Falling for Sarah

by Cate Beauman

  Matthew’s gaze wandered to Ethan. His eyes changed from friendly to hostile and back so quickly, she was sure she imagined it.

  “Matthew, this is my…friend, Ethan Cooke. I hope you don’t mind, but he’ll be joining us today.”

  “No, not at all. Mr. Cooke, can I get you a drink?”

  “No, thanks. Do you mind if I use your office? I have a couple of phone calls to make.”

  “Help yourself.”

  Ethan wandered back to the room, dialing his cell phone as he went.

  Sarah joined Lisa at the table with Matthew following behind.

  “All right,” Lisa said, “we should probably get down to business. Sarah, I’m looking for shots of Matthew’s shop as well as a shot of Matthew and me together. I’d like to be able to give the business a plug even though it doesn’t need one.”

  Sarah took her camera from the bag, changed lenses. “I’ll start inside and work my way out.” She framed a clever arrangement of sweeping calla lilies and roses all in white, settled in an ornate glass vase. It should have looked overdone, but the effect was somehow perfect.

  She moved about, capturing the simple yet chic ambiance of Matthew’s shop while his and Lisa’s voices carried on with their meeting.

  Sarah focused on her next shot of a small fountain flowing into a pool surrounded by lush water plants. Goose bumps skittered along her skin. It felt as if Matthew watched her every move.

  She slid her gaze to the right, to where he and Lisa sat, met his stare. Ethan’s murmurs came from the office to the left and every instinct shouted at her to run to him.

  Admonishing herself for being silly, she gave Matthew a smile. When he smiled back, his eyes changed. The stirrings of a memory fought to surface, but she lost it. Chilled to the marrow, she moved toward the door. “I’m…just…going to get a few outside shots.”

  Sarah stepped into the bright sunshine and crossed her arms, rubbing them, trying to bring the warmth back. She’d seen Matthew before, she was sure of it, but where?

  Ethan stepped outside. “You didn’t tell me you were leaving.” His voice was cool, his eyes unreadable behind the black tint of sunglasses.

  “I needed some fresh air.”

  “Are you okay?” He took a step forward, stopped.

  She wanted to tell him that Matthew made her uncomfortable, that there was something about him that made the hair stand up on the back of her neck, but Ethan stood in front of her, jaw clenched and rigid.

  “Yeah.” She stepped back and focused on the sign ‘Elegant Expressions’. A silver Mercedes sports convertible drove up, parallel parking behind the Rover. When Sarah heard Hunter’s voice, she turned, frowning.

  Ethan moved close, speaking to him before he walked to the Rover, got in and took off without sparing her a second glance.

  Sarah let her camera dangle by the strap as she stared after the SUV until it disappeared around the corner of the busy street.

  Hunter rocked back on his heels, ran his tongue over his teeth. “Looks like you’re stuck with me for awhile. Ethan has some stuff to do.”

  “Oh, okay.” She glanced down the street again.

  “Are you going to tell me what’s going on between the two of you?”

  “Nothing’s going on between the two of us. Absolutely nothing.” Speaking the truth as far as she was concerned, she opened the door to the shop. She steeled herself against her discomfort and walked in with Hunter following behind.

  “What is this, Beefcake Monday?” Lisa said, smiling at Hunter.

  Hunter chuckled, shaking his head.

  “How’s that beautiful wife of yours?”

  “Morgan’s great—very busy with work, but chaos makes her happy.”

  Sarah rested her hand against Hunter’s well-muscled arm. “Hunter, this is Matthew Denmire. He’s handling the flowers for the Bikini Ball.”

  “Nice to meet you, man.”

  “Likewise.”

  Sarah removed her hand from Hunter’s arm as Matthew stared at it.

  “What do you say we get a couple of good pictures of Matthew and me. That should wrap us up for the day,” Lisa said.

  “Sure. Matthew, I want to start by getting a couple of shots of just you. Why don’t you stand over here next to this amazing arrangement. This should be fairly quick and painless.” Sarah stood next to him. “Do you mind if I fix your tie first, just a bit?”

