by Jamie Pope
“You’re coming with me?”
“Yeah. I’ll drive.”
“Why are you coming with me?”
He blinked at her. “You’re buying furniture for my house with my money. Do I need a reason to come?” He walked toward the door.
“Um...I guess not. You never seem very interested in what I’m doing.”
“Maybe today I am. Maybe I just want to see his workshop, or maybe I want gelato and I want you to come with me. Let’s go.”
“Well. Okay, then.”
He took the convertible instead of one of the two other new cars he kept in the garage and drove to the opposite side of the island with the top down. Derek had a small storefront shop in town, but he did most of his work out of his home.
They pulled up in front of a charming light blue house with a white picket fence around the yard. It was a large cottage with a beachy feel. A place that felt as if it belonged on Hideaway Island. It was the opposite of Carlos’s house, which felt as though it was on an island all of its own.
“Are you going to help me pick out furniture while we’re here?” she asked him as they walked up to the front door. “I really would like some of your input.”
“If I see something I like, I’ll let you know.” He walked slightly ahead of her and knocked on Derek’s door.
Virginia couldn’t figure out what his endgame was. She’d never told him that Derek had asked her out. He couldn’t be jealous. Derek was a great guy, but right now she only had room in her head for one man, and that man had bogarted his way into her shopping trip.
“Hey, Carlos.” Derek’s eyes went a little wide with surprise when he saw Carlos standing on his porch, but he genuinely smiled. “How are you, man? Good to see you. Hey, Virginia. Come in.” He motioned them inside. Virginia noticed he was covered in sawdust and had goggles hanging around his neck.
There was a staircase directly in front of the door. To one side was a kitchen, and on the other side was his living room turned workroom, with some of the most beautiful pieces of handcrafted furniture she had ever seen.
“Wow.” Virginia walked over to a bookcase that looked modern and yet a throwback to an earlier time. “This looks like something you would find in an old apothecary, or if you painted it black it would fit in any city apartment.”
“That’s what I was going for.” Derek lovingly stroked the wood. “This is naturally weathered poplar. The handles and pulls are made from antique iron. This one has sold, but I can make you a new one and finish it in any color you like.” He walked over to a larger unit with glass doors and black shelves. “I was thinking this would look amazing in the great room on the far wall. It’s big enough not to get swallowed in that room.”
“Oh, I agree.”
“And this circular coffee table.” He turned away and got on his knees in front of the low-lying table with intricate diamond-shaped cutouts. “You said that a couple of the bedrooms have sitting rooms. I was thinking about this for your room. Along with that midcentury-style tower bookshelf. We can paint it white and it would fit in with the color scheme you were talking about for that bedroom.”
“I love that idea. Maybe you should come back over to the house and go through all the rooms with me. I want a handcrafted piece in every one.” She looked over at Carlos, who looked as though he’d rather be watching paint dry than be there with them. “What do you think?”
“Where do you do your mayoring?” he asked Derek. There was a little challenge in his voice that set Virginia’s nerves on edge. “Is there a city hall? Shouldn’t you be there?”
“Carlos!”
“What?” He shrugged, looking around the room, sizing it up. Sizing Derek up, mostly acting like an arrogant jock.
“No.” Derek grinned. “It’s okay. He pays taxes. He has every right to know where and how I work. I’m known as the mobile mayor. I always have my phone and laptop, and I keep office hours once a week. I’m not a sit-at-a-desk kind of person, but I think the way I do it has been effective so far.”
“Yeah, okay.” Carlos brushed off his answer and Virginia wanted to smack him. “I want a desk. You’ve got a desk here for me, Mr. Mayor? Nothing that needs to be custom-made that I’m going to have to wait a year for. I don’t have time to wait for one of your custom pieces.”
Derek nodded, keeping his face perfectly neutral. Virginia was having a harder time doing so. Heat crept up her neck, and not in a good way, either.
“How about this?” Derek showed them a large desk he had sitting in the corner. “I can finish it in a mahogany color. It’s big enough for a man of your size and can easily fit in a corner or be the centerpiece of any office.”
“Let’s go with that. I want some shelves, too. You think you can handle that?”
“I think can handle anything you throw at me. I manage to run this island and work full-time. Shelves shouldn’t be a problem. I think Virginia would have no problem assisting me in that area.”
Carlos looked at Virginia. “Let’s start with the pieces we discussed already and we’ll come back for more at another time. I’ll be waiting for you in the car.”
He walked out of the house then, leaving Virginia puzzled and a little embarrassed by his rude behavior. “I’m sorry about that.” She turned to the mayor. “I think he’s hungry.”
“Yeah. For you. He’s made that perfectly clear.”
“But he has no right to...” She trailed off. He’d told her that he wanted her. There was no misunderstanding it.
“To claim you? You’re a beautiful woman, and I think we might have a lot in common, but he’s Carlos Bradley. I didn’t want him to think he can stomp on me, because he can’t. Though I do admire the man. I’ve been trying to play it cool, but I’ve got his jersey in my closet and a box of cereal with his face on it. I’ve been devastated that he can’t play. All of Hammerhead fandom is mourning the loss of him.”
