“Good morning,” she greeted him. “There’s a breakfast casserole in the warmer, and can you hold down the fort while I run to the grocery store? Indigo Bay is hosting some of the evacuees from the hurricane.”
“Yeah, I know. I just got off the phone with the mayor about chartered buses to get them here. You know, my part in the community effort.”
“Uh huh,” she said, teasing. “You’re here four days and the mayor … the attractive female mayor … has your private number.”
Eric gave her a funny look that said her unfounded tease had fallen flat and then shrugged. “What can I say?”
“And so modest. Jesse is going to be here in a couple of minutes to open the shutters. We have some time before the rain should start here.”
Forty-five minutes later, Sonja returned to see Jesse’s truck in the driveway and Jeff stepping off a ladder resting against the front of the B&B. She breathed in and out several times to slow her erratic heartbeat that simply the sight of him had set off and to lessen her regret for what she’d said last night.
“Need a hand?” he asked striding over. “The shutters are all done.”
“Yes, I could use some help.” The normalcy of her voice surprised her. She opened the hatch back and he lifted out several bags.
“Jesse asked me to help with the shutters.”
Sonja swallowed. Did he think he had to justify being here?
“Now that we’re done here, we’re going to help some of the other places in town open or take down theirs.”
She picked up a couple of the other bags and walked with him to the B&B.
“Jesse said Lauren is coming to help you with the cooking.” He juggled the bags to open and hold the door for her and followed her to the downstairs kitchen. “Jesse and I will get the rest for you.”
Jeff was gone before she could say anything but a quick, “thanks.” Not that she had any idea what she would say.
To Sonja’s disappointment, Eric and Lauren, rather than Jeff, appeared with the rest of the groceries.
“Jesse and Jeff left to help the others,” Lauren said.
Without him saying goodbye to me? Sonja’s chest tightened. Why should he?
“And, I’m headed to city hall to see what else I can do,” Eric said.
“Say hello to the mayor for me,” Sonja said.
“Right.” Eric left.
“What was that about?” Lauren asked.
“Oh, I teased Eric this morning about having a thing for our mayor.”
Lauren laughed as she began to unpack the groceries.
Sonja turned away from her to put some canned goods in the cupboards. She let other people help her. Why not Jeff. Maybe she should talk to Lauren. Sonja closed the cupboard door. No, she should talk with Jeff, as hard as that might be, and risk that her rash words could have changed his feelings for her.
Four hours later, Sonja stood in the sitting room checking the buffet spread on the table. Lauren had taken Shelley home for a nap and neither Jesse nor Eric had returned. The rumble of an engine sounded outside, followed by brakes and voices. What sounded like a lot of voices. She wiped her hands on the front of her slacks. The B&B only had fourteen available sleeping rooms. How many people could there be?
She opened the door and saw a crowd swarming the side of the bus waiting to get their luggage. The stream out of the door ended with Jeff and the bus driver. Jeff waved before he followed the driver to the side of the bus to help distribute the luggage. She waved back and went inside with the first of the vacationers. The entry way filled quickly.
“Welcome to the Morrison Mansion B&B,” she shouted to get everyone’s attention. “I’m Sonja Cooper, owner and your hostess. One person from each family or group line up in front of me, and I’ll get you checked in.” She gazed over the crowd. Where, I’m not sure. “As you’ve been told, tonight is complementary. If you choose to stay longer, you can reregister at our usual rates tomorrow.”
Jeff joined her behind the desk as she finished her second check-in. “We’ve got cots coming for the extra people. We could put some in the ballroom. And Eric said he’d bunk with me at the cottage to free up the suite.”
“Great. The suite can sleep six and the ballroom half a platoon if we needed it to.”
“What can I do to help?” he asked.
“Take people to their rooms. I’ve got rooms one and two registered. The people to my left. Show them up and help with their luggage. Thanks.”
