Jules takes a sip of her coffee and exhales, contentment all over her as she sets it down. “It’s because someone else cooked it.” She flicks a finger at me as I hover over the small outdoor stove and frying pan. “It’s always better when someone else cooks.”
I grin, loving how much the girls have bonded. It’s clear Charlie needs a friend, and I bet anything all the players’ wives would love her as much as we all do. The wives come from different backgrounds, with different interests, yet are very inclusive. I have no doubt they’d take Charlie under their wings in a heartbeat. I smile as I consider it, my mind’s eye visualizing them all at Watauga Beach, sipping wine and sharing stories over a bonfire. The lake and campfires are totally Charlie’s jam.
Wait, what the hell am I thinking? When would they ever cross paths?
“Well then,” Charlie says and points to me with a thick slice of bacon. “Wes, you can do all the cooking from now on.”
“I don’t mind. I actually enjoy it,” I say, as I scramble the eggs and pour them into the pan.
“Knitting and cooking,” Jules says and nudges Rider. “You could learn a thing or two.”
“Hey, I cook,” he says, feigning indignation. “But no, I am not learning to knit.” He takes a bite of toast, not about to entertain the thoughts of learning. The guys have playfully been razzing me about my knitting skills since they found out, yet they’ve all been asking me to knit them something else after Mom supplied the team with toques.
“I wouldn’t mind learning,” Charlie says. “I could use some good warm clothes, especially if I have to move to Toronto.”
Have to? She says that like she doesn’t want to. Sometimes she really confuses me. One minute it seems like she’s anxious to get out of here—heck, the first time she jumped on her boat and I asked where she was going she said anywhere but here—then other times she seems anxious to stay. When I see her in her element, I know rural Nova Scotia is where she belongs. Does she know where she belongs?
Jules’ jaw drops open, incredulous, as her hands still, her toast inches from her mouth. “Why on earth would you move to Toronto and leave all this behind?”
“She applied for jobs there,” Rider says, and suddenly, as if he said something he wasn’t supposed to, his gaze jerks to mine. I turn to Charlie, to find her frowning at me.
Shit. I give her an apologetic shrug, and hope I didn’t overstep by sharing something personal with Rider. It’s just that on our run, I brought it up—yeah, I really like thinking and talking about Charlie—and I’m still not sure why I told him about the job offers. I guess maybe the idea doesn’t sit well with me, and that could be for purely selfish reasons, like if I come back to my hometown, I like the idea of her being here. But he was a good sounding board and offered up some advice, that I’m currently running around my brain, but will probably never follow up on.
“Sorry, it just sort of came up when we were out running earlier. I hope you don’t mind.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind. I guess you guys must have ran out of things to talk about. Me moving to Toronto is hardly newsworthy.”
She’s wrong…it’s newsworthy to me.
“Why on earth would you go to Toronto?” Jules says, her eyes narrowed like she can’t wrap her brain around it. She widens her arms and looks around. “You love what you do here. This is where you belong. Everyone knows that.”
Charlie smiles, but it’s forced and doesn’t reach her pretty eyes. “This…” She glances around with awe and wonderment in her eyes as she takes in the ocean, the birds flying overhead and the creative, cozy campsite she made. “It’s a side gig for the family business during the off season, and I have a management degree to put to use.” She looks at her plate and picks at her toast when she adds, “I applied to a couple firms in Toronto. It’s the right thing to do.”
“When will you hear?” Jules asks.
Her brow furrows. “It’s possible they emailed already, but I’ll wait and check when we get back tomorrow.”
She’s nervous to check, that’s pretty clear. Is it because she’s afraid she didn’t get a job, or is she afraid she did?
She tosses another piece of bacon into her mouth, lifts her head and plasters on a smile as she redirects. “Jules, do you like sea glass?”
“I love sea glass.”
Rider throws his arm around his wife and once again, as I see the love they have for each other, jealousy tugs at me. Rider smiles at Jules. “She loves finding old things and making them new again. It’s a hobby for her, and she’s good at it.”
“That’s what she tried to do with Rider,” I say, deadpan. “But she failed. He’s still an old man.”
“Asshole,” Rider snorts. “We can’t all be baby rookies like you.”
“Baby rookie. I like that,” Charlie says with a light laugh.
I point the spatula at her. “Careful there, Charlie.” I slap the spatula against my palm. “You’re younger than me by a few years.”
Heat crawls up my neck when she glances at the spatula, like she has other ideas for it, and holy fuck, when she bites her lip, a private message to me, my cock jumps. “Only in age, not in maturity.”
“You’re probably right,” I say and laugh.
She turns to Jules. “When the tide is out, we can go under the wharf, and find the best sea glass. I have a few pieces I made into jewelry.” She shrugs. “I thought about selling some pieces in the shop, or at the weekend market.”