by Melody Grace
The minute she hit the power button, his hands were on her again, skimming up under the shirt as he kissed her deeply, making her moan. They stumbled back against the countertop, breathlessly devouring each other, a hungry tangle of hands and mouths—
A loud knock came from the front door.
“Ignore it,” Reeve groaned, his hands still working wonders underneath the shirt. But the knock came again.
“Go,” Jules said breathlessly, ducking out of his embrace. “And then come right back and finish what you started.”
Reeve laughed, and sauntered down the hallway to go answer the door, while Jules turned her attention back to breakfast-slash-dinner. Voices murmured out of earshot, then Reeve returned. She grinned. “That was fast. You have… Sixteen seconds left on the clock.”
“Another time.”
His voice was clipped, all of the laughter gone. Jules turned. “Who was it?” she asked, noticing the tension in his jaw.
Reeve raked a hand through his hair. “The insurance guy, here to see about the barn for dad’s claim.”
“I’m sure he won’t be long,” she said, with an encouraging smile, but Reeve’s expression remained stony.
“Depends on what he finds.”
Something was going on, that much was clear. The microwave sounded with a ding, but eating leftovers alone while Reeve had to take care of business didn’t seem so appealing. And then what did she have in store for her today—checking to see which of her job applications had been rejected, or worse still, completely ignored?
Jules made a quick decision. “You need a day off,” she declared brightly. “We both do.”
“Jules—” he started to interrupt, but she cut him off.
“I mean it. Go, deal with the insurance guy, and then come pick me up at the inn. We’ll take a drive, find a beach somewhere, and leave all our problems back in Sweetbriar Cove for a little while. How about it?”
She moved closer, wrapping her arms around his waist and beaming up at him invitingly.
“You’re naked under my shirt,” Reeve said, a smile finally returning to his lips. “How am I supposed to say ‘no’ to anything you ask right now?”
Jules laughed. “You can’t. All resistance is futile.”
“OK,” he agreed, dropping a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll come pick you up in an hour.”
“And bring your swimming trunks!”
* * *
Jules headed home to the Beachcomber Inn and jumped straight in the shower, humming happily under the spray. She would have loved to spend a lazy morning in bed with Reeve, but after the rude interruption of the real world knocking at the door, a carefree day together was the next best thing. Besides, she had a feeling that putting some distance between Reeve and the vineyard might be no bad thing; the lush property may have been romantic enough under moonlight, but in the bright light of day, it was still full of old family issues for Reeve.
Issues that might send him booking a flight back to California, the first chance he got.
Jules stepped out of the shower and dressed in a black bikini and cut-offs for the beach. Even though they’d barely had one date, she couldn’t stop her mind skipping forward: one week, two weeks, a month from now. What would life look like for her? Would Reeve still be around?
Would she?
“There she is,” Evie’s voice broke through her thoughts, and Jules turned to find her friend in the doorway with a smug grin on her face. “I’d say you just did the walk of shame, but I know you drove.”
“And have nothing to be ashamed about.” Jules beamed widely again. “Not after a romantic dinner, and a night of spectacular sex.”
Evie let out a shriek of delight. “Yes! Finally! I just put on a pot of coffee, come tell me everything.”
Jules threw her beach things into a bag, and followed Evie to the main house—detouring to grab some breakfast things from the buffet before they found a spot on the porch, shaded from the morning sun. Jules stuffed a muffin in her mouth, ravenous by now, as Evie waited expectantly. “Come on!” she exploded, impatient, as Jules gulped her coffee. “I need details.”
Jules laughed. “Well, he cooked,” she began happily. “And took me on a tour of the wine cellar, and… Other places.”
Evie clapped her hands together in delight. “I knew my bet would pay out.”
“Bet?”
“There may have been a pool running,” she said with a mischievous grin. “About when the two of you would finally accept the inevitable and fall into bed.”
“Seriously?” Jules had to laugh. “I’ll take that as a compliment to our sizzling chemistry.”
“Sizzle is good,” Evie agreed. “As long as the main course lived up to expectations?”
“It did,” Jules grinned back. “Reeve is a passionate and thoughtful… chef.”
Evie laughed. “You deserve a good meal, after the time you’ve had,” she said, sitting back and curling her feet underneath her. “And if I remember, Rory wasn’t exactly skilled in the kitchen department.”
“Literally, and figuratively,” Jules quipped.
