Love on Lavender Island (A Lavender Island Novel Book 2)

by Lauren Christopher

  His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he scrambled to get his gloves off. He stood in the beating sun, wiped his forehead, and leaned on his shovel near a rosebush.

  “Yeah?” he said when he saw it was Bob.

  “Adam, I have great news.”

  “Let’s hear it.”

  “MacGregor just made an official offer, so we can start escrow.”

  The wind left Adam’s lungs in a whoosh. He’d been waiting to hear this news for nearly six months. He’d been doing everything for MacGregor’s approval—fixing roads, fixing the house, selling off animals, making promises, making plans, going over numbers, making calls, mending fences, dealing in bison, and not sleeping at night. And now he was getting the news he’d been waiting for the whole time.

  “So we have thirty days?”

  “Yep. Thirty, exactly.”

  He took a deep breath and wondered why he wasn’t more elated. “That’s great.”

  “I thought you’d be a little more excited. What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. This is great. Good work. I’m impressed you carried this off. I’m just . . .”

  He couldn’t even think of how to fill in the rest.

  He was glad to have his plans fulfilled, but he was sad to be . . . what? Leaving his family home for real? Leaving the people he knew and loved? Starting over?

  He knew it was all those things.

  But there was something else now. Something that felt as if it was a beginning that he wasn’t letting bloom. Something he hadn’t known he needed, but now he wondered how he’d live without. Something that had kept him warm all night and made him smile first thing this morning when he realized it was still in his arms.

  Adam suddenly had the terrible awareness that he’d let happen what he’d never intended to—he’d fallen for Paige Grant.

  But she had not fallen for him. She’d told him too many times. They were staying FRED. And he’d never be accepted in her family anyway. Especially by Ginger. And how would they be a couple? Either he’d have to move to LA, which he couldn’t do because of Amanda, or Paige would have to follow him to Alabama. And Paige probably didn’t want to move to Alabama or start life with a teenage daughter. He could ask, but he’d probably freak her out. He’d be like Ted or Todd or whoever with the red frame.

  He might just have to ride this one out. Enjoy her during the time they had left but not expect more than she could give.

  Then he’d pack up his new little family of two, including Denny, and head out to start a new life alone.

  He’d get Paige out of his mind.

  He owed this to Amanda.

  Paige stood in the yard, admiring the pansies she’d planted around the freshly painted gazebo, when her phone began jangling “It’s My Party.”

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “How is everything going, dear?”

  “Fine. How are you?”

  “Great. I’m getting all kinds of encouragement from my doctor.”

  “That’s great! Like what?”

  “Like how strong I am, how well I’m doing. And I got the go-ahead to travel. So guess where I’m visiting?”

  Silence filled the line while Paige willed her mom to say something other than Lavender Island. Anything else. Anyplace else. Anywhere else. She clutched the chair in front of her.

  “Lavender Island!” Ginger squealed.

  “No, Mom.”

  “Yes!”

  “No. You can’t.”

  “Of course I can! I can’t wait!”

  “No. It’s not a good idea.”

  “Whatever are you talking about? I’m already packing.”

  “You don’t need to come.”

  “‘Need’ isn’t part of this. I want to come, Paigey. I can’t wait to get out of town. And I can’t wait to see you. And you must be so lonely there without your sisters. Aren’t you lonely?”

  Paige thought about the last several nights she’d spent in Adam’s arms and thought, Nooooooo. But she couldn’t think of how to tell her mom she’d been lying all this time about Adam. And now she’d have to reveal the truth of Amanda, also. Plus—

  “And guess who else is coming?” Her mom’s voice sounded as if it was quivering with glee.

  “I can’t imagine.”

  “Dorothy Silver!”

  “What?”

  “She wants to come and see the progress of the place so far.”

  “But, Mom, I’m nowhere near done! There are lots of fixes to do, and I hardly have any furniture, and the gazebo floor still needs to be stained, and—”

  “You don’t have any beds yet?”

  “Well . . . one.” Paige squirmed, thinking of how much fun she’d had there.