“I’m mourning the loss of his manners. He acted like a teenage boy.”
“All men act like teenage boys sometimes. I’ll still jump off a roof if you let me. I’m not mad at Carlos. He sent over a very large check to help out some families that were in need on the island. He took away a lot of people’s sleepless nights, including mine. If I really thought I had a chance with you I’d go after you in a heartbeat and not give a damn who that man is waiting outside. But I have a feeling that what you feel for him is just a little more than professional.”
Derek was stable, attainable, available and normal. Not to mention ruggedly handsome. She wished her heart raced at the sight of him the way it did for Carlos, the way it had since the first time she had met him. But she couldn’t be with Carlos. It would complicate things, give her mother fodder when it all ended. And it would end. Because rich, beautiful guys like him never ended up with artsy girls like her. “I think your feelings might be off. Maybe you should think about asking me out sometime. Maybe you should think really hard about it.”
“I will,” he said, smiling in a way that most women probably found irresistible. She just found it pleasant.
“Let’s get these pieces ordered. I’m not sure how much longer I can keep his royal highness waiting.”
A few minutes later she walked outside to find Carlos leaning against the car. His arms were crossed over his massive chest. There was almost a cockiness to his posture. Heat curled in her belly, and it had nothing to do with the high temperature of the day. She was distracted by the way his biceps peeked from his T-shirt sleeves. How he seemed to take up more space than most men, even though they were outside.
He looked up at her, his eyes studying her with what she could only describe as possessiveness.
That annoyed the hell out of her.
“Take a walk with me,” he said before she could say anything to him.
“Now?”
“Yes, now. I haven’t seen this side of the island before.” He grabbed her wrist and tugged her forward. The street was quiet, the only sound coming from the wind blowing through the palm trees. She forgot to be mad at him for a moment, she was so taken with the neighborhood. The houses were brightly colored and beautifully made. Shades of pink and blue and lavender greeted them as they traveled down the street.
And there were flowers everywhere, some of them wild, some of them maintained by the residents, but she knew she had never seen blooms like this, this big, this paintable. She touched a pink flower with sunny yellow tips. She had never seen anything like it. Pink, yellow, green in the center, tiny purple flecks where the seeds were. She could see this flower on canvas. With a bright green background and maybe some blue toward the edges to represent the sky.
“You like that?”
“It’s gorgeous,” she said, feeling awed. She had forgotten how engrossing nature could be. She had forgotten what it was like to be lost in a subject that she wanted to paint. She had forgotten the last time she wanted to paint.
Carlos picked the flower and placed it in Virginia’s hair. “It’s yours. You should always have beautiful things in your life.”
She looked up at him, at his handsome face, at the sun that shone down on him, and she wanted to paint him, too. And then she remembered that she was mad at him for acting like a total jackass.
“Ouch.” He jerked away from her. “Why the hell did you pinch me?”
“Why the hell did you act like a big macho ass in there?”
“I didn’t.” He rubbed his arm. “That hurt, damn it.”
“Yes, you did. You were rude to Derek. In his home, I might add. And it was totally uncalled-for.”
He shrugged and kept walking ahead, forcing her to go along with him. “Just because I asked him where he did his mayor thing doesn’t mean I was rude. I bought a house here and am contributing a lot to the economy. I think I have a right to ask.”
“But you don’t have a right to be a jackass.” The road was getting sandier as they walked down it and Virginia could feel the change in the air. It became damper, saltier. The ocean was never far away on this island, but she could tell they were getting near it. “You never care about what I’m buying for the house, but as soon as I said I was going to Derek’s you rushed downstairs and had to accompany me.”
“I still think I was well within my rights.”
“Your right to be an ass.”
“Enough with the name-calling. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t order enough furniture to support this guy for the rest of his life. You bought enough today to get him through the rest of the year.”
“It’s for your house! He gave us a discount, and if you don’t want his furniture all you had to do is say so.”
He didn’t respond, and she knew why as soon as they came to the end of the block. There were no more houses, just a small beach with an ancient-looking lighthouse on it. Virginia stopped in her tracks. She could see this on canvas with a vivid pink, orange and purple sky.
“His furniture is fine,” Carlos said, distracting her from her thoughts. “We both know that’s not what this is about.”
“What?”
“I don’t want him thinking he can go out with you.”
She knew it. Derek had said as much, but hearing it from Carlos’s mouth still jolted her. “But you’re not my boyfriend, my husband or the boss of my body. I decide who I date. Not you. Derek is a nice guy. He’s good-looking and we have a lot in common. Maybe I want to go out with him, and if I do there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“You’re right.” Before she could process his words he pulled her close and kissed her. There was power behind this kiss, and need, as though he was hungry for her. He buried his hands deep into her curls and his tongue deep into her mouth. Suddenly she forgot where they were. She felt the throb between her legs and the tightness in her nipples and she wanted to peel off every inch of clothes that separated them. And feel him inside her.
