by Amy Gamet
But what could she have done differently?
She wasn’t a planner by nature, always preferring to fly by the seat of her pants. It had worked well enough for her until recently.
That’s not true, and you know it.
Her shoulders shook with her quiet sobs, her carefully applied makeup no doubt running down her cheeks.
The thought made her even sadder, her own pathetic attempt to get back a man who hadn’t kept in touch with her ten years before. She’d sent several letters, and he’d replied once, but that was it. It had nearly broken her heart back then. How had she forgotten that?
A knock on the passenger window, and she nearly jumped out of her skin.
Jed stared back at her.
Of all the people to show up in this moment, why did it have to be him? “Go away!” she yelled.
“Let me in.”
“No.”
His stare pierced hers. “Tori, let me in.”
She put down the window. “What do you want?”
He reached in and unlocked the door. “I want to talk to you, obviously.”
The light came on when he opened the door, and she covered her face with her hand.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
He was quiet, and she knew he didn’t believe her. “I think we got our signals crossed,” he said. “I thought I was picking up Gabe, but I’m pretty sure you thought the same thing.”
She turned to him. “My mother asked me to come.”
“Gabe asked me to do it.” He lowered his brow, his hand reaching out to swipe at a stray tear on her cheek.
His touch sent a wave of sensation outward from his fingers, and she held her breath.
“You’ve been crying,” he said.
She lifted her chin and stared out the windshield. The airport lights glowed in the distance, the air beginning to fog. “So, what?”
“Why, Tori?”
“Please leave me alone.”
“Is it Gabe? Are you upset about seeing him?”
She hated that he knew her secret, hated that he could see into a part of her she wanted to shutter and hide. “You don’t know me at all. You know one little piece so you think you’ve got me pegged, but you don’t.”
“Tori’s Treasures?” he asked quietly.
Her mouth opened and she turned to him, her bottom lip quivering.
“I saw the flier,” he said. “I figured if you were this upset it had to be something important.”
Something important.
Her face crumpled and she began to cry again, resting her forehead on the steering wheel.
Jed inched closer. “Hey, it’s okay.”
She cried harder. It wasn’t okay. It was never going to be okay again. What would she do after her business went under? She’d be followed by the debt forever, even while she worked some job she didn’t love just to dig out of the hole left from the one thing she truly cared about.
Not to mention the shame.
Not to mention the failure.
“Come here,” he said.
She shook her head. “No.” She sounded like a petulant child and she didn’t even care. What difference did it make now? Why should it matter to him?
He reached around her shoulders, pulling her against his warm chest. She fought him for a moment, then gave in and rested her head on his shoulder. It felt so good to have his arms around her, so good to be held and comforted as she wept, crying hard into the crook of his neck.
When she had calmed down enough to speak, she said, “I’m going to lose the shop.”
“Money?” he asked.
She nodded. “The building needed all these repairs, a new water line, all new electrical. I just didn’t plan for that. Then it took us longer to get a customer base than I thought it would, and my main supplier went out of business after I’d already paid him for a huge shipment, and I had to use my advertising budget to buy a new computer system…”
“It adds up pretty quick.”
She snuggled into his side. She wanted to tell him all of it. She needed to tell someone all of it. “I just couldn’t keep up anymore. I paid my mortgage on a credit card last month, and it’s due again a week from tomorrow.”
His hand slipped into the hair at the nape of her neck, stroking. It felt so good, she could have purred like a kitten. When was the last time a man had touched her? A long time, and even then it hadn’t felt like this. She turned her head into his chest, taking the scent of his skin deep into her lungs.
Jed ran his hand down her back and up again.
She was in dangerous territory. She could feel it.
“I can give you money for the bills,” he said. “Help you with the treasure hunt…”
“Why would you do that?” her voice was husky, and she hated that it was, but she couldn’t seem to help it anymore than she could pull herself away from his embrace.
He rubbed his cheek on her forehead. “I’m not sure what to say to that, Tori. How honest do you want me to be?”
She raised her head, meeting his smoldering eyes, knowing her own must look very much the same.
She leaned back, taking her own seat again. She grabbed her purse with shaking fingers and dug for a make-up wipe, his words ringing in her mind. How honest do you want me to be?
“Let me help you,” he said.
She shook her head. “It’s my business. It’s my job to save it. But thank you…”
For holding me.
For making my problems feel important.
For offering to help when no one else knows my secret.
“For listening.”
The ring of his cell phone pierced the quiet car, but he made no move to answer it.
“That’s probably Gabe,” she said, but he just stared at her, making her insides turn upside down.
“His timing always sucked,” Jed said. He answered the phone. “Hey, listen, change of plans. Tori’s picking you up. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow.”
He was letting her pick Gabe up. That was a good thing, so why did she feel put out? She turned to look at the runway, a plane that wasn’t there before now sitting at the gate. Her heart picked up speed, the funny feeling in her chest now all but forgotten.
