by Addison Cole
Sure, it was Reed’s face she conjured up on lonely nights, and it was his lopsided grin and easy laugh she recalled to pull her through the toughest of productions. But that was her secret, not one she’d shared with Sable.
She should have stuck to weekend visits home, as she had for the past several years. Weekend visits were safe. Fast. Brindle never would have dragged her out if she’d be facing a long drive home in twenty-four hours. She couldn’t stay for three weeks, especially now that she knew Reed was back in town. Tomorrow she’d tell Amber she couldn’t teach the class after all, and she’d drive back to the city, where there was no chance of running into Reed Cross.
Brindle threw her arms up toward the sky. “Will someone please tell me what the problem is? Why are you storming off? And why are you mad at Sable? It was me who wanted to come out and see Trace tonight. Not her! I thought it would be fun, like old times. We’d laugh and joke and talk about how sexy he was.”
“Grace.” Sable’s tone softened, her eyes imploring her for forgiveness Grace couldn’t give.
“There’s no problem, Brin,” Grace managed, holding Sable’s gaze. “I just…” I’m confused and angry by my body’s stupid reaction to a man I don’t need in my life. “I’m just exhausted.” As unreasonable as it was, since she’d caused their breakup, she still felt the sting of his betrayal after they’d broken up, when he’d left his beloved family—and her—behind.
Chapter Two
THE MORNING SUN beat down on Reed Cross’s back as he climbed the porch steps of the Montgomerys’ old Victorian home and began removing the ceiling, trying to ignore the memories that assaulted him every time he stepped foot on the property. He used to leave orchids on this very porch every month for Grace, his first love. It was bittersweet, coming back to Oak Falls and taking over renovation projects for his uncle Roy, who had suffered a heart attack and needed help completing the jobs to which he’d already committed. He’d been back for four months, and still he felt Grace’s presence everywhere, just like he had after they’d broken up all those years ago.
Pushing thoughts of the past aside seemed a constant battle, and once again he tried to do just that and focus on the job at hand. He’d already removed a good bit of the decking to check out the joists and get a handle on the extent of the damage and was knee-deep in debris when he heard the sliding doors open. He wiped his brow, expecting to see Cade or Marilynn, the owners of the house. His eyes caught on a pair of gorgeous long legs and traveled north, over silky pajamas skimming a scorching-hot curvaceous figure. His gaze slowed at full breasts peeking out from beneath tumbles of thick dark hair, awakening every nerve in his body. Nerves that had been unexcitable for months.
The woman cleared her throat, startling him from his reverie, and his gaze darted up to her face. His heart nearly stopped at the familiar mossy-green eyes staring back at him. His body turned cold with shock, and just as quickly his teeth ground together as his mind spiraled back to their senior year in high school, when Grace Montgomery had been his. Memories of sneaking out after dark, sharing secrets, holding hands, and loving each other fiercely rushed forth—followed by the hurt of her choosing New York over him.
His eyes narrowed despite the unexpected arousal simmering beneath his skin.
“Grace…” Even after a decade her name tasted sinfully good rolling off his tongue.
Her hand slid from the doorknob, hanging limply by her side. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. A long moment later, “Reed,” slipped from her lips like the secret he’d once been.
His gut clenched with longing. He couldn’t help but study her—and that angered him as much as it eased the worries about his ability to feel that had plagued him for years. He hadn’t been all in with a woman since Grace, and he’d begun to think he’d exaggerated what he’d felt when they were together. But there was no misreading the heat thrumming through him. She looked incredible, and confused, and as her hand settled on her hip—the hand he remembered all too well digging into his back when they’d made love all those years ago—he realized she also looked angry. Definitely angry.
But still incredible.
In the space of a breath he was fighting the urge to figure out how to spend time with her and recapture the fire between them despite everything she’d put him through.
“Are you done gawking?” she snapped.
