Just One Kiss (Appletree Cove)

by Hall, Traci

  She heard someone in the lobby and quickly left Sawyer’s office. Luca had arrived, and Sawyer greeted him.

  Her cell phone rang, and seeing it was her parents, she excused herself back to his office.

  “Hey!” she said into the phone. “How’re you guys?”

  Her mom sounded excited. “Honey, we let everyone here know about Grandma’s house, and they all wanted to give to the cause.”

  That was wonderful news. Minus the money she needed to get the van fixed, she had two hundred left over from her paychecks. When she added up the four hundred from Lottie, the five-hundred-dollar photo contest prize, and the money from Griffin, she had twenty-one hundred. Tacking on the twenty-five hundred from the calendar photos? She tried to do the math quickly in her head.

  Her father took the receiver. “Hey, sweetheart, people really rallied here. Hopefully, it’ll be enough.” She heard the jingle of the country store door over the line. “We were able to scrape together thirty-two hundred and some odd cents.”

  A mixture of gratitude and doom swirled in her heart. “That’s amazing.” And more than doubled what she had.

  “Tell her we’ll get a money order and mail it over,” she heard her mom say.

  “We’ll mail it,” said her dad.

  “That’d be great.” Grace imagined marching into Mr. Haviland’s office with that money order and slapping it on the greedy banker’s desk.

  “Damn the man,” her dad yelled.

  “Yes, Dad, damn the man.” She banished Mr. Haviland from her mind, and Sawyer immediately filled the space. Why was he so emphatic about going out with her, when he could get any supermodel he wanted?

  Her dad continued, “I know it isn’t enough to cover everything, but it should help and maybe show that banker you’re not alone, making your stand against the establishment.”

  “Thank you so much. I can’t believe it. You guys are awesome.”

  “We love you, Grace,” they said in unison.

  “Please let us know what’s happening and if we need to come down. Your dad hasn’t protested anything in years,” her mom said.

  “Okay. Wow. Thanks.” She ended the call and stared at her cell phone. How much money was that in total? Could it buy her time and stop the foreclosure?

  Sawyer knocked. “Can I come in?”

  Grace realized where she was. Oops. “It’s your office.” She started to get up.

  “No, stay, I mean—please, don’t leave yet.”

  Sawyer sat on a plush chair opposite his desk and gave her the most charming smile. Handsome Sawyer knew just what he wanted in the world—and was getting it, making it happen. Thinking of what he’d done for Lottie and Vi by training Bert, she decided to tell him the date was on, to hell with whether she was homeless or not. But the real risk, she knew, was whether or not he’d break her heart.

  He leaned in, searching her face. “Have dinner with me? I know a place with a view of the Seattle lights at night—it makes you feel on top of the world, and they have a chocolate dessert that once you taste it, you’ll dream about it.”

  Her eyes suddenly welled, but she blinked her vision clear. “It sounds like fun.” And what would happen after dinner? Would she invite him in, or would she go to his place? He tempted her to throw caution to the wind.

  He got up and settled his hip on the desk beside her, and she laid her head against the firm muscles of his stomach. He caressed her hair with his warm palm, smoothing her curls. “Grace, it’s going to be okay.”

  When he said it, she nearly believed the words.

  “What’s the matter?” Sawyer knelt beside her and caressed her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “I want to help.”

  Grace absorbed strength from his sincere concern and sat back but kept her hand on his knee. Before she accepted, she had to be honest with why she was hesitant to pursue a relationship. “I’m afraid I’m going to lose my grandmother’s house, my home.”

  Sawyer’s brow rose in confusion. “I don’t understand. The pictures for the calendar? It’s not enough money?”

  She shook her head, her pride demolished.

  “I have a painting,” said Sawyer, “a Frank Stella. It’s worth thousands. I’ll sell it and you can have the cash.”

  “Absolutely not.”

  He balanced on the edge of the desk. “Well, I would offer you the money, even though I know you hate that about me, but it’s all wrapped up in this.” He gestured to the plans on the wall.

