by Stacy Finz
“I’m letting you off the hook.” She put her hands on her hips. “We had some good laughs, now it’s time to get real. This thing between us was never meant to go anywhere. You, of all people, know that. Don’t worry about it, Win, we’re all good.”
“Fine, Darcy.” His voice was cold. “Whatever you say. Call me when you get over your insecurity trip, we’ll do lunch.” He walked away, jumped into his Jeep, and drove down the driveway without a second look.
She watched his exhaust plume in the breeze and waited for the sound of his engine to disappear in the distance. A part of her hung on to the hope that he’d hang a U-turn, hightail it back, and plead for her to be his. But just like the moon hiding behind the clouds, he was gone. And he’d taken a piece of her with him.
Her father would’ve called her little scene melodramatic, which she supposed it had been. Her mother would’ve called her a fool for ever thinking she could’ve held a man like Win. Go back to Lewis, you were lucky to have him.
She forced their voices out of her head, padded up the walkway into the house, and crawled in bed with Nana.
*
Instead of going home, Win swung by Old Glory. If he was lucky Dale would be there and could bust his head in. Then maybe he wouldn’t feel so bad for being a douchebag. He’d screwed up with Darce and couldn’t stomach the idea that he’d hurt her. Madison had basically treated her like a doormat and he’d tacitly gone along. He’d kept his mouth shut for a lousy business deal and he felt ashamed.
“Yo,” Boden called from the bar. The place was packed. But what did Win expect for a Saturday night, even if it was past eleven? “Your brother’s on fire tonight.”
Uh-oh. He’d forgotten that Colt’s band was playing. The last people he wanted to see were his brothers. But if he had to pick one it would’ve been Josh, who knew how to mind his own business.
Someone rammed him in the back and he reflexively swung around. Speak of the devil.
“It’s about time you showed up,” Colt said. “We only have one more set before we close this place down.”
Win rubbed the back of his neck. “Darcy and I were showing that CEO around.”
“How’s that going?”
“Okay, I guess.”
Colt watched him. “You okay? You look tired.”
Win looked past him near the stage at the table the Garners usually commandeered whenever Colt played. “Where’s the fam?”
“Mom and Dad were here earlier and left a little while ago, Josh and Hannah are around somewhere, and TJ and Deb had something else going tonight. Delaney’s at the table. Go over and say hi.”
“Uh, okay. Let me get a beer first.”
Win turned to the bar and waved to get Boden’s attention. “Give me whatever Colt’s drinking.” His brother was a craft beer snob. Win didn’t much care as long as whatever he was drinking was cold and wet. But Boden would take all night giving a dissertation on every brew on tap—he had a lot—so it was easier to cut him off at the pass.
Boden drew him the beer as he eyed a couple of women who’d just walked in. “If they’re twenty-one, I’m Barry Bonds.”
Win swiveled around to get a better look. He didn’t recognize them. Probably tourists down from one of the resorts.
“Ingrid, take over for a sec,” Boden called to one of the bartenders, and went off to check IDs.
Win snatched his pint from across the bar, left a ten, and strolled over to Delaney.
“Hey.” She hopped up to hug him, then pulled out a chair. “Did you just get here? Keep me company.”
He sat down. “A few minutes ago. We were wining and dining a prospective client.”
“Colt told me. FlashTag, huh? That would be a coup.”
“Yeah.” He nodded.
She reached out and smoothed a wrinkle from his shirt. “You don’t look too happy about it. Is it not going well?”
“It’s going pretty well with the client.” He didn’t know why but he told her about Darcy. Even though the band was on break it was loud and she kept asking him to repeat things.
When he was finished telling her the story she said, “I had no idea you were seeing Darcy. Colt never said anything.”
“I don’t think he knows. We’ve been discreet about it since we work together.”
“Probably a good idea, though it doesn’t negate the fact that workplace romances are still a bad idea.”
