A Sweet Possibility (Archer Cove Series Book 2)

by Natalie Charles

  "Sun salutations," he replied, and pulled up a stool at the breakfast bar. "Didn't I tell you? I'm teaching yoga at the country club. And no, before you ask, it's not actually on the golf course. Though that would be a great idea and you should raise it with management."

  He grinned. Something happened then. Something strange and powerful that went a little like this: Nate looked at Jessie, and Jessie looked at Nate.

  Really looked at him.

  She took in his green eyes and his perpetually tousled brown hair. She ran her gaze across his finely sculpted face, down his neck, and to the muscular shoulders peeking from beneath his shirt. She noticed for the first time that he had a tiny white line below his lower lip — a fine sliver of a scar — and that was because she was noticing his mouth, which looked quite delicious. For the first time in their years of friendship, Jessie saw Nate for the gorgeous male specimen that he was, and she thought right then that she'd pay cash money to see him run through a few sun salutations, herself. Yikes and what the hell?

  She was grateful when Nate changed the subject.

  "I've also been working on a nutrition plan for you. It's pretty basic, but you happen to work in temptation central, so it could be a challenge."

  "No way," she said. "I'm fully committed to this. Wren and Jax are getting married, and I need to lose some weight."

  "Sure." Nate nodded. "People normally go on a diet before their cousin gets married. Nothing unusual about that at all. But listen: I talk to my clients all the time about their goals, and I tend to discourage losing weight for a particular event and encourage a more permanent lifestyle change. Weddings are happy events, but maybe not weight loss events."

  "Whatever works, I guess." Jessie fluttered her lips and absently lifted a crumb from the counter. "You know, weddings make me feel funny. Through the champagne and the cheese platters and the baked chicken with mushroom sauce, I keep coming back to the fact that the bride and groom are going to have sex that night." She paused. "Do you think I'm a pervert?"

  "No, but that must be especially awkward for you at family weddings." Nate leaned over the breakfast bar to get a better look at the fudge. "Is fudge supposed to take this long to set, or is this a hallmark of shittiness?"

  She sighed and tapped the pan. "Should be done soon. You want to go for a walk?"

  "Love to."

  They took a walk down by the pier off Arrow Beach, at the edge of the downtown. The sun was beginning to set, and the office buildings were clearing out for the evening. Nate allowed Jessie to take the lead — her walk, he figured. It didn't surprise him that they wound up in front of Emerson & Parker. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and kicked a small stone in his path. "His car is still here."

  She jumped, then recovered quickly. "Whose car?"

  "Please." He nodded at the BMW. "Quinn's. Is that why we're here? To see what he's doing?"

  Jessie rubbed her head and winced. "I — this looks terrible. I didn't even realize it. I swear."

  A likely excuse, but Nate bit his tongue. She'd been single for less than a week, and even if the relationship had been going south since it began, she was probably entitled to be weird for a few days. That didn't mean he had to like any part of it, only that he had to try to keep his irritation in check. "Tell you what. I'll treat you to an ice cream. They have a new flavor —"

  "No, remember? I'm on a diet. That's why you're trying the fudge." Her eyes were focused on the door to Emerson & Parker. "I really wasn't thinking about him at all. I mean, this day has been about not thinking about him. It's like my own brain is trying to sabotage me."

  "Now you sound like some kind of conspiracy theorist." He scratched at his shoulder. He was helping Jessie's subconscious to stalk his best friend. This was awkward. "Fine, if you're on a diet, I'll just buy a cone for myself and you can watch me eat it. We'll need to turn right here." He tugged at her elbow, but she was frozen in place. "Jess, I'm trying to be supportive, and I'm trying not to question the whole 'my subconscious made me do it' excuse, but this is kind of strange —"

  "Fudge," she whispered, and turned her face. "That's him, isn't it?"

  She pulled closer to Nate, pressing her face almost into his chest and tugging at his shirt with her hands. A thrill darted across his skin at the contact. "I don't — what are you doing?"

  "Hiding."

