Gansett Island Boxed Set Books 1-16 (Gansett Island Series)

by Marie Force

  Not that the views in Mystic were anything to sneeze at, but this… This was something else altogether. An open parking space caught her eye, and she grabbed it even though it was still a ways from the marina. Walking toward the pier, she started to regret parking so far away and worried about being all sweaty the first time she saw Evan again—if he was even there. The day was unusually warm for September, which meant the pier was bustling with people and bikes and dogs on leashes.

  She ducked into the marina restaurant, relieved to be out of the sun, and wiped the dampness from her brow. As visions of sweaty pigs danced in her mind, she looked up to find Evan staring at her, and he didn’t look at all pleased to see her. Great. Grace took a deep breath before she walked over to him.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt.” He’d been speaking with another man who sort of resembled him and a woman with short, spiky red hair. The other guy turned his blue eyes on her, and Grace nearly gasped. How was it possible for two men to have the market cornered on insane hotness? Now that she’d gotten a look at his dazzling eyes, Grace had no doubt he was Evan’s brother.

  “Grace.” She didn’t miss the slight stammer in Evan’s voice. “What’re you doing here?”

  He wore a yellow Bob Marley T-shirt with board shorts and flip-flops. His hair was mussed and his face sunburned, as if he’d spent the day at the beach. Of course, he had to be the most breathtakingly gorgeous man she’d ever laid eyes on. Apparently, it was her lot in life to have a thing for unattainable men.

  “I, um, well, I owe you some money, and I wanted to pay you back.”

  “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “I wanted to.” She glanced at the other couple, who stared at her with unveiled interest.

  “Oh, sorry,” Evan said. “Grace, this is my brother Grant and his girlfriend Stephanie.”

  “Oh,” Stephanie said with a knowing look on her face. “I’ve heard about you.”

  Evan’s mouth fell open. “What did you hear?”

  Stephanie flashed him a saucy grin. “I’ll never tell.” She came around the counter and took Grace by the arm. “Come, sit. Have some of our famous chowder.” Stephanie ushered Grace into a chair at one of the tables. “How about some clam cakes, too?”

  Amused by the way Stephanie had taken over, Grace looked up at her. “I’d love some chowder, please.”

  Stephanie winked at Evan and gave Grant a hip check as she went behind the takeout counter to serve up the chowder. Watching her in action, Grace decided Stephanie was also the kind of fearless woman she’d love to have as a friend. Old Grace had gravitated to safe friends who didn’t take risks. New Grace was interested in meeting people who didn’t always bow to convention. With her spiky hair, pierced tongue and impertinent way of managing the McCarthy brothers, Stephanie intrigued her.

  Grant’s cell phone rang, and he excused himself to take the call.

  While she waited for Stephanie to return, Grace cast a nervous glance at Evan. “I’m sorry if I took you by surprise.”

  “It’s no problem.” Though he said what he thought she wanted to hear, everything about his body language told her this visit was a big problem for him. He sat and stretched out his long, tanned legs. “I really don’t expect you to pay me back. I was happy to help you out.”

  She forced her gaze off his muscular legs and onto his face. Her entire body was hot with embarrassment fueled by the awkward vibe he was putting out. “It’s important to me that I reimburse you.”

  He tilted his head and scowled playfully, which made her heart race and her palms sweat. “I’d say this puts us at a significant impasse.”

  Grace raised an eyebrow and set her chin mulishly to let him know she had no plans to back down.

  Laughing, he shook his head at her impudence.

  Grace was dumbstruck by those damned dimples.

  “Here we go.” Stephanie returned with chowder, silverware and crackers. “What can I get you to drink?”

  “Water would be great.” Grace stared at the huge bowl of chowder, knowing she’d be able to eat only a fraction of it and wondering how she’d leave the rest without appearing rude or ungrateful.

  Stephanie put a glass of ice water with lemon on the table and sat down to join them.

  Grant ended his phone call and took the fourth seat.

