Sweet Promise (The Grahams Book 1)

by Jennifer Woodhull

  “Still, it’s awful far and for a long time,” he said, looking at my brother. “What do you think about all this, Rome?”

  “Well, Daddy, if it makes Geo happy, I’m okay with it. She’s smart – she’ll be careful, won’t ya?” He stood beside me and patted me on the shoulder. “Besides, they won’t let anything happen to their star.” He winked at me.

  “How long you be gone?” Daddy stepped forward toward me.

  “Well, …it’s a long assignment, Daddy. Maybe four months,” I replied.

  “Hmpf” he shook his head and rubbed chin. His thumb and forefinger made a scratching sound as his callused fingers stroked his whiskers. It was something he always did when he was considering a serious decision.

  “I know it’s a long time, Daddy, but it’s a lot of money,” I said, trying to persuade him.

  He shook his head. “Well, it may be a lot of money. But Georgia, money was never much of a reason to do somethin’. I’m serious – I’ll figure somethin’ out. If you don’t want to do it, don’t do it for the money, but if this is something you want for you…,” he stepped forward, putting a hand on my shoulder, and gave me a wry smile.

  “Daddy, I won’t get a chance like this again. I mean think about it, I get to see all these amazin’ places and get paid for doin’ it, and if the show is good, it could mean really big things for my career. I really want to give it a try. If I want to make this career work, I can’t limit myself to stayin’ around here.”

  He looked down at me, then pulled me close, wrapping me in his arms like he did when I was little. “Just promise me you’ll take care of yourself, and check in with us regular, won’t ya?” His voice was soft and tender in stark contrast to his gruff exterior. He was a stern man, and a lifetime of hard work showed on his face and body, but with us – when we really needed him – he was a teddy bear.

  “I promise!” I was ecstatic that he had been reasonable, trusting my judgment. I wanted to call our sister to share the good news as well.

  Our older sister Celia had gotten a volleyball scholarship and gone to college in Illinois. After college, she quickly found a job in Chicago, and although she visited, she never moved back to Tennessee. The distance had been more than physical between us since Celia had graduated from college when Rome and I were in high school. I always felt as though my sister had left me behind, in a way, and though I didn’t expect her to give up her education just because Mama had died, I had hoped she would come back home after graduation. Since I’d had gotten the job with BITE, though, I had tried to put all of that behind me and build some sort of relationship with her.

  “Hi, Georgia,” Celia said cheerily as soon as she answered the phone. “What’s up?”

  “Hey Celia,” I replied, “Got some big news I wanna share.”

  “Oh, what’s that? You’re not getting married or anything, are you?” She said playfully. Her southern accent was almost gone, replaced with a midwestern one, but when we spoke, it still slipped through a little, here and there.

  “No, no – nothin’ like that. I got a new show! The network is sending me to do a travel show with Lucas Nash called We’ll Bite!” I paused, hoping to impress my big sister with the name drop.

  “Lucas Nash? That hot British chef guy?” It was just the reaction I was hoping for.

  “Yeah, that’s him. Crazy, huh? Anyway, they’re sending us around the world to showcase local foods and cook recipes on location. Pretty cool, huh?”

  “Damn, Georgia, that’s amazing! I’m so happy for you,” she said excited, then paused, “Wait a minute – how’d Daddy take it?”

  I walked further from the kitchen toward the front of the house to add a buffer in case Daddy was within earshot. “Surprisingly well, actually,” I said quietly. “Anyway, I’m leavin’ next week. I still can’t believe they picked me.”

  “Georgia! Why wouldn’t they? You’re great at what you do. Besides, you’re crazy gorgeous. Speaking of gorgeous, isn’t that Nash guy single now?”

  “So, I hear. He’s pretty nice. I met him this week.” My mind flashed to the snug shorts Lucas wore when he so freely changed in front of me and a tightness formed in my lower abdomen at the thought of him standing there, half naked, that delicious body of his on display.

  “Is he as yummy as he looks on TV?” Celia’s interest was piqued.

  “Not even close…so much hotter it’s ridiculous! TV and photos don’t remotely do him justice.” I sighed.

  “Well, sounds like you might have an even better time with him there, then.” Celia quipped. “I have read all kinds of crazy stories about him. Sounds like a real playboy!”

  “Well, I’m not gettin’ mixed up in any of that! We’re just workin’ together, and that’s it. Anyway, I’ll call you when I can. I just wanted to let you know. And hey, listen, I’ll be gone for four months. Could you…maybe try to come down and visit once or twice while I’m gone? Daddy and Ro will be all on their own.”

  “Georgia, work’s crazy right now, but…I’ll try. I promise I will try. I love you, baby sis. Take care of yourself and if you need me, call!”

  After I hung up with Celia, I stepped outside and walked down the harvest road. I turned right at the big oak tree and walked over to the fenced-in area that held all the graves of the Graham family going back nine generations.

  The ancient gate creaked as I opened it and stepped through, closing behind me with a thud. I walked to the back, right corner where the magnolia tree stood. I kneeled on the ground beneath it and brushed the leaves and grass away from the headstone.