  She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him, slow but sure, so that he understood she appreciated his offer. “I don’t hate anything about you, but you can’t do that. If there’s any chance for us…” She hesitated, thinking of the right words. “I need to fix this on my own.”

  He graced her with his dimpled smile, taking her breath away. “I know you’ll find a way. You’re creative and successful in the things that matter—you follow your own path. Do you know how rare that is? Since meeting you, I’ve become a better man.”

  “Sawyer.” Grace rested her hand on his chest, feeling his heart pound, wanting so badly to believe him.

  A knock sounded on the office door, and Luca peered in with interest.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Sawyer quickly rose from his desk as Luca peered into the office. “Hey. Need to talk to you. Now.”

  Grace gasped at Luca’s rude tone, and her expression changed from loving and open to wary.

  He motioned Luca out with a wave of his hand. “Later.”

  “It can’t wait.”

  He needed to convince Grace that he cared for her and to give him a chance once this was all over. He’d made reservations already.

  “I’ll go.” She got to her feet with her chin high and made her way around Sawyer’s desk to the door. Luca leaned against the threshold—almost blocking her way. What a spoiled brat.

  Sawyer reached for her arm. “Talk to me, Grace. Luca, give us ten minutes and we’ll be out to the party.”

  Luca didn’t budge from his spot.

  “It’s okay. I’ll join Lottie.” Grace glanced out the open door to the window. “I see her sitting with Violet and Bill, munching on some delicious-looking burgers. We can finish our discussion later,” she said. She gave him a bright, confident smile that made his knees shake. “Tomorrow night.”

  Sawyer’s tense body eased. Grace scooted by Luca to the hall and back door.

  Luca cleared his throat. “Uh, Sawyer has plans for tomorrow night.”

  She turned quickly. “Excuse me?”

  Sawyer crossed his arms and glared at his brother. “What plans?”

  “You have a date…” Luca trailed off.

  “Sawyer?” It was obvious that Grace wanted Sawyer to correct Luca. Had there been plans made he hadn’t known about? He just wanted Daniella out of his life so he could move on with Grace.

  She paled and trembled, her eyes filling as she waited for him to fix this.

  “I don’t know, Grace. Give me a minute.”

  Luca raised his brow. “With Daniella? How could you have forgotten already? The Billionaire’s Club.”

  Her hand covered her mouth, her fingers trembled. “Sawyer?”

  He glowered at Luca. “Reschedule with Daniella. That was for me and Grace.”

  “It’s true? Forget it. I take back everything I said to you before your brother arrived to shine a light on the truth.”

  “It’s a trick,” Sawyer said. “Trust me, Grace. This will be all over soon and then we can—”

  Grace gulped back tears, and his heart wrenched at her pain. “I don’t want to talk to you ever again, Sawyer.”

  “Wait!”

  She inched by Luca, who raised his arms as if he’d done nothing to instigate what had just happened.

  Sawyer wanted to kick his baby brother out on his a
ss. He pushed past Luca, but Grace had immersed herself in the crowd out back, giving Lottie a hug as she said her good-byes. No tears visible as she chatted and smiled, but he knew she was hurting. He hurt for her. She was so strong, and he had to make her understand. He would explain everything tomorrow when she came to work even if she gave him the silent treatment.

  “What in the hell are you doing?” Sawyer stormed inside his office and slammed the door closed.

  “What?” Luca shrugged and sat down in the big chair opposite Sawyer’s desk to study his fingernails. “You can’t be interested in that nobody, not when you’ve had the best.”

  A hard knot formed in his stomach as he eyed Luca with suspicion. He wouldn’t… “You think Daniella is the best?”

  “She’s a beautiful woman.”

  “She’s poison.” Sawyer put his elbows on his desk. “Did she come to you, Luca, or did you find her?”

  Luca winced.

