Sweet Rendezvous

by Danielle Stewart

  “I’m happy here,” she replied, a thread of apology knitting her words together. “There is no chance I’m going to go commit to some job I don’t want, just to help you. That’s not a reasonable thing to ask of me.”

  “I think it’s time to go,” Davis said firmly, and Elaine felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. The moment felt like a balloon already over inflated, yet someone continued to add more air, just daring it to burst. “She’s not going to change her mind.”

  “You let this meathead talk for you?” Mick asked, his eyes never leaving Elaine. “That’s not like you at all. No one was tougher than you. It’s what made you so good at your job. It would be a waste to throw it away just because I screwed up. You have a really bright future.”

  “I do,” she smiled, closing her eyes for a long beat and breathing in the sea air. “Right here. As a matter of fact, my future is as clear and bright as it’s been in a long time. Indigo Bay is right where I belong. Nothing is going to change that. If you want, I can make some phone calls. I’ll spread the word that there is no bad blood between us and that you’re a solid choice for a broker. Both of those things are true. I’m not sitting in a corner somewhere crying over spilled milk, and you are still a powerhouse in the trading world. I would feel comfortable doing that for you.”

  Mick set his jaw tightly as though he was running out of patience. “That won’t work. The rumors are flying. I need more than just a phone call. People need to see that we’re really on the same side, and we’ve worked things out.” Mick had his hands clamped together, pleading for her to reconsider.

  “We haven’t worked things out,” Elaine refuted, her voice high and annoyed. “This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Do you realize five minutes ago you were proposing marriage solely based on the fact that you need me to ensure you don’t lose your career? You need to take a hard look at your priorities.”

  “Marrying you would be the best choice I ever made,” Mick corrected, his eyes growing watery with the shadow of emotions. “Forget for a second how badly I need you for my career, and remember what it was like on those late nights out on the boat. Remember how we talked for hours. I’ve never had that with anyone. I’ve played a lot of games in my life. Screwed people over. I never lost an ounce of sleep over it. But you, I’ll never forgive myself for what I’ve done to you. We can make what we had real again. You’re all I think about. You’re all I want.”

  “Someone told me once,” Elaine said, beginning in a whisper and then letting her voice grow, “the person who leaves you is always the one you long for. You think there’s nothing that will make you feel better than getting them back. The rejection morphs itself into a desire to prove something and get them back. That’s all that’s happening here. What we had was not real. It couldn’t be if you were trying to benefit from something that hurt me. And you wouldn’t be asking me for things I can’t give you.”

  “That should tell you how important this is to me,” Mick said, lighting with recognition and snapping his fingers suddenly as though an idea had just come to him. “I know what we can do. The charity event. It’s in a couple days. I know you RSVP’d. You could fly up, we could make the rounds. Everyone would be there. It’s just one night.”

  “You say that like she owes you something,” Davis bit out angrily. Elaine could practically feel him vibrating with the desire to forcibly remove Mick from town. She couldn’t blame him. Mick was a pitbull. He set his sights on something and never settled until it went his way.

  “Listen guy,” Mick said, the arrogance instantly back in his voice, reminding Elaine how fake the sadness was. It was a faucet he could turn on and off. “I don’t expect you to understand what’s on the line here. What are you, a fisherman? A mechanic? You couldn’t possibly know what it’s like to handle what I do.”

  “You’re right about that. Juggling women, stealing clients, that’s all too much for me to handle. I prefer the simpler life of not being a steaming hot pile of garbage to people who don’t deserve it. I don’t need to drive a flashy car to make up for how disgusting my personality is. Unlike you, who dresses to show off how much money you make, my suit is tucked in the closet for special occasions like funerals. And if you don’t get the hell out of here, maybe I’ll be dusting it off to wear to yours.”

  “I’ll think about it,” Elaine interjected, and like a sail suddenly robbed of the steady wind, she could see Davis deflate and shrink back. “Just go sleep off whatever you’ve been drinking, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She spun and headed away from both of them. Maybe one would follow, maybe both, maybe neither, but she couldn’t stand in that bubble for another second and wait for it to pop.

  Without another word Davis was on her heels, then jogged past her and opened the passenger door to his truck for her. As he moved in front of the truck to get back to the driver side she no longer had to wonder what he was thinking of this. The expression on his face was as clear as a cloudless summer sky. This was not what he signed up for.

  Chapter 19

  “Sometimes not saying anything at all is worse,” Elaine whispered, tracing her finger up and down the passenger window like a child passing the time on a long road trip.

  “Worse than what?” Davis asked, his jaw clenched so tightly he thought his teeth might crack any second. But he wanted to keep his mouth shut. Nothing he’d say right now would be productive, and the last thing Elaine needed was another man demanding anything of her.

  “Saying nothing is worse than telling me all the terrible things you’re thinking. Just say what you want to say.” She sighed. “I’m not an idiot; I can imagine how this all looks from the outside.”

  “I’m gonna stay out of it,” Davis asserted, trying to convince himself he was capable of withholding his opinion. “You told him you were thinking about it, so think about it.”

