“Hey, Vampira, you okay?” Griffin asked her. Breck had forgotten about Caitie’s childhood nickname. She used to avoid the sun, always refusing to sit out in it or come down to the beach. They’d been such douches to her in those days.
“Caitie, how are you?” Breck’s voice was soft, as he reached out to take her hand in his. The way her skin felt was electric.
A smile broke across her lips. “Breck,” she said, her voice full of warmth. “My mom said you were here. I can’t believe you came back. I thought you’d be gone forever.”
He grimaced. “Yeah, I wasn’t the best at keeping in touch, was I?” He kept the rest of his sentence to himself. No need to tell her how depressed he was after leaving Angel Sands. How it was a miracle that he even got up every morning after heading east. Back then, he didn’t have the capacity to keep in touch with the friends he’d left behind. It was all too painful and raw.
Old history, he told himself. That was then, and this was now.
But he was still holding her hand.
“Well, we missed you. I’m glad you’re here. Lucas must be ecstatic the gang is back together.” She was staring up at him with those doe eyes. He could easily get lost in them.
“Lucas is standing right here,” her brother said. “And yes, he’s very happy.”
Her brother’s interruption was like a bucket of ice. She pulled her hand from Breck’s, breaking their connection. “Shut up, Lucas. And stop talking about yourself in the third person.”
“Lucas will be happy to do that.”
Griffin started to laugh. It really was like old times, with Lucas and his friends teasing the younger girl. Except she wasn’t a girl anymore, was she?
“It really is good to see you,” Breck said. “How have you been doing?”
There was her smile again. All goofy and lopsided the way he’d remembered it. He wondered if her lips were as soft as they looked. “I’m really good, thanks. I’ve been living in New York. This is the first time I’ve been home in ages.”
He fought the urge to reach out and touch her again. “Yeah, Lucas told me you have your own business. That’s pretty cool for somebody so young.”
“I’m not that young,” she pointed out.
“Tell that to the thirty year old.”
She laughed. “Well in that case, old man…”
“Hey, less of the old.” Th
eir easy conversation relaxed him. “So what exactly do you do?”
“I’m a Holiday Consultant.”
“A what?” he asked, perplexed.
She laughed at his expression. “I work with businesses on Christmas themes and events. I consult on future trends, past trends, and help source festive items and decor. Basically, if it has anything to do with Christmas, I do it.”
“That’s a thing?” His lips were dry. He lifted the bottle of beer to wet them. The mention of Christmas made him want to down his drink in one.
“It really is.” She shrugged. “It’s a pretty lucrative thing, too.”
“Sounds as though you’re doing really well.”
“I’m getting there. I’m working on a big contract with a company in L.A.. If I can close it, things will really go to the next level.”
“No wonder Lucas is so proud of you.”
“He is?” Her surprise made him wince.
“Yeah, of course he is.”
She smiled at his revelation. “Talking of brothers, how is Daniel? He must be twenty-three by now.”