“Looking for someone?” Gretchen turned to face me, arm braced on the passenger seat.
“Nope. Just checking out the sights.”
“Make you a deal,” she said. “You go get us some snacks, then you can hide out in here the rest of the night.”
“That sounds fair.”
“And I’ll drive you home later.”
“Deal,” I said.
Suzie watched this exchange with narrowing eyes. “I’m gonna go find Ford. Whatever this is I don’t want to be a part of it.”
“No snacks?” I asked.
“I’m good, doll. You two go crazy.” She was out of the car but bent and gave Gretchen one last look. “Whatever is up your sleeve … be careful.”
“Go find your man and come back later for the show,” the redhead responded.
Suzie shook her head and was gone.
I asked, “Anything in particular you’d like, madame? My treat for the lift, of course.”
“Such a gent. I think the Lodge is handing out popcorn to the kiddies. That sounds good,” she said.
With the windows down, the smell of popcorn and fried food wafted through the air. I got out of the car and stretched, observing the area. The crowd hummed with excited chatter and laughter. Children ran around chasing each other, screaming with glee. Something about small-town living made all of this seem charming without being kitschy.
Gretchen got out of the car too. Today she was dressed as a fifties pinup cowgirl. I had to admit, the lady had style. “I gotta go talk to some people. See ya in a few.” She pointed to the table set up a few yards away next to the black charter bus from the Lodge. “You’ll be wanting to head that way.”
She fluffed her red hair and sauntered away. Did she somehow know that my eyes searched the crowd for Roxy? It didn’t seem likely …
A small queue waited in front of the table. And then all at once, just like that night at the club, the crowd parted to reveal a path to my true north.
Standing behind the table, handing out bags of popcorn, there she was. Roxy.
My Roxy.
I’d never felt instant possession like this. Not ownership of her, nothing close to that. She owned me. She could bring me to my knees with the crook of one finger. It hadn’t all been in my head. Those feelings of destiny were as strong as the night we met.
She glanced up and looked around, as though someone had called her name. I tucked myself behind a truck to avoid being seen. I needed a minute to collect myself. I felt like I’d waited a lifetime for this moment. I had to play it just right. Like an accident? No. Best to be straightforward. We were destined to meet again. I was just expediting the universe’s machinations.
I peeked out to see her again. Take my fill. Her beauty was like a halo around her. How was it possible that the crowd had not stopped to just stare at her? Gone was her short skirt and leather jacket. Her body art was hidden under a business suit and her hair was up, fringe perfectly edged. Seeing her again inflamed the thousand thoughts I’d had on repeat since we parted. My fingers twitched at my sides, desperate to pull down the length of her hair as I brought her mouth to mine. I wanted to peel that suit off of her and kiss the sweet skin underneath.
But mostly I just wanted to talk to her more. I wanted to learn about her career at the Lodge. How she spent her days and who her friends were? I was desperate to know everything about every moment that led up to our paths crossing. I needed to understand the magic of the stars aligning.
Taking a deep breath in, I made my way to her table.
Chapter 8
Roxy
“We’re low on the artisanal nuts,” I said to Vincent.
I made a mental inventory of what snacks were left. We’d been working the event for over an hour, and the line had remained steady with about five to ten people at all times. My initial nerves started to settle as the crowds kept coming. This was the first event Vincent had watched me plan and host, so every detail had to be perfect. I hadn’t taken into account how much people loved free food and we were running low. It felt like most of Green Valley had shown up to have a relaxing evening under the summer night. This evening was an opportunity for the people of Green Valley to enjoy a fun night out all the while promoting the many activities at the Lodge.
So far, so good.
I’d even begun to relax around Vincent a little. He wasn’t exactly chatty but neither was I, so we worked side by side only talking when we needed to. And that was A-OK with me.
“People love their nuts,” Vincent said as he handed the last bag to a bearded hulk of a man.
I think it was Everett Monroe. Talk about a family with good genes. He took the bag, opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it, walking away with a shake of his head. What’s in the water here? Between those Monroe brothers and the Winstons, Green Valley had more good-looking men per capita than any other city, I was sure of it. I’d have to bring that up at the next SWS meeting.
I shot a look to Vincent to see if he’d been joking but his face remained serene, so I kept my raunchy response at bay. “That they do,” I said neutrally.
“I’ll start more popcorn.” Vincent reached for the next bag of kernels. “You know, I started out at the front desk too,” he said as he dumped the kernels into the little pot.
“Oh?” I asked.
“I think it’s very impressive not only what you’ve done here tonight but for the Lodge. I can tell your career means a lot to you.”
I hid my face, hating how my cheeks heated at the compliment. “Thank you, sir,” I said, then cringed at my use of the honorific. Where was this man in the hierarchy of the Lodge? I wondered if he even knew with all the sudden changes. I respected that he didn’t want to give me a promotion without knowing me. Even though it sucked. At least he was making an effort to get to know me. Maybe he was starting to see me as something close to a peer.
