Love in Catalina Cove

by Brenda Jackson

  And now he was asking her for another chance. Hadn’t he given her another chance when she’d pushed him away that night in New York? Her decision had been final, yet when Jade had called him because she had needed him, he had come and had been with her since, giving her support in ways Julius and Scott never had.

  “It’s hard when you love someone and find out they aren’t perfect like you thought, isn’t it?” Sawyer asked, repeating the question.

  She looked back at him. “Yes, it’s hard.”

  He nodded and then without saying anything else, he turned, went to the door and walked out, closing it behind him.

  The moment Vashti heard the door closed she leaped to her feet. He hadn’t said goodbye. She rushed to the door and snatched it open. The hall was clear. Where had he gone? The elevator!

  She stepped out into the hall and too late, when her hotel room door closed behind her, she remembered she didn’t have her key. She would worry about that later. Right now she had to stop Sawyer.

  Rounding the corner, she saw him standing at the elevator about five feet away with his back to her. “Sawyer?”

  He turned and stared at her. “Yes?”

  “You didn’t say goodbye.”

  When he didn’t say anything but stood there staring at her, roaming his gaze over her, she said, “Well?”

  He lifted a brow as he met her gaze. “Well, what?”

  She felt heat from his gaze. “Why didn’t you say goodbye?”

  He shoved his hands in his pockets, ignoring the elevator door when it opened. “I’ve decided to never tell you goodbye again. For some reason you think goodbye is the same thing as the end, and there won’t ever be an ending for us, Vashti.”

  “Why not?”

  He leaned against the wall. “Because I won’t let there be. Neither will Jade. I told you once that my daughter and I were a package deal. Nothing has changed regarding that. You want her, then you have to take her old man, too.”

  Out of the corner of her eye Vashti saw one of the hotel room doors slowly open. Someone must have heard voices out in the hall and was now trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.

  “Well?” Sawyer asked, grabbing her attention again.

  “Well, what?”

  He began walking toward her and came to a stop in front of her. “Are you going to take the package deal?”

  She swallowed back a lump as she stared up at him. She saw the movement out of the corner of her eye again and knew this time he’d seen it, too. “I think we need to talk privately, but now I’m locked out of my hotel room,” she whispered.

  “We tried talking privately already, and I have a key to your hotel room,” he whispered back, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket and fishing out the extra passkey to hand to her.

  “You kept it?”

  “I must have had every intention of coming back, Vashti.”

  She smiled up at him. “Thank you and I’m taking the package deal.”

  “Smart choice.” He placed his arm around her shoulders. “Now we need to go back to your hotel room and work out the details.”

  * * *

  VASHTI FUMBLED WITH the passkey and Sawyer eased it from her fingers and opened the door for her.

  Once inside she handed the key to him. “You can have this back.”

  Sawyer’s heart lurched. Was this her way of telling him he could use his key to her hotel room? He was ready to hash out those details now more than ever. When she made a move to walk away, he reached out and grabbed her wrist. “Not so fast.”

  “Then what about slow, Sawyer? Do you prefer slow to fast?”

  He smiled as he leaned toward her. “I prefer Vashti, any way I can have her. Will you forgive me?”

  “Yes, I told you I accepted your apology. It’s time we put it behind us.” She took a step back. “You know all about following bread crumbs, right?”

  He lifted a brow. “As a cop, I’m more into following leads.”

  She smiled. “Then follow these leads, Sheriff Grisham. We can finish our discussion in the bedroom.”

  She turned and began walking. First off were her sandals. Then her top. Then he watched her bra dropped, all without breaking a stride. By the time she reached the bedroom door, she had shimmied out of her shorts. Only thing left were her panties. He already had a pair in a very private place in his bedroom at home. He didn’t have a problem confiscating another.

  He blinked out of his reverie when the bedroom door closed shut. She was a lousy criminal for leaving so many leads and he followed each one, collecting them as he went. Missing one. The panties. That meant...

  Without knocking he opened the bedroom door to find her naked on the bed. He dropped the clothes she’d scattered in a chair. He recalled the last time he’d been in this room and how he’d left before morning. With Jade spending the night at the hospital, there would be no rush to leave when morning came. But they were yet to finish those details.

  He sat in the chair to remove his shoes and watched her while he did so. His blood began to sizzle. “About that package deal, Vashti.”

  “What about it?” she said, easing over toward him, wrapping her arms around him from the back and burying her face in his back, using her nose to sniff him through the material of his shirt. “I love the way you smell.”

  “Evidently.”

  “And I love you.”

  Those were the words he’d been waiting for her to say. Reaching behind him he gently pulled her down and she tumbled into his lap. He met her startled gaze. “And I love you. The only thing I ask is for you to remember I’m not perfect.”