“You’re right,” he said, breaking the kiss and looking into her eyes. “But I want you. I want to be the only one who puts my hands on you, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. Okay?”
He stepped away from her, turning around to strip off his shirt and causing her mouth to go dry. He kicked off his shoes into the sand. His shorts came down next, revealing his perfectly hard body. He wore gray boxer briefs that molded to his behind and made her want to cry out in appreciation.
“Wh-what are you doing?”
“I’m going swimming.”
“Swimming?” It was the answer that made sense, but not the one she secretly wanted to hear. “Now?”
He turned to face her, an erection tenting his boxers. She stared at it. She couldn’t help herself. She wanted to see what it looked like with nothing covering it, with no barriers.
“Are you going to skinny-dip?” she asked, her naughty side creeping out when she knew it was going to get her into trouble.
He shook his head, a crooked smiling playing on his lips. “See? That right there is why I want you.” He walked away from her then and dived into the clear blue ocean.
She stood there watching him for a moment, just engrossed. Engrossed in the warm ocean air and the lushness of the tropical beach surroundings and in him. In watching his powerful body slide through the water.
She had two choices. Stay on the beach with her clothes on and out of trouble. Or go in the water with him and open up herself to a situation she might not be able to handle.
She kicked off her sandals and pulled her dress over her head. She was never one to travel the safe route.
Chapter 7
Carlos stood in the small upstairs bedroom that he had decided he was going to turn into his office. He had made the decision on a whim, really. A man like him, with a house like this, should have an office, should own a desk and a computer and some pens and stuff. Virginia had challenged him to think about what he wanted out of life, to find himself.
He didn’t know where to begin. The only thing he had known for the past eighteen years was playing baseball.
The only thing he had thought about was how to get better. How to get his team to the playoffs. How to make his family proud.
But his mind was blank now. He couldn’t see his life without baseball. He couldn’t think of anything else. But he knew he was getting older, that even if he could go back next season he wouldn’t be playing much longer. Maybe four more years, tops.
What then?
It was a question he had thought about, but it made his head throb. The only thing that came to the forefront of his mind was an education.
He had never admitted it to anyone but he’d always wished he had a degree. Education had been important to his family. All his siblings had gone to college. Elias had gone to medical school. Carlos had so much, but he had gotten it using his body and not his mind. He thought about going back for a moment, but quickly pushed the thought out of his head.
He was too old. He hadn’t picked up a book in years. He was pretty sure he had forgotten how to study. What if he couldn’t keep up?
This was Virginia’s fault. She made him think. She made him feel things he hadn’t felt in a long time. And one of those things was jealousy. He knew full well he’d acted like an asshole. But something in his head screamed out mine.
His.
His decorator.
His friend.
His object of desire.
She was always in his thoughts. She wanted to keep things professional. She wanted to just be friends, but then she did things like swim in the ocean with him in nothing but her underwear. And she called him out on his shitty behavior and she teased him. And she kissed him like no one ever had.
She wanted to keep things professional
?
They were already way past that.
He grabbed his cell phone and called her. It was after six. She should be done for the night, and he was tired of being in the house. He hadn’t felt this restlessness since before she’d come into his life, and now he wanted to get outside and do something. He had the whole day when he could have gone out alone, but he didn’t want to go anywhere by himself. He wanted to go out with her.
“Why are you calling me?” she asked as she answered her phone. “I’m downstairs.” He grinned at her using his own words against him, but he couldn’t help but to notice how tired she sounded.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. I’ve got a little bit of a headache that I can’t seem to shake. I’m lying down right now.”
“You want some aspirin?” He opened his bedroom door and made his way down the stairs.
“I took some earlier. It might be all the paint fumes doing me in. I kept a couple pieces of furniture you already had and repainted them today.”
“By yourself?” He went into the refrigerator and pulled out some leftover roast chicken that they had and the potato salad she had made a couple days earlier. There was also a fresh loaf of French bread on the counter, just waiting to be slathered with butter. All this food was her doing. He couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten so well. It was probably when he was a kid.
“Yes. I can do other things than pick paint colors and order things from catalogs.”
He knew that to be true. He hadn’t seen much of what she had done. But the little he had taken the time to notice was well done. It might have been crazy to hire her to decorate his house, but three weeks in he still didn’t regret his decision. “Are you hungry?”
“I could eat, but I haven’t been able to force myself out of this bed yet. I’ll meet you in the kitchen in a few minutes.”
“Don’t bother. Stay in bed.” Hanging up the phone, he grabbed a bottle of wine out of the fridge and two glasses from the cabinet. He dumped all his findings on a tray and proceeded to her room. The door was open when he got there and she was sprawled out in the middle of her bed. Her dress was crumpled beneath her and had ridden up so her beautiful legs and thighs were exposed to him. She wore panties with blue hearts on them, and that aroused him far more than all the sexy, barely there lingerie he had seen over the years.
