Season of Love

by Jill Sanders

  “Think this is the one?” Carter asked.

  Corey’s stomach did a little flip at the thought, but he swallowed the knee-jerk reaction and shrugged instead.

  “I see the way you look at her.” Carter nudged Corey’s knee with his own.

  “Like you look at Riley?” he hit back, earning him a glare.

  “That’s different.”

  “Why?” He swallowed some cold beer and realized he wasn’t in the mood for it any more. He set it aside.

  “Because she’s younger. I can’t possibly do anything about it.”

  “And you don’t think I feel the same about Lilly?”

  “Why would you?” Carter asked, downing his beer without any problems.

  “Because…” He shook his head instead of finishing the thought.

  “Don’t give me the whole BS about not being from good blood.”

  “Well, it’s true.” He picked up his beer again, needing the coldness to soothe the fire.

  “BS,” his brother repeated. “Just because our grandfather and our father are—”

  “Super-powered dicks?” he supplied.

  “Sure, doesn’t mean we’re cut from the same cloth.” Carter set his empty beer bottle down.

  Since the two of them had first moved out on their own, their place had always been spotless. He knew that before Carter got up and headed into his own room for the night, the food plate and beer bottle would be dealt with.

  “She’s from one of the most prestigious families in town. We’re… well, not.”

  “We’re freaking millionaires now,” Carter added in.

  “Shit.” Corey ran his hands through his hair.

  “Yeah, shit.” Carter stood up, taking the plate and the beer bottles with him. “And we have an early morning if we’re going to make the grand opening of your girlfriend’s store.”

  He picked up his own half-empty bottle and drained the rest down the sink, then tossed the bottle in the recycle bin.

  “Corey.” Carter stopped him from disappearing down the hallway. “Don’t let your own preconceived ideas of yourself stop you from getting what you want, what you deserve. It obviously doesn’t matter to Lilly where you come from, who you came from.” He slapped him on his back. “Or how ugly you are.” Corey chuckled. “Enjoy the ride brother, while you can.” He turned and disappeared down the small hallway.

  When Corey lay down in his own bed for the night, he checked his phone and saw a text from an unregistered number.

  -You think you got away from me. Think again.

  He read the text three times before clearing it, with his father in mind. Then he pulled up Lilly’s number and shot a text message to her.

  -Did you get home ok?

  Her response was quick.

  -Yes, you?

  -Yes, are you nervous for tomorrow?

  -Yes, I doubt I’ll sleep tonight.

  -We should have stayed at the store.

  -And chance sleeping in? LOL No, thank you.

  -What if we just spent the rest of the night having phone sex?

  She sent a cute emoji of a kitten with a heart shape bursting from its chest.

  -I’d love to, but I think I at least need a few hours downtime.

  It was his turn to send an emoji. He hated using them, but he found one of a puppy with big sad eyes.

  -Get some sleep. I’ll see you first thing in the morning.

  -Corey?

  -Yes

  -Dream of me

  -I already am

  The next morning, he parked his car in his normal spot and hauled out the large box of sweets and the coffee they had stopped off to get.

  “I’ll head in and wait for the next part of the surprise.” Carter turned towards the back door to Baked. “Save me some food,” he called back to him.

  When Corey walked in the back door of Classy and Sassy, he chuckled at the three large boxes of donuts already on the counter in the back room.

  Riley’s and Lilly’s parents were there, standing around sipping coffee while both Riley and Lilly rushed around with last-minute fixes.

  “Girls,” Lacey said, getting their attention, “stop fidgeting. Everything is going to be perfect. Come eat something before you both fall over.”

  It was then that Lilly spotted him. Worry was replaced in her eyes and her cheeks turned a sexy light shade of pink.

  “Morning.” She set down the stack of shirts she’d been refolding and moved towards him. He set down the coffee to cross the room and wrap his arms around her.