He was hoping for advice, not a lecture. “It worked for Deb and TJ.”
“They were serious and in love.”
“What makes you think we aren’t … serious?” He wasn’t going to touch love. That was too much to think about.
Delaney was always diplomatic but Win could see her struggle with how to answer. It didn’t take a genius to see what she was thinking.
“With all due respect, your track record at serious hasn’t been that good.” At least she had the decency to sound apologetic. “And I would hate to see Darcy get hurt.”
Funny how no one ever worried about his feelings. Darcy had just dumped him, crushed him like a friggin’ tin can. But hey, she was the injured party.
“That’s bullshit, Delaney. When I thought Britney was pregnant with my kid, I stepped up, fully prepared to be a husband and a father.”
“You did,” she acknowledged. “But …”
Colt and his band took the stage and the crowd started to hoot and holler, making it impossible to hear Delaney. Honestly, Win welcomed the noise. He didn’t need to be picked apart.
He sat through three songs and used having to get up early as an excuse to leave. On his way out, he ran into Josh and Hannah, who were playing a game of darts. He made the obligatory greetings, told them he had to go, and headed to the door.
A gust of fresh air hit him and for a fleeting second it lightened his mood. Then he caught sight of Rita on the side of the building, smoking a cigarette. She looked straight at him. Terrific.
“Mayor.” He tipped an imaginary hat and hoped to make a clean getaway. But apparently, the day hadn’t gone shitty enough.
Her gravel voice called after him. “Well, have you made up your mind about the calendar?”
“Sure. Whatever. I’ll do it.” If it would get her off his back and he could go home, it was worth it.
“Too late.” She cackled. “I got that new fellow from search and rescue. His pecs are twice the size of yours.”
He stopped walking and turned to face her. “You’re kicking me out of the calendar?” What kind of bullshit was that? Women lined up for the amateur piece of crap because of him.
She blew a smoke ring, let out a hacking cough, and stabbed her finger in the air. “You think you’re the only talent in this town? That’s what you get for trying to jack me up.”
Jack her up? It was voluntary. Free. “Expect a call from my lawyer and my agent.”
He swung himself up into his Jeep and took off. The cat was waiting on his open windowsill, swishing its tail under the porch light when he got home. He went to pick it up and it hissed at him and ran away.
Even the damned kitty was mad at him.
*
At six the next morning, Win pulled into the turnaround at the Four Seasons. He was early so he checked his phone and opened an e-mail from Reggie.
“I’ve been in touch with Jenny, who’s hot for the listing. She says June and July are prime time to sell real estate. I’d rather save the commission and not deal with the hassle of having strangers traipse through my house. So let me know if you’re still interested.”
Win dashed off a quick response. “I’m very interested and am trying to raise the money for a solid down payment. The truth is I wasn’t planning to spend that much but your place rocks the house. I should know in the next couple of days. Can you hang on until then?”
He scrolled down to see if there was anything from Darcy. Nothing. Just in case, he checked his texts. He took her radio silence to mean she was still planning to show up for breakfast. Today, they were goin
g to Tart Me Up so they could get an early start and because Darcy wanted to spread their business around town, especially since Rachel had come through the way she had for the picnic lunch.
He hadn’t realized until now what a good businesswoman Darcy was. If they got this account it would be largely due to her organizational skills and planning. No matter what happened with FlashTag he was going to see that she got a raise and promotion, even if he had to take a pay cut.
Madison emerged from the hotel. She’d dressed in shorts, a light-weight hoodie, and hiking boots. A backpack was slung over her shoulder, which Win assumed held water sandals, a bathing suit, and any other incidentals she might need. Darcy had sent her a list. Even though Win planned to change the schedule up to include more intensive activities, the clothes she had on should suffice. If not, they’d raid supplies from GA’s online store. Like with the others, Deb had made Madison a swag bag of gear to take home.
He tapped his horn to get her attention and girded himself for another day of fending off her flirtations. She jogged up to the Jeep and opened the door.
