Just Be My Love (Saving Sandy series, #1)

by Valentina Turner

  Seth quickly surmised that she was trying to deceive them. Why she would bother when she was more beautiful than the lot of them astounded him. Truly, she had no idea how gorgeous she was.

  “Sweetheart,” she said with a sunny smile on her face. He had seen her smiling with customers the previous day. He deduced that this smile was both forced and fake. “Meet my high school ... er ... friends.”

  She made the introductions. Seth could see that she had clearly shocked the women. He was happy that he had taken care in his choice of clothes that morning. Although he was simply dressed in a blue shirt and blue denims paired with a black jacket and black boots, he was glad that Sandy was also clothed the same way. It was like they had planned it.

  “This is my—”

  “Fiancé, Seth Banner.” He decided to take the playacting further.

  Ignoring the small gasp that escaped from Sandy’s lips, he put an arm around her waist.

  “Fiancé?” The one he believed she had introduced as Amy nearly had a heart attack. He didn’t care what she was called. He was satisfied with her response to his words. Her eyes bulged as if they were going to pop out from their sockets any minute.

  “Yes.” He bestowed on Sandy a smile he hoped truly expressed how he felt about her. “She decided to have mercy on me and say yes after numerous turndowns.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” one of the so-called high school friends said with recognizable malice in her voice.

  Seth cocked his brows. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  The young woman blushed and chewed on her bottom lip. She opened her mouth to say something then thought better of it. “Nothing.”

  Amy, twisting her lips in a spiteful smile said, “So, you run the diner with her? How cozy.”

  He shook his head. “I’m a neurosurgeon. I’m on leave. So, I decided to spend the time with my woman.” He turned to place a kiss on Sandy’s forehead. He wished she wouldn’t look as shocked as the women at the table.

  Satisfied with the women’s reaction, he curved his body in Sandy’s direction.

  “Would your aunt be able to handle the diner this weekend? I want us to go on a cruise in my yacht.”

  The loud gasps he heard at the table brought a smile to his lips. Sandy’s eyes widened.

  “Honey?”

  She nodded. “Sure. I think the diner can manage without me for the weekend.”

  “Great. I’ll call my secretary to make the arrangements,” He turned to the dumbfounded women at the table and gave them a charming smile. “It was so nice meeting you all.”

  “Can we come along?” one of them blurted out and quickly placed her hands across her mouth.

  “Betty!” Amy hissed and gave him a diffident smile.

  Seth gave an apologetic shake of his head. “I’m sorry, it’s a private cruise. Although a few celebrities like Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and possibly Bruno Mars might come along, I don’t want my yacht crowded. Maybe next time.”

  Contented with the dropping of their jaws, Seth turned away again.

  “How’s your day going, honey? Sorry, I didn’t come over earlier. I had tons of calls to take,” he stated quietly as he put his arm around her and led her away to the counter where he made her sit on the long stool and took the one next to her. She looked as bemused as the women they just left.

  He pulled a lose strand from her ponytail behind her ear. His hand cupped and caressed her cheek with a sensual smile on his face. She inhaled sharply and closed her eyes.

  “You can stop acting now,” she said some minutes later. “They just stormed out of here.”

  Seth inclined his body in the direction of the door and smiled when the last woman banged the door shut. His gaze trailed them as they marched to the parking lot. He saw them staring at the blue Ferrari parked in front.

  Seth smiled, thankful to whoever brought the car to the diner. He had come in his brother’s truck. No way would they have believed he was who he said he was if only the beat-up truck had been in the parking lot.

  He guessed they would have come back in and called him a liar to his face, and then they would have made a mockery of Sandy. They appeared to be that mean.

  When they caught his gaze on them, they blushed and hurried to the gray convertible a few feet away. He laughed a little when Amy drove away from the parking lot with a screech.

  “Thank you for your help,” Sandy said when he fixed his eyes on her. “Please don’t ask me for any explanation.”

  Seth reached out to hold her hand but she swiftly rose from the stool and stepped away from him. Her eyes became shielded.

  Suddenly, her face tightened with anger. “You don’t have to touch me anymore. They’ve gone. Although I’m grateful for your help, you didn’t have to take it as far as telling them we were engaged.”

  Seth’s eyes widened a little. Oh, so that was how it was? She had played along just fine, but was now regretting it?

  He sighed. Okay, maybe he had taken it a tad too far, but he had been caught off guard. He had come in there, hoping she would agree to go out on a date with him, only for her to call him sweetheart and beg him to pretend to be her man. It was like a dream come true except for the pretense bit.

  But then, she didn’t have to sound so accusing. He had only done her a favor. He could have called her out as a liar but he didn’t. Shouldn’t he be receiving a wad of thanks instead of censure?

  “Wait a minute.” He stopped her from moving away by fastening his hand around her arm. He ignored the bolts of lightning that shot up his body at the contact that was real and not pretense. He dropped his hand when she stared pointedly at it.

  “You approached me. You told me to pretend.”

  “To be my boyfriend, not my fiancé.”

  “How was I to know the rules of the pretense game when you already had a head start?”

