Sweet Caroline

by Becky Lower

  Caroline threw on her coat and picked up her purse. Abbey had given her lots to ponder. When they got to the parking lot, before she climbed the stairs to her apartment and Abbey hopped into her minivan, Abbey grabbed Caroline in a hug and whispered in her ear, “Just keep in mind how well he kisses.”

  A hot flush rolled up Caroline’s body. She had been reliving nothing else since the night he’d done so.

  ****

  Grant’s heart rate zoomed the moment he caught sight of Caroline. They were on his turf at the high school, and she appeared to be lost. Had Mrs. Edwards offered her the job? Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Caroline took short, uncertain steps, confused by the endless hallways. Grant lengthened his stride to close the distance between them. “Hi.” He took hold of her elbow, which immediately warmed him. “What are you doing here?”

  She shrugged out of his hold. “Searching for the administrative office and Mrs. Edwards. We have a meeting.” She glanced around the hallway before she focused on him. “I had no idea the school had grown this big.”

  “For being a small town, we do have a lot of children to educate.” He grinned and shuffled his feet. “Thank goodness, since that means I’ll keep my job for a while.”

  She smiled at him. “I’ve been hearing about your success with the basketball team, so I’d say your job is secure.”

  Her smile and her compliment heated him to his core. “Let me show you to the office. You can’t be late on your first day of school.” He took a step forward and hoped she’d follow. She made him short of breath, as if he’d just finished a pick-up basketball game. How could she ignore the sparks their mere touch caused? He refused to consider the possibility the sparks were one-sided.

  He opened the door and stood aside, motioning her to enter. “Good luck,” he whispered as she left his side. The door closed behind her, leaving Grant alone in the cavernous hallway. Hoping to slow the rapid thumping, he put a hand to his heart. He needed to get to his classroom and act as if nothing monumental had happened.

  At the end of five straight classes full of the American Revolution and Maine’s part in the event, Grant’s head ached. He’d explained how even though Maine hadn’t been one of the original thirteen colonies, its position as a colony of both England and Massachusetts created a unique position for the residents—they had to comply with providing timber for the English ships fighting the war while fighting against them. This duality had been a difficult concept for most teens to grasp. When Grant added in the fact Maine didn’t achieve statehood until the mid-1800s, more questions erupted. While the lively discussion made for a quick fifty minutes each period, by the end of his classes Grant sank into his chair, grateful he only had to grade papers in order to finish his day.

  He took hold of the one last test on the pile. In his head, he’d gotten to the last quarter of the game, and the buzzer loomed. He ran both hands over his eyes and scrubbed his cheeks to waken himself. A knock on his door got his attention, and he lowered his hands. He might have been bone tired a minute ago, but seeing Caroline in his doorway jolted him awake. “You’re still here?” Stupid question, since she lingered at his doorway, but then, she’d always had the ability to make him stupid.

  She nodded, leaning against the door jamb. “Yes, I worked with Mrs. Edwards all day, sorting through the program. When I made her aware of the complexities the programmer had built into the system, she accepted the fact she couldn’t handle the implementation on her own and offered me the job.” She took a step into the room. “She also told me I had you to thank for giving her the idea of hiring me.”

  Grant smiled, his hopes rising along with the corners of his mouth. “I may have said something.” He stood alongside her, inhaling her flowery scent, which he’d tried and failed to pin down. Roses? No, not musky enough. Lilies? Maybe. She glanced his way with those incredible green eyes, and his legs became rubbery. He placed a hand on his desk so she wouldn’t see how unsteady she made him.

  “Well, I appreciate your kind words. Work at the shop is fun, but I don’t have to use much brainpower to ring up sales and tie ribbons on packages. Abbey and Penny are the true geniuses behind the business.” She shrugged. “I’ll have a challenge getting the school’s mandated system implemented, to translate the nuances of the program into a language a normal person can relate to, and then to teach everyone how to use the system. I could feel my brain coming back to life today. So, I thank you.” A ghost of a smile appeared.

