Sweet Talk Boxed Set (Ten NEW Contemporary Romances by Bestselling Authors to Benefit Diabetes Research plus BONUS Novel)

by Novak, Brenda

  “Yeah. Pops was always working on something out here. I used to love working on projects with him.” She ran her hand across one of the workbenches. “The workshop is well-equipped, but if we’re missing any tools I’ll get whatever we need. If it’s one thing I learned early on from Pops, it was that a man needs the right tools for the job.”

  “He trained you right.” Brody walked through the space. Most of the first bay was filled with nothing but lumber. “You did good on that board campaign. Looks like a lot of wood when it’s all stacked in one place.”

  “I thought the same thing. I’m glad they were able to fit it all inside. Just about everybody who’s ever spent even one summer near our beach wanted to help restore a landmark like the pier. Only problem is now there seems to be some problem with them renewing the licenses. I’ll be checking into that this week, but that shouldn’t preclude us from getting started on this project.”

  “Sounds good.” He walked over to a rack built out of PVC and flipped through the brightly colored boards, then turned to Elli. “Skimboards?”

  Elli’s smile beamed all the way from her heart. “Yes. My grandfather made them. He was kind of known for that design. He’d cut them out and sand them and all. Then, Nana would paint the outline of the designs and I’d fill in the colors before he put all the clear layers over them. It was so much fun working on those projects — all three of us. He made the best skimboards around.” She put her hands on her hips. “I’m kind of impressed you knew what they were.”

  “Surprised?” Brody’s shoulder bounced. “Girl, skimming was born on my coast.”

  “I always assumed it was a Carolina thing. Ya know, because our waves aren’t as big for riding.”

  “Heck no.” He pulled a bright royal-blue skimboard from the rack and wiped away the dust. “Nice work. We’ll have to take some of these out and I’ll show you a few things.” He lifted another one out and inspected it closer. “Bidirectional board. Sweet lines.”

  “It’s been years since I’ve done that, but I have to warn you I was pretty good.” Her competitive nature sparked, but then her sensible self sprang forward. “Then again, I don’t think we better risk you breaking an arm before we get this project done.”

  “You might be out of practice, but I’m not.” Brody hiked himself up on the workbench. “Tell you what. How about if I get all the names done on all of these boards early, but you still let me stay the whole six weeks and you let me have one of these as a bonus?”

  “A skimboard?”

  He nodded. “Seems to me it will work out for both of us. I’ll work double time and overtime to knock this job out quickly for you. And me…I’ll get to play on the Carolina shores for a few weeks longer.”

  Elli walked over and put her hand out. “Deal.”

  He started to shake her hand and then pulled it back. “Oh, and we do a little skimboarding together and see just how good you are.”

  “You’re on.” She shook his hand.

  “The best summer of my life might just be right here in Sand Dollar Cove.”

  Careful, buddy, those best-summer-evers in this town can sometimes have very disappointing endings.

  CHAPTER THREE

  The next morning, Elli felt like she was getting her Sand Dollar Cove groove back when she pulled on a pair of weathered Levi’s and flip-flops. Even though it was March, any day over sixty degrees was good enough for flip-flops when you lived on the beach. She drove with the window down to meet Pam for breakfast at the resort. The great thing about being friends with Pam was that no matter how long they were apart, they could still pick up like no time had passed. Then again, meeting Pam for breakfast at the resort was something she could get used to doing on a very regular basis. It was a much nicer way of starting the workday than alone in her condo with her Keurig.

  They dined on egg white omelets and fresh fruit smoothies in spa style.

  “Did you get your cabana boy all settled in?” Pam asked.

  Elli laughed. “He is hot enough to be a cabana boy, but there won’t be time for playing in the sand for a while. But yes, he’s all settled in.”

  “So he’s good-looking.”

  “Very, in an outdoorsy I’m-going-to-hang-out-on-the-beach-and-never-be-stressed kind of way.”

  “Oh.” Pam stopped mid-motion, her fork hanging halfway between her plate and her mouth.

  “It’s not that bad. He’s really nice and he’s eager to get started.”

  “No, not Brody. That.” She nodded toward the door, never glancing away from it. “You are not going to believe who just walked in.”

  “Who is it? Jack?”

  “No, I told you yesterday that he’s in Texas. I don’t really expect we’ll ever see him back around here,” Pam said. Elli started to turn, but Pam put her hand on Elli’s arm. “Don’t look, but it’s you’re old boyfriend.”

  “I don’t have an old boyfriend. What are you talking about?”

  Pam held her glass up and whispered. “Holden Moore.”

  “Holden from the best and worst summer of my life, Holden?”

  “One and the same.”

  Elli spun around in her chair, then she turned back and clasped a hand over her mouth. “It is him. He’s back? When did he get back?”

  “I meant to tell you.”

  Her whole life seemed to be rewound like an old cassette tape…to that summer just before college. And not the good old favorite song kind of feeling either. “Is he visiting or really back?”

  “He’s back. For good.”

  “And you just forgot to mention it to me? No phone call?”

  “It’s not that big of a deal, is it? I mean your summer with him was a long, long time ago. I mean you’re over him, right?”