  Grace felt like a monkey during feeding time at the zoo with all eyes on her. She took a taste of the chowder and nearly moaned when the flavor exploded on her tongue. “Amazing.”

  Stephanie flushed with pleasure. “It’s Linda’s recipe. I just doctored it a bit.”

  “You’d better not let your pal Linda hear you say that, babe,” Grant said as he reached for Stephanie’s hand. “That’s an ancient family recipe you’re messing with.”

  Stephanie stuck her tongue out at Grant, which made his eyes heat with lust.

  Grace wondered if Evan’s eyes looked like that when he was aroused. Stop it! You’re being ridiculous. What business is it of yours what his eyes look like when he’s turned on? As she forced another taste of the savory soup past the growing lump in her throat, she noticed that Evan continued to stare at her while feigning interest in what Grant and Stephanie were saying.

  “How long are you here?” Stephanie asked.

  Grace watched Evan perk up with interest as he awaited her reply. “Only until Monday.” Did he look relieved, or was that her imagination?

  “We’ll have to go out or something,” Grant said. “Show you around the island.”

  Evan sent his brother a stricken look.

  As she blotted her mouth with a napkin, it became clear that Evan didn’t want her around, and she could certainly take a hint. “That’s really nice of you, Grant, and the chowder was delicious.” Withdrawing the hundred-dollar bill she owed Evan from her purse, she placed it on the table and put the pepper shaker on top of it. “Thank you again for your kindness, Evan. It was great to meet you all.”

  Grace got up and walked out of the restaurant, reminding herself that she was beginning what she hoped would be a grand adventure. She didn’t need Evan McCarthy’s friendship to make her happy or complete. Pep talk aside, it was disappointing that he wasn’t who she’d thought, which shouldn’t surprise her in light of her recent experience with men. She’d nearly talked herself out of liking him in the first place when she heard him calling her name.

  “Grace! Wait! Hang on a second.”

  She turned to find him running up behind her.

  “What do you need, Evan?”

  He reached for her hand, put the bill in it and curled her fingers around it. “I don’t want that.”

  She grabbed his hand and pressed the bill into it. “Neither do I.”

  “Look, I was happy to help you out. I’m sure you would’ve done the same for me.” He took her hand again, more gently this time, and pressed the bill against her palm, holding it there with his own hand.

  The heat of his skin against hers made her throat close against a swell of emotion. Rather than risk letting him know how much his touch had affected her, she decided to concede defeat on the money. “Fine. Anything else?”

  His face twisted into a stricken expression again. “I, uh…”

  “Look, I know I took you by surprise today, but the only reason I came was to reimburse you. I’m not looking for anything else. I enjoyed meeting your brother and Stephanie. They’re very cute together.” She paused before she added, “It was nice to see you again.” Turning away from him, she headed for her car.

  “Wait.” He took hold of her arm. “Don’t go.”

  She released a deep sigh. “It’s obvious I’ve made you extremely uncomfortable. Let me go, and we can all be more comfortable. Okay?”

  “No. It’s not okay. I don’t want you to go.”

  “Why?”

  He stared at her for an extremely long—and very uncomfortable—moment. “I thought about you this week.” Each word seemed to cost him something critical.

  Was it possi
ble for words alone to render a person completely paralyzed? Apparently. She stood frozen in place, waiting to hear what else he would say.

  He rested a hand on her shoulder. “When you came into the restaurant… In the very second you walked through the door, do you know what I was thinking?”

  Since she’d also been rendered mute, she shook her head.

  “I was thinking, gee, I wonder who Grace is mocking with her inappropriate laughter right now. And then I looked up, and there you were. That’s kind of crazy, isn’t it?”

  She stared at him, still not sure she was hearing him correctly. He had to be making that up. He wasn’t really thinking about her! When would he let her down easy and tell her she was a really nice girl, but he wasn’t interested?

  “Grace?” He waved a hand in front of her face. “Are you still with me?”

  Forcing the fog from her brain, she nodded. “I’m sorry I surprised you.”

