by Marie Force
“Look, I was happy to help you out. I’m sure you would’ve done the same for me.” He took her hand again, more gently this time, and pressed the bill against her palm, holding it there with his own hand.
The heat of his skin against hers made her throat close against a swell of emotion. Rather than risk letting him know how much his touch had affected her, she decided to concede defeat on the money. “Fine. Anything else?”
His face twisted into a stricken expression again. “I, uh…”
“Look, I know I took you by surprise today, but the only reason I came was to reimburse you. I’m not looking for anything else. I enjoyed meeting your brother and Stephanie. They’re very cute together.” She paused before she added, “It was nice to see you again.” Turning away from him, she headed for her car.
“Wait.” He took hold of her arm. “Don’t go.”
She released a deep sigh. “It’s obvious I’ve made you extremely uncomfortable. Let me go, and we can all be more comfortable. Okay?”
“No. It’s not okay. I don’t want you to go.”
“Why?”
He stared at her for an extremely long—and very uncomfortable—moment. “I thought about you this week.” Each word seemed to cost him something critical.
Was it possible for words alone to render a person completely paralyzed? Apparently. She stood frozen in place, waiting to hear what else he would say.
He rested a hand on her shoulder. “When you came into the restaurant… In the very second you walked through the door, do you know what I was thinking?”
Since she’d also been rendered mute, she shook her head.
“I was thinking, gee, I wonder who Grace is mocking with her inappropriate laughter right now. And then I looked up, and there you were. That’s kind of crazy, isn’t it?”
She stared at him, still not sure she was hearing him correctly. He had to be making that up. He wasn’t really thinking about her! When would he let her down easy and tell her she was a really nice girl, but he wasn’t interested?
“Grace?” He waved a hand in front of her face. “Are you still with me?”
Forcing the fog from her brain, she nodded. “I’m sorry I surprised you.”
“It was a good surprise. A very good surprise.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” he said with that grin, that deliciously sexy, dimpled grin that made her heart race and her mouth go dry. “Really.”
“You didn’t look happy to see me.”
“I was very happy to see you.” His brows knitted with what might’ve been confusion. “I was surprised by just how much.”
Attraction zinged between them like a live wire. She wanted to smooth his hair and touch the stubble on his cheek to see if it was coarse or soft.
He continued to look intently at her, as if he was memorizing every detail. “So you’re here for the weekend?”
Forcing herself not to wilt under his scrutiny or the hot sun, she said, “Until Monday.”
“Good.”
“Why is that good?”
“Because that gives us plenty of time to hang out and have some fun.”
“Oh. It does?”
“Sure does.” He bent at the knees to look her in the eye. “If you want to, that is.”
Summoning her best haughty tone, she said, “I’m not opposed to fun.”
“Well, thank goodness for that. I’d hate to think you were a bore or something.”
Grace gave him a playful shove.
He started to stumble backward, and she tittered with laughter as she grabbed him to stop the fall. Somehow she ended up pressed against his chest with his strong arms wrapped around her.
“You laughed when you thought I was going to fall,” he whispered in her ear, sending goose bumps careening down her spine.
The aroma of sunscreen and hot man filled her senses, making her feel warm all over. “I most certainly did not.”
“Did so.”
Smiling, she relaxed into his embrace and decided this was going to be an awesome weekend.
Chapter 7
Filled with irrational excitement, Laura McCarthy drove into the parking lot behind the Sand & Surf Hotel. After ten of the worst days of her life, the battered old hotel looked rather good to her. The idea of hauling her carload of stuff up three flights of stairs to the manager’s apartment didn’t hold much appeal, but she couldn’t wait to be settled once and for all.
“No time like the present,” she said as she shouldered two of the lighter bags and headed for the front porch. She dug the key Owen had given her out of her back pocket and inserted it into the rusty lock. When she twisted it, nothing happened.
“Great.”