  When she went up on her toes and easily placed a kiss on his lips, he figured she wasn’t planning on hiding their relationship from her family. He did notice that the room grew quiet, and he was afraid to turn back around.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked softly.

  “Nervous.” She sighed. “Where you this nervous when you opened Baked?”

  He ran his eyes over her and smiled. “More. You’ve got this.” He rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “Sit with me and have some coffee.” He nodded over to the hot drinks he’d brought in. “I brought you pumpkin spice.”

  She smiled. “My favorite.”

  “I brought you pumpkin spice,” her mother added, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Yes, but you didn’t kiss me this morning.” Lilly laughed and reached for the cup he handed her.

  “Coffee bread?” He opened the box. “Someone had taken all of the really great donuts at Sara’s this morning.” He nodded towards the three boxes on the counter. “So, I figured I’d go with something with a little less sugar.”

  “Perfect.” She took the bread and nibbled on it.

  “What did you bring me?” Riley walked up and looked into the box.

  “The same.” He held up a mug and she moved over to him and hugged him. “Where’s Carter?”

  “He’ll be here. He wanted to do a few things next door first.”

  Just then, Carter walked in with the matching vases of white roses they had picked out and had delivered early that morning to their store. There were cards attached to each of them.

  “Morning,” Carter chimed in happily.

  “Oh.” Riley set her mug down and rushed over to take one from him. “Are they for us?”

  “For our new neighbors.” Carter turned to Lilly. “From the both of us.”

  Lilly took them and smiled over at Corey. “They’re beautiful.”

  The flowers he’d given her last night were still sitting in the middle of the table. On a whim, he’d ordered the roses last night when he’d picked up the other ones.

  “These are going to go perfectly by the cash register.” Riley took her vase out and disappeared.

  “Less than an hour,” Lilly said, glancing down at her watch.

  “Finish the bread and coffee, then make sure to take a moment to breathe before opening the doors,” he said.

  “There’s a line.” Riley rushed back into the room. Her face was red, and she was jumping up and down quickly. “A line of people waiting out there in the rain to get in.”

  Lilly set the vase of roses down and rushed over to peek out the doorway.

  “Looks to be at least a dozen people. Maybe more.” She turned back to the room. He could tell she’d turned a paler shade and walked over to her.

  Taking her hand, he pulled her closer and kissed her. “You’re going to do great.”

  Then her family took over and he stepped aside and watched the way they were with her, the way they were together. The ache in his heart grew stronger. He hadn’t really understood all of the things he’d missed out on in life because of his family, but now, looking at Lilly’s and Riley’s families’ support and love, he understood just what he and Carter had lost. The pain grew in his chest and so did the desire to make that all change.

  11

  Lilly turned the key and took a deep breath before stepping back. Looking out the windows, she’d wager that the entire town of Pride had come out to support their
new venture. The line now actually disappeared around the corner of the building.

  She greeted everyone, chatted briefly with a few people, and then moved around to stand behind the counter. When they rang in their first sale, which had gone to Father Michael, he paid in cash, with a crisp one-dollar-bill included.

  “I thought you’d hang it up, you know, for good luck. Seeing as I blessed it this morning.” He winked at her. “It should bring the Lord’s blessings on this place.”

  She smiled over at him and set the dollar aside. She had the perfect frame already picked out.

  For the next three hours, she was busy ringing up orders. She was surprised at how much merchandise had disappeared when she finally had a minute to glance around.

  Riley and her mother, Lilly’s Aunt Allison, had been rushing around the store, helping customers, and when Lilly found them, they were both chatting with people. Her aunt was talking with an out-of-towner about one of her paintings that they had hung on the wall. They had made an agreement with Allison for a flat commission on any art they sold. By Lilly’s calculations, if they sold one piece a month, it would easily pay for their rent.

  When she walked up to her aunt, she was shaking the woman’s hand. “We’ll have it wrapped up for you and ready to pick up at the end of the day.”

