Witching For Hope: Premonition Pointe, Book 2

by Chase, Deanna

  “I was just running some errands and spotted you here. Thought I’d say hi. I’m not interrupting your lunch, am I?” Hope nodded to the half-eaten burger sitting in front of her.

  “Well, actually I was just reading a little before I went back to work.” Her apologetic expression made it clear she expected Hope to move on, but that wasn’t going to happen.

  Hope ignored the implication and leaned forward. “Listen, I heard you ran into my mother this morning at the café.”

  “Yeah, about that… I, uh…” Her face flushed and she glanced away. What is she doing here? Maggie thought so loudly that it almost made Hope wince.

  Hope followed her gaze and spotted a man with a mic who was standing in front of the new dog park and appeared to be delivering a segment for the local news station. “Hey, no worries. She said you had a scheduling conflict, so I was thinking we can just move the date. I’m sure I can make it work. I just need the details.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Maggie got up and tossed her burger into a nearby garbage can. Then she thought, I don’t need to explain myself to your type.

  ‘Your type’? What the hell did that mean? “Oh? Was there a problem with my work?”

  “No.” Her tone was clipped now. “I just changed my mind, okay? Do I have to have a reason?”

  “If it has anything to do with Peggy Pitsman you do,” Hope challenged, no longer trying to be nice about whatever was happening. Her business was on the line, and she had to get to the bottom of things.

  “All Peggy did was warn me about what happened at your last event. And I can’t take that risk, so let’s just leave it at that.”

  Her last event? That was Lucas’s open house. Maggie started to walk away, but Hope reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her. “What do you mean? Nothing unusual happened at Against the Grain.”

  Maggie stared at Hope’s hand and said, “Let go of me.”

  Hope dropped her wrist instantly. “Sorry. I’m just trying to understand. Lucas’s event was a success.”

  Maggie snorted derisively. “Yeah. I heard.”

  Now Hope was just getting pissed. “Heard what exactly?”

  “Oh, come on, Hope. You’re not going to make me say it, are you?”

  “Say what?” Hope threw her hands up, completely over this conversation that appeared to be going nowhere fast. “Just spit it out, okay? I’m completely lost.”

  “The fact that this is just an everyday occurrence for you, like it’s normal, is what makes it worse,” Maggie hissed. “I never would’ve thought you’d be trading sexual favors to get ahead.”

  “What?” Hope jerked back like she’d been struck and stared at the woman in complete shock. “Sexual favors? What the hell did Peggy tell you?”

  “This isn’t the place, Hope. If I were you, I’d back away.”

  “No. I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what Peggy told you.” Hope placed her hands on her hips, determined to get to the bottom of whatever she was talking about. “Who exactly did I supposedly sleep with to get a job?”

  Chatter rose up around her, but Hope was too laser focused on Maggie to pay much attention.

  “Well, Lucas for one. Everyone knows what you two got up to last night. It’s all over town. And there have been rumors about others. Why else would Pauly Pitsman have you plan his annual holiday party instead of his niece?” she asked. Then Maggie’s thoughts came through loud and clear. I bet you showed the man the time of his life to spend that kind of money.

  Maybe he didn’t hire Peggy because Pauly’s niece had no idea how to put together the elegant event he planned every year for all of his business contacts. But she didn’t say that. There was zero basis to that claim. Instead, she blurted, “All Lucas and I did was take a dip in the ocean. There’s nothing wrong with that. No sexual favors were traded for anything.”

  “You were naked!” Maggie cried. “You expect me to believe it was innocent?”

  “So what? We went skinny-dipping. Who hasn’t in this town?” Hope cried.

  The chatter around her diminished, and Hope finally tore her gaze from Maggie to see the news guy who’d been doing a segment over by the dog park was standing right beside her.

  He quickly shoved the mic in her face. “Ms. Anderson, do you care to respond to the allegation of trading sexual favors for contracts?”

  Hope’s entire body went numb as she processed what was happening.