I had to be careful. If he learned about my past, he wouldn’t be so eager to promote me up the ranks. As I helped person after person, checking in on local families, interacting with the visitors staying at the Lodge, I maintained a professional persona. Nobody said anything about me being that Roxy Kincaid. However at one point, Scotia Simmons made a comment about how glad she was “I turned my life around.” Thankfully, Vincent had been busy helping out and didn’t hear her. Soon, I started to relax and just get lost in the transactions. Hand out popcorn, pimp Lodge. I could do that.
“This has been a really great event, Roxanne,” Vincent said when the movie started and the line finally stopped.
It was so weird to hear him call me anything but Roxy after spending the last few hours chatting with him. But he’d finally stopped calling me “Miss Kincaid” and so it was still progress.
“Thank you,” I said. “It’s a good little town.”
“Hmm,” he said looking out at the crowd. His face was unreadable as he looked back at me. “Excuse me, I have to see a man about a horse. Is that what you all say?”
As always, my face spoke for me.
“I’ll work on it,” he said with a hint of a smile before walking away.
I took a deep breath, finally alone for the first time in hours. And yet, being alone with my thoughts, the inevitable crept in. The “I made a terrible mistake leaving Sanders” thoughts. It had seemed so important to me to maintain boundaries that night in Denver. But my mind kept drifting back to him. Like the pair of shoes I talked myself out of buying only to obsess over how often I would’ve actually worn them. But a thousand times worse. Because now my heart was constantly aching over might-have-beens.
I searched for something to do behind the table to distract me. I folded brochures, restocked the water, fluffed the popcorn. I was just bending down to open a new case of water when a voice said my name. A voice I never thought I’d hear again.
“Roxy?” the smooth Australian accent asked. “Is that you?”
I straightened and turned around slowly. I’m sure my eyes were as wid
e open as my mouth. There he stood. Sanders. Sexier, taller, and even more stunning than the memories that had played on a loop this last week. Like he’d been manifested straight from my recurring dreams, there he stood with his head tilted, brows pushed up together with hesitation and a soft smile playing on his lips.
It would be damn corny to say that my heart exploded into a thousand little butterflies and took flight into the air around me. So I’d just keep that feeling to myself.
I was around the table without thinking. My arms wrapped around his shoulders. His deep rumbling laughter filled my ears as he squeezed me back, lifting me off the ground. My feet kicked up. I was laughing. I was actually laughing. Or crying, I couldn’t tell. The relief was immediate.
I was still floating off the ground, held in his strong bracing grasp, when I pulled back to look at his face. My gaze moved all over from his laughing grin with his silly teeth to his dark blond brows lifted high with humor.
“It’s you,” was all I could say.
“Hi,” he said back.
For who knows how long, we seemed to just stand there memorizing each other’s faces. I never thought I’d seen him again. Truly never. And now that he stood here in front of me, I understood so clearly how that thought depressed me. I’d been telling myself it was for the best but my instant joy told me otherwise. Eventually, he slowly dropped me to the ground.
The second my feet touched the field, reality sunk back in. Where we were. What I was doing. I stepped back with a heavy heart. I was here for work, this wasn’t the time or place to have a reunion. After feeling like that night in Denver had been a weird and wonderful dream, I couldn’t seem to slide Sanders into my real life. He didn’t fit in this world, like wearing a life vest to a funeral.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
He opened his mouth but from behind me, Vincent said, “Hello. Who’s this?”
As I scrambled back around the table, he extended his hand to Vincent.
“I’m Sanders Olsson,” he said. His face was still bright with a huge smile. I managed to smooth my features into neutrality but my heart was pounding.
“Sanders,” Vincent said, flatly. “We spoke on the phone earlier.
“You two know each other?” Vincent asked, looking between the two of us in a way that made my stomach twist.
“I met Roxy in Denver. My corporate adventure company was at the hospitality convention,” Sanders explained.
It was all facts but thankfully excluded the more intimate details.
Vincent turned to me with a question in his brow. “Roxy? Is that what you prefer to be called?” he asked.
“Or Roxanne. It doesn’t matter.” I wasn’t sure why I said that. It didn’t actually matter but no, nobody else called me Roxanne despite what my name tag read. It was flustering to stand here between these two men and find my footing. Sanders had almost reached fantasy levels in my brain, and to see him as real as my manager, it was all too much.
Sanders watched me the entire time, barely flicking a glance to Vincent. God, he was saying too much looking at me like that. I must have frowned because his smile finally turned down a few notches and the absence made me feel awful.
Vincent asked Sanders, “Is Roxanne why you’re in Green Valley? I didn’t get the impression you knew her when we spoke on the phone. Or are you here because of Outside the Box?” His face remained coolly blank but I felt like whatever was said next would mean everything for my career.
Heat burned my cheeks at his tone as realization settled in. Everything Sanders said connected at once.
Sanders. Outside the Box. The convention.
Everything had been so full of color and hope when Sanders appeared. In a moment, the world fell away. I was sure of it. The poles reversed or gravity suddenly stopped working because everything definitely shifted sideways. I had to grip the table to keep from falling over.
