One Sweet Day I Found You: A Sweet Romance Book 1

by Jillian Walsh

  Then, out of nowhere, a voice interrupted her thoughts. “Courtney? Courtney Price? Holy moly, is that you?”

  Courtney’s jaw dropped to the floor and she turned.

  Austin.

  He spoke again. “Are you kidding me? What are you doing here?” Austin set down his cocktail and held out both hands for a hug. “Bring it in, Price! Come here!”

  Courtney barely moved, unable to hide her shock. “Uh, wow.” She could hardly think straight.

  He moved in closer, obviously buzzed. “Come on, Courtney, this is a crazy coincidence! For old times’ sake.”

  Courtney just stared. Why was the guy she’d cried over for months now causing this stone-cold reaction in her? And where in the heck had he come from? Seriously, she was four-and-a-half hours from Chicago. Why in the world was he here?

  He stepped in closer and finally, she surrendered and accepted the embrace. It was awkward, to say the least.

  She pulled away and stared up at his handsome, masculine features. “Uh, you’re a long way from home, aren’t you?”

  “Eh? Not really. Few hours. You know how it is. I’m here for a bachelor party. Trey’s getting married.”

  That brought Courtney back to earth. She snorted. “Oh. So that’s actually happening?”

  Trey was one of Austin’s best friends. They’d been roommates for years. Trey and Lexi had been engaged for nearly as long. “Yep. Finally.”

  “Strange choice of venue for a bachelor party,” she said.

  He flashed a mischievous grin. “Nah. Actually, it’s not that kind of bachelor party. We’re behaving. Steak dinners. Bottomless drinks. Chartered a fishing boat today. I caught a few big ones.” He made a face.

  Courtney snorted. “I’ll bet you did.”

  Austin laughed appreciatively. “Anyway, yeah, Lexi’s snapping the whip from almost three hundred miles away.”

  “Ah.” Courtney grinned. “That sounds like her.”

  Austin laughed and took a sip of his martini.

  Courtney studied his longish, yet tidy, dark hair, swept back from his face and held in place with product. He was tan and the tasteful, button-down shirt camouflaging his ripped chest looked to be made of silk. She had to admit, he still looked good.

  So why did she find herself not the least bit attracted to him? She would’ve given her left arm to be getting this sort of attention from him a year ago. Now, all it seemed to do was bounce off her like she was a flipping trampoline.

  Austin stood back and sized Courtney up. “I have to say, Courtney, you look amazing. Still working out, I see. Whatchya been up to? What are you doing up here?”

  Courtney grinned in spite of herself. She was eating this up. But it didn’t feel right. She leveled her tone.

  “I took a job writing for the Wisconsin Visitors Board this summer about Door County. I work with a videographer. She’s over there.” Courtney indicated toward their lively table of fashionable young women with a nod.

  Austin searched the room and found the group of attractive women. Nodded his approval.

  “I got here about a month ago.”

  “Seriously? You rock.” He sipped his drink. “Last I heard you were off on a walkabout. Globe-trotting. Sampling the Vegemite. How’d that go?”

  Courtney shook her head, rolling her eyes. She couldn’t help but laugh. So, Austin still managed to pull off charming and obnoxious at the same time? “Something like that.” She pushed some hair behind one ear. “It was great. Trip of a lifetime. I just got back before I came here, actually.”

  A barstool opened up next to Austin’s open seat and he motioned for her to take it. He sat back down.

  Courtney hesitated. Did she really want to spend all this time with the enemy?

  “Well, I’m really glad it worked out for you. I was worried about you.”

  Courtney studied him. Austin had a look on his face she hadn’t seen in a long time. Respect? Admiration? Things she’d spent the better part of the last nine months wishing she still elicited from him. Or was he just looking to hook up? That was probably it.

  “Let me buy you a drink.” He motioned across the room to some of the guys from their party so they wouldn’t wonder where he was. “Come on. Let’s catch up. I get to see the guys for three days straight.”