  Her nostrils flared. “I know, but you didn’t have to be so slick. Neurosurgeon? Yacht? Celebrities? It’s a wonder they didn’t laugh in my face.”

  Seth kept silent at that. She was being unfair to him. He had helped her out and this was the thanks he got?

  “It worked, didn’t it?” he simply asserted.

  Sandy sighed and shook her head. “Thanks for your help. I assure you that it will never happen again. I’ve got to get back to work.”

  Oh, she was going to blow him off just like that? She had another thing coming if she thought he was going to return to being just an anonymous customer in the diner.

  He stopped her from moving away by encircling his hand around her arm.

  “You owe me an apology and a favor. I mean to collect now,” he said with grave intent.

  Her eyes enlarged. He removed his hand from her arm and stared at her expectantly.

  “I’m sorry,” she said after some seconds had elapsed in the highly tensed moment. “Your meals for the next week are on the house.”

  A chuckle fell from his lips. “Do I look like food is my problem?”

  Although she tried to hide it, her eyes quickly traveled across his body. The quick gaze hardened his body instantly.

  She folded her hands across her chest and gave him a look filled with frustration. Seth forced his gaze from her chest which had been pushed up by her hands.

  “What do you want in return?”

  Tongue in cheek, he replied, “Have dinner with me tomorrow.”

  Sandy gasped and dropped her hands. “You have got to be kidding!”

  He propped a hip against the stool and gave her a charming smile, “Do I look like I’m joking?”

  Color infused her cheeks. “I can’t go out with you.”

  He shrugged. “Why? It’s just one dinner date.”

  She shook her head. “I’m afraid I can’t.”

  “Can’t or won’t?”

  She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter, Mr. Banner.”

  Mr. Banner?

  “Is this how you repay people who do you favors? Little wonder you have such spitefu
l people as friends.”

  With those words, he pushed away from the counter. Only then did he realize that they had been the cynosure of all eyes. Everyone at the counter, including the two waitresses and an older woman who shared a resemblance with the infuriating woman stared at them.

  For an irrelevant moment, he wondered if the woman was Sandy’s mother.

  Seth strode out of the place with his head held high. But his shoulders slumped the minute he stepped outside. The sun beat hard against the ground, and he squinted his eyes at its intensity.

  Why was she so stubborn? Any woman would jump at the chance of going out on a date with him. Not her obviously.

  Isn’t that why you like her? Isn’t that why you think she’s different?

  Well, he was beginning to have a rethink. If she wouldn’t even go out on a date with him, how was he supposed to ask her to be his woman? That appeared to be a herculean task now.

  Avoiding looking in the direction of the diner, he opened the door of the red truck. He was just about to slide in when he heard his name. Seth, with stunned eyes, watched as Sandy walked slowly toward him.

  She lowered her eyes when she reached him. “I’m sorry for the way I acted in there. As you must have guessed, my so-called high school friends always rub me the wrong way.”

  He remained silent. He wouldn’t make this easy for her. She had to come out to say it herself that she wanted to go out on a date with him.

  She raised her head and he could swear that time stood still as they stared at each other. The honking of a car that drove past broke the trance.

  Flustered, she looked away and asked, “Is the offer still open?”

  He grinned. “What do you think?”

  “Then let’s make it tomorrow,” she answered. “If that’s okay with you.”

  He shrugged. “That’s fine by me. I’ll pick you here at 7 p.m.”

  Sandy was about to step away from him when his hand snaked out to stop her.

  “Why are you pretending not to sense the obvious chemistry between us?” he asked her, noting that her color had heightened.

  She opened her mouth to deny it. The look he gave her warned her that if she dared try that, he would prove her wrong.

  “I’ve got to go back inside,”

  His smile broadened as he watched her walk away. This was just the beginning. The fact that he could get her to go out on a date with him, albeit grudgingly, meant that she would agree to be his woman.

  Chapter Five

  Belatedly realizing that he was still staring at Sandy even when she had gone back to the diner, Seth opened the truck door and climbed in. His eyes flickered to the diner once more to catch one last glimpse of her but she appeared to have gone inside.

  With a broad smile on his face, he pulled away from the parking lot and drove into the street. Plyrock, although a small town, had the comforts of the big city. He drove by a restaurant and smiled to himself. He would take her there. There was no need driving to the next town just to please her. He would wine and dine her right there in Plyrock and she wouldn’t know what hit her.

  He put aside his earlier hurt that she wouldn’t date him, which was very unusual to him. Typically, he didn’t do the chasing. Women fell over themselves to get his attention. But with Sandy, it was the opposite, and that drew him to her like a moth to a flame.

  His smiled widened as he plotted in his mind how he was going to chase her. Thankfully, he had all the time to do that. He would be so much in her face, she wouldn’t be able to hide from him.

  And from the looks the waitresses had given them, he began thinking of employing them to help his cause. They knew her; therefore, they would be able to tell him the things she fancied.

  Seth’s face squeezed in a frown as he contemplated if it would be wise involving the waitresses. He had never sought help before in chasing women. Heck, he had never planned to chase a woman like this. Sandy was in a class of her own and he liked it.

