Remind Me

by Samantha Chase

  He hung up and fidgeted at his desk wondering what he was supposed to know about office supplies. Zeke never seemed to do this sort of thing, so why…

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Summerford.”

  That voice.

  Looking up, he saw Mallory standing in the doorway with a very sweet-yet-devilish smile on her face. Slowly, Jake came to his feet. “What…what are you doing here?”

  She stepped further into the room and closed the door behind her. “It occurred to me that Coleman Construction is using an outdated and inefficient computer system.”

  It was then that he noticed the pencil skirt, the button-down white blouse, briefcase, and the stiletto heels. His girl was in business mode and it was sexy as hell. Quirking a brow at her, he asked, “Is that right?”

  “Please, have a seat and let’s talk,” she said and Jake did as she asked. He figured she’d sit in one of the chairs facing him, but instead, she followed him around the desk and stood beside him. “It has come to my attention that the last time a new system was put in place here was five years ago. Is that correct?”

  Honestly, he had no idea but he nodded out of curiosity.

  “I know this because I assisted the management team with the installation at the time,” she went on. “Knowing what I know now, that program is pretty much outdated and almost obsolete. It would be very beneficial to you–as a business owner–to update and install a new system now.”

  He was distracted by the way the buttons on her blouse seemed to strain against her breasts. It took a real effort to look up at her face–and when he did, he caught the knowing smirk she was giving him.

  Clearing his throat, he questioned, “And I should just trust that you know what’s best for this company?”

  She nodded. “Absolutely. You see, I was very close with the previous owner and I’m even closer with the new owner, so…”

  Slowly, he reached out and banded an arm around her waist, pulling her in close. “I’m the new owner,” he said gruffly.

  Smiling down at him, she said, “Then you know how close I am with you.”

  She smelled so good and was warm and soft and…

  Standing, he couldn’t wait any longer to kiss her. His hands raked up into her hair and with her heels on, she was almost his height. It felt new and different and yet absolutely perfect. She hummed as he kissed her and it was all he could do not to clear his desk and lay her down on it.

  Mallory broke the kiss first and gave him a very triumphant look. “So what do you say, Mr. Summerford? Are you ready to do a system overhaul with me?” she asked, her voice all sexy and sultry.

  Was it wrong that he was totally digging this sexy executive vibe she had going on?

  “Baby, I’m ready to do whatever it is you want,” he growled before diving in for another kiss. He hated how they were in his office. In a perfect world there wouldn’t be anyone on the other side of the door and he could take her right now like his body was almost demanding he do.

  He kissed her until he couldn’t breathe and then forced himself to pull back. Her skin was flush and she was panting and she was just…she was everything.

  “What are you doing here?” he finally asked. “We said a month.”

  Licking her lips, Mallory smiled at him. “As soon as the plane took off, I knew I was making a mistake.” She stepped away and rested a hip on the corner of the desk. “I loved my job but…it’s just a job. My life, my future, is here with you.”

  “Mal, we talked about this. I would have moved, we would have made it work!”

  But she shook her head. “It wouldn’t have been right. This is where I always wanted to be and this is where you–and Coleman’s–belong.”

  He didn’t even know what to say. She was amazing and way more reasonable and practical than he could ever be. “So what does this mean? Are you…are you here for good?”

  She nodded. “I am. I would have been here much sooner, but I sold off a lot of my furniture and then hired a moving company to get the rest down here. I know we didn’t talk about this and maybe I made assumptions, but…”

  He silenced her with another kiss. “No assumptions. I never wanted you to go,” he said in earnest. “This is where you belong, Mallory. And whatever it is that you want to do–whether you want to stay with your mom or move in with me–it’s still going to be the best thing in the world.”

  Her smile was that mix of sweet and sexy that she did so well. “I have a lot of stuff arriving here in four days. I don’t know how we’ll make it all fit, but…”

  “I’ll build an extension on the house if we need to,” he countered with a laugh, unable to believe how happy he was at this moment.

  With wide eyes, she hugged him. “I don’t know if we need to go that far…”

  “Doesn’t matter. I want the house to be ours so we can wake up and look at the Sound or go down and sit on the deck of the boathouse and watch the sunset. That’s where I want us to be.”

  “And that’s where I want us to be. Forever.”

  No words have ever sounded sweeter.

  “Have you eaten yet?” he asked. “What do you say we go have some lunch and you tell me how you managed to pull this off without me finding out?”

  With an impish grin, she took him by the hand and led him toward the door. “You forget, I know the staff here pretty well. They’ve all watched me grow up. As soon as I told Julia I needed to surprise you, she came up with the appointment approach. Luckily she had access to your Google calendar.”

  He chuckled. “Very sneaky.”

  She laughed. “I know, right?” When they walked out to the reception area, Julia gave them both a wide smile and wished them a good day.

  Jake didn’t bother to ask where she was parked. He took the lead and got her into his truck and drove them home.

  To their house.

  It felt good to know it was finally happening. Which is what he told her.

  “Finally? I’ve only been gone a week!” she said with a giggle.