A hand went to my mouth, as if to keep me from gasping, before I realized what I was doing and tried to look casual. I couldn’t believe my luck only a moment ago, but now … now I couldn’t believe my fucking luck. William had mentioned his partner that couldn’t make it at the convention …
How much had Vincent seen? What did he assume right now?
“Yes, Roxy met with my business partner, Skip, in Denver. I would have been there …” Distantly, I heard Sanders explain how we met up later. But I couldn’t focus for the blood rushing in my ears.
“Skip?” I asked. The best friend he mentioned several times? No. That wasn’t right. None of this made sense. Maybe this was still just a misunderstanding. “I spoke with William.” My voice sounded far away.
Sanders grinned. “Oh, well, for work he usually uses his real name, William, but all his friends call him Skip.”
I nodded but needed a minute to think. To regroup.
The two men talked back and forth but it was like listening through water. I needed to get away. I needed to think. The scene I just made … My reaction to seeing him.
“I-I’ll be right back,” I said, already backing away.
“Are you okay?” Vincent asked.
“Can we talk?” Sanders asked at the same time.
Sanders. Him. He. The man who threatened to sweep me off my feet in Denver, he was the potential business partner. Oh my God, what if I had slept with him that night?
I couldn’t seem to think or focus. I knew myself enough to know that if I talked now, I’d only fuck up this insane situation more.
“Just—I need to go get something from the bus,” I said and walked away.
Keep it together, keep it together. What would the SWS do?
I pressed a hand to my stomach as I stumbled toward the bus, the suit suffocating me.
After ten steps, I spotted Gretchen. She stuck out as always in a cream leather skirt with fringe and cowboy boots. Her vintage collared shirt was white with red swirled designs and shiny opal buttons. A red cowgirl hat was propped on her barrel curls.
“Hey, girl! Glad I caught you, who’s that hottie working the table with you?” she asked. “Is it—” She stopped short when she was close enough to see my face. I shook my head once, feeling too dizzy to speak. She was at my side in an instant. “What’s wrong?”
“I think I fucked up.” My voice was shaky.
“Okay, okay. I gotcha.” She glanced around before wrapping her arms around my shoulders and leading me to the trees and out of sight. “What’s going on?”
“Sanders. From Denver.” All the words tried to come out at once. My whole body was shaking now. Anxiety was closing in on me, I couldn’t catch my breath and my hands went icy.
Her hands gripped my shoulders. “Just breathe, hon. Slow down. Try again.”
“Sanders is here. He’s a potential business partner for the Lodge.”
“Oh. Well, that’s good, right? To see him again?”
“Not here. Not while I’m working. Not to find out like this,” I explained.
“I thought you’d be happy …” she said, trailing off.
Anxiety slithered in my gut. “You knew? How?” I shook my head. “You knew he was here and you didn’t warn me?”
This wasn’t happening. I knew she wouldn’t set me up to be cruel but it all felt like too much to process. My carefully contained worlds were colliding.
“I wanted to surprise you. I thought you’d be happy.” The fringe of her shirt flared as she crossed her arms.
“You’re behind this? You brought him?” I tried to keep my voice calm.
“Well, it’s not like I brought him to Green Valley, he obviously came to see you.”
“No,” I snapped. It cracked off the trees around us and her eyes widened before narrowing. “He’s here for business. And you—you can’t just do stuff like this. I asked you not to get involved.”
“You need some fun, girl. You two obviously had a connection.”
“Gretchen, stop.”
I held up a hand and then pressed it to my forehead unde
r my bangs. She shut her mouth immediately, her jaw jutting out.
“I didn’t want to see him again,” I said.
“I don’t understand why. Plenty of people who hook up still work together—”
But it wasn’t about hooking up. It wasn’t about a quick fling. It was so much more than that but all my thoughts were jumbled up and I wasn’t explaining myself well. I was too upset.
“You always do this,” I cut her off. My anger grew as I freaked out. Didn’t she understand why I pushed him away? Couldn’t she see that I needed to keep things the same? She knew how loose my hold was on this new life. But how could I explain all that without her feeling guilty and hurt for her role in my past?
“What? Help people who are too afraid to admit what they want?”
“Stick your nose in other people’s business!” I snapped and then lowered my voice after a few people looked toward us. “This isn’t a game.”
She chewed her lip before saying, “I really think you’re overreacting.”
If she had looked even remotely remorseful, if she had looked even slightly apologetic or ashamed, maybe I wouldn’t have lost my cool and unloaded. But she stood there like she didn’t regret a thing and I was the one acting crazy. I couldn’t keep a lid on my thoughts any longer.
“I know you think I’m being bitchy. I know in your head, I’m being irrational. But Gretchen, I’m angry. I didn’t want to see him like this.” My fingertips pressed to my hot cheeks. “I’m humiliated,” I added weakly.
She was speechless. Her hands dropped to her sides, and she backed up.
I glanced around to make sure nobody could see us fighting. “You accuse Green Valley of treating the SWS like the side characters in Jethro and Sienna’s story. It pisses you off so much and then you go and do the same thing to us. We’re real, breathing, fleshed-out people. Not little pieces on your game board,” I finished.
The One That I Want (Scorned Women Society Book 3) Page 6