  “No, that’s fine.”

  She gave a gentle tug to the knot, brushed her hands over his surprisingly firm shoulders, making sure he was wrinkle free. “Perfect.” She smiled, stepping back.

  She held the camera up and tightened her focus on his acne-scarred face. “Give me a smile, Matthew.”

  When he did, she pressed the button.

  “Okay, Lisa, why don’t you come on over now.” Both Lisa and Matthew smiled and she took another picture.

  As she dropped the camera around her neck, the memory that wanted freedom surfaced again, just out of reach.

  Eyes amused—as if they laughed at a private joke—stared into hers. “Is something wrong, Sarah?”

  Snapping back, she shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

  Matthew’s brows furrowed slightly as if pondering. “I don’t think so. It would be hard to forget a face like yours.”

  The chill ran up her spine again and Hunter stepped forward. “Are we finished, Lisa?”

  “Sarah’s free to go. Matthew and I plan to meet again next Sunday. Sarah, I’d like for you to be here. He’ll have a bunch of mockups ready for us. I want some shots of those.”

  “What time?”

  Lisa looked at Matthew. “What time, Matthew?”

  “Does one-thirty work for both of you?” He smiled, looking at Sarah. “I have some great ideas. I can’t wait to show you.”

  Although his smile was pleasant enough, his words felt like a threat. Sarah reached for Hunter’s hand as she moved toward her camera bag. “I look forward to it,” she lied. “Your arrangements are beautiful.”

  “I watched you admiring the lilies and roses. Please take them along with you—a small gift from me to you.”

  There was nothing she wanted less. She just wanted to leave. “Oh, I couldn’t possibly. Your customers will miss out.”

  He walked to the arrangement, picked up the vase, handed it to her. His hand rested on hers as he spoke. “I insist. You wouldn’t want to hurt my feelings.” The pressure of his fingers increased for the flash of a second.

  Hunter’s eyes began to heat with warning as he grabbed the vase. “Why don’t I carry these for you, Sarah.”

  “Thank you, Matthew, for the kind thought. We should go.”

  Hunter opened the door, and she breathed in the sea.

  Relieved, she turned back, smiling. “I’ll see you both on Sunday.”

  “Thank you, honey. Hunter, will you or Ethan be joining us too?”

  “I’m not sure. Hopefully this whole ordeal will be history by then.”

  “I heard about the arrest early this morning. My reporters should be sinking their teeth into the story as we speak. I certainly hope they’ve caught the bastard, sick son of a bitch.”

  “Now there’s an understatement,” Hunter said, putting his arm around Sarah as they headed out the door. “See you, Lisa. Matthew.”

  Sarah sat in the convertible and rested her head against the seat. “That was absolutely exhausting.”

  Hunter glanced in his rearview mirror as he pulled into traffic. “That guy was obnoxious.”

  “I didn’t like him. He gave me the creeps.”

  Hunter took his eyes off the road. His brows drew together, disappearing under his sunglasses as he looked at her. “If we get the all clear tomorrow, I can still go with you on Sunday.”

  “No, that’s okay. I’m sure he’s nice enough. He just came on a little strong.”

  “Yes, he did. He needs a few lessons in subtle flirting. You never get the girl like that.
”

  “Maybe you could teach him. From what I hear, you’re pretty sly.” The first genuine smile in hours split her face. “Rumor has it you’ve got great moves.”

  He squirmed in his seat. “Jesus, Sarah.”

  She threw her head back and laughed, deep and long. God, she loved to tease him. “Oh, it’s too easy. You make me smile, Hunter. You always have.”

  “What about Ethan? He doesn’t seem to make you smile these days, and vice versa.”

  Her light mood vanished. “It’s complicated and I’m not ready to talk about it.”

  “I’m not going to push, but I hate seeing two of my favorite people so miserable. It took me a little time to get used to it, but I like the idea of you two. I think you’re good for each other.”

  “I’m not so sure. Since the moment things changed between us, it’s been one rollercoaster ride after another.”