  “Hi, Mama. I got some real good news! I got a job – a good one! Means a lot of money…enough to pay the tax liens. I’ll be working with that TV chef I used to have such a crush on when I was a kid, too. Isn’t that crazy? It’s gonna be okay, though. This job is gonna mean we get to keep the farm – all of it. I need you to keep an eye on Daddy and Ro while I’m gone, okay? Sure do miss you, Mama.” I kissed the tips of my fingers and touched them to her name on the headstone.

  Walking back to the house, I was a jumble of emotions. I felt nervous and excited, but determined, too. I had a feeling that I could make this work – that I could do a good job and earn the money we so desperately needed. I had a feeling nagging at me as well, though. As I opened the door at the back of the house, I turned and looked back across the land that I’d loved my whole life. Something told me that after I left, everything would be different.

  CHAPTER 6

  Lucas

  I pulled into the car park of the London studios of BITE Television UK, pulling my Jaguar into one of the reserved spaces. The London filming of We’ll Bite! would be part of a two-part series finale that took place in London and Nashville, the home base of the two hosts – Georgia and me. We would film the London segments first since I was already here, and then leave to start the filming tour in Europe before wrapping up back in the States.

  I entered the building and walked down the hall to the production office. As I neared the office entrance, I heard her accent, and my pulse quickened. I think I hear my sweet, little, American girl, I thought. As I walked through the door, the beautiful blonde turned and smiled sweetly, her face lighting up as she saw me. It absolutely melted me. I immediately stepped up and embraced her. “Hello, Georgia. How was your flight over, darling?” I asked, pressing my cheek briefly to hers.

  She hugged me back tightly, and I concentrated on keeping my body from responding. “Hi, Lucas,” she replied. “It was terrific, thanks. I am so excited to be here in London! I can’t wait to get started!”

  Ian Bishop, the director of the screen test, was there, as well as two camera crew members, Sarah Leonard, and Ryan Banner, and a sound designer, Pierce Smithson. Ian made the introductions, and both Georgia and I shook hands with everyone. “This crew,” Ian said, “Is one of the best in the business. They’ll be lock-step with you every move from now until wrap. He had a commitment today, but John Abel…Georgia, you met John, right?”

/>   “Yeah, I met him in LA – he works with you, right Lucas?” She asked me.

  “John’s my handler, as it were. Apparently, he’s your handler now too,” I chuckled.

  “Exactly!” Ian said, looking to Georgia, “He’s going to work as the coordinator for the production. He’ll work with the studio for all your travel arrangements, and make the introductions to local businesses, get filming permits, that sort of thing. So, you will be together pretty much every day from now until the end of filming. Here are your itineraries,” he handed each of us a piece of paper, “and of course you also have these in an email. After London, your first stop is Paris. What questions can I answer?”

  “Gosh, I don’t even know what to ask!” Georgia looked at me. She had mentioned that she knew about filming in a studio but wasn’t sure how it would differ filming on location. “What’s different about being on location? What do I need to know?”

  “No worries, I’ll catch you up. Just put yourself in my experienced hands.” I winked at her and saw the pink rise up her chest and neck.

  “So, you’ll all meet here in the morning, and get started from there. We’ve got you slated for three days in London, then it’s off to Paris. You all have my numbers, if you need me, you know where to find me,” Ian said.

  The group chit-chatted a while longer, making small talk and getting acquainted. After a few minutes, the crew began to disperse. “So, Georgia,” I asked, “where in London are you staying?”

  “Oh, let me look…,” she said fishing for her phone in her purse. She was dressed casually, wearing jeans and a thin, V-necked sweater that hugged her curves. In her flat shoes, the difference in our height was more pronounced. She wasn’t the type of girl who seemed to dress to look sexy, but rather the kind that makes even the most mundane clothing look attractive and just a little sexy without even trying. “Okay, here it is. LaLit on Tooley Street. It’s across the river from the Tower, I remember that from when we were drivin’ in from the airport. What’s the best way for me to get back?”

  “In my car,” I replied. “You won’t believe it, but that hotel is in my neighborhood. What do you say we grab a bite and I drop you off since you’re right on my way?”

  “You don’t really mind? That’s so sweet!” She said enthusiastically, grazing my arm with her fingertips. Her touch sent electricity through me. I didn’t know how I’d be able to resist her, being on the road together for weeks, but for that matter, I wasn’t sure I should bother to try resisting at all.

  We got in the Jaguar and traversed the streets of London. “It’s so weird being on this side of the car,” she said, looking around the vehicle. “But it’s probably nothing for you to go back and forth between drivin’ on the left and right, huh?”

  “I have had some practice. I had a place in LA for a while. Now I just have my flat here in London, and of course, there is a family house in Kent, where I’m from. Mostly I’m here these days, though. London is an amazing city, after all. The food scene is incredible. I’ll take you for breakfast at a place in my neighborhood that’s fantastic,” I said, grinning at her.

  Georgia gave me an alarmed look. “What do you mean breakfast? Like, tomorrow?”

  “On our way to the studio, yeah. Do you typically not eat breakfast?” I said coyly.

