Seagrove Secrets

by Melissa Chambers

“You’ve got a ballpark figure in mind, though.”

  He looked around like he was really thinking about it, and then shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  She stood up. “Don’t worry about it. You say you have toothbrushes in there?” she pointed to the guest room.

  “Don’t go to bed yet. I don’t want this night to end with you thinking I’ve slept with a thousand women.”

  She shrugged. “Why do you care what I think?”

  He motioned for her to sit down. “Because you matter.”

  She stared at him, ready to bolt at any moment if this got any more intimate.

  “You’re Bo’s sister. You’d matter even if I didn’t like you as a person. Will you please finish your beer?” She hesitated, but then went ahead and sat down. He eyed her, and then stared at his beer bottle. “I’m capable of doing more than sleeping with a woman, you know.”

  “I’m sure you are,” she said.

  He met her gaze. “I’m serious.”

  “So am I. You seem quite capable of doing whatever you set your mind to.”

  He looked back at his beer bottle. “I was married.”

  She was not expecting that. “When?”

  “I was twenty-five when we married. Thirty-one when we divorced. Thirty-two, maybe.”

  “How old are you now?” she asked.

  “Thirty-seven.”

  She smiled. “Old man.”

  “How old are you?” he asked.

  “Thirty-six.”

  “I didn’t expect you to tell me. Most women don’t like to do that.”

  She shrugged. “It’s my age. It’s not like I can change it. Do you have kids from your marriage?”

  He frowned down at his beer. “No, I don’t have any kids.”

  She sensed a change in his mood and wondered if that was something he really wanted, a family. If he did, sleeping around wasn’t going to get him there. She took a long drink from her beer and then stood. “Thank you for inviting me tonight. I had fun.”

  He looked up at her like he’d forgotten she was still in the room. “Yeah, sure.”

  “I’m just going to grab that toothbrush, then I’ll head out the guest room door.”

  He nodded, and then forced a smile. “Good night.”

  She wondered if he needed to talk about something, but she didn’t know how to ask him or offer an ear without sounding odd. She glanced around in the direction of the kitchen. “Do you need me to help with anything else before I go to bed?”

  He hauled himself up off the chair. “No, I’m good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  She nodded, still not feeling right about walking away from him just yet. She held out her hands and then brought them back to her sides, quickly, second guessing her hug offer.

  He went in though, pulling her to his broad chest. She inhaled the scent of his shirt which had a mix of outdoor cooking and a feint scent of cologne or maybe just men’s body wash. It was a smell she wished she could bottle and use as air freshener.

  He pulled away first, which was only fair since he was the one who hugged her, but she was still regretful she hadn’t made the move initially. She liked to hold the upper hand, always.

  He let go of her, his smile rounding out what looked like tired eyes.

  “Sleep well,” she said, and headed off.

  Chapter Six

  Chase lay in bed staring at the ceiling. He wasn’t sure what had gotten into him. He’d told Shayla he’d been married. That wasn’t something he did, ever. He wasn’t ashamed of being divorced, but it also wasn’t something he advertised—and for good reason.

  Do you have any kids? It’s a logical question, unassuming even. It could be construed as rude not to ask that question once someone finds out a person has been married for a significant amount of time. Still, it’s a question he didn’t like answering.

  He picked up the picture of Sam and set it on his chest. Sam was Chase’s to hold in his own memory. He didn’t belong to anyone else, and Chase didn’t want to give him to anyone.

  He pulled up Facebook and went to Rachel’s page. There she was in her profile picture, smile plastered across her face, flanked by her new husband and their beautiful family, a little girl in a yellow dress and a little baby boy in a sailor suit. She’d dressed Sam in something like that for a picture once. God, Chase hated those kinds of clothes. Little boys needed to wear clothes they could move around in, not this prissy crap. But this wasn’t his boy.

