by Amanda Ashby
“It’s unusual,” he said truthfully as Sam appeared with a clipboard in her hand. She was in jeans and a plaid shirt. By way of costume, she’d put a cowboy hat on and had a “don’t mess with me” expression on her face, backed up by a gleaming sheriff’s badge.
“Good to see you. Don’t forget to spend big. We’re raising money for a new fire station.” She nodded to a large sign that showed their progress. Still a long way to go.
“Will do,” he promised. “Though if your baking is here, I’ll be broke before I even get to the next stand.”
“Patsy and I have a joint stall. When you get there, say ‘purple alligators like to dance until dawn.’ It’s the password to buy one of the lemon meringue pies under the counter. Trust me, you’re going to want to.”
“Preach to that,” Paige said just as a man to the left of her dropped a corn dog on the ground. Sam’s eyes blazed as she marched toward him.
“Hey, you. Yes, you. Did I really see you litter?”
The man’s face paled at the sight of her. Adam turned to Paige.
“Is it just me, or is she scary?”
“Terrifying. The first time I met her, I thought she was going to eat me. But don’t let it fool you; she’s pretty amazing. And Laney. I wouldn’t have lasted here if those two hadn’t held my hands,” she said. “So many times, I almost packed my bags to leave. And if that had happened…” She let out a sigh, and her entire face softened as Luke walked over and swooped her up in a deep kiss.
He’d only just put Eloise and Ryan on the plane. Now this?
He really needed to get laid as soon as he got back to L.A.
Why wait that long?
He tried to ignore the voice as he threaded through the crowd of brightly colored costumes. Especially since it had become increasingly obvious there was only one person who came to mind.
There was still a spark. Okay, a volcano. And she no longer wanted to kill him. But if I make a dumbass move and she turns me down, we’ll be right back where we started.
Which meant it had to be a hard pass. He was here to write his book, and she was still madly in love with her dead husband.
Thanks to their past, it was already a match made in a therapist’s heaven. Hooking up would only make it worse.
“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” Patsy waved at him. She’d always been friendly, but, like Sam, a little on the scary side. Was it because they both had access to sharp knives? “I hope you’ve come to buy up big.”
“I did hear a rumor of lemon meringue pie.”
Patsy folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really? And if this particular rumor was true, there’d be a password to go with it.”
“You’re going to make me say it?”
“If you want that pie,” Patsy said in a stern voice, though her lips twitched in amusement. Am I being punked? He gave her a low bow and held her gaze.
“Purple alligators like to dance until dawn.” He reluctantly smiled. He tried and failed to imagine any of this happening in L.A. In fact, he couldn’t imagine it happening anywhere but St. Clair. His amusement increased as Patsy patted his arm.
“You’re a good sport. Now pay for the pie, and you can pick it up when you’re done here. Oh, and you’re going to want a coffee.”
It was hard to tell if it was a suggestion or an order. He nodded as a young girl skipped past wearing a floral crown like she was a princess. A little boy followed her with his own crown made of twisted ivy. Behind them was a tent half hidden under a suffusion of greenery. Buckets of flowers were everywhere. Laney was in the middle. Pale white roses and green leaves were wound through her coppery hair.
His pulse flickered as his eyes raked over her tanned shoulders, strong from all the foraging she did. A smile tugged at his mouth. He liked how independent she was. How dedicated she was to her work. How much she was still smiling despite the fact he’d heard her car firing up at five in the morning.
She’d be tired. And they were no longer enemies. She could probably use some caffeine. It was a nice friendly gesture. No need to read anything into it.
“Make it two.”
“Oh, it’s like that, is it?” Patsy clicked her fingers and barked out an order for two Americanos. A skinny guy working the espresso machine reached for the cups.
“Like what?” Adam said in a cool voice as he handed over some cash.
Patsy gave him a wink, which he chose to ignore. She might have a way with baking that bordered on witchcraft, but it didn’t mean she could read his mind.
Even if she could, she wouldn’t find much.
Sometimes coffee really was just coffee.
“Don’t forget to come back for the pie.” Patsy gave him the drinks and bustled off to serve another customer. He wove his way through the crowds until he reached the flower booth.
A young guy, probably in his twenties, sat in a chair, while Laney’s arms were slung around a slender caramel-colored greyhound. As she fussed over the floral wreath around the dog’s neck, the guy was busy checking her out.
Adam’s fingers tightened around the coffee cups.
Another blind date?
Annoyance spiked at him. Laney was way out of this guy’s league.
Her auburn hair was the color of a gleaming new penny, and the forest green sundress hugged her waist. She’d been out of Adam’s league as well. But that was different. They’d had a connection.
Heat hit his chest. A connection that hadn’t quite gone away.
“Rwoar.” He jumped as a ball of fur attacked his foot. Laney glanced up, and color bloomed in her cheeks. Anger? Surprise? Too close to call.
He held up the cups. “Thought you might be thirsty.”
“Thank you.” The color increased, and his pulse flickered. Definitely not anger. She dipped her head. Dark lashes brushed against the delicate skin under her eyes.
