A Lot Like Love

by Jennifer Snow

  Sarah ignored it and Lia swiped it away. “We are two grown-ass, independent… Whoa,” she said, reaching for the wall behind her as she swayed off-balance.

  “Need some help with these two?” Malcolm’s voice in the cellar doorway was a relief.

  Lia beamed at the sight of her husband. “Hi!” she said, as though she hadn’t seen him in weeks. Malcolm approached and wrapped one arm around her. She clung to him like a life preserver, but Wes suspected she was using her slightly inebriated state to get close to him.

  “You got the other one?” he asked Wes.

  Wes glanced toward Sarah, who looked slightly unsteady on her legs. “Yeah.”

  Lia jabbed a finger at his chest as she passed. “Be nice to her. She gave up her career for you and Marissa.”

  Wes’s pulse raced as he frowned. What? As his friend and her husband left, he turned to Sarah. “What did Lia mean just now?”

  Sarah stared at the wine bottle in her hands and shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  He moved closer. “Sarah…”

  Her body swayed slightly, and he reached toward her. Obviously now wasn’t the time to talk. “Hey, can I help you upstairs to your room?” The buzz from a full bottle of wine in an hour would take a little while to wear off.

  She eyed him. “Fine, but don’t get any ideas, buddy,” she said, her words slightly slurred as she allowed him to wrap an arm around her waist. He bent to pick up her discarded heels and escorted her out of the cellar. The feel of her body next to him and the sweet smell of vanilla on her skin had his mouth watering and his heart thundering in his chest.

  He probably deserved the warning, as he wanted nothing more than to get all kinds of ideas. The temptation to kiss her and hold her was strong, but she was definitely not in a consenting state or mood.

  He helped her up the B&B stairs to her room and opened the door. She moved away from him as she entered. “I’m good from here,” she said as she lay on the bed.

  Damn, he didn’t want to leave her. They needed to talk.

  Now wasn’t the right time, but he hoped she’d give him the opportunity the next day when he came by to fix the cellar door. He’d been wrong, and Lia’s words had him questioning just how very wrong.

  He set her high heels on the floor and reached for a blanket from the chair, then softly draped it over her as she hugged a pillow and her eyes flitted closed. His hand rested just a minute on her shoulder as he stared down at her gorgeous, sleepy face.

  He was falling in love with her.

  There was no doubt that she was the only woman he wanted to be with, wanted to be a family with. He’d screwed up. Could he make things right? Either way, he needed to know. “Sarah, did you walk out on your pitch meeting?” he asked softly.

  She didn’t open her eyes as she nodded. “Yep. And I’d do it again,” she mumbled as she drifted off to sleep.

  He swallowed hard, his emotions overwhelming him. She’d done that for Marissa. For him. He was more than a little touched by the gesture. He had to find a way to make things right.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “To a successful event,” Whitney said, holding her wineglass in the air on the outside patio of the inn the next day.

  Sarah forced a smile behind dark sunglasses as she and Jessica raised their own drinks. Hers was sparkling water, as she never wanted to see a glass of wine again. “To not killing my client,” she said, but she was kidding.

  She couldn’t claim to remember all the fuzzy details from her time locked in the wine cellar with Lia the night before, but they’d definitely put their past feuding ways behind them. She’d been actually a little sorry to see her leave earlier that morning.

  The three friends clinked their glasses together.

  “Seriously, Sarah, I’m so proud of you,” Jessica said. “Dove’s Nest looks better than ever.”

  “Thanks, Jess,” Sarah said, sitting back and taking in the view of the ocean in the distance. The inn did look great…and more than that, it was starting to feel like home. One Sarah wasn’t sure she was ready to let go of.

  Should she tell her friends about her out-there idea? She’d been mulling it over in her mind the last few days and that morning, and the more she thought about staying in Blue Moon Bay, the more her conflicted spirits lifted. She took a deep breath. “So, wild idea, but what if I kept the B&B?”