  She'd wrapped both arms around his torso and pressed her face into his sternum. It felt pretty nice to have her there, but when he'd imagined their first real date, hiding from Quinn wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind. He didn't even know where to put his hands. He eventually settled on setting them gently on her upper back. "You know that he can still see you, right?"

  "Shhh." He felt her inhale before she whispered, "What's he doing?"

  Nate lowered his head, trying to conceal his face. His friend was across the street, but not far. All Quinn had to do was look up. Fortunately for him and Jessie, Quinn's interest was somewhere else. Nate's stomach lurched. Quinn was watching the door to E&P, where Caryn had just emerged.

  "Nate? What's he doing?"

  "Uh, looks like he's checking his phone."

  Quinn was in fact watching Caryn intently. She smiled and kissed his cheek. Jessie burrowed her face against him. "He's checking his phone?" He heard a note of panic in her voice. "Is he leaving? I don't want him to see me!"

  At that moment, leaving seemed like a great idea to Nate, who definitely didn't need Jessie to see how quickly Quinn had moved on. He turned slightly, angling her away from view. "He's not looking over here. Wait." He ducked his head. "Don't move." Something had suddenly drawn Quinn's interest to their direction.

  Jessie's eyes were huge. "Did he see us?" She tightened her grip on his shirt, brushing her fingertips against his skin, but he was hardly going to complain about it.

  Now they were locked in some twisted embrace, and Nate had no way of knowing whether Quinn was still watching them. Nate was turned in such a way that he couldn't check behind him in the reflection on the storefront windows. But he sure felt obvious, like their effort at not calling attention to themselves had backfired in a big way. "We can't stay here like this," he murmured into her hair. "We look like we're up to something."

  "Shoot." She looked up. "What do we do?"

  He couldn't let her see Quinn, that was for sure. Jessie didn't need to mix insult with heartache. He took a breath. "How about this?" Then he pulled her into his arms, and he kissed her.

  Her lips were soft and warm, her breath sweet, and she smelled faintly sugary. He was gentle, even tentative as she melted against him. And then suddenly she stood on her toes and pulled his face toward hers with both hands. She was kissing him — really kissing him.

  Nate's spine stiffened. If this continued much longer, he was going to get aroused, and then he would have a different, very obvious problem. Oh, what the hell.

  He kissed her back, reaching up to grab a handful of her soft, flowery-smelling hair. She was perfect. Better than perfect, and his heart pounded insistently as if to point it out. Her fingers trailed gently down his arms, tickling his skin until they found his hands. She laced her fingers with his. Nate's chest swelled at the sweetness of the gesture. He pulled her closer to him, savoring the heat of her chest against his.

  He lost track of where he was, so that when she finally pulled back and whispered, "Is he gone?," Nate had to stop and remember who she was talking about. Oh, right. Quinn.

  Quinn could go to hell.

  Nate released a long, slow breath and looked over his shoulder. If Quinn saw them, so be it. He knew that Quinn wouldn't care if Nate was kissing Jessie. In his friend's mind, he'd already moved on. Or back, or wherever. If Quinn was there, watching them, maybe that wouldn't be so bad. Jessie would finally learn the truth, and he'd take her out for a beer so she could cry about it, and then they could all get on with their lives. But although Nate squinted his eyes against the glare off the ocean, he didn't see Quinn. Or Caryn. The BMW was gone, too.
/>
  "They left," he said.

  Immediately, she released her grip on his shirt. "Thank goodness." She paused, her hands still loosely clutching his shirt. "Wait. Who's 'they'"?"

  Nate's mouth went dry as he realized his slip. "I meant 'he.'" Quinn. Sorry."

  "Oh." She inhaled a shaky breath, drawing her hand to her heart. "Oh my gosh, I was so afraid he would see me." She giggled.

  Nate didn't see what was so damn funny about it. "What would be the problem if he saw you? We're out on a walk. He doesn't own this section of town."

  She finger-combed her hair down. "I didn't want him to think I was following him. Really, I hadn't even thought about that. I just like to walk down here. I guess I wasn't thinking."