  “It’s been longer than that.” Reaching across the seat, he took her hand in his. “Six years, Mal. And I’m so happy it’s happening now, but I want you to know I would have waited however long you needed. You know that, right?”

  She moved closer and rested her head on his shoulder. “I do, and I love you for it.”

  When they pulled into his driveway, she looked at him curiously. “I thought we were going to grab some lunch?”

  He put the truck in park and grinned at her. “We’ll have some sandwiches.” He paused. “Later.”

  And as she squealed with delight and climbed out of the truck, Jake knew life with her would never be dull.

  “I’ll race ya!” she called out, kicking off her shoes so she could run toward the back of the house.

  Nope. It wouldn’t be dull at all.

  Looking heavenward, he smiled. “Thanks, Zeke.”

  Then he took off after his girl.

  Epilogue

  Two weeks later…

  “Did you see that? It was a shooting star!”

  Beside her, Jake yawned. “Was it?”

  She nudged him with her elbow. “You’re not even trying to pay attention,” she said with a pout. They had eaten a late dinner out on the boathouse deck and the air was cool but it was a perfectly clear night for stargazing.

  “Mal, we’ve been up since five this morning and painted half the house, moved furniture, and unpacked like a hundred boxes.”

  Now they were lying on one of the oversized lounge chairs on the deck and she knew it would be fairly easy to fall asleep right here. Not that it was a bad idea but…she really liked their bed back at the house.

  With a dramatic sigh, she went to sit up. “Fine. I get it. You’re exhausted so we should clean up and head in.”

  “Sounds good.”

  They stood and Mallory walked over to the table, began clearing the dishes and putting them back into the cooler bag she used to carry them all out here. The whole t
able was cleaned and wiped down when she realized she’d done it all herself. “Honestly, Jake, if you’re not going to help…” She turned around and froze.

  He was behind her on one knee.

  “Mallory Westbrook,” he began softly.

  “Oh my gosh, what’s happening?” she said as her heart beat like mad in her chest.

  Smiling, Jake reached out and took her hand in his. “Six years ago, you surprised the heck out of me when we collided in Zeke’s living room. You had grown into this beautiful woman and I was a little ashamed to find myself having such a strong reaction to you.” He paused. “Then you went and shocked me to my core when you kissed me. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that you had feelings for me.” Then he smiled. “But I’m so glad you did.”

  She couldn’t help but laugh softly. “You weren’t saying that at first.”

  “I know. It’s true, but…in my defense, you were so young and I didn’t think I was good enough for you.”

  “Good thing I persisted. And for the record, I’m not that much younger than you.”

  “Are you going to let me do this?” he asked with just a hint of annoyance.

  She nodded. “Go ahead. Sorry.”

  He squeezed her hand. “You were definitely persistent and I’m so glad you were. I never knew I could feel like this–that I could love this much. We traveled a long and bumpy road to get here, but honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing. I appreciate who we are and all we have more than I thought possible. When I think about my future, it’s with you. All of it. The good, the bad, and the bumpy.” He gave her a lopsided grin before releasing her hand and opening the small box he was holding in his other hand.

  “I love you, Mallory. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” His hand trembled as he held the box up a little higher. “This ring…” he stopped and cleared his throat. “This ring belonged to your great-grandmother and Zeke passed it down to his eldest great-grandson.”

  “But…that would mean…”

  Jake explained about the safe and the contents and then about the picture with the inscription.

  “We all agreed that there is no one else in this world meant for this ring other than you. Will you marry me?”

  Slowly, she dropped to her knees and kissed him. “Yes,” she whispered against his lips. “Yes, I will. It’s all I ever wanted. You’re all I ever wanted.”

  He smiled and took the ring from the box and slid it onto her finger. “I always want to be the one to do that for you, Mal. To give you what you want, what you need. Always.” He kissed her hand. “I love you.”

  “Let’s go home,” she said, “and celebrate properly.”

  The smile on his face told her he knew exactly what she meant. But as they stood, he gave her a counter-offer. “Or…we can go downstairs and stay in the boathouse tonight and remind ourselves where this all began.”

  And just like that, her heart melted. She reached out and caressed his cheek. “How did I get so lucky?”

  “I’m the lucky one. You were the brave one and Zeke’s birthday will forever be a reason to celebrate.”

  She looked at him oddly.

  “That’s the night of our first kiss. The night where we began.” He kissed her hand. “The greatest night of my life.”

  Yeah, her heart definitely melted. “Then let’s go downstairs and celebrate that night and all the other great nights–including this one.”

  “And all the ones to come.”

  Preview of: A Girl Like You

  CHAPTER ONE

  “I’m in hell.”

  “Dramatic much?”

  Sam Westbrook glared at his twin sister Mallory. “It’s not dramatic, it’s a fact.”

  Mallory rolled her eyes at him even as she smirked. “Care to clarify, then? Because from where I’m sitting, your life is pretty damn sweet.”

  Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. “Okay, if anyone needs to clarify anything, it’s you. How could you possibly think my life is sweet? Look around, Mal! This is not my life! This is like some kind of nightmare!”