The light came on and wind blew through the car as Jed got out. “I hope you get everything you want, Tori. And I meant what I said. I’ll help you with your shop, no strings attached, just say the word.” Then he closed the door and walked back to his car.
She sat in the quiet for a moment. Who was Jed Trainor, that he would offer to give her money when he barely knew her? But it didn’t feel like he barely knew her. It felt like he had a window into her soul.
Ridiculous.
Tori pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the terminal.
I hope you get everything you want.
She shook her head. This was what she wanted, what she’d wanted for so long. Gabe Trainor. She couldn’t have been more certain. He was the man who’d made her laugh, made her smile wide enough to stand out in her memory, the only man she had ever loved.
And if she was distracted by Jed, that was only because he rubbed her the wrong way, she reasoned. Because he was always there at the wrong time, saying the wrong thing.
It wasn’t because she had feelings for him.
* * *
Opals are white
With colors thrown in
Like pieces of candy
Where ice cream had been
The laughter of children
So cuddled and dear
Rise up past our shoulders
Sink down so they’re near
Treasure has brought
Men to war and to sea
Fighting for goods
And for queens for a fee
Souls have been lost
Powers gone and then gained
And after it all
The same treasure remains
* * *
Jed had been up
for hours. The miracle was that he’d slept at all, wondering what happened between Tori and Gabe last night. She’d barely even noticed when he left, her eyes trained on the airport, excitement on her face like a kid staring at a Christmas tree.
He imagined he could hear her flirtatious laughter, the answering lilt in his brother’s voice. He could even picture Gabe’s mouth on Tori’s lips, where Jed so longed to be.
He remembered all too well the urge to kiss her when she’d been cuddled in his lap, that soft sweater brushing his skin and her supple body cuddled close to his. He could smell her sweet skin and feel the brush of her long, silky hair.
She was upset, and he should leave her well enough alone, but he just had to touch her, his hand snaking its way up her neck, grazing her with his nails.
He’d expected her to push him away, but she hadn’t. No, not even close. She’d responded to his touch, and it had just about driven him crazy.
The first rays of morning sun shone onto Moon Lake and Jed pushed off the dock, his body slicing into the cool water like an arrow. His arms and legs circled with a rhythm that mocked his disjointed thoughts.
He had to stop obsessing about Tori. Nothing good could come from wanting a woman in love with someone else, and Jed had enough trouble without begging for more. But his mind wouldn’t listen to reason, and he kept coming back to her face, that slow smile and easy grace. What softness was beneath that sweater, just waiting to be explored?
His arms pulled his body through the water as his mouth came up for air. Tori was drowning under a pile of debt, about to lose her business. He knew all too well what that felt like, with Henry waiting to take the reins of Trainor Enterprises. It wasn’t about money for him, but control. Jed may not be able to save himself, but he could certainly save Tori. So why wouldn’t she let him help?
Stubborn woman.
Just like me, refusing to go ask Edward for his shares.
The thought chaffed at him. He remembered his shock when he learned his mother had left her share of Trainor Enterprises to Edward. At first, Jed thought there must have been some mistake, that the will was old and must surely be invalidated by their divorce. But her lawyer assured him to the contrary. She had made this will just a month before she passed away.
Edward had no use for that stock, no need for that money. Jed had been filled with anger when he found out his father controlled even the tiniest piece of what he had built alone, and that anger had only grown now that Henry held the majority stake.
Jed flipped over and began to backstroke the way he came. Edward’s shares were nothing in themselves, but pooled with Jed’s, they were enough to take control of his company back from Henry.
It will be a cold day in hell before I ask that man for anything.
No, he had this time in Moon Lake to find another answer. Kevin Lambert and his staff were working hard to find more available shares, or make more of them available, as the case may be. And if that didn’t work, he would cross that bridge when he came to it.
“Hey, stranger.”
Jed stood up quickly and turned toward the familiar voice, shading his eyes from the sun. Gabe was standing on the deck in silhouette, but the shape of his only brother was as familiar to Jed as his own. A bitterness crept up the back of his throat as he reminded himself not to trust this man, and he swam up alongside the dock. “Hey, yourself.”
“Thought I’d come out and say hello.”
Jed nodded. “Now you’ve said it.”
Gabe stared into the distance. “You’re still pissed about Evelyn.”
“Nah.” He climbed up the ladder to the dock. “If she slept with you, she would have slept with anybody.”
“Ouch.”
“I’m sure you’ve heard worse.”
“Not from my big brother.”
Jed wiped his face with a towel, taking in the other man’s measure. “Sometimes the truth hurts. Let’s talk about Tori Henderson.”
“What about her?”
“She picked you up last night.”
Gabe narrowed his eyes. “Yeah.”
Jed wanted to ask what had happened. More than anything, he wanted those details. He wanted to call dibs like they were kids again. He wanted to threaten his brother to keep his hands to himself, but that wasn’t what Tori wanted. He clutched his towel too tightly in his fists. “Be careful with her.”