  “Isn’t that part of the deal? Since when is a relationship supposed to be a smooth ride? I love Morgan more than I ever thought possible; we haven’t had a smooth day yet. Quite frankly, I don’t want one. Where’s the fun in that?”

  “But you and Morgan are perfect together. What you have works. Everything’s so messy between Ethan and me. I don’t remember it being like this with Jake.”

  “Ethan isn’t Jake.”

  “I know. I’m not comparing them.”

  “You sure about that?”

  Was she? Ethan and Jake were entirely different. Where Jake had always been easygoing and sweet, Ethan was intense and funny. She’d never mistaken that. The only similarity she could draw between the two was her fear of loss. She lost Jake so suddenly, so unexpectedly. In many ways, she’d lost Ethan the same way. He’d left and that had been the end of it.

  She’d had no choice when Jake died, but she could choose not to wait around for Ethan to break her heart again. It was easy to say you wanted permanency, that you wanted it all, but living the reality of what that meant was entirely different.

  “Yes, I’m sure.”

  Hunter turned into Ethan’s drive, stopping at the security gate. After punching in the code, he pulled through, waited for the gate to slide shut as Ethan and Austin always did. “Look, Sarah, you have to do what’s best for you. Ethan has to do the same. Just try to remember your history. You two’ve been through a hell of a lot together. I would hate to see things damaged to the point that you can’t fix them.”

  She closed her eyes. “I’m afraid we’re getting to that point. It’s time for me to go home. I hope those results are back tomorrow and tell us all what we want to hear. I think we both need some space.”

  Sarah got out of the Mercedes when Hunter pulled up behind the Rover. She walked around to Hunter’s side, gave him a hug as he closed his door. “Thank you, for everything. I love you so much.”

  He hugged her back. “I love you too. Everything’s going to be okay.”

  She wanted to believe him. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him about the baby, but she needed a little more time. “I’m going to go make Kylee’s day and take her in the pool.”

  “See you soon. Morgan and I will stop by tomorrow night if you’re back at your house.”

  “That would be great.” She kissed his cheek and headed toward Kylee and Hailey’s noisy laughter coming from the side lawn.

  Ethan’s gloved fists slammed into the punching bag over and over in a futile attempt to rid himself of the simmering, helpless anger. Gritty rock pounded out of the stereo system as drops of sweat flew from his body with each blow to the bag.

  The last three months had finally taken their toll. He’d had enough. Everything with Sarah was so far past fucked up, he didn’t even know where to start to turn it around. Perhaps it was better that she was leaving tomorrow.

  Tucker had called with the news an hour before. The DNA results were in and it looked like the show was over. Their man was going down big time. It was time to move forward—wherever the hell that was.

  The music died down to a dull roar, and he swung around. Hunter stood across the room, staring at him.

  “I’m not in the mood for company.”

  “It’s a good thing I’m not company then,” Hunter said, walking forward.

  He turned again and his fist connected with the bag. “I mean it, man. You’re bound to get punched in the face.”

  “I’ll take my chances. And I promise I’ll punch back.” He sat on the weight bench. “What the fuck crawled up your ass, Ethan?”

  “Nothing. Just a shit week.”

  “We have shit weeks all the time. What makes this one any different?”

  “Everything. Everything’s different.”

  “And that means...”

  “That means things are pretty much over between Sarah and me, but there’s just one problem, one minor complication.”

  “Again, and that means...”

  “That means Sarah’s pregnant.”

  Hunter rushed to his feet, stopped the swaying bag. “What?”

  Ethan’s gloved hands rested on his hips while he puffed air in and out. “You heard me.”

  “You son of a bitch. You better not be backing out.”

  Ethan surged forward, shoving Hunter up against the wall. “I’m not backing out of anything. I want Sarah and this baby, Kylee too. I want the whole fucking package.”

  “Well, what’s the problem then?”

