by Jill Sanders
“They may be nosy, but they mean well,” Marcus whispered before they walked over and joined the group.
She’d never had the pleasure of having family meals before. No big holiday get-togethers with aunts or uncles and cousins. She’d never experienced anything like what she was experiencing with his family now for the second time in just under a month.
She laughed and joked with them, this time feeling a little more comfortable than she had the first time around. Marcus had suggested the Red Snapper Po Boy, which had ended up being the best sandwich she’d ever had. She’d taken Cassey’s suggestion of a drink, a frozen Pineapple Sunset, one of the bar’s signature specialty drinks. It had been as delicious as it was beautiful.
By the time Marcus tugged on her hand to get her to move from the seat, her head was feeling a little numb from the drink. She felt wonderful.
“I’m going to go show Shelly what we accomplished today. I’m sure she’s dying to see it all.”
She nodded. “It’s so wonderful seeing it come together.” She sighed as everyone smiled at them. “Good night, everyone.”
“You’ll be happy and surprised at how much got done today. Roman and Cole lent a hand.”
“Oh?” She wrapped her arm in his as they walked along the boardwalk. The beach was too dark for her to see the water, but she could still hear the waves lightly lapping up on the sand. Even that sound made her think of home.
“Did I mention that I put an offer on the place on Sugar Sand Lane?”
“And?” She turned a little towards him.
“Haven’t heard back from them yet. Apparently, the owners are out of state. That’s one of the reasons the place is in such need of repair.”
“Well, I know you’ll get it. Just don’t start work on it until my place is done.” She smiled.
He laughed. “No. I’ll be working on it on my own time.”
“Oh? I thought you were going to fix it up and sell it?”
He shook his head and pulled her to a stop just outside her door. “No, this one’s personal. I’m getting tired of sharing a place with my brothers. Besides, I need some room to grow, and to enjoy.”
She smiled up at him, knowing exactly what he meant. Even though she hadn’t been escaping brothers, she had been escaping family by moving here.
“Here now.” He took hold of her shoulders and turned her towards the doors. “Close your eyes.” She did as he asked and trusted him to lead her inside without bumping her into anything.
“Okay,” he said, nudging her into position. “Open.”
When she did, she gasped. She had a workspace. Not only that, but her workstation desk was completed.
“It still needs to be sanded and stained,” he said from behind her somewhere.
She shook her head as she took in everything. The small cubbies, the smooth area that she’d use to sketch or plan out her material. Everything was perfect.
“It’s wonderful. Perfect.” She turned to him, a huge smile on her face. She watched the worry in his eyes disappear after hearing her words. Then she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him solidly.
She enjoyed him for a moment and then pulled away. “I want a better look.” She laughed, knowing that she could get lost in him if she didn’t step away now.
She ran her fingers over the smooth wood. It could use a fine sanding and paint, something she was itching to do herself. She liked the height of the desk area. There were even cubbies the right size to hold rolled up material and patterns and smaller ones for pens or scissors. It really was perfect.
“I can’t believe you finished this in one day.” She turned to him.
He was watching her, smiling. “I wouldn’t have been able to if it wasn’t for my brothers helping out.”
She nodded. “Then I owe them one.” She turned back to it.
“Don’t you want to see what the men accomplished upstairs?”
She turned quickly and nodded. “I’m dying to.”
He took her hand and they walked up the stairs. “They have the closet area completed and ready for paint. Your bathroom…” He shook his head. “They ran into some plumbing issues, but I’m told it will all be fixed by Friday. The guy had some issues installing your tankless water heater, or so I was told.”
He stood back and opened her door. The walls up here were prepped and ready for paint as well. The room felt huge, even though they had added two new walls dividing the space off in the back for a bedroom. Her kitchen area was looking better. She could see large boxes and when she walked over, he followed.
“Your cabinets arrived today. Want to take a look?”
She nodded and started tugging on the box. He laughed. “Here, let me.” She stood back as he pulled out a pocketknife and cut the top of one of the boxes open.
She helped him yank the cardboard open and smiled when she saw the rich cream-colored French cabinets. “Oh, I can’t wait to see them in place.”
“We’ll start hanging them in a few days, after the electrician is done with the wiring and the drywall is finished.” He nodded to the mess of wires hanging out of the walls. “Plus the plumbing. Once that’s all done, these will go in, and we can start painting and working on the flooring.”
“It’s all happening so fast.” She smiled. “I can’t thank you enough.”
He laughed. “The longer we take, the more money it costs you. Downstairs should be one hundred percent by this time next month.” He frowned a little. “Up here, shortly after.”
She could tell why he’d turned sad. She had enjoyed last night and if she had to be honest with herself, she was hoping they’d have more nights like it in the future.
She walked over to him. “It’ll be nice showering without worrying if your brother will walk in on us.” She watched him smile.
“I…” He shook his head. “Are you sure you won’t mind me sticking around here?”
She nodded. “I kind of like having you around.”
“Good.” He dipped his head lower and kissed her, and she wished the place was already done and that they had a large bed to fall back on together.
