After being jilted at the altar, Amber Gardner finds herself in a small beach town and stuck rooming with an unlikely person: her childhood nemesis Cameron, the man she is supposed to hate.
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Amber Gardner and her fiancé were together for two year...
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I CALLED POPS.
Time slipped away while I drowned myself in coding, finished and polished Cam's website, and realized it was already seven. Since my mind was still a hot mess, I decided to call him to take my mind off things. He answered after the first ring.
"Berry." He was in a loud place, with people yelling in the background. The sounds immediately took me back to the times we would hit a pub and watch a Rams game together. It was a ritual I missed so much since I couldn't do it in New York among many Giants fanatics.
Football was the strongest bond we had with Pops other than the ocean. The enthusiasm and thrill of being with people who shared the same interest as you—nachos tasted better, too. Auntie joined us sometimes, too.
"Whose ass are we kicking?"
"Cardinals," he said with a very distant voice, then an angry yell followed. "I'm sorry, baby. It's too loud here. Are you alright?"
"Yes, I just wanted to hear your voice. I'll call you later."
"We should watch a game together when you're here."
I laughed. "Definitely, Pops. Love you."
"Love you."
Though we talked for less than a minute, hearing his voice and the flashbacks softened my heart. When I left the café, I didn't know what to do next, but talking to Pops gave me a plan. I could watch the game on TV at the tavern and eat nachos with soda.
I walked into the tavern from the back door, heading to our room to drop my bag first, trusting that Cam wouldn't be present yet. I felt relief at seeing an empty room and dropped my bag aside. Then, I changed my outfit, washed my swimwear and hung them to dry, and put on some foundation and mascara.
As I descended the stairs leading to the tavern hall, I massaged the back of my shoulders to ease the stiffness from sitting on the same chair for hours. Swimming would cure this pain faster than my hand massage, but it had to wait until tomorrow.
