Bayside Evenings Read online

  Clay wanted to hit something again, but refrained. It wouldn't accomplish anything. He pulled out his phone and called Charlotte, hoping it wasn't too early. Who knew what time the star slept until?

  She answered the video call on the third ring. "Hi, Clayton. Are you feeling better?"

  He held back his surprise. Charlotte not only knew he was sick, but was asking about it? "Yes, I'm fine, thanks. How are you?"

  "Ugh." She groaned. "Busy as always. Look, I can't get away to try on the dress. We found a body double—she's built exactly the same as me. Everything fits her the same as it does me. We're going to send her down today."

  "Oh. Okay. What's her name? When can we expect her?"

  "Her name is Aleah Chesterton, and she already left. So, that would be about four hours?"

  Clay scribbled the information on a piece of paper. "Got it. Anything else? A body double for Hugh?"

  "No. You tried it on, right?"

  "Yeah." His stomach tightened. That had been the beginning of his troubles.

  "Okay, you're roughly his size. The exact fitting isn't as important as the dress, anyway. It's not like it's skin-tight."

  Clay wanted to ask if they'd be there in person for the actual wedding, but bit back the question. "Great. Anything else?"

  "No. If anything else needs sampling, I want you to do it for us. Other than that, we're good." Her attention diverted from the screen. "No! Not pink. I said lavender." Charlotte rolled her eyes and turned back to Clay. "You'd think a pedicure would be simple enough, but no… Okay, talk to you later."

  "Bye."

  The call ended.

  Clay put his phone away. He wished his biggest problem was the color of nail polish.

  He glanced around Dakota's desk and frowned. "What did I do?"

  No answers came, so he called the tailor to give him the heads up about Charlotte's body double.

  Then he called the restaurant and canceled his reservation.

  Twenty

  Clay stepped off the ladder and looked up at the flower arrangement on the wall. It was even, just like the other ten he'd put around the room. He hoped no one attending the wedding had allergies, because he'd never seen so many flowers in one place.

  His phone rang. It was Sarah, Charlotte's assistant.

  He accepted the call. "Clay here."

  "Aleah is about ten minutes away. She just needs to try on the dress, right? Nothing else?"

  "I can double-check with Dakota, but as far as I'm aware, it's just the dress."

  "Okay, perfect, because we need her to stop off in Portland on the way back to try on some other stuff for a charity banquet." Sarah rambled on about Aleah's schedule.

  "Sounds good," Clay said. "I'll give the tailor a call to let him know we're a little ahead of schedule."

  "Perfect. Aleah's supposed to make sure her driver gets some pictures, but can you take some, too? We really don't want to have send her back down again."

  Clay's head hurt at the thought of it. "I'll get one at every angle. Should I send them to you or Charlotte?"

  "Me, for sure."

  "Phone or email?"

  "Both. Thanks, Clay. You're a doll for putting up with all this."

  "No problem. Bye."

  Marina came over to him. "Now the bride wants streamers going from one bouquet to the next."

  "I've got to deal with Charlotte's body double right now." Clay found the tailor's number and called.

  "Of course she'd be here now," Marina grumbled. "Okay, I'll do the streamers."

  "Sorry." Clay walked out into the hall and filled the tailor in on the new time frame.

  His chest felt tight from all the stress. Dakota had come back a while earlier, but had locked herself in the office, refusing to open the door for him.

  Clay needed his coat if he was going to escort Aleah to be fitted for the dress. He headed for her office, hoping she would at least talk to him. The whole day had been torture. His mind had conjured up some strange theories, but none of them made any sense.

  He knocked on her door.

  "I'm busy," Dakota called.

  Of course she was. "I need my coat. Charlotte's dress needs to be fitted."

  Shuffling noises sounded, and then the door opened a crack. His jacket appeared.

  "Maybe you should come." He took his coat and put it on.

  "I'm busy. Call me if there's a problem."

  "Can we talk when I get back?"

  "If I have time." The door closed, but to his surprise, didn't slam. Maybe she really wasn't mad at him.