  “But you have an opinion on the matter,” she pressed, turning her body in the seat and staring at him. “You think I’m nuts for even considering it. That’s only because you don’t understand the nuance of the situation. Mick has spent his whole life trying to prove something to his family. It’s very complicated, and his career is everything to him.”

  “I think my simple mind can deduce that from the fact that he put his career above a relationship with a woman like you. He used you to get ahead. His career is important. Got it. It’s in jeopardy now. But you lost your career all together.”

  “Actually, I’ve given that a lot more thought, and after talking to Mick tonight, I realized I was overreacting. There are firms I could get back into if I wanted to, and my clients would likely be sympathetic to my situation. I could build my reputation back up. I let anxiety get in my head. It was actually good to hear him say that.”

  “Sounds like you’ve got it all planned out then,” Davis snapped, hating the petty shots he was taking but feeling unable to hold them back. He was wounded, and there was no denying the pain.

  “I’m not saying I want to take a job at those firms. I’m saying I could, and there is something very liberating about that for me. It means being in Indigo Bay is a choice, not a sentence for a crime I committed. But for Mick, it’ll be different. If he doesn’t get out of this spiral, he might not recover, and his future is shot. I can’t live with that. One night in New York could solve most of his problems. I owe—”

  “Please don’t even finish that sentence. You don’t owe him a night. You don’t owe him a day; you don’t owe him a second. He brought this on himself and he should have to deal with the consequences.”

  “I wish you would see this for what it is,” Elaine pleaded. “I don’t want to go back to work. I don’t want to be with Mick. I want to be here with you. I’d just like to do it without all the baggage. The reason Mick had been successful is because he doesn’t quit. If I don’t agree to help him now, he’ll never stop. He’s relentless when it comes to his future.”

  “Give me five minutes alone with him, and I’ll show you ho
w quick he’ll leave you alone and for good. I don’t care if you want to go to New York with him, but I’m not going to sit around and pretend you’re going because you have no choice or because you think it’s a debt you should pay. You’re an adult. You don’t owe me anything, but at least be honest with yourself.”

  “Thanks,” she said. “This is really productive. What a great night this turned into.”

  “The cabin’s repaired. That’s what Caroline said. Dallas had the roof fixed.” Davis felt like he was spitting nails rather than talking, and judging by the look on her face, Elaine was the target getting pelted.

  “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. Unless you have anything else to say. If you have anything else that might help.” She looked at him with such desperation he felt like the air was leaving the truck.

  There were a thousand things Davis wanted to say. He’d bungled this, and he was chasing her off like a fool. But words were clay he couldn’t mold into anything of substance. They just sat like lumps in his throat. Instead he and Elaine remained in complete and suffocating silence right up until the moment she got back to her car and drove away. The red taillights faded into the darkness as she disappeared, dragging his heart behind like tin cans on a newlywed’s car.

  Chapter 20

  “You’re an idiot,” Caroline said, her voice layered with disappointed as she filled Davis’s coffee mug “You couldn’t have handled that any worse. Complete incompetence of all things involving the heart. Is that what you’re going for, first place in failure?”

  “Are you done?” Davis asked, spooning some sugar into his mug and mixing it as though he were creating an elixir that might heal him.

  “Like a squirrel trying to do math. Or a rock trying to run a marathon. You are hopeless, and every time you look like maybe you’re going to get out of your own way . . . boom. You do something like this. I don’t know what to do with you.”

  “Give him a break,” Dallas said, strolling through the door, looking a little ragged. His T-shirt was wrinkled and his baseball hat was pulled low over his eyes. “It’s been a long night.”

  “I haven’t even begun with you yet,” Caroline scolded, gesturing for her son to sit as though the booth was a time out chair for a toddler. “But let me finish with him first. You don’t get to tell a girl what she should be doing. If she’s got something to work out, you need to trust her.” Caroline was pacing around wiping already clean tables and pushing in chairs another fraction of an inch. “Who do you think you are?”

  “I love her,” Davis replied flatly. “Maybe I’m an idiot. Maybe I’m screwing it all up. I’m not sure. But what I do know is I’m not getting involved with another woman who doesn’t know what she wants in life. I know where I want to be and what kind of life I want. Maybe I figured it out earlier than most. If she’s in a state of flux, I’m not going through it again. If she needs time to figure out her stuff, then she can take that time. But she can do it on her own.”

  “You’re stubborn as a mule,” Dallas said, stealing away the bowl of sugar packets and looking pitifully at his mother for a cup of coffee. “But I admire your dedication to your own foolishness. It’s impressive.”

  “Thanks,” Davis said, taking a long sip of his coffee to rub in the fact that at least he’d been given that. “I knew I could count on you two to make me feel better.”

  “We’re your friends,” Caroline sighed, tossing the towel in her hand over her shoulder and propping her hands on her hips. “We’re not meant to make you feel better. We’re meant to help you be better. And for the last few years we’ve been failing you. I want you to think long and hard about this opportunity you have with Elaine. Stop pretending the ball is in her court and start realizing you’ve both got the control in this situation. No one is perfectly right or perfectly wrong. And don’t compare this to what happened with Julie. It’s light years different. You’re different. Dallas and I, along with loads of other people in this town, want to see you happy. Quit making that so hard.”

