Love Promises (Sully Point, Book 4)

by Smith, Nicole

  He'd discovered right away that people came out of the woodwork wanting that money once it became known. He was inundated by women, all of whom were only interested in his money. Millions could do that, he supposed. But Maggie didn't know anything about his past. Nobody in Sully Point did, he thought. His name had never really become big news, and the sale had taken place eight months ago. He could relax here, and perhaps pursue a fascinating woman. Life was good.

  Chapter 2

  Maggie had tossed and turned all night, haunted by a pair of dark emerald eyes. She'd finally fallen deeply asleep around three in the morning, leaving her bleary-eyed and grouchy when she got up late for the day. She threw on a sweatshirt and jeans and ran downstairs to the bakery.

  "Hey Julie," she said, as she headed for the counter pastry case.

  "Hi, Maggie," Julie said from the behind the counter. Then she looked at Maggie and her eyes widened. "Uh, you know, you hair--"

  "What? Bad hair day? I'll comb it when I get upstairs. Give me some of that apple strudel, two pieces, along with a couple pumpkin muffins, and four coconut donuts. I've got company this morning. I guess that will be enough."

  She paid, and noticed that Julie continued to stare at her hair. It must be bad. She ran back upstairs and was headed for the bathroom and her comb when there was a knock on the door. Damn, she thought, and opened the door to Eric.

  Eric took one look at her and got a big smile on his face. "Just wake up?" he asked.

  "Why? My hair? Yeah, they told me at the bakery. I was just going to get a comb." She motioned him inside and he entered looking curious.

  She immediately noticed that his hair was pulled back with a leather tie, which just showed off the good bones in his face and made him even more handsome.

  "It's different," he said, standing in the center of the living room and turning in a slow circle. "Eclectic. I like it."

  "Well, that's good," she said, a bit sarcastically. "I'll get my comb."

  "No, wait, sit down here a minute." He pointed to the brocaded armchair. "Come on. Trust me."

  She shrugged and sat down. He moved behind the chair, and she felt him put his fingers into her hair.

  "What are you doing?"

  "I'm combing your hair with my fingers."

  "Oh."

  Maggie relaxed as his fingers ran through her hair and then moaned aloud when he began to massage her scalp. "Wow. That feels great."

  "Just relax for a minute. You look like you had a bad wake-up this morning."

  "Yeah, I didn't get enough sleep. Dreams."

  "Want to talk about them?"

  Maggie was relaxed, but not enough to talk about dreams that featured the man with the magic fingers. "Uh, no, not really."

  After a couple more minutes of indulging in the relaxation coming from his attention to her hair, she pulled away from his hands.

  "Thanks, Eric. That definitely improved my mood. How's my hair now?"

  He stepped away from her and gave a good look. "Now it just looks messy instead of major bed hair."

  They moved into the kitchen, which had enough room for a table with two chairs. The walls were painted butter-yellow, with orange curtains at the windows. The table was painted a glossy orange with yellow chairs that had cushions with bright flowers on them. Maggie put the box of pastries on the table and poured coffee for them both. Each took cream in their coffee.

  Eric opened the box and his eyes widened at the bounty inside. "Coconut donuts? I love those!"

  Maggie grudgingly said, "Have as many as you want."

  But Eric had picked up on the tone. "I'll claim two, but I bet you like them too."

  She nodded and grabbed one as she sat down. "They're the best. Although, I think that strudel is still warm from the oven. It's always good."

  They munched on the food in a companionable silence. Maggie began to feel human by the time she poured them a second cup of coffee.

  "So you didn't change your mind last night?" Eric asked. "You still want to go through with this?"

  "Yes, I want to. And you're still willing?"

  "Absolutely. Let's get started. What kind of music do you like?"

  "Okay. Adele, Norah Jones, Paula Cole. Iron and Wine. Train. The Asteroids Galaxy Tour. Plus older stuff. How about you?"

