He caught about half of what Sam was saying – basically complaining about being forced to listen to all the praise his cousin Mason was going to get once everyone arrived for dinner. It wasn’t even like Sam was exaggerating. It was completely true. And while normally Jake preferred to skip big family get-togethers of any kind – especially when it wasn’t even his own family – he was here out of respect for Ezekiel Coleman and the fact that he was celebrating such a milestone birthday. He respected the hell out of old Zeke and often wished his own grandfather could have been so kind and nurturing.
Issues for another time.
“Tell me there’s something going on in town tonight that we can use as an excuse to cut out of here early,” Sam said pleadingly.
Laughing softly, Jake placed the last chair around the massive dining table before looking at Sam. “Dude, we’re a beach town and the summer just started. What do you think?”
Grinning, Sam said, “I think my fake ID is going to get a workout tonight.”
That made Jake laugh a little more. He remembered the days of sneaking into the local bars when he was underage and more often than not, everyone there knew he wasn’t legal. Fortunately, no one said a word. Sam could easily pass for being over twenty-one. Now if it were his twin sister…
No, dammit! Don’t think of Mallory! He chided himself. There was no way he would encourage her to follow her brother for a night on the town. And that thought bothered him more than his earlier ones. What did he care what Mallory did? She was the great-granddaughter of a neighbor – a family friend. And more than that, she was four years younger than him – practically a kid. If she wanted to go out and do…whatever, it was her business.
And yet his fists were clenched at his side at the thought of her going into one of the local bars and letting some frat boys buy her drinks.
“You okay, Jake?” Sam asked, sliding the last of the chairs around the table.
“Uh…yeah, why?”
“You look really pissed right now. Like you want to hit someone.”
Pretty accurate.
Not that he was going to admit to it.
“Nah. My mind just wandered for a minute. That’s all.”
Sam didn’t look fully convinced but didn’t have time to comment because people started arriving and milling around. He didn’t often believe in divine intervention, but he did right now.
And he was thankful for it.
Uniformed servers walked around with trays of hors d'oeuvres, a small bar was set up in the corner of the dining room with a bartender, and all around him were members of Zeke’s family – mainly his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Sure, there were some friends and neighbors present – his own family included – but primarily this was a family event and he suddenly felt a little out of his element.
The Colemans were old money. They were the founding family of Magnolia Sound and everyone knew who they were. Jake’s family had moved here when he was a baby and his father had worked for Coleman Construction – just as Jake had as soon as he was old enough. He still worked there, at least until the end of the summer when he was finally going to go away to college for engineering. It was something he wanted to do for years, but the timing was never right.
And the finances hadn’t always been there.
Old Zeke had offered to pay his tuition, but Jake always turned him down without even discussing it with his parents. Why? Pride. Plain and simple. Zeke had spent a lot of time with Jake over the years, teaching him everything he knew and that was more valuable than any fancy college degree he could get. Unfortunately, if he was going to get ahead in this world and make a serious living for himself, there were things he wanted to learn and do on his own.
And paying for his education was one of them.
It wasn’t going to be easy and Jake was more than a little self-conscious about starting college at twenty-four, but that was the hand life had dealt him. And he was okay with it.
Even as he stood in a room of people who’ve had it much easier than him.
Georgia and Beau Bishop walked in with their three kids – Mason, Peyton and Parker. All three were younger than Jake and lived extremely privileged lives. Beau was a very prominent attorney here in Magnolia Sound and also came from old money. They weren’t a particularly warm couple, but their kids were basically nice.
Well, except Mason.
He was kind of a prick.
The thought made him smile because he remembered Sam’s comments from earlier. No doubt it wouldn’t be long before old Beau would be making some long-winded speech about something amazing his son had done. Then everyone would smile while internally rolling their eyes.
Yeah. It happened all the time.
Grace Coleman – another of Zeke’s granddaughter’s – walked in with her three sons and Jake could tell she was already tense and worried about their behavior. Barely in their teens, Garrett, Jackson and Austin were already developing reputations of being hellraisers here in town.
His heart gave a little kick when the kitchen door swung open and Mallory walked in, followed by her mother Susannah. The Westbrooks were the only members of the family who didn’t live in Magnolia full-time. Sure, they came for a visit every summer and sometimes over the holidays, but New York – Long Island, more accurately – was their home. Susannah was a single mom and had been for more than a dozen years. Raising twins Sam and Mallory had to be rough on her, he thought, especially with her ex having no part of his children’s lives.
What kind of man did that?
That thought didn’t stay with him long as he watched Mallory weave her way through the group – hugging her aunts and uncle, laughing with her cousins. At one point she turned and their eyes met and…damn. She gave him a shy smile that was the perfect mix of sweet and sexy and he felt himself begin to sweat.
When had she changed?
When had the girl he’d known become a woman? She was four years younger than him and even though they had essentially grown up together, the only time they saw each other was during the summers when she would come and vacation on Magnolia Sound while visiting her great-grandfather. And in all that time – even up until last summer – she’d been a kid to him. Their age difference seemed vast.