  He headed toward the main entrance. The door opened, and in walked an overly tanned bleach-blonde. She pulled off dark sunglasses and stared at him.

  "Clayton Harper?"

  "The one and only."

  She gave a nod of approval and held out her hand. "Aleah Chesterton. I'm here to try on Charlotte's wedding dress."

  "Perfect. Do you want to follow me to the tailor's?"

  Aleah gave him a slow once-over. "Or you could ride in the car with me."

  He swallowed. The last thing he needed was to give Dakota another reason to be upset with him. "It might be better to follow me."

  She pouted. "What kind of car do you drive?"

  "It's a motorcycle."

  Aleah's eyes lit up. "Even better. I'll ride with you."

  Clay wanted to crawl under a rock. This was growing worse by the moment.

  Aria came over to them. "Clay would love to give you a ride on his bike." She turned to Clay and shot him an expression of warning. "Whatever Charlotte's body double wants, she gets."

  He gritted his teeth. "Right." Then he turned to Aleah. "Follow me."

  They went outside. Aleah stopped at a black Mercedes and spoke to someone inside. She turned to Clay and smiled. "He's going to follow us."

  "Great." He went over to his bike and pulled out the two helmets, hoping desperately that Dakota was still locked away in her office. The last thing he wanted was for her to think he had any interest in anyone other than her.

  Aleah took the second helmet and slid it on. She fought with the strap. "Can you get it?" She batted her eyelashes.

  Clay fixed it without a word and then climbed on the bike and started it. Aleah climbed on and wrapped her arms around him, keeping her hands on his chest. She held on tightly and pressed herself against his back.

  He pushed her hands down, but she slid them right back up.

  With any luck, Aleah would leave directly from the tailor's. They made it in record time. He ushered Aleah inside and waited in the front, while she went back into the same dressing room he'd been in with Dakota.

  That night felt like it had been so long ago. Dakota herself felt even further away. Why wouldn't she talk to him?

  He kicked himself for getting sick right after their wonderful evening together. It had been his plan to call her as soon as he got rid of all the stuff Lauryn had given him, but then his stomach had other plans.

  Time crept by as he waited. What he needed was an excuse to talk to Dakota. Maybe he could update her on Aleah trying on the dress—not that he knew anything useful yet—and then she might open up and finally tell him what was wrong.

  Clay pulled out his phone and called her. It rang until he got her voicemail message. Of course. Hopefully, she would listen to his message. She'd have no way of knowing if it was important business.

  He waited for the beep. "Hi, Dakota. It's Clay. Just wanted to let you know Charlotte's body double is trying on the dress now. If you need anything else, give me a call. I hope you're doing okay. You haven't seemed yourself today. Oh, and if I did anything to upset you, I'm sorry. Take care." He ended the call, wanting to say so much more.

  A few minutes later, he received a text.

  I'm not mad. If you need anything, call Marina.

  Clay sighed. Maybe she just needed space. It was the last thing he wanted to give her, but if it would get him back on her good side, he'd respect that.

  The door opened
into the dressing room. Dale came out with a couple pins in his mouth and measuring tape hanging from around his neck. "The bride wishes for your opinion."

  Of course she did. Clay nodded and went inside.

  Aleah stood in the same spot Dakota had, wearing the same dress. She smiled and spun around slowly. "What do you think?"

  He bit back the comment that Dakota had looked better in it. Instead, he forced a smile. "It's perfect."

  "I think so, too. Charlotte is going to love it."

  Dale ushered Clay out. "Wait. I'm supposed to get pictures."

  Aleah's face lit up. "Where do you want me to stand?" She hurried over to a corner with only a burgundy curtain as the backdrop. "How's this?" She posed, placing her hands on her hips and thrust out her chest.

  Clay held back an eye roll. "Great." He pulled out his phone and snapped a couple pictures. "Turn so I can get every angle for Charlotte."

  She turned slightly and posed, repeating the process until she was back in her original spot. "Did you get enough?"