“I’ll see what rooms need cots, too.” Jeff slipped behind her and to her left. “Room one and two, this way please.”
Sonja pulled her gaze from Jeff and registered the next person in line. “And there’s a free buffet in the sitting room once you’re settled,” she said, handing the person a room key.
In a shorter time than Sonja would have believed possible, she had everyone assigned a sleeping place. Jesse and Eric had arrived with the cots, and the three guys were distributing them. She went into the sitting room to direct the guests to the seating in the dining area.
“Hey.” Jeff tapped her shoulder from behind, making her jump. “Eric and I are going to take his stuff to the cottage. Jesse is still here.”
“Okay.” Did that mean Jeff was going home? Probably for the best. They wouldn’t have time to talk this evening anyway, even if she knew what she was going to say. She put her hostess smile back on and made herself available for guest questions.
As the last of the guests trailed out of the dining and sitting rooms, Sonja offered Jesse a plate and picked one up for herself.
“No thanks,” Jesse said. “Lauren is expecting me. Dad should be back anytime now.”
“He’s coming back?”
“Yeah. To see if you need anything else. And he’s concerned about you being here by yourself with a houseful of strangers.”
Jeff’s concern and her tiredness from being on her feet and on the go all day got to her. She giggled, actually giggled.
“What so funny?” Jeff asked from the doorway.
She hadn’t heard him come in. Sonja pulled herself together as best she could.
“Your concern about Sonja being here alone with her guests,” Jesse answered his father’s question, buying her a little more time to calm her nerves.
“That’s part of my job description as a B&B owner,” she said.
The smile on Jeff’s face dipped to a straight line.
“Well, I’ll be seeing you guys,” Jesse said two steps into a getaway. “Great idea, Dad, offering lodging for vacationers displaced by the hurricane.”
Jeff went statute still.
“My bad. I figured she knew by now.” Jesse made a beeline for the front door.
Sonja stared at Jeff. “This was your idea?”
“You said you needed a grand opening. You didn’t seem to want my help.” He stammered, looking so like a caricature of a little boy who’d gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. A dam broke inside Sonja sweeping up the pieces of her heart and making it whole again. Jeff wasn’t anything like her ex.
“I was right about you.”
“You want me to go.” That muscle worked in his jaw.
“No.” She threw her arms around his neck. “I was right that you’re a just plain nice guy.” His muscles began to relax under her embrace.
“This isn’t where you tell me nice guys finish last, is it?” His chuckle had a tentative note.
“Never. In my books nice guys finish first.”
He drew her close against him, and she placed her head on his chest, listening to the rhythmic thump of his heart. “I’m sorry I pushed you away the other night. If I hurt you …”
He smoothed her hair. “I survived.”
“I’m not used to being in a relationship where the man expresses concern for me, wants to help me without an ulterior motive.”
“I’m willing to take things slow, if you’re willing to accept my love at face value. I love you, Sonja Cooper.”
She gazed
up at him filled with a warmth and trust she’d never felt before. “And I love you, Jeff Brewster.”
He lowered his head, and footsteps sounded on the stairs. They pulled apart.
“Sonja.” One of the guests peeked in the room. “Can we have an extra pillow?”
“Certainly.” She went to the sitting room coat closet, now a supply closet and pulled out a pillow. “There you go.”
“Thanks.” The guest took the pillow and headed back to her room.
“I’ll help you clean up here,” Jeff said, motioning toward the table.
Her breath hitched. He was right. She should put the leftover food away and the flatware the guests had used with their paper plates and cups in the dishwasher.
“But I do have an ulterior motive for helping.”
The intensity of his gaze sent a tingle up her spine.
“And what might that be?” she asked in a low seductive voice.
“The quicker the sitting room and kitchen are cleaned up, the sooner we can go somewhere private and continue what we were about to do before we were interrupted.”
“Jeff Brewster, can I tell you again how much I love you?”
“As often as you like.”
Two weeks later.
