Sweet Attraction

by Melanie Munton

  “Are you looking for Jade?” a female voice called.

  Dropping his hands, he looked over to see Ivy standing at the foot of the driveway with a worried expression.

  “Yeah,” he answered. “Have you seen her?”

  She gave a small nod. “Sort of. I’m looking for her, too. She ran out of here earlier after her stepbrother paid her a visit.”

  That put Hunter on high alert. “He’s in town? Are you sure it was him?”

  Ivy walked closer, nervously fidgeting with the fringe on her vest. “Yeah, it was definitely him. I was outside watering my plants, and I heard shouting coming from over here.”

  Shouting? Shit, that didn’t sound good. Based on what Jade had told him about her stepfamily, they were nothing but trouble.

  “I walked in as soon as he left,” Ivy continued. “I tried to get her to tell me what was going on, but she just took off. Told me we’d talk later.”

  The whole situation was making him even more apprehensive. He didn’t have a clue why Lane would be in town, but it couldn’t have been for anything good. And having that close encounter with Rebecca right afterward probably hadn’t helped Jade’s state of mind.

  Definitely hadn’t.

  His cell phone rang, breaking him out of his anxious thoughts. He reached in his pocket, praying for a miracle that it would be Jade. Frustration spiked in his blood when he saw Finn’s name instead.

  “What?” Hunter answered tersely.

  “So, you might want to get your ass down here,” Finn said cautiously.

  Hunter’s body stilled. “Why? What’s going on?”

  “Jade’s here at the bar and…she’s pretty drunk.” Finn grunted. “I wasn’t here when she showed up, but apparently she’s been downing Maggie’s Punches like water. I cut her off, of course, but she’s refusing to go home. Figured you might want to come handle this yourself.”

  Hunter’s eyes closed with relief at knowing where she was. But a sense of foreboding wasn’t far behind. Getting drunk alone wasn’t like her.

  “I’m on my way.” He hung up and ran for his truck. “Come on,” he said to Ivy. “She’s down at The Clumsy Clam, laying one on. I’ll probably need your help to talk her off the ledge.”

  Ivy climbed into his truck, eyeing him speculatively. “Why?”

  He sped down the street, his hands tightening on the wheel. “We kind of got into an argument, and she’s pretty pissed at me.” He was grateful when Ivy didn’t ask for an explanation.

  The spike piercing his heart drove in deeper when he walked through the door and saw Jade slumped over the bar, propped up on a stool as the bartender handed her a glass of water. Ivy rushed toward her, but he hung back for a second, catching Finn’s eye near the end of the bar.

  Hunter nervously rubbed the back of his neck and slapped Finn’s shoulder. “I appreciate the phone call. Thanks for looking out for her.”

  “No problem,” Finn replied. “What the hell happened, anyway? You don’t choose to drink Maggie’s Punches lightly.”

  Hunter shot him a look. “Rebecca happened.”

  Finn nodded in understanding and returned the shoulder slap. “Well, good luck, man. I have a feeling you’re going to need it.”

  No shit. Probably all he could get.

  Hunter blew out a heavy breath and headed toward Jade, who was gesturing wildly to Ivy, as if in the middle of telling a story. But when Jade’s eyes fell on him, the smile instantly left her face and her hands dropped to her sides.

  If that wasn’t the most discouraging thing, he didn’t know what was.

  “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Ssssparky,” she mumbled, wagging her finger in his face. “I wasth…wasssted a perfectly good dress on you.”

  Oh, he’d noticed the damn dress, all right. And that she was still wearing it. She must have come straight here from his place. Thank God it was Finn’s bar she’d waltzed into wearing that killer dress. Anywhere else, and she would have been mauled by every man within a two-hundred-foot radius.

  It made him even angrier that she’d gone to all that trouble wearing it for him and he hadn’t been able to properly appreciate it. Or express that appreciation.

  Because the night had been shot to hell, and all that.

  Ivy wrapped an arm around Jade and helped her from the stool. “Come on, honey. Let’s go home, okay?”

