“It’s funny you say that, because I was just thinking it is too high-maintenance to be a vacation house. It’s really a place for a family, or at least a full-time resident.” And as someone who couldn’t seem to keep herself fed like a grown-up, or her house clean without paid professionals handling the details, she clearly didn’t belong in the house.
“True. That is a giant house.” Kelly tucked the cleaning cloth into her apron pocket and straightened the assembled bouquets in the buckets lined up in front of the shop one last time. “You can always come back and take care of everything once you decide.”
“Good point. So, maybe I’ll sell the Cooper house, maybe not. Who knows?” She dug around in her handbag for a paper and pen. “Let me give you my cell number, and we can get together before I go home. Just call me when you’re free.”
It had been great to wake up when she wanted, to not have to make sure she had her butt in the stylist’s chair by 6 a.m. Eating dinner with Gavin wasn’t exactly pleasant, but it beat having to worry about finding a picture of herself shoveling food into her mouth in the papers. And the people in town had welcomed her home with open arms, without judgment. Nobody in Sweet Ridge ever stopped her to sign an old Young and Wilde photo; the only time people ever stopped her was to chat and catch up.
She grinned at her old friend, relieved to talk out her indecision. Visiting her old haunts reminded her what a vibrant community Sweet Ridge supported, from the delicious meals at Betty Lou’s to the funky bookstore down the street. Everything was special here, and she could see herself fitting in as though she hadn’t left. It would be nice to be just Macy Young for a while, rather than famous and alone.
But she had a job and a life in Nashville, and she hadn’t spent all those years working so hard only to quit for no reason. She’d simply been overwhelmed lately, and once the season was over, she could catch her breath and decide what came next. Being in Sweet Ridge made her mistake her nostalgia for possibility. Surely that was all it was. She’d go back home soon, and deciding what to do about her newly acquired real estate could wait.
But speak of the devil and there he was—Gavin, paper coffee cup in hand and sunlight glinting off his dark hair, approaching This Bud’s for You. His smile was disarming, almost erasing his rudeness of the last week. “Hi, ladies.”
“Hi, Gavin.” Kelly was friendly, apparently immune to his deep voice and tantalizing scent. He smelled like sunshine and spice, and Macy was dangerously close to acting like an infatuated teenager. She needed coffee and a brisk walk, time to clear her head and forget about how handsome Gavin Cooper was. It was bad enough that they were basically living together at night; her days should at least be Gavin-free.
“I’m due back at the clinic, so I don’t have a lot of time, but I need to pick up an arrangement for my office manager. It’s her third anniversary at the clinic. Sorry I didn’t call ahead, but I just realized it was the day this morning.” He smiled at Macy, sending her heart galloping despite herself. “I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.”
Surely he was talking about her inheritance, but instead of a biting insult, he’d smiled. What was going on?
“Of course. Let’s find her something nice.” Kelly held the door open and invited them in.
Macy needed to get some coffee, return to the Cooper house, and shake Gavin out of her mind. She needed distance, and she needed it fast. Things were confusing enough when it was clear that he wanted nothing to do with her. Figuring him out after this subtle shift in his behavior was impossible. The last thing she wanted was to go into Kelly’s shop and spend any extra time with him.
“All right, I’ll see you at home.” Cringing, wishing she could take the words back as soon as they left her mouth, she whipped around. Why had she said that? Should she clarify? Make a joke? Instead, Macy started to hurry away, face hot with embarrassment, but then she stopped in front of the empty storefront next to the flower shop. Though she knew it was a bad idea, she couldn’t seem to help herself. “You know what I mean. I’ll see you at the house, not home. I’ll see you later.” The explanation was more awkward than the original gaffe. Why wouldn’t the sidewalk simply open up and swallow her?
He smiled, and she tried not to notice the way the dimple in his right cheek made him look boyish. “I know what you mean. Don’t worry about it.” There was that charm again.
“Great, then. See you tonight.” Something told Macy she’d be better off checking back into the hotel.