  “I will remember and you need to remember that about me, too.”

  He nodded. “Now back to those details.”

  She was playing with the hem of his polo shirt, sneaking her hand underneath to rub his chest.

  “I want something permanent.”

  Her hand went still. “Do you?”

  “I’m getting too old to be leaving your bed before sunrise. You don’t have to give me an answer this minute, but think about it.”

  She nodded. “I will.”

  “And I promise in the future, Vashti, whenever there’s an issue, you and I will get to the bottom of it together. I have a feeling we’re going to have to stick together now more so than ever. We won’t have one teenaged daughter to worry about, but two. I have a feeling Kia will be visiting us a lot.”

  A huge smile touched Vashti’s lips. “I think so, too. And I don’t have to think about anything, Sawyer. I want a permanent package deal, too. Now off with your clothes.”

  He gently placed her back on the bed to finish undressing. She watched his every moment. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you? Seeing me get naked.”

  “Yes.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “I love you, Vashti.”

  “And I love you.”

  “I hope you know we’re going to give Catalina Cove a lot to talk about for a while.”

  “Yes, but just until Reid Lacroix makes a statement. Jade and Kia are his granddaughters and you better believe he’s going to protect them at all costs,” Vashti said smiling, knowing how that worked.

  “And am I assuming there might be interest between Reid and Kia’s grandmother, Gloria?”

  “Hmm, possibly. They went to college together and both lost spouses. I’m glad if there’s interest. Everybody needs somebody and he’s been alone for a while.”

  “Well, I hope he doesn’t give in to his granddaughters’ every whim. If he’s not careful they will have him wrapped around their fingers,” Sawyer said, easing down his jeans.

  Vashti chuckled. “I think Kia is halfway there and I heard Jade telling him why the cove needed a Spencer’s and McDonald’s. You want to take bets on how soon we’ll get them?”

  He heard he
r sharp intake of breath when he slid out of his briefs. He loved her reaction to seeing him naked. When he joined her on the bed she leaned up and captured his mouth in a kiss whose purpose was to make his head spin.

  No matter how often he kissed her, he would always want more. And he proved just how much more by exerting a degree of provocative pressure to her mouth. When he heard a satisfied purr, he knew for them there was no turning back. It would always be about moving forward.

  “One day. No time soon, mind you, after we go permanent, I want a baby, Sawyer.”

  He froze and after sucking in an audible gasp, he gazed down at her. “A baby?”

  “Yes. Your baby. Our baby. I’m only thirty-two and I’d like at least two before turning thirty-five and before you hit forty. Think you can manage it?”

  Sawyer was stunned by the intensity of emotions he felt at that moment. He eased his body between her open legs and stared down at her, never knowing the degree of happiness he felt at that moment was possible.

  “Yes, I can manage it. It’s about time we make babies in a way that won’t have tongues wagging. Born to our union. You plan the wedding, sweetheart, because I am all in and impatiently waiting.”

  He leaned down and kissed her, making love to her mouth in a way that had him savoring her taste in the most urgent way. When he released her mouth he stared down at her while easing his body into hers. The feel of his shaft sliding between her wet womanly folds and going deep, and then deeper, sent sensuous shudders through him. And when her inner muscles clenched him and she arched her back for better penetration, every nerve ending in his body was primed for an explosion of the most gigantic kind.

  He fought for total control, knowing from here on out, whatever he and Vashti did, they would do together. They were a team in this and everything, and they would need to be a team more than ever in the days ahead. “Love me hard, Sawyer.”

  He didn’t have to be told twice, and he began moving—all the way in and then pulling all the way out, and then starting the process all over again. He loved making love to her as his fiancée and would love making love to her as his wife.

  Over and over he brought them to the edge and back, not ready to soar to the stars. She was so damn responsive to his every touch, his every thrust, and when he felt her body start spasming, he joined her, bonding them in a way that he knew in his heart was meant to be.

  Always.

  EPILOGUE

  A month later

  VASHTI STOOD IN the gazebo and took it all in. It was grand opening day at Shelby by the Sea. Couples were already checking in and by tonight, the inn would be filled to capacity. In fact, there were no vacancies until spring. Already there were seven weddings planned between the months of March and June, including her own. She hadn’t expected to book so many and had hired a woman whose job would be just to help coordinate weddings and receptions.

  What she loved about today was that so many of the townspeople had come to help her celebrate. Reid had suggested she set up an old-fashioned Catalina Cove picnic on adjacent Lacroix land. He even offered for his company to foot the bill for all the food and entertainment. That was kind of him, although she knew there was an ulterior motive for the generous offer. The Harris family had arrived yesterday and so far the only thing any of the townsfolk had approached her to say was that she had beautiful daughters.