  “Chairs? Couches? Anyplace we can sit and have some coffee together?”

  “Just a dining table and three chairs, one of which is broken. I’m shopping for new furniture online, but I haven’t found the right pieces yet. I’ve only ordered two side tables so far.”

  “Well, then, maybe we can stay in town. Dorothy was planning on that anyway—she’s bringing her entourage. But I’ll stay in town, too, if it’s easier.”

  Paige was surprised her mom would do anything for her that was “easier.” But before she could start hyperventilating any further about Dorothy’s probable first impressions, she imagined the circus the famous actress would bring. As much as Paige fantasized about sitting across a dining table from the screen legend, and hopefully getting the part in her new movie, this whole early visit might be a nightmare.

  “If she’s in town with an entourage, and coming up here to check things out during the day, this wedding won’t be a secret from the public for long—or Olivia and Natalie, for that matter,” Paige pointed out. “This is going to be all over the papers. And if it’s not all over the papers, it will be all over town anyway with gossips like Kilner.”

  “No, she wants to keep a low profile.”

  “On this island? Good luck.”

  “We’ll be careful. You’re doing well hiding. Natalie and Olivia still don’t know you’re there.”

  “Only because I don’t have to go to town every day. I think it’s a mistake, Mom. Dorothy might lose faith in us. I know—and you know—we can have the wedding done and looking gorgeous, but Dorothy might see how it looks now and get worried.”

  “You just have to manage expectations, darling. That’s my forte.”

  Paige sighed deeply and knew she’d lost this round. Her mom was a woman on a mission. Always.

  “When are you coming?” Paige asked, admitting defeat.

  Maybe she could get furniture in another few weeks and have the gazebo nearly done and at least have the place looking more presentable if—

  “Next week.”

  “Next week?” Paige gasped. “Okay. I’ll see you soon, Mom.”

  She hung up before her nervous fingers dropped the phone. Next week? How was she going to have everything looking good by then? And how was she going to keep Adam and her a secret? And what about Amanda? Her mom would be filled with criticism as soon as she learned that Adam and Samantha’s temporary relationship had resulted in a teen pregnancy. This was going to be a disaster.

  Paige scrambled to her feet and raced to her notes on the kitchen counter, reprioritizing a few lines of her spreadsheet, when her phone jangled to “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys.”

  “Adam. How are you?”

  “I have some good news.” His despondent note didn’t match the words.

  “I have news, too. But you first.”

  “MacGregor made an offer.”

  Paige felt the blood drain from her head. She eased herself into a dining chair and splayed her shaking hand across the table. She knew this time would come, of course. It had always been so. But hearing it now, as reality, had an effect she hadn’t foreseen. She’d been having so much fun with him, falling into their comfortable and sexy new rhythm of life—the horseback rides, the movie watching, the dinners with Amanda, the sneaky kisses, th
e incredible sex—that she’d been able to ignore that this life had an expiration date. It felt like a time always set in the future, and she would be the one calling the shots. But now the expiration date was finite, and it was Adam’s call—probably thirty to forty-five days.

  “Congratulations.” She tried to muster enthusiasm in her voice.

  This was what he wanted. It was what Amanda wanted. She needed to be happy for them. She was happy for them. Right? She lifted her fist in a silent victory salute to convince herself she was so happy. This was great! Things worked out for the people she’d come to care for!

  But her heart kept falling, and her mouth was going dry.

  She took a deep breath and tried to inject her voice with an upswing. “That’s terrific, Adam.” There. That sounded kind of convincing. “Did it go according to plan? Is it exactly what you wanted?”

  “Yeah.” Adam’s response was strangely short.

  “So what does this mean, now, time-wise?”

  “Thirty days, but I can leave anytime now. Bob can handle the details.”

  She sighed.

  “Bob will go to probate court and see if anyone else shows up to bid,” he added. “If not, MacGregor will take the property.”

  “Great,” Paige said in her fake falsetto. “I’m glad everything worked out for you.”