Not so much right now.
“Jake! So glad you came tonight!” Zeke’s hand came down on his shoulder and a big smile played on his face.
“I wouldn’t have missed it,” he said, returning the smile. And he meant it. This was an amazing milestone and it deserved a grand celebration.
“Well, I know this lot can make things a little less than festive,” he said with a nod toward the roomful of relatives.
Jake knew he meant it with both love and frustration. Didn’t all families have their share of petty grievances and disagreements? Although, this particular family seemed to have more than most. Still, he hoped everyone got along this weekend, for Zeke’s sake.
“Either way,” Zeke went on, “I managed to convince everyone to let me eat what I want, drink what I want, and even have a cigar or two.”
Laughing, Jake shook his head. “You know you were supposed to give those up years ago, right?”
“Nonsense. I’m ninety years old, son. No one lives forever.”
But for some reason, Jake always figured Zeke would. He couldn’t imagine a world without his kindness, his wisdom, and his laughter. It would be a lesser world, that’s for sure.
“Still,” Jake said lightly, “why tempt fate? You’ve been feeling good lately. You shouldn’t mess with that.”
Zeke merely waved him off and focused on the crowd moving around the dining room. “Sometimes you have to mess with a good thing,” he said conspiratorially. “It’s good to change things up once in a while, otherwise life gets boring. And who wants that?” With a pat on Jake’s back, he excused himself and went to greet everyone.
Jake watched him blend into the crowd and couldn’t help but smile. That was a man to emulate. That was a man who had
done something amazing with his life and had something to show for it.
It was exactly the kind of life he wanted for himself.
“It was nice of you to come and celebrate with Pops,” Mallory said softly as she came to stand beside him.
He could smell her perfume – it was sweet and clean and he had to fight the urge to lean over and inhale deeply.
What is wrong with me? Muttering a curse, he grabbed a glass of champagne off of a tray a server was carrying. Taking a long drink, he heard Mallory gasp beside him.
“Thirsty?” she asked, and was that a hint of snark in her voice?
With a shrug, Jake finished the rest and placed the glass down on the nearest surface.
They stood side by side for several long moments and Jake had to wonder if he was supposed to move away and mingle or if she should.
“It’s nice that everyone came out for Pops, don’t you think?”
Across the room, he spotted Zeke laughing with a few of his neighbors and smiled. “Yeah, it is. Not that it’s surprising. Your great-grandfather is an amazing man.”
“Yes he is,” she agreed. She began looking around the room and he wondered if there was someone specific she was looking for. Then she looked over her shoulder before focusing her attention him again.
“Everything okay?”
“Oh, um…I was supposed to go grab something out of the boathouse and I…I forgot.” She didn’t look at him as she spoke which he thought was odd, but he chose to keep that observation to himself.
Although…what the heck could she need from the boathouse? And that’s exactly what he asked her because his curiosity was piqued.
“I had a painting done for Pops and I hid it out in the boathouse. I should have just hidden it here in the house, but I…” She shrugged. “I knew he wouldn’t go down there so it would be safe.”
“Oh.”
She nodded, looked away and then back again. “Would you mind walking with me to go get it? It’s kind of awkward to carry. Sam helped me bring it in and…”
If Jake had to guess, he’d say that Sam was hiding out somewhere and keeping out of sight until it was time to sit down to eat.
He wished he’d thought of that.
“Jake?”
“Sure. Uh…yeah. I can help.” Together they turned and walked across the dining room, through the swinging door that led to the kitchen and finally out the back door to the deck. No one seemed to notice and no one asked where they were going. Was it possible he was over-reacting here? That he was the only one who thought this was a little awkward?
“It’s such a lovely night out, isn’t it?” Mallory asked. She was walking a few steps ahead of him across the deck. Her smile was sweet but her eyes were a little come-hither. He stumbled over his own two feet. With a knowing grin, she asked, “You okay?”
Mildly embarrassed, Jake followed her down a flight of wooden stairs that led to the grassy area beneath. There were twinkly lights in the trees and moonlight illuminating their way. He wasn’t paying too much attention to where he was going until Mallory stopped right in front of him and he walked into her.
Instantly he grasped her shoulders and apologized.
“Second time tonight that’s happened,” she said softly, turning around to face him. And with an even softer sigh, she leaned into him.
“What’s going on, Mallory?” he asked gruffly, her scent surrounding him. The heat of her trim little body almost burned him.
For a moment she simply stared up at him, her dark blue eyes going a little dreamy. Before he could register what was happening, she had one hand raking up into his hair and was rising up on her tiptoes to touch her lips to his.
3
His first thought was finally.
But his second thought was this is so wrong.
Nudging that second thought aside, Jake Summerford put all of his focus into the responsive girl in his arms and dove in for another taste. For years he had denied that there was any attraction between himself and Mallory Westbrook.
