by Nan Dixon
“I’ve got to get Cade’s truck back and pick up my car. Then—I haven’t gotten that far.” She closed her eyes. Without Daniel, her nights were free.
“I’d planned to mooch dinner off Abby, but Gray’s back.” Dolley rolled her eyes. “Let’s grab dinner together.”
“That sounds—” better than moping at her apartment “—great.”
She hurried through dropping off the truck and her shower. All her jeans were dirty or had holes, so she paired a copper-colored sweater with skinny brown pants and zipped up a pair of brown ankle boots. She pressed her lips together. Maybe she’d tell Dolley about Daniel. Her sister would commiserate. And by telling someone, maybe she would heal.
When she arrived at the restaurant, Dolley sat at the bar. One of Dolley’s coworkers was there, too. Her sister laughed at something the man next to her said.
This was so Dolley—Bess assumed they would be alone, but Dolley invited a crowd and started conversations with every man nearby. Bess wasn’t in the crowd mood. She waved, trying to get Dolley’s attention.
Dolley waved back and pointed at the bar stool next to her. “We’re waiting on a table,” she mouthed.
Bess trudged to the bar.
“Hey, guys, this is my sister Bess.” Dolley took her purse off the chair. “Bess, you remember Anne.”
“Hi, Anne.”
The man standing behind Dolley held out a hand Bess couldn’t ignore. “I’m Stewart.”
“Nice to meet you,” Bess lied.
He held on longer than he should and stared into her eyes. Stewart had nice blue eyes, but she preferred brown. His hands were callused but not as large as Daniel’s.
Dolley pointed to a man next to her. “This is Brad.”
Bess nodded. “Hi.”
“What are you drinking?” Stewart asked.
Dolley had a Cosmopolitan in front of her. Not her style. “Whatever dark beer they have on tap.”
Stewart got the bartender’s attention and ordered. Bess pulled out money, but he waved his hand. “My treat.”
Now she would have to make small talk. She shot Dolley a glare, but her sister grinned.
“Are you from around here?” Bess asked.
“Atlanta.” He pointed at Brad. “We’re taking our last sail of the season.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“It is.” Stewart slid her beer to her. “We work together. Investment bankers.”
By the time the next round of drinks arrived, Dolley and Brad had already changed their reservations to include the newcomers.
Bess sighed. She wouldn’t be telling Dolley about Daniel tonight.
“I get to Savannah once a month, but I haven’t seen you before,” Stewart said.
“I’m pretty busy.”
“Guess I was lucky to catch you. What keeps you so busy?”
She talked about Fitzgerald and Carleton Houses and landscaping. He asked questions and kept the conversation lively and comfortable.
Once seated in the restaurant, the group agreed to get pizzas. “Go ahead and order,” Brad said.
Dolley rubbed her hands together. “You bet.”
They ordered a chicken alfredo pizza, carne asada and the works. Bess would have preferred a mushroom pizza, but Daniel was the only person she knew who appreciated an all-mushroom pie.
Her hand fisted in her lap. She had to stop thinking about him.
Their waitress dropped chips and salsa on their table. Stewart plied her with questions.
She wanted to go home.
Dolley was bubbling and vivacious. Brad hung on her every word, laughing at all her quips. Her sister stood and waved frantically. “Nathan, Daniel,” Dolley shouted over the clamor.
Bess’s heart thumped a few extra beats. The Forester twins were huddled at a table with nearly empty beers in front of them.
Pain sliced through her the way her spade had cut into the dirt this afternoon. She was glad Daniel was with his brother, but it hurt seeing him.
Stewart leaned into her, whispering over the noise. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” But when Daniel and Nathan approached the table, the agony of seeing him hollowed out her heart. When would this stop?
Nathan gave Dolley’s cheek a kiss, then did the same to Bess.
“Sit, sit. We just ordered.” Dolley pulled empty chairs over to their table and made introductions.
“Someone you know?” Stewart asked.
“The Forester brothers. Our contractors.”
Daniel spotted Bess. His gaze bounced between her and Stewart and turned icy.
Dolley pointed to the empty chair next to Anne. “Daniel, grab a seat.”
Daniel sat. Anne’s eyes sparkled with interest. When he stretched his long legs under the table, he bumped Bess. “Sorry.”
“Nathan’s your twin, right?” Anne’s voice was so high-pitched, Bess worried dogs would start barking. Anne laid a hand on Daniel’s arm and leaned over, giving him a wide-open shot of her cleavage.
Bess grabbed her purse.
Stewart stood. “You’re not going?”
“I’m...” She pointed to the bathroom hallway.
As she waited in line, she debated leaving. She could call Dolley and say she was sick.
By the time she’d washed her hands, she’d changed her mind. Daniel would not ruin her dinner. Bess wanted pizza.
She dashed color on her too-pale cheeks and reapplied her lip gloss. She wouldn’t let him bother her. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
* * *
DANIEL UNWRAPPED ANNE’S hand from his arm and excused himself.
Bess had looked at him and gone white under her freckles. And who was the preppy guy sitting next to her?
He waited in the hall. Traffic was as crowded here as it was in the bar.