“Good morning. It’s chillier than I thought it would be.” She got in and fastened her seat belt.
“By ten, the clouds should burn off and it’ll get warmer. You hungry?”
“A little bit but I definitely need coffee.” She turned in her seat and put her hand on his knee. “How are you? Did you get a good night’s sleep?”
Her innuendo was clear. But his lack of sleep had nothing to do with Madison. Nope, he’d tossed and turned because of a certain small blonde with cornflower blue eyes.
“I did.” He took off down the mountain and found a parking space in front of the bakery.
When they got inside Darcy had already reserved a table and ordered a large bread and pastry basket with jams and butters, a fruit bowl, homemade granola, and a carafe of coffee. The woman got shit done. She gave him a tight smile and got up to welcome Madison. Like the rest of them, Darcy had on shorts and he took a moment to surreptitiously stare at her legs.
“How was dinner last night?” Darcy asked, and Win gave her points for professionalism. No one would’ve guessed that they’d had it out after he’d left Madison at the hotel.
“Fantastic,” Madison said, and brushed Win’s shoulder way too familiarly. No question today was heading toward a suckfest. “I’m sorry you weren’t able to join us.”
Win nearly laughed. The hell she was.
Darcy gave another one of her tight smiles. “Your company—if you choose us—will primarily be working with Win. I thought it was a good idea for you two to get to know each other better.”
Win nudged Darcy’s knee under the table. Stop it. The little witch.
“Win’s been great.” Madison grabbed two turnovers from the basket and put one of them on his plate.
The gesture was far too intimate and Win saw Darcy observe it with a frown.
“Win doesn’t eat sweets,” she told Madison, and Win had to bite a grin. Witch, indeed. “But I’ll take it.” Darcy snatched the pastry off his plate and licked some cherry filling off the side. He watched her with fascination and something moved in his chest.
Delaney was wrong.
“With all due respect, your track record at serious hasn’t been that good. And I would hate to see Darcy get hurt.”
He was the one hurting.
Rachel came to the table with some warm-out-of-the-oven buns and introduced herself. Since Darcy had taken his turnover, he grabbed one of the buns, tore off a piece, and chewed. Boden didn’t know what he was talking about. Rachel’s buns were out of this world.
“These are fantastic,” he said around a mouthful, and buttered the rest of the roll.
“Thanks. I just wanted to come over and say hello.”
“Everything is wonderful, Rachel.” Darcy got up and gave her a hug.
A few months ago, Little Bo Peep could barely string two words together without turning the color of a tomato. Now she was GA’s freaking ambassador of goodwill. That was his job.
“Oprah’s crazy about Tart Me Up,” Win announced.
“Oprah Winfrey?” Madison suddenly appeared interested.
Was there any other Oprah? “Yeah. She mentioned Rachel and her bakery in one of her …” He looked from Darcy to Rachel because he honestly didn’t know how the whole “Oprah loves Tart Me Up” rumor had started. But everyone in town said it like it was fact.
“Her list of favorite things,” Darcy said.
“Wow.” Madison seemed duly impressed.
As they finished breakfast Win said, “Ready to do some zip-lining and white-water rafting.” If they had time he wanted to get in some paddleboarding, too.
Darcy shot him a look and when Madison went to the bathroom she said, “Zip-lining is not on the agenda. I suppose you read your tea leaves this morning and they said sliding down a rope would win you the account.” She all but rolled her eyes.
She could make fun of his unorthodox methods all she wanted but they worked. “Nope. I’m kicking shit up a notch. Deal with it.”
“I’m not dressed for zip-lining.”
He wasn’t aware there was a dress code. Eyeing her khaki shorts and polo shirt, he said, “You’re afraid to do it, aren’t you?”
“No … yes.”
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Darce.” He’d take care of her, even though for all intents and purposes she’d dumped his ass.