Chapter Fourteen
It took two days to finally hear a counteroffer for the place on Sugar Sand Lane, which he immediately accepted.
Shelly had spent those two days sanding and painting her new work area. She also had a few old display cases that she’d made look brand new with a coat of paint. He was glad to see her take such care when she worked.
When he got off the phone with Susan, he immediately went downstairs to tell Shelly the good news, but she was on the phone and looked like she had been crying. Closing the new door to her office area behind him, he waited until she was off the phone.
“Problem?” he asked, causing her to jump a little. He’d thought she’d heard him enter, but realized she’d been too engrossed in the phone conversation to hear.
“Oh…” She turned and looked down at the paint on her hands. “No, just the same old stuff.” She sighed.
“Your folks?” He walked closer to her as she nodded. “They still expect you to come home?”
She nodded again. “It’s like I’m talking to a brick wall.” She sat down quickly on her work chair. “They just don’t believe that I’m down here to stay.”
“You are,” he said and winced when it came out sounding more like a question. She glanced at him and nodded.
“Of course I am. I’m home.” She closed her eyes and sighed again. “For the first time in my life, I feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be.” She looked at him and he could see the weariness and determination in her eyes.
He walked over and knelt down in front of her. “They’ll come around, sooner or later. Just be strong.” He took her hand in his, noticing the paint splatters on her fingers.
“I doubt it, but…” She tried to smile. “I hope so.”
He stood and pulled her with him. “This is looking good.” He nodded to her work area. “I had to admit, I had my doub
ts when you told me you were going to paint it instead of staining it, but it looks wonderful.”
She nodded. “The cream color matches the cabinets that will go there.” She nodded to the spot overhead. The two hanging cabinets were still in boxes along the outer wall. He had plans to hang them the following day.
“We’ll start painting the walls in here in a few days.” He smiled at her.
“I can’t wait to see it all done. I have my first shipment of products coming in less than two weeks.” She sighed. “Two weeks.” He watched worry cross her eyes. Then he remembered why he’d come down here.
“It’s official. I bought the house on Sugar Sand Lane.”
She turned to him, her eyes going wide. “They took your offer?”
He laughed and shook his head. “I took their counteroffer.”
She launched herself at him and he spun her around while she laughed and congratulated him.
“This calls for a celebration. How about I take you out tonight?” she said. He was happy to watch the sadness leave her eyes.
He chuckled. “Okay, or we could order pizza and stay in.” He tightened his arms around her. “Roman is staying at Dad’s tonight and Cole left earlier this morning to head to Hawaii again. We have the place all to ourselves.”
She smiled. “Sounds like a good plan.” When she kissed him, he couldn’t stop his heart from skipping. Would it always be this way with her? He desperately wished so.
As time went by and they got closer to completing her place, she became very busy. He tried to help her out with some of the paperwork she had piled up but ended up only getting in her way.
“What you need is an employee,” he said one evening when she’d sat at her computer, stressing about her orders.
“I can’t afford one until my doors are closer to being open.” She sighed. “Actually, I had planned on hiring a few people.”
“You’d better start looking now. You have less than two weeks before we’ll be done.”
“What? That can’t be right.” She pulled out her phone and frowned down at the screen. “It’s the fifteenth. How can it be the fifteenth already.”
He walked over to her. “Speaking of forgetting things. I wanted to invite you to dinner with my family. You know, in Spring Haven. My dad and Julie have been asking about you. They wanted a chance to have you over again.” He’d meant to ask her days ago, but every time he opened his mouth, he felt nervous. He’d never invited a woman to his house for an official dinner with his family before.
“I…” She nodded slowly and closed her mouth to swallow. “I’d love to have dinner with you and your family.”
Then his mind cleared. “The phone call… You haven’t changed your mind, have you?” He frowned.
“What?” She looked at him.
“I know your family must miss you terribly. I hope you haven’t changed your mind about going back.”
She shook her head and then started laughing. “Oh, if that was only the case. I doubt my parents miss having me in the state.” He shook his head, not sure what to say. She dropped her arms and took a few steps away from him. “No, they can’t persuade me to go back with just a phone call.” He heard the hurt in her voice. She began rubbing her forehead, so he walked over and started massaging her shoulders lightly. “What my mother wanted was for me to get back home so I could attend my engagement party next weekend.” She chuckled.
“You’re having an engagement party next weekend?” His hands dropped to his sides.
She laughed again and closed her eyes. “Nooo, my mother is having an engagement party for me next weekend. I officially broke off my engagement last month.”
He felt the blood rush back to his body in relief.
She turned away from him and walked over to the small window that overlooked the back alley. He could tell she wasn’t really seeing anything but was deep in her own thoughts. He walked up behind her again and wrapped his arms around her.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered in her hair and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.
She shook her head. “You’re family has been so wonderful.” She turned in his arms. “You’ve been so wonderful. You have nothing to be sorry for.” She smiled up at him.