When Bess saw him waiting, her face fell. She didn’t even stop.
“Bess,” he said, reaching for her hand.
She shook him off. “Daniel, stay away from me.”
He closed his eyes. “Don’t do something you’ll regret.”
“I already did.” She pushed past him. “I slept with you.”
He caught her shoulders. “I don’t regret that.”
She shoved his hands away. “You could have fooled me.”
“I couldn’t get my work done and be with you.” He tried to keep his voice low. “I have to protect Pop’s company.”
“I hope your work keeps you very happy.” The tight hallway forced them close, but a canyon of problems kept them separated. “Leave me alone.”
A woman walking out of the bathroom glanced at Bess and Daniel. “Do you need help?”
“I’m fine,” Bess told the woman.
The woman stared at them for a few seconds before moving down the hallway.
Bess asked, “What are you doing?”
He caught her hands. “I don’t have a clue.”
She snatched her hands away. “I don’t want to fight with you tonight.”
“Neither do I.” He winced. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”
She shrugged and stared over his shoulder.
“Are you on a date?” He didn’t want to imagine Bess with another man. Panic filled his chest.
She wrapped her arms around her waist as if she was cold. He wanted to hug her, but she would push him away. “It’s not your business.”
Her words were like a hammer to the stomach. “I thought we were friends.”
“I don’t think we’ve ever been friends,” she murmured. Her green eyes held so much sorrow, he wanted to cradle her in his arms.
“Not even this last month?” He should walk away. He’d blown his chances with Bess. “I think of you as a friend.”
“I can’t.” She closed her eyes. “Having you as a friend is too much of a luxury.”
“Bess, I’m sorry. I—”
“No.” She shook her head. “Just...leave me alone.”
He felt miserable.
She looked miserable.
“I’ll leave.” He reached out to touch her but dropped his hand before it made contact with her soft skin. “Can I take you home?”
“I’m staying.” She moved back into the crowded restaurant.
The breath he drew in felt like razor blades were slashing his insides. He didn’t want Bess hanging around with any guy. But he didn’t have a say. He’d broken up with her.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Happiness held is the seed; happiness shared is the flower.
John Harrigan
BESS HUNG A gold ball on the ballroom chandelier and gave it a spin. Turning off every light but the chandeliers, she tried to let the magic of the upcoming season wrap around her. The gold balls threw the light around the room just the way she’d imagined. Two towering trees filled the corners of the room. She inhaled and smelled Christmas. It might be the first week of November, but Savannah was dressing for the holiday.
Since the disastrous night at the pizza parlor, she and Daniel had kept their discussions to Carleton House work or updates on Samuel and Debbie. Just because talking to him was like stabbing a trowel into her belly didn’t mean she’d stop progress on the renovation.
Bess headed down the exterior terrace stairs. Nigel had already wrapped the railing with evergreens.
The kitchen door slapped open. Abby pulled on a light jacket and met Bess in the courtyard. “Okay, chief, what do you want me to do?”
“Let’s get the lights out.”
Together, they hauled boxes from storage. She and Abby threaded lights on the terrace’s railings and added berries for splashes of red in the green boughs.
“Looks good, ladies.” Gray snatched Abby off the bottom step and tipped her into a deep kiss. When Gray set her back on her feet, Abby’s eyes gleamed.
Longing ran through Bess. She’d reconciled that she would never hold on to someone she loved, but at least once she wanted to experience the kind of connection her sister and Gray had.
“I’m waiting for my assignment.” Gray aimed his thumb behind him. “And I coerced a volunteer.”
“Who?” Bess turned.
Daniel stared up at her. Pain filled his gaze, but it quickly vanished. Carly pounced on shadows by Daniel’s feet.
Why would Daniel torment her like this?
“What’s our mission?” Abby wrapped her arm around Gray’s waist.
“We’re decorating the courtyard first.” Bess handed out boxes of lights. “Abby, you have white. Gray gets blue.” She pointed to a wall of bushes. “Alternate white and blue bushes.”
“Aye, aye.” Gray gave her a salute.
“What can I do?” Daniel asked.
Go home. “Will you string extension cords?” He nodded. She handed him the box with the cords and timers. “Thanks for helping,” she choked out.
Wanting to work as far away from Daniel as possible, she pulled out the ladder, grabbed the right box and headed to the arbor. Christmas carols played through her iPod. She wove blue lights through the wrought-iron frame. Stretching, she hung white snowflakes from the apex of the arch. They would twinkle when lit.
The ladder jerked.
“Hey.” She clutched the top.
Daniel held the ladder. “I didn’t want you to tip.”
“I haven’t yet.” She plugged the snowflakes into the string of lights, her hands shaking.
Daniel bent over, connecting her lights to an extension cord. He looked way to good from this angle.
He turned and her gaze snapped up to his face. How could she smell his aftershave from five feet away? She’d missed his scent. She’d missed him. “What are you doing here?”
“Gray and I finished the carriage house’s final walk-through.”
“It’s done?” She clutched his arm. “I’m happy for you.”