“I…Sorry. You caught me off guard. I was expecting to see your parents.” He held her gaze, forcing a smile even though he suddenly felt stuck somewhere between a teenager caught peering through a window, a jealous ex-boyfriend, and a lust-filled man.
She folded her arms over her chest, forcing a barrier between them, and smirked.
Ouch—
At least he hoped it was a smirk rather than a scowl. After the clues he’d missed with his ex-girlfriend, Alina, who had been sleeping with his now ex-business partner, he no longer trusted his instincts where women were concerned. And when it came to Grace Montgomery, he’d never been able to think past the emotions she stirred within him and the future he’d hoped they’d have. She was the tsunami that had obliterated everything else in his world, and as he struggled to find his voice, he fought the urge to tangle his hands in her thick, lustrous hair and remind her of what she’d walked away from.
“I hope you don’t look at my mother like that,” she snapped.
“What? No. C’mon, Grace.” In her eyes he was probably a quintessential jerk, checking her out without any thought to their past. In reality, he’d been taken just as off guard by his leering as she was. “I don’t usually—”
“Don’t usually let your eyes wander?” She scoffed. “Right.”
“Believe it or not, yes,” he said angrily. “Who do you think I’ve become? I didn’t expect you to walk out here at all, much less wearing nearly nothing and…” He tried to figure out what to say next, what to feel…
“Why are you here, Reed?”
He didn’t need this. Not when he had just begun rebuilding his life. After being screwed over by Alina, he’d vowed to stay away from anything that made his head spin, and Grace definitely made his head spin.
He studied her, while trying not to at the same time. The chip on her shoulder was bigger now, overshadowing the sexy smirk on her lips. She’d always exuded confidence, but somehow that, too, seemed more intense. His heart thumped harder with the memory of the first time he’d spotted her standing on the sidelines in her cute cheerleading uniform as he headed out to the football field. She’d challenged him with her glare, as if she were playing on the rival team rather than cheering for them. She’d hated that cheerleading outfit, but man, he’d loved it. And that challenge she’d emitted? He’d taken her up on that in a hot second.
But she’d kicked him to the curb once, he reminded himself. Why was he giving her any consideration at all? He had a job to do, and sure, he’d momentarily lost his footing and checked her out, but it wasn’t like that was a crime. She was hot, and they had history. That’s as far as it goes.
“I asked you why you’re here,” she repeated, her green eyes shooting spears he didn’t deserve.
He stepped closer, curious about how she’d react, and yeah, he just wanted to be near her. “I’m fixing your parents’ porch. Obviously.”
“Not here, Reed. Why are you back in Virginia?”
“That’s not really any of your concern,” he said, stepping deeper into her personal space despite his brain telling him to back off. “You’re so frustrating, demanding answers. How about a hello?”
“Me? I’m the frustrating one? You…” she stammered, and he grinned, pleased he was having the same effect on her that she had on him. “Darn it. Why do you smell so good when you’re sweaty?” She pushed at his chest. “Back up. Get away from me.”
He grabbed her wrist, unwilling to let her get away, despite knowing he should. But how could he? He couldn’t believe after all these years she was right there in front of him. His first love, the first and only
person he’d ever truly given his heart to. He couldn’t just pretend his heart wasn’t going crazy or that he wasn’t suddenly flooded with emotions he hadn’t felt in forever. He stepped even closer, testing himself, expecting the spell to break, but it only got stronger.
Oh yeah, baby, you still feel it, too.
He had no idea why he was pursuing her when she had the power to destroy him, but as was the case in high school, he was powerless to resist her. Alina had never affected him half as intensely as even thoughts of Grace always had. Maybe that’s why he’d lost no sleep over ending his relationship with Alina. She’d been convenient, and maybe on some level he’d loved her the only way he’d been able to, but nothing—nothing—compared to the immensity of his feelings for the woman before him. The one he now realized he’d never moved on from.
“Back up,” she repeated, her voice thinner now, a little shaky.
“Why should I? You’re the one who came out here.” He raked his gaze down her body. “Dressed like that.”
