“I know.” She sighed. “So romantic.”
“Cameron, look around you,” John said. “We’re on our own adventure. I don’t know why you’re buried in that silly book.”
Cameron gripped the pages. “This one’s great. It’s about the poisoning of a car-enthusiast and the totaling of his prized vehicles. It’s impossible to tell who did it. The victim vexed everyone.”
“Read it later if you must. We should start walking”—the siblings’ SUV crunched over gravel, cruising into a parking space—“quickly.”
Cameron packed his book, slung his bag over his shoulder, and hopped out. “Go ahead, John. I’ll catch up.”
“Oh, okay.” John’s shoulders slumped. Cameron’s stomach knotted. The walk was his idea, after all.
“Or you can wait for me?”
John perked up quickly. Too quickly. “Excellent. Be quick, I’d like to do the longer trail.”
“Doesn’t that go off the boardwalk?”
John’s gaze darted to Henry preparing his sister’s wheelchair. “Worth every stony step.”
Cameron frowned.
“Oh, my God.” Isabella snagged Cameron’s arm, nails poking through his jacket. She dragged him toward the SUV, speaking low. “That’s the guy from the bookstore, the one who checked you out.”
Cameron’s eyes lifted to Henry waiting patiently as his sister—wearing a bright golden scarf and matching hat—muscled herself into the chair.
Henry had been in the bookstore? Watching him?
Why hadn’t he said anything?
“You’ve got yourself a stalker, Cameron. I’ll put a stop to this.”
“He’s not stalking me. I know him.”
“You know Mr. Smoldering with Lust?”
A nervous shiver tickled low in his stomach. “You misread him. I’m sure his gaze simply darkened with recognition.”
“If he knew you, why didn’t he say hello?”
They were close enough that her voice carried.
Isabella eyed Henry with suspicion, and Cameron moved toward him like he were magnetized.
“Georgie was waiting for me.” Henry said defensively, gaze darting around him. “I was in a hurry. I didn’t want to get in the middle of you and”—his gaze focused behind Cameron and lingered—“your friend.”
Georgie snorted. “Bet that decision seems stupid now, Henry.”
Henry cleared his throat. “Well. It’s looking that way.” He procured a first aid kit from under the seat, opened it, and pulled out bandages.
Cameron only realized he was still inching nearer when Henry reached for his hands. Electricity riddled through him, and their gazes locked, increasing the voltage.
Henry’s fingers trembled against his as he placed soft cotton pads against his seeping wounds and fiddled bandages around his palms.
“I agree with Georgie,” Cameron murmured. “You could have interrupted me and Isabella.”
“Isabella?”
“She’s the woman I was with. The woman who has her arms around my brother’s neck, popping her foot as they kiss.”
“Oh, Henry,” Georgie said, close beside him, making Cameron jump. “He’s adorably . . . green. I want to keep him.”
Sure, he was nervous—he always was meeting Henry—but had he turned green with it?
He pinched his cheeks, and Henry smiled, eyes glittering.
He put the kit away and pressed the fob to lock up. “The last time we were here, Georgie, we picked up that stunning paua shell. I’m hopeful we’ll pick up another keepsake today.”
“As long as we put this one on display, Henry.”
Georgie rolled toward the signposted boardwalk and Henry jogged after her. They passed John, who had hopped back into his car and engaged the vinyl roof.
Cameron hurried to catch up—
The door of the convertible opened and John emerged grinning, cutting off his path. “Excellent. You and I can trail behind.”
Oh, goodie.
Twenty-five minutes into the walk, Cameron was desperate.
He tried stopping to do his laces, urging John ahead. He pointed to invisible penguins in the distance, hoping John might race off to see for himself.
No sale.
Every time Henry glanced back at them, an amused smile cocked his lips. He seemed to be enjoying the walk.
“John?” Georgie called, as bright as the hat she was waving. “How well do you know this walkway?”
John squared his shoulders. “Like the back of my hand.”
“Excellent. I have questions, come walk with me.”
John hesitated, and Cameron leaped at the opportunity, smiling. “How lovely of you.”
“Right. Yes. Of course it is.” He called out to Georgie as he hurried down the wooden boardwalk. “What do you want to know?”
Henry waited for them to pass, and his grin sparkled as Cameron caught up to him. Everything brightened. Sunshine pushed through cracks in the clouds, outlining them silver, and tall grass bowed at the push of refreshing breezes.
They swapped sideward looks as they walked. “You bought a book at Cracked Spine this morning?”
“I like to read.”
“As an English teacher should. What was it?”
“The Duke’s Sin.”
“Huh. It’s not exactly a literary classic.”
“I read fiction in all forms and genres. Stories are lexicon-portals into human nature, transporting us to new and exciting worlds, where we can experience a million emotional nuances for ourselves.”
“Mysteries and romances aren’t . . . silly?”
Henry leaned in and whispered against his ear. “On the contrary, some of the best.”
A laugh burst out of Cameron, causing John to look back and frown.