“And the winner of first place in the Indigo Bay Small Business Organization’s best new business start-up competition is …” Caroline paused for dramatic effect. “Seaside Cycles, owned by Jeff and Jesse Brewster. Come on up guys.”
Sonja’s clapping louder than anyone else as he and Jesse walked to the front of the community room in city hall gave Jeff some reassurance that she’d gotten over her disappointment about the disqualification of her B&B. It also reminded him what a lucky guy he was.
“Congratulations.” Mayor Strickland and Caroline shook his hand, and Caroline handed him the award plaque. He stepped to the microphone, fighting the urge to run his finger around his shirt collar and loosen his now too-tight necktie. Instead, he unfolded his acceptance speech notes before looking out at the people seated in the hall. His friends and neighbors, many of whom had helped with the hurricane housing. He refolded the paper in his hands.
“It’s been a wild couple of weeks, hasn’t it?”
The crowd murmured in agreement.
“I want to start by thanking everyone who pitched in during Hurricane Arlene. I think we made a difference.” Jeff paused while the crowd clapped.
“And we can thank Jeff for coming up with the idea of helping the stranded tourists,” the Mayor shouted over the last of the applause.
Jeff dropped his gaze to his boots as the clapping reignited. He cleared his throat. “And thanks to everyone who voted for Seaside and to all our customers.” He held up the plaque. “This means a lot to Jesse and me, as does the way you’ve welcomed us into your community. Jess.” Jeff stepped away from the microphone.
“Ditto, thanks,” Jesse said. Laughter rippled through the hall.
“That ends our presentation,” Caroline said. “We invite you all to stay for cake and coffee or tea.”
People congratulated Jeff, offering handshakes and patting him on the back as he made his way to his seat. Sonja squeezed his hand when he reached it. “I’m proud of you.” She lowered her voice. “You looked so handsome up there.”
“I suppose that means I can’t lose the tie and jacket yet,” he cracked to hold his ballooning ego in check.
“Nope, not until after refreshments.”
“Well, we’d better head up and get our cake and coffee, then.”
Sonja laughed. “What am I going to do with you?”
“I have a few ideas.”
“Hold those thoughts,” she said.
Heat infused him. That he would. As soon as he politely could, Jeff ushered Sonja out of the hall.
“Let me see your plaque,” Sonja said as he walked her to his truck. He handed it to her and she traced the Seaside Cycles lettering with her fingertip bringing to his mind how soft her skin, her touch was.
He coughed. “You’re okay with Jesse and me winning? You don’t still feel bad about being disqualified.”
“Nope. Not at all. I intend to win next year.”
“That’s my girl.”
She gave him a crooked smile over her shoulder as he opened the truck door for her. Woman. Should he have said woman? He closed the door after her and puzzled that while he walked to the driver’s side and climbed in.
He started the truck and pulled onto Main Street.
“I do have one regret,” she said. “Something I have to tell you.”
Remembering the last time she’d had to tell him something, Jeff felt his stomach drop. He gripped the steering wheel. She’d had her grand opening, albeit different than she’d planned. The B&B was up and running, and she’d forgiven him for his meddling. She’d told him how proud she was of him, that he looked handsome. She couldn’t be … He blanked breaking things off from his thoughts.
“What I said about us taking things slow.”
Jeff’s struggle to breathe had nothing to do with his still-too-tight tie. “Why?” he blurted.
She tilted her head, a quizzical expression on her face. “Because I don’t want to take things slow anymore. I’m ready for something more permanent.”
Jeff jerked the truck sharply to the right into the parking lot of Seaside Cycles. He drove to the back of the building and turned the vehicle off. “Are you asking me to marry you?”
“I wasn’t. Not exactly.”
He took her hands in his. “Then I am. Sonja, I love you with all my heart. Will you marry me.”
Jeff died a thousand deaths in the seconds until she squeezed his hands and said, “And I love you with all my being. Yes. I’ll marry you.”
