they’ve got each other’s back—even here.
“Come on Lauren, there’s someone I want to introduce you to over here.” Rad turned with Lauren in tow, but Wynn touched her on the shoulder to stop her. “I can tell you one thing about him. He’s got the biggest balls of anyone here.”
“Good heavens, Wynn!” Heather shook her head. “Sorry. He can be blunt—and tactless.”
&nbs
p; Lauren smiled and trotted to catch up to Rad. “But it’s true,” she heard someone from behind her say with a mixture of respect and joviality in his voice. “That’s the modern-day John F’ing Wayne right there.”
Lauren usually hated parties, detested trying to make small talk, and despised having to pretend she was having a good time. The realization she was actually enjoying herself hit her with an unexpected jolt. Rad had kept close tabs on her at first, but now she was talking with Reese and Bipp about different places they had visited in Ocean City while he conversed with Pops.
Reese must have noticed Rad raising his drink and winking at her in the midst of a conversation. “What’d you do to him anyway? Cast a spell or something?”
Lauren cocked her head. “What do you mean?”
“He’s like the most antisocial man I’ve ever met.”
“Really?”
“I mean, don’t get me wrong. He’d do anything for his friends—it’s just hard to become one.”
Lauren laughed at that. It hadn’t seemed hard at all. One moment she was sitting on the beach. The next thing she knew she was attending a beach party and meeting his closest friends.
Her sudden outburst must have drawn Rad’s attention. He strode over and stood behind Lauren with his hands on her shoulders. “What’s going on over here?”
“Just talking to your girl.” Reese cocked his head and stared at them. “So how long you two known each other anyway?”
When Lauren glanced up at Rad he shot her a “don’t tell him” look, so she provided an answer without really answering. “Oh my goodness, it’s been so long, I don’t even know.” She leaned back into him. “Do you remember how long we’ve known each other… honey?”
Rad smiled and wrapped both his arms around her. “All I know is, not long enough.”
Without warning, Lauren heard a shutter click a few times and then noticed that the lens of the beach photographer’s camera was aimed at her and Rad. Startled, she wriggled out of his arms and turned her back. “Tell him to delete anything he took.” She hoped he would take her tone of voice seriously.
Before she walked away, she heard Rad talk to the man in a low voice as the photographer nodded his head.
Meant to Be Page 6
