Seaside Sweets

by Melissa Chambers

  He gave Seanna a comforting smile and then went over to his refrigerator. Blake rounded the corner and met her gaze, his face flushed red, hair wet, but looking as fine as ever. She swore every time she saw him he got yummier.

  “Sorry, I’m late,” Blake said. “I see you two met one another.”

  Chase handed him a beer. “We’re old friends now.”

  Blake gave him a look, and Chase returned it with a smile. Blake glanced at the marked-up quote. Seanna quickly folded the papers over and slid them into her bag. She’d had enough embarrassment for the day.

  “Did you already go over the quote?” Blake asked.

  Chase took his seat. “She came in a little high. But you know me and my master negotiating skills. We were able to meet in the middle.”

  She was really starting to like this guy. She shouldered her bag, and then held her hand out to Chase. “Thank you for the opportunity. I’ll be in touch with your assistant.”

  “You’re leaving?” Blake asked.

  “Bo’s coming over,” Chase said. “We’re gonna play cards. We could use a fourth.”

  A card game with three gorgeous guys. That was tempting. But she knew when to make an exit. “No, thanks. I need to get going. It was nice to meet you, Chase.”

  “Let me walk you to your car,” Blake said.

  Seanna headed toward the front door, her heels clacking on Chase’s hardwood floor. She’d come dressed to impress but couldn’t wait to get back to Cassidy’s, get into her comfies, and dive into this project.

  She started to open her car door but Blake put a hand on her arm. “Wait. How did it go? Did he cut you down too low? He’s a pussycat. It wouldn’t take much to get him to come back up to where you need him to be.”

  She held back a laugh but couldn’t restrain her smile. “No, he’s fine. We’re all good here.” She started to open the door again.

  “Wait,” Blake said, moving to stand between her and the car. He peered at her, narrowing his eyes. “Are you sure?”

  She rested her weight on her right hip. “Positive. I’m just eager to get started.”

  Blake searched her eyes. “So you two hit it off?”

  Was that jealousy she sensed in his demeanor? “Yeah, we did,” she said, liking this a little bit—especially since she was still dragging her pride up off the ground.

  “Did he…ask you out or something?”

  She cocked her head to the side, widening her eyes. “What kind of a project manager do you take me for, Blake?”

  He dropped the tension in his shoulders and shook his head. “Sorry. So when will you start the job?”

  “Soon, I think. I’ll coordinate all that with his assistant.” She let out a deep breath, pulling herself together. “Thank you for setting this up. You have no idea how much I appreciate this opportunity. Seriously.”

  She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly to her. Inhaling his clean and freshly-shaven scent, she let her mind roam as she imagined him all soaped up and dripping wet in the shower. Damn it was getting hot out there, and it was probably only about seventy-five degrees outside.

  When she pulled away from him, she could swear his cheeks were pinker than they were before she went in for the hug. She pointed to the house. “He’s giving me the opportunity to quote on another remodel, a whole house.”

  His eyebrows went up. “That’s great. So does that mean you’re staying here for a while?”

  “If I get that job, I don’t see how I could pass up the opportunity. I’m not working, and I need this money. Now I’ve just got to make sure I don’t screw up this kitchen job. I think I’m being graded.”

  His smile sent a shiver up her spine. “You’re gonna do great.”

  “Thanks.” She smiled at him, and for a moment she thought he might go in for a kiss. She stared at his lips, her mouth watering with anticipation.

  Now that she was staying for a while, sleeping with him for a quick one-night stand was off the table. She was too interested in him. He was too good of a guy. Once she slept with him, she’d want more, and she wasn’t ready for more…not at this point. Her life was too much in disarray. She needed to work on herself right now. Get her life in order. Get invested in her work. Get back to Nashville…eventually. She took a step backward.

  “All right then. I’ll see you.” He went to walk away, but then turned back around. “By any chance is Cassidy bringing you to Rob and Gwendolen’s Halloween party tomorrow?”

  She held back a grin. “Sebastian is.”

  He nodded understanding, all aloof. “What are you dressing up as?”

  “You’ll find out tomorrow,” she said.