“Yeah.” He stared at her hand and she yanked it away. “There’s a couple of items on the punch list, but that’s a major project off my plate.”
“Congratulations.”
“Would you double-check the extension cords?” he asked, not looking her in the eye. “I set the timers, too.”
“Thanks.” She’d figured she’d be setting timers after all her helpers were gone. “Where’s Carly?”
“Sleeping on the patio. Dumb dog.” Affection filled his voice. “She wore herself out chasing her shadow.”
Daniel had done a better job with the extension cords than she would have, hiding them along the short retaining walls. “Nice work.”
“Holy cow.” Dolley ran into the courtyard and turned in a circle. “You’re almost done.”
“Not even close.” Bess pointed at Abby, Gray and Daniel. “But we have lots of help this year.”
“Less work for me.” Dolley waved to Abby and Gray. “Let me get a few pictures first.”
“I swear—” Bess shook her head “—that camera’s permanently attached to your neck.”
“Isn’t it great?” Dolley grinned. “Remind me to show you the picture of Mamma I’m giving Martin for Christmas. It’s the best picture I’ve ever taken.”
“Can’t wait.” Bess shooed her sister away. “Get your pictures and then help us pull out the sleigh.”
While waiting for Dolley, Bess and Daniel outlined the fountain with gold light rope. Daniel ran more extension cords and she added bows to the lemon and orange trees.
Dolley wiggled her fingers. “I’m ready.”
She, Daniel and Dolley wrestled the wire sleigh onto a cart and then tucked it in the side yard. Leaving Daniel to run extension cords, she and Dolley wrapped green lights around the Carleton House live oak’s lower branches.
“We’re done with the bushes.” Abby stood next to the ladder.
Dolley passed strings of lights into the branches where Bess stood. Daniel ran an extension cord over to the oak.
“We could break for lunch,” Dolley suggested.
Abby tapped Dolley’s nose. “You’ve only been here an hour.”
“Doesn’t mean I’m not hungry.”
“I’ll finish up lunch.” Abby snagged Gray’s arm. “Come help me, handsome.”
Dolley stared at them. “They are disgustingly happy.”
Bess shot a glance at Daniel. “They are.”
The group convened in the kitchen. Abby ladled out pumpkin soup and thick slabs of rosemary bread.
“This looks better than the sandwich I would have slapped together.” Daniel took the empty chair right next to Bess. “Appreciate it.”
Bess scooted her chair away from Daniel. Swallowing a spoonful, she closed her eyes and savored the spice and texture of the soup. “This is fantastic.”
“I made enough to send home with you,” Abby said.
Bess smiled. “Thanks.”
“Food always tastes better when someone else cooks.” Dolley grabbed another chunk of bread. “And after slaving outside.”
Bess pointed her spoon at Dolley. “You were late.”
“But you’re such a taskmaster.” Dolley mimed cracking a whip. “‘Move those lights. Heft this sleigh. Tote this box.’”
Everyone laughed. Gray pointed to Daniel. “Are his leadership traits rubbing off on you, Bess?”
Not lately. “Not so much.” She kept beaming, but Daniel’s stare took the spunk out of her.
“When we went for pizza last week, t
his hot guy wanted to rub up against our Bess.” Dolley wiggled her eyebrows. “She wasn’t having any of it.”
Daniel glanced at Bess.
She didn’t want her sister talking about her nonexistent dating life. “And what about you and Brad?”
Dolley flipped her wrist. “He went back to Atlanta with a broken heart.”
“That’s why I wasn’t interested in Stewart. I didn’t want to break the poor man’s heart.” And there hadn’t been any sparks. The sparks had all been in the hallway with Daniel. They could have set the place on fire.
Daniel stared at Bess, crumbling his bread into a pile on his napkin.
“I could set you up,” Dolley said to Bess.
Daniel’s leg jerked under the table, bumping hers.
“No.” Bess refused to look at Daniel. “I’ll find my own dates.”
“Just sayin’.” Dolley rocked back and forth. “If you had a man wearing you out, you might not work us so hard.”
Daniel’s spoon clanked in his bowl.
“Right.” Bess circled her finger around the table. “We all have a lot more work to do.”
“Anne hoped you’d ask for her phone number,” Dolley told Daniel.
“Did she?” He raised an eyebrow.
Dolley pulled out her phone and scrolled through numbers. “Do you want it?”
Bess’s insides clenched. Would he ask for Anne’s number in front of her? He’d said he was too busy for a relationship.
“Not interested.” Daniel added, “I wouldn’t want to break her heart.”
Apparently he’d been fine breaking her heart.
They dropped the conversation of dating and phone numbers, and talked about the B and B decorating.
“Doesn’t all this fuss take the Christmas out of Christmas?” Gray asked. “We still have three weeks until Thanksgiving.”
Bess and her sisters stared at him.
“It’s a kick decorating the house.” Abby patted his arm and leaned closer. “And we get to work together.”
And that summed it up. Bess loved working with her sisters.
Abby pulled out a tray of sweets. Bess snatched a lemon bar. Daniel frowned as he reached for a brandy-pecan bar. Gray turned the plate and Daniel ended up picking out a brownie.