Chapter Eight
Gavin stood at the door of his childhood home, a bottle of wine in one hand with Merle’s leash loosely wrapped around his wrist, and a sleepy kitten in the other. He rang the doorbell and waited for Macy to answer. If his plan held, the evening would be painless. Things had gone well during their brief exchange downtown this afternoon, and tonight would be no different. He was determined to make it work. Rocking back on his heels, he tried to center himself, to keep his focus on the end goal and tamp down his lingering resentment. If he had any hope of convincing Macy to sell the house, he couldn’t dwell on her betrayal, his disappointment, or his sheer anger at the injustice of it all. The goal for the evening was to get her to agree to sell the house, not to convince her that he was right about everything.
The door opened, and her genuine smile set him at ease. There was no apprehension in her pretty face, no wariness clouding her blue eyes. This would work.
“Why did you ring the bell?” Her brow furrowed, crinkling her delicate nose. She was the source of so much grief for him, but she was definitely cute.
“Just trying to be polite,” he said as he lifted the kitten, “and I didn’t want to put her down.”
“Hey, come on in.” She stepped aside awkwardly to let him in. “It seems strange to be inviting you in.”
Strange? Try unbelievable. Still, he caught himself, she’d been just as surprised as the Cooper boys to find out that she’d inherited the family home. “Thank you. The staff has been taking turns with Lady Marceline, but nobody could take her home tonight, so I had to bring her with me. Hope you don’t mind sharing the house with one more.”
“Lady Marceline?” Macy laughed. “That’s a big name for such a little kitty.”
“The office manager’s daughter picked the name. I think it suits her.” The little ball of fur snuggled against Gavin’s hand and yawned.
He stepped into the living room and evaluated the furniture for the safest spot to leave the kitten while they cooked dinner. Macy looked over his shoulder at the fuzzy black bundle and gasped. “That tiny little cast! Poor little thing. How is she doing?”
“She’s going to be fine. She just needs some rest and time to recuperate. We’ve got her on pain medication, the leg is set and should heal nicely, and there wasn’t any internal damage.” He set the kitten on the couch between two pillows and stroked her soft fur. “We’ll have to watch her around Merle, though. He loves cats, and I’m a little worried he’ll try to get her to play. He’s behaved himself so far, but he’s been sniffing around her in the office. The last thing I want is for her to overexert herself while she’s still in recovery. I want to supervise while she’s getting back on her feet.”
“Her owners haven’t contacted your office about her?” She closed the door behind them while he dropped Merle’s leash. Without being asked, she unhooked it from his collar and scratched the dog behind his ear.
“Not yet. We put the word out, but so far nobody’s claimed her.”
“She’s in good hands while she waits for her family to find her.” She kissed Merle’s furry forehead and patted his side. For someone who wanted them out of the house, she seemed awfully comfortable.
“Well, we do our best.” He fished the bottle of wine out of the bag. “We should probably get dinner together before she wakes up and wants to start running around.”
“Great. I’ll try to find some glasses and a corkscrew.”
“I got it.” He whistled for Merle to come with them.
&
nbsp; “Oh. Right. Sorry. I just wanted to help, for once.”
He followed Macy into the kitchen, feeling only the tiniest bit guilty that he’d made her feel awkward. He’d vowed to be nice to her, but it couldn’t hurt to remind her that he was the one who belonged in the house. She took the bottle off his hands while he retrieved the corkscrew and a couple of wineglasses.
“I didn’t know if you liked red or white, so I picked my favorite. Hope you like it.” He uncorked the lush pinot noir and poured two generous servings. She took the one he offered. “Cheers.”
She tipped her glass and took a sip, humming appreciatively. “Can I help?”
He pulled a large pot out of the cabinet and started filling it with water. Raising an eyebrow he asked, “Can you cook?”
“Well, no. Not unless you wanted to have cereal tonight.”
She was unapologetic about her lack of experience in the kitchen; he’d give her that. He used to love that she was feminine but didn’t care about whether or not she fit anyone’s idea about what a woman should be. In school, she didn’t follow fashion trends like most of the other girls—she was more worried about grades than makeup—and she spoke her mind, even if her opinion was unpopular. Her effortless appeal attracted him to her in ways that other girls didn’t. Probably because she never cared whether he liked her or not, Macy simply assumed that he would. “You just relax and keep me company. I’ve got this.”
