“Actually, I was hoping you might join me for dinner tonight. My sons left town, and I really enjoyed your company that night we went to Crabby’s. So, if you’re free… how about it?”
Grace sat frozen in her SUV, not really sure how to respond. She hadn’t spoken to Owen much since the night their date had gone horribly wrong. Just a few polite hellos at the office. But she still sought him out, looked for his dimple when he was smiling, and had on more than one occasion reached for her phone to text him before thinking better of it. If she did that, she needed to have answers about what she wanted, and she just wasn’t sure.
At least she hadn’t been. But hearing Matt ask her out on a real date, she felt nothing but dread. It was clear to her now that, given the choice, she’d much rather be with Owen. The man might be ten years younger than her, but he was sweet, attentive, and just made her feel good when she was around him. All he’d asked for was a chance, and she’d never given him one. Not really.
“Grace?” Matt prompted.
“I’m here.” Damn. It really was too bad she wasn’t interested in Matt. She should be. Or at least she used to think she should be. He was her age, handsome, successful. But there was no spark. And she deserved a spark, dammit. “Thanks for the offer, Matt, but I think there’s somewhere else I need to be.”
“You’re seeing someone?” he asked.
“Not officially,” she hedged. Not at all, really. But she was hoping to change that. “But there is someone else.”
“I understand. It was worth a shot. Have a nice night, Grace.”
“Thanks. You too.”
Knowing what she needed to do, Grace jumped out of her SUV and ran into her house. Fifteen minutes later, she’d fixed her makeup, changed her clothes, and put on her fancy blue witch stilettos. Owen had mentioned them once, hadn’t he? Either way, they made her feel sexy, and at that moment she needed that confidence.
Grace climbed back into her vehicle and drove the twelve blocks to Owen’s house. She hadn’t been inside before, but she had seen the picture of it up in the office as a recent sale and recognized it immediately. It was a beautiful two story, set two streets off the ocean with gorgeous views of the water. She remembered seeing it on the market when she purchased her house, but it had been out of budget.
She parked in front and was relieved to see his BMW in the driveway. Now she just had to pray that he was home alone. If he had a date, she’d be mortified. Pushing those negative thoughts out of her head, she made her way up to the porch and rang the doorbell. It took a few moments, but suddenly, there he was in his dark jeans and a tight T-shirt that stretched across his well-defined chest.
Holy hell. He was sexy as hell when he was dressed down. Grace licked her lips before finally raising her gaze to meet his eyes.
“Good evening,” he said with a knowing chuckle.
“Dammit,” she muttered and laughed at herself. “You look far too good in that T-shirt.”
“Should I take it off?” he teased as he opened the door wider and waved her in.
“That’s… probably not the best idea if you want to hear what I came here to say,” she said honestly. Because seriously, she was about five seconds from throwing herself at him.
“Okay. Shirt stays on then.” He led her into the living room and paused at the stairs. “Do you want to go up where we have a view of the water while we talk?”
“Yes. That sounds perfect.” She followed him up the wooden staircase and into a sitting area that was furnished with a comfortable white couch and two matching chairs, each of them positioned for optimal viewing of the Pacific Ocean. “This is incredible, Owen.”
“It really is, isn’t it?” He walked over to a small wet bar off to the side. “Do you want something to drink?”
“Um, just water, I guess.”
He grabbed two mini bottles of water and then led her over to the couch. Once they were seated, he turned to her and said, “So, what are you doing here, Grace?”
That was certainly direct, wasn’t it? She opened her mouth, closed it, and then shook her head and chuckled. “I didn’t think through what I wanted to say.”
Owen just nodded and waited her out.
Finally, she blurted, “I don’t want to date Matt. Or anyone like Matt. I want to date you.”
His eyes widened at her outburst, but then a smile crept over his lips. “Why?”