  “Thank you. It was pure pleasure getting to actually meet the artist.” The attractive blonde woman, who Lilly gauged to be in her mid-twenties, smiled at her as she strolled by.

  “Did you… just sell that?” She pointed to the massive painting of the Pride docks.

  “Yes.” Allison turned to her and wrapped her arm around Lilly’s shoulders. “And she purchased several pieces of furniture that you picked out.” She nodded to the table and desk she’d refurbished herself some time back, which had spent almost a year in her parents’ garage before they’d hauled them down here and put a price tag on them. “She actually purchased two paintings.” Allison nodded to the smaller painting of a blue sailboat.

  “I…” She shook her head. “Two? Wow.” She looked at the painting’s price tag and mouthed the word wow again.

  “Did you think they’d stay on the walls for long?” Allison joked. “I put them here to help you two out.” Her aunt looked back up at her art and hugged her tighter. “My gift to you girls. I know what my art is worth and how quickly it sells.” She turned towards her and hugged her. “Now, go ring the sale up.” She nudged her towards the register where the woman was looking at the postcards with Allison’s paintings on them. “She’ll probably buy a half dozen of those too if you talk her into it,” she said at her back.

  Sure enough, the woman not only bought a half dozen, she gave Lilly her business card and asked to be contacted when they had anything else from her aunt or more furniture that she might be interested in.

  Lilly looked down at the card after the woman disappeared out the front door.

  “Blake Shelby,” Riley read over her shoulder. “Who’s that?”

  “Coastal Interior Designs,” Lilly read and showed Riley the rest of the card. “She wants more of your mother’s paintings and any other refurbished furniture I can come up with.”

  “An interior decorator?” Riley smiled. “Wow, I didn’t know we had one in town.”

  “Edgeview,” she said, reading the rest of the card. “She said she got lucky and was driving by today.”

  “Sounds like we’re the lucky ones,” Riley said. She turned when the bell chimed over the door. “Back to work.” She giggled as she disappeared to help another customer.

  Around noon, she wasn’t surprised when a slice of pizza was set in front of her. She took a ten-minute break, with the promise that her mother would fill in at the cash register for her while she ate.

  She was surprised, however, to see Corey in the break room waiting for her with the rest of the pizza.

  “Looks like it’s a successful day.” He motioned for her to sit next to him.

  Riley was already reaching for another slice of pizza.

  “I can’t believe we sold out of those knit kitten hats.” Riley beamed. “I only bought them because I wanted one myself.” She chuckled.

  Over the pizza, she and Riley talked about what had sold and what the most popular items seemed to be and, the entire time, Corey asked questions as if he was truly interested in the answers.

  Riley excused herself shortly after she finished her fourth slice of pie.

  “Is it everything you expected?” Corey asked when they were alone.

  “More,” she said after a long sigh. Leaning back in the chair, she rolled her shoulders.

  Corey jumped up and stood behind her and began gently rubbing the tension there away.

  “Wow, you could probably make millions if you just opened a massage parlor,” she joked.

  His chuckle was deep and sexy and had memories of the night before surfacing in her mind.

  Reaching back, she covered his hand with hers.

  “Thank you.”

  “For?” He moved over and sat next to her again.

  “Everything. Last night, this morning, the flowers.” She nodded to the two vases he’d filled. “But I think the pizza was the best.” She giggled.

  “Your dad called in the order.” He laughed. “I just delivered it.” His smile caused her heart to skip.

  “You took time out of your busy day to sit and have lunch with me,” she added.

  “I wanted to.” His smile slipped slightly. “Your family…” He sighed, and his green eyes moved to hers. “They are pretty…”

  “Obnoxious?” She chuckled.

  “Amazing,” he finished. “Pretty amazing. You’re lucky, both you and Riley are.”

  “The Jordan clan does have its moments.” She smiled and reached for his hand. “They think highly of you.”

