“Thank you for letting me stay for dinner,” Luke said, the bottle of beer swaying between his fingers by his side. “I’ve had a lot of fun today.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t have work to do with that big company of yours,” Callie said, wondering how he’d had the time to spend all day with them, given what she’d read about the size of the Sullivan empire and his father’s work ethic. She remembered what she’d read: … speculation regarding the motivations of his son Luke. Does he have the drive to take on a company of this magnitude?
“I’m on vacation at the moment. Well, I was supposed to be, but I got a call that the lawyer wanted to meet with me about a few properties so I cancelled my trip and I’ve just been popping in to put out the biggest fires.” But before she could respond, he added, “But my dad works every single day of the week, no matter what.” His face had dropped to a frown. “He thinks that’s how you make a million, working all hours. I suppose I should believe him because he’s definitely proven that fact. I work differently from how he does, but I work hard too.”
“I wasn’t implying you didn’t,” she said, feeling guilty. She’d thought he’d just say something cute and be his usual flirty self, but then she remembered his reaction on the boat the other day.
He took a swig of his beer and then looked over at hers, that smile returning, to her relief. “Your beer’s going to get hot,” he said.
She tipped it up and took a long drink.
Then he said more calmly, “Work’s good though. I don’t want to make it sound like it isn’t. I love what I do.”
“What’s an average day like for you?” Callie asked. Wyatt and Olivia came back up, Wyatt out of breath from all his swimming. He was busy drying himself off while Olivia joined in the conversation, her beer half finished.
“I usually go for an early run or something and then I start work at around eight in the morning. I take a long lunch, and then come back to it at around three o’clock, working into the night when I need to. I finish up the day’s business, and after that, if there’s time, I do whatever—surfing, parties…”
“I like parties!” Wyatt said with a smile as he walked over.
“Yeah, they’re fun,” Luke said, visibly glad to talk to him. He was great with Wyatt. “If it’s okay with your mom, I’d like to have you come to my nephew’s birthday party tomorrow evening. Would you like to do that?”
Wyatt turned toward Olivia, with a wide-eyed smile. “Can I, Mom?”
Probably because she’d only just heard of the party, Olivia, blinking and visibly processing all at once, said, “Tomorrow? I… Uh… Sure. If it’s okay with Luke and his family.”
“Totally fine, I’m certain, but I’ll check with my sister.”
Callie always knew what Olivia was thinking and, right now, she could tell by the look in her eyes that she had a dozen thoughts going through her mind. Callie could guess them: What will I wear? What will Wyatt wear? What kind of present will we get a rich kid who has everything?
There was a knock at the door. Callie, expecting the pizza any minute, opened it to find Gladys instead, hugging an enormous turquoise pot with yellow and purple painted flowers that matched the purple of the tall, stalky plant in the pot.
“I brought you something,” she said as Callie reached out to help her set it down on the porch, the weight of it causing a thud. “And I stopped by to see Wyatt,” she added. “He texted me earlier and said that I had to come over and watch him swim against the waves. He says he’s a pro now.”
“Did you walk all the way across the street with this pot?” Callie asked.
“A girl’s gotta get her cardio in somehow!” Gladys said with a wink, coming inside the doorway. “Hi, Wyatt! … Oh!” She coughed and straightened her shirt as Luke walked up beside Callie.
“Luke Sullivan,” he said, holding out his hand.
Gladys shook it, surveying him inquisitively.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he said. “I was just coming to help Callie get the pizza. I thought you were the delivery guy.”
Gladys’s head slowly turned to Callie and her eyebrow rose ever so subtly before she spoke to Luke. “I’m terribly sorry,” she said, “But Callie didn’t tell me she’d made any friends around here. You surprised me. Glad to see some new blood in the house.” She’d gotten over her shock, but her loaded glances told Callie she’d have some explaining to do. By her reaction, it was pretty clear that Gladys knew who Luke was.
Luke stepped onto the porch and bent down to look at the pot. “This is nice,” he said, running his fingers over the colors on the front of it. “Did you paint it?”
Gladys nodded.
“I like the shadows you’ve added along the petals.”
“Well, it was just something I did for fun,” Gladys said, brushing it off, clearly as affected by Luke’s interest as Callie was. “This plant I have here attracts butterflies and if you get really close to it, it smells like licorice.”
Wyatt leaned in to test the scent.
“What’s all the fuss up here?” Olivia said, joining them. “Oh! That pot is gorgeous.”
“Thank you, dear. Glad you like it.” Gladys reached over and pressed the soil down around the flowering plant to keep it firm after the journey across the street and then clapped the excess off her hands over the pot. “I planted four for myself, and thought I’d do one up for you two. It’s delicate. If the rain decides to grace us with its presence, you might want to bring it in if it gets too windy.”
They’d been pretty lucky since they’d first arrived at The Beachcomber, but Gladys had warned them, and Callie knew it was only a matter of time before they’d have to deal with the late afternoon thunderstorms that rolled in after the high heat of the day.
“Well, I won’t stay if you have company. I just wanted to stop by and give you that. Wyatt, I can see you swim another time.”
“You can stay if you’d like,” Olivia said. “We’ve got pizza coming and there’s plenty.”
“Oh no,” she said. “Y’all enjoy your supper. I’ve got a mess to clean up on my back deck and it might rain.” She turned to Wyatt. “I can see that trick tomorrow, dear.” She opened the door herself and walked out onto the porch.
“Please, may I show her, Mom?” Wyatt asked.
“No one’s out there, Wyatt. It’s not safe—the surf is really rough right now. Why don’t we show her tomorrow?”
“I can go out with him,” Luke said.
“Thank you, Luke, but I wouldn’t want to trouble you. It’s dinnertime, Wyatt. Let’s wait.”
Wyatt’s face dropped but he nodded in understanding.
“Really,” Luke said. “It’s fine. I’ll take him out to show his grandmother. We’ll be five minutes, right Wyatt?” He winked at him.
“Okay,” she relented. “Five minutes. But then you need to come in. Don’t make Luke stay out there all night.”
“You and Luke go get ready, Wyatt,” Gladys told him with a smile. “I’ll be out in just a second.”
“Yes ma’am!” Wyatt walked beside Luke to the back door, talking the whole way.