I can’t resist another second. “Mrs. C, why was Mr. C always plying you with hot peppers?”
She shrugs. “He loved ’em. Wanted me to love ’em too, I guess. That’s kind of how it is, I suppose. When you love someone, you want to share everything you love with them.” Her eyes go to Jax, traveling from his waist to his chiseled face. “Kind of like you’re doing with that construction show you’re working on, right Studly?”
“I don’t know.” Jax clears his throat and shifts from one foot to the other. “We haven’t really gotten that far into the conversation—”
“Then it sounds like I need to clear out of here! Come on, Rufus! These two have some confessing to do.” She waves her arm, and the bird swoops down to land on her shoulder before they both head farther into the house.
A few moments later, we hear her door close loudly. I shake my head, exhaling a laugh. “That woman. If she didn’t remind me so much of my granny, I don’t know what I’d do.”
Jax frowns. “Your granny was like that?”
“No!” My nose wrinkles. “Granny just loved that old bat. Having her around makes me remember all the times we would laugh and roll our eyes. I wasn’t very big, but it was like we had an inside secret being amused by her. It made me feel like a grown-up.”
Jax steps closer and pulls me into his arms again. “It sounds like you had the best kind of relationship with her.” I nod, tracing my finger around the small, pearl-white button on the front of his oxford as he inhales deeply. “She’s right, you know?”
“How’s that?”
“I do have a confession to make.” His expression is something I’ve never seen on him. Is Jax Roland worried?
My chest squeezes, and he says it, slightly breathless. “I think I love you, Ashton Hall.”
An irresistible smile shoots across my face following the thrill racing from my feet to my cheeks. “You think?” My voice goes high.
That makes him laugh. He drops his head back and lets out an exaggerated sigh. “Okay, I know I love you.” Catching my eyes again, his are sparkling as he kisses my nose. “These past few days were torture. I felt like such an ass breaking your heart. Working on that package nearly killed me.”
“This is all good to hear.” I’m grinning from ear to ear as I rise on my toes to kiss his lips. “Because I think I love you, too.”
“That does it.” He bends down and swoops me into his arms Cinderella-style, and I let out a shriek. “I’m taking you to bed.”
“Yes, please!” I’m reaching to give him another kiss, when—
“Ashton?” My brother’s loud voice shouts across the porch.
Jeez Louise!
Lulu is right behind him. “She’s probably in the kitchen. Here.”
I push on Jax’s shoulder, and my feet just touch the floor when the two of them come barging inside. I cross my arms and cock my hip, preparing for battle.
“Oh, here you are.” Ben only casts me a glance before his eyes land on Jax. “What are you doing here?”
“That’s none of your business,” I answer quickly. “What are you doing here?”
“You don’t have to be such a pill, Ashton. Lulu convinced me to come over here and talk to you.”
My brother’s success at running his own law firm has slowly turned him into a very my way or the highway type of guy. I know having to acquiesce to me is a new feeling for him.
I nod at my bestie. “So you two are out of the closet now?”
“We’re straight,” Ben says with an impatient sigh. “It’s not the same metaphor.”
“I think that metaphor can be used for any type of secret relationship… never mind. What do you want to talk to me about?”
He inhales slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Lulu says you have something to show me.”
Confusion lines my brow, and my eyes fly to my bestie’s.
“Speaking of closets.” Her chin rises and she nods toward the upstairs. “It’s in your closet.”
Jax’s phone starts to ring, and he gives my arm a squeeze. “Be right back.”
He takes the call into the living room, and I realize what Lulu is saying. Not convinced it will work, I motion for my brother to follow me, and to my surprise, he does, up the stairs and down the hall to my room.
“Lavender,” my brother says as we enter, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. “It still smells like Granny in here.”
“I cleaned out all her clothes.” Opening the closet door, I pull the string for the light, illuminating the mermaid mural on the wall. The girl who has everything…
Except the one woman she’d give anything to have back.
“What is this?” Ben’s voice is hushed.
“You probably don’t remember the summer I watched The Little Mermaid nonstop.”
“Are you kidding me?” The way he says it, laughter cracking in his throat, he sounds seventeen again. “I still have every song in that movie memorized thanks to you. You wouldn’t turn it off.”
“It was the same summer she took that art class. The year she met Mrs. C. She made this for me. She told me it would always be my mermaid.”
I can still see her eyes wrinkle with her smile as she said it, and I cross my arms over the ache in my chest.
I had no idea at the time how many mermaids she’d hidden around this old house. Now I wonder if there’s a little merman hidden somewhere for my brother.