“If you wanted a coffee, I could have gotten you one. Or food. You want food?” the owner of the greyhound said, his mouth in a tight frown. Adam couldn’t blame him.
“Cameron, that’s sweet, but I’m fine. And see how beautiful Ruby looks?”
“She sure does.” He patted the dog’s sleek head affectionately and nodded. “So…I guess I’ll see you around sometime?”
“Yes,” she agreed. Once he left, she swung back to Adam and narrowed her eyes. “If you say one word.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He held up the coffee, resisting the urge to smile. “I hope this isn’t overstepping.”
“Not at all. India had to take off an hour ago, so Violet and I are on our own.”
The dog barked again. Somehow it sounded like: And that’s just the way we like it.
“I’m impressed you managed to avoid dressing up as a vegetable.”
A reluctant smile spread across her lips. “Last year I got roped into wearing a parrot outfit. The feathers gave me an allergic reaction, and it was impossible to move my arms.”
“I would’ve paid money to see that.”
“It was a one-off appearance.” She flashed him a warning smile, but there was no heat to it. She dipped her head to inhale the coffee. In turn, he almost pressed his own nose toward her silky hair. The rich auburn dazzled in the sun, and streaks of gold were threaded through it, probably from her hours of foraging.
Hell. Sixteen years had passed. They’d both been married. Both still carrying scars from those marriages. He lived one thousand miles away.
And I still want to kiss her.
Dangerous. So much for his plan to stay away. He stepped back. Clearly, his lizard brain wasn’t functioning as well as it should be.
“Did Ryan and Eloise get off okay?”
He nodded. “Last seen discussing colors to paint the nursery. So, I take it I’m not interrupting another date?”
“Definitely not,” she
said, coffee sloshing down the side of her cup. She sighed. “India tried to set me up with Cameron.”
“Not realizing he’s still in diapers?”
A reluctant smile unfurled on her mouth. He returned it, not sure if they were becoming more comfortable because of their renewed friendship or because she wasn’t dating anyone.
“Something like that, but I’m done. I want to focus on my business.” She gave him a wary look. “Let me guess—that’s me being risk-averse.”
His smile faded as shame hit him. Actually, it was the opposite.
He’d barely been on any dates since he and Eloise had split. The fact Laney had lost a man she clearly still loved but was prepared to try humbled him. Even more humbling, she’d built up her own business from nothing.
He shouldn’t be surprised. When they first met, she’d told him how her father had walked out and her mom died and how hard she’d worked to put herself through college.
And I almost ruined it all, thanks to the damn book.
The extent to which he’d misjudged her jabbed at his chest as the familiar shadow of inadequacy fell around his shoulders like a dark mantle. He tried to swallow it down, searching for how to reply to her.
Lucky I don’t write words for a living or anything.
He was saved by Tilly, who appeared wearing a three-piece gray suit with an orange T-shirt underneath. Her eyes were glittering with intent.
“Ah, it’s my knight in shining armor,” she said. Adam winced at the irony. He was no one’s idea of a knight.
“Let me guess. You have another tree that needs climbing,” he said as Tilly and Laney exchanged a hug.
“If you substitute house clearing for climbing, then yes, exactly.” The funeral director patted his arm and gave Laney a questioning look. “Mind if I borrow him?”
Her face colored. “It’s not up to me. He just—”
“Sure. I can help,” he cut in, not wanting to think about how uncomfortable she still felt in his presence. Or just how unsettling he found hers. “What’s up?”
“Remember Douglas? He’s stable, but there’s no way he’ll be able to live on his own again. A grandson in Atlanta has power of attorney and wants the place sold. The realtor was going to send someone in, but I thought it should be personal. It’s sad to reduce someone’s life like this. Plus, there’s a chance there might be some dirty mags. Should probably protect his reputation. You game?”
Am I?
Sorting through the possessions of a man he didn’t know seemed wrong. But it was wrong for them to be forgotten. Eloise’s pained face after the miscarriage flashed into his mind.
One minute they were going to be parents, and then they weren’t. Yet the memories didn’t go anywhere. He had no idea who Douglas was, apart from a guy who loved his wife and broken eggshells, but he didn’t deserve to be forgotten.
And it would stop me from making a jerk of myself in front of Laney.
“I’m game.”
…
Eight hours and three hundred bags of trash later, Adam ached and was hungry enough to eat his shoe. Which was about all he had to choose from. Tilly had dropped him back at the bookstore earlier, and he meant to grab some food but had sat down to write.
A new scene. It had come into his head while they’d sorted through Doug’s toolshed, piling up things to be sold and things for the trash. He’d never given much thought to what happened to possessions once there was no longer anyone there to use them.
A strange melancholy had settled over him by the time they reached the living room. Old-fashioned furniture filled the space, and the shelves were covered with photographs, dried flowers, and a collection of tiny crystal owls, all from different eras.
The result of a lifetime.
They hadn’t finished the house, not by a long shot, and he hadn’t been able to say no when Tilly had arranged to pick him up tomorrow afternoon.
None of which solved his food situation.
He climbed out of his rental car.