  How could she move on so quickly, like Sam never existed? She’d replaced him, doubly, as if it were that easy to do…as if another child’s giggle could be as heartwarming, as if another child’s fingers and toes could be as amazing, as if another child’s spirit could be as unique and special as their child’s had been.

  A notification popped up at the top of his screen from Felicity.

  You up?

  Was he up for talking to Felicity? He knew what she wanted. If memory from earlier in the week served him, she had a date tonight. If she was calling him this early, it must not have gone well. Likely, she was looking to make her own happy ending.

  He thought about Shayla in the pool house just outside. He’d have to get used to the idea of having her so close. Could he jack off with her right there? Could he talk to Felicity the way the two of them had come to be with one another, nasty but goofy as hell. It was what worked for them. Anything to keep things light and fun…anything to occupy his mind.

  He went to his texts, but pulled up Shayla’s contact instead.

  Did you make it home okay?

  She replied with a smiley face, but not the emoji, just one made from a colon and a parenthesis. He waited to see if she was going to type more, but nothing else showed up. That didn’t surprise him. Shayla wasn’t one to waste words, spoken or typed he supposed.

  He called Felicity.

  “Hey,” she said, sounding happy to hear from him.

  “I take it the date didn’t go well?”

  “You know, it wasn’t terrible.”

  “Then what are you doing texting me?” he asked.

  “He didn’t make a move.”

  “And you didn’t either?”

  “I didn’t have time. He got called in.”

  He adjusted the phone to his other ear. “That’s right. This guy’s a doc, isn’t he?”

  “You don’t think he was having a shitty time and had a friend call, do you?”

  “With you? Not a chance,” he said.

  “See, this is why I call you. How’d your night go?”

  He glanced at the window. “Good. Seanna and Blake came over.”

  “She’s fun. And he’s hot as fuck.”

  “What am I, canned tuna?”

  “You’re hot as motherfuck.”

  “So you’re bringing my mother into this now. You’re sick.”

  “Was it just the three of you tonight, or did you have a date over?”

  He hesitated, trying to think about how to answer.

  “Ooh, must have been good date. Tell me about her.”

  “It wasn’t a date. It was Bo’s sister.”

  “Shayla, right?”

  Chase couldn’t help feeling a little strange hearing Felicity say Shayla’s name. He didn’t like his worlds colliding. “You know her?”

  “I’ve talked to her, actually. Remember that last night the week we were there…how drunk Maya got, and she stayed the night over at Bo’s, puking her guts out?”

  “Kind of hard to forget. I helped haul her to Bo’s house from the bar.”

  “Shayla was at Bo’s that next morning. Maya didn’t have a phone or anything. I had to talk to Shayla to get her to wake Maya up so we could come pick her ass up and drive back to Indy.”

  “Did you meet her?”

  “Not formally. Maya was out of there like a bolt of lightning. What does Shayla look like? I tried to find her on Facebook but I don’t think she’s on there.”

  He had to be careful but honest. “She’s got dark hair,
dark eyes.”

  “Is she pretty or what?”

  “Um…”

  “So she’s gorgeous. Figures, if she looks anything like Bo.” Chase winced at that idea. Shayla didn’t look like Bo, not to him. “So it wasn’t a date tonight?” Felicity asked.

  “No, she was just…around, so I invited her to stay.”

  “She was around at your house?” she asked.

  “Yeah, she’s renting my pool house.”

  “Oh, you’re kidding? That’s interesting. Maya didn’t mention that.”

  “I think she just found out today. This all came about today.”

  “Oh, that’s cool. So are you into her?”

  That was a loaded question. He was definitely intrigued. He lowered his voice, both to sound sexy, and out of paranoia that Shayla could somehow hear him. “You’re the only one that puts my motor in drive, baby.”

  Felicity rolled a bunch of r’s off her tongue and finished with a noise like a chainsaw or something. “Tell me, good-looking, are you wearing those leopard print silk boxers I love so much?”