  “She doesn’t need to,” Maggie stated. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she was scowling so fiercely that she looked like a schoolteacher who’d just caught Hope and Lucas making out in the eraser closet. “She’s already confirmed inappropriate behavior with Lucas King, the owner of Against the Grain Interiors. I’m sure if you do some digging, you’ll find out that all of her current clients are canceling their agreements with her. No one wants to be associated with her kind.”

  The news guy nodded and turned to speak into the camera. “And there you have it, folks. Hope Anderson’s event planning business appears to be on the rocks. Morals and decency have once again won the day here in Premonition Pointe.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Hope was fuming. She was so angry she couldn’t even talk. Words just sputtered out of her mouth incoherently as she watched the reporter retreat back to his news van. After he’d made his incredibly biased statement on camera, she given him a piece of her mind, but it was too late. The segment was over, and the entire town would now think she was sleeping around to secure jobs. And to make matters worse, most of her male clients were married.

  Just perfect. She’d be labeled an adulteress. Hope bet that if she walked around the square she’d hear all kinds of unsavory thoughts about herself. She grimaced and decided her best course of action was to go home and write a press release addressing the newscast and hope that her past clients would deny the nefarious rumors.

  Hope spun around and immediately crashed into the solid form of a half-naked man. “Oomph.”

  “Whoa there, gorgeous.”

  She tried to step back but found herself encircled in very familiar arms. She knew those arms. And they weren’t the ones she wanted holding her. Hope pressed her palm to Benji’s chest and gently pushed him back. “Hey. What are you doing here?”

  He raised one eyebrow. “I thought I had a hot date tonight.”

  Son of a… She’d completely forgotten that she’d made the date with her casual hookup. But that still didn’t explain why he was in the square half naked. “No, I mean why are you here? And where are your clothes?”

  Benji brushed his dark curls out of his eyes and laughed. “I decided to get some surfing in this morning. The waves were killer until the wind died down. Then I thought I’d grab some lunch before going back to my hotel. Imagine my surprise when I saw you talking with that soccer mom and then heard you say you’d gone skinny-dipping last night. And now I want to know why we’ve never splashed around in the ocean in our birthday suits.” His lips were curled into a sexy little smile, and he was looking at her like he wanted to devour her right there. “Wanna try for a repeat tonight?”

  She couldn’t do this. Not after her night with Lucas the night before and not after she’d found out Peggy Pitsman was trying to sabotage her business. Hope started to shake her head, intending to decline his invitation and then find a graceful way to back out of the date, but she was interrupted when she heard another familiar male voice say, “Hope’s busy tonight.”

  “Lucas?” she spun around again and found him standing with his fists clenched at his side and glaring at Benji. If her life hadn’t felt like it was imploding, she might have appreciated the scene. Benji was tanned and fit in his board shorts and looked adorable with his messy curls hanging over one eye, while Lucas was dressed in jeans, a white T-shirt, and a navy blazer. He looked every bit a successful, stylish business owner. Damn, they were both hot. But she only wanted one of them.

  “Who is this guy, Hope?” Lucas asked, staring
at her intently.

  “Whoa, man. Chill. I’m just a friend,” Benji said, and Hope could’ve kissed him for not mentioning that they were friends with benefits.

  “Sounds like something more than friends,” Lucas said, running one hand through his salt and pepper hair.

  “Well, friends can have fun every once in a while, right babe?” Benji said, winking at Hope.

  Hope groaned and turned to Lucas. “Can you give us a minute? Then I’ll fill you in?”

  He stared down at her, his jaw clenched and his eyes full of… anger? Frustration? Hurt? She wasn’t quite sure. But the reality was that he didn’t have any right to be angry with her. They’d had one date and hadn’t talked about making any commitments. She was still free to date whomever she wanted, right? Just because they’d kissed the night before didn’t mean anything.

  Liar, she thought to herself. She just wasn’t willing to voice what was really happening between them.

  Lucas put his hands up and walked away.