  "Let's hope."

  "Did the driver get some?" Clay asked. "Sarah said—"

  "Oh, forget him. You want to get some extras instead?"

  Clay shook his head. He scanned the images. "I've got about fifty here. That should be plenty."

  Aleah squealed. "Can you send them to my phone, too? I—"

  "You'll have to speak with Sarah. I'm sending them to her. Ultimately, it's up to Charlotte."

  She pouted again. "Fine. I'll meet you out there. Unless you want to stay and keep watching."

  "I have some calls to make." He rushed out of the room, focused on his phone's screen. Once sitting in the waiting area, he sent all the pictures to Sarah. She texted him a quick thanks.

  He sent a text to Dakota, letting her know the fitting had gone well.

  Let Marina know. Thx.

  Clay felt like he'd been slapped. He sent Marina a text.

  He tapped his foot repeatedly, thinking over everything he'd said and done around Dakota and Sullivan since arriving in Enchantment Bay. He couldn't figure out where he'd gone wrong.

  Marina sent him a text asking for pictures. He sent them to her and then closed his eyes.

  Irritation set in. If Dakota had a problem with him, why didn't she just say so? The same went for Sullivan. They'd been friends for years, spending hours studying for exams and even sharing secrets.

  Why was he getting the freeze from them?

  Aleah came out of the dressing room, fluffing out her hair. She smiled at Clay. "Hey, I have an idea."

  "What?" he asked, trying to keep the annoyance from his voice.

  "I'm ahead of schedule and I've never been to this cute town before. Why don't you give me a tour?"

  He clenched his fists. "I'm just supposed to bring you here."

  She tilted her head and winked. "It could be for business, you know. We could find some places for Charlotte and Hugh to sneak off to before or after their wedding. I happen to know they're staying the night here in town both the night before and after the ceremony."

  Clay took a deep breath. Dakota had said constantly to do whatever it took to make Charlotte happy and to make her wedding the best it could be. "Sure. Let's go."

  Aleah's eyes widened. "Really?"

  He shrugged. "Sure. I can show you some spots only known to the locals."

  She arched a brow. "On your bike?"

  "Of course."

  Her mouth formed a sly smile. "Let's do some research… for Charlotte."

  "Right."

  They headed outside. Aleah went to the Mercedes and spoke to the driver. He pulled out of the parking lot. She turned to Clay. "He's going to meet us at your work."

  "When?"

  She shrugged and looked him over like he was a piece of candy. "Whenever we're done. He's headed over there now."

  "Okay. Let's go."

  They got on the Ducati, and Clay sped through town, stopping at a couple hidden beaches and a wooded park that hardly anyone ever went to. He stopped just long enough for Aleah to log the information into her phone.

  "Well, we'd better get you back," Clay said. "It's already been an hour and a half. You have to get to Portland, don't you?"

  "Unfortunately."

  They headed back. When he pulled into the parking lot, he swore he saw Dakota peeking out from a window, but when he looked back, she was gone.

  Aleah got off the bike and removed the helmet. "If the dress needs even the slightest alteration, just let me know. I'll drop everything to make sure it's taken care of." Her mouth formed a sly grin. "You know, for Charlotte."

  "Right. I'll call Sarah."

  She shook her head. "No, call me. What's your number?"

  Clay rattled off the numbers. His phone rang.

  Aleah winked. "And now you've got mine, too. See you later." She gave a little wave and headed for the black Mercedes.

  He added Aleah's number to his contacts as he headed inside.

  Marina marched over to him. "Where have you been?"

  "Aleah wanted me to show her some spots around town where Charlotte and Hugh could go before the wedding."

  "Next time, check in first."

  "Okay."

  "Come on to the main reception hall. We're having serious issues with the speakers. You can help with that, right? Some kind of wiring issue."

  "I'm sure I can figure it out."

  "Good. Then you'll need to tell Dakota why you were gone so long. She was pretty mad when you didn't come back after sending the pictures."