He didn’t know what to say. At that moment, no quick-witted remarks came to him. He swallowed and felt the lump in his throat grow. Closing his eyes, he rested his forehead on hers.
“Take me home so I can have some cold pizza and beer to celebrate you becoming a home owner.” She pulled back and he noticed a slight smile on her lips. Bending down, he kissed them and nodded.
*******
The next few days were filled with work. Every muscle in her body ached as she helped Marcus and his men complete the finishing touches on the shop area. She helped with painting, although the man who came with a spray machine did most of the work, and all that was needed by hand was some of the trim and touch up.
It took a full day to hang the sign above the outer doors, and by that evening, Shelly’s was lit up in cool neon teal for everyone to see, with Boutique in white, underneath it.
The flooring was delivered and was scheduled to be installed the next morning, which was just in time because she’d had boxes of product arrive early. She’d stored them in the back room, still unopened, but she itched to dig into them and look at everything.
Wendy had come by on her day off and helped as much as she could. It was nice having another woman around.
“I can’t wait to shop here,” Wendy said, sitting back on her heels. They were both kneeling in the back room trying to finish painting the baseboards around all the boxes that had been delivered. “Are you sure we can’t open just one box?” Wendy tapped the largest one with a smile.
Shelly laughed. “Maybe after we finish and get cleaned up.”
“Woohoo!” Wendy was way more motivated after that, and the rest of the painting had gone very quickly.
In the end, they opened all of the boxes and looked through everything. She could still hear the men moving around up in her apartment and knew that Marcus was going to give her a ride home that night, since they’d ridden together that morning.
“So,” Wendy said as she held up a sundress in front of her. “You and Marcus?”
Shelly smiled. “Yeah.” She nodded her head. “It just kind of snuck up on me.”
“What did?” Wendy asked, setting the dress down and picking up another one.
“He did.” Shelly shook her head and laughed a little.
“Oh please, you’d have to be blind or dead not to enjoy a Grayton man. Every one of them is good looking.” Wendy sighed. “Of course, some of them I just want to murder.” She laughed.
“So, what’s between you and Cole?” Shelly asked after the laughter died down.
Wendy put down the dress and looked at her with a slight frown on her lips. “The man infuriates me. I mean, just to see how reckless he is with his life.” She put her hands on her hips. “Not to mention all the women he parades around with. It’s like he has no regard for their feelings. Does he even know that he’s a womanizer?” She shook her head and Shelly could see the anger growing there. Instantly she wanted to change the subject. Looking around she saw her chance.
“Here, this box next…” She opened the larger box. “Shoes.” That did it. Wendy rushed over and for the next twenty minutes, they tried on every last pair.
When Marcus walked in, they decided on dinner at the bar and grill. It was easier than trying to cook for all four of them, especially since Cassey and Luke might join in. It was a habit that she was beginning to really enjoy. Since it was Wendy’s night off, she joined them in the large booth near the back.
Shelly noticed that Cole maneuvered it so he sat right beside Wendy. By the end of the dinner, she’d realized that Cole actually enjoyed riling Wendy up. He would purposely say things that everyone at the table knew would provoke Wendy. She’d even seen Marcus and Roman exchange looks multiple times.
I
t was actually quite funny to watch the scene. Even though she could see Wendy getting frustrated, she could also see that it was a game that the two of them had been playing for some time.
After everyone went their separate ways, Marcus took her hand and they walked along the boardwalk for a while. When he stopped outside her store, he leaned back on the railing and just looked at the building. She couldn’t help herself, she felt her heart race just thinking about opening day.
“It’s looking wonderful, isn’t it?” She sighed and leaned back against his shoulder.
He nodded and looked down at her. “We’ll be done by next weekend. When’s opening day?”
She frowned a little, trying to calculate. “I’ll have to get the computer set up and input all the stock. Not to mention tag everything and…” She dropped off. There was too much to list. Shutting her eyes, she sighed. “I’ll probably need a month to get ready.”
He chuckled. “Hire a couple employees. It’ll take you half the time.”
She looked up at him. He was right. It was time she hired some help. “I’ll put a sign in the window first thing tomorrow.”
He nodded. “The flooring should be done in two days.”
“That quick?” She turned and wrapped her arms around him and loved the feeling of him pulling her closer.
He nodded. “Phillip and his gang are good and fast. They might even have it done sooner.”
She smiled. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.” She leaned up and placed a kiss on his lips.
“I think the same.” He cupped her face and took the kiss deeper. By the time he pulled away, she was a little breathless and was wishing her apartment upstairs was completed.
Just then her phone rang and she chuckled nervously as she pulled it out of her pocket. When she saw her mother’s number on the display, her heart dropped. Stepping away from Marcus, she answered it.
“Hello, Mother.”
“Shelly, I hope you’re happy. This is really childish of you, you know. After all that your father and I have done for you.” She heard her mother sigh. “Not to mention how you left poor Tyler. And to think that his family is still willing to forgive you. We’ve moved your party to next month. You have one week to get back here and make your apologies to us and to the Daltons. Not to mention all of your friends.”