It Happened One Summer (It Happened One Summer 1)

Unbelievably, Brendan felt a rumble of laughter building in his sternum. “You did say that. Right before you took a shot.”

She punched him in the thigh. “Don’t you dare laugh.”

“Sorry.” He forced his lips to stop twitching. “If it makes you feel better . . . that dinner needed a little levity. You did everyone a favor.”

Brendan felt her studying his profile. “Tonight must have been hard for you.”

“It was hard seven years ago. Six. Even five. Now it’s just . . .” He searched for the right word. “It’s respect. It’s duty.”

Piper was silent so long, he had to glance over, finding her with an expression of wonder. “Seven years?” She held up the appropriate number of fingers. “That many?”

He nodded.

She faced the harbor, letting out a rush of breath, but not before he saw her attention dip to his ring. “Wow. I thought it might have been a year. Maybe even less. She must have been really special.”

Of course that was true. Brendan didn’t know how to explain the convenience and . . . the practicality of his past marriage without it sounding disrespectful to a woman who could no longer speak for herself. Today, especially, he wouldn’t do that. But he couldn’t deny an urge to expose himself somewhat. It only seemed fair when she was sitting there, so vulnerable. He didn’t want her to go it alone.

“I was away fishing when it happened. An aneurysm. She’d been out for a walk on the beach. Alone.” He let out a slow breath. “She always went alone, even when I was home. I wasn’t, uh . . . the best at being married. I didn’t mold myself to fit new routines or different patterns—I’m sure you’re shocked.” She stayed quiet. “They say even if I’d been there, I couldn’t have done anything, but I could have tried. I never tried. So this . . . year after year, this is me trying, I guess. After the fact.”

Piper didn’t respond right away. “I don’t know a lot about marriage, but I think people mature and get better at it over time. You would have. You just didn’t get a chance.” She sighed into the night breeze. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

He nodded, hoping she would change the subject. Maybe Fox was right and he’d been serving a penance long enough, because dwelling on the past now just made him restless.

“My longest relationship was three weeks.” She held up the right number of fingers. “This many. But in weeks.”

Brendan hid a smile. Why did he kind of love knowing that there wasn’t a single man in Los Angeles who could lock Piper down? And . . . what would it take? “Is he the one who called you an airhead?”

“You’re hyperfocused on this.” She pulled her shoulders back. “Yes, he was the one who said it. And I proved him right in the next breath by assuming he was ending things because I’d discussed the compatibility of our astrological signs with my therapist. I couldn’t have sounded more like an LA bimbo if I tried.”

“It pisses me off when you call yourself names.”

She gasped. “Pissed off? That’s a real switch for you.”

The corner of Brendan’s lips tugged. “I deserve that.”

“No, you don’t,” she said, and sighed, falling silent for a few moments. “Since we got here, it has never been more obvious that I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m really good at going to parties and taking pictures, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But what if that’s it? What if that’s just it?” She looked at him, seeming to piece her thoughts together. “And you keep witnessing these huge fails of mine, but I can’t hide behind a drink and a flirty smile here. It’s just me.”

He couldn’t hide his confusion. “Just you?”

Once again, he was seeing flashes of insecurity beneath the seemingly perfect outer layer of Piper Bellinger, and they roused his protective instincts. He’d ridiculed her at the outset. Now he wanted to fight off anything that made her sad. Fucking hell, it was confusing.

Piper hadn’t responded, quietly dabbing at her damp eyes—and he’d been okay with the crying for a while, but he should have been able to dry her tears by now. What was he doing wrong here? Remembering how the hug had at least gotten her to stop running away, he put his left arm around her shoulders and tucked her into his side. Maybe a distraction was the way to go. “What did you do while I was gone?”

“You mean, besides enjoying harbor tours from all the local fishermen?”

Despite her teasing tone, something hot poked him in the jugular. “Funny.”

Her lips twitched, but over the course of a few seconds, she sobered. “A lot has happened since you left, actually. I met my grandmother, Opal.”