  “What do you propose I do?” Davis asked, genuinely unsure of how Caroline saw this thing turning out well. “She’s going to go to New York, to this charity event just to help a guy who doesn’t deserve it. Her flight already took off. There’s no running through the airport and chasing her down.”

  “What a terribly generous thing for her to do,” Dallas laughed cynically. “I’ve always hated that quality in people. Loyalty. Selflessness. It’s exhausting to be around people willing to do something nice even when it puts their own life in turmoil.”

  “When you put it that way,” Davis grunted, sliding out of the booth and heading for the door. “I need some time to think. Caroline give this poor guy a cup of coffee, he’s fresh out of jail.”

  Caroline hummed her disappointment. “He’s on punishment.” She closed in on Davis before he could reach the door and whispered her last bit of advice “The happiest I’ve seen you in a long time was sitting across from Elaine every morning. Laughing and sipping your coffee. Go think. Go be alone. But when you close your eyes if she’s the one you see, if she’s what makes your heart smile, then fix this fast.”

  “Night,” Davis said, halfway out the door as her words chased him out. He’d been in moments like this before. And one thing he’d learned about loving a woman who needed room to run was that his selfishness had been far more of a factor than the circumstances he’d kept blaming. It was time for him to either tame the beast within, or come to terms with the fact that his life would always bring him to this very moment. Like a book you had to keep reading until you understood what you were meant to learn, his eyes were finally starting to open.

  Chapter 21

  Elaine struggled to zip her favorite black cocktail dress. After a couple weeks in Indigo Bay, eating all that cobbler, she was lucky it still fit well enough to wear tonight. Her long hair was resting on her shoulders, curled into symmetrical coils that framed her face. She’d done all her normal primping, but as she passed the mirror she felt like something was missing. Earrings. Check. Lipstick applied. Check. Her eyeliner was straight. She stared hard until she realized it was her smile. She hadn’t smiled since Davis dropped her off at her car that night and she sped away without another word.

  Now as her heart thudded in her chest, the afternoon having too quickly turned to night, she wondered if she’d made the right choice. The charity event would be held downstairs so having a room in the hotel made things easier. In reality, she just hadn’t wanted to spend the night alone in her apartment. Something about being at the hotel made everything feel less permanent. Less real.

  Even hiding in the hotel, questions swirled in her mind. Was it principles that had her returning to New York? Was it fear? Fear of how quickly and resolutely she’d fallen for Davis? The questions spun, but the answers never surfaced.

  A light knock on her door sent her jumping. She stepped back from her own reflection and resolved that maybe her smile might be elusive for a little while.

  “Elaine, it’s me,” Mick said through the door, his voice far more steady than the last time they’d spoken.

  Her raw nerves felt like another round of sandpaper had been unleashed on them as she swung the door open and glared at him. There he was standing right in front of her like a bashful fool. “I told you I’d meet you downstairs. This is not going to work if you keep finding new ways to piss me off. The whole point was for me to show people I’m fine, and there is no bad blood between us. Keep messing with my boundaries and there may be actual blood between us. Yours.”

  “I know, but I was ready early, and I thought I’d come see how you were doing. Maybe we could walk down together.” He reached out a hand, his expensive gold watch catching the light. She’d seen him in a tux a few times before, but tonight it seemed ill fitting. The magic that had once buzzed between them had evaporated.

  “I’m not here to pretend we’re still together,” she corrected. “I’m fine with showing everyone how fine I am, but I’m not
letting you parade me around like we’re dating. That’s where I draw the line.”

  Mick pulled his hand back as though she’d slapped it, tucking it quickly into his pocket. “That’s not it at all. I just figured, at one point in time you and I had a lot of fun together. We really understood each other. I miss that. I hoped we could just catch up a little, now that things have settled down. It was so tense in Indigo Beach.”

  “Indigo Bay,” Elaine corrected as though the distinction was extremely important.

  “Right,” he nodded. “But can you admit we used to be good together?”

  “We did have fun,” she conceded. “But it was pretend. You know that.”

  “That’s not how I see it, Lainie,” he said, tilting his head in that familiar way and turning up half his face in a smile. She could smack herself for all the times she fell for his charm. His tricks. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable. I just had to tell you that your showing up here means everything to me. It’s a testament to the kind of person you are. To the kind of person I lost.”

  “You didn’t lose me, Mick,” she said flatly. “I’m not a set of keys you misplaced. I’m a person you chose to use. I’m here now to try to put it all behind me. I’d prefer to meet you downstairs like we originally discussed.” Elaine folded her arms across her chest and waited for him to go.

  “Of course,” he nodded and shuffled backward. “Sorry again.”

  When he rounded the corner toward the elevator Elaine closed the door and drew in a deep breath. She’d been rattled by his deception, and the more time she had to reflect on it the more it chilled her to the core. A smart woman like her should certainly have been able to see through a man with bad intentions. Somehow though, Mick had snowballed her. So had Elizabeth. Did that mean her judgment was terrible. Could her impression and feelings for Davis be trusted?