  He gave her a grin that made her sway a little. “Looking forward to it.”

  He turned to walk away and she got into her car, admiring his ass as he went. It was a great ass, a superb one as a matter of fact. One she could really…the job. She would focus on the job. He turned to her with a smile before he headed inside, catching her staring.

  Good lord.

  Chapter Nine

  “Umm…Cassidy. I’m not so sure about this.” Seanna surveyed herself in the mirror. She was either going to come off looking like the sexiest woman on throwback television or like a dowdy librarian.

  “Come on out. Let me see you.” Seanna scrunched up her face and opened the closet door to reveal herself. Cassidy put her hand to her chest. “You look fantastic. You look just like her.”

  Seanna touched her hair. “Are you sure about the hair? You promise it will wash out?”

  “In three shampoos. I used it once for a girls’ night out.”

  “You went red?”

  “I didn’t say it looked good on me. I said it would wash out.”

  Seanna took one last self-conscious glance at herself in the mirror. “Are you sure everyone else is going to be dressed up?”

  “Trust me. You’ll be the most underdressed person there. People go all out for this bash.”

  Seanna turned around to check out her backside in the skin-tight dress. “Mad Men isn’t even on anymore. Will people get it?”

  “Sweetheart, you’ve got the bod to pull off Joan. You have to go as her at least one Halloween in your lifetime. Wish I could.”

  Seanna pursed her lips at her aunt. “Just go as Giselle Bunhchen instead. That’s your bod.” Cassidy gave a dismissive wave as the doorbell rang, and she followed Seanna to the front door.

  “Did someone call 911?” Sebastian stood at the door donning a quite authentic policeman’s uniform, twirling a whistle around his finger. He stopped and covered his mouth dramatically. He pointed at Seanna. “Joan Holloway. My God. You are her!”

  Seanna fondled her gold pen necklace. “You think? I was afraid people would think I was a dowdy librarian.”

  He dropped his hands to his legs. “You should have told me. I’d have gone as Don Draper.” Cassidy giggled, and Sebastian’s eyes widened. “What? I can do Don.”

  She put an arm on his shoulder. “Of course you can, sweetie.”

  Sebastian snapped at her hand, and she retracted with a smile. He turned to Seanna and touched her hair. “Is this a wig?”

  “It’s a rinse out. Three shampoos,” Cassidy said.

  He shrugged. “That’s a shame. I kind of like it.”

  A horn sounded from outside. Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Come on before Zorro out there lays an egg.” Cassidy waved out the screen door to Ashe, who blew her a kiss from under his Zorro mask.

  “Are you sure you won’t come?” Seanna asked.

  “Oh, yes, sweetie. These days an evening on the couch is hard to compete with. You all go. Have fun.”

  Seanna kissed Cassidy goodbye, and they were off. Sebastian drove them to a community called Alys Beach, which boasted palm trees on either side of the road Beverly Hills-style. He turned onto a street that led to the beach, and they made their way toward a large, Mediterranean-style house dressed in purple and orange lights with its back seaward at the end of the cu
l-de-sac.

  “Wow,” Seanna said. “I want to live here when I grow up.”

  “Wait till you see the inside,” Ashe said.

  Just after stepping through the foyer they were greeted by a couple dressed as Morticia and Gomez Addams. Sebastian hugged Morticia, and then motioned to Seanna. “Gwendolen, Rob, I want to introduce you to a new friend of mine, Joan Holloway.” Sebastian waved in Seanna’s direction like Vanna White.

  Seanna offered a hand. “Hi, I’m Seanna.”

  “Oh, I loved Mad Men,” Gwendolen said. “You make the perfect Joan.”

  “You make the perfect Morticia,” Seanna said. “I always loved Angelica Huston.”

  “Oh, I know. Me too,” Gwendolen said.

  “Seanna is Cassidy Anderson’s niece,” Sebastian said.

  “No kidding? I adore your aunt. Tell her we missed her like crazy tonight.”

  Seanna smiled. “Will do.” Gwendolen excused herself graciously as another group of party guests behind them grabbed her attention.