Dropping her bags onto the porch, she used both hands to try to turn the key, but it didn’t budge. Why was it that Owen’s key worked fine, but hers didn’t? Was this a bad omen? How was she supposed to renovate and manage the place if she couldn’t even get in?
“Come on,” she whispered, starting to sweat as she gave it one more try.
“Princess! You’re back!”
Laura spun around to find Owen Lawry loping up the stairs with a big goofy grin on his adorable face. “I thought you’d forgotten about us.”
In the moment their eyes met, Laura realized she was in big trouble. She was far, far too happy to see him. And in light of her current predicament, she had absolutely no business being happy to see any man, let alone one who’d made it perfectly clear he was a vagabond and a troubadour with no interest in permanence of any kind. While his footloose and fancy-free approach to life was exactly what she didn’t need at the moment, his lightheartedness was everything she needed.
“How bad was it?” he asked, his gray eyes taking a long, measuring look at her.
“Pretty bad.”
He closed the distance between them and enveloped her in a tight hug that calmed the turbulence inside her.
“What happened?”
Overwhelmed by his nearness as well as the clean, fresh scent of him, it was all she could do to breathe let alone speak as she put her arms around him and returned the hug. “Well, between returning the wedding gifts, filing for divorce, moving out of my apartment and breaking the news to my dad that not only is my three-month marriage a bust but I’m pregnant, too, it was a rather uneventful ten days.”
He chuckled softly. “I know it’s not funny, but when you put it like that…”
“What else can you do but laugh?”
“You can get busy moving forward.”
Laura could’ve spent all day wrapped up in his sweet comfort, but since it was time to stand on her own two feet, she drew back from him. “Success is the best revenge, right?”
“That’s what I’ve heard.”
“Then in that case, I’m in a world of trouble, because I can’t even get the key to work.”
“Let me help.” He stepped around her, gave the key a wiggle and a twist, and the door swung open. “Madame, your kingdom awaits.”
“Wait! How did you do that?”
“It’s all in the wrist,” he said with a wink.
Offering a sweeping wave of his arm, he welcomed her into the hotel his grandparents had owned and operated for fifty years, the same hotel that had beckoned to Laura since she was a grief-stricken little girl visiting her Uncle Mac and Aunt Linda in the wake of her mother’s death.
As she crossed the threshold, tears filled her eyes. Remembering the raw pain of that first summer without her mom reminded her of how much this island had meant to her then. It had soothed and healed her. Maybe it would again. She could only hope.
“Princess? Are you okay?”
She took a deep breath, summoning the fortitude to continue putting one foot in front of the other. What choice did she have? “Not yet, but I will be.”
Late on Saturday afternoon, Evan strolled on the beach with Grant and Owen while Grace, Stephanie and Laura reclined in chairs, chattering like three long-lost best friends.
“The girls sure did hit it off,” Grant said.
“Seriously,” Owen said.
“I’m glad to see Stephanie relaxing a bit and making some friends,” Grant said. “She’s been so alone for such a long time.”
Evan nudged his older brother. “You’ve got a bad case for her, bro.”
“So it seems.” Grant turned his formidable blue-eyed gaze on Evan. “I could say the same for you.” To Owen, Grant said, “Do you think he realizes he’s barely taken his eyes off Grace all afternoon?”
While Owen chortled with laughter, Evan huffed with indignation. “That’s so not true.”
“She’s awfully pretty,” Owen said. “I can certainly see why you’d be captivated.”
“She’s funny, too,” Grant added. “I like her.”
“I don’t know why you guys are making such a big deal out of it.” Evan felt like he was fighting for his life or something, which was ridiculous. What did he have to be fighting about? So they’d had some laughs, so he found her attractive, so he wanted to get to know her better. Big whoop. Except even as he tried to talk himself out of it, the truth of the matter was that he was more interested in her than he’d been in any woman in like, well, ever. “We’re just friends. I’m not captivated. Whatever that means.”
