“We’ll see about that.”
My phone buzzed with a text. Any chance we can move that coffee to tonight?
“Ugh. Make it stop!”
“What? He’s excited.”
“He’s acting like a girl.”
She laughed. “You didn’t just say that.”
“A guy is supposed to hold back and act cool about things.”
“But you guys are playing chase. He knows you’re going to refuse and then threaten to cancel completely, so he’ll say tomorrow night is fine.”
“I’m not playing into his games. If he wants to play chase, he’s not getting it.” I texted back. Sure. I get off at nine.
At Yogurt Love?
“You told him where I work?” I glared at Grace.
“He asked what you did.”
Yes. See you then.
“You played right into his cards.”
“You told me he wanted the chase. I ended the chase.”
“He wants you, chase or not.”
“At least I’ll get this coffee over with.”
She picked up the package from her dinner. “Don’t go into it like that. Try to enjoy yourself.”
“If he tries to get me to go home with him after coffee, you are both in trouble.”
“Why would I be in trouble?”
“Because you’re the one putting me up to this.”
“He’s not a jerk. He’d at least buy you dinner first.”
I ate the final piece of sushi before I tossed my garbage out. “You’re lucky we have a history.”
“Oh yeah? Our years of friendship buy me a get out of jail free card?”
“Something like that.” I rinsed off the chopsticks in the sink.
“I do think Brad could be good for you.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
“Are you?”
“Not really.”
She laughed.
A knock on the door had us both turning.
She looked at me. “Were you expecting anyone?”
“Nope. No one comes here but you.” I headed for the door.
“Oh, maybe it’s a package.” She grinned.
“If it’s from Brad, coffee is cancelled.”
She laughed. “He’s not that crazy.”
“If you say so.”
I pulled open the door and came face to face with James. My chest clenched and my stomach flip flopped. I’d been picturing his face since I first met him, but seeing him again in the flesh reminded me that I hadn’t been exaggerating his attractiveness.
He cleared his throat, and my eyes finally went to the woman next to him. Debbie. I struggled to compose myself. I was such a mix of excitement and nerves it was overwhelming. “Hello.”
“Hi, Ainsley.” She smiled. “I’ve received word from the Calloways that they’d like James to stay at the house temporarily. Technically your agreement allows for short term visits from family.”
“I didn’t know he was family.” I glared at James.
“He isn’t by blood, but we all know blood isn’t the only thing that defines family.” Debbie smiled again.
Grace looked between James and me.
“If it’s okay with you, I’ll pick a room on the second floor.” James walked in carrying a duffel bag.
“Wait. You’re moving in now?”
“Yes. That won’t be a problem, will it?” he asked innocently.
“I’m sorry to throw this on you, hun.” Debbie clasped her hands together in front of her. “They need James to do some work on the house.”
“Him?” I looked at James. He was strong, but he didn’t look like the ‘fix it’ type.
“Yes. There are some priceless family items Charlotte needs now that she’s expecting.” She beamed, and a thought hit me.
“Are you family of the Callaways too?”
“Yes.” She smiled. “My son is married to their daughter.”
“Oh, that explains your glow.”
“I’m going to be a grandma.”
“Congratulations, that’s wonderful.” I refused to burst the woman’s bubble. She seemed so lonely living alone next door. Hopefully her son and daughter-in-law would visit with the baby.
“Thank you, sweetie. As I always say, if you need me stop by.” She turned and walked out.
“Same goes for me. If you need me, just stop by.” James winked before heading up the stairs.
Grace turned to me. “You have some explaining to do.”
“It’s not what you think.”
“I understand your hesitation with Brad now. That guy, James, is it? Just wow.”
I heard male laugher. Evidently he was still in ear shot.
I glowered. “When I said I wished my life wasn’t boring I didn’t ask for this.”
Grace laughed. “I’m going to be coming over more.”
“Or maybe I should move in with you and Mac.”
“Trust me you don’t want to do that. We’d keep you up.”
“Ugh.” I scrunched up my face. Bad mental picture.
“Sorry, just saying thin walls.”
“Get out of here before I change my mind about that coffee date.” I gestured toward the door.
“Please try to give Brad a shot, although if you don’t because of the guy upstairs I get it.”
“Grace, out!”
“Pushy, pushy!” She grabbed her purse. “Call me afterward and tell me everything.”
“I don’t know if you’ll be able to handle it with your ultra-thin walls.”
She laughed. “Have fun.”
“With what?”
“I don’t know… looks like your evening will be fun in general.”
“Aside from the hours of work.” Hopefully the annoying couple wouldn’t be back.
“I bet Brad will show up early.”
“You make that sound like a good thing.”
“It is a good thing.” She walked to the door.
“I’ll call you.”
“Good.” She smiled. “I want all the details.”