  “What’s that guy’s problem?” Benji asked, placing a hand on the back of her neck. Normally she would’ve leaned into a touch like that. But instead, she stepped away from him, feeling like he was trying to claim her or something.

  “That’s my ex,” she said.

  Benji’s gaze flickered over to where Lucas was sitting on a bench, staring at them. “Which one?”

  Hope had a number of exes. Most of them she’d only dated for a short time and then they’d become friends. In fact, two of them had made her the godmother of their children. Both had moved to the city, so she didn’t see them often, but she sent cards and gifts to their kids, so she didn’t completely disappear out of their lives. Lucas was pretty much the only ex she’d severed contact with after their breakup. It had just been too painful. “The ex. The reason why this”—she moved her hand between the two of them—“has never been more than casual.”

  “The ex?” he echoed. “Oh. Interesting.” He smiled down at her, and the thoughts came spilling out of his head. I bet I can make her forget him. I just need a few minutes and somewhere private.

  “It’s going to take more than a few minutes.”

  “Um, what?” he asked, chuckling. “Did I say that out loud?”

  Dammit! He hadn’t, had he? Instead of acknowledging his question, she said, “Listen, Benji, I’m really sorry about this, but I need to cancel. Last night with Lucas was… Well, I don’t know what it was, but now I just feel like it’s not right to go out with someone else. Not until I figure out how I feel about him walking back into my life.”

  He stepped closer to her and pressed his palm to her cheek, running his thumb over her cheekbone. Normally her skin tingled when he touched her like that. But now her skin felt tight, maybe even itchy, and all she wanted to do was step back and reclaim her space. She stayed put, though, letting him have his say. “You know I’m the better man for you, right?”

  Hope let out a surprised bark of laughter. “Is that so? How?”

  “I’m easy. I make you feel good. And there are no expectations. No drama. Just a good time. I can make you forget him. You know I can.”

  There was a time when all of that was true, but things had changed. “You’ve always been a good friend, Benji. I’m sorry to stand you up. Will you forgive me?”

  He glanced over at Lucas one more time and back at her. “It’s like that then? You’re going to go for it?”

  She shrugged. “To tell you the truth, I don’t have any clue what I’m doing, but I do know that going out with you tonight isn’t fair to any of us. Especially you, because I’ll really want to be with him.”

  “It sounds like you’ve already made your decision.”

  “I guess so. I’m sorry you drove up here and wasted money on a hotel.” She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

  “Don’t worry about me. The surfing makes it all worthwhile. And I’m sure I can get into some trouble at the bar tonight.”

  She laughed. “I’m sure you can.”

  “Do me one favor?” he asked.

  “What’s that?”

  “Call me if it doesn’t work out.” He leaned down and brushed a kiss over her cheek and then strode off across the square.

  Hope watched him go, and when she finally resolved her nerve, she turned back toward Lucas and found an empty bench instead. Dread formed in the pit of her stomach as she glanced around, looking for him. When it was evident that he’d left, she blew out a breath and started to make her way back toward Against the Grain.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “What do you mean he just left?” Grace asked as she poured a glass of iced tea for Hope.

  “I mean that he was there one moment, and as soon as Benji left, he disappeared,” Hope said, exasperated. “I even went back to his store, but the door was locked and the sign said Closed. And he’s not answering my phone calls.”

  Grace grabbed the two glasses of tea and jerked her head toward her living room. “Let’s sit in there. It’s comfier than those dining room chairs.”

  Hope followed her friend and flopped onto her overstuffed couch, wondering how she’d managed to get so entangled with Lucas so quickly. Hadn’t she told herself she wasn’t going to do that again?

  “Want me to call him?” Grace asked, sitting with her legs crossed and facing Hope on the couch. “Track him down so you can tell him… whatever it is you need to tell him?”

  “Gods, no.” Hope gave her a look indicating she thought her friend was crazy. “What am I? A thirteen-year-old?”

  Grace chuckled and grinned at her friend. “If the shoe fits.”