His trip to Patsy’s Diner had been wasted. It was shut, along with the pizza restaurant and every other place in town. He glanced at his watch. Hell. It was eight.
He walked over to Sam’s. The other day, she’d been sitting in the courtyard working on her accounts and had been happy to sell him some lasagna. But it was dark and empty, with faint shadows covering the ground.
“Rwoar.” Violet appeared by his feet, teeth flashing.
“Come out here where I can see you,” Laney’s voice called, and the familiar scent of flowers filled the air. He stepped forward, hands held up high.
“Of course, officer. I’m not breaking in,” he said as Violet tried her best to corral him forward.
“I was talking to my dog, Adam,” she scolded as he stepped into the lamplight. A denim jacket was draped over her shoulders, and there was a leash in her hand. She eyed him warily.
Because she thought I was an intruder, or because she realized it was me?
He lowered his hands as Violet continued to sniff his ankles, growling intermittently. “I was seeing if Sam would take pity on me and sell me something. Nothing’s open.”
Laney studied him as if weighing something up. Then she sighed. “She’s at Victor’s bar. All the volunteers are having their own Spring Fling. That’s why everything’s shut.”
“Ah, mystery solved. Why aren’t you there?”
“I’ve got a big day tomorrow,” she said before tilting her head. “Have you been helping Tilly all this time?”
“It wasn’t all work,” Adam said. “There were over a hundred copies of Playboy from the seventies. They did some interesting things with roller skates back then.”
She dimpled up, and some of his fatigue disappeared.
Damn, she was gorgeous. And if—
Do not finish that sentence.
“Still, it was nice of you. Tilly has such a heart of gold, and she can’t imagine people not wanting to help.”
“You think I’m one of those people?”
She quirked an eyebrow. “I’ve seen the pictures of your apartment. Beachside, with glass balconies and ten servants. Cleaning someone’s house doesn’t strike me as something you do very often.”
She’d followed him in the media? He wanted to be flattered, but he couldn’t be certain she hadn’t used the images as a dartboard.
I can’t blame her for that.
Again a flash of guilt went through him that she thought he’d been living in the lap of luxury at her expense.
“No servants, and the glass is a pain. It needs to be cleaned a lot. And I like helping Tilly out,” he said, which was almost true. He’d enjoyed her eccentric conversation, despite the discomfort of going through someone’s life. “How did the fundraising go?”
“Sam said they can now afford the foundations, which is apparently a good thing. That reminds me. Patsy asked if I could give you a lemon meringue pie. She slipped in an extra cookie. I think she likes you.”
“Always stay on the good side of the pie maker. That’s my motto,” he said. “And now I don’t have to eat my shoe for dinner.”
“You can’t have pie for dinner. Or shoes.” Laney’s voice went up a notch, then she groaned. “Do I sound like a mom?”
“Not like any mom I’ve heard,” he drawled, enjoying the way she wrinkled her nose.
Why was he flirting with her? He’d promised not to, and it was obvious how she felt. She sucked in a deep breath, her eyes bright against the night.
“I’m about to make a stir-fry. You can join me…if you want to.”
Not so obvious.
He ran a hand through his hair. Dinner was different from bumping into each other. Did it mean she’d forgiven him? She licked her lips in uncertainty, and his breath burned his throat.
“You sure?”
“I mean, we’re two old—” She broke off as if trying to find the right word. He couldn’t blame her. What were they? Friends? Lovers? Enemies? “Is this a bad idea?” she finally said, studying her hands.
“I hope not. I’m starving, and I could use the company.”
“You seem to talk to everyone in town.”
“That’s different. Everything gets a bit…quieter when you’re around.”
“Because I’m mousy.”
He groaned. In the book, he’d described Nina as a mouse because she never told Joshua how she felt, until she’d started stalking him. But Laney had never been mousy. She’d just had a hidden side to her. The contradiction he’d always found irresistible.
Unbidden, he remembered the afternoon in the woods when his fingers had pushed back her sensible clothes to find panties that would have made those Playboy Bunnies blush. Or the time she’d called him at work to say she was wearing a pair of his boxers. He’d spent the entire day in agony as the image burned through his mind.
Somehow it had all been too private to share in the book.
Unlike everything else his stupid younger self had blurted out.
“I wish I hadn’t written the damn thing.”
“Makes two of us,” she said, this time without malice. “Come and eat.”
Silence hung between them like a doorway. Their eyes locked, and strands of coppery hair brushed across her cheeks. A tempest roared in his veins, and something ached in his throat. It wasn’t sex that he’d been missing; it was something else. It was the charge of heat that came from speaking…and being listened to. Was that why he’d been feeling so on edge since he found out about the baby?
Laney gave a shaking nod of her head. Permission for him to turn the metaphorical door handle. He let out a breath.
“As long as I swing back to my place and grab a couple of beers to contribute. If I’ve got any chance of impressing your dog, I’d better bring a hostess gift.”
“Sure.” She did the nose wrinkle again, and something tightened in his guts. “I’ll see you in fifteen minutes.”
Chapter Ten
“For every Nina in your life, there’s also an Elle. Sweet, wonderful, and ready for adventure.” Blue Moon