  “My guess is she was desperate,” Sawyer enunciated clearly and coldly, “and found you willing to listen to her plea of poor Daniella. She will use you to get what she wants, which right now is her career back. You are the means to an end, Luca. No amount of beauty is worth a calculating heart.”

  His brother’s jaw hardened. “I’m under no illusions. Daniella and I have an alliance for the good of the Rivera family. It was obvious you weren’t doing anything. No matter how many times Mom told you what was happening…you acted like it didn’t matter.”

  “I had a plan.” Sawyer gritted his back teeth to keep calm. Luca was family, which was the only reason he wasn’t being thrown out. “Just because I didn’t share it with you doesn’t mean I wasn’t handling it.”

  Luca gave a dismissive wave. “Doesn’t matter now. Bobby told me about your reservation at the Billionaire’s Club for tomorrow night. Daniella will meet you there at eight. She knows how much you like the view. There will be hidden cameras all around the restaurant, per her lawyers’ instructions.”

  “I have other plans.” Plans to be with Grace at that restaurant. Grace who, once again, he’d accidentally hurt. Why should she give him another chance? He couldn’t stand the idea of not making things right.

  Luca leaned forward with a harshness that reminded Sawyer of their father. “Suck it up, Sawyer. It’s just one night, and then you can have everything back the way it used to be.” Luca glanced at the door. “Success and glory. Your secretary isn’t going anywhere. Send her some flowers and all will be forgiven.”

  His baby brother’s dismissal of Grace cut him to the core. “How did you get so cynical?”

  Luca gave a bored exhale.

  Had he ever been like that? He hoped to God not, but he had a bad feeling. Money and success when not channeled in a healthy direction led to this. It wasn’t money’s fault. It was the person wielding it. He stood and pointed at the door.

  “You used to have decent suits,” Luca said, getting up as if he had all the time in the world. “Daniella will be wearing blue, if you want to coordinate.”

  “Get. Out.”

  Luca sauntered from the office like a cat who’d eaten the canary.

  How selfish was he for considering doing as Daniella wanted, just to have his life back? He resented being given orders and dancing to her tune.

  He really didn’t like Luca pulling his strings, either. What he hated most of all were Grace’s tears.

  One dinner. One night of pretending, and then he could have peace again. His family could have tranquility. He wouldn’t speak to Luca for a long while, family or no.

  He fought the urge to chase after Grace, realizing he was stuck here until the barbecue was over. He was stuck until after the fake date with Daniella, but then he’d be free.

  What could he say to Grace? Sawyer had until tomorrow morning to come up with something great.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Grace turned off her alarm so that she could sleep in on Friday, rather than get up and work her last day at Bark Camp. She wasn’t quitting exactly but doing her own silent protest against the Sawyers and Lucases and Daniellas of the world.

  Determined to make the most of her situation, she put on her corduroy overalls, cranked the radio, and mixed a can of yellow paint. Her chickens eyed her curiously.

  “Don’t worry,” she told them. Where would they go? Her home was old and in need of updating. Until recently, she hadn’t seen the cracks in the faded brown exterior, nor the chips on the white trim, but until Monday, when the bank started foreclosure proceedings, this house was hers, and she was going to make it the best it could be.

  Grace painted her little house the bright yellow of the sun and scraped the window trim before brushing on a new coat of white.

  Taking a late afternoon break, she poured herself a glass of iced tea. She invited Lottie over for a Friday night of career planning. She needed a plan B, or C, or whatever letter she was on.

  Why hadn’t Sawyer called her to find out why she hadn’t come to work? For a moment, she wondered if his advances had been only a meaningless flirtation, then shook off the thought, remembering her name written on his wall calendar. Of course, that had been before Daniella had returned.

  With a sob, she thumped her fist against her chest. Where is the silver lining in all of this, Grandma? Love sucks.

  She cared for Sawyer. He cared about her—and yet they didn’t mesh. He’d picked his past. Who knew what her future held? Grace straightened, swiping her palm over her damp cheeks, and finished her iced tea. Outside the kitchen window, a seagull swooped to the edge of her dock and perched, spreading its wings before tucking them close to its body.