“If you don’t know,” Owen said, “I’m not going to explain it to you.”
Grant laughed at their banter.
“What about you?” Grant said to Owen. “Joined at the hip with Laura. What’s that all about?”
Owen’s smile quickly became a frown. “Nothing. We’re friends. That’s it.”
“Uh-huh,” Grant said with a knowing grin. “You’re as full of it as he is.”
“I don’t know what the hell is going on around here lately,” Evan said as desperation crept over him. His throat felt tight and constricted, as if he’d knotted his necktie too tightly. Except he wasn’t wearing a tie. He wasn’t even wearing a shirt, for crying out loud, so why was he having such a hard time getting air to his lungs?
There was absolutely no rational explanation for the way he felt when Grace was around—happy, calm, amused, aroused, intrigued, disturbed, unsettled, dismayed. All in one muddled package. Nothing about it made sense. She was just another woman in a long line of women who’d paraded through his life. He couldn’t see any reason to make it into a bigger deal than it was.
And then her laughter rang out, drawing his attention to where she sat with Stephanie and Laura. Grace’s hands danced with animation as she entertained them with a story that had the other two women laughing hysterically.
Evan wanted to know what she was saying. He wanted to hear the story and be in on the joke. He wanted her. Oh Jesus. What the hell was wrong with him? Though the day was seasonably warm with a hint of September chill in the air, Evan began to sweat.
She wasn’t the kind of woman he could just have and discard. He’d known her only a short time, and he already knew that much about her. Grace Ryan wasn’t a one-night-stand kind of gal, and he was hardly the kind of guy who was looking for more than that.
“Check him out,” Grant said to Owen. “Staring again.”
This time, Evan could hardly deny that he’d been gawking at Grace.
“There’s nothing wrong with liking her, Ev,” Grant said. “She’s a nice girl.”
“That’s the problem,” Evan said, filled with defeat. “She’s too nice for me.”
“Nah,” Grant said, punching him lightly on the arm. “That’s not true. Despite your many, many faults, at the end of the day, you’re a good guy.”
“No, I’m not.” Evan thought of the many meaningless connections he’d made with women over the years, the promises he’d made and never kept. He wasn’t a good guy. He certainly wasn’t good enough for the likes of Grace Ryan, who was probably all about ethics and morals and permanence.
“Why do you say that?” Owen asked. “Look what you did for her when she was marooned at the marina.”
“I just did what anyone would do in that situation.”
“There were a lot of guys around that night,” Owen reminded him. “No one else went over to her table to find out why she was crying. Cut yourself a break, man.”
“I don’t have any business starting something with her. She lives in Mystic, and I’m heading back to Nashville soon. I’ve got the tour coming up next summer. It’s not the right time to start something.”
“I said the same thing about me and Steph,” Grant said, gazing at his girlfriend with unabashed love and affection that made Evan acutely aware of what he might be missing out on. “It seemed really hopeless, but when push came to shove and I had to decide between her and going back to LA without her, it was a no-brainer.”
“Where do things stand between you guys now?” Owen asked.
“We’re taking it a day at a time, but I’m renting Janey’s house for the winter, and yesterday Steph agreed to stay with me.”
Evan had never seen his brother look happier.
“That’s cool,” Owen said.
“I’m working on the screenplay about her and her stepfather’s story. We’re looking forward to her stepfather’s Halloween court date and hoping for the best.” Grant shrugged. “As long as we’re together, I feel like we can get through anything.”
“That’s all well and good,” Evan said, “and I’m happy for you. Don’t get me wrong.”
Grant raised an eyebrow. “But?”
“You can work anywhere. All you need is a laptop and you’re good to go. I have to go back to Nashville. I’m going on tour. Where does a girlfriend fit into that?”
“I don’t know,” Grant said, “but if it’s the right girl, you’ll figure it out.”