  Courtney’s stomach churned. She still hated even the thought of this guy, on some levels. He’d put her heart through the wringer, broken a promise. Deceived her. And he’d never even apologized for it.

  What in the world was she doing here, talking to him?

  He downed the rest of his drink and signaled the bartender.

  On the other hand, this might be the greatest thing ever. Austin was not treating her like he used to—after things turned sour.

  Somehow—and she had no idea how this was happening—but somehow, he saw only the new and improved Courtney Price. Not the one he’d tossed aside like a worn-out pair of socks. She felt like the girl she’d been when they’d first started dating—the one who had no flaws, no tired history of arguments with. Just desirable. Sexy. It was hypnotizing, after the way he’d treated her for so long.

  She climbed onto the barstool. A few more minutes wouldn’t kill her.

  But nothing was going to happen.

  Nothing. She had never forgiven him for what he did to her. And she wasn’t about to now. Still, she wanted to see where he was going with this. It was gratifying, on some messed-up level.

  She steeled herself and accepted his offer. “Okay, sure. I’ll have a glass of white.”

  “Some things never change, do they?”

  Austin gazed at her like she was his oldest and closest friend. Like he still knew everything about her. It was a little maddening. He didn’t know anything about her anymore.

  “If you’re referring to my choice of drink, then no.” Courtney gave him a dry look and glanced over at the table where the girls sat, laughing and talking. Maybe she should say goodbye to Austin and go back to them. This was probably a bad idea, sitting here.

  But the guy from the bar who’d been making eyes at Marcy was now occupying Courtney’s seat across the table from Marcy. His buddy appeared to be drooling over Gia.

  Courtney grinned and then returned her gaze to Austin. It looked like the girls hadn’t noticed her absence yet. She might as well stay here a little while longer.

  “And so, did you just travel around the country, or what’d you do all that time?” Austin asked.

  She explained how she’d had a bunch of her travel stories published online. Lived in an international hostel. Worked at a coffee shop to make ends meet. Made some great new friends. Checked a bunch of things off her bucket list.

  “Seriously? That’s so cool. I’m so happy for you, Court.”

  And now he was back to nicknames. That didn’t sit right with her, either. He’d surrendered that privilege a long time ago.

  Courtney straightened her shoulders and flipped her hair back.

  The bartender placed a glass of Sauvignon Blanc in front of her and another martini in front of Austin.

  She cleared her throat. “So, how’s your job?” She could, at the very least, be polite. “Still going well?”

  “Going great. I couldn’t be happier. Bunch of new projects coming down the pipeline.” He rattled on about one of his clients as if no time had elapsed between them. Then he mentioned his family and told her how his sister had just graduated from college.

  Courtney took a deep breath. This was too much. Austin was acting as though nothing had happened. As if they were just old friends catching up. Maybe it was time she reminded him.

  She took a swig of the wine and tilted her head to the side. She stared into his watery green eyes and batted her lashes. “So, how’s Alicia?” she said with extra sass.

  Courtney waited, examining the wine as she twirled it around in her glass.

  Bam. That did the trick. Austin was silent.

  Courtney took another sip and looked back up at him.


  “Uh, I’m not really sure.” He scratched his forehead then cast his gaze off to the distance. “That only lasted about a month.”

  Courtney almost choked on her wine.

  You have got to be kidding me.

  Seventeen

  “Hold it open!” Tom called from the bottom of the staircase with a good-natured grin as Nick unlocked the door to the apartment.

  Inside, Nick took the phone out of his duffel bag and set his things on the counter.

  Tom rubbed his forehead. “Long day, man.” He went to his room to change and Nick made his way into the kitchen.

  Rooting through the refrigerator, Nick finally produced a box of leftover stir-fry. He checked the contents and grabbed a fork.

  “I’m starving.” Tom announced, reappearing from the bedroom in a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. He went to the fridge and pulled out the other half of the footlong sandwich he’d had for lunch.