“Maybe it’s a better idea for me to go back to the office and print up materials with all the programs we offer.”
He glanced at the bathroom and back at her. “Do. Not. Leave. Me. Alone. With. Her.”
She had the nerve to snicker. “Since when are you afraid of horny women.”
“Since I met you.” He went outside and waited by his Jeep.
A few minutes later Darcy and Madison followed.
“I left my car at GA,” Darcy said. “I’ll walk over and get it and meet you at the zip-line park.”
“Nah.” He opened the back door for her. “We’ll all go together and reduce our carbon footprint.”
She sneered at him when she thought Madison wasn’t looking but climbed in. Madison, who seemed completely oblivious to his and Darcy’s pissing match, got in next to Win and away they went.
The zip line—there were actually seven of them—was part of a private park near the lake and went through a forest of trees with peekaboo views of the water. It was about 250 feet above the forest floor, moved at forty miles per hour, and was a total of fifteen-hundred-feet long. GA had a contract with the owners to use it whenever they wanted, which was pretty righteous.
He found parking in the shade and they hiked up to the staging platform where they harnessed up. Darcy’s face turned green as they climbed a circular stairway up to the tops of the trees.
“You scared of heights?” he said in her ear.
She gave him the finger. Real mature.
Madison, on the other hand, didn’t know where to look first. She wore a gooey smile on her face like she’d just discovered the world wasn’t concrete. “Wow. This is something.”
He gazed across the horizon, trying to see it through the eyes of a person who hadn’t grown up here. Yeah, it was pretty freaking amazing. He wished Darcy wasn’t petrified so she could take it in. It was like flying through the trees. Win lightly touched the back of her neck and she squeezed her eyes shut.
“I don’t think I can do this.” It came out like a whisper.
He stopped and turned to face her, settling both hands on her shoulders. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t feel comfortable doing.” He hated jack-off guides who pushed people into shit they didn’t want to do. Parachuting out of planes, bungee-jumping, riding bulls, or any other sport. You let people go at their own pace and they have a good time. Otherwise you ruin it for them.
Madison had gone ahead of them, once again unaware of anything outside of her own personal sphere.
“You really do
n’t want to be alone with her?” Darcy asked, trying not to look down.
“I can probably hold her off for a couple of hours. After that, who knows?”
She pinned him with a glare. “Because you’re so irresistible.”
Tired of the word sparring, he wasn’t going to do this with her. He’d made it abundantly clear he wasn’t interested in Madison De Wolk. Only Darcy. If she couldn’t believe that she was no better than the rest of them.
He searched around for a staff member to take Darcy down. If he couldn’t find one, he’d do it himself. Madison could wait.
She saw what he was doing and said, “I can get down myself. Being up is the problem.”
“You sure?”
“Yes. Go. I want my promotion!” She turned around and began the long stairway down, calling to him that she would meet them on the other end.
But when he got there she was gone.
Chapter Twenty
Darcy had just finished hiking to the other end of the zip line when her cell phone rang. The reception was bad but she could still make out Nana’s voice, just not the words.
“Nana? Nana? Hello?” She’d lost the call.
Pacing the forest, searching for a better spot, she was finally able to get through. But her grandmother’s phone just rang and rang. Darcy’s incoming call log showed it was the same number from which Nana had called. Her heart started to race as she tried several more times.
Pick up.
Panicking, she dialed Colt’s number. She’d never called him before unless it was for work and her hands shook as she held the phone. It was probably his day off.
“Darce? Everything okay?” He sounded out of breath—and worried.
“It has nothing to do with GA,” she stammered. “It’s my grandmother. She tried to call me a few minutes ago and now I can’t reach her. Her health hasn’t been too good and …”
“Where are you?”
“I’m at the zip line place. Win took Madison De Wolk up. I’m waiting for them but don’t have a car and Win’s got the keys to his.”
“Okay, hang tight. I’ll have someone do a welfare check or I’ll go myself.”