  “It was a good surprise. A very good surprise.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes,” he said with that grin, that deliciously sexy, dimpled grin that made her heart race and her mouth go dry. “Really.”

  “You didn’t look happy to see me.”

  “I was very happy to see you.” His brows knitted with what might’ve been confusion. “I was surprised by just how much.”

  Attraction zinged between them like a live wire. She wanted to smooth his hair and touch the stubble on his cheek to see if it was coarse or soft.

  He continued to look intently at her, as if he was memorizing every detail. “So you’re here for the weekend?”

  Forcing herself not to wilt under his scrutiny or the hot sun, she said, “Until Monday.”

  “Good.”

  “Why is that good?”

  “Because that gives us plenty of time to hang out and have some fun.”

  “Oh. It does?”

  “Sure does.” He bent at the knees to look her in the eye. “If you want to, that is.”

  Summoning her best haughty tone, she said, “I’m not opposed to fun.”

  “Well, thank goodness for that. I’d hate to think you were a bore or something.”

  Grace gave him a playful shove.

  He started to stumble backward, and she tittered with laughter as she grabbed him to stop the fall. Somehow she ended up pressed against his chest with his strong arms wrapped around her.

  “You laughed when you thought I was going to fall,” he whispered in her ear, sending goose bumps careening down her spine.

  The aroma of sunscreen and hot man filled her senses, making her feel warm all over. “I most certainly did not.”

  “Did so.”

  Smiling, she relaxed into his embrace and decided this was going to be an awesome weekend.

  Chapter 7

  Filled with irrational excitement, Laura McCarthy drove into the parking lot behind the Sand & Surf Hotel. After ten of the worst days of her life, the battered old hotel looked rather good to her. The idea of hauling her carload of stuff up three flights of stairs to the manager’s apartment didn’t hold much appeal, but she couldn’t wait to be settled once and for all.

  “No time like the present,” she said as she shouldered two of the lighter bags and headed for the front porch. She dug the key Owen had given her out of her back pocket and inserted it into the rusty lock. When she twisted it, nothing happened.

  “Great.”

  Dropping her bags onto the porch, she used both hands to try to turn the key, but it didn’t budge. Why was it that Owen’s key worked fine, but hers didn’t? Was this a bad omen? How was she supposed to renovate and manage the place if she couldn’t even get in?

  “Come on,” she whispered, starting to sweat as she gave it one more try.

  “Princess! You’re back!”

  Laura spun around to find Owen Lawry loping up the stairs with a big goofy grin on his adorable face. “I thought you’d forgotten about us.”

  In the moment their eyes met, Laura realized she was in big trouble. She was far, far too happy to see him. And in light of her current predicament, she had absolutely no business being happy to see any man, let alone one who’d made it perfectly clear he was a vagabond and a troubadour with no interest in permanence of any kind. While his footloose and fancy-free approach to life was exactly what she didn’t need at the moment, his lightheartedness was everything she needed.

  “How bad was it?” he asked, his gray eyes taking a long, measuring look at her.

  “Pretty bad.”

  He closed the distance between them and enveloped her in a tight hug that calmed the turbulence inside her.

  “What happened?”

  Overwhelmed by his nearness as well as the clean, fresh scent of him, it was all she could do to breathe let alone speak as she put her arms around him and returned the hug. “Well, between returning the wedding gifts, filing for divorce, moving out of my apartment and breaking the news to my dad that not only is my three-month marriage a bust but I’m pregnant, too, it was a rather uneventful ten days.”

  He chuckled softly. “I know it’s not funny, but when you put it like that…”

  “What else can you do but laugh?”

  “You can get busy moving forward.”

  Laura could’ve spent all day wrapped up in his sweet comfort, but since it was time to stand on her own two feet, she drew back from him. “Success is the best revenge, right?”

  “That’s what I’ve heard.”

  “Then in that case, I’m in a world of trouble, because I can’t even get the key to work.”

  “Let me help.” He stepped around her, gave the key a wiggle and a twist, and the door swung open. “Madame, your kingdom awaits.”