  He backed away from Hunter and began to pace. “Ironically enough, Sarah doesn’t. She’s leaving tomorrow with my baby, with Kylee, with all of it, and there’s nothing I can do.” The helpless anger erupted again. Yelling out, he turned, landing a roundhouse kick into the punching bag. The black leather swung back and forth. He swept his leg around again, connecting once more. He punched, over and over, before he threw his boxing gloves to the ground. Finally spent and completely defeated, he sat on the weight bench Hunter abandoned. “I don’t know what to do, Hunter. I don’t know how to fix this mess.”

  “Do you love her?”

  Ethan’s gaze snapped up to meet Hunter’s. “What the hell kind of question is that? Of course I love her. I want to marry her, to share my life with her, with our kids. I hurt her when I left. After the conversation you and I had, I saw my dad at the airport and he pretty much confirmed what you said.”

  “I was wrong. I was absolutely and completely wrong.”

  “I’m working on believing that. I’d like to think Sarah and I could make this work. I want it to work.”

  “That’s most of the battle. Let her go home tomorrow. You both need a few days. Give her a little time. Sarah’s done a hell of a job of pulling her life together. These past couple of years’ve been hard for her. I can only imagine it must be scary for her to think she could lose it all again. One day she had Jake, the next day she didn’t. I’m sure that’s something she never wants to live through again.”

  He hadn’t thought of it that way, but he should have. Hunter’s words were like a balm, relieving most of the sting of the past few days. “I’ll back off a bit, give her some time to sort through everything.”

  “Not too much time, though.” Hunter tossed him a towel.

  Ethan wiped the dripping sweat from his face and torso.

  “Oh,” Hunter continued, “congratulations, man. You’re going to make a hell of a father. You already are. I think Jake would be damn proud to know you stepped up to the plate for Sarah and Kylee. He’d be happy to know you love them the way he did.”

  Honored by Hunter’s words, Ethan held out his hand. “Thanks, man.” Hunter grabbed his hand and pulled him into a quick hug.

  Zeke closed the store early. How could he go on with his day when she’d been so close? He couldn’t stand the thought of making nice with all the rich ho-bags that would come in demanding their flowers.

  As soon as Sarah left with the fucking Golden Adonis, and he’d been able to shove the ever-offensive Lisa out the door, he’d locked up, eager to get home, desperate to be in front of his ‘Wall of Sa
rah’.

  Holding the water bottle she’d left behind, he stared at picture after picture of bright blue eyes, remembering the way her hands had felt against his skin, the way she’d smelled of wildflowers. She had smiled at him, just as she did in the pictures. Those beautiful eyes of hers had looked straight into his, and it’d been magical. It made him surer than ever that this was destiny.

  She was looking forward to his plans for her next Sunday. He relished her exact words. Closing his eyes, he thought of pretty pink lips moving over straight white teeth as she said them. He was only days away from feeling those lips against his mouth, against his hard cock. Groaning, he freed himself and moved his hand up and down, imagining how much she was going to love it. She would thrash around in ecstasy, screaming for him as he returned the favor, but that wasn’t the best part.

  The best part would be watching her eyes fill with fear as he held the wire close to her neck, listening to her beg, as she would in pleasure as he rammed himself into her. The scream before he wrapped the cable tight would be the greatest moment of his life. God, he couldn’t wait for her to kick and claw until she became still. Her beautiful blue eyes would stare into his, blank with death.

  Zeke moved his hand faster and faster until he exploded, thrilled with the power of knowing he would be the last person she would see before it was all over.

  After cleaning himself up, he wiggled the mouse on his computer. He called up the local news and began to laugh. He laughed until tears ran in torrents down scarred cheeks. It was just so perfect. The poor bastard was actually taking the fall. Who said there wasn’t justice in the world?

  He’d been exactly right to pick a slick-looking asshole who thought he was better than everyone else, just like fucking Ethan Cooke. He seethed as he thought of the way Master Cooke had waltzed into his shop with his perfect skin and perfect muscles, barely sparing him a look. He thought he was better than Ezekiel Matthew Denmire.

  Well, fuck him, because he was about to be replaced. Ethan wasn’t going to end up with Sarah; he was. When he was done with Sarah, he looked forward to teaching Master Cooke that the good looking guys were about to start finishing last.