  “They’ll have to drag me out of here kicking and screaming.” She eyed her camera, feeling the urge to capture it all—just in case. As a show of faith, she didn’t do it.

  She’d set the rinsed brushes out back on the grass to dry when her doorbell rang. Stuffing her hand towel into her back pocket, she answered. Lottie paraded in with Vi, Bert, and wine. Lottie and Violet wore matching rainbow T-shirts over their jeans, their curly red hair in identical ponytails.

  “Such a nice yellow!” said her friend, heading immediately to the kitchen to open a bottle. “I’m glad you didn’t go to work today—Sawyer doesn’t deserve you, going on a date with Daniella.”

  Bert tugged at a bit of ribbon he’d found on the floor, and Vi tried to get it back. It did her a world of happiness to see them play.

  She’d allowed herself to hope and only thanked heaven that it hadn’t gone farther—her heart couldn’t take it. “It’s not about deserving. We just see life so differently. I hope he’s happy.”

  It’d been easier to push him away when she’d told herself that he was arrogant, bossy, and controlling. Now that she’d seen his generosity and integrity, consoling her heart had become a chore. That he’d chosen Daniella over her for their date tonight was something she could never forgive.

  “Don’t be so nice. I want him to be a little bit miserable.” Lottie handed Grace a glass of rose-colored wine.

  “It’s hard not to remember the good things he’s done.” Grace sat at the kitchen table and gestured with her wineglass toward Violet and Bert.

  Lottie walked to the living room and turned on cartoons to keep Vi occupied. The girl plopped down in front of the television with Bert beside her. “That dog has been a godsend. For Sawyer to do that for her? That definitely puts him on the ‘nice’ list. But Daniella? Moves him to the naughty.”

  “I wish people could be straightforward.”

  “Nobody’s perfect.” Lottie offered a toast to the new paint job, and the two clinked glasses. Roadrunner beeped from the other room.

  “He offered to sell a piece of artwork to help pay the taxes on my house.” Grace sipped. The fruity wine hit the spot after her day painting. Crying.

  Lottie rested her elbow on the Formica table,
green eyes intense. “And what did you say?”

  “I said no.” She shrugged. There was no other right answer.

  “Why?”

  “Because we aren’t even dating. If we’re going to have anything—” Grace stopped herself. “If we were going to have anything, it would need to be on equal footing.”

  “Yes, but Grace,” Lottie took a deep breath and glimpsed out the window at the bay, “this is your home.”

  Grace fought back the beginning of tears. “I know.” She forced a smile. “My parents came through, and people at the commune pooled money together. I’ve got the winnings from the contest and what that creep Griffin paid.”

  “And the four hundred from the bake sale,” said Lottie.

  “Of course, thank you.” Grace raised the glass for a toast this time.

  “So, what does that make?” asked Lottie.

  “In the neighborhood of eight grand,” said Grace. “But will it be enough to stop Mr. Haviland from starting the foreclosure process?”

  “If not, then I think you should call his boss. It can’t be too late.” Lottie blinked and pointed to the couch visible from the kitchen table. “Oh!”

  Grace immediately grabbed her camera. Violet was asleep on Bert, her thumb to her lower lip, as innocent as a lamb. She snapped a few precious shots of the pair to capture this magic moment.

  Lottie peered at the screen on the camera. “Sawyer did that for us.” She glanced up at Grace. “Why is he out with his ex?”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Pride was a sour taste at the back of her throat, ruining her wine.

  Lottie scrunched her nose. “I could see the attraction between you. Aren’t you curious?”

  The conclusion she’d come to after a long day was that she wasn’t good enough, as she’d known all along. “I told him to forget dinner—he didn’t even call, so we’re through.” She hurt too much to even cry. “He told me to trust him, that it was a trick. The trick was on me for lowering my guard.”

  “Wait a minute.” Lottie took Grace by the upper arms and stared her in the eye. “Why didn’t you tell me that part before?”