Coincidence? Maybe.
But then how could she explain Parker and Peyton suddenly talking about all the things they could do together if Mallory moved back?
“Oh, my gosh!” Parker had cried excitedly. “How cool would it be get together for brunch every Saturday? You know, like they did on Sex and the City?”
“Or we could go to Polish Me Pretty and get our nails done!” Peyton suggested. “I swear, Lynne and her girls do the best job on my manicure!” She held up her hands and wiggled her fingers for proof. “Plus, they serve wine! I get some of the juiciest town gossip while I’m there.”
“I don’t know,” Parker countered. “I prefer the pedicure I get at Glitter Girls.” She giggled. “Besides, it’s very entertaining to listen to Julie talk about her man of the month!”
Mallory had frowned at that. “Isn’t Julie like…”
“She’s in her sixties!” Parker said, still giggling. “I think she has the hottest dating life in town!”
And she had to admit, the thought of having the kind of girly days her cousins were talking about was seriously appealing. It had been a long time since she’d done anything like that and it was something they had done during her summers here once they were all old enough. Wouldn’t it be nice to make more of those memories with her family? Had Jake somehow gotten some sort of secret message out to her family that he had talked to her about this?
Or…
Her heart sank. What if her family had talked to Jake and asked him to talk to her about moving back? What if this wasn’t about Jake wanting her here full time, but her family?
Mallory was sitting in Pops’ office when Sam came walking in the front door. “Hey!” she called out and watched him almost trip. Snickering, she waved him into the room. “Where were you this afternoon?”
“Out.”
She rolled her eyes. “Can you sit down for a minute? I need to ask you something.” And something in her tone must have made him realize she was serious because he didn’t question her or give her a snarky comeback. He simply sat down.
“What’s up?”
Sighing, she rested her arms on the massive mahogany desk. “Did you say anything to anyone about me quitting my job and moving here?”
Sam’s eyes went wide. “Wait, you’re thinking about it?”
“Yes, I mean…no!” She growled with frustration. “I mean ever since you brought it up in that ridiculous conversation at Jake’s the other night, it seems like everyone is talking to me about moving here.”
A snort of laughter was his first response. “Mal, what did you expect? You’ve talked about it our whole lives and now you’re here and…I don’t know…it seems like the next logical step for you.”
She eyed him warily. “Really?”
“Sure,” he nodded. “We all know the only thing holding you to Long Island is your job. And if I had to guess, I’d say there wasn’t anyone really tying you there either. You’re not dating anyone, are you?”
Now she looked at him incredulously. “Would I be…you know…with Jake if I was?”
He laughed again. “I guess not. For all I know you’re both just messing around as a way to pass the time. You’re not serious about him again, are you?”
And for the first time in a long time, she couldn’t look directly at her brother because she knew he’d see through any lie she tried to tell right now.
“Mal?”
Groaning, she face-planted on the desk. “I don’t know, okay?” Then she straightened and looked at him. “Maybe I am, maybe I’m not…it’s a lot to think about right now!”
Raking a hand through his sandy brown hair, Sam slouched down in his chair and let out a long breath. “Look, can I be honest with you?”
She nodded. “Please.”
Shifting, Sam leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “I know you crushed hard on Jake for years before the two of you even got together,” he began. “And once you two hooked up, I tried to see it as a good thing.”
“But…?”
“But, at the time, I didn’t think you were mature enough to be dating an older guy, and it pissed me off that Jake would even consider getting involved with you.”
“Why?”
“Because…okay, you can’t get mad at me for this, but…he kind of had a reputation around here. He was a guy who dated a lot of girls and never went on more than three dates with one.”
“How do you even know that?”
“Because we spent every summer here, Mal! I hung out with him! I hung out with his friends! People talk! Hell, he was kind of my idol!”
“Why didn’t you say anything back then?” she demanded, feeling majorly annoyed and betrayed how they were just now having this conversation.
“It wouldn’t have mattered what I said. You were determined to go after Jake and I figured it would last the summer–if even that long–and then you’d go your way and he’d go his.” He sighed. “The fact that the two of you are picking up where you left off is a little…well…it’s a little surprising to me.”
“Why? Because someone like Jake couldn’t possibly still be interested in someone like me?” she asked and willed herself not to pout.
Now it was Sam’s turn to roll his eyes. “No, Mal, that’s not what I’m saying.” He huffed with annoyance. “I remember how crushed you were when the two of you broke up. Then I remember how much you used to dread coming here to visit Pops until you realized Jake wasn’t coming home for his summer breaks. And then, when he finally was back, you stopped coming here. You missed our annual visit and…”
“Okay, okay, I get it,” she quickly interrupted–not wanting the reminder of how she didn’t come this summer and missed her chance to see her great-grandfather one last time.
“I thought you had moved on–that you both had. So I don’t know if this is just proximity or you’re scratching an itch…”
“Sam…”
“Whatever it is, I’m not judging, okay? I just don’t want you to get hurt,” he said firmly. “I still have issues with Jake because of the way things went down with the two of you and until he proves that he’s changed…” He shrugged. “I’m still going to have issues with him. I can’t help it.”