  Her heart was in full-on panic mode, fluttering like a frightened bird. Nate had kissed her, and she'd kissed him back. She'd stuck her tongue in his mouth! Her first thought was that Nate was a genius. He knew that Quinn wouldn't look if he saw two people kissing on the sidewalk. Maybe he'd keep moving. So she'd just shut off her brain and gone for it, figuring Nate would completely understand, and maybe he'd even think that was the only appropriate response under the circumstances. Possibly she hadn't been thinking much whatsoever. It was likely she'd lost her damn mind.

  But the kiss wasn't the problem. Her heart wasn't sputtering because of Quinn, but because of Nate. Because they'd kissed, and she'd liked it, and that felt kind of confusing. He'd no doubt give her a wedgie just to make it clear where they stood.

  She swallowed and forced a laugh from her throat. "The kiss was a brilliant idea, by the way. Sorry that I totally probed your mouth! I'm so sorry about that. I just figured Quinn wouldn't look at us, but I should've asked your permission before, you know. Probing." She laughed and tucked her hair behind her ears. "Consent is important, and we were just pretending. I should've kept it theatrical."

  Why was he looking at her that way, with that unreadable stare? Was he angry or something? "Nate? I'm sorry. We're not dating, and it was a stupid thing for me to do. Are we still friends? I don't want things between us to be weird."

  He winced slightly, then turned his face away. "You kissed me back because of Quinn?"

  Boy, was she stepping into something messy. She tugged at the ends of her hair with both hands. "I don't know why I did it. I panicked, and you know how sometimes I act without even thinking, like my mind goes blank —"

  "It's not right." He pushed his hands into his pockets and turned away from her. "It's not right."

  He was silent for a long stretch, during which she searched for the right words to make the situation a little less horrible. But then Nate interrupted her thoughts by muttering, "Come on. I'll walk you home."

  "I thought you wanted ice cream?"

  "I changed my mind."

  He took a few steps away from her while she stood there, frozen in place, pulling at her hair. "Wait! I said I was sorry. Nate. Talk to me."

  He halted his steps and she caught up, feeling flustered and disheveled. When she met his gaze, it wasn't cold or angry. It was more sad. "How long did you date Quinn?"

  "Three months." Ten weeks and five days, to be exact, but he'd think she was bizarre for counting like that. "Why?"

  Nate reached up to rub the back of his neck. "And for how many of those months would you say things were actually good? I mean, all you've done for weeks now is complain that Quinn is working late and doesn't have time for you. You said that he didn’t want to commit or get serious. What kind of boyfriend does that?"

  "That's not fair. He's been working hard."

  Nate tilted his head in a way that made her wonder what she was missing. "You make a lot of excuses for him."

  She knew what he wanted her to say, but her heart hurt just then, and she realized that she wasn't ready to stop making those excuses yet. She swallowed a lump in her throat. "I know I do. But Quinn and I are only taking a break for a little while. He has to figure out some things first." She reached out and found his hand. "I'm sorry. It's hard to explain."

  His fingers wouldn't lace with hers. He was staring at her with a pained expression, like he had a million thoughts he wasn't telling her about. Though to be fair, she had a few thoughts of her own. It was time to change the subject. "So, we can make a lunch date at the country club, right? And we'll drink fancy iced tea and do yoga on the ninth hole?"

  He looked down at their hands then as if noticing them for the first time. "You've created this entire self-improvement project as a way to win Quinn back. You want to change yourself for him."

  Jessie dropped his hand. "Not entirely. This is mostly about me learning how to become more sophisticated. If I'm going to be a successful career woman, I need to act the part."

  She felt a twinge of guilt, lying to him like that. Mostly, Jessie wanted to go to the country club to network with the other E&P wives. She could be charming, and maybe they'd go back to Quinn and tell him how foolish he'd been to break up with her. But Nate would not support that plan. She cleared her throat. "It's networking. I can tell people there about my chocolates and maybe find a few investors."