  “Of course, I’m over him. I was over him the moment he left this town.” She turned around to catch another glimpse of him. He hadn’t seen her, but he looked good. Really good. The last time she’d seen him he had more of a boyish charm in boarding shorts and was too tan for what was considered healthy these days. Today he was dressed in a suit, and those boyish good looks were now replaced with just the right amount of bulk to fill out that business suit right nicely. The two men who had walked in with him were both wearing suits too. Man, he cleaned up nice.

  Pam lifted a hand in the air. “Good morning, Holden.”

  “Shh. What are you doing?” Elli crouched.

  “Saying hello. He’s a good customer. They have meetings here all the time.” Pam smiled. “Sit up. He’s coming this way.”

  “I’m going to kill you.”

  “You’re going to thank me. It’s history. Move on.”

  All she could remember about Holden, besides the way he looked running on the beach, was the way he kissed. Even though it had been the summer before she started college, she could remember it like it was yesterday. He’d surf all day while she worked her popsicle stand. They’d spent nearly every waking moment on the beach that summer, even lying under the stars down in the cove on her grandparents’ property. It had been a magical summer.

  “Good to see you this morning,” Pam said. “I think you might remember my friend Elli.”

  Elli wished she could crawl right under the table.

  His eyes registered recognition immediately. “Elli? Wow, it’s great to see you. You look…you look amazing.” He stared a little too long. “Are you staying in town long?”

  Her palms began to sweat like a nervous teenager. “I’m here visiting my grandmother. Just for the weekend. You know. Not forever. Weren’t you in Chicago, or somewhere up north?” She knew darn well exactly where he’d been. Still broke her heart remembering when he took off to move for good. In Boston for college was one thing, but the move had quickly fizzled their budding relationship.

  “Boston,” he said. “I was in Boston, but I’m back. I heard you’re working in Charlotte.”

  Elli sucked in a breath. There was no denying the little zing that went through her when he spoke. She’d been
so sad after he left, and bless the guys’ hearts that she dated after he moved, because she measured every single one of them to Holden’s standards. Not an easy act to follow.

  He’d obviously been asking about her. Stop it, Elli. It was a million years ago and surely he’s married and has kids by now.

  “It’s great to see you. A really nice surprise,” he said. “Made my day.”

  “Really? I don’t know why. I mean, you’re the one who left in a cloud of dust. What was it you said…even a girl as cute as me couldn’t hold you down in this one-horse town.” She leveled a stare at him. She might not have had the chance to say anything to him after he’d left, but it felt good to at least get a little say in now.

  Pam kicked her square in the shin under the table. It was all Elli could do to not shout out in pain. She pasted a grin on her face instead and tried to listen to Holden.

  “Well, I might have been a little high on my horse after getting accepted to Harvard.”

  “You think?” Elli risked a glance over at Pam, and just as she expected she was getting the what-the-heck-are-you-doing look.

  “But then you left too. I know because I came looking for you.” Holden held her gaze. Only his didn’t hold the daggers she hoped hers were displaying.

  She swallowed, only it was hard because suddenly her throat was as dry as a powder house. She would’ve known if he’d come back looking for her, wouldn’t she? “I never would have left if you’d stayed, but that’s water under the bridge, or the pier I guess we could say.” And darn if she didn’t regret saying that out loud as soon as the words hit the air. And by the look on Pam’s face, she wasn’t too pleased about it either.

  Elli felt bad for running her mouth to one of her customers like that, even if he totally deserved it.

  “I’ve got to run. Business meeting, but I’d love to connect while you’re in town. Could we? I mean, to just catch up. It’s been years.” He glanced at Pam. Then back to Elli. “Could I call you?”

  “Of course you can call her.” Pam pulled an ink pen from the top of her purse and shoved her business card across the table toward Elli. “Here, Elli, you can write your number on this.” The forced smile from Pam was clear that Elli had no other option.

  Elli took the pen in her hand, but for a moment she just sat there unable to even bring her own phone number to mind. Then she quickly scrawled her cell number on the card and handed it to him. Say something. But nothing came out. Not a single word. Not even a sound.

  He flipped the card against his other hand. “Great.” He took a step back. “I’ll call you.”

  Pam and Elli sat there without a word between them, watching him make his way through the tables toward a party of six other businessmen already in discussion. Holden unbuttoned his jacket and took a seat at the large table with the rest of the men.

  The last person she’d ever expected to see this morning was Holden Moore. He lifted his chin in Elli’s direction as he sat.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me,” Elli said.

  “No kidding. I’ve never seen you act like that.”

  She nodded and turned to Pam. “I was such a dork.”

  “You were not. He seemed kind of nervous too. Y’all are still cute together. He didn’t even seem to notice you were cutting him off at the knees.”

  “Stop it.”

  “No. There was an attraction once. Y’all were kids back then, but you’re both adults and single now.”

  “He’s single?” Why did she even ask?

  “Sure is. They say there’s a fine line between love and hate. I don’t know what that was you were spewing, but whatever it was, it was emotional. Maybe it’s worth just a little exploration. Come on. What do you have to lose?”

  “Don’t you go playing matchmaker.”