He set the pot on the stove to boil and opened the fridge to pull out vegetables and the marinara sauce he’d made the week before. Macy leaned against the counter while he chopped vegetables and assembled the salad, sipping her wine and looking right at home. They chatted about the people she’d run into since she’d returned to Sweet Ridge, his brothers, how things had changed, everything except the fact that she owned his house. The cozy domestic situation was what Gavin had always wanted, although in his daydreams, it was always with a woman who hadn’t betrayed him and been responsible for his best friend’s death.
The house represented family to him, and he wanted nothing more than to start a new branch of Coopers here. He couldn’t do that if Macy Young owned the house, though, and it was beginning to look like Grayson’s idea was working. She seemed comfortable and relaxed, friendly and unguarded. Perhaps they could be friends.
She plucked a cherry tomato out of the salad as he put pasta into the boiling pot of water and started warming up the sauce. “Outside of restaurants, I honestly can’t remember the last time someone cooked for me.”
Gavin loved being in the kitchen, and he cooked for friends and family any chance he got. “Restaurants don’t count. It has to be by someone who cares.” He ignored her raised eyebrows. “I’ve really enjoyed having someone to cook for since you’ve been here.” Okay, they hadn’t exactly enjoyed their shared mealtimes, but he did like having an excuse to do more than bake chicken breasts or warm up one of the portions of lasagna he’d frozen. Having someone else in the house, even when that someone could potentially ruin his future plans, was … familiar. He’d lived with roommates all through college; only after returning to Sweet Ridge to start his veterinary practice did he finally get an apartment by himself. Even then, as soon as his father started needing help, he was the first one to volunteer to move in and care for him.
She dipped a spoon into the sauce and tasted, her eyes closing briefly with pleasure. “Oh my gosh, you should’ve been a chef.”
“I don’t know if it’s that good,” he said, though her praise was flattering. “Maybe if the veterinarian thing doesn’t work out, I’ll go to culinary school.”
“Too bad you can’t do both.” She watched as he finished the meal, seeming more relaxed than during any other moment they’d shared since she got to town. To his surprise, he was enjoying her company, and his plan of being friendly to her wasn’t the chore he’d imagined.
Macy carried the wineglasses, and Gavin took their plates and silverware into the living room.
“We’re actually not allowed to eat in here.” Gavin grinned as they put their dinner and drinks on the coffee table. “House rules.” They pulled big throw pillows off the leather couch for makeshift seating and dropped to the floor to enjoy their food. The kitten stirred and stretched, her tiny paws flexing with the effort, before she curled up and fell back asleep.
“She’s so cute. What happens if nobody claims her once she’s back on all four feet?”
“We’ll check with the shelter to see if anybody has been looking for her, put notices online, and check all the lost pet listings, so chances are good that she will find her way home. If not, we’ll adopt her out from the clinic.”
“Oh good. I was afraid she’d end up in the pound.”
“No, they have enough homeless cats on their hands. We’ll let her hang out at the clinic and go home with me or Susan or one of the techs at night while we give her family a chance to come forward.” Gavin twirled spaghetti on his fork. “Merle will actually enjoy having a friend at the office once she’s on her feet. He’s already been very curious about our little guest.”
“Maybe you’ll get attached and keep her.” Macy sat back after taking a bite of her pasta.
“I would if there wasn’t another choice, but I’ve got the perfect home in mind for her if it comes to that, so don’t worry. We usually find homes for the strays that end up at the clinic, but every once in a while there aren’t any takers, and we end up keeping them. That’s how I got Merle. He was dumped at our door in a box with his brothers and sisters.” He sipped his wine and relaxed against the couch. “We found homes for every puppy but him.”
“And he’s such a good dog. I can’t believe someone would just abandon them like that.”
