Seized by Love at Seaside

by Addison Cole

  “Are you okay?”

  She inhaled sharply, and when she pushed away, her eyes were full of determination.

  “Yes. I am finally more than okay.” She swiped at her damp eyes, and her lips curved into a smile.

  Her strength floored him, but he’d known all along how strong Lizzie was. She hadn’t backed down for him. Why would she back down for anyone else?

  “I realized as I was talking at my father that he’s the one who taught me to be this way, so who is he to judge me?” She took a step away, waving her hand angrily. “I mean, he might not agree with me wearing nothing but an apron, but he taught me to give, to help others, and that’s what I do every day of my life. And I’m hardly wearing any less than my bathing suit. That has to count for something.”

  Before he could say anything, she added, “And you know what else pisses me off? I’m not the only one who put my mother in this position. That’s mostly his doing.”

  “Hopefully you finally got through to him. If he doesn’t come around, then it speaks volumes of him as a person.”

  “He’s not a bad guy, Blue.” She crossed her arms protectively over her chest.

  He loved her innate desire to protect her father despite how upset she was.

  “I’m sure he’s not. He’s just a father watching out for his daughter. All I’m saying is that hopefully he’ll see what an incredible woman you are and come to his senses soon. I hate to see you suffer over this. I never should have suggested that you shouldn’t hide from the people who love you.”

  “Oh, yes, you should have. You opened my eyes to everything, most importantly, the difference between unconditional love, like ours, and whatever it is my father has for me.” She took his hand and led him to the computer. “Let’s get this sucker edited so we can move past the nerve-racking part of the night and into the fun part.”

  “Ah, the fun part.” He kissed her lips. “Like maybe your Naughty-Love list?”

  “I was thinking more about the other list.” She raised her brows in quick succession.

  “You’re not going to make it easy for me to concentrate, are you?”

  “That’s the plan…”

  They took the computer upstairs and set it on the table between them. They’d spent the last three days working through every statistic Lizzie had ever kept, analyzing them from every possible angle. He’d quickly learned that Lizzie was not just a beautiful, talented florist and bright businesswoman, but she had a brilliant analytical and strategic mind. She’d created a business that was continually climbing up the ranks of things he’d never known existed, like Alexa rankings—rankings of websites based on hits and length of time spent on the site—and surpassing partner income thresholds one after another. It was no wonder the Food Channel Network was courting her. If she did this full-time, she could easily earn hundreds of thousands of dollars. She obviously wasn’t putting herself out there to achieve her own fame and fortune, or she’d be making more videos and forgoing her flower shop altogether, which was just another thing to admire about her.

  Blue readied himself for an uncomfortable ride as they began the editing process. Every muscle in his body tensed as he watched the woman who had stolen his heart seduce the camera, and he felt the claws of jealousy prickling his skin again. He pressed his hands to his thighs, telling himself to focus on the show, not on the sexy look in his girlfriend’s eyes or the way she moved like a cat on the prowl, graceful yet powerful.

  As the video rolled on and Lizzie began pointing out angles that were problematic and the way she tweaked scenes by removing a second or two of video, lighting issues that made her want to retape certain sections of the show, and about a dozen other nuances he’d never imagined her dealing with, Blue became engrossed in the process. She was incredible, the way she analyzed everything from the tone of her voice, the looks she flashed, and even the way she moved. She gave as much attention to detail and to every aspect of the show as Blue did to his carpentry work.

  Blue found himself analyzing the video completely from a business standpoint, sans the jealousy that had initially plagued him. By the time they finished, Lizzie had two full pages of notes about what she liked and disliked about the video, things she needed to tweak, and differences between this video and her last, so she could compare the outcomes. She was so focused on making the video perfect that it was easy to understand how she was able to put herself out there in this fashion while carrying on her daily life and while falling in love with him. She’d separated herself from the Naked Baker. This was obviously a business venture that she took very seriously. Regardless of whether she was seducing a camera or creating a beautiful bouquet of flowers, she clearly gave it her all.