  Jessica’s mouth dropped, displaying her obvious surprise, and for once, Whitney ignored her phone chiming constantly with new messages on the table as she lifted her sunglasses over her head and stared at Sarah. “For real? You want to run a B&B?”

  “Honestly, no. Not in the traditional sense anyway. I was thinking more of turning it into an event center for special occasion rental and corporate retreats…that sort of thing.” Sarah didn’t love the idea of different guests checking in and out at different times and having to keep the place fully occupational year round, but hosting events once or twice a month wouldn’t be so bad.

  Whitney nodded. “That could work,” she said slowly. “The property is amazing, and the structure of the inn is unlike any others we have here. The main dining room could hold at least a hundred people—perfect for smaller weddings, corporate events, especially with the twelve guest rooms. The Seaview Inn only has half the space you have. Your backyard is big enough for outdoor events, and the kitchen could easily accommodate large dining requests.”

  Her friend was already designing the event venue brochure in her mind, Sarah was sure.

  “But do you think I could generate enough business? Is Blue Moon Bay a place people will want to host events and retreats?” Sarah said.

  Whitney shuffled her chair closer. She pulled out her phone and opened her Outlook planner for city events. “Look. Four businesses this month will be hosting corporate retreats here—at Seaview Inn.” She scrolled. “Another three in October… Two in November… And then the Christmas season blows up. I won’t even show you the calendar because quite honestly, it gives me heart palpitations thinking about the work I have to do.”

  “Things are starting to pick up around here,” Jessica said. “Young and Trendy magazine listed Blue Moon Bay as a dream destination for hipsters because of the surf conditions and laid-back environment.”

  Whitney pointed to herself. “That was me. I did that. A half-day photoshoot with some local wave stars and a press release.” She dropped an imaginary mic.

  Sarah laughed. “We’ve already established that you’re a rock star.” She turned to Jessica. “What do you think?”

  Jessica beamed at her. “I love the idea,” she said, then paused. “But I want you to be happy in whatever you decide. What about your career?”

  “I think I’m going to go out on my own. Finally start designing my own apps. I can do that from here, and the B&B business could keep me afloat financially.” Without her steady income in the city, her apartment would be far too expensive anyway.

  This made sense. This gave her an opportunity to take a chance on herself.

  “Really?” Whitney asked. “You truly want to stay?”

  She really did. Sarah nodded. “Yeah, I truly want to stay.”

  “Then yes, of course I think this is a great idea,” Jessica said. “And you know I’ll help any way I can. Free dessert catering for a year.”

  Whitney pointed a finger at her. “You can’t do that. You are both small business owners. No freebies.”

  Jessica laughed. “Sorry, Sarah… Family discount,” she whispered.

  Sarah’s heart felt lighter than it had in weeks as she looked at her two best friends, confident that with their help and support, there was nothing she couldn’t do. Unfortunately, it didn’t help ease the ache of knowing that staying meant having to see Wes and Marissa and not being a part of their lives.

  Running into them at the reunion the night before had only made it cleare
r just how much she cared about them, and when Marissa had hugged her…Sarah hadn’t wanted to let go. Maybe they could still be friends, and even if things hadn’t worked out with Wes, Sarah could still be there for Marissa. In whatever way that looked like.

  She sighed. It would never be enough, but unfortunately, the choice didn’t seem to be hers.

  Wes helping her to her room the night before was fuzzy in her memory, but she knew not to read anything into the gesture. Once again, he’d just found her in an embarrassing state and had come to the rescue.

  Her head still pounded, and she needed something to dull the ache in her brain at least, even if she couldn’t dull the ache in her chest. “I’ll be right back,” she said. Getting up from the Adirondack chair, she headed into the inn, but her heart stopped as the front-page headline of the local newspaper laying on the porch caught her eye.