  “Yeah, your dad actually pulled me aside this morning.” She groaned softly. “No, it was a good chat. We talked about the town, about when he first moved here from the city.”

  “He told you that story?” She rolled her eyes.

  He smiled. “Yeah, how the town took him in, made him feel part of something more than he ever had.”

  “My grandparents are kind of dicks.” She sighed. “Not that I don’t love them, but…” She shrugged. “You know how that goes.”

  He took her hand up to his lip, surprising her.

  “Yeah,” he said softly. “I have to get back.” He nodded towards the back door. “What time is closing?”

  “An hour before you close up.”

  “How about you head over, after?”

  She smiled. “Sounds like a plan.” There was a knock on the storeroom door.

  “Lilly, someone wants to talk to you about that dresser you refurbished last year,” Riley called out.

  “She thinks were making out in here,” Lilly whispered.

  “Why aren’t we?” he whispered back, then leaned closer and covered her mouth.

  By closing time, her feet and back hurt and she quickly placed an order on Amazon for an anti-fatigue mat for behind the countertop.

  “So, partner, how’d we do?” Riley asked after locking the front door.

  Lilly rambled off the closing amount, then squealed with excitement. “We made close to ten thousand dollars.” She jumped up and down as she held onto Riley. “Okay.” She straightened her blouse and her hair. “Let’s clean up and restock, then I’m heading next door for a beer to celebrate.”

  Riley smiled. “Me too.”

  Lilly was about to argue with her, then clamped her mouth shut. “Oh my god,” she said slowly. “I totally forgot. It’s your birthday.”

  Riley laughed. “I’m twenty-one!” she shouted to the empty room.

  “I was so busy with this… I didn’t get you anything.”

  Riley shook her head. “This is my present.” She motioned around the room. “Best birthday ever.”

  Lilly wrapped her arm around her cousin. “No beer for you. Tonight it’s champagne and I�
�m buying.”

  They finished closing the store in under half an hour, then walked next door through the alleyway and entered Baked.

  It was half an hour before closing, but the place was still pretty full.

  “Game night,” Emma said, motioning to a booth near the front. “I’ll be with you two in a moment.”

  “Looks like she’s working out just fine,” Riley added as they sat down.

  “Yeah, both her and her grandmother are the best.” She sighed. “I’m hoping that when we start hiring that we can get someone as good as them.”

  “Do you really think that will be soon?” Riley asked.

  “If we have more days like today, yes.” She smiled. “And if Blake Shelby keeps snagging up your mom’s art and some of my refurbished furniture.” She sighed at the thought.

  “Who’s Blake Shelby?” a male voice said from beside them.

  Glancing up, she smiled at her cousin, Matthew, as he walked in the front door with her brother George.

  “Matt!” Riley jumped up and hugged him.

  “I’m sorry.” He frowned down at them. “I tried to get back here for your big day, but…” He sighed and sat next to Riley. “It’s been a day.” He rolled his eyes. George crawled into the booth next to her.

  Matthew was the new head of Jordan Shipping, having taken over for his father earlier that year. Her cousin’s sandy blond hair was curled every which way, making him look like he was at least two months late for a haircut. His face was covered with scruff.

  He was wearing a thick dark-blue jacket, a black T-shirt, and worn jeans and work boots.

  “When did you get back?” Lilly asked.

  “Just now.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Straight from the Sea of Japan.” He smiled. “Ready to celebrate a birthday”—he pulled out a small bag he’d been hiding and gave it to Riley— “and a grand opening.” He pulled out a matching bag and handed it to her.

  “You didn’t have to do anything but show up,” Lilly said as she opened the bag and pulled out a small jade Buddha figure.

  Lilly laughed and hugged it to her chest. “It’s perfect.” Her cousin always brought back the most obvious gifts from places he’d been. This one would go perfectly on her bookcase next to the last one he’d brought her, a replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.