“Why?” she echoed. “Why not? You’re smart, sexy as hell, sweet, charming, a damn fine kisser, and you don’t play games. Besides all that, I just like you. You’re kind and helpful, and you seem to genuinely like people. Who wouldn’t want to date you?”
“Someone who thinks they’re too old for me?” he asked, not letting her off the hook so easily.
Grace blew out a breath. “Okay, listen. The age thing… I admit I was having some issues with it. They weren’t rational, but they were there. That has everything to do with me thinking about what I should be doing and not recognizing what I want to be doing, if that makes sense.”
He nodded. “I think so.”
“And I’m sorry if I made it sound like I was only seeing you for a little fun. I wasn’t. That’s not who I am either. I was just… flailing a little bit after jumping back into the dating pool.”
“What about Matt? Does he know you don’t want to date him?” he asked, holding her gaze.
“Oh, for crying out loud! I was never dating Matt. That dinner was me taking a client out after he made an offer. I should have told you that right away, but I was so caught off guard by the conversation I didn’t manage to get it out. But besides that, he did call me today and ask me out. I said no because there’s someone else I’d rather be with.”
“You did?” He reached out and took her hand in his.
“Yeah, I did.” Her skin tingled where his fingers were caressing her palm.
“I hope that someone is me. Otherwise, this is going to get awkward really fast,” he said in a husky tone.
“It’s you, Owen. Definitely.”
“Good.” He scooted closer, and in the next moment his lips were on her neck while he buried his other hand in her hair. “You taste so good, Grace.”
“I bet it’s cinnamon roll glaze,” she said absently, practically drunk from the feel of his soft lips on her skin.
He pulled back and chuckled. “Cinnamon roll glaze? What do you do? Use it as a fragrance?”
She snickered. “No, but I will if it keeps you kissing my neck like that.”
“You can count on it.” He leaned back in and nibbled on her ear. “So, what happened? Did you get into a food fight with your niece or something?”
“Close. My sister threw it at me. She’s been staying with us while she looks for a new place.”
“Uh-huh,” he muttered absently. “It’s good you came over here then.”
“Why’s that?” she breathed.
“Because in about five minutes I’m going to have you completely naked except for those sexy-as-hell shoes, and we don’t need an audience when I make you scream my name.”
“Oh,” she said, already nearly combusting from the heat beneath her skin though he’d barely even touched her. “Okay. Good.”
“Okay. Good,” he repeated. And then he picked her up and carried her to his bedroom where he made good on his promise. Twice.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Hope Anderson sat at the round table near the front of the banquet hall and watched as Grace whispered something into Owen’s ear. They were at a luncheon for Landers Realty where Grace was being honored for selling the most houses in the entire region over the summer season. It was a big enough deal that her boss had given a speech, and Grace had been awarded a sizable bonus and a vacation to the Caribbean. Not to mention she was now the top Realtor for any sort of haunted or cursed properties. And as it turned out, Premonition Pointe had a lot more than anyone had realized. Now that someone was able to move them, a lot more were coming on the market, all under Grace’s care.
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br /> Owen smiled at Grace and whispered something back that made her giggle. The woman actually giggled. It was enough to make a lesser person want to vomit.
But Hope was actually thrilled for her friend. Owen was a great guy, and they’d been going strong for the last couple of months. It made her heart full to see Grace thriving after Bill had done her so wrong. In Hope’s opinion, Grace never should’ve spiked Bill and Shondra’s coffees with an anti-hex potion last month during the annual beach gala. If it were up to Hope, she’d have just let them deal with their new ailments. When she’d voiced this opinion to Grace, she’d waved her off and said she was cleaning up her karma and moving forward.
Gah. Her friend’s heart was much bigger than Bill had ever deserved.
So when Shondra left him two weeks earlier, all Hope could do was laugh. Served him right. Now he had no wife and no one to run his office. Life was going to suck for the man who’d always been taken care of by the women in his life.
“I heard Bill already has himself a new girlfriend,” Joy said as if she were reading Hope’s mind.