  “I know. Me too.” Nick downed his water bottle and polished off the rest of the chicken and rice.

  All in all, it had been a long eight-hour mission, but it had been far from dull.

  Interestingly, Victoria’s housekeeper’s husband, Captain John Schlagel, had led the operation. A competent and agreeable man in his mid-forties, he was a long-time member of the local coast guard unit. Nick had been impressed with John’s leadership, and John had thanked Nick and Tom for a job well done.

  Nick finished his late-night meal, relocated to the couch, and put his feet up on the footrest. He checked the time on his phone and yawned. Twenty-five minutes after midnight.

  Despite being long, the day had gone remarkably well. A few members of the coast guard had zipped out in a motorized dinghy from the big boat to reach the group and plucked them all to safety one by one.

  The coast guard team had rescued all six of the kayakers without incident, although two told of a near miss by a speedboat only fifteen minutes earlier. Those two were considerably more shaken up than the others.

  Five had been suffering from mild dehydration, exhaustion, and overexposure to the sun. They’d all been treated on the boat and released when the big boat had reached the shore. Fortunately, none had been injured. In this case, surprisingly, alcohol had not been deemed to play a role.

  But one of the kayakers had been more serious. The young woman, only a few years older than Nick, had apparently fainted for a few minutes, regaining consciousness when the coast guard arrived. Tom had treated her for dehydration, dizziness, nausea, disorientation, and the start of a severe sunburn. She’d also complained of a bad headache.

  It turned out she’d been on medication that had resulted in an oversensitivity to the sun—what some medical circles referred to as a sun allergy. The dehydration had exacerbated her symptoms and put her system into a state of shock, resulting in the loss of consciousness.

  Nick leaned against the soft backing of the couch. How in the world did people let things get that far? How did they not head back sooner? Blame the currents. Blame overconfidence. Blame the group mentality where no one wanted to speak up and tell the others to turn back? Who even knew.

  He felt bad for her, but they should’ve gone out with a guide if they were planning on being so adventurous. It was unnerving to think what might’ve happened if the speedboat had made contact with those two kayaks. Thankfully, no other incidents had occurred with the other vessels.

  Regardless of all the disconcerting possibilities, Nick and Tom had been impressed by the guy who’d turned out to be engaged to the sick woman.

  “How about that dude today?” Tom balled up the paper sandwich wrapper and tossed it in the trash.

  “The fiancé?”

  “Yeah. The dude was rock solid. Gotta hand it to him. He sure saved his lady.”

  “True, that,” Nick said.

  Nick guessed the guy may have been the only one in the group to have any experience with kayaking. He’d probably been doing damage control for his fiancée and the rest of his dimwitted friends who’d gotten themselves into trouble. He’d been the one to call for help.

  When the coast guard arrived, he’d had been holding onto her rig using only his paddle. He said he’d been that way for over an hour, from the time she’d started to become disoriented and weak, unable to paddle.

  Nick knew how difficult it was to pull off something like that in choppy waters, let alone amid the wakes of larger boats. The guy had handled the situation as best he could, especially considering the ailing state of the woman he loved.

  He’d stayed by her side as they’d wheeled her into the ambulance, and he’d insisted on accompanying her to the hospital. Nick had watched him hold steady from the time they pulled them both from the water until the moment she was wheeled into the ambulance.

  Whatever the reason things had gotten so bad out there, Nick still admired that devotion.

  Maybe it got to him because it made him think of Courtney all day and all night. Because the more he came to know Courtney, the more he wanted that kind of a relationship with her. He wanted to be there for her. She had begun to fill a place in his heart that he hadn’t even known was empty. He already knew he’d do anything for her.

  And he realized that he needed to stop holding back with her. He had to be all in for this to work, just like that dude had been today. It surprised him how quickly things had progressed with Courtney, but he wanted to be there. It felt right.