  He smiled. He’d never owned a pair of silk anything to his knowledge. Lifting the sheet, he found himself in his Deadpool boxers. “You know I am, and I’ve got my hair pulled back in one of those man buns you like so much.”

  “Mmm, you’ve been growing it out since I was there a few months ago?”

  “Yeah, it grew like twelve inches since then.”

  “Can you put it in two braids that I can grab onto while I ride you like a mechanical bull?”

  “Hang on, give me a sec. Okay, it’s all set for you, baby. Don’t pull too hard.”

  “On what?”

  He grinned, reaching into his boxers. “I take that back.”

  The sound of a door opening had him sitting straight up in bed, unhanding his dick. He pulled the covers back and walked over to the window where he peeked through the blinds to see Shayla standing outside with her arms crossed over her chest, waiting while Jake sniffed around.

  He stood there with his back to the window, thoughts of Shayla invading his brain.

  “Did I lose you already?” Felicity asked. “Damn, someone was ready to roll.”

  He ran his hand through his hair. “I’m all set if you want to…” His mind searched for words. He was never at a loss for words. “I mean…I’m ready to put my stick shift into…” Jesus Christ, when did he get so bad at this goofy charade? Goofy was his expertise.

  “Should I pull up some porn?” Felicity asked.

  “No, I’ve got this. Just give me—”

  “I think I’ve got an erotica novel around here,” she said.

  “You don’t have to read. I’ve got this.”

  “Are you sure? Because I just remembered I downloaded this one with three dudes and one woman that looks hot as—”

  “No, I’ve got this. Just relax, okay? Lie down.”

  “I am lying down.”

  “Then slide your hand underneath the waistband of your shorts.”

  “I’m not wearing any shorts.”

  “Then slide it under the waistband of your underwear.”

  “You can say panties, you know.”

  “Panties.”

  “I’m not wearing any panties.”

  He separated the blinds again just as Shayla looked up at his window. He snatched his hand away. “Fuck!”

  “Fuck? That’s what you’ve got for me?”

  He rubbed the hair out of his eyes. “Not you.”

  “Then who? Are you with someone?”

  “No, God no.”

  “It’s Shayla, isn’t it? She’s there.”

  “She’s not here. She’s in the pool house. Well, I mean she’s outside of it, letting her dog out…Bo’s dog.”

  “What’s she wearing?” Felicity asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Go look. She might be in a sexy nightgown.”

  “I’m not going to look.”

  “You know you want to.”

  “I was looking a second ago and she caught me.”

  “Ah, that was what the fuck was for.” He pursed his lips, even though she couldn’t see him. “Go get another look,” she said.

  He separated the blinds again. “She’s wearing what she wore to dinner tonight. Fuck, I was supposed to give her a T-shirt to sleep in.”

  “You better go do that,” Felicity said in sing-song.

  “What about you?”

  “I’ve got my novel. Go.”

  “All right. I’m sorry this didn’t turn out…happy.”

  “Oh, don’t you worry. It’s getting ready to be in five, four, three…” She trailed off and the call disconnected.

  Chase walked over to his dresser and put on a T-shirt and some gym shorts over his boxers, then he found a T-shirt and shorts for Shayla. He headed downstairs, but by the time he got down there she wasn’t around. He walked over to the pool house, his heartbeat quickening. It was probably residual effects from his conversation with Felicity. He knocked on the door.

  Shayla opened it, the light from the television illuminating the dark room. He proffered the shirt and shorts. “Sorry, I should have given this to you before.”

  She took it. “Thanks. I hope I didn’t wake you up.”

  “No, I was actually on the phone.”

  She lifted an eyebrow. “Not with Bo, I hope.”

  “No, just…” For some reason, he didn’t want to say who.

  “A woman?” she asked, giving him a little smile, shutting the door a few inches.

  “No, I mean, just Felicity. We’re just friends. You know her, right? Maya’s friend from Indianapolis?”

