She didn’t understand, so she waited for more.
He finally turned to look at her. “Those articles. They aren’t real. They don’t know. None of them know.” Any trace of sarcasm or arrogance was gone. He looked exposed, vulnerable. “They say I’m shallow, that I date models and actresses just so I can have a pretty face to look at… I date them because they understand. Their lives are even more in the spotlight than mine. I own a sailing company. Who am I? But this town has made me into someone; they’ve built me up into this character—for what? To increase tourism? To give people something to talk about? They say that I don’t understand the locals. It’s not that I don’t understand them. It’s that I can’t just be. I always see a judging eye, someone who has some opinion about my life’s choices. So I keep to myself.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I had no idea.”
He turned back to the ocean again as if it held answers somewhere far off in the distance.
Callie didn’t talk. With the wind in her ears and the whooshing of the ocean, she let the silence settle between them. He seemed like he’d wanted to get that out, and she was glad he’d confided in her.
“I’ve never told anyone that.”
“Really?”
“I’ve never felt the need to.” He picked up a shell and chucked it into a breaking wave. “But when I’d heard you’d read some of those awful things about me, it frustrated me and I wanted you to know.”
He’d surprised her again. And she couldn’t help the flutter in her chest at the thought that he’d wanted her to know the real him, but it scared her as well. She wasn’t ready for things to get real. He’d trusted her with his thoughts. She wasn’t the best person at relationships and, while they weren’t in one yet, this was how they usually started.
She mustered all the strength she had to respond to him. She didn’t want to do this wrong; she wasn’t any good at it. “I’m glad you trust me,” she said, her words feeling flimsy as they came out of her mouth. But the concern he seemed to have at making sure she understood him made her let go of her worries and speak from her heart. “I don’t believe those articles,” she said, watching the bubbles rise in her mojito, the ice melting in the heat. She looked up. “I guess I kind of did, when you took me on that big boat of yours and ordered that lobster what’s-it-called. I thought maybe the guy in the burger joint was just an act to appeal to me. But I know now that’s not true. Not at all.”
He let out a breath as if he’d been holding it in and smiled at her—a genuine smile, one that gave away how thrilled he was with her comment—and she knew she’d said just the right thing. And she hadn’t even had to try. She’d just done what had come naturally.
Twelve
“Look at these two,” Olivia said with a giggle, pointing into the bouncy castle, as Luke and Callie walked up from the beach. Mitchell and Wyatt were still bouncing and they were going up and down with each other, doing some sort of gymnastics routine they’d created while the other kids bounded around inside. The two of them jumped up and did a toe touch before bouncing again and doing a flip. Both Olivia and Juliette took photos, laughing together.
“Looks like fun,” Luke said, crawling in. He barely fit through the small door.
When he stood up, the boys squealed at his arrival.
Luke’s weight, as he bounced, made both children soar into the air with uproarious laughter. Callie couldn’t help herself—she was laughing right alongside them while Luke jumped up to do a toe touch like the boys, both of them doubling over, heaving with giggles.
“Come in!” Luke said, bouncing to the side and putting his face right up to Callie’s, only the mesh netting between them. “You know you want to.”
Callie shook her head. “I have a dress on.” A very expensive dress.
“I dare you.”
“Go on,” Olivia urged.
“I’ll go easy. We’ll just jump—no funny business.” He made a face at the boys, causing them to cackle again. A few of the other kids were now watching with interest.
She deliberated. There was absolutely no reason for her to get in there and jump. She wasn’t dressed for it. She’d spent too much time on her hair to have it go all a mess…
“Please, Callie,” Wyatt said, an enormous grin on his face, those little eyes pleading.
He’d sat quietly so many days while they’d worked, he’d trudged along beside them as they ran errands for the house, he’d never once complained.
“Okay,” she said to the cheers of Luke, Wyatt, and Mitchell. Handing her mojito to a grinning Olivia, she slipped off her sandals and carefully climbed through the precariously small entry onto the wriggling, unsteady floor of the bouncy castle.
Luke took her hands and held her steady as she stood up, his grip more affectionate than she’d expected. That confident smile had returned, sending her heart racing. Slowly, still holding her hands, he bounced up and down just enough to put a little air between her feet and the floor.
“Higher!” Wyatt called.
“Hang on. I’m getting her used to it,” Luke said over his shoulder.
As they bounced, still holding hands, she started to feel stable, relaxing into the movement of the floor beneath her as the other kids jumped. Luke must have sensed it, because he did a giant jump, shooting her into the air. She let go of his hands and grabbed her dress, coming back down and having to grab on to him to stay on her feet. She gave him a playful but cautionary look.
“Sorry,” he said, chewing on a smile. She was holding the top of his arms still, his face too close to hers as he looked down at her. She pulled away and straightened her dress.
“Do it again!” Wyatt said, his smile spread from ear to ear. He bounced around in a circle, clapping his hands.
“I got a photo!” Olivia called in.
“Awesome,” Callie said, laughing.
Luke bounced again, sending her up. When she came back down, Callie gave him a light-hearted push, at which he dramatically fell into a back roll before looking at the boys with wide eyes. “She’s really strong,” he said with mock seriousness and Wyatt could hardly catch his breath, he was laughing so hard.
He righted himself and stepped over to Callie. “We’ll let you two work on your routine some more. I’m going to take Callie back to solid ground again.”
Mitchell and Wyatt both booed him before bouncing off into the other kids.
Callie climbed out carefully, put her sandals back on, and ran her fingers through her air. She pretended to be put out, but she knew Luke could see through it. He handed her the mojito with a devious grin. Then he tipped his head toward the bouncy castle. “Look.”
Olivia and Juliette were climbing in. Callie laughed, covering her mouth. When she turned back to Luke, he looked pensive. “I want to show you something,” he said, as if he’d just decided right then. “Come with me.”
Callie looked around at all the people. “Shouldn’t we stay at the party?” She didn’t want to monopolize all his attention.