  Adam paused for another long time, then she heard him blow out a breath. “I can stay a couple more weeks, though. I hope we can spend as much time together as possible before then.”

  Tears sprang to Paige’s eyes, and she immediately berated herself. Her sadness was selfish. She needed to be happy for them. She shouldn’t have gotten attached. They were supposed to be FRED.

  “Maybe,” she said with another forced lift, “except my news kind of ruins that.”

  “What’s your news?” he asked quietly.

  “Ginger’s coming. Along with Dorothy Silver.”

  “When?”

  “Next week. They’ll definitely ruin our final weeks together.”

  A long silence followed.

  “I can handle Ginger, Paige,” he said, low.

  “I can’t.”

  Paige sighed. They’d always avoided this discussion. It had been obvious that he was openly seeing her in front of his family and friends although she was hiding him from hers. She just hadn’t wanted to bring it up. But now it was there in the spotlight.

  “I take it you haven’t told her we’ve been . . . spending time together?”

  “No,” she admitted.

  “I don’t blame you,” he said. “But don’t worry about her. When she’s here, I’ll stay out of your way if that’s what you want.”

  “That’s not what I want.”

  “It’ll be all right. I’ll take my cues from you.”

  Paige hung up and tried to decide how she’d handle this. She just needed to be honest with her mom. She’d tell her that she’d started out with a business arrangement with Adam, but then their relationship grew. Or their attraction, rather. Or their FRED friendship. Whatever. And maybe it made her less effective in convincing him to sell to Dorothy, and maybe she’d lost the sale a long time ago, but that’s just the way it was. They’d at least compromised on the meadow, even though Dorothy would probably lose access to the orchard. Dorothy would be disappointed. Her mom would be disappointed. And Dorothy might not want to buy the property, ultimately. But Paige had tried. Ginger would think Paige lost the deal because she’d gotten “soft,” that she’d let her heart get in the way of business. Paige could already hear the words.

  But Paige couldn’t turn her heart on and off like that. Maybe she wasn’t a businesswoman and never would be. And maybe she didn’t want to be. Were finances really more important than love? Well, okay, it wasn’t exactly love when it was one-way. But were finances more important than connection? She’d connected with Amanda, connected with Adam, even connected with the townspeople, and this had been one of the most fun summers of her life. Her soul had never felt so settled. She didn’t know if she’d simply been righting wrongs—the wrong of her thirteen-year-old summer, where she’d pined for a boy who never noticed her—or if it was something different that her almost-thirty-year-old soul needed. But either way, this summer had been worth it.

  If they lost the Dorothy Silver deal because the ranch didn’t look identical to the movie, that would be terrible. But they’d spring back. And her mom would eventually forgive. And Paige would always have this time to remember. Her memories of this place were now good ones instead of awful ones. And she’d helped Amanda. And she’d helped Adam. She felt wonderful.

  She stood and looked out the window at the enormous gazebo, which she was proud of.

  When her mom came, she’d just have to be strong. She’d have to be strong about her convictions, and about her feelings toward these people and how feelings were okay. She didn’t want to go back in hiding—hiding her true self, her true feelings, her true personality—just because her mom thought it was bad business sense. And she didn’t want to hide her feelings about Adam and Amanda. Just because her mom had had bad experiences with one Mason man and had never trusted his son didn’t mean Paige had to carry forth the tradition. Just like Amanda didn’t have to follow in her mother’s footsteps, and Adam didn’t have to follow in his father’s, Paige, too, didn’t have to follow in Ginger’s Louboutins.

  She’d simply come clean with her mom about her fling with Adam, and enjoy her last couple weeks of FRED openly.

  Let the chips fall where they may.

  CHAPTER 23

  The next day was their newly traditional Sunday horseback-trio ride to the ocean, but when Paige arrived at the stables, Amanda wasn’t there.

  “She took the news of the sale pretty quietly,” Adam said as they saddled Tempest and Ophelia. “She said she had a stomachache. I’m not sure what to make of that. I thought she’d be happy.”

  “Maybe she has to process it as another change,” Paige suggested, lifting her own saddle the way Adam had taught her.