  In Reid Lacroix fashion he had squashed rumors before they could begin. After Sawyer and the Harrises had given their permission, upon returning to Catalina Cove from California, Reid had called a press conference to announce that he’d recently discovered he had twin granddaughters. One, who was already living in the cove. Namely, Jade Grisham. And the other who lived in California. He even went further to say their biological mother was Vashti Alcindor, who had given birth to them at sixteen and who’d thought they’d died at birth. The secret was out and now everyone knew it had been Julius Lacroix who’d fathered her babies.

  Reid had also told them that he would appreciate it if everyone was respectful of the privacy of all parties involved. In other words, whatever thoughts they might have, he better not hear about them. So far the people had taken his words seriously, although Vashti was certain some were trying to piece together all the components to the puzzle. Especially today when Reid appeared at the picnic with his identical twin granddaughters on each arm. Vashti was certain she had never, ever seen the man so happy. And she noted, as she was certain others had, too, that he kept Gloria Harris close by his side as well.

  Vashti glanced to her right and saw Bryce talking with the man named Ray Sullivan. She knew what Bryce had said about the man just being friendly, but she wondered, especially when Ray was such a good-looking man.

  She noticed that Kaegan, who was in charge of cooking all the seafood, seemed to be keeping his eyes on the couple. Hmm, interesting.

  “Here you are.”

  She smiled at Sawyer when he returned with a bag of cotton candy. Reid had rented a huge cotton candy machine and had hired an attendant to man it. Since there was always a line, it was obviously one of the most popular booths at the picnic. At times Vashti had to pinch herself when she thought of how things had turned out. She, Sawyer and the Harrises were getting along great and it was like a huge extended family.

  As Dr. Telfair had predicted, Jade had been a perfect donor match for Kia and was excited about giving her twin one of her kidneys. The procedure would be done over the Christmas holidays so the girls could miss minimum school days. So far Kia hadn’t had another kidney infection and her dialysis had been reduced from three times a week to two. Of course, everyone was looking forward to when she wouldn’t have to get them at all.

  Trying to move toward forgiveness with her parents like Sawyer said, she had called to invite them to the grand opening, and they had surprised her by coming. The reunion had been bittersweet and her parents had actually cried when they’d seen Jade and Kia together.

  “Thanks,” she said to Sawyer, taking the bag of cotton candy from him.

  “You’re welcome. Reid’s idea of using this land for a picnic was a good one. All you can see from the road is woods. I never knew all this was back here. It’s nature’s paradise on the sea.”

  Vashti had thought the same thing the first time Julius had brought her here. No need to tell Sawyer that this had been their secret hideaway, and that her daughters had been conceived in a spot not far from here.

  “I have something to ask you about, Sawyer. Something I observed.”

  “What?”

  “Ray Sullivan? Does Kaegan have competition?”

  Sawyer followed her gaze to where Bryce and Ray stood talking. “Nah. There’s nothing going on there.”

  She lifted a brow. That’s what Bryce had told her the last time. But still... “How can you be so sure?”

  He took a sip of iced tea. Then he said, “Ray is a victim of retrograde amnesia and made a decision not to get involved with anyone.”

  Vashti gasped. “Amnesia? How?”

  “From a head injury a few years back. He was in a coma for a few weeks and when he came out of it, he’d been robbed of his memory. Totally. He couldn’t even tell the authorities who he was. Ray Sullivan isn’t even his name.”

  “How did he end up in Catalina Cove?”

  “The doctor who’d treated him was a college roommate of Kaegan’s who was practicing medicine in Ohio. He reached out to Kaegan because, although Ray had no memory of his former life, he did know he had a love for boats and the ocean. Ray needed a job and Kaegan’s doctor friend asked him to hire Ray.”

  Sawyer took another sip of his tea then said, “There’s a chance his memory might come back and there’s a chance it never will.”

  Vashti looked over to where Ray and Bryce were still talking. “The townspeople know about his amnesia?”

  “No. So far it’s just me and Kaegan. And
now you. Ray’s a loner and usually doesn’t socialize with anyone in town other than me and Kaegan. He prefers being by himself. I guess he likes Bryce, but not the way you might think. Ray knows Bryce used to be Kaegan’s girl and he won’t cross that line.”

  Sawyer chuckled before adding. “But I guess Ray feels there’s nothing wrong with stirring Kaegan’s jealousy every now and then.”

  Later that day Sawyer talked Vashti into taking a walk on the beach. Holding hands they walked in their bare feet in the sand as they made more plans for their future. “I’m glad I came back to Catalina Cove. If I hadn’t then I might not have ever found my girls.”

  “Yes, but now you’ve found them.”

  She stopped walking. “Yes, I found them. And I found you, too.”

  Leaning up on tiptoes, she gave her future husband a huge kiss. Happy that they had found love in Catalina Cove.

  * * * * *

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