They’d been surrounded by rivalries from the get-go. Opposite teams all the way—until a day just like this, when she’d challenged and he’d pushed.
She pressed her lips together, holding his stare. Her eyes still tore straight to his heart. Another challenge he wasn’t about to back away from. He closed the minuscule distance between them. Her breasts grazed his chest.
She sucked in a sharp breath and stepped back. He followed her onto the threshold of the door.
“You might as well get used to seeing me,” he said in a low voice, pausing to let his words sink in. It took all his willpower not to ask if she’d thought of him as often as he’d thought of her. But this was a dangerous game he was playing, and he knew the answer could make it even more so. She’d walked away once, and he’d been forced to leave town. He was never going to leave his family again. Not for her or anyone else.
“I’m not leaving again, Grace.” He released her wrist and took a step back as all that lust morphed to anger, and a rush of cold air filled the space between them.
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” she said with too much venom, “because I am.”
They stared at each other, challenging, sizing up, remembering—wishing? He shifted his gaze away in an effort to reclaim his sanity and squinted up at the sun, pushing aside the fact that she was making him a lot hotter than the sun ever could. She was a big-city girl now, he reminded himself, just like Alina. He’d followed Grace’s career over the years despite himself and knew she had achieved what she’d always wanted.
At their expense.
Hadn’t he learned his lesson?
With that uncomfortable thought, he turned his back and reached for his tools, needing the distraction. But he felt her presence, hot and alluring, behind him and had to take one more look. She stood with her hands on her hips and didn’t seem concerned over her lack of clothing. There was some type of disconnect between Reed’s brain and his body, and it took all his effort to keep his eyes locked on hers when they were begging for another quick sweep of the womanly curves his first love had developed.
Get a grip. There was only one way to do that. He needed to convince himself she wasn’t worth the risk.
“You always were good at leaving things behind,” he said coldly.
Her jaw fell open and a sound of disbelief escaped, sending a pang of regret to his gut. She stormed into the house, giving him an eyeful of her barely covered, and even-more-beautiful-than-before, butt—pushing that spear of regret in deeper.
GRACE PULLED THE door and the curtains closed and paced her bedroom, crossing and uncrossing her arms, trying to suck air into her lungs. What was Reed doing back in town, and why was he working at her parents’ house? She hadn’t even realized her parents knew him. She stared at the swinging curtains, and much to her dismay, her body was still trembling and hot. She hated him for making her feel that way. But it wasn’t only Reed she was mad at. She had a bone to pick with Sable.
She threw open the bedroom door, heard Clayton jump from the bed and land gently on the floor with a soft meow, and headed down the hall toward the scent of freshly brewed coffee. Sable was staying at their parents’ house while her apartment over her auto shop was undergoing renovations. With the exception of their rock-star brother, Axsel, who traveled endlessly with his band, and Pepper, who worked as a research and development scientist outside of Oak Falls, her siblings stopped by often for meals at their parents’ house.
She found Sable and Amber standing by the kitchen sink, staring out the window at Reed. They were so busy gawking, they didn’t even notice she was there. Sable was dressed in cutoffs, cowgirl boots, and her favorite Stetson, while Amber wore a short flowery dress with her boots—typical Oak Falls attire. For some reason that annoyed Grace even more. Why did small town look so right and comfortable on her sisters, when it felt ill fitted on Grace? A streak of jealousy floated through her, and she tucked it away, reminding herself of how hard she’d worked to break out of that small-town mode.
“Take the stupid shirt off already,” Sable said as she twisted the ends of her long dark hair. The three of them, along with Axsel, were brunette, like their mother, while Brindle and Morgyn were fair-haired, like their father, and Pepper was a beautiful mixture of both.
Their comments did nothing to calm Grace’s racing heart from the brief—and abrupt—encounter with the full-on torturous beast outside. His toffee-brown hair was thicker now. His kissable lips were fuller. Add in sun-kissed skin, honest eyes, a strong, square jaw, and a dusting of scruff, and holy cow. Reed Cross was still hotter than any man she knew, and Grace had met some seriously fine men.