“So you’re definitely not calling Rory back,” Evie checked. “Not even to brag about how well fed you are these days without him.”
Jules shook her head, smiling. “I think we just stretched that metaphor to its limit, but no, I don’t need anything from Rory now. He can just go right ahead and fail without me, wishing desperately he hadn’t made such a massive mistake.”
She took another bite of muffin, pleased to realize that she wasn’t just telling Evie what she wanted to hear anymore. It was true: Rory was in the past. He’d made his bed, and now he would just have to lay in it—without her. Because Jules was moving on, to better things.
And better chefs.
A horn sounded out front, and Jules leapt up. “That’s Reeve now. Beach day,” she said, grabbing another muffin for the road. “See you later!”
“Have fun!”
Jules bounded through the inn and down the front steps, to where Reeve was waiting in his truck. She hopped into the passenger side, and leaned over to kiss him, just because she could. “Everything turn out OK with the insurance guy?” she asked, and he gave a tight shrug, still looking tense.
“We’ll see.”
“Here,” she said, handing him a muffin. “Your blood sugar is dangerously low.”
Reeve cracked a smile. “I did one better,” he said, and nodded to the cooler at her feet. Jules opened it to investigate, and found all the desserts they hadn’t gotten around to eating last night: cake, pies, and more.
She laughed in delight. “Now, that’s my kind of breakfast,” she declared, grabbed a slice of pie, and turned the radio up, humming along until Reeve gently turned her face back to him and kissed her, slow and sweet.
Oh.
It was better than sunshine and chocolate, and Jules melted into his embrace. “What was that for?” she asked breathlessly, when he finally drew back.
“Getting my blood sugar up.” Reeve gave her a crooked smile, and then put the truck in drive. “Now we’re good to go.”
* * *
They drove out of town and up the Cape, the wind dancing through the open windows, music playing loud. With every mile between him at the vineyard, Jules could see Reeve’s tension ease, until by the time he turned off the highway and down a winding dirt track towards the shore, he was singing along loudly with her to Bon Jovi, surprisingly tuneful in the summer breeze.
“You’re not bad,” she said, laughing. “Me, on the other hand, I could never carry a tune. Never stopped me, though. You should hear me at karaoke. Evie and I do a mean Alanis Morrissette.”
“I’ll bring the earplugs,” Reeve cracked, and she hit him lightly on the arm.
“Gee, thanks!”
She looked around, as the dirt road wove through the dunes. They were miles away from civilization; far from the quaint shops and beach houses she’d seen so far. “What is this place?”
&n
bsp; “The best beach around,” Reeve replied. “A local secret, you have to be in the know to ever find it.”
“Then it’s lucky that I have you,” Jules said, pulling down her shades and batting her eyelashes at him. Reeve grinned, bringing the truck to a stop in an empty makeshift parking lot.
“The luck’s all mine.”
He grabbed the cooler and a blanket, and led Jules down to the beach. Sweetbriar Cove was on the east side of the Cape, where the sands were protected, and the waters calm; but over here on the west side, the Atlantic ocean crashed wild against the shore, and the windswept dunes were scattered with seagrass, stretching empty for miles around.
Reeve found them a hollow, sheltered from the breeze, and laid out the blanket. Jules threw herself down and stretched, yawning. “Tired?” he asked, dropping down beside her.
“Mmhmm,” Jules said, smiling up at him. “Someone kept me up half the night.”
“Is that so?” Reeve bent his head, and trailed a whisper of kisses up her bare arm. “I’ll have to make it all night next time.”
His mouth reached hers, and they leaned into a deep, heady kiss. Jules arched up, wrapping around him, loving the weight of his body pressing her into the blanket, and how it felt like they were the only two people in the world. Everything melted away in the slow, warm rush of pleasure until there was nothing but Reeve’s mouth, and the sound of the crashing waves, and the heat of the sun beating down on them from the cloudless sky.
Jules lay back, blissful, as Reeve stretched out beside her. “This was exactly what I needed,” he said, gazing out at the ocean. “You were right.”
“I usually am,” she quipped, and he smiled.
“Sorry I was an ass this morning.” He trickled sand through his fingertips. “It just feels like every day, I get a fresh reminder of how my dad screwed things up. I’m the one trying to keep the vineyard together, and meanwhile, he’s got his feet up at Margo’s, being waited on hand and foot.”
“That’s rough.” Jules