  They walked through the foyer and past the front rooms to an open living room with the back wall comprised entirely of glass showing off an unbelievable view of an infinity pool with the Gulf of Mexico acting as a backdrop. People were sprinkled all around the pool socializing, and “The Time Warp” spilled from the sound system. Seanna spotted Desiree by the pool sporting a perfectly rounded Diana Ross ‘do straight out of the seventies.

  She pointed at Desiree’s hair. “Your hair could have its own reality show.”

  “I’d watch that,” Ashe said.

  Desiree patted it. “I do love my Miss Ross look. What about you? Not many people can pull off Joan, but you, my dear, have.” Sebastian cleared his throat, and she held her hands out palms up in question. “Why aren’t you her Don Draper?”

  Sebastian gave Seanna a playful shove. “What did I tell you?”

  “Have you been here long?” Ashe asked Desiree.

  “I came early to help them set up some of the décor.” She motioned to the patio covered in lanterns, lights, and Halloween decorations that looked like they’d leapt out of a high-end architecture magazine feature.

  A voice barged in. “Seaside Sweets.” Seanna turned to find the source, which was a customer she’d served a few times this past week. She’d been helping her aunt out most the week since Chase couldn’t meet until Friday.

  “Oh, hello…”

  “Vivian.” The lady offered her hand to Seanna.

  “Seanna.”

  “Tell me, when will Cassidy have that pumpkin praline cheesecake out? It is fall you know?” the lady asked.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Looks like we’re slacking a bit on the job.” Seanna smiled. Vivian didn’t. Seanna cleared her throat. “I’ll let Cassidy know of the request.”

  “Thank you.” The woman turned and walked away.

  Seanna felt like she’d just been called down for talking in class. She regained her composure and turned to rejoin the group to find it had dispersed. Ashe and Desiree were dancing to the “Monster Mash” while Sebastian stood talking to a tall, thin man dressed as Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Beside them was a couple who were contestants on Dancing with the Stars talking to a lunatic butcher with a bloody meat clever sticking out of the pocket of his smock. R2D2 and C3PO casually sipped cocktails with John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

  Cassidy wasn’t kidding about Seanna being underdressed. She walked around taking in the house and the people. There was more money in this room than she’d see in a dozen lifetimes. She wondered how many of these ladies were footing their ex’s bills and chuckled at her own situation by comparison.

  As Seanna stepped out onto the patio, the ocean air permeated into her skin, making her feel like she was a million miles away from the mess back home. She rested a hand against the back of an empty chaise lounge and drew her drink to her lips. That was when she found two guys standing together on the other side of the pool, one in a toga and one in a forties gangster outfit. She practically had to catch her breath. Blake and Bo. She wasn’t sure there were two more appealing guys in the state of Florida, and these two stood right there mere steps away from her. Her lips parted in a smile without her control or permission. Bo smiled back with a wave. Blake’s smile was far less genuine though, sending a wave of unease through her chest.

  Seanna dropped her gaze and walked down the steps toward the beach. “What the hell’s wrong with you?” Bo asked.

  “What?” Blake asked, but he knew exactly what his friend was talking about.

  “Seanna just smiled at you, and you barely even acknowledged her.”

  “I smiled back,” Blake said weakly.

  “Bullshit. I smiled at her. You turned your head.”

  Blake wanted to smile at her. He wanted to take her hand and lead her down that beach walkway and not come back until tomorrow. But the more he thought about her, the more he wanted to see her…to touch her…to know more about her. And all of that was a huge problem.

  “It’s just that I don’t see any sense in it,” Blake said.

  Bo raised his eyebrows. “In what? Being a nice person?”

  Blake dug his hand into the pocket of his pants. “In starting something with her.”

  “How come?” Bo asked.

  Blake grimaced at his friend. “She’s Cassidy’s niece. We’ve been over this.”

  “Let’s talk worst-case scenario,” Bo said. “You take her out. There’s nothing there, so you remain friends.”

  “That’s not worst case.”

  “Then what is?”

  “I don’t know. We date for a while and it ends ugly, and then I have to answer to Cassidy.”

  Bo turned toward him. “What are we, in seventh grade? How’s it gonna end ugly?”