  Caroline lifted her hand as if to take hold of his arm but then stalled. Grant grasped the raised appendage and squeezed her hand slightly, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. “You’re welcome. Anything for a friend.”

  She gasped and removed her hand from his hold. “You consider me a friend?”

  “We were great friends once upon a time, and we could be again, if you’d let yourself.” Grant grinned and wrapped his hand around the top of the desk, hoping to quell the yearning to touch her again.

  “I’ll consider renewing our friendship. Thanks again, for hooking me up with this job.” She backed out of his office all the way to the door. She stopped at the threshold and placed a hand on the doorjamb.

  She acted almost as if he’d pounce if she lost sight of him. If she wouldn’t show her cute little backside, he’d take a stroll down her front. Grant’s gaze roamed to her bow mouth with pink lips, then lingered over her curvy body before returning to her green eyes. The color in her cheeks made him aware his inspection had affected her. For a while, he could expect nothing more than a friendship. For right now, he’d be content with them being friends—if he could control the mad impulse to touch her each time they were together.

  Chapter Ten

  Holy moley! The man unsettled her in more ways than she cared to admit. Caroline controlled her impulse to run across the school parking lot. She tossed her purse into the car, and then threw herself into the seat. She sat behind the wheel for a few minutes to calm down. Her insides shook as much as her hands trembled. She gulped deep cleansing breaths and waited until her heart rate returned to normal before she started the car.

  He’d said he wished for them to be friends, but his actions when he got around her—his kiss, his lingering gaze—told her otherwise. He hoped for much more than friendship. Hadn’t he even said he expected to be invited back into her bedroom at some point? Hadn’t she been pondering the same scenario ever since he’d taunted her? All the years of feeling inadequate, of not being good enough, or not pretty enough, faded away when Grant kissed her. Those feelings, which he’d created in the first place, had been as much a part of her makeup as her competence behind a computer screen for far too many years. Could she forgive him, finally?

  Her time with Michael had begun the process of tearing down her long-held belief in her defects. For two years, his delight in her brightened her days, only to be darkened again when he died. She hadn’t thought she’d survive. Yet here she stood, beginning again at age thirty-one. Starting over with her life and career. Starting over with Grant.

  Could she finally have a relationship with him? Should she even attempt to bring her teenage fantasies to the surface? Or would Lobster Cove be merely a blip on her life’s highway?

  She had no answers, and right now, she didn’t need to sort out the remainder of her days. Rather, she’d take things a day at a time, precisely what she’d been doing since Michael got shipped home from Afghanistan in a box instead of marching smartly off the plane. Finally, she took another deep breath, flipped the car key to the On position, and the machine roared to life. Even though the school was easy hiking distance from her apartment, she needed groceries and could no longer avoid the chore. She really didn’t relish the idea of running a cart up and down the aisles of The Grocery Mart, but she had no choice. Maybe shopping, even grocery shopping, would have a soothing effect. Or maybe she’d buy every sugary confection in the store.

  Caroline halted her cart in front of the wine aisle and picked up a bottle of chardonnay
from one of the local wineries, the fingers of one hand drumming against the cart. Scanning the shelves, she selected a bottle of champagne. Hadn’t Grant said they should have champagne to christen her apartment? Of course, her mind immediately migrated to the other definition of christening the apartment, and she quickly replaced the bottle on the shelf, glancing around to see if anyone noticed. “Jeez, get a grip, Caro.” Her whispered admonishment did not quell the heat rising to her cheeks. She had to stop her galloping thoughts and send her mind in another direction.

  Friends.

  That was all they were.

  All they would ever be.

  No champagne.

  Not now. Not ever.