She’d always been cute, always been sweet. But because of their age difference he’d never allowed himself to think of her as any more than a kid.
Well…she certainly wasn’t a kid anymore and he was fairly sure he was allowed to think a lot of different things about her.
Like how soft her skin was.
How full and wet her lips were.
How her family trusted him and treated him like one of their own.
Yeah, this was so wrong.
And still he couldn’t find the strength to care – not as Mallory pressed even closer and made the neediest little sound. He found his own arms banding tighter around her as he tried to think of the best place to move them for a little more privacy. Not too far away there was a party in full-swing for Ezekiel’s ninetieth birthday. There was a houseful of people, music was playing and really, it was where he and Mallory should be right now. How the hell had they gotten out here?
Oh, right. Mallory had given him a shy-yet-flirty smile and asked if he could help her move a painting from the boathouse, and like an idiot, he’d said yes.
And now look where they were.
Then a thought hit him – the boathouse! They hadn’t even made it all the way down to the pier before she had shocked him with this kiss. If he could maneuver them the rest of the way across the yard, they’d be completely out of view once they were inside the boathouse!
Carefully, slowly, Jake began to walk them further down the lawn toward the pier without breaking the kiss. The urge to swing Mallory up into his arms was strong, but right now he couldn’t think straight.
What the hell was happening to him?
He wasn’t a kid, for crying out loud! He was a man! A man who’d kissed more than his share of women. Women who…
And that’s when it hit him.
The enormity of what was happening here finally broke through and as much as he wanted to keep on kissing Mallory, he couldn’t.
Jake broke the kiss and took a step back. His breath was ragged and once his eyes focused on her and he saw how sexy she looked in the moonlight, he almost dove back in to start all over again.
“Why did you stop?” she asked breathlessly.
He swallowed hard as he tried to remember exactly why he stopped. In the moment, he knew it was the right thing to do. But now? Not so much.
How could he possibly explain to her how this wasn’t right when all he wanted to do was pull her back into his arms? Or how this wasn’t the time for them to be talking about this because there was a party going on behind them that they both needed to get back to?
The decision was ultimately taken from him when Sam came jogging across the yard toward them. Jake braced himself for what he was sure was going to be a fight.
He’d accept the words, the blows.
Because he deserved them.
“Damn, Mal,” Sam said with a huff when he was beside them. He glanced at Jake with a nod. “Mom’s been looking for you because we’re getting ready to sit down. What are you doing down here?”
“Oh, I uh…I put that painting in the boathouse earlier and…”
“I brought it in already,” Sam said, oblivious to any of the tension that Jake was certain he and Mallory were feeling. “It’s in the study with the rest of the gifts.” He paused. “C’mon. I need you next to me so I don’t get stuck sitting next to Mason.”
They all laughed quietly.
“You’ll still have the other side open,” Mallory reasoned.
“Nah, Jake will grab that seat. Right?” he asked, smiling at Jake.
And in that moment, Jake knew it was probably the safest place for him to sit. “Yeah, man. No problem. Let’s go.”
He didn’t look at Mallory again. Didn’t dare.
Once they were back in the house, there was no time to think. No time to even steal a glance. Everyone was ushered to the table to take their seats.
He didn’t hesitate to grab another glass of champagne and
drink it down quickly to calm his nerves. Within minutes, another glass was in front of him to toast the Coleman family patriarch. And when everyone raised their glass to Zeke, Jake joined them.
And prayed that his friend and mentor never found out how he’d practically lost control and devoured his great-granddaughter out on the pier.
* * *
Mallory’s appetite was gone.
She had her chance, took it, and Jake couldn’t get away from her fast enough. Even now when she tried to get a glimpse of him – if her stupid brother would get out of the way! – he was looking away from her.
What had she done wrong? The kiss was amazing and he was on board from the moment her lips touched his, so…why did he step back like that? Mallory had felt thrilled and giddy when he started walking them down to the pier and she was certain they were going to go to the boathouse to continue what they started.
Of course then Sam had shown up so maybe…maybe it was a good thing they hadn’t gone any further.
There was always later, right?
Relaxing a bit, Mallory enjoyed her dinner and got a kick out of listening to Pops talk about all of the changes he’d seen here in Magnolia Sound throughout his life. None of it was new – her great-grandfather loved to tell stories about how life used to be so much simpler – but for tonight, everyone sat and listened to every word. And it was obvious how much it meant to him. There was a twinkle in his eyes and a lightness to his voice that she hadn’t seen or heard in a long time.
It made her heart happy to know that this night meant so much to him.
After their meal, everyone stood and moved to the massive parlor where Pops continued to hold court. Eventually everyone gave him his presents and he seemed genuinely touched and pleased by all of them. By the time they all headed back into the dining room for cake, Mallory knew she couldn’t be the only one to notice how tired he looked. It was a big night and it was way past his usual bedtime. Fortunately, her mother and her aunts noticed it as well and did their best to expedite dessert.
Sunkissed Days Page 2