  "I like jazz and classical music for listening to at home on a rainy day. I like blasting music in the car from bands like Muse. Then I tend to sing love songs and ballads from the seventies, eighties and nineties when I perform. So I guess it would be a real mix."

  Maggie asked, "Where are you from? Obviously, not from around here."

  "Seattle, Washington."

  "What?" she asked, startled. "That's all the way across the country."

  "I know. I drove the whole way. It was a great way to see things. Have you always lived in Sully Point?"

  "No, I came here after Sam married Anna. I liked it, but I was drawn to the city at first. However, the city and my fledgling P.R. business didn't get along so well. I came to live here when I started working on the Sully Point Project."

  "What's that?"

  "I guess you do need to know about that since the whole family is involved. It's a project to build an artist community here. Jason Earlington, the architect, is designing the place. There will also be high end homes for sale. Jason is married to Holly."

  "One of the Graingers, right."

  She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

  "I remembered from last night," Eric said. "I'm a very good listener."

  "That's helpful. You mentioned your parents, but do you have any siblings?"

  "Nope, I'm an only child. I did have a dog growing up. Scout was his name. A Golden Retriever. He died my second year in college. Which was Stanford University. Where did you go to school?"

  "NYU. I wanted life in a big city at that point. I'm over it now. Besides, I like this town. It's unique and funky and full of interesting characters. Let's see. I have two other sisters, besides having Sam for a brother. My parents live in upstate New York now."

  Eric nodded. "Do you watch any sports?"

  "Yes, I'm a huge pro basketball fan. I love to watch it on TV whenever I get the chance. How about you?"

  "College football and the occasional basketball game. I'm surprised you're so into pro basketball."

  "It's all those super tall people. I always wanted to be taller than I am."

  "So, you prefer taller men than I am?"

  "Oh no, not at all. Those guys would be way too tall for me. No, you're just about perfect."

  "I see," he said with that knowing smile.

  She felt herself blushing. "I meant--"

  He laughed and then said, "I know what you meant. Let's move into your living room. I think we've demolished these pastries for the time being."

  Maggie nodded and put their plates and cups in the sink. Eric closed the box top on the few remaining muffins.

  "Do you cook?" he asked as they headed into the living room.

  "Some. I have a few things that I know how to do well, but it's hit or miss on other stuff."

  "That sounds like me. My mother taught me a few dishes. My lasagna, for instance, is killer. But I'm fairly limited."

  She sat back down in the same chair as before. He sat on the velvet sofa, running a hand over the surface. "Nice. I don't think I've ever sat on a velvet sofa before."

  "Thanks."

  "I see you have a bookcase full of books. What genre?"

  "Science fiction. I've been collecting these for a while now."

  Eric smiled widely at her. "I am a huge science fiction fan." He got up and walked over to look at the books. "Heinlein, Pohl, Niven and Pournelle, Bova, and, of course, Asimov. You've got all the old masters here, along with new ones. I thought everyone read ebooks these days, but here you have a lot of hardcover books."

  "I do read books on my Kindle, but I still love the feel of an actual book in my hands from time to time."

  He returned to his seat
on the sofa. "Many boyfriends in your past?"

  "Only two that counted. A tennis pro and an artist. Each managed in his own way to break my heart. I learned my lesson from those guys."

  Eric leaned forward, watching her carefully. "And what was the lesson you learned?"

  "Be very, very careful who you trust. Just because somebody is good looking, that doesn't mean they are trustworthy."

  He nodded, and sat back. "I've had a few heartbreaks in my life as well. I guess we all have to learn that lesson. As long as you haven't given up on men entirely...?"

  She grinned at him. "No, not entirely."

  "Good, because you are too pretty to sit on a shelf."

  "Sit on a shelf?" She laughed.

  "You know what I mean," he said, looking somewhat embarrassed.

  "You said that I'm pretty. Don't you mean cute?"

  He tilted his head to stare at her. "I'm not sure I've ever heard the word cute spoken in such a scathing tone of voice. And no, I don't mean cute. Cute is for kids, and you are most definitely a woman."