  Darcy and Lizzie were going to Kelly later that afternoon, and Adam looked at them longingly.

  “It’s a lot for her to take in,” Paige added. “She’s been through so much.”

  Adam swung onto his horse. “I’m sure you’re right. I just need to settle her somewhere she feels permanent. Let’s go. I want to show you something today.”

  They rode past the pasture, along the pond, and then down a ravine toward a woodland entrance that Paige had never seen before. They brought the horses to a slow trot as they wove their way through the thick forestry, which smelled of pine needles warmed on the earth, and then down another trail that switchbacked twice before it opened to a clearing with an incredible view of the ocean about fifty feet down. They rode to what looked like the end of the earth, with the ocean stretching out forever in front of them. Adam hopped off and looped Tempest’s reins around a tree.

  “We’ll let them graze. Follow me.”

  “Where are we going?” She watched him head down an embankment that led to a steep rock formation down to the water, then scrambled off her horse and followed.

  “Remember you said the hangar was like a museum?” he called over his shoulder as he navigated the climb. The ocean roared in front of them, while the earthy, clean scent of wet land drifted up around them.

  Paige climbed over a sharp embankment to keep up. “Right,” she called ahead. “All those aviation records dating back to the 1940s.”

  “Wait until you get a load of this place.”

  She balanced over the next ledge and jumped down behind him. This is where her Calamity June tendencies sometimes came into play—in situations that were already dangerous, and she managed to make them worse.

  “Adam, are you sure you want me down here with you?”

  “Of course. What’s wrong?”

  “Well, remember I told you about the curse? I really can be Calamity June in places like this.”

  She followed him down
a few more ledges that looked like black lava stones, the sea spray bouncing upward, getting thicker along her arms and in the wisps of her hair.

  Adam waited for her to get to the same rock he was on, then pulled her up beside him. “Paige.” He cupped her face. “When I first met you, you threw your chin in the air and told me you didn’t want to be called Calamity June. So here’s the thing. You need to stop calling yourself that, too. You are not dangerous. You are not cursed. You are wild and free and exciting, and that’s what everyone loves about you.”

  The ocean crashed in front of them as Paige steadied herself on the rock. Did Adam just say “love”? He wasn’t exactly claiming the feeling himself—he didn’t say he loved that about her, simply “everyone”—but it still took her breath away. It was only a few sentiments removed, and she wanted to take it. She was working on mustering the courage to ask him to repeat it, or clarify, or something—touching his forearms—when he suddenly reached for her hand.

  “We’re almost there.” He tugged her forward.

  After two more jumps down, their heels landed into the soft sand right behind a tiny beach, maybe ten feet across. Just beyond another rocky ledge were the ruins of a structure Paige couldn’t quite identify: cement walls, red-tile roofs, steps, and maybe a tower. Seeing the evidence of human life so far out here on this secret cove—but now buried in Neptune’s graveyard—took her breath away.

  “What is it?” she whispered.

  “A seaplane port.” Adam wandered out onto the beach. “Can you see where the ramp is, slightly underwater? And there, where those red roof tiles are, that was a bell tower on the ticket building. That wall over there was the start of the seaplane hangar, and those arches formed the station and waiting area. This was a gorgeous piece of architecture in the 1930s.”

  “Did your family run this, too?”

  “My mom’s grandfather did. Charlie Chaplin’s half brother, Syd, was setting up seaplane service to various California islands for Charlie’s Hollywood friends, so service here was added then, in about 1919. My mom’s grandfather bought the ramp in 1934 and built it into this whole port. Ultimately there were three planes here. That ramp was unique—it was a turntable, so they could land in the ocean, then put the wheels down and roll up onto the turntable and turn it toward the hangar. It was something else. It was shut down when the island was taken over as a training ground in World War II. After the war was over, though, the roads started to get washed out by storms, and they never reopened it. I wanted to bring it back to life, but I never got a chance. The roads up that way were taken over by the Conservancy, and I petitioned to refurbish this area and make it into a museum.”