  Lizzie closed the laptop, tension knitting her brows.

  “We survived,” he said as he brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to it. The tension in her face slipped away.

  “Yeah, we did.” Her brow wrinkled again. “You’re not feeling weird about me? What did you think?”

  “Not even a little. I think you’re even more incredible than I did before we watched it.” He lifted her onto his lap. He didn’t want her to worry about anything, least of all that his feelings for her would ever change. He could no sooner walk away from Lizzie than he could turn away from family. He tucked her hair behind her ear, and her lips curved up in a relieved smile.

  “When you first told me about this, I couldn’t imagine how you separated who you were in the video from who you are on a day-to-day basis. But when we were working just now, and for the past few days as you’ve brought me into your webcast world, I’ve come to realize that you put your heart and soul into making this a success, the same way that you do with your flower shop. The same way that you do with Maddy, with me.” Blue pressed his lips to hers. “I think your father should edit a video with you.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, right.”

  “I’m kidding. Sort of. If you took him through these steps and he understood all the aspects of this incredible business you’ve created, it would put it into clearer perspective for him. I really believe that if your father could disregard the fact that his daughter is walking around in nothing but an apron and see your incredible business efforts for what they are, he would come around.”

  “I doubt that,” she said as she ran her finger along his skin, just above his shirt collar, making it hard for him to concentrate.

  “I also think you’ve got your work cut out for you where FCN is concerned.”

  She twined her arms around his neck. “Do you really think I’m doing the right thing? What if they say no?”

  “Then you’re in no worse shape than you are right now. But you do realize this is a no-brainer for them, right? If they can make a seamless transition to another actress using the momentum you’ve already put in place, then you’re golden.”

  Her brow furrowed, and he touched his lips to hers, knowing exactly what was worrying her.

  “And if they don’t, I know you plan on continuing to host the show until Maddy graduates, and I’ll be right here by your side.” He shifted her onto her back on the couch and came down over her, smiling as he pressed his lips to hers. “Or maybe I’d rather be right here, on top of you.”

  “Or maybe…” She glanced at the front door. “You’d rather be in your truck lying on top of me at White Crest Beach.”

  He blinked in surprise. “In my truck?”

  “I added it to my Naughty-Places list,” she said with feigned innocence.

  He wanted to kiss that innocence out of her. “You did, did you? When did you do that?”

  Her cheeks flushed. “About ten months ago.”

  “Ten months? When you were turning me down every chance you got?”

  Desire filled her eyes. So long, innocence.

  He rose to his feet and scooped her into his arms as she giggled and wrapped her legs around his waist.

  “Heck, yeah,” he said as he carried her toward the front door. “Let’s go knock nu
mber one off your Naughty-Places list.”

  “Number ten,” she corrected him.

  He stopped cold, wondering what the first nine places on the list were. “Ten?”

  She nodded again. “We already checked off number one. The beach.”

  “That’s not fair. I had no idea we were working on your list. I could have made it more memorable.” He walked outside and pulled the door closed behind them.

  “That made it even more fun, and whether we’re working on a list or just having fun, being close to you is always memorable. Besides, I added an eleventh place to the list.” She leaned up and whispered, “The lighthouse.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  THE BREWSTER INN was a modest, pleasant-looking inn, located on the corner of a residential and commercial street in the heart of Brewster. Wednesday afternoon, Blue walked through the white picket fence, and he followed a slate path through beautiful gardens toward the front door of the inn. He had no doubt that Lizzie had had her experienced hands on the pretty plantings. He sensed her creative style in the varying heights and variety of flowers and shrubs. Thinking of Lizzie renewed his determination to set things right between her and her father. He’d never met the man, but all night he’d thought about what Lizzie had been handling alone for so long. It was time she got the support she deserved, and if there was a shred of a chance that talking to her father would help, then he’d make the effort.