  Nate didn't look convinced, but he released a long sigh before saying, "We'll set up a time."

  He began walking again, and Jessie bounced along behind him. "Are you sure you don't want ice cream?"

  "Yeah, I'm sure."

  They walked along in silence. "We're still running tomorrow morning, right? I have my running clothes all washed and ready to go."

  "Sure. That's fine."

  There was a sudden chill between them, and Jessie wrapped her arms across her chest. Sometimes Nate needed some space, and she understood that. She thought that if they walked for a little while without talking, things would probably be better in a block or two. But when they reached the cottage and Nate still looked sullen, she didn't know what to do. Was he that angry about the kiss, and about her feelings for Quinn?

  She was so lost in thought that Nate was halfway out the door before she remembered the real reason she'd initially invited him over. "Oh! I should pay my rent before you evict me."

  A weak smile crossed his lips. "You look tired. Get it to me tomorrow."

  "After you came all the way over here? Hold on. I'll just be a minute."

  He waited by the door while she shuffled around the kitchen, looking for the checkbook that wasn't where it was supposed to be. The perils of living alone, she thought. When you can't find something, there's no one else to blame. Finally she found it in a drawer, pushed to the side by a half-empty box of birthday candles and a tape measure. "Here we are! Just a sec."

  She carefully wrote out the check amount and then handed it to him. Nate didn't even look before folding it in half and putting it in his pocket. "Thanks."

  "You should take care with that. I have sufficient funds, you know."

  The side of his mouth turned up in a half-smile. "For a change. Now go to bed and don't watch animal shelter commercials or think about newlyweds. Nothing good comes of it."

  Jessie fired off a salute. "Aye aye."

  Before he left, he tried a piece of the fudge and said that it was a better recipe. Jessie broke off a small piece and had to agree that this was an improvement. Still, she could do better.

  She turned to the ingredients again. She had time to make another batch before bed, and with a little more sugar, it might be perfect.

  As she was melting the chocolate, a realization knocked her against the head. How could she have been so blind? Nate had been single for months, ever since what's-her-name, that girl she'd never thought was good enough for him. All this time, Nate had been watching his best friends date, and that must have been so difficult for him! Just like it was difficult for Jessie to go to Maggie's baby shower and see people close to her getting married and having babies.

  She dipped a spoon into the pot of melted chocolate. Nate was lonely. She'd been callous to not recognize that. Well, no longer! He was a great guy, and he deserved to be happy. There was nothing to do
but to find the perfect woman for him. Life was like baking, and all one had to do was add the right ingredients in the right order.

  She lifted the spoon from the chocolate and considered it. Diet be damned. She ran her finger across the edge and tasted it. Perfection.

  Chapter 9

  Nate opened the trunk of his car and grabbed the plastic shopping bag. Inside was a pair of brand-new running shoes for Jessie. She'd told him during their run that morning that she'd been measured in the running store, but that she'd need to save up to buy a pair. Nate knew the owner, and he knew the store entered everyone's foot measurements and characteristics into a computer for future reference. Jessie was a size nine with average arches, no pronation issues. Buying her the perfect pair of shoes had taken all of five minutes.

  He whistled as he walked down the sidewalk, the plastic-wrapped box tucked under one arm. He wanted her to have nice shoes because he wanted her to keep running. Those early morning runs had started to become the best part of his day. He'd been totally wrong when he'd thought he knew everything about Jessie. Sure, when she talked about her life she often kept the filter off, but he was learning things about her that he'd never known in all their years of friendship. Like the fact that she spent her nights watching cooking shows and home shopping channels, or that she worried about how much she talked to Prince Travis. Just a few days earlier, she'd told him that in the years her parents were away, she'd consoled herself by imagining them to be doing something exciting. "It was my fantasy that they were living double lives as spies," she explained. "I would watch spy movies with Wren, and we agreed that my parents were probably zipping around Europe in some sexy car, shooting at bad guys." She'd grown quiet. "It seems stupid, but it sounded better than selling computer components." He'd never wanted to hug her as badly as he had right at that moment.