Gabe smiled. “Why, are you interested, brother?”
“This isn’t about me. Don’t mess with her unless you care about her. She’s a nice girl.”
“I’ve known Tori a long time. I don’t need you telling me how to treat her.”
“I think you do.”
Gabe chuckled. “Seems to me, that woman knows exactly how she likes to be treated.”
Jed closed the distance between them until they were eye-to-eye. “Be careful, Gabe. With her, and with me. I haven’t forgotten about what you did, and I haven’t forgiven you.”
Gabe took a step back and put up his hands. “Okay.”
Jed dried off his face, and walked past his brother, back to the cabin.
* * *
If there was anyone who could help save Trainor Enterprises, it was Kevin Lambert. He was smart as they came, and tenacious to boot. They’d been friends since a young Jed and his mother moved in next door.
Kevin came on the line. “Enjoying your vacation?”
“You mean my exile? It’s all right. What do you have for me?”
There was a pause on the line. “It’s not good news. I tracked down several of the larger shareholders, and they’re not willing to sell.”
Jed cursed. “What are our options?”
“I can keep going down the line, though the smaller the shareholders, the more of them it would take to tip the scales.”
Jed leaned forward onto his desk, resting his fingers on the bridge of his nose. “It’s getting less likely we can pull this off.”
“At this point, there’s only one shareholder large enough to give you the majority stake.”
“My father.”
“Yes.” Kevin sighed. “I know what it would mean to you, to ask him to sell.”
Indeed, his friend was probably the only person on earth who truly understood the weight of this decision. “Failure.”
“Yes. Failure, because you haven’t been able to completely shut him out of your life, prove to him you don’t need him. But it would be success in terms of your business. Your business, Jed. The one you built, Trainor Enterprises. And maybe that’s more important. Ask him for those shares. There’s no shame in that.”
Ah, but there was shame. All there was, was shame. “We’ll see,” he said noncommittally. “That’s a tough pill to swallow.”
Chapter 5
“No, she wants whipped cream frosting, not buttercream frosting.” Tori massaged her neck as she listened to the baker carry on. “Yes, I understand it needs to be refrigerated. There’s a refrigerator at the reception hall that can handle the cake as long as it’s not assembled into layers.”
Melanie scooted behind her. “Tell me you’re not going to put that cake together yourself, sunshine.”
“No, no, I understand,” Tori said into the phone, “I’ll take full responsibility for assembling the layers. Okay, thank you.” She hung up.
“Not the sharpest pencil in the class, are you?” asked Melanie, shaking her head.
“What am I supposed to do? Mom hates buttercream.”
“Then by all means, take it upon yourself to assemble a wedding cake. Just remind me to bring my videocamera so I can enter to win $10,000.”
Tori closed her eyes. The wedding planning wasn’t going well, and it wouldn’t surprise her if she did end up dumping the cake on the floor. “I’m in over my head, Mel, and sinking fast.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
“Not unless you know a wedding planner with an altruistic streak.” Tori instantly regretted her words. She knew Melanie had her hands full taking care of her ailin
g mother, but she also knew Mel would walk through fire for a friend. “Seriously, I’ll be fine. Just a little overwhelmed this morning.”
Melanie rubbed her bottom lip. “So, I’ve been thinking about that second clue.”
“I’m not telling you anything.”
Melanie held up her hand. “I’m not asking you to give me the answer. I’m playing fair and square, just like anyone else.”
“You know you can’t win, right?”
“Of course not. I’m your employee. But I still want to play. I just have a question, is all.”
Tori sighed heavily. “What?”
“‘Pieces of candy, where ice cream had been.’ Does that mean the candy’s all mixed up in the ice cream, like the colors are in an opal, or that there used to be an ice cream shop at the place the clue’s talking about?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
“One of those is exactly right.”
Melanie shook her head. “You’re killing me.”
The bell over the shop door chimed and Tori looked up, directly into Jed’s intense stare.
Melanie hummed, “Mmm, mmm, mmm.”
Tori kicked her. “What can I do for you, Jed?”
“Your personal assistant, reporting for duty.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What?”
“Your mom said you were running behind schedule on the reception plans, and asked me to help out.”
Irritation made her snap, for every time she’d screwed something up and her mom was there to point it out to her. “I don’t need any help. I have it all under control.”
If you hadn’t dropped the ball in the first place, she wouldn’t be sending you handsome, dangerous helpers.
He cocked one sexy eyebrow. “I can’t disobey my future step-mother number four.”
“Something tells me you weren’t so wonderful to numbers one through three.”
“Water under the bridge.” He smiled.
She crossed her arms.
“Let me help you,” he said sincerely. “I’m not totally useless. Think of me as a trained monkey, here to perform simple tasks.”
A beat passed, then two. She could really use the help, but what would it mean if she took it? Surely she’d never hear the end of it from her mother, but more important, she didn’t trust herself and her feelings around this particular volunteer. She shook her head. “Thanks, but no thanks.”