  Celebrated War Hero and Local Entrepreneur Jack Harrison Passes Away Peacefully in His Sleep

  “Oh no.” Sarah’s hand shook as she picked up the paper and continued to read.

  Found the previous morning by his vendor neighbor who checked in on him each morning. “Make sure I’m still breathing,” he’d tell me, the neighbor’s quote read.

  He’d died. Jack was gone. Had he found the journal? Had he read it?

  “You okay?” Jessica asked, coming up next to her.

  Sarah nodded, but a teardrop hit the page in front of her.

  “Oh no, Mr. Harrison died?” her friend said, reading over her shoulder.

  “Yeah,” Sarah said, wiping her eyes.

  A ceremony of life is scheduled to be held on the beach this weekend by the local vendors who called him a friend. He wasn’t survived by any family, was how the article ended.

  “Did you know him?” Whitney asked, looking concerned by her tears.

  “My grandmother loved him,” Sarah whispered. “At one time. A long time ago.” And their love had never been. The thought made her chest ache so hard, she thought her heart might actually be breaking.

  “No kidding? Wow,” Jessica said, wrapping her arm around Sarah’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Sarah.”

  “He was such a sweet man,” she said.

  “Do you think you’ll go to the celebration of life?” Whitney asked.

  Sarah didn’t know. “He may have died never knowing the truth about how my grandma felt about him.”

  “Maybe he did know,” Jessica said. “And maybe he’s finally with her now.”

  “Maybe,” Sarah said as she sighed. Her grandmother and Jack had always loved each other, but they’d never found a way back to each other after the war tore them apart.

  Could Sarah find the courage to go after the love of her life?

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  If there was an award for how bad a person could mess something up, he had to at least be in the running for it. Wes ran a hand over his exhausted face as he turned into his driveway the next morning after meeting Lia for a quick coffee before she’d left to head back to New York. She’d confirmed what she’d alluded to the night before. Sarah had walked out on her pitch meeting, essentially quitting her job in the process to be there for Marissa.

  He didn’t deserve Sarah.

  She was amazing and kind and beautiful and for the first time since Kelly, he’d felt something. Something real. And he’d panicked and messed it up. He’d been afraid and unsure and he’d let his own hesitation get in the way of something incredible. The last two days, all he could think about was her.

  She was still in town. He’d noticed her car parked at the inn when he’d driven past. He’d been tempted to stop, but he’d also seen Whitney’s vehicle in the driveway and hadn’t wanted to interrupt. Obviously the friends were getting together before Sarah left town. He’d stop by later to fix the cellar door, and maybe she’d give him a chance to at least apologize for being an asshole.

  His cell rang, and he glanced at the unknown number on call display before answering. “Hello?”

  “Hi, is this…Sharrun’s Construction?” an unfamiliar female voice asked.

  “This is Wes Sharrun,” he said.

  “I was wondering if your company did rebuilds of cabins as well as B&Bs?” the woman asked.

  A rebuild of a cabin? “Is it your personal cabin?”

  “No, I’m sorry, I should have introduced myself. My name is Awilda Melendez and I own Melendez Cottages. We were forced to shut down after weather damage from a storm last year, but we are hoping to reopen next summer. Unfortunately, there’s significant work that needs to happen before then.”

  Wes was too stunned to answer. Melendez Cottages were along Highway 1 and they’d been there for years. He remembered staying there himself on a fishing and hunting trip with his father when he was a teen. There was at least forty cabins in the area, and they’d been shut down for a while. They’d suffered excessive damage in the hurricane-like weather they’d seen on the coast the summer before.

  “Mr. Sharrun?”

  “Oh, yes, sorry, I’m still here.”

  “So, would your company be capable of a job that size? Do you have time to give us a quote?”

  Absolutely. He cleared his throat. “Yes. I can and I do. Tomorrow too soon?” His aunt would kill him for acting eager, but he was beyond eager. Opportunities like this didn’t fall out of the sky every day.