“It happens all the time. People don’t know what to do with puppies or kittens and figure that a vet clinic will know how to handle it. We can, but only because no one on staff can stand the idea of leaving a pet out on their own.”
Having conversations about work, pets, and wine was helping. Keeping conversation light and avoiding all the heavy issues between them made it feel almost like a date, or at least like two friends sharing a casual dinner. Surely he could forget her betrayal, and the fact that she owned the house he considered his, for an evening. If he were seventeen again, he’d be full of nerves, making dumb jokes and tripping over his words. He’d probably be the geek who invited her to play Mario Kart on Nintendo instead of trying to get her into his bedroom. Having her in the house was too reminiscent of the days when he was caught in the throes of his crush, too close to bringing back the old feelings. Not that he really wanted anything romantic to happen between them, but if he ignored the nasty history between them, he could admit that Macy was a beautiful woman. If he weren’t so angry with her, he’d care how smart and talented she was. And if she hadn’t played a role in Tori’s death, he’d pay more attention to the way her full lips pursed around the wineglass as she drank.
“I hate that these pets get dumped on you guys, but I’m glad you take responsibility for them even though you don’t have to. I can’t stand the idea of this little kitten ending up in the pound.”
Macy’s tone had changed. It could be the wine, but it was probably the helpless little kitten snoozing on the couch. He’d heard it before, that tone of voice that said he was attractive to a woman because he cared for animals. Single clients had come on to him, flirting with him while their pets sat dutifully on the cold, stainless-steel exam table, and he’d been on more than one date that started when the woman discovered he was a vet. Macy wasn’t exactly warm and fuzzy, but even the hardest heart could be softened when faced with such a tiny little kitten. It would be so easy to lean over and kiss her, to taste the wine on her lips. To stop his hands from finding out how warm and firm the exposed skin between her shorts and socks was, he speared pasta onto his fork and took a bite.
• • •
Between the delicious home-cooked meal, the wine, and the cozy setting, Macy forgot to be wary and started
to relax into her attraction to Gavin. He really was handsome, and she could listen to him talk about helping animals in that deep voice all night. For all her success, she rarely had the security of feeling in control of her life, of being a bona-fide adult. She didn’t clean her own house, cook her own meals, or even book her own appointments. Everything in her world moved like a well-oiled machine, kept in gear by a steady stream of payments to the professionals she relied upon to keep things moving. Gavin was different. In charge of his own veterinary practice, a master in the kitchen, and clearly someone with tremendous pride of ownership in his home, he was everything she wasn’t.
And it was sexy.
“Want to hear something funny?” His long fingers trailed softly over the stem of his wineglass.
“Of course.”
“When we were in high school, I had a pretty serious crush on you.”
A sweet thrill zinged through her at his words, shooting straight to her heart. “Really? Why didn’t you ever ask me out?”
He cleared his throat and shifted, keeping his gaze on the floor for a moment. “Tori asked me not to. She was worried that if things didn’t work out between us, she’d be stuck in the middle. She didn’t want to risk her two best friends ending up in a situation where we didn’t speak.” His eye contact was so intense for a moment that Macy felt like she was being pulled forward. “I wonder what she would say if she could see us now.”
Gavin swallowed, his Adam’s apple moving in this throat, and that was it. She had to touch him, to make a connection, no matter how small. Macy set her glass down on the table and reached out, tentatively, to brush his fingers with hers. “Can I tell you something?”
He didn’t move his hand out of her reach, but he didn’t reciprocate, either. “Of course.”
The wine and the warm way he kept looking at her must have gone to her head. Why hadn’t she just kept things breezy? The truth was that Tori was always going to be there between them, and she wanted to finally talk to someone who had lost as much as she had, clear the air and maybe her conscience. Tears threatened to spill over her lashes, but she hadn’t cried in so long, and she wasn’t going to let it happen in front of Gavin. With a deep breath, she slowly counted to three in her head, steadying her nerves. “I’ve always felt responsible for Tori’s death, and it kills me. Being here with you reminds me too much of her.”
Sweet Texas Kiss (Sweet Texas Secrets) Page 10