“All right!” He couldn’t resist releasing one of her hands for a fist pump, before becoming serious. “You know that I’m going to try to help you when you don’t want me to help? You can live with that?”
“I can, as long as you know I’m going to fight your help when I don’t need it.”
“Yeah, I think there’s enough perks to outweigh that.”
“Perks? Like what?”
“Your cooking. Having you to come home to. Knowing you have my back and that I have your love.”
“Hmm.” She smiled.
“Not necessarily in that order,” he added.
“Anything else?”
“Well, yes. Heart pounding, he undid his and Sonja’s seatbelts and pulled her into his arms. He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her gently, then more fiercely when she responded, giving into the hurricane of emotion running through him. When he lifted his head, she was on his lap blinking the daze from her eyes.
“Yes, there is that,” she said in a breathy voice.
He gazed into her eyes and saw the unfathomable love he had for her reflected back at him. “And so much more.” He captured her lips in another kiss that said all his words couldn’t.
Ready for another fun Indigo Bay Second Chance Romance?
He can have any woman he wants ... except her. See what happens when NFL quarterback Dylan Manley and aspiring politition Brooke Davenport run into each other again working on a community fundraiser.
Read Sweet Complications by Stacy Claflin!
Want to know Jesse and Lauren's story?
Read it in Sweet Enganglement by Jean C. Gordon.
And want to read more fun, sweet romances at Indigo Bay? So many choices—jump in anywhere!
Check them out here on the Sweet Reads Page!
W H A T C O M E S N E X T ?
If you’re ready to spend more time in Indigo Bay, we have stories for you to read! Here’s a list of all the stories in all the series. These stories are standalone and can be read in any order.
I N D I GO B A Y
S E C O N D C H A N C E R O M A N C E S
S P R I N G 2 0 1 9
Sweet Troublemaker by Jean Oram
Sweet Do-Over by Melissa McClone
Sweet Horizon
s by Jean C. Gordon
Sweet Whispers by Jeanette Lewis
Sweet Complications by Stacy Claflin
Sweet Adventure by Tamie Dearen
I N D I GO B A Y S W E E T R O M A N C E S E R I E S
S P R I N G 2 0 1 8
Sweet Saturday by Pamela Kelley
Sweet Beginnings by Melissa McClone
Sweet Starlight by Kay Correll
Sweet Forgiveness by Jean Oram
Sweet Reunion by Stacy Claflin
Sweet Entanglement by Jean C. Gordon
D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7
Sweet Holiday Surprise by Jean Oram
Sweet Holiday Memories by Kay Correll
Sweet Holiday Wishes by Melissa McClone
Sweet Holiday Traditions by Danielle Stewart
S P R I N G 2 0 1 7
Sweet Dreams by Stacy Claflin
Sweet Matchmaker by Jean Oram
Sweet Sunrise by Kay Correll
Sweet Illusions by Jeanette Lewis
Sweet Regrets by Jennifer Peel
Sweet Rendezvous by Danelle Stewart
Find them all at http://sweetreadbooks.com/indigo-bay/.
A B O U T T H E A U T H O R
For award-winning sweet and inspirational romance author Jean C. Gordon, writing is a natural extension of her love of reading. From that day in first grade when she realized t-h-e was the word the, she’s been reading everything she can put her hands on. Jean and her college-sweetheart husband share a 175-year-old farmhouse in Upstate New York with their daughter and her family. Their son lives nearby. Connect with Jean on Facebook, as @JeanCGordon on Twitter, or on JeanCGordon.com.
A L S O B Y J E A N C. G O R D O N
Thank you for reading my story. I hope you enjoyed it and all the other Indigo Bay stories you’ve read. Don’t miss out on any of my new releases. Sign up for my READERS GROUP NEWSLETTER to receive news about me, promotions, and giveaways. And I always appreciate when my readers take the time to leave an honest review of my books.
Sweet Horizons Page 14