  “It’s just catching up on old times. Not a date. Relax and enjoy it.”

  Easy for her to say, she didn’t feel that wave of memories tug at her like an undertow.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Elli drove back to Nana’s so deep in thought about Holden and their past, and today’s brief encounter, that she didn’t even remember taking the turn off the beach road or into the driveway at Sol~Mate.

  Nana’s minivan was gone, so Elli went upstairs and finished unpacking her things in the same blue dresser, as she had for as many years as she could remember coming here. The quilt Nana had hand-stitched with the Carolina lighthouses on it still looked as bright and colorful today as the Christmas she’d first given it to her. All the pictures on the wall were crafts the two of them had done together over the years. Shell art, paintings, sand art, and some finger paintings. Even the designs on the old roll-up shades on the windows had been a project. Nana had let Elli cut out little nautical flags from fabric swatches that spelled out DREAM. It had seemed like a secret spy code at the time, and that had made it that much more fun. The two of them had carefully appliquéd them to the shade and made matching pillows for the bed.

  Yes, she’d miss the house, but these memories would never fade away.

  One thing for sure, she was getting more and more used to not fighting the changes life had brought her way, and boy did that make things easier.

  Nana sang out her arrival. “Home with groceries.”

  Elli took the stairs two at a time. “I’ll get the rest of them.”

  “Thanks, dear.”

  Elli made two trips down to the minivan and back. “Did you buy the place out? Looks like you’re ready to be snowed in for a month by the looks of this haul.”

  “Just a few special things I want to cook while you’re back in town, and for our guest of course.”

  “You don’t have to go to that trouble.”

  “You know it’s no trouble at all. I love having someone to cook for.”

  Elli put the last bag on the counter and kissed Nana on the cheek. “You are the best. I’m going to head down to the pier to check things out.”

  “Okay, honey. I’ve got dinner in the slow cooker, so whenever you’re back, it’ll be ready.”

  “Thanks.” Elli grabbed her windbreaker and headed outside. The afternoon sun was warm, but depending on how long she was gone, the walk back later could be cooler. That was the only problem with this time of the year. The temperatures still bobbled around a lot so you got used to just preparing for anybody’s guess.

  “See you later.” Walking down the stairs, she could see how it would be hard for someone Nana’s age to navigate them. It was a little tricky for her now that she was out of practice.

  The sand was smooth from last night’s heavy winds. Her footsteps were the only disturbance. She navigated the weathered boards that terraced their way across the steep dune. At the top, she stopped to look out to the water’s edge.

  It was almost eleven and the tide was all the way out. She loved low tide the best. It was when the beach was the widest and the sand bar made itself visible. She used to pretend it was her own private island.

  Truth be told, the beach wasn’t nearly as wide as it had been twenty years ago. Erosion was nipping away at the property. In fact, some of the folks up the beach had property lines that were now in the ocean.

  But that was nature, and with time all things changed. The shift of the beach was just its way of aging, maturing into what nature had in store for it next.

  Elli took in a deep breath of fresh air and closed her eyes. The tiniest inkling of spray from the ocean wafted through the air. She always felt so small compared with the strength of the ocean, but at the same time it empowered her too. Like that spray was some kind of fairy dust that made all things good.

  Invigorated, she jogged down the dune to where the sand was firm. After pulling off her shoes, she laid them on top of her windbreaker to keep a breeze from whisking it away, then she rolled up her jeans and headed to the water.

  The familiar texture of the sand felt good on her feet. Along the water’s edge she dug her toes into the sand. The water was still icy cold from
the long winter, but there was something soothing about the tide sucking at her feet, as the waves rolled in and then swept back out with just as much force, that it was worth the chill.

  She kicked through the water, feeling at one with the beach again. Nana had always sworn Elli had ocean water in her veins. She tended to believe that, because she felt so alive when she was near it.

  Walking back up along the line where the water met the dry sand, expired sand dollars lay among the debris and shells. She collected a stack of the sand dollars for Nana then grabbed her shoes and coat and headed on up the beach toward the pier.

  Moments spent here on the beach tickled her brain. Happy times from days gone by. Some magical, and some she wished she could forget, like the year she broke her arm skimboarding. That summer with Holden too. At least the way it had ended.

  The pier seemed to look worse each time she saw it. Several of the piles that had been broken off were now wedged up under the pier, making it look messy and neglected.

  A few guys with four-wheelers and some ropes could haul those out and clean it up before summer came. They’d done it before.

  She ducked under the yellow caution tape and made her way up the pier to where the storefronts were. At least this part of the pier was still intact, even though the entire middle section was gone.

  The decades-old wood shimmered a silvery hue in the sun. The wood was so worn that it was nearly cotton smooth. The old pier had weathered years of the powerful surge of the tides here off the Carolina coast, but today the whole pier seemed to shift, feeling unsteady.

  It was eerie for the pier to be empty. Even this time of year there’d normally be some guys braving the cooler temps to catch some red drum, since they usually started running pretty strong off the pier about now. Last year, someone reeled in one weighing close to ninety pounds. Sadly, it missed beating the record by only four pounds, but it was still worth some heavy-duty bragging rights.