Summer Secrets - Barbara Freethy [9]
"Stop it. I can't help it if I'm sick when you happen to come to town." She refused to admit she'd been hiding out in her apartment on any of those occasions. The wind blew her hair in front of her face, and she remembered the elastic band in her hand. She quickly pulled her hair into a ponytail, acutely aware of his very long and intent stare.
"I'm glad you didn't cut your hair," he said. "It's still ... incredible."
Ashley swallowed hard, the husky note in his voice stirring up unwanted emotions. She'd loved this man once, loved him more than anyone or anything. But it was over. It had been over for more years than he'd been gone. She just wished he'd go away again, because it was easier when he wasn't around. She could almost forget. She could almost move on.
"So is this just a family weekend visit?" she asked, hoping it wouldn't be longer than that.
"Not exactly. I'm racing in the Castleton."
"You can't be serious. You said you'd never race."
"Never is a long time. I just finished refurbishing Stan Baker's boat, the Freedom Rider. He asked me to race it with him in the Castleton and on to Hawaii. I thought it was about time I raced in one of the boats I helped build."
She was more than a little surprised. "You're not a racer."
"Who says I can't be?" he challenged.
"You can't race, Sean. Your parents would die."
"My parents won't die, but I suppose it's possible I might." His gaze bored into hers, searching for an answer she couldn't give him.
"Why risk it?" she asked instead.
"Because I'm ..." He shook his head. "I'm restless. I can't settle in anywhere. College didn't work out. The jobs I've had never seem to last."
"You always have your family business. I've heard your father say he wants you to come home and run the business." Not that she wanted that to happen. If Sean ever came home for good, she'd have to leave. This island wasn't big enough for the both of them. Sean took up too much space. He'd always made her feel small--it wasn't just his height but his personality. He was a man in constant motion, impatient, energized, restless. He made her tense; he made her a little bit crazy. Make that a lot crazy.
"I'm sure you'd prefer that I stay far away," he said.
"I don't care what you do."
"Dammit, Ashley." He slapped his hand against his jeans in a gesture of frustration. "Don't say that. Don't pretend. Don't act like we never meant anything to each other."
"What we had was over a long time ago."
"Yeah, so you said."
"You can't possibly still care," she murmured.
He stared at her for a long minute, then shook his head. "Of course I don't still care."
It was the answer she wanted, but it still hurt. Not that she'd let him see that. "I didn't think so," she said. "You probably have a girlfriend, don't you?"
"More than one. What about you? Dating anyone these days?"
"Sure," she lied, knowing that the last date she'd gone on had been at least six months ago.
"You'll have to introduce us. Is he a local guy?"
"Uh." She shifted her camera bag on her shoulder, relieved when a man ran by her and jumped on the boat she was supposed to photograph, and she didn't have to answer. "Are you the last one?" she called to the man.
"Yes. We just need one minute," he replied.
"You're photographing the crews for the Castleton?" Sean asked.
She nodded. "I wish they'd hurry up."
"My mom said a bunch of your photographs are displayed in the Main Street Gallery."
"Janine is a friend. They're not that good."
"I bet they are. I remember when your mom gave you your first camera. You were hooked. You wouldn't go anywhere without that thing, and you were always snapping shots of me doing something stupid."
"Which was fairly often," she said, thinking back to those carefree days before everything had gotten so complicated. "But you rarely stood still long enough for me to get a good picture."
He grinned, and for a brief moment he was