  The look she gave him said it all–and yeah, he really was being dramatic. Sam knew he was being unreasonable, but this really wasn’t the life he wanted for himself. This was a life that had been forced on him and he was marking the days on the calendar until he was free to go back to the way things were. To the life he had made for himself.

  Only two-hundred and seventy days to go.

  “Sam, you have got to get over it and move on. If you stopped being so angry, you’d see that your life here is really great. The business is doing well, the town is rebuilding which is helping the business grow, the work on the house is coming along and it looks great, we’re all together so you’re surrounded by family…”

  “Mal, I think you’re listing the reasons why your life here is great,” he grumbled.

  Mallory stood and slapped him on the back of the head on her way to the refrigerator. Reaching in, she grabbed two bottles of water, handing Sam one. “Why are you fighting this so hard? You’re making more money than you ever have, you’re living rent-free, I mean…think about it! There are worse situations to find yourself in.”

  “Maybe.”

  “No, not maybe. Definitely!” She sat back down beside him at the kitchen table and smiled.

  He couldn’t remember the last time he felt like smiling.

  Oh, wait, yes he could! It was almost six months ago–right before Hurricane Amelia ravaged the east coast and destroyed not only a large portion of the small town of Magnolia Sound, but also their family. The storm may not have directly killed his great-grandfather, but the fact that their family patriarch perished during the storm didn’t lessen the blow. When Ezekiel Coleman died, it left a big hole in all their lives. Within a week of his death, Sam found out his great-grandfather had left him a landscaping business–the biggest one in Magnolia Sound. Most people thought it would be a dream come true for him, but they were wrong.

  So very wrong.

  Did Sam enjoy working with plants and trees and shrubs? Yes.

  Did he love being outside and making his own hours? Yes.

  Did he want to be stuck here in this small, hick town for the rest of his life? Hell no.

  Growing up, he’d spent most of his summers here and had developed a reputation for being a hell-raiser–and he had been proud of it at the time. Now? Not so much. Unfortunately, no one around here seemed to forget anything and no matter where he went or what he was working on, there was always someone ready to remind him of all his past transgressions.

  So much for people deserving a second chance.

  Mallory placed her hand on his and it broke him out of his reverie. “I wish you would give this a chance.”

  “I have!” he said a little too loudly. “You know I have, but the good people of Magnolia don’t seem to want to ever let me forget all the shit I pulled when I was just a kid!”

  “Sam, it wasn’t that long ago when you admitted you almost got caught peeing in the church parking lot!” she reminded him with a small laugh. “You were hardly a kid and you knew better!”

  Okay, so maybe he hadn’t been trying all that hard to morph into an upstanding citizen, but still…

  “Whatever,” he murmured, slouching in his seat and raking a hand through his hair in frustration. “All I know is I have nine months left before I have my freedom back. Then I’m free to sell the business and go and do my own thing.”

  “You know that would break Pops’ heart.”

  Yeah, he knew that and he didn’t particularly like it, but Sam was also a little pissed that Pops had put him in this position in the first place. Getting the inheritance wasn’t a bad thing, but the stipulation that Sam stay in Magnolia and work it for a full year was. And if Sam refused to follow those rules, he’d lose the business to his cousin Mason.

  Unbelievable.

  “He knew exactly what he was doing, Mal,” Sam reasoned. “He knew he was forcing me to stay in one place
and play by his rules–rules I never was very good at following. But I’m doing the right thing by him for the next nine months. After that, according to his will, I am free to do with the business whatever I want.”

  “I wish you’d reconsider.”

  “And I wish we weren’t having this conversation, so…”

  She let out a loud and overly dramatic sigh. “Want to come over for dinner tonight? I know mom’s going out with Colton, so if don’t want to be here alone you’re more than welcome to join me and Jake. We’re just grilling some steaks if you’re interested. And it will be an early night since it’s a Wednesday and Jake has to get up early for work tomorrow, so…”

  And that was another reason Sam resented being here–everyone had a social life but him.

  Correction - a romantic social life.

  Since he’d never stuck around very long in the past, he was fine being a little of the love em’ and leave em’ type. Now that he was living here full-time? Uh, yeah…that wasn’t going to work out too well for him and it certainly wasn’t going to help his reputation.

  As he found out after the first month here. How was he to know Rhonda and Kim were sisters? Yeah, it had been an extremely awkward night and he’d been lying low for a while ever since. Well, he’d been lying low here in town. He’d managed to convince Mason to drive down to Wilmington with him a couple of times so he could find someone to hook up with who he wasn’t going to run into while out on his landscaping route.

  It was exhausting and it was far too constricting of a lifestyle for him.

  At first he had seriously considered turning down the inheritance and just letting his cousin have it, but after he had calmed down Sam knew that was the coward’s way out. He had been given three months to get his stuff in order back in Virginia before he had to officially take the help of Coleman Landscaping. Quitting his job hadn’t bothered him–it was just one in a long line of jobs he’d had in the last several years that bored him–but it hadn’t taken long for him to realize there wasn’t much holding him to his life there either. Sure, he had buddies he hung out with, but saying goodbye to them–even temporarily–really hadn’t phased him all that much.