And that’s what brothers were supposed to say and do, right? Mallory loved that Sam was being so protective of her, but she didn’t want Sam to be at odds with Jake. They had been friends long before she came between them. “He has changed,” she said softly. “We both have. I don’t know what we’re doing. I thought this was just a…a…temporary fling, but…”
“But…?”
“Yesterday morning, he made me feel like he wanted me to stay. Like really stay. Permanently. And not just because Mom’s here, but…for us. Me and him.”
“And you don’t believe him?”
“I’m afraid to,” she admitted and hated how pathetic she sounded. “The last time, I was all in. I was in love and wanted a future and thought that was where we were heading. I was the one to say ‘I love you,’ and he never really said it back. I don’t want to go there again. I don’t want to put my time and energy and…heart into a relationship that isn’t going to go anywhere.”
He nodded.
“I’m older now and…and I’d like to start thinking about my future–about settling down and getting married and having kids. I know that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen right now or that I need it to happen right now. But if I’m going to get involved in a committed relationship, I need to know that person is thinking along those lines too.”
“And you don’t think Jake is?”
“That’s just it. I don’t know.”
“You could try asking.” Sam smirked at her when she made a face at his sarcasm. “I’m just trying to be helpful.”
“Yeah, well…you’re not.”
He chuckled. “Why? Because I’m stating the obvious?”
Unfortunately, yes, she thought. And rather than examining that too closely, she decided to turn the t
ables on him. “So where did you and Mason go the other night? Anywhere fun?”
He shrugged. “You know, around. We hit up a few bars and then…I drove him home. God forbid we stay out too late and upset Aunt Georgia.”
It almost sounded plausible, except…he wouldn’t look at her. Considering they were twins, she knew that was their tell–the one way to know when one of them wasn’t being completely honest.
“And you just drove around and…what…had a couple of drinks? You didn’t meet up with anyone? Pick up anyone at any of the places? That doesn’t sound like you. I can’t speak for Mason…”
Another shrug. “Nah, it wasn’t like that. We just hung out and…you know…talked. I don’t have to hook up with someone every time I go out.”
Mallory slammed her hand down hard on the desk, causing Sam to jump. “Oh, my gosh! Stop lying!”
“What the hell are you talking about? I’m not!”
“You so are!” Shaking a finger at him, she stood up and leaned over the desk toward him. “For starters? You and Mason never hang out and talk. Next, any time you go anywhere in this town, you always hit on some random girl and try to hook up. So the fact that you’re sitting here telling me you didn’t, and all you did was talk to Mason absolutely screams of you being a big fat liar!”
“Hey!” He jumped to his feet.
“Why are you being so evasive? What could you have possibly done this time?”
His head lolled back and he growled before looking at her again. “Okay, fine,” he snapped. Turning, he shut the office doors and then leaned against them when he faced her. “We really did just go to hang out. Like I said the other night, Mason is way more tolerable now. He said he was stressed and just needed to get out and it didn’t seem like a bad idea. We grabbed a six-pack and went down to the beach to just chill.”
“So what happened?”
He shrugged again. “We drank and we talked. He’s freaking miserable. Aunt Georgia and Uncle Beau really dictate everything he does and as much as he’s tried to play along all these years, he’s kind of hit his limit.”
“Wow…”
“I know. So he was talking about wanting to move away, start a new career…it was crazy. Next thing I know we’re out of beer and we go and buy another six-pack.”
“Oh, no…”
He nodded. “I know. That’s when I should have realized we were in trouble.”
“Did you get pulled over?”
He let out a mirthless laugh. “Not exactly.”
“What does that even mean?” Honestly, it was beginning to feel like she was never going to know what happened. “Sam?”
“We went to go back to the beach, but there was a patrol car in the parking lot. So we drove down Main Street and decided to just pull into the church parking lot to finish drinking and talking.”
“Ew…you drank beer in the church parking lot? What is wrong with you? That’s just wrong.”
“Yeah, well…we thought it would be fine and no one would bother us. But…” He sighed. “After all those beers we were both feeling a little stupid and weren’t thinking clearly. I had to pee so…”
Suddenly it hit her. “You didn’t.”
But he nodded. “I did.”
“Sam…” she whined.
“Actually, we both did. And we were laughing hysterically and didn’t realize how loud we were and…next thing you know, Pastor Steve is out there chasing us around threatening to call the cops!” Then he laughed. “We were both running around with our dicks hanging out and jumped into the car and sped away!”
“No!”
But he nodded again. “I still can’t believe anyone was there! I mean, who would have thought the pastor would be hanging out at the church at that hour of night!”
She groaned. “That’s completely not the point. You guys are gross.”
He laughed lowly. “I swear, I don’t know how I got Mason home without killing both of us and then getting back here. I keep waiting for the cops to show up or–at the very least–Pastor Steve to show up here along with Aunt Georgia! So I’m kind of lying low.”
“If you’re trying to lie low, where were you just before?”