  Her fingers tightened on the cart handle, and she left the champagne on the shelf. Caroline darted through the remaining aisles, throwing everything she needed into her cart, and plenty of things she didn’t. She rolled her full cart out to the car, mumbling to herself. “You’re a fool to even consider anything else, Caro. Keep recalling how he devastated you. How he affected your entire high school life. Feel the anguish. Are you really even considering giving him the opportunity to hurt you again?”

  After piling the groceries in the trunk, she settled back into the car and pounded a hand against the steering wheel. She’d been a moving corpse since Michael’s death and now, with Grant, she had started to feel alive again. Despite their past and despite the grief he’d caused, yes, she did hope for this chance with him. Friendship would do for now. They’d talk about the night when everything had gone south. The time had come to rip off the bandage and begin to heal. Maybe a friendship is all they would ever have. That would have to be good enough. Even as her mind formed the statement, she doubted a friendship would be sufficient. Grant had always intrigued her. She now had an opportunity to act on her teenage crush, if she could be strong enough to take the leap.

  ****

  During the next week, Caroline settled into a routine. Now that Penny had returned from her honeymoon, Caroline reduced her hours at the shop and increased the amount of time she spent sorting out the school’s new computer program. She ran through the entire program with a fake student to catch any errors in the system or problems she’d have to caution the teachers about who would be using the program every day.

  She named her fake student Doug, in honor of her old boss from Cleveland. She made him a marginal student at best, with a lot of absences and failing grades. The only thing he excelled at was getting into trouble. And basketball. She’d set him up as one of Grant’s stars on the court, the all-important center. But the school had a strict policy of academic achievement before extracurricular activities, so poor Doug constantly skated close to the edge of eligibility. Maybe she’d make him sit out the big match this coming weekend.

  She grinned, rubbed her hands together, and cackled like an old crone. Her fingers flew over the keyboard, her face glued to the screen.

  “I wish I could be as happy behind a computer.”

  Grant’s soft baritone voice penetrated her bubble of awareness. She glanced up and the sight of him, slouched against the doorjamb, made her mouth go dry. He presented a picture of casual elegance, in his blue fleece jacket and jeans. The jacket’s color was the same as his eyes and made them stand out even more than normal against his dark skin. Her heart lurched a bit at the sound of his voice, and her fingers lost their strength. She removed her hands from the keyboard, brushing them over her hair before she placed them under the table where he couldn’t see how they shook.

  “How long have you been in my doorway?” Caroline’s voice squeaked like a rusty hinge.

  Grant entered the room and sat in the chair in front of her desk. “Long enough to hear your witchy laugh. What did you find in our computer program that’s so funny?”

  Caroline could feel the blush creeping up her face. “I just decided to make my imaginary student be placed on scholastic ineligibility right before the basketball semi-finals.” She focused on Grant and smiled sweetly. “He’s the tallest guy on the team and the best three-point shooter in school.”

  He placed a hand over his heart. “You wound me terribly.” He pouted for a moment, but then his eyes brightened. “But if you’re familiar with a three-point shooter, you are more knowledgeable than most about the game. Are you coming Friday night?”

  “Yep. The entire Beedle brigade will be in attendance. Penny and Abbey are in charge of transportation, I’m responsible for providing snacks for the car, and we’re making the drive together along with their husbands and kids.” Caroline sat back with a groan. “I expect the ride to be noisy but exciting. I’m an only child so this type of activity is a different experience.”

  Grant stood and motioned at the computer. “I’ll let you get back to what you consider fun. I’ve got to get to the gym and whip my boys into a frenzy for Friday night.” He slid his gaze over her face, locking on her lips, staring for a long minute.

  She fought the urge to chew her lower lip or to stick out her tongue.

  “I’m glad you’ll be in the stands, Caro. This is the biggest game of my life, of my career.”

  “You’ll do fine, with or without me in the stands.” She could scarcely breathe, his stare mesmerized her.

  “Maybe so, but I’ll be in even better spirits if you’re cheering us on. I have to be with the team after the game, but will you join me on Saturday for dinner?”