  So, they were both angry. If he was going to make any headway with her, one of them needed to calm down to get a good conversation going. He would have to work on his attitude while fixing the wiring.

  Twenty-One

  Dakota continued pacing her office. She would wear a path in the carpeting if she kept it up much longer.

  She also needed to get ahold of herself. Marina would run screaming from The Chateau if Dakota couldn't pull herself together. She'd nearly lost it when she looked outside and saw the blonde riding away on Clay's bike with him.

  It shouldn't have bothered her—she knew he was planning to propose to Lauryn—but something inside of her had snapped. She'd never been so furious in all her life. Poor Marina had taken the brunt of it. Dakota had snapped over some minor issue—she couldn't even remember what now.

  Later, she had put two and two together that the blonde riding away with Clay had been Charlotte's body double.

  She received a text. Part of her hoped it was from Clay, but part of her also wanted to hit him. How dare he get her hopes up, kissing her and saying how much he liked her?

  The text was from Sullivan.

  Ru OK?

  Not really.

  Her phone rang. She answered. "That was fast."

  "You answered." It was Clay.

  Dakota's heart raced. "I… I… Did everything go well with the fitting?"

  He didn't say anything for a moment. "It seemed to. I sent pictures to Marina and Sarah. Would you like some?"

  "No. I'm sure Marina already forwarded them to my email."

  "Okay."

  Awkward silence.

  Dakota's mind spun out of control. Part of her wanted to demand he explain everything, but another part wanted to hang up on him and run to the pet store and bring home a box of kittens—a crazy cat-lady starter kit.

  "Are you at The Chateau?" Clay finally asked.

  She bit her lip. On one hand, she didn't want to lie, but on the other, she didn't want to tell him she was there. "I'm just getting ready to leave."

  "Don't. Please."

  Dakota sighed. She did want to know what was going on. "You'd better hurry. I have important plans."

  "I'm just around the corner."

  Splendid. "Okay. See you in a minute." She ended the call and slid on her coat and scarf. That way, Clay would know how much of a hurry she was in.

  Her phone buzzed with a text. It was Sully again.

  Can I
get u anything?

  I'll let u no.

  Just say the word.

  OK. Thx.

  A couple minutes later, she heard footsteps coming down the hall.

  Dakota grabbed her phone and slid her finger around the dark screen, pretending to be wrapped up in something urgent.

  Clay cleared his throat.

  She lowered her phone and glanced up at him. He leaned against the doorway. Her heart skipped a beat. More than anything, she wanted to run up to him and wrap her arms around him.

  But then she remembered the diamond ring he held in the jewelry store. She held a neutral expression and slid her phone into her jacket's pocket. "What's up?"

  He held her gaze for a moment without saying anything. Finally, he spoke. "I think we need to talk."

  Dakota shrugged. "About what?"

  Clay arched a brow.

  That just made her want to run into his arms all the more. If only Charlotte didn't like him so much, she could just send him to work under Marina and never have to see him again.

  They stared each other down.

  "Okay, speak," she said.

  "Mind if I sit?"

  "Go ahead."

  He sat on the loveseat and gave her a hopeful expression.

  She didn't budge. In fact, she tightened her scarf.

  Clay frowned. "I really enjoyed our time the other night. I'm confused, though."

  "About what, exactly?"

  He took a deep breath and pulled some hair behind his ears. "Well, why you're mad at me."

  "I told you. I'm not mad."

  "Really?"

  "Yeah."

  "You seem upset to me."

  Dakota sighed. Maybe it would be best to tell him the truth. "Okay, I'm mad. Are you happy?"

  "Of course not. Will you tell me what I did?"

  "I saw you at the jeweler," she spit out.

  His eyes widened. "You did?"

  Her anger burned that he wasn't explaining himself. He was probably just upset that he'd been caught. "Yeah. I can't believe you were kissing me and saying that you'd broken up with Lauryn when in fact you're planning to propose." She grabbed her purse and stormed out of the room before he could see her tears.