“Working in the yard. The tree company cleared away all the debris but what’s left back there is still a mess. I wanted to clean the flower beds and see what could be salvaged and what needed to be replaced. We were able to get some fresh mulch out of it all though.” Another shrug. “I know that’s what Pops would have done.”
As much as Mallory wanted to be mad at her brother for being such a moron, he went and somewhat redeemed himself by doing something selfless. Unable to help herself, she walked around the desk and hugged him.
“You’re an idiot. You know that, right?”
He hugged her back. “I know. But I swear I’ve learned my lesson.”
“I hope so. The last thing anyone needs right now is you on the front page of the local newspaper because you peed on a church.”
“It wasn’t on the church, just…on church property.”
With a playful punch, she stepped back. “Don’t split hairs with me on this. You were still wrong.” She gave him a sad smile. “Seriously, we are both a mess.”
And in a very un-Sam-like move, he pulled her back in for another hug. “Yeah, but my money’s on you, kiddo. You’re going to be just fine. I know it.”
She only wished she had his confidence.
On Monday morning, Jake was over at Zeke’s place as the crew was getting started on the re-framing of the addition and building a new deck. It was early and he’d slept alone the night before, so he was anxious to see Mallory.
“Hey, there you are,” he said with a smile as he walked into the kitchen carrying a box from her favorite bakery.
She smiled at him and then caught a glimpse of the pink box. “Hey,” she said as she sauntered over. “What’s in the box?”
With a careless shrug, he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Maybe some chocolate croissants.” He paused. “Maybe a couple of jelly donuts. You know, no big deal.”
“Jake Summerford do not tease me about baked goods,” she exclaimed, but Jake was having too much fun.
“And I think…I think there might be either a chocolate chip muffin or some sort of crumb cake.” He shrugged. “I don’t know. I just told Mrs. Henderson – whose hair is currently the shade of cotton candy - to throw any old thing in the box that nobody else would want.”
Laughing, she playfully punched him in the arm and took the box from his hands. Once she placed it on the table, she turned and kissed him–her arms wrapping around him slowly enough to make him want to haul her in close. It wasn’t a quick kiss either. No, his girl put a lot of effort into thanking him and now he wished he knew for certain that they were alone because he could think of a few ways he’d love to start the day.
“Oh, good morning, Jake! You’re here early!” Susannah said cheerily. “Oh, you went to Henderson’s this morning?”
The sound Mallory made in his ear was part chuckle part whine and he knew her mind was drifting in the same direction as his. He placed a light kiss on her cheek before turning her toward the table and urging her to sit. “Ladies,” he said with a big smile, “enjoy.”
When he went to leave the kitchen, Mallory stood and walked back over to him. “You’re leaving already?”
Reaching out, he caressed her cheek and smiled warmly at her. “Just wanted to bring you breakfast since you weren’t at my place this morning for me to make it for you.”
She blushed and she was beautiful.
Combing her dark hair behind her ear, Jake leaned in close and kissed her again. She was wearing a pair of yoga pants, an oversized t-shirt, and didn’t have on a stitch of makeup and she was still the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.
Not a girl, a woman, he reminded himself. Mallory Westbrook was no longer a girl and the woman she was now was the woman he wanted forever.
He just had to prove that to her.
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“I need to go out and make sure the crew is getting started both in the front and back.” He looked over at Susannah. “It’s going to be pretty noisy here for the next week or so, so if you have things to do during the day to avoid it, I’d suggest you do that. Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize, Jake,” Susannah replied, pouring herself a cup of coffee. “I’d rather get this stuff banged out at the same time rather than drag it out for weeks. Thanks for getting everyone here so fast. I know there are a lot of places in greater need of repairs than here, but…”
He held up a hand to stop her. “I’m just doing what Zeke would have wanted, that’s all.” He gave Mallory a gentle nudge toward the kitchen table again. “Go eat,” he said before looking at Susannah again. “Have you given any more thought about what you might want to work on here in the house next?”
She looked nervously at Mallory before looking back at him. “Um…” then she nodded toward the doorway and he took that as his hint that she wanted to talk to him alone.
Weird…
One last glance at Mallory showed she was equally perplexed by her mother’s response, but she stayed at the table and waved goodbye to him. Susannah didn’t stop walking until they were in Zeke’s office where she shut the door behind them.
Okay, super weird…
“Jake,” she began, her voice little more than a whisper, “I need to ask you something.” She sat down behind the massive desk and Jake took a seat in front of it.
“What’s going on, Susannah?”
She let out a long breath before looking at him again. “Okay, here’s the thing–you spent a lot of time with my grandfather and…you seem like you know a lot more about what he wanted done with this house than any of us.”
“I wouldn’t say that…”
“Please,” she interrupted with a small smile. “We both know you do and it’s really okay. I…I was curious if he mentioned to you what it was that I had mentioned wanting to do with the house…in the future.”
It took a minute for Jake to realize what she was getting at and nodded. “You mean how you want to turn the place into a bed and breakfast.”
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