  The butterflies started up in her stomach. Something about the look in his eyes and the depth of his voice--it got to her.

  "I'm glad you think so. I've been called cute all my life. Nobody around me seems to get that I see it as an insult."

  "Often I think that family is the last to see us as all grown up."

  "True. What else do you think we need to know about each other?"

  "I think we've only scratched the surface, but even if we were really dating, we wouldn't know everything about each other all at once. I think it should be okay if we discover new things as we go along."

  "That's probably right. I'll see about--" Her cell phone rang. "Just let me see who this is."

  He nodded.

  She looked at her phone and then back up at him. "I need to take this in case it's about the project. It's Frank Grainger."

  He waved a hand at her to go ahead.

  "Hi Frank, what's up?"

  After a minute she glanced up at Eric with a grin. "No, Frank, I won't be able to come to dinner tonight. I have a date."

  Eric smiled at her.

  "Yes, really! No, you don't know him. You want us to come by for coffee tonight? And dessert?"

  She looked at Eric again. He held out his hands and shrugged. "I'm free tonight," he said in a low voice.

  "Okay, Frank, we'll come by after the movie. See you then." She turned the phone off. "This ought to be interesting."

  "What movie do you want to see tonight?" he asked.

  "Hmm? We don't have to go see one. I just said that."

  "Yes, we do need to see a movie because he's sure to ask us about it. Is there a movie theater in town? I don't recall seeing one."

  "There is an old-fashioned movie theater that was re-done a couple years ago." She didn't bother saying that it had been Sam who'd paid for the renovation. "Or we can go to the mall where they have several cinemas."

  "An old-fashioned theater sounds interesting. What's playing there?"

  "I think the marquee said the movie is Rear Window with Jimmy Stewart and--"

  "Grace Kelly! I haven't seen that in ages. I love old movies."

  "I don't think I've ever seen it. I haven't seen many old movies."

  "Shall we go then? You'll love it, I promise."

  The light in Eric's eyes at the thought of seeing this movie made her smile. "Okay, let's do it. I think they always start their movies at eight in the evening. Do you want to pick me up?"

  "Yes, please. Your car..."

  "There's nothing wrong with my car."

  "Oh yes there is," he muttered. "Do you want to get something to eat first?"

  "No, I'll just grab a sandwich here. I'm not sure how late my meeting will run."

  "I'm assuming this town is pretty much casual dress for most things?"

  "Yeah. People dress up for church, or to go to Alejandro's restaurant."

  "Good to know," he said. "Well, I'll be going and leave you to your day. I think we've made a good start."

  "I think so, too." She walked with him to the door. She opened it and the next thing she knew, Eric had leaned in and placed a quick kiss on her lips. He smiled at her as her lips tingled.

  "We would have probably already done that if we were really dating. Just getting the mood right."

  "Ah, yes, of course," she said, still in a bit of a daze. The feel of his lips on hers had been electric.

  He brushed back a curl from her forehead. "I'll see you tonight."

  "Yeah. Definitely." She watched him go down the stairs and waved when he looked up at her from his car.

  She went back inside and slowly closed the door. Leaning against it she said softly, "Wow!"

  * * * *

  "Betsy?"

  "Yes, Frank, I'm here. What is it?"

  "Guess who is bringing a date over coffee and dessert tonight?"

  "No! Really?"

  "Yes, she told me herself. I thought I'd better warn you so you could make some kind of dessert."

  "Frank Grainger. I may be your wife, but you know as well as I do that you're the better cook."

  "You're right. I'll pick up some ingredients from the store."

  "Maggie with a date. Will wonders never cease!"

  Frank chuckled and hung up the phone.

  * * * *

  "Hello?"

  "Anna, it's Betsy. Why didn't you tell me about Maggie?"

  "Tell you what about Maggie?"

  "You mean you don't know? She's bringing a date to coffee and dessert at our place tonight."

  "You're kidding. Is it Willie Wilcox?"