“Really? Who?” Hope asked.
“Some coed who’s taking a semester off from college,” Grace interjected. “Anyone want to bet he marries her next month and installs her in his office immediately? Now that we’re finally legally divorced, there’s nothing stopping him.”
“Nope. No bet from me. Sounds exactly like something he would do,” Hope said.
“Ditto,” Joy said.
Owen just laughed. “What a jackass.”
“You have no idea.” Grace leaned in and gave him another kiss.
Both Hope and Joy looked away. Hope turned to Joy. “How are things with Paul? Any progress in the bedroom?”
Joy sighed. “Nope. Now he’s not even talking about it. I swear, one of these days I’m just going to break out the vibrator right in front of him.”
Everyone at the table turned to look at her. Joy’s cheeks turned pink. “Sorry. TMI, right?”
“Maybe just a little,” Grace said.
“Nope,” Hope and Owen said at the same time. Then they all laughed.
“I just can’t seem to get him interested, and I don’t know what else to do,” Joy said, staring into her margarita glass.
“Sounds like your only option is couples therapy,” Owen said. “Or, the vibrator thing might work.”
Joy groaned and downed her drink while everyone else chuckled.
“I’m sorry, Joy,” Hope said. “I know our troubles are vastly different, but I commiserate. I haven’t had anyone stay over in months.” Not since Lucas had waltzed back into town, actually, but she wasn’t going to verbalize that.
“What happened to that hottie from down south? He hasn’t been up to surf recently?” Joy asked.
“Oh, he has. But I think he has a girlfriend now,” she lied. Benji would no sooner tie himself to one person than Hope would. Their arrangement used to work for them until her ex showed up and messed with her head. “It’s fine. It’s not like I don’t know how to take care of myself.”
Joy raised her hand for a high five, and Hope slapped it in solidarity.
The group continued to fill each other in on the town gossip. Charlie had been arrested during a drug buy and was currently spending five years in prison. Alyssa was still living with Grace, pretending to look for a place to live. But Grace knew she was really holding off to save money for a down payment on something. It was fine, since Grace was spending most nights at Owen’s and Lex stayed over at Bronwyn’s new apartment a lot.
Matt Dahl and his sons moved into the white cottage, and Matt was currently fighting off all the single women over thirty. The women of Premonition Pointe all seemed to think he was a catch. All of them except Grace, of course. Gigi Martin filed for divorce, moved into the Victorian, and was now having lunch with Grace, Hope, and Joy once a week. If things kept working out, they were considering asking her to join their coven.
And then there was Lucas. They didn’t talk about him. No one did around Hope because she always shut them down. She was aware that he’d purchased a house somewhere in town, but she hadn’t bothered to find out where. She was also aware that he was taking care of his mother. Honestly, she admired him for that. If she had to do it, she wasn’t sure she or her mother would survive.
Hope’s phone buzzed, and when she took a peek, she groaned. It was her mother. Of course it was. Why was it that every time she thought of her mother she heard from her? But Hope knew the answer to that question. They lived in Premonition Pointe. Clairvoyance was an everyday thing.
Hope read the text and felt a moment of panic. I’m at your house. Going to stay for a few weeks. Where’s the extra key?
She quickly typed back a response, steering her toward the sunflower pot to the right of the door and then adding, You could’ve given me some notice. I would’ve put fresh sheets on the guest bed.
It was last minute. Sorry, Bunny. I didn’t have a choice.
What did that mean? She considered texting again but dropped it. If she was here, she wasn’t going anywhere for the foreseeable future. The only thing to do was stay out late and party it up with her friends. Too bad it was only two in the afternoon.
While Hope was busy angsting about her mom’s sudden appearance, the rest of her friends had gotten up from the table and were waiting on her. “Is it time to go already?” she asked.
“I thought you were bored out of your mind?” Grace asked with a laugh. “Now you want to stay?”
