Page 34 of Beach Vibes

He stared at her for a second. “Did you think she was different with you tonight from the way she is when it’s just the two of you?”

“Very. She and I never have the three thousand awkward silences we had tonight.”

He hung his head. “So I was wrong about not telling you about her and vice versa.”

She wanted to shriek that yes, yes, he had been the wrongest, but she didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

“I don’t want to create more misunderstandings,” she offered instead.

He nodded slowly. “You’re right. I messed up. I should have thought it through. I just wanted to make you happy. I really did think the situation was funny, but I was wrong. I’m sorry I hurt you.”

“Thank you,” she said, believing he’d meant well. He was so sweet and earnest and adorable. She found everything about him appealing. Well, not the attempt at humor, but everything else.

He reached for her hand. “My sister is protective of me. There have been women in the past, a couple.” He paused and looked away. “They took advantage of me financially.”

Jana’s already upset stomach sank as she held in a shriek. “You mean like they asked you for money?”

He drew back. “It was worse than that. One of them stole my credit cards and maxed them out. That kind of thing. I should have remembered how upset she was and how she would be worried now. I’m sorry.” He shook his head. “Like I said, I should have thought this through. Now I’ve made things worse.”

She held in a groan. Great, so Beth had history with womenwanting Rick for what he could give them, and now she was going to put Jana firmly in the same category.

“How mad are you?” he asked softly.

“I’m not mad, Rick. I’m just worried. I need Beth to stay my friend.” And what were the odds of that happening now?

“What can I do to help?”

“Nothing,” she told him, thinking his “help” would only make things worse. “Don’t worry about it.” She forced a smile. “It’s not that big a deal.”

“You sure?”

“Yes,” she said firmly.

He gazed into her eyes. “Are we okay?”

She knew there was no point in continuing the conversation. Rick was unlikely to get the subtleties of how she felt, and trying to explain the situation would only make him feel worse. He’d screwed up because he was clueless, not because he was a jerk. Later, when she wasn’t so upset about Beth, she would think that he’d been sweet to try to pull off what he thought was a joke.

“We are.”

He offered her that hopeful, happy smile of his and started the car. When they reached her house, he walked her to the door and kissed her. She lingered with him on the doorstep for a few minutes, more because she wanted to make him feel better than because she was feeling romantic. Finally he stepped back and promised to text her in the morning. She nodded and ducked into the house, oh so grateful the evening was over.

After kicking off her shoes and dropping her bag on the floor, she walked barefoot into the family room, where she found her brother reading. He looked up and smiled.

“You’re home earlier than I thought. How was dinner with the sister?”

She flopped onto the sofa opposite and leaned back, closing her eyes against all the awful memories. “It was a disaster.”

“Did you dis her cooking?”

She looked at him. “Very funny, and no. Of course not. His sister is Beth.”

Teddy’s momentary look of confusion cleared. “Rick’s sister is your friend from the food bank?”

“Yes. He figured it out, which is probably why he arranged for us to meet. Neither of us had a clue, and let me tell you, it wasn’t a happy reveal.”

She thought about the shock on her friend’s face when they’d seen each other. She was sure she’d looked just as startled.

“Apparently he described me as a money-grubbing bitch or something equally unflattering. Plus all the things I said before.” She held in a whimper. “It was just the stupid stuff friends say together.” She twisted her hands together. “I told her the guy who’d asked me out was successful, and we joked about marrying money.”

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