“Why didn’t I know about this?” He speaks just above a whisper.
My eyes are hot, and I don’t try to answer. I only shrug.
A strong arm goes around my shoulders, and my brother pulls me into his chest. It’s the first time he’s been this open since our long argument began.
“I didn’t know.” He’s quiet a moment, and I feel myself relax listening to his breath swirling in and out. “I’m sorry I didn’t take into account how deep your feelings were when it comes to this place.”
My arms relax and I nod. “Apology accepted.”
He steps back. His eyes are warm, but his mouth is a straight line. “I still think selling is the right thing. You can’t argue with the facts, Ashton—”
Jax’s loud laughter interrupts us, and I give my brother a frown before stepping out of the closet and hurrying down the hall. Jax dashes into the foyer from the living room, and we meet each other at the bottom of the stairs.
“They love it!” he shouts, catching me around the waist, lifting me off my feet, and spinning me around.
Mrs. C bursts into the room, Rufus on her shoulder squawking.
My heart is racing. My hands are on Jax’s shoulders, and my body is pressed against his firm chest. “Was that Tara? What did she say?”
“HGTV ordered five episodes for the fall. We got an on-air commitment, and if it plays well with audiences, they’ll give us a full season.”
“A full season!” My voice is a squeal, and I hug his head. “That’s amazing! I’m so happy for you!”
“Happy for us. They want you as well. They loved you.”
“Me?” It’s difficult to breathe thinking about what he’s saying. “I’m your Jeffrey?”
“You’re my Jeffrey, and I haven’t even told you the best part.”
“It gets better?”
Ben cuts through the commotion, ducking as he passes Rufus. “What is this about? What’s going on here?”
Jax lowers to me to my feet and answers him. “The Right Stud just got picked up by HGTV.” Turning to me again, he cups my cheek. “They’re providing a budget that will more than cover all the renovations on your list with enough left over to beat any kind of profit you’d make from a sale.”
I literally can’t breathe. “What are you saying?” My hands tremble as I cover my mouth with my fingers, my eyes growing hotter.
Jax turns to my brother. “I’m saying Ashton wins. There’s no way a buyer can top what the studio is putting down, combined with the national publicity, the sponsorships, endorsements, and the flood of visitors—
should Ash decide she wants to run this place as a bed and breakfast.”
I win.
The words wash through me like a tidal wave, sweeping all the anxiety and sorrow out, leaving security, adventure, and a confession of love in its wake.
My brother’s brow lifts. “They sent you a contract I can look over? My sister is new to this business, and I want to make sure her interests are protected.”
Jax wraps his arm around my shoulder, pulling me tight into his side. “Don’t worry. We’ve got time to work out the details. I’ve got Ashton’s best interests in mind.”
“Still, I want to be sure…”
My brother continues talking, but Jax drags me out the screen door onto the porch away from the crowded house. We stop at the corner where we worked, where the sun shines on new wood and fresh paint.
Waves crash on the shore down to my right, but I’m lost in the gaze of the man I love—a man I was not looking for and never dreamed I’d get to know so well. His hands are on my cheeks, and our noses are almost touching.
He smiles, white teeth and that completely unfair dimple showing, as he asks me softly, “Am I your hero now?”
“You’re more than my hero.” I rise on my toes to capture his full lips. “You’re The Right Stud who completely changed my life.”
“I intend to keep on changing it.”
“How so?”
His low chuckle sends a thrill through my insides. “You’ll just have to stay tuned to find out.”
Our mouths meld together in a long kiss, one of mended pasts and broken dreams transformed into something beautiful and new.
Jax’s arms go around my waist, and I smile up at the tiny mermaid my grandmother painted, hidden in the eaves. We saved it, Granny.
Ahead of us now is the bright future we’re building together.
Epilogue
Jax
Five years later
“Do you think we should make her stop?” I murmur to Ashton as I watch our blonde little girl chase Jean Claude van Ram across the beach. It’s the middle of June, and the sun shines down on the water, catching the tips of the crashing waves and making them sparkle. It’s a damn near perfect day. I let out a sigh of contentment.
“Mama, Dada, watch me!” Bre giggles as she dashes past us again, her little toddler feet snapping on the heels of JC who keeps turning his head back to look at her. Periodically, he’ll slow down to let her catch up then he’ll snort something in his goat language and take off again.
I chuckle and answer my own question. “Nah, I think he’s okay with it. The old goat likes it.”
Ashton, who is nearly asleep as I keep watch on the pair, peeks out from under her wide-brimmed straw sunhat. We’re both settled in lounge chairs underneath a big blue umbrella.