  “Shut it, Valentine. I seem to recall it wasn’t all that long ago when you were angsting about a certain younger guy. And who was here to help you figure that out?”

  “You were. Thank you for that by the way. He’s… just what I needed,” Grace said.

  Hope snorted. “I bet.”

  It felt good to be at Grace’s house, even if the reason Hope had barged in on her friend was because she was having a meltdown about the men in her life. Or, more specifically, one man in her life.

  “Okay, so tell me again what happened. He was there one minute and not the next, right? What happened in that minute?” Grace asked.

  “I don’t know. I was just talking to Benji, breaking our date that I’d forgotten all about, actually, and then after Benji left, I realized Lucas had bailed, too,” Hope said, clutching her iced tea.

  “Did you hug Benji goodbye or touch him or anything?” Grace asked, her brows furrowed.

  “No. I didn’t, but… Oh, crap.” Hope closed her eyes and slumped back into the couch. “Benji touched me. He caressed my cheek and then kissed me goodbye.”

  “He kissed you! And you’re wondering why Lucas bolted?” The incredulity in her voice made Hope cringe.

  “He kissed me on the cheek. It’s not like I made out with the guy,” Hope insisted. “Jeez. Was that really enough to send him running? After everything that’s gone down, that’s going to be the final straw?”

  “Hope,” Grace said, shaking her head. “Seriously? You just told me that your date with him was magical. That you guys told each other that you’d try again. And then the very next day, he finds out you have a date with your booty call and watches the guy kiss you. Wouldn’t that send you running? How would you feel if you saw him with some other chick that he’d obviously been banging before you came back into his life?”

  “That’s…” Hope groaned. She’d been about to deny that she’d be upset if the situation were reversed, but that would be a blatant lie. She’d have bolted, too. It was even likely she’d call off whatever it was they were doing. “This is really a mess. I should’ve canceled earlier, but I completely forgot about it.”

  “Love does that to a person,” Grace said.

  “Don’t say that word.” Hope buried her face in her hands. When she finally came up for air, she said, “There’s something else.”

  “Really?” Gra
ce asked, surprised.

  Before Hope could continue, the door swung open and in walked Lex, Grace’s niece.

  “Hey!” She held a bag of groceries in one hand and waved with the other. “What are you two up to? Looks like gossip.”

  “It is,” Grace said. “Put those groceries away and come join us. Hope can tell you all about her love triangle.”

  “I don’t have a love triangle,” Hope insisted, rolling her eyes.

  “Well, not anymore,” Grace said with a chuckle.

  Hope glanced at where Lex had disappeared into the kitchen. “Why is Lex doing your grocery shopping? I thought she moved in with her girlfriend.”

  “She did. She’s here to help me make dinner. Owen is coming over, and I told him I’d cook.”

  Hope laughed. “So, Lex is saving you so it will be edible?”

  “That I am,” Lex said as she strode back into the room and sat next to Hope, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “I heard some crazy stuff about you today.”

  Hope sighed. “How bad is it?”

  “Bad enough that the entire town is talking about it,” Lex said with a grimace. “You didn’t really have sex with Pauly Pitsman just to organize his elaborate Christmas party every year, did you?”

  “Wait. What?” Grace exclaimed as she sat up.

  “Of course not,” Hope said and then launched into and explanation, starting with her clients canceling and then ending with what happened at the square with Maggie and the reporter. “I know this is all on Peggy Pitsman. Does she really think that everyone is going to believe this garbage?”

  “Maybe,” Grace said. “You did confirm on camera that you went skinny-dipping with Lucas, who is one of your clients.”

  “But Pauly Pitsman? And other people in town? Come on!” Hope cried. “Everyone knows that Lucas and I dated off and on in the past. Us getting back together isn’t all that shocking.”

  “Of course it isn’t.” Grace patted her knee. “But think about it. There are a lot of new people in town since you and Lucas were together last time. Not everyone knows your story. And you have been a serial dater. They aren’t used to seeing you with one man.”