“Grace knocked him off his game with her I’m-just-standoffish-enough-to-make-you-want-me act,” Amber said as she reached a hand down to pet the head of Reno, her golden retriever. Amber was epileptic, and Reno was her service dog. “But Gracie could knock anyone off his game.”
Grace softened at her sister’s words. She missed their unconditional love and friendships. It seemed to her that other than her childhood best friend, Sophie, who now also lived in New York, true friendships were hard to come by in the city. But she knew there was nothing like the love of younger siblings. Even when they were growing up and bickering over everything under the sun, her younger siblings still looked up to her like she held all the world’s answers. Little did they know that she looked up to them, too. Not that any of them, including her, ever had all the right answers. Decisions around the Montgomery home were often made late at night, with the seven of them huddled together and plenty of hot chocolate and laughter on hand. Sometimes there were tears, too, but no matter how sad one of them was over a breakup, bad grades, career woes, or anything else, they’d always had one another’s backs. Part of having one another’s backs was helping them find a bright spot in a dark moment.
And Sable was about to have a very dark moment for keeping news of Reed working on the house to herself.
Grace crossed her arms against her resurfacing anger. “Knock him off his game?” she said in response to Amber’s comment. “More like I annoyed the heck out of him.”
Sable and Amber both spun around.
“You’re here!” Amber, completely oblivious to the tension sparking between Grace and Sable, threw her arms around Grace, hugging her tight. Her seizure-alert necklace lay familiar and present between them. Pepper had developed the necklace when she was in graduate school and had since patented and sold it all over the country. It featured a button that Reno could push with his nose if Amber had a seizure and included an internal GPS system to alert family members and emergency services to Amber’s location. Their mother trained service dogs, and she trained each of the seizure-alert dogs she worked with to use the necklaces. Thankfully, the alert system had been needed only once, since Amber’s seizures were controlled well with medications.
Sable must have noticed Grace’s scowl, because she mouthed, Don’t be mad.
“When did you get in?” Amber a
sked.
“Late last night,” Grace said, surprised Sable and Brindle hadn’t already outed her for running off in a huff.
“I’m super excited about your class.” Amber’s hazel eyes sparked with excitement. “I’ve cleared out the office and brought in more seating for the lounge area in case you want to teach there. Thank you so much for agreeing to do this! It means the world to me.”
How could she burst Amber’s bubble by telling her she was going home? And really, why was she running away from Reed? She was a big girl. She could deal with being in the same town as him for a few weeks.
“I’m looking forward to it,” she said honestly. It wasn’t the class that made her stomach flutter. “How many people have signed up?”
“Only four so far, but that’s a start.”
“It’ll be a nice change. I’m used to working with big casts and crews. Where is everyone this morning?” Grace glanced out the window, catching sight of Reed’s broad back as he tore wooden planks from their tethers and tossed them aside like toothpicks. Gone was the lean teen she’d fallen in love with. She’d noticed the breadth of his shoulders, his muscular chest, and his thick thighs when he’d been breathing down her neck. When he’d grabbed her wrist, there had been a moment, a connection, so startling she’d been unable to breathe. No wonder her sisters were gawking. The man was built like a solid, intoxicatingly beautiful red oak.
“Mom’s at the store,” Sable explained. “Dad took Dolly and Reba to the park.” Dolly and Reba were ten-month-old golden retrievers their mother was raising to train as service dogs. “Brindle’s working on something for her drama class’s upcoming play, and Morgyn had to meet a supplier at her shop.” Brindle was a full-time teacher at the high school, and she also ran the drama club for the elementary school. Morgyn owned Life Reimagined, an eclectic store where she created her own fashions and accessories, as well as repurposed gently used items. “Brindle and Morgyn are going to the county fair later, and they’re coming by tonight to hear my band play. You’re coming tonight, too, girlie, so don’t even think about trying to back out.”