Half an hour earlier, we ran all over the beach and played in the waves with Bre, searching for sand dollars and starfish.
We walked down here after she and Bre cooked me Father’s Day breakfast, a frittata and blueberry muffins, just like the ones she made the morning I showed up at The Conch and met her—for the second time.
My eyes drift over Ashton’s oval face, drinking in the smooth skin, kind hazel eyes, and dark hair she’s braided and curled around her head. We haven’t been apart a single day since the moment I came back to Palmetto and told her I loved her. Everything has turned out to be more than I ever could have even dreamed.
I think back over the past five years. We had a short engagement and a small wedding right here on the beach within a year of meeting. I resigned from my job with Pearson and the show made it possible for Ashton to make all the upgrades to The Conch she’d always wanted but never had the money to do. New wide-plank flooring, an upgraded kitchen, and an additional bathroom for guests were just some of the improvements.
The Right Stud soared to the top of the rankings, turning Ashton and me into household names. She and I film it together, and like Tara said, she’s a natural in front of the camera. The viewers love her genuine smile and southern sass. Combine that with my good looks and charm, and well, it’s a hit.
We travel and shoot the show in the fall and spring and spend summers and winters here at The Conch. Lulu manages the day-to-day of the B&B, and even Ben stops by to help her on the weekends. Or maybe he just spends the night. I don’t ask.
I glance back at Ashton, my heart full. It’s an idyllic life, and to think I never imagined I could have it. My new family is the best thing I never knew I needed.
Ashton gives the pair running across the beach a little smirk. Wearing a red bikini that contrasts beautifully with her tanned skin and dark hair, she’s gorgeous. “If Lulu didn’t want him to get chased, she shouldn’t have left him here with us to babysit.”
Impulsively, I lean over and kiss her lightly on the lips.
She peers up at me through her thick lashes. “Are you happy? Are you having a good Father’s Day?”
I tug her nape closer to me as our bodies turn toward each other on our lounge chairs. “More than happy. Ecstatic. I couldn’t ask for anything else.”
Her lips curve up in a beautiful smile. “I have a surprise for you. Pretty soon, she’ll have a little brother or sister to boss around.”
I suck in a sharp breath at the tidal wave of love that overwhelms me. My heart swells. My body hums.
“Are you sure? We’ve been trying for the past year…”
She nods. “I just found out last week.” She bites her lip and gives me a sheepish smile. “It’s been hard to keep it from you, but I wanted today to be special. I’m eight weeks.”
Her hand curls protectively around her stomach.
Emotion clogs my throat as I shake my head. “I love you, Ash. So much, babe.”
“I love you too.” Her voice is soft and full of the same emotion I have in my heart.
I grin, remembering how we met. “I’m thankful every day that you emailed my show and I had the good sense to show up in your kitchen. Fate knew what she was doing when she brought us together—even if the road was a little bumpy getting here.”
She laughs. “I still giggle when I think back to you dashing into the ocean to save JC.”
I waggle my brows. “I impressed you with my goat-saving skills, right?”
She laughs. “Um, it was definitely those six pack abs you were sporting. That goat is a nuisance.”
I grin. “Wanna head up to the room? I’ll let you touch my abs—and other parts—all you want.”
Our daughter squeals with laughter and we both look over to see that she has the goat by the horns and is attempting to ride him like a horse.
Ashton stands up, dusting stray bits of sand from her legs. “Looks like we might need to rescue that animal from our precious three-year-old.”
I grin and take her hand as we walk toward them. Off in the distance, I see Mrs. C and Rufus standing on the porch watching us. She waves, and we both wave back.
Contentment curls around me. I’m home, I think. I’m exactly where I want to be. Forever.
Ashton sighs gently, giving my hand a squeeze, and I know it’s her way of telling me she feels the same.
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The first rule of office romance is don’t do it—especially if your dream is to hold the anchor spot on the nightly news and your boss is trying to get you fired.
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Rebecca
Scratchy pink tulle hits me square in the face, and I jerk away as a shrieking tornado of blonde curls bolts past me. I am in hell, more specifically pageant hell, the deepest and darkest level.
“Petal Boo Bishop! PETAL BOO BISHOP!” A large woman stomps after the child, shoving me as I dodge to avoid being tackled. “Get back here and put your tutu on this minute!”
My camera-guy Kevin snorts as I regain my footing. He gets a brief, snappy glare. Let him try interviewing tiny humans in the middle of chaos.
The Right Stud Page 18