  Caroline noticed his sharp inhale after extending the invitation and how his Adam’s apple bobbed. Could he be as nervous as she? “A victory dinner?”

  “Or a commiseration dinner. Either way, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather share the meal with.” Grant ran his hand over his heart again.

  “Sure. Saturday night.” Her voice wavered slightly.

  “Great!” He handed over his cell phone. “Punch in your number so I can call you Saturday afternoon and finalize things.”

  She entered the digits before she changed her mind and handed back the phone.

  After a quick look at the phone, he grinned. “I’ll be in touch.” Then he pivoted and strode from the room.

  She followed his fluid movements, enjoying the view of his backside. The computer program and her delinquent student lost their appeal. She closed down the program and the computer. She couldn’t log in time here at school if all she could accomplish would be to stare at the screen with her mind suddenly full of Grant, acting like a teenager again. She’d be a bundle of nerves until their date. Saturday would be a long time coming.

  ****

  Grant whistled through his teeth as his long strides ate up the distance between Caroline’s office and the gym. She’d agreed to go on a date! His body’s reaction had been no more refined than the teenage boys in the gym about to be run through their paces, but he had to concentrate on the task at hand. They were playing the biggest game of their collective lives in two days, and Grant had to make certain they were ready. He shifted his focus to the boys bouncing the basketballs in front of him, moving thoughts of Sweet Caroline into the far recesses of his brain.

  Three smelly, sweaty hours later and as dog-tired as his team, he spent a long twenty minutes under the shower, relishing the warmth as the jets soothed the tension from his muscles. He’d refined his lanky center’s backboard dunks and gotten him to the point where he made the shot more often than not. Once the hot water ran out, he emerged from the shower and donned clean clothes before heading out to the school parking lot and his car. He stood next to his SUV, breathing in the cold early March air, which cleared his head. Immediately, an image of Caroline filled his mind, and he let himself drift with thoughts of her on the short ride home. Maybe having her as the prize at the end of the biggest weekend of his life could be the best thing ever since Caroline presented him with something else rather than game strategy to obsess over.

  The first topic of conversation on Saturday—after a victory toast or the other kind, which he didn’t care to consider—would have to be a discussion of the night year
s before when he’d made her cry. That evening, and that stupid game they’d played, had followed them both into adulthood. Now they had an opportunity to clear the air. Maybe if he explained why, they could take a big leap forward in their relationship. At least, he hoped so. Between thoughts of Caroline and coming up with a workable game plan against a highly talented opponent, he’d get very little sleep from now until Sunday.

  Nothing wrong with losing some sleep, if Caroline was part of the equation. “Yeah boy, you’re smoking on all cylinders now. Finally. Your old man will be proud of you.” He mumbled as he let himself into his house and made a mental note to call his parents the next day. They’d be pleased with him on both counts, too. His mother would tell him to quit kicking himself in the pants about the past and to explain his actions.

  “Mom always says the right things, even when she’s not here.” He shook his head. “Now, I’m talking to myself like some crazy old man.”

  Too tired to fix dinner, even though he usually enjoyed being in the kitchen, he settled for throwing together a sandwich and grabbing a beer before he strolled into the living room and clicked on the television. Maybe instead of heading out to dinner at a restaurant, he’d make something here on Saturday.

  Almost before he completed the thought, his mind rejected the idea. The last time she entered his house, he’d barely let her escape before he kissed her into a stupor. Dinner in a small, intimate restaurant had to be the only option. For the first date anyway. The rest would come in time. With Caroline as the end goal, he had all the time in the world.

  With the television providing background noise and a good frothy beer settling in his now full stomach, Grant relaxed for the first time all day. He propped up his feet on the ottoman and drifted into sleep, hoping his dreams would be of a tall curvy-in-all-the-right-places blonde rather than a boring round basketball hoop.