  Jade fell into a fit of giggles when she tripped over her own feet. “Shucks, ya know…they weren’t lying about Maggie’s Bunch. Packsss a wallop.” She laughed hysterically. “Wallop. Is that a Southern thing?”

  He shot out a hand to help steady her as she teetered and wove toward the exit. She immediately slapped it away.

  “No touching,” she muttered. “Not after you lissstened to that trollop when she told you to ssstay away from me. That— Hey! Trollop rhymes with wallop!” More laughter.

  He would have laughed along if he weren’t so damned angry and annoyed.

  “Jade, I told you. It was never about going along with Rebecca’s stupid schemes. I—”

  Oh, what the hell. Jade was drunk. There was no point in arguing. Even if just hearing her insinuate that he gave a flying fuck what his deranged ex wanted, bothered him to his very core.

  “Ssave your breath.” She squinted up at him and took turns closing one eye at a time, making it look like she had a tick. “I’ve got two eyes and I can see both of you just fine. I know what’s going on here. I’m not ssstupid.”

  He bit back a sigh and didn’t say anything as he and Ivy carefully placed Jade in the backseat of his truck. Ivy sat in the back with Jade’s head in her lap as he drove back to her house. By the time he got there, Jade was semi-passed out.

  Ivy unlocked the door, and he carried Jade back to her bedroom. While Ivy was busy getting water, aspirin, and a change of clothes for Jade when she woke up in the morning, he had a few moments alone with her. He laid her gently on the bed. Her eyes fluttered open when he brushed her hair off her face.

  “I’m mad at chou,” she murmured.

  “I know, baby. I’ll make everything better, though. I swear.”

  Her mouth tilted in a sad smile as her eyelids drooped. “Can’t.” Her breathing started to even out. “Going back to Conticennicut. Money’sss there. Famwy…” She hummed out a drunken sigh. “Go ’way forever.”

  What? Her babbling wasn’t making any sense.

  Was she going back to Connecticut? Forever…?

  What the hell had that asshole Lane said to her?

  The money must mean her trust. But she’d told Hunter she couldn’t face the stepmonsters long enough to sign the papers to get it. Had she finally decided to go back…for the money?

  That didn’t sound like her. She’d been so determined to make her business a success all on her own.

  Besides, hadn’t she also said she wouldn’t get the payout for another three years?

  Or…

  Had he once again been dumped by a woman looking for a man with a bigger bank account?

  He knew better than to take the ramblings of a drunk woman to heart but… Alcohol didn’t exactly make a person lie. It just lowered one’s inhibitions, oftentimes allowing the truth to explode to the surface.

  Maybe the money was more important to her than she’d let on. Maybe she’d just been downplaying it to spare his feelings. Or his ego. Because he didn’t have enough zeroes to his name.

  Hell, maybe he didn’t really know her at all.

  He rose to leave when he felt her falling asleep, but stopped at the sound of her soft, muffled voice. “Just sucksss ’cuz…think I…love…you.”

  Those were the last words she spoke before slumber carried her off.

  And he was left there, staring down at her in shock.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Jade felt like one of those cartoon characters with her head in a vise.

  She was afraid to even open her eyes for fear of the pain the sunlight would bring to her already pounding head.

 
; “Just let me die now,” she groaned into her pillow.

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

  She popped upright at the sound of Ivy’s voice and immediately regretted the action. She managed to crack open her eyelids to see a blurry vision of Ivy sitting at the foot of her bed, holding out a glass of water. Jade took it gratefully. Her friend just sat there silently regarding her, apparently waiting for her to speak first.

  “They should rename that drink The Devil’s Nectar,” she grumbled into the glass.

  Ivy chuckled. “I warned you not to go down that road. Though, I think Maggie’s Punch to the Face should also be nominated.”

  Even laughing hurt Jade’s head. “I’m sorry I got so drunk. I don’t remember everything that happened last night, but I know you brought me home. So, thank you. For taking care of me.”