  "No, I don't think so. Frank just called me and he heard it from her directly. He'd have mentioned if it was Willie. I think they've been dating a while."

  "That minx. I only just had her over for dinner with Willie. Granted, he was pretty boring, but why wouldn't she have said something to me?"

  "Maybe she was keeping it secret?"

  "Maybe so, although I can't imagine why. Wait till I tell Sam. He was worrying about Maggie this morning."

  "Looks like we don't need to worry so much anymore."

  "Hmm. We'll see. None of us have met the guy yet."

  "True. Very true."

  * * * *

  Cody walked into his father's hardware store, looking frazzled. "I need the largest wrench you have, Dad."

  "Sure, right over here."

  They walked to the aisle and Cody picked out a wrench.

  "Have you heard about Maggie yet?"

  "What about her?"

  "She has a date tonight. Told me herself. She's bringing him over for coffee and dessert tonight."

  Cody's eyebrows rose in surprise. "I'm surprised. After the last two dinners we had with her I was beginning to think she just didn't like men. She sure didn't like either of the two we presented to her at those dinners. Who is the guy?"

  Frank frowned. "I have no idea. I guess we'll find out tonight."

  "I wonder if Julia has heard about this. I'd better give her a call."

  "Yeah, you should. It doesn't do for your wife to be out of the loop."

  "You can say that again." Cody's face brightened. "But yes, if I'm the one to pass on the news, I'm the hero again. Good thinking."

  Frank laughed and slapped Cody on the back. "You're always her hero. I've seen how she looks at you."

  "Yes, well, not when I forget to take out the trash."

  "Ah. That's different of course."

  * * * *

  "Lana? Come in here," Holly Grainger called into the outer office.

  Lana, her assistant, walked in.

  "Have you and Marla been matchmaking again? For Maggie?"

  Lana frowned. "She's been impossible. Marla and I have tried and tried and nobody we've found is right for her. She's a difficult woman to match."

  "Well, it looks like someone beat you to it, because she has a date tonight. She told my father herself."

  "What? She got a date
on her own? I can hardly believe that!"

  "Nobody knows who the guy is yet. Maybe she told Jason something. I'll ask him when I get home this afternoon. They've gotten close working on the Sully Point Project together. If that man knew something and didn't tell me..."

  "Now you know he'd tell you. He's head over heels in love with you."

  Holly smiled. "It's mutual."

  * * * *

  While Eric waited in line at the deli, he overheard two women talking. At first he wasn't paying attention, reading instead the chalked menu on the wall. Then he heard the name 'Maggie' and tuned in.

  "Yes, Maelynne told me herself. She overheard Frank talking to his son Cody about it. Seems like Maggie has a secret lover, and she's going public now. Frank hasn't met him. I heard her brother Sam is up in arms over it."

  "Well, of course he is. He's supposed to be looking after her, him being the big brother and all. I wonder how she managed to keep it a secret?"

  Eric had to turn away and work hard not to chuckle. Evidently, the small town gossip network was in good working condition. It surprised him, though, to hear how they talked about Maggie, like she was younger than he thought she was. He'd be sure to ask her age tonight. He would bet that people naturally underestimated her because of her small size and gamine looks. They'd be wrong in doing that, of course. He could see that already. Maggie was a force to be reckoned with when it mattered to her. That much he knew.

  After getting a ham and swiss on rye bread, with lots of mustard, Eric realized that he and Maggie still had a few details to work out tonight. Their ages for one, but more important than that, they needed to have an answer for how they met. And how long they'd been dating. Those would be some of the first questions asked of them.

  His thoughts returned to this morning, to the kiss he'd planted on her lips when he left. He'd followed an impulse in that action and been surprised. Kissing her--just a brief buss of the lips--had jolted him. And those violet eyes of hers, wide open with surprise and something else, something that made him think she wouldn't be averse to more kissing. His pull to be with her was only intensifying. Never in his life had a woman affected him so immediately and strongly.