  Blake shrugged with pursed lips, Bo’s persistence starting to get to him. Bo ran a hand over his crew cut and looked around conspiratorially. “All right, look. I’ve spent three years keeping my mouth shut when it came to asking about your past or anything too personal. But you know I know something’s going on there.”

  Blake shifted uncomfortably. Bo was no idiot. But Blake had preferred living under the pretense that Bo didn’t even think about his past or try to excuse his odd behavior when it came to certain things, mainly women. But of course he did. He’d just been giving Blake space and time. Blake had always wondered when the day would come that Bo would finally want answers. He guessed three years was long enough to keep his questions to himself.

  Blake lifted his beer bottle to his lips. “What do you mean?”

  Bo stared him down, not buying Blake’s bullshit act for a second. “I mean I’m starting to get offended here. How long do we have to be friends before you figure out you can trust me?”

  That one hit Blake in the chest. He loved Bo like a brother. Bo helped him keep sane a lot of days. Blake didn’t want Bo to think he was holding out on him, but of course he was. Blake couldn’t tell him about his past. Not now. He would…eventually. He just wasn’t ready yet. But he could see now that he needed to give him something. “I wouldn’t make a good partner for someone right now,” Blake said.

  “I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I’ll tell you what I know to be a fact. You make a damn good friend.”

  Blake glanced at Bo, who was looking at him with utter sincerity. Blake’s throat tightened at Bo’s words. He straightened it, looking at his beer bottle, furrowing his brow. “You do too, man.”

  They’d never exchanged any sort of words like those. Their relationship was built on giving each other a hard time. Knowing Bo cared in no uncertain words meant more to Blake than he could ever let Bo know.

  Bo chuckled. “If it isn’t the devil herself.”

  Blake followed Bo’s gaze to Marigold in a devil costume headed their way.

  Bo laughed. “Look at her craning her neck around looking for you.”

  “You don’t know she’s looking for me.”

  Marigold caught sight of him and perked up. Sh
e scooted around people, moving in a beeline toward them.

  Bo nudged Blake. “Seanna’s on the beach by herself. Go down there and say hello.”

  Blake looked in that direction, and then back at his beer bottle. “I can’t.”

  Someone grabbed Marigold in a hug. She kept eyeing Blake like she was itching to get out there to him while some woman held her hostage with conversation.

  “Why? Something wrong with the stairs?” Bo asked. “Get your ass down there. I’m not saying you should elope. I’m saying have a conversation with her.”

  “I can’t go there,” Blake said. “I’ve got…shit going on.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I know all about your shit.” Blake cut his eyes at him. He couldn’t possibly know. Bo held up a hand. “I mean I know you’ve got it. I don’t know what it is. But what I know is that girl down there on the beach has got something. You know what I’m talking about.”

  Blake knew exactly what Bo was talking about. It wasn’t something he could put his finger on, but she was sweet, and real, and honest…and sexier than anything he’d ever seen. He couldn’t be the only one who noticed it.

  “She’s not the kind of girl who stays single for long,” Bo said. “I can guarantee you that.” Marigold broke free from the woman and was scooting past more people. Bo gave Blake another nudge. “Go. I’ll take care of Marigold.”

  Blake considered him. “You will?”

  “I can play wingman.” He motioned with his head. “Get.”

  Blake smiled, and then turned sincere. “Thanks…for…”

  Bo gave a nod. “Yeah.”

  Blake headed for the steps.

  Seanna sat in the middle of the long swing, pushing off with her bare feet. Blake’s chilly reception hadn’t been her favorite thing about the day, but oh well. It wasn’t like she needed to be dating right now. She hadn’t planned to tell him all about her mess, but there was something about him, about his demeanor and the look in his eyes, that told her she could and that she wouldn’t be judged. But maybe she was wrong. God knew she had been before. Still, it stung.

  Someone walked down the steps. As the black pinstripe gangster pants came into view, her heart couldn’t help a hint of relief. He peered at the ocean, scanning the beach…for her? She whistled. When he turned toward her, his face lit up, and her heart melted into her chest.