  He was going to enjoy doing a lot of things to get her to become his woman. Not a doubt was in his mind that his mission would be a success. If he had to fall on his knees in front of the diner and beg her to be his woman, he would!

  As he drove through the interstate, he planned his itinerary on how he would get Sandy to be his. He was so preoccupied with it that he nearly missed the turn that led to the ranch.

  Cursing, he veered off the tarred road onto a dirt road. Up ahead lay the wide expanse of land that made up the ranch. Malcolm would be hard at work with his workers. Seth didn’t know yet if he ought to tell him about Sandy. After all, he was the one who had recommended the diner to him as the best in town.

  Just as he thought, he saw Malcolm riding a tractor in the distant field. He decided not to disturb his brother. He would talk to him later. He parked in front of the impressive building that constituted the ranch house.

  He climbed down from the car and squinted his eyes at the sun to wave at his brother who waved back. He strode up the porch steps. His booted feet sounded heavily on the ground as he made his way through the hallway to the large living room.

  Black leather chairs surrounded a brown coffee table. The walls were covered with polished rosewood. A thick, pale yellow rug that ran around the room concealed the floor and ended at the fireplace. He placed the truck keys on the mantel.

  He walked past the dining area which was situated opposite the living room, into the dimly lit hallway. He strode into his room and divested his clothes. He entered the en suite bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror on the wall beside the shower cubicle. He noticed that his hair was an inch longer.

  It was time to visit the barbershop again. Whistling, he climbed into the shower cubicle and took a cold shower. It was quite refreshing.

  After the shower, he trudged back to his room to put on gray slacks and a black t-shirt. Walking barefoot, he entered his kitchen, made some coffee, and took the mug with him to the living room. He sat on the couch by the side table and sipped his coffee, thinking about Sandy.

  A smile spread across his face. Sandy would be his, come what may. He would employ all the tricks in the book to get her.

  “Why are you smiling like a dog who just found a bone?” Malcolm asked as he walked into the living room.

  Seth had been so engrossed in his thoughts, he hadn’t heard his brother come in. He watched as his older brother drew closer and settled himself in one of the armchairs. When they were younger, they used to be mistaken for twins because they looked so much alike, it was uncanny. Malcolm was an inch taller than him though.

  They were different in character too. While Malcolm was dark and broody, he was open and cheerful.

  “Mind your business,” Seth returned good naturedly and sipped from his lukewarm coffee. He grimaced and placed the cup on the side table.

  “I know that smile. It’s the one you usually come home with when you’ve made a conquest,” his brother mentioned with a grin plastered on his face.

  Seth grinned also. His brother knew him well. Seth, however, shrugged and remained silent.

  “Who is she?”

  “What makes you think there’s a she?”

  “Oh, shut up. I know you.” His brother studied him with penetrating eyes.

  “I guess there’s no use keeping it from you. Eventually, you’ll find out,” Seth remarked with a chuckle.

  Malcolm was his best friend. Although they had three years between them, it never showed. There were no secrets between them, and so, Seth had to be open to him concerning Sandy.

  He told him all about the first day he saw her and how it was as if he were struck by lightning. Laughing, he told him how he had to help her save face in the presence of three bitches. And then how he had to arm-twist her to go out with him.

  Malcolm laughed when he was done.

  “She turned you down?”

  Seth frowned. “You don’t have to be so happy about it.”

  Laughter rang out from Malcolm’s throat. “Of cou
rse I have to be happy about it. If my memory serves me correctly, she’s the first woman to have turned you down in your twenty-seven years of existence.”

  Seth shrugged.

  “She must be some woman! I’ve got to meet her.”

  “Not on your life!”

  Malcolm laughed again. “Afraid that she might find me more attractive?”

  Seth couldn’t help laughing. “You wish!”

  In the past, girls had tried to come between them, but they never allowed it. So he didn’t think that would be the care now.

  “I’ll introduce her to you when I’m good and ready; don’t pressure me about it.”

  His brother chuckled. “If you say so.”

  “Sincerely, Mal, I think she’s the one.”

  Malcolm put up his hands. “Whoa! Hold it right there. You just met her. You practically don’t know anything about her.”

  “Well, I’ll remedy that during our dinner date.”

  “Please take things slowly, Seth. I don’t want you hurt again.”

  A scowl passed across Seth’s face at the reminder of what his brother was talking about. Three months ago, he had been hurt badly by the woman he thought he loved. Anyway, it was good riddance.

  This time around, he felt Sandy was the woman for him—his so-called missing rib. It felt so right, he knew his previous relationships were flukes.

  “I understand. But this is different. She doesn’t want to have anything to do with me, which makes it very exciting. Thrills run through my body just thinking of ways to woo her into getting her to be my woman.”

  Malcolm shook his head with amusement in his eyes. “I haven’t seen you this excited about a woman since your first date in high school.”

  Seth grinned. “It’s because of what she does to me.”

  Suddenly, Malcolm’s face grew solemn. “Does she know who you are?”

  A frown contorted Seth’s face. He shook his head.

  “I don’t intend telling her. At least, not yet. I need to be sure about her. I’m going to front with the ranch until I’m ready.”

  Malcolm groaned. “Lies get out, Seth. And they hurt.”