  Ivy looked every inch the concerned friend. “You’re welcome. Everyone’s entitled to let off a little steam every now and then by getting hammered.” She lowered her head and added in a softer voice, “Though, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will solve anything.”

  Jade nodded, then winced. “I know. I’m sorry this all fell on you.”

  Ivy’s head jerked up, her brow furrowing. “It wasn’t just me. Do you not remember coming home last night?”

  Jade thought about it, fighting through the thick fog that clouded most of her memories after the first Maggie’s Punch. She remembered fighting with Lane, Ivy showing up, running away and going to…Hunter’s place.

  She cringed. Rebecca. The bar. Tuxedo-wearing flamingos…

  Suddenly, she had a fuzzy recollection of Hunter helping her into bed.

  Damn.

  “You and Hunter brought me home,” she whispered. She scrubbed her hands down her face, sighing. “And I most likely made a giant ass of myself.”

  Ivy lay down on the bed beside her. “As I said, everyone’s entitled. You were mumbling stuff about what happened last night. I didn’t catch all of it, but…you know there’s nothing going on between Hunter and that bargain basement hooker. Right?”

  Jade’s heart twisted painfully. “I know that. But there were other things going on that he never told me about. I just feel tricked. Shouldn’t he have been honest if he truly cares about me?”

  Ivy hummed in agreement. “Yes, he should have. But if I’m understanding the situation correctly, he made his decisions before he ever met you. And I get why he would have gone along with Rebecca’s twisted demands. I’m sure he didn’t like doing it. But he’s trying to grow his business, and jobs like that condo development don’t pop up around here very often. At the time, I’m sure giving up your renovation job seemed a small sacrifice for the greater good.”

  The truth of those words nagged at Jade, insisting she believe them. “It’s just…” She sighed, trying to organize her thoughts, though the hangover was making that a bitch of a task. “Why couldn’t he be open with me about it? Didn’t he feel he could trust me?”

  Ivy was silent for a moment. “I don’t know, sweetie. But Rebecca is the most manipulative person I know. And Hunter is the most honorable, aside from my Garrett. Whatever his reasons, I know he would never intentionally do anything to hurt you.”

  Jade eased herself up and off the bed with great effort. “It still hurts. But, whatever. Right now, I’ve got other things to handle.”

  “You mean your stepbrother,” Ivy offered. “What was all that about?”

  Jade pulled her suitcase out of her closet and started throwing random pieces of clothing inside. “It’s a long story, but basically, he and my stepmother want me to sign over my trust fund to them. Lane proposed a trade, of sorts. I give them unlimited access to the funds after I get my portion of the payout, and they stay away from me for good.”

  “Seriously?” Ivy looked skeptical. “Are you going to do it?”

  That was—literally—the million-dollar question.

  But Jade already had her answer.

  “Hell, no. Parasites don’t get to thrive.”

  Ivy chuckled. “Someone needs to put that on a T-shirt.” It finally seemed to dawn on her what Jade was doing as she took in the suitcase and scattered clothes on top of the bed. “Wait. What are you doing?”

  “Packing.”

  “Why?” Ivy asked, her voice shaky.

  “I’m going back to Connecticut,” Jade answered emotionlessly. “I have to go up there and sign the inheritance papers so I can finally get this over with. Once and for all.”

  Ivy shot to her feet, her face showing panic. “You’re coming back, aren’t you?”

  Jade paused again. “I think so.” She laughed mirthlessly. “Sometimes I don’t even know why I moved here in the first place. When I think about it rationally, the whole idea sounds insane—that moving here would suddenly make my life better. Everything I was running away from ended up finding me, anyway.”

  Ivy walked around the bed to stand in front of her. “Girl, that’s crazy talk. You own your own business now. You have a house here. Friends. You’ve made a good life here for yourself. That doesn’t sound insane to me.”

  Jade smiled sadly. “Easy for you to say. You have a wonderful husband who loves you. And people don’t gossip about you every time you walk down the street. Ever since I moved here, there have been signs everywhere telling me I just don’t fit in. I guess I’m just now starting to pay attention to them. But, hey, at least I tried, right?”