  “I know who she is. You spent the week with her same time Bo spent the week with Maya, right?”

  “Pretty much, yeah. Except we didn’t fall in love.”

  “But you’re still in touch,” she said.

  “Yeah, we’re just friends. She called to tell me about her date.” It wasn’t a total lie. They had talked about the date.

  “How was it?”

  His cheeks warmed as he thought about his conversation with Felicity earlier, and then he realized Shayla was asking about Felicity’s date. “It was good. Doctor. He got called away though.”

  “That’s too bad.” She closed the door a little farther. “Thanks again for the clothes.”

  He hated to end the night like this, but he needed to walk away before he made things worse. “Good night.” The door shut, and he could hear the bolt lock she’d installed switching over.

  When he got back to his bed, he turned on the television and channel surfed, but he couldn’t focus on anything. He finally turned the television off and lay in the dark, a million thoughts racing through his brain. Families, exes, doctors, race car drivers, Deadpool, romance novels, but the one that kept occupying the most real estate in his head was of a dark-haired beauty steps outside of his back door, sleeping in his T-shirt and shorts.

  Chapter Seven

  It didn’t take long for Shayla to pack. Most of her stuff was still at her house in Nashville with Brian. When she’d left, she’d done so in a mad rush and had to grab only the essentials. Scott’s cop friend was holding Brian while she got her stuff, but she couldn’t take all day. Scott helped her as they took what they could fit in her sports car, so she had no trouble getting it all into Bo’s truck.

  She loaded her clothes into the back seat by the armful, still on the hangers. Her phone buzzed, and she pulled it out of her pocket.

  Do you need help moving your stuff?

  She looked around the front yard, hating that she was dragging Chase into this.

  No, I’m good. Thanks.

  I’m kind of bored, actually.

  She smiled.

  If you’re still bored when I get there, you can help me unload Bo’s truck.

  Deal.

  She didn’t doubt that he was bored. He carried an energy around with him. She couldn’t envision him lying around with a remote control
.

  She went back inside and opened the drawer to her bedside table and pulled out her dusty vibrator to pack. She’d felt so asexual since she’d left Brian, like her body was physically rejecting sex. She loved her vibrator and made use of it often until things started going downhill with Brian. Getting off was the last thing she wanted since he’d helped her feel like sex was an obligation and not something to enjoy.

  She loaded her lotion, her lip balm, and her headphones, emptying the drawer except for the box of condoms Bo had left. He’d intended her to have them, she was certain of that because he’d put them in the drawer to the guest room she always stayed in. He didn’t need them anymore, and she wasn’t dead inside. She grabbed them and tossed them into her bag.

  She finished loading the truck and then went back through Bo’s house to see if she’d forgotten anything. It wasn’t like she wouldn’t be back there often, but it did feel final. This had been her space for the past three months, her refuge from a place where she’d lived in fear. She still lived that way here, but at her house in Nashville the person she feared was sitting next to her. Somehow, being away from him made him ten times scarier than he ever was in person. Maybe living a life without worry that someone would decide to blow up in a fit of rage had made her soft. God knew she’d had enough of that type of fear growing up. By this age, the feeling should be second nature. But living without it was definitely different. Better.

  When she and Jake pulled up in Chase’s driveway, Chase was sitting on his front porch scrolling through his phone. He stood and walked her way. She put Jake’s leash on and led him out of the truck.

  “You’re sure you don’t mind him being here a few days, just until Bo gets back.”

  Chase knelt down to pet him. “Jake’s always welcome here, aren’t you, handsome?”

  Jake licked Chase’s face like it was a steak lollipop, and Chase finally pulled away.

  “I’m gonna take him back there,” Shayla said. “Is the gate unlocked?”

  Chase handed her a key. “I just texted you the code. I’ll go with you and put it in now since you have your hands full with Jake. That’s the key to the house. It works all the doors on the main house, bolts and handles.”

  “I don’t need a key to your house,” she said.