  He knocked on the door, thinking about how this probably wasn’t the best way to get to know his girlfriend’s parents, but so be it. He wasn’t about to watch her suffer for one more second. She wasn’t alone in this endeavor, no matter how her father decided to handle the situation, and he wanted her to know that every step of the way—though Lizzie had no idea he was making this visit.

  A slim woman who couldn’t have been more than five feet tall, with silky dark hair and the same upturned lips as Lizzie, answered the door. She smiled, and deep dimples appeared in her cheeks.

  “Hello,” she said with a curious look in her hazel eyes.

  Blue saw Lizzie in twenty years in the woman’s face, heard the same sweet tone in her voice, and his chest tightened knowing that Lizzie’s mother was pitted between her daughter and her husband.

  “Hi, Mrs. Barber?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m Blue Ryder, Lizzie’s boyfriend. I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time. Actually, I was hoping to speak with both you and your husband.”

  “Lizzie’s boyfriend?” Her smile widened as she stepped toward the porch and lowered her voice. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know she had a boyfriend.”

  It didn’t surprise Blue that Lizzie hadn’t mentioned their relationship, given what was going on between her and her father and her parents’ conservative nature. But that didn’t mean the omission didn’t sting. That fueled a different type of fire in Blue, who came from a more open and accepting family. He wished that no matter what was going on in her life, she had the support of her family, the way he always had.

  “That’s not surprising,” he admitted. “You can call her if you’d like. I’ll be happy to wait here.”

  Her eyes traveled over his face for a moment, as if she was deciding if he was trustworthy. She smiled and stepped back, indicating for him to come inside. “That’s not necessary.”

  She led him into a parlor that reminded Blue of his grandmother’s house. An Oriental rug covered dark hardwood floors, and the furniture looked as if it had been there for thirty years, though it was not frayed or marred in any way, simply dated. The sofa was covered with a burgundy and cream striped fabric, and the cranberry-colored wing chairs were patterned with diamonds. An antique china cabinet stood in the corner of the room, and an old-fashioned wooden desk sat between two large windows on the far wall.

  “I’ll go get my husband. Please excuse me for a moment.” Mrs. Barber walked down the hall, and he heard her ascending the wooden stairs he’d seen from the foyer.

  Blue noted the literature on the coffee table, Inns of Cape Cod and Gardens of New England. He tried to imagine Lizzie growing up in this house and what it might have been like for her. His house had always been loud and busy, a stark contrast to the silence of the inn. Then again, there weren’t six children running around the inn. His parents’ home tended to be quieter now, too, although their house still vibrated with the energy of the rambunctious Ryder family even when they weren’t all there.

  He turned at the sound of heavy footsteps approaching. At six three, Blue had about an inch on Lizzie’s father. Wearing a blue and white striped button-down and tie, with cropped brown hair that was graying around the temples, Mr. Barber looked more like a city businessman than a man who ran a cozy inn. Nonetheless, the middle-aged man had a commanding presence, with perfect posture, wide, square shoulders, a thick barrel chest, and dark eyes.

  “I’m Vernon Barber. My wife tells me that you’re Lizzie’s boyfriend?” He lifted his chin and looked down his nose at Blue. The vee between his brows was so deeply set, Blue thought it might be ever present and not simply caused by his surprise visit. His stern lines contrasted with his wife’s softer presence in her jeans and a pretty knit top.

  “Yes, sir. Blue Ryder. It’s a pleasure to meet you, and thank you for taking the time to speak with me.” Blue shook his hand, not at all surprised by the firmness of the man’s grip.

  Vernon motioned toward a chair. “Please, have a seat.”

  “Can I get you something to drink?” his wife asked.

  “No, thank you, Mrs. Barber. This will only take a few minutes.” Blue sat in a wing chair as they settled into the sofa across from him.

  “Margaret and Vernon, please,” she said with a kind smile.