“No, I just… never mind.” Hope rose to her feet and followed her friends outside. Once they were next to Grace’s car, Hope pulled her into a hug and said, “I’m proud of you, you rock star Realtor. Good job.”
“Thanks, Hope. I love you for coming. I know it was dull,” Grace said.
“Nah. Joy and I entertained ourselves, didn’t we, Joy?”
Joy snickered. “Yep.”
“What did you two do?” Grace demanded.
“Nothing much,” Hope said. “We did give out the number of a phone sex operator to everyone who hit on us though. So that should be fun for her. A bunch of new clients. We deserve a kickback, I think.”
Owen threw his head back and laughed. “Did I ever mention how much I love your friends?” he asked Grace.
Grace smiled at him. “Glad they entertain you. Now take me back to your place. We have more celebrating to do.”
Hope watched them go, and for the first time in forever, she felt a pang of sadness. It wasn’t jealousy. It was just an ache for the intimacy they shared. She sighed and walked Joy to her car before heading to her own. Just as she was opening the door, she got a text from her newest client, Against the Grain Interiors.
She’d been contracted to coordinate an open house once a month for the next six months, a grand opening party, and at least two showcases. The contract was shaping up to be one of the largest on her books this year. The only strange thing was that she hadn’t met LK in person yet. She thought that was kind of weird, but all the locations and dates checked out. It also helped that the large deposit check had cleared without an issue.
Need to go over some details. Do you have time to meet in person today or tomorrow?
There it was again, that clairvoyance. Hope smiled to herself. Sure. Today is good. Text me an address, and I’ll be right over.
A moment later, an address popped up on the screen. Hope didn’t waste any time. It was either meet with her client or go home to find out why her mother was in town. The client won, hands down.
Hope punched the address in her GPS, and when she got to the home, she let out a gasp. It was the craftsman Grace had finally sold a few weeks earlier. She smiled when she spotted the chicken coop that was already set up and the two golden labs that were running free in the yard. The place was perfect. Just the kind of home she’d always wanted. Now she was dying to meet the owner.
Feeling lighter than she had all day, she strolled up to the front door and knocked.
&nbs
p; The door opened almost immediately, revealing none other than Lucas King in all his tattooed glory.
LK.
She gaped at him. “Lucas? What the hell?” Without waiting for an answer, she spun on her heel and started to head back to her car.
“Wait!” He bounded out of his house and moved to stand in front of her, blocking her from getting back in her vehicle. “I really do need someone to tackle all of my events. This wasn’t a ploy to get you out here.”
“No? Then why didn’t you just tell me who you were?” she asked, sounding bitter to her own ears.
“You know why,” he said softly. “You wouldn’t have returned my calls, and I’d have been stuck finding someone inferior from fifty miles away.”
He was right about that. She was the best damned party planner on the coast. She sighed. “I don’t appreciate being lied to.”
“I didn’t lie… exactly,” he said. “I just omitted.”
“Same thing,” she insisted.
“Maybe. But please, Hope, can’t we put us aside for a while and work together? I really need someone I trust to do this. I just don’t have the time between my woodworking and my mother. It’s been… a lot.”
She’d heard about his mom, and her heart was breaking for him. She’d always loved Bell King. The woman was beautiful inside and out. What she hadn’t known was that Lucas was now a woodworker. Impressive if his business was as successful as he had made it sound during their emails for the event planning. Judging by his budget, she had to believe he wasn’t pulling her chain.
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” she hedged.
“Hope Anderson? Is that you?” a woman called from the porch.
Hope spun and smiled at Lucas’s mom. She was so cute in her capri pants and T-shirt that said Witches rule the world. “How are you doing, Mrs. K?”
Bell frowned, glanced around, and then disappeared back into the house.
“What—”
“It’s the dementia,” Lucas explained. “One minute she’s fine, and the next, she’s not. I have to go check on her.”
“Okay.”
Witching For Grace: Premonition Pointe, Book 1 Page 21