He almost cracked a smile. But softening toward her and remembering a crazy teenage romance were not going to help him focus.
The fact was, he needed this deal. He needed to take this opportunity before people stopped asking him to take opportunities. Before his fame faded.
Plus downtown was sagging, businesses gradually closing up shop. People were feeling the pinch, even with the draw of the beach. Downtown needed a shot of something to invigorate it.
And so did Lucy.
For all these reasons, Pooch Palace would save the day.
And Hadley would have to accept that life had changed, that her grandmother just might want to move on. Once Hadley sat down with her and had a heart-to-heart, this would clear right up, he was certain. And with Hadley here for such a short time…she’d soon be out of the picture anyway.
The door opened, and Ivy came out with Bowie. “We got him ready for you.”
“Thanks, Ivy,” he said, reaching for the leash.
Uh-oh. Someone was getting their hackles back up, judging by the way Hadley’s face had turned bright red, her hands fisted at her sides. “Wait.” She sounded hurt. “You’re…you’re taking Bowie?”
Oh geez. He wished this old geezer of a dog would remember Hadley better. Actually, he probably did; he just couldn’t see more than two feet in front of his nose. And he wouldn’t hear the Rolling Stones if they were jamming right in front of him.
Hadley looked stricken. So forlorn that he wavered. “I’m just keeping him while your grandma’s in the hospital.” He held out the leash. “Here, you can take him.”
She looked at the dog and then at Cam, shaking her head. “I’m going to go home and shower and head back to the hospital. It’s better if he stays with you.”
He nodded. Stress was written all over her face, and he cracked, trying to wave the peace flag one last time. “I’m sure we’ll clear this up, Hadley.”
She wasn’t buying that, as evidenced by the fact that her lips didn’t even budge an inch in the smile direction.
“The only one who can clear this up is my grandma.” She paused and looked dead at him. “Put that on your next sticky note.”
Chapter 5
Hadley walked into her grandmother’s hospital room later that afternoon to find her dad carrying an enormous bouquet of roses, lilies, lilacs, and carnations from the bedside table to the windowsill. The ledge was loaded with even more arrangements than yesterday. Her mom sat at her grandmother’s bedside with pen and paper, flipping through her grandmother’s old floral-covered address book while she munched on what looked like a homemade chocolate chip cookie.
Kit sat there, too, on the remaining space of the windowsill. “Ollie and I made them,” she said, holding out a plate with more cookies.
Hadley took one and exhaled in relief. Her grandma was clearly doing better if she was putting her mother to work addressing thank-you notes. She’d drilled the importance of writing them into everyone in the family since birth.
“Who’s this one from, Gran?” Hadley pointed to a big floral arrangement full of brilliantly colored, exotic-looking flowers that her dad was currently making room for. She had to peer around another arrangement on her tray to see her grandmother, who had turned a bright shade of scarlet.
“Oh, I have wonderful friends,” her grandmother said evasively.
Her mom looked up and mouthed, “Paul.”
“Mr. Farmer has great taste,” Kit said in a mischievous tone as she inspected the flowers on the windowsill up close. “But why hasn’t he asked you out yet?”
“Oh, we’re just good friends.” Her grandmother waved her hand dismissively, but it didn’t escape Hadley’s notice that she was still blushing.
Hadley put a Beach Burgers fast-food bag on her grandmother’s hospital tray and kissed her on the cheek. “Sorry it’s not from Scoops. I thought you might want a whole meal.”
“I’ll forgive you if it’s chocolate banana,” Gran said.
“You bet.” Hadley had a lot of wonderful memories from Beach Burgers, most of them involving milkshakes and French fries.
“But where’s yours?”
Hadley smiled. “I just grabbed something quick.” The truth was, she’d been photographed so often in the past year, she’d learned to stop indulging cravings. Which, looking back, had been…pathetically sad. And ever since her breakup, she really hadn’t had much of an appetite.
It was clearly on the way back now. She was done denying herself a life in exchange for ideals that didn’t make her happy. “This cookie is amazing,” she said to Kit.
“Burgers, cookies, milkshakes,” Gran said as she pulled out a fry. “I’m going to gain weight in rehab if you all keep bringing me food.”
“Is that a bad thing?” Kit chuckled as she polished off her cookie.
Hadley took a seat next to Gran’s bed on the opposite side of her mom. She noticed an old copy of Sonnets from the Portuguese on the bedcovers. Cracked open, of course, to Sonnet 43, “How Do I Love Thee?”
“You’re doing the Elizabeth Barrett Browning class again?” Hadley shouldn’t have been surprised that her mom was working. Her dad was already furiously tapping on his phone and answering business calls in the corner.
Gran knew as well as Hadley that overachieving ran in the Wells family—as an only child, Hadley had practically had Achieve or Die tattooed onto her forehead.
Her mom smiled. “Just reading it for fun. Such a beautiful poem.”
For fun? Hadley skimmed through the well-known poem. “Do you really believe all that lofty Victorian sentiment about love lasting beyond death?”
“And growing stronger with time. Yes, I do.” She smiled at Hadley’s dad, who looked up from his phone and winked.
Maybe for Elizabeth and Robert Browning. And maybe for her parents. But Hadley was beginning to think it would never happen for her.
“Hadley, did you stop by the realty office by any chance?” her dad asked. “I wanted to get Carol’s input on the asking price for your building, Maddy.”
“Not yet, Dad,” Hadley said levelly. She’d conveniently forgotten her dad’s request. But first she had to make certain that this was what Gran wanted. Not her mom and dad. Not even Hadley herself. But her grandmother, free of any well-meaning coercion.
Her dad typed a reminder into his phone. “We need to get on with selling the business.”
“Mom’s only on post-op day one, Stephen,” Hadley’s mom said. “Let’s give her a little break, okay?”
“Thank you, Liz,” her grandmother said. “But I’m fine. And I can speak for myself, thank you very much. The truth is, I’m just not sure what I want.”
Hadley’s mom touched Gran’s arm. “You broke your hip running after a dog. It just wouldn’t be safe to go back to work.”
“I’m just thinking that it might be nice not to have to chase after crazy little dogs anymore,” her dad said. “Maybe it’s time for a new phase in life, you know?”
Her grandmother fretted with the cardboard hospital menu in front of her, a sure sign of nerves. And she’d barely touched her food. “I’m not certain what I’m going to do. I’m just exploring options.”