  Blue’s eyes caught on the bookshelves behind the sofa, and he realized that he hadn’t seen a single family photo. His family had photos on nearly every wall. He reminded himself this was their place of business as well as their residence, which gave him a mild sense of understanding even though his father and siblings had plenty of family photos even at their offices.

  “How is my daughter?” Vernon crossed one ankle over his knee and leaned back with his hands folded neatly in his lap.

  His use of my daughter rubbed Blue the wrong way. It felt like he was distancing himself from her.

  “Lizzie is doing well, despite the issues between the two of you.” Blue paused, waiting for a reaction, knowing he was plowing in like a bulldozer, but he had a feeling that was what this man needed. “She’s one of the strongest women I know.”

  Margaret smiled and sat up a little straighter. Vernon’s facial expression remained unchanged as he nodded in acknowledgment.

  “Lizzie has always been very strong-willed,” Margaret said.

  Maybe that shouldn’t bother him, but it did. Strong-willed was different from strong. He was beginning to understand what Lizzie had grown up with and what she was currently up against, and it only endeared her toward him more. She was even stronger than he’d imagined.

  “I realize that you don’t know me, and maybe it’s not my place to speak for Lizzie, but I am in love with her, and I’m hoping we can find a way to bridge the gap that’s come between you.” Blue hadn’t planned on going there with this conversation. He’d planned on simply trying to make peace with her father and to get him to understand what a generous person and skilled businesswoman his daughter was, and that she didn’t deserve to be dismissed by him. But Blue didn’t work that way. He’d always been led by his heart, and this was no different.

  “Blue, I don’t think this is a conversation I want to have with you.” Vernon rose to his feet and looked down at his wife, who pressed her lips together and remained seated. “Margaret?”

  “I want to hear what he has to say,” she said as she reached for his hand. “And I wish you would, too.”

  Vernon crossed his arms over his chest as Blue rose to his feet and met the formidable man eye to eye.

  “Thank you, Margaret,” Bl
ue said gently before turning his full attention to Vernon. “Sir, I don’t have a daughter and can’t claim to know what it would feel like to know that my daughter hosted a show like the one Lizzie does.” He felt the need to say the name of the show, to show her father that he wasn’t bothered or embarrassed by it. “But my girlfriend, your daughter, a woman whom I adore, a woman whom I never imagined would do something like this, is in fact the Naked Baker.”

  “And you apparently have no issues with that.” Vernon’s voice was dead calm and clearly meant to be intimidating. “You’re probably one of those guys who watches that show, along with a dozen of other pornographic shows on the Internet.”

  Blue’s eyes never wavered from his. “I see your ability to misjudge is not restricted to family members.” He wasn’t about to defend himself to this man. He had tunnel vision—clear the way for a reconciliation for Lizzie—and it was obviously going to be an uphill battle. But Blue wasn’t one to give up. He had to believe that if Margaret had stayed with this man all these years, he must have some redeeming qualities as a father and as a husband, and Blue hoped to unearth at least some of them.

  When her father didn’t react to his comment, Blue continued speaking. “I wonder, Vernon, are you aware of what your daughter does besides this webcast?”

  “She’s a florist,” he said with an air of boredom.

  “And?” Blue cocked a brow at his brief, cold answer. He could tell by the way Margaret was fidgeting in the same fashion Lizzie did when she was nervous that she was biting back a response. Or maybe suppressing the desire to nudge her husband into saying more.

  “Let me share with you what I’ve learned about Lizzie,” Blue said proudly. “Did you know that after working a ten-to-twelve-hour day at the flower shop—the flower shop that she managed to open and run successfully on her own—she takes flowers to the cemetery and leaves them on the headstones of people whose graves go untended?” He noted the quizzical look in her father’s eyes and softened his tone. “Sometimes she takes them to the assisted-living facility, or the firehouse, or the police station. She’s also been known to hand flowers out to strangers as they pass by the shop after hours.”