  “Are you…are you staying at my hotel too?” She asked cautiously.

  “We can stay where you like. My flat, your hotel…it makes no difference to me. My place would be more discreet, though.” I smirked, raising an eyebrow playfully.

  “I don’t know what you think you’re implyin’, but we’re not…I mean, we won’t be stayin’ together.” Georgia said, sitting up very straight in her seat. Despite her indignant response, though, I could see her squirming a bit. I was definitely sensing that she was as interested in me as I was in her, though she was fighting it pretty hard. Who could blame her? I had a reputation as a complete wanker. She had no way to know that I hadn’t always been the asshole from the gossip rags.

  “Oh, we will be staying together,” I replied smugly. “Perhaps not tonight, or even this week, but we will be staying together.”

  “Why would you say that?” The response was wrapped in a nervous chuckle.

  I looked her up and down as we sat at a light. “I’m just taking the mick, Georgia. I think you’d say, I’m messing with you? I’ll stop and get you in the morning and thought I’d buy you breakfast on the way to the studio, that’s all. It was fun watching you blush and get mad, though. You’re adorable when you’re angry, you know.” I chuckled, her look flashing to pink-cheeked embarrassment.

  “Oh,” she said, somewhere between frustrated and disappointed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be defensive. It’s just…well, can I tell you the truth about somethin’?” She asked.

  “I wish you would,” I replied.

  “Well, you have a…a bit of a reputation,” she trailed off, cautiously.

  “I hate to tell you this, Georgia, but that’s the worst kept secret since the Cold War! I have all sorts of reputations,” I chuckled. “Some of them are even accurate.”

  “I mean, people warned me about you. That you might try to flirt with me, or, you know…make a move, I guess.” She looked out the window, not meeting my eye. She seemed embarrassed saying it out loud.

  We had pulled into the car park of my block of flats. I put the car in park, and turned to her, leaning forward to tip her chin up slightly with my thumb and forefinger. She involuntarily leaned forward just a little as I did, seeming hypnotized by our close proximity. “My sweet, lovely girl,” I said sweetly, “I don’t know what you’ve heard about me, but I’m sure most of it is true. Look, we have to make this thing work. The network wants chemistry, and I intend to give them what they want. You said you need this job, and so do I, so I plan to do it to the best of my ability.”

  Georgia nodded in agreement. “Exactly. We’ll both be doin’ our best. This job’s important for us both.”

  I leaned closer to her and caressed her cheek with the back of my fingertips. “But before it’s all said and done,” I leaned into her ear and whispered, “Who knows what will happen. You may be the one making a move on me.” I pulled away from her quickly and winked. “Shall we go have lunch, then? There’s a great place just down the street, here.”

  I led her down the street to a small, nondescript restaurant. There were blue and white gingham curtains in the window, and the little tables inside were rickety at best, the upholstered wooden chairs in varying states of disrepair. “I know it doesn’t look like much,” I said conspiratorially, “but you have to trust me. Do you trust me, Georgia?” I was holding the door open for her to pass through.

  “Sure,” she said cautiously, the expression on her face not matching the agreement of her words.

  I led her to a table at the back of the restaurant. We sat down, and she started to pick up the menu. “I’d like to order for you if I may. Is there anything you don’t like?” I said.

  “Not really. I’ll try almost anything once.” Georgia said quietly as she glanced around the small restaurant suspiciously.

  “That’s good to know,” I replied, grinning. The waitress walked over, and I ordered the house special. “So, tell me, Georgia, are you named after your home state?”

  “No, I’m actually from Tennessee. When my Mama was pregnant, she, my Daddy, and my sister Celia were driving to Tampa to see my granny, and Mama went into labor early. There was a wreck on the interstate, so they had to get off, and the closest hospital they could get to was in Rome, Georgia. So, when my brother and I arrived, they named me Georgia, and him Rome.”

  “You’re a twin? Interesting,” I replied. “He’s named after the city, then, and you after the state?”

  “Yep. Mama and Daddy said they were grateful that they were able to get to the hospital in time and that’s why they picked those names,” her smile was wistful as if she were thinking of her family back home.

  “So, don’t you have
nicknames for each place? Like the Big Apple for New York?” I asked.

  “Well, sorta,” she said sheepishly. “Tennessee is the volunteer state.”

  “And Georgia?” I asked.

  “Georgia is known as the peach state,” she grinned shyly.

  “Peaches, eh?” I said thoughtfully. “I remember the first time I had a peach when I was young,” I smiled. “I remember the heft of the firm fruit in my hand and running my thumb along the seam. I put it up to my mouth and loved how the soft fuzz felt on my lips.” I licked my lips, smiling coyly at Georgia. She shifted a bit in her seat, and I could tell I was having an effect on her. “I bit into it, and felt the soft flesh gave way, and I remember the sweetness of it, and the juices running down my chin.” Georgia could not control the blush rising up her cheeks. “Mm, I do love a sweet, ripe peach.” I smiled, realizing that she was having trouble controlling her reaction. “So, your name is Georgia, and you’re sweet like Georgia peaches,” I winked.