  She laughed, obviously taking his urgency as a good thing. “Sure. I’m in San Diego right now, so I could drive in and meet you out there tomorrow at noon?”

  “Perfect. That’s perfect.”

  “Thank you so much, Mr. Sharrun. I look forward to meeting you.”

  “Likewise…” He paused. “Excuse me, Ms. Melendez, but can I ask how you heard about my company?”

  “Your website. I just loved the Dove’s Nest renovations. The combination of modernization while maintaining the original charm was really incredible. We’d like to have that same sort of aesthetic moving forward with Melendez Cottages. Guests these days want to unplug…until they don’t,” she said with a laugh. “We’d like to appeal to all campers, not just those who want to lose themselves in nature.”

  His website? She’d seen the Dove’s Nest renos? “Yeah…I totally understand,” he said. He hadn’t until Sarah had proven that tourists really could have the best of both worlds and why should they have to choose. Everyone’s idea of a vacation was different.

  Damn, she’d been right about so many things.

  “Great. So I’ll see you tomorrow at noon,” she said.

  “I’ll be there.”

  Disconnecting the call, he pulled into his driveway a few minutes later, still in a daze. His website. What was she talking about? She’d gotten his cell phone number right, so she must have found it somewhere. But he’d never gotten around to making a website. Always thought it unnecessary.

  Going inside the house, he sat at Carmen’s desk in the quiet, empty kitchen. He opened a search engine and typed in Sharrun’s Construction.

  A new website loaded with the name of his company on top. First website listed on the search, and not in the shady sponsored-ads section. He scanned the site, and there was no question that it was meant for his company, complete with photos of the B&B renovation.

  Holy shit. It looked professional. Not like the one-page, poorly designed one he used to have through some free local business site before the free trial expired.

  He scrolled through the pages and clicked on the About Us page… A picture of him and Marissa loaded onto the screen. One taken a few months ago on the beach. One of his favorites.

  A local company with heart, Sharrun Construction can accommodate all your construction needs big and small… Specializing in B&B rebuilds… Our motto is “Don’t tear it down, save it”…

  Wes’s chest tightened the more he read, and a lump formed in his throat as he scrolled
past the list of past projects and quotes from locals he’d done work for, praising his skill and craftsmanship. Someone must have contacted all these people to get these quotes.

  Not someone. Marissa.

  This had to be the surprise she’d been working on.

  Getting up from the desk, he headed down the hallway toward her bedroom. Clearing his throat, he knocked on the door with a shaky hand. “Hey, it’s me.”

  “I know, Dad; I’m coming!” she called through the door. “I’m just trying to find my cleats.”

  He opened it slowly. “Actually, I was thinking maybe we’d skip soccer today.” He’d call Dustin and ask his assistant coach to fill in for him at practice. His daughter deserved a special day together, and she also deserved the option of quitting the team.

  He scanned the room, stunned to see that it was clean. Was she applying for a daughter of the year award? Because there wouldn’t be any contest.

  “Skip soccer?” she said slowly. “You okay?”

  His laugh was a strangled sound. “More than okay. I’m actually the luckiest dad on earth.”

  She frowned, studying him. “Okay, now you’re scaring me.”

  “I just got a call to quote a job about an hour down the coast… The lady said she found my info online on my website.”

  Marissa’s eyes widened even more. “Don’t be mad. I was going to tell you. Actually, Sarah and I were going to show you together, but…”

  But he’d made a mess of things. Right. All of this was his fault, and he wasn’t the only one suffering for it. Marissa hadn’t said much the last few days, but he could sense her disappointment over not seeing Sarah. “Mad? What are you talking about?” He moved closer and wrapped her in a hug. “I am so proud of you.” He pulled away and looked at her. “That website was fantastic.”

  “Sarah helped,” she said with a huge smile.

  Sarah. Another kick to the gut. He needed to find a way to make it up to her.

  “We wanted to surprise you… Guess the marketing worked too well, huh?”