As she led him into the room where Olivia was working, Luke’s gaze was on her. It was the kind of look that revealed how his face would rest after laughing or when he’d just been told some good news. It was sincere and sweet.
“I need a little help with measuring,” Olivia said through the pencil in her mouth, the music still blaring. She regarded Callie and Luke before her eyes settled on Callie with a grin. She was up on a stepladder, marking spaces on the ceiling. She had the pencil in her mouth to free her hands to measure the next length but she was just short of the distance to reach. She stopped and took the pencil from her lips. “I need someone tall. Luke, can you stand on that box over there? It should hold you.”
Callie grabbed the wooden crate that had held some of Olivia’s things when they’d first moved in and scooted it across the bare floor toward Luke. This was the room Callie was sleeping in until they’d chosen bedrooms. Her air mattress was pushed against the wall, the blankets still askew from when Luke had woken her up this morning.
There was almost nothing in the room at all—no blinds, no curtains, no furniture except the small dresser she’d found at an antiques shop on the mainland. They’d delivered it the day after she’d bought it. It was a butter cream color, the legs curled outward but the rest of the design quite simple. She imagined the whole room done in yellow and cream with delicate white starfish in lightwood baskets and driftwood artwork on the walls.
Olivia moved the stepladder to a new spot. Luke took the end of the tape measure and stretched it across the ceiling.
“I want to see how many recessed lights we can fit in this room. It’s big and not as bright as I’d like with the main light fixture in the center.”
They’d talked about recessed lighting for all the guest rooms. They were going to put them on dimmer switches so that guests arriving late could have soft ambience to set the mood. The Beachcomber was going to be about relaxation and getting away from the hustle and bustle of regular life. While it wasn’t going to be luxurious and fancy, it was going to be calm and understated—the perfect place to be after a long day at the beach.
“Once I have measurements, maybe we can look at the plans over dinner,” Olivia said, her shoulders rising in excitement. “Luke, would you like to join us?” Before he’d even answered, and despite Callie’s look of warning, she added, “We’ll probably just get a pizza, but you’re welcome to stay.”
“I’d love to,” he said with a wink at Callie.
Callie tried not to think about the distraction he was causing. His little game of cat and mouse was nothing more than that—a game. She was certain. Why else would he be wasting time at her little beach house? There she was getting all fluttery around him and that was probably just what he wanted.
But then her eyes fell on the journal sitting on her dresser. How alone Alice had been in this house, and how much laughter had been here today. Whatever his motives, it had been good.
“Well, we’d better get the rest of that sanding and painting done then,” she said, trying to keep her thoughts from showing.
“Why in the world did you ask him to dinner?” Callie said, peering out of the window at Luke as he tossed a ball with Wyatt. They’d finished their work for the day and Luke had offered to take Wyatt outside to play, help him catch a few fish, while Callie and Olivia got cleaned up. He’d worn his swimming trunks to the house this morning and he’d taken off his paint-drenched T-shirt. Callie had tried not to focus on his tan skin. Luke threw the ball to Wyatt, a long pass that arced into the air, sailing straight to Wyatt’s arms. When Wyatt caught it, Luke raised his hands in celebration.
“He’s nice,” Olivia said, leaning over Callie’s shoulder. “And you need someone nice in your life.”
The comment surprised Callie. What was she talking about? “I can make my own choices, thank you very much,” she said, her words coming out playful despite the message she was conveying. She knew Olivia was just trying to help, but Callie didn’t need it. She’d done just fine on her own.
“He showed up to help, brought you breakfast, painted all day, finished the sanding in the living room… I think he likes you.”
Callie spun around. “I think he’s just bored. And why would it matter anyway? I’m too busy to bother with all that nonsense. We have a business to run.”
Olivia smiled knowingly at Callie, which only frustrated her because she didn’t know. “Don’t be afraid to take another chance,” she said. “Even if it’s unexpected. And don’t be scared to open up. I know that’s hard for you to do, but you really should let people in, Callie. I think he’d like it if you did.”
Callie chewed on her lip, unsure how to respond.
“You’re loads of fun, Callie. You should let people see that.” Olivia looked over her shoulder out the window and laughed so loudly she clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle it.
Wyatt was swimming now and Luke was standing on the beach keeping an eye on him. Written in giant letters in the sand were the words, Callie! Come outside!
Callie pulled back to focus on Olivia’s face. “He’s a distraction,” she said unconvincingly.
Olivia’s face was kind. “From what?” Taking Callie by the arm playfully, she said, “Come on, let’s go outside.” She grabbed three bottles of beer from the cooler and the opener and headed toward the door.
With a deep breath, Callie went out behind her. No matter what Olivia thought was right for her, she’d never put her trust in someone she’d just met who had no real reason to be in her life at all. According to those articles she’d read, Luke had a short attention span, and she wasn’t going to get hurt because she wasn’t going to let herself.
When they got to the beach, Luke took the bottles from Olivia and opened them for her, sticking the caps in his pocket and handing a bottle to each of them.
“Hi,” he said to Callie with a warm smile. “Did you see my message?” He nodded toward the sand.
“Subtle,” she said, although he looked so adorable, his smile peeking out from behind his bottle as he took a sip of his beer, that she had to work to hide her own grin. He certainly was charming. She had to take a sip of beer herself to be able to take her eyes off him.
“Nice shirt,” he said with a smirk.
“I need to do laundry.” She looked down at her I survived the Beach Bum Burger Bash T-shirt. It was too long, nearly covering her shorts.
Wyatt came up to them dripping wet. “Mom, did you see my handstand? I did one before the wave got me.”
“I did!” Olivia said with excitement. She grabbed a towel from the beach bag Luke must have brought down with them and wrapped it around Wyatt, but he took it off. “Come down to the water and watch me.”
“Okay,” Olivia said with a grin toward Callie and Luke. She took the towel to the shore and laid it on the sand, sitting down, her back to them.