I closed the door before she could say more. Who knew whether James was still listening?
“Hey, roomie!” The door had barely clicked closed when James came strolling back downstairs. “Nice to see you again.”
“Why are you really here?”
“What do you mean? I need to fix some things for the owners. Didn’t you hear Debbie?” He was wearing a shirt this time. That was a start. Too bad the collared shirt was fitted and accentuated his muscular chest. Focus, I reminded myself. Focus on the real issue.
“How long do you expect to be here?”
“A few days… maybe a week.”
“Oh, that’s not bad.”
“Not bad?” He shifted his weight. “You make it sound like you don’t want me here.”
“I made my feelings clear last night.”
“Did you?”
“Yes, when I kicked you out.”
“You told me not to come back until I had permission to be here. I have permission.”
“Are you doing this to annoy me?”
“Do you really believe I would rearrange my life for a girl I just met?”
“No.” Now I felt stupid. “Sorry. I have to get changed.” I hurried upstairs before I could embarrass myself more.
8
James
Her reaction was priceless. It was perfect. She tried to act annoyed I was there, but I noticed the way her cheeks flushed and the way she tilted her head a tiny bit to the side. I understood body language well, although I did not usually study it for purposes of getting to know a girl. Usually it was for battle.
I had not expected Ainsley to have company, but it did not matter much. The girl made herself scarce quickly. I would have more than enough alone time with Ainsley to get to know her. I really liked that name. I had never met a girl named that before, which made it all the better. I had such a common name, especially in Energo.
I waited impatiently for her
to emerge from her room. I had heard her say something about work to her friend. What kind of job did she work at night? And why was she seeing a guy she clearly was not into when she was done? I planned to find out answers to both questions right away.
“You’re still here?” She appeared at the bottom of the stairs wearing jeans and a white t-shirt layered over a long sleeved shirt.
“I will be staying here for a while. Did you forget?”
“How could I forget?”
“There are yogurt stores now?” I pointed at her Yogurt Love shirt.
“It’s frozen yogurt…”
I vaguely remembered hearing the term before. “Is that the healthy version of ice cream?”
“Yeah…”
“Oh, got it.” Things had changed in the years since I had lived here. What happened to plain ice cream stores? “What do you do at this frozen yogurt place?”
“I serve it to people and take their money. What else would I do?”
“I have no idea.” I was riling her up, and I did not mind. “You seem rather educated for that sort of job.”
“Yeah, well a degree in art history doesn’t qualify you for much.”
“Art history?” Finally some new information about her.
“Yes.”
“We have a lot of great art where I live.”
“And where is that?”
“Oh, a city a little ways from here.” I was not ready to share too many details yet. I could not risk her running away or believing I was crazy.
“What’s it called?”
“You haven’t heard of it.” No one in Charleston had heard of Bellgard.
“Where did you go to school?”
“Nowhere beyond high school.” I had never finished high school in the traditional sense, but my education had been superior as a child so I learned it all earlier.
“Oh, that’s cool. College is overrated.”
“Where were you before this? You were wearing different clothes?”
“What is this, twenty questions?” She put a hand on her hip.
“I am curious what the girl I am going to be living with does with her time.”
“You will not be living with me. You’ll be living in the same giant house, on a separate floor.”
“The same house. I will be living under the same roof.”
“Either way, I have to go. Enjoy fixing things or whatever it is you’re really here for.”
“Actually, I have a hankering for frozen yogurt. Would you mind if I came along?”
She laughed dryly. “Yes, I would mind.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m going there to work, not hang out.”
“I will be a paying customer.”
She shook her head. “I have to go.”
“How about I drive?”
“No thanks. I need my car to get home.”
“Who says I need to leave?”
“There’s no way you’re going to sit there for hours.”
“I will.”
“No. You can follow me there if you don’t know how to get there.”
The offer was better than nothing. “That will work.”
“Where did you park by the way? You have to be careful parking on the road around here.”
“My car is in the garage.”
“The garage?” Her eyes widened.
“Yes. Last time I checked that was what people called the structure beside the house.”
She glared. “Don’t be obnoxious.”
“I will try not to be.” I fished my car keys out of my back pocket. At least I had remembered to bring those. Liam’s mom had given me keys to the house and garage. Luckily she gave those up even though it was not part of Charlotte’s letter. “I have it hooked up to a power adapter, so hopefully it still runs.”
“What kind of car is it?” She put on a light jacket.
“You will see.” Unless things had changed drastically in the intervening years, the car would impress her.
We walked out into the cool evening. Ainsley wrapped her arms around herself. I resisted the temptation to make fun of her inability to handle the cold. What I really wanted to do was warm her up myself.
I put in the code and unlocked the padlock before pulling open the heavy wood door. She followed me in.
