to want to protect me.” Her eyes scanned the seven people sitting around the fire pit. “Not that I’d need protecting from anyone here. You’ve all been so nice and welcoming.”
They had. And now Zane felt like an ass for staking his claim when he had no right and for putting her in an awkward position.
“But I do make my own decisions. And I’d love to get to know each of you better.”
“You are a smart woman.” Dylan turned to Zane with genuine understanding. He and Dylan had had this conversation before. “And we all knew what Zane was getting at.”
Zane clamped his mouth shut for the moment. He’d said enough, and he had a feeling that Jessica wasn’t too thrilled with him right now. His big brother act had probably started to wear thin on her. He didn’t say boo when she walked down to the water deep in conversation with Adam Chase for a few minutes. He didn’t register an inkling of irritation when Dylan offered to give her a tour of his house. But darn if he wasn’t keenly relieved when Jessica made friends with three of the women at the party. She’d spent a good deal of time with them. He recognized one woman as an actress recently cast in a film about a Southern girl. She’d gobbled up a good deal of time asking Jess questions about Texas.
“You look like you could use a beer.” Adam handed him one of the two longnecks he clasped between his fingers.
“You read my mind. That sounds good.” Adam’s mouth twitched. The man didn’t often smile, but obviously Zane had amused him. “Right. How’s the restaurant coming?”
Zane had asked Adam for a recommendation of someone whose specialty was designing shoreline commercial establishments since Adam didn’t work with small restaurants. “We’ve broken ground. The framework is up, and we should open our doors in a few months. I’m hoping for Labor Day.”
“Glad things are going smoothly.”
He nodded. Last year, he’d opened a restaurant in Reno, and his friend and CEO of Sentinel Construction had overseen the building. But Casey’s business didn’t reach the west coast, and Adam had connections all over the world. He wound up hiring a builder Adam said was top-notch. “They seem to be.”
Adam sipped his beer. “Jessica seems like a nice girl. She said she’s indirectly related to you.”
Indirectly? Though those were true words, it still stung hearing them coming from her mouth secondhand that way. There was something painful in the truth, and if he was being gut-honest with himself, it was liberating, as well. “Uh, yeah. She was my wife’s little sis. She’s staying in Moonlight Beach for a while.”
“With you. Yes, you made that clear earlier.” Adam’s mouth hitched again. It was more animation than Zane had seen in the guy practically since he’d met him. “I’m going out on a limb here, but either you’re hooked on her, or you’ve got a bad case of Big Brother syndrome.”
Zane peered over Adam’s shoulder and caught a glimpse of Jessica speaking with a man who looked enough like Dylan to be his twin. “Who the hell is that?”
Adam swiveled his head and gave the guy a once-over. “Dylan introduced him to me before you arrived. That’s Roy. He’s Dylan’s stunt double.”
Roy and Jessica stood in the sand under the light of a tiki torch and away from the crowd of people beginning to swarm the barbecue pit, where a chef prepared food on the grill. Zane didn’t like it, but he couldn’t very well pull her away from every guy who approached her.
“So, which is it?” Adam asked.
“Which is what?” He watched Jessica laugh at something Roy said.
“Are you playing big brother? Cause if you’re not, I think you have to amp up your game, neighbor. Or you’re going to lose something special, before you know what hit you.”
Zane stared at Adam. The guy had no clue what he was talking about. Adam had no idea how hard he’d loved Janie. He had no idea how he couldn’t get past what happened. He’d tried over and over to put his emotions to lyrics, to gain some sort of closure in a song meant to honor his love for Janie, but the words wouldn’t come. “I’ve already lost—”
Adam began shaking his head. “I’m not talking about the past, Zane. I’m talking about the future.”
“Spoken by a man who rarely steps foot out of his house.”
Now Adam did laugh. “I’m here now, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, that surprises me. Why are you?”
He shrugged. “I’ve got a temperamental artist painting a wall in my gallery. It’s going to be fantastic when he’s through, and he insists on complete privacy. I’m staying at Dylan’s for a few days.”
“Well, damn. You’re sorta here by default, then.”
“It’s not so bad. At least I got to meet Jessica and all her Southern charm.”
“Why, that’s very nice of you to say, Adam.”
A sweet strawberry scent wafted to his nostrils, announcing Jessica’s presence even before she’d uttered a word. He’d come to recognize her scent, and every time she approached, a little bitty buzz would rush through his belly. She took a place by his side, and he refrained from puffing out his chest.
“Just speaking the truth,” Adam said.
“Hey, Jess,” Zane said.
“Hey, yourself,” she said to him. He wasn’t sure if she’d been deliberately avoiding him since his dopey remark earlier, or if she was flitting around like a butterfly to make new friends. Either way, he was glad she’d come over to him.
“Having fun?”
“Sure am. I’m meeting some great people here. It was sweet of Dylan to invite me. Sorry if I abandoned you.”
He raised his beer bottle to his lips. “No problem. I spent my time keeping Adam amused.”
Jessica shot a questioning glance at Adam.
“He’s quite a party animal these days,” Adam explained, tucking his free hand into his trouser pockets.
Zane gulped the rest of his beer. He wouldn’t be here if Jessica hadn’t changed her mind about coming. “C’mon Jess. Looks like the meal’s being served. I’ve got me a hankering for some barbecue chicken.”
“Adam, will you join us?” she asked.
Adam shook his head. “I’ll see you over at the table later. I’m going to have another drink first.”
Zane began moving, and Jessica kept by his side as he headed for a table occupying the far corner of the massive patio. “Chances are we won’t see much of Adam tonight. He keeps to himself pretty much.”
“Does he?” she asked. “Why?”
“I don’t really know. We got friendly when I leased the house from him. And we had some business dealings, but I sensed he’s a loner. It’s probably why he was standing with me, over against the wall.”