  “Wait! How did you do that?”

  “It’s all in the wrist,” he said with a wink.

  Offering a sweeping wave of his arm, he welcomed her into the hotel his grandparents had owned and operated for fifty years, the same hotel that had beckoned to Laura since she was a grief-stricken little girl visiting her Uncle Mac and Aunt Linda in the wake of her mother’s death.

  As she crossed the threshold, tears filled her eyes. Remembering the raw pain of that first summer without her mom reminded her of how much this island had meant to her then. It had soothed and healed her. Maybe it would again. She could only hope.

  “Princess? Are you okay?”

  She took a deep breath, summoning the fortitude to continue putting one foot in front of the other. What choice did she have? “Not yet, but I will be.”

  Late on Saturday afternoon, Evan strolled on the beach with Grant and Owen while Grace, Stephanie and Laura reclined in chairs, chattering like three long-lost best friends.

  “The girls sure did hit it off,” Grant said.

  “Seriously,” Owen said.

  “I’m glad to see Stephanie relaxing a bit and making some friends,” Grant said. “She’s been so alone for such a long time.”

  Evan nudged his older brother. “You’ve got a bad case for her, bro.”

  “So it seems.” Grant turned his formidable blue-eyed gaze on Evan. “I could say the same for you.” To Owen, Grant said, “Do you think he realizes he’s barely taken his eyes off Grace all afternoon?”

  While Owen chortled with laughter, Evan huffed with indignation. “That’s so not true.”

  “She’s awfully pretty,” Owen said. “I can certainly see why you’d be captivated.”

  “She’s funny, too,” Grant added. “I like her.”

  “I don’t know why you guys are making such a big deal out of it.” Evan felt like he was fighting for his life or something, which was ridiculous. What did he have to be fighting about? So they’d had some laughs, so he found her attractive, so he wanted to get to know her better. Big whoop. Except even as he tried to talk himself out of it, the truth of the matter was that he was more interested in her than he’d been in any woman in like, well, ever. “We’re just friends. I’m not captivated. Whatever that means.”

/>   “If you don’t know,” Owen said, “I’m not going to explain it to you.”

  Grant laughed at their banter.

  “What about you?” Grant said to Owen. “Joined at the hip with Laura. What’s that all about?”

  Owen’s smile quickly became a frown. “Nothing. We’re friends. That’s it.”

  “Uh-huh,” Grant said with a knowing grin. “You’re as full of it as he is.”

  “I don’t know what the hell is going on around here lately,” Evan said as desperation crept over him. His throat felt tight and constricted, as if he’d knotted his necktie too tightly. Except he wasn’t wearing a tie. He wasn’t even wearing a shirt, for crying out loud, so why was he having such a hard time getting air to his lungs?

  There was absolutely no rational explanation for the way he felt when Grace was around—happy, calm, amused, aroused, intrigued, disturbed, unsettled, dismayed. All in one muddled package. Nothing about it made sense. She was just another woman in a long line of women who’d paraded through his life. He couldn’t see any reason to make it into a bigger deal than it was.

  And then her laughter rang out, drawing his attention to where she sat with Stephanie and Laura. Grace’s hands danced with animation as she entertained them with a story that had the other two women laughing hysterically.

  Evan wanted to know what she was saying. He wanted to hear the story and be in on the joke. He wanted her. Oh Jesus. What the hell was wrong with him? Though the day was seasonably warm with a hint of September chill in the air, Evan began to sweat.

  She wasn’t the kind of woman he could just have and discard. He’d known her only a short time, and he already knew that much about her. Grace Ryan wasn’t a one-night-stand kind of gal, and he was hardly the kind of guy who was looking for more than that.

  “Check him out,” Grant said to Owen. “Staring again.”

  This time, Evan could hardly deny that he’d been gawking at Grace.

  “There’s nothing wrong with liking her, Ev,” Grant said. “She’s a nice girl.”

  “That’s the problem,” Evan said, filled with defeat. “She’s too nice for me.”