  Furthermore, she had given him every sign that his heart was safe in her hands. He was ready to take things to the next level with her, and she seemed to feel the same.

  He glanced at the time again. He really wanted to talk to her.

  But it was too late to call, wasn’t it? She was an early riser, and it was very late on a Tuesday night. She had to be in bed by now.

  Still, he thought she would’ve replied to his text when he couldn’t make their date today, right?

  He scrolled through the day’s messages. One from his brother. One from Marcos about the shop. Nothing too important. He’d answer them tomorrow.

  He opened up the text messages under Courtney’s name, and his shoulders sank. She had left him a message. It must’ve just come in, after he’d turned his phone back on. Cell service could be spotty in different places on the peninsula. Sometimes it took him getting all the way home before all of his messages came through.

  Are we still on for today? I’m at your shop.

  She had called, too, although she hadn’t left a voicemail. He scrolled back through the history on their message thread. “Shoot.” He rubbed his forehead. “Oh, man.”

  No wonder she didn’t text back in response to his text. She never even got it. He cursed under his breath. She was probably upset with him, or at the very least, confused.

  Tom was fixing a bowl of ice cream in the kitchen. “Whattup?”

  “Aw.” Nick frowned. “Nothing. Just saw that I sent a message to Courtney today to cancel our date, but it never went through.”

  “Oh.” Tom made a face. “Uh-oh.”

  “Exactly.” Nick started a message to Courtney, but then he stopped. It would only wake her up. She left her phone on at night. She’d said she had a big story due tomorrow. She’d probably been up late working on it.

  He swore again. She knew he went out on calls like this with no warning. The message was just an oversight on his part. She’d understand. But he’d send her a quick apology by email now so she’d see it when she woke up.

  Then, he’d make it up to her. He’d surprise her in the morning.

  Nick missed her terribly. After a long day like this, he could think of nothing better right now than to throw his arms around her and pull her in tight.

  But that would have to wait until another time, and he was completely exhausted anyway.

  Nick peeled himself from the couch, made his way to his bedroom, closed the door, and collapsed on his bed.

  Eighteen

  “Wrong pipe.” Courtney pounded on her chest, trying to stop c
oughing up the wine she’d been choking on after Austin’s admission about Alicia.

  Austin patted her on the back and finally, when she was okay again, he leaned in closer, put an elbow on the bar, and dropped the pretty-boy smile.

  “Listen, Court, I felt horrible about what happened. I still do. Things just—I don’t know. I don’t have an excuse. I never should’ve…Alicia was just…” He looked off into the distance again, frowning.

  Courtney sat back, surprised. She hadn’t seen a lot of this side of Austin—the genuine, humble one—for a long time, even before they broke up. She stared at the bar. What could she say? Anyway, he hadn’t really apologized yet.

  When she didn’t respond, he went on. “I’m glad fate, or whatever this is, brought us together tonight—I mean, this is really some crazy coincidence, isn’t it? It still feels—really strange. But good.” His expression softened. “I want to talk about what happened.”

  She did, too, even though she didn’t want to admit it.

  But everything that happened—it still stung like a hornet. Or a flipping sting ray.

  She smirked. “Is that what this is—fate?”

  Austin hesitated. “I don’t know. Whatever it is…” he said softly. He reached out and pulled a few strands of hair away from her face. “Can we talk about it?”

  Courtney’s phone buzzed around in her handbag, which sat on her lap. She must’ve set it to vibrate earlier. She pulled her head away from him and pulled out her phone. “I should answer this.” She was so conflicted that she honestly didn’t care, under the circumstances, if she was being rude.

  “No worries.” Austin looked away.

  Who’s the tall drink of water?

  It was Kira, across the bar. Courtney let a smirk escape her face. She angled the phone so Austin couldn’t see.

  My X. From Chicago.

  Kira texted back.

  Ahhh-ha. And?

  Courtney tapped at the screen.