“I should have known.” His chest loosened, and he laughed. “It’s too bad you don’t have siblings. They make life interesting, that’s for sure.”
“I wish I did. Maybe . . . maybe I do.”
Oh. Right. “If you don’t mind me asking, why don’t you know for sure?” He was only asking because he needed to know anyway. To hold up his end of the bargain.
It had nothing to do with how easy she was to talk to. Nope.
“It’s not just that I don’t know if I have any family.” She bit her lip. “It’s also that I don’t know who my dad was.”
Yikes. “Your mom doesn’t know?”
“Oh, she does. She just won’t tell me anything. Well, not much.” Shaking her head, Bella sighed and looked out toward the ocean. “One time I overheard her say his first name was Daniel. But no last name and when I asked about it, she said I needed to leave well-enough alone.”
“I notice you use past tense when you talk about him.”
“Of the few things she’s told me, one is that he died when she was pregnant with me.”
“I’m sorry.” He tried to infuse enthusiasm into his voice. “But at least you have a starting place. You know he was from here, right?”
“What?” Her head whipped around to look at him.
“I just assumed . . . because you said you were here to find his family.”
“To tell you the truth, I’m not sure what I know or don’t know.” Clouds obscured the moon, creating shadows all around them. “I’m here to figure it all out.”
Was she purposefully being vague? No. He was probably reading too much into it. He’d learned to do that after Elena’s betrayal. But Bella—there was something different about her. He could feel it. He hadn’t known her a week, yet they’d already had a deeper discussion than he remembered having with Elena.
Maybe that had been the problem. One of many, apparently. The other being that Elena had only dated him—the blue-collar handyman—to make her upper-crust parents angry.
“Well, join the club. I’m still figuring out what my life is supposed to look like. The inn, the way I relate to women . . .” He cleared his throat.
A stuttered laugh flew from Bella’s lips. “I’m guessing you do just fine with women.”
“Being betrayed and lied to by someone who claims to love you tends to do something to a man.”
Bella turned her eyes on him again, blinking. She shivered as the wind tousled her hair. “It’s getting cold. Guess we should head back.”
Yeah. They really should. Because what had possessed him to be so personal with this woman?
What was she doing to him?
She stood and, after a moment, so did he. Without a word, they started toward the boardwalk, the moon peeking through the clouds, watching them as they walked in silence.
Chapter 5
All this time and Bella didn’t know if she was any closer to achieving her goal.
Didn’t really know if she wanted to be, either.
Taking another sip of her coffee, Bella stared out the floor-to-ceiling back window of the Frosted Cake, which granted her a view of the boardwalk, the beach, and the sparkling water of the Pacific. She’d staked out this corner table early this morning to read Ben’s financials in depth once again before their meeting, trying to decide what to do with the information now that she had it.
It wasn’t just Ben’s hammer pounding and wood planing that had driven her here from the solitude of her room. After their kind-of-not-really date two days ago, her brain—and heart—had been on overload, and she’d needed space to think. Between the high ceilings, circular wooden tables, and eclectic beach-themed decor, the restaurant provided the perfect solution.
Though neither place could drown out her unproductive thoughts about a handsome man on a beach who’d shown her a piece of his heart—probably without meaning to.
“Being betrayed and lied to by someone who claims to love you tends to do something to a man.”
Bella squeezed her eyes shut, rubbing them like a thousand particles of dust had gotten stuck inside. Ben’s words still haunted her. But not just the words themselves. It was the way he’d spoken them, as if prying open a clam to expose a pearl inside. He’d trusted her enough to tell her what he had.
The problem was that she wasn’t worthy of that trust. Which bothered her. A lot.
But still, she had a job to do, a father to find. That was more important than anything else. At least, she’d thought so. So why this tugging inside, this desire to forget what she’d promised her mom so she could deliver what she’d promised Ben?
In looking at his report, it hadn’t taken her long to come up with a list of basic things he could change to improve his business practices—raising his prices, for one, and doing some online marketing, for another.
But to share or not to share? That was the question.
Groaning, Bella downed the rest of her coffee and stood to grab some more from the drink station sidebar. In the mornings the Frosted Cake allowed free seating and functioned more like an order-at-the-counter bakery and coffee shop but moved to more traditional restaurant seating and service for lunch and dinner.
As she reached the sidebar, Bella waited behind a woman with poofed-up red hair and long red nails. She poured fresh-squeezed orange juice from a pitcher then turned, looking Bella up and down. Her nose curved at a sharp angle.
“I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you yet.” She extended her free hand. “Carlotta Jenkins.”
Bella accepted Carlotta’s handshake. The woman squeezed harder than necessary. Forcing a smile, Bella squeezed back. “Bella Miranda. I’m a guest at—”
“The Iridescent Inn. I know.” A smirk brought out tiny wrinkles around the woman’s eyes and lips. “I make it my business to know things about anyone who stays any significant amount of time in my town.”
“That sounds exhausting.” Finally, someone Bella knew how to handle, unlike everyone else she’d met in Walker Beach. “I’m afraid I don’t know anything about you.”
Carlotta’s smirk wavered before she recovered in a quick moment. A high-pitched jerking laugh tumbled from her mouth. “I own the clothing boutique in the North Village.”
The clothing boutique, as if it were the only one. Although, who knew? Maybe it was. Bella shrugged, finally allowing her hand to fall. “I haven’t been inside yet.” As she poured herself some coffee, the warmth of the liquid seeped through the paper cup into her fingertips.
“Too busy dating our local innkeeper, mmm?” Carlotta’s eyes remained hawklike on Bella as she sipped her juice.
Oh, how she longed to take down this woman a notch. Not like she’d be here much longer. She’d either convince Ben to sell or she wouldn’t. Regardless of the outcome, Bella wouldn’t be sticking around here for the long-term.
But something stayed her tongue. She didn’t want to make trouble for Ben—not any more trouble, anyway.
Bella stirred some cream into her coffee with a tiny plastic straw. “Too busy with a lot of things. Excuse me, please.” She headed back to her table.