Evan knew his brother believed every word he said, but Evan wasn’t convinced.
“Can I give you one piece of advice?” Grant said.
“Can I stop you?”
Laughing at Evan’s scowl, Grant stopped walking and turned to face him. “Who knows what tomorrow will bring? Look at what happened at the marina this summer. Dad and Mac and Luke could’ve been killed in a matter of minutes. Beyond his worries about Dad, do you think Mac came out of the water thinking about anything other than getting to Maddie as soon as he could? Same thing for Luke with Sydney. It didn’t take nearly being killed by a drunken boater to show them what really matters in life. They already knew. You don’t want to miss out on that, Ev. And neither do you,” he said to Owen. “Don’t be so caught up in maintaining the status quo that you miss out on what could be the most awesome thing you’ve ever experienced. Trust me. You don’t want to miss that.”
“That wasn’t a piece of advice,” Evan grumbled. “It was a freaking speech.”
Laughing, Grant tugged his brother into a headlock. When he fought his way free, Evan noticed Owen staring off into space and wondered if he was pondering what Grant had said.
“I think you’ll be sorry if you don’t try to figure out why you’ve had such a strong reaction to Grace,” Grant added. “You’ll regret letting her go home on Monday without getting to know her better.”
Since the idea of never seeing her again filled him with irrational fear, Evan ventured a reluctant glance at the girls and found her watching him with a wistful expression on her face. Was it possible that she was equally attracted to him? There was only one way to find out.
“Keep walking,” he said to his brother and best friend as he started back toward the women.
“And miss this?” Owen said as he turned to follow Evan. “No way.”
“Right there with ya,” Grant said, trotting along behind them.
Resigned to their interference, Evan walked to her, knowing that once he did whatever he was about to do, there’d be no undoing it. And what was he going to do exactly? He had no idea. All he knew was he wanted some time alone with her without the prying eyes of his brother, cousin and friends on them. As Grace watched him approach with a wide-eyed, curious stare, he could feel the anxiety, a
pprehension and hint of excitement emanating from her. Whatever was brewing between them, she felt it, too, which was comforting.
Aware that all eyes were on him, Evan held out a hand to Grace. “Walk with me?”
“Oh, um, sure.” She took the hand he offered and let him help her up.
As the sweet scent of her surrounded him, it occurred to him that his attraction to her made no sense at all. She was nothing like the petite, perky blondes he usually preferred, and yet he was dying to find out if her dark hair was as silky as it looked.
He liked his women confident, experienced and willing to try new things—inside the bedroom and out. Grace didn’t exactly exude confidence. While Stephanie and Laura had worn revealing bikinis to the beach, an oversized T-shirt covered Grace’s bathing suit and kept her curves hidden from him. Evan didn’t want to admit that he’d been dying to see her in a bathing suit and had been disappointed when she kept the cover-up on all afternoon.
She wasn’t his type. It was that simple. Why, then, was he thrilled to be walking next to her on the beach and dodging the waves that teased the shore? His heart was beating funny, his mouth was dry as the sand under his feet, and he couldn’t think of a single witty or charming thing to say to her. What the hell was wrong with him?
“Nice day,” she said after a long period of silence.
“Uh-huh.” Under normal circumstances, September was his favorite month of the year on Gansett. Cool, crisp sunny days perfect for surfing and sailing, and chilly nights ideal for bonfires on the beach. Today he was completely out of sorts and off his game.
“You’re acting uncomfortable again,” Grace said.
“Am I?” Startled, Evan snapped out of his musings and glanced over to find her watching him intently.
“Are you sorry you invited me to hang out with you this weekend?”
“No,” he said, shocked to the core. That was the last thing he wanted her to think. Well, maybe not the last thing… “Of course not.”
“Then what is it?”
“I don’t know,” he said, going with the truth. “I’m out of sorts.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. It’s been such a fun day. I was hoping you were enjoying it as much as I am.”