“That one is mine.” I pointed to the black car closest to us.
“Wait, seriously?” She walked over. “Is this what I think it is?”
“Probably.”
“No way. There’s no way you’ve had an Aston Martin sitting here in storage.”
“But there is a way. I did.”
She looked at me. “How rich are you?”
I laughed. “Now your true colors come out.”
“Shut up, this isn’t about me. And besides if it was, it would be the opposite. I don’t like rich guys.”
“What girl does not like a man with the ability to provide for her?” Things could not have changed that much.
“The ability to provide for her?” She gasped. “Women can provide for themselves.”
“Yes. I see that you are doing just fine in that department.”
“If you say another word about me living rent free.” She wagged a finger at me.
I captured her hand in mine. I needed to know if she felt as good as she looked. “My apologies if I offended you on our first meeting. It was not my intention. You caught me off guard. I had not expected to find anyone here. Let alone you.”
“Let alone me?” She pulled her hand from mine. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You were a pleasant surprise.”
“Because that doesn’t sound creepy.”
“Creepy? I thought it sounded complimentary.”
“Listen, I have to go to work. Check and see if the car runs.”
“Would you prefer if I drove you?” I took one last chance. She had seemed impressed.
She eyed the car longingly, but shook her head.
“Maybe another time. I will follow.” I unhooked the battery, closed the hood, and got in.
“I changed my mind.” She jumped into the passenger seat. “Don’t back into my car on the way out.”
“Have no fear. I would prefer not to hurt my car.” I closed my door.
“You talk funny.”
“And here I thought you were polite.”
She put a hand over her mouth. “Sorry, I can’t place your accent. It’s not southern, so I doubt you’re originally from anywhere near here, but you speak so formally.”
“I talk the way I talk.” I slowly backed out of the garage. Once outside on the driveway I got out and manually closed the garage door.
“Sorry for being nosy. I got on your case for it, and here I am doing the same to you.”
“It’s fine. I’m glad you accepted the ride.” I fell back into the local way of speaking. Some of it was part of my natural speech now anyway. Maybe it would make her more comfortable, and she would stop asking so many questions.
“Why?” She watched me as I drove down the street. Driving was one of those things you never forget, but it still took some getting used to again.
“Because I enjoy your company.”
“My company or someone’s company?”
“Yours. I generally don’t enjoy being around people.”
“You’re anti-social?”
“That is one way to describe it.”
“I am too.”
“Yeah? Even with all the dating?”
She laughed. “All the dating. Tonight is my first one in months.” She stopped. “Meaning my date with Brad, obviously this isn’t a date.”
“Obviously.”
“You need to turn up here. Turn right.”
“Got it.”
“How long has it been since you were last in Charleston?” She watched me carefully.
“A few years. Things have changed a little, but not much.”
“You mean aside from the growth of the frozen yogurt i
ndustry?”
I laughed. “Exactly.”
“Ok, it’s up ahead on the right.”
“Oh, this is where Ice Cream Mountain is.”
“You mean was. Yogurt Love took over the same spot.”
“So no more super chocolate shakes?”
“We have shakes.”
“But not super chocolate?” I had grown to like the rich treats during my time there.
“Not exactly.”
“Too bad.”
“Ours is lower in fat and higher in nutrients.”
“And that means what to me?” I brushed a stray hair off her shoulder.
She seemed surprised by my action, but she said nothing about it. “So you naturally stay that fit?”
“Glad you think I look fit.”
“You don’t have an ounce of fat on you.” She gestured to me.
“You look great too.” Her body was both lean and athletic. She was soft yet strong. Perfect really.
“Whatever.” She looked out the window.
I pulled into the parking lot. “Ready for work?”
“Are you really coming in with me?”
“I will be here to drive you home.”
“You don’t actually have to stay. Brad and I are going for coffee.”
“And you want him to drive you anywhere? We can set up a meeting place before I leave.” Unless I was reading things completely wrong she would prefer my driving. “I might leave for a while, but not before I try some of this low fat high nutritional value stuff you have been selling me on.”
She laughed. “You make it sound bad.” She did not comment on my offer to drive her.
“I am simply repeating what you said.”
“It sounds different when you say it.”
“Are we back to the way I talk again?”
“No. It just sounds different coming from you.” She opened the door. “Thanks for the ride by the way. This car is awesome.”
“You haven’t seen what it can really do. We will have to go out in the country if you want to see the full effect.”
“Maybe.” She got out.
I got out and locked the car. I refused to lose it less than twenty minutes after getting it again. She led us to the front door of a colorful shop. I held open the door and followed her inside. The small space was covered in large posters advertising the nutritional properties of the food. Who wants a dessert like that? I kept my thoughts to myself as we walked in.
Forged in Stone Page 5