  Ivy scoffed. “You really think people don’t gossip about me?” she asked pointedly. “There’s always gossip in a small town like this. You can’t listen to it.”

  That confused Jade. “Why would people gossip about you? Everyone here loves you.”

  Ivy’s face softened. “Not everyone. Let’s just say, there are still some people in this country who don’t like seeing a white man with a black woman.”

  Jade’s breath caught in her throat. “That is so last century.”

  “Things are changing. But there are still small-minded prejudices I have to deal with every now and then.”

  Jade had stopped packing, giving her friend all of her attention. “I’m sorry,” she said, laying a comforting hand on Ivy’s arm. “I guess I’ve never noticed anything like that. Why have you guys stayed here, then?”

  Ivy shrugged. “Unfortunately, there are people who still think like that all over the country.” Her mouth spread into a sincere smile. “Besides, we both love it here. Garrett’s job and family are here. My family is only a few hours away. This is a great place to raise kids.”

  Jade pulled her in for a hug.

  Ivy shot her a serious glance when they broke apart. “All I’m saying is that you need to give Shell Grove a real shot. I can tell you’re happy here. This thing with Hunter is just a big misunderstanding and will blow over. You’ll see. Please don’t leave for good, especially not on bad terms.”

  Jade squeezed her hands in reassurance. “I’m just going to take it one step at a time,” she said. “I need to deal with the stuff up in Connecticut first. I can’t figure out anything else until that’s resolved and behind me.”

  Ivy studied her for a second before nodding. “I understand. Are you going to talk to Hunter before you leave?”

  Jade swallowed. “I don’t really think I have the emotional capacity to discuss last night with him. Not yet. One thing at a time.”

  Ivy looked like she wanted to argue, but kept her opinions to herself. “At least tell Hunter where you’re going. For my own peace of mind.”

  Jade chuckled. “Yes, Mom.”

  “Not to mention the fact that you owe me,” Ivy added with a smirk.

  “I know,” Jade said with a sigh. “For taking care of me last night. I’ll buy you a nice bottle of Merlot, okay?”

  Ivy raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t we call it a case? Because you didn’t exactly make it to the toilet in time last night. And Maggie’s Punch punched its way onto your bathroom floor. Luckily, I have an iron stomach.”

  Jade fel
l back onto her bed, groaning in humiliation. “Oh God. A case, it is.”

  “By the way, has anyone ever told you that you hiss like a snake when you’re drunk?”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Jade chickened out and sent Hunter a text instead, like a coward.

  Maybe it should have said more than:

  Jade: Went to Connecticut. We’ll talk later.

  But she quickly sent off the text and turned her phone to airplane mode before she could second-guess herself. She closed up her store, leaving a Closed Until Further Notice sign in the window.

  Then she hopped on the first plane to Hartford without giving herself much time to think about any of it…including what she was heading into, or how little money she had left in her account after buying the ticket. She needed to do this. Now. And she had to stay strong if she was going to face off with Cassandra and Lane. And if she was going to finally read her father’s letter…

  Right before she dashed out her front door, she’d opened her treasure box and grabbed it. It had taunted her for too long, screaming at her to read it. She didn’t know if she was ready, but then again…

  Would she ever be ready?

  It was dark by the time her flight landed and she checked herself into a hotel. She had set up an appointment with the trust accountant first thing the next morning. So, for the rest of the night, she would raid the hotel’s mini fridge, indulge in the harmless-looking tiny liquor bottles, and read her father’s final words to her. Despite getting her ass kicked by Maggie’s Punch the night before, she needed some liquid courage to read his letter.

  Hopefully, the alcohol would numb some of the pain that had never left her since his death.

  After several deep breaths, she settled onto the bed, pulled the letter out of her purse with shaky hands, and opened it with slow, reverent movements. Her eyes immediately watered when they landed on her father’s elegant cursive handwriting. She had once told him if he’d lived back in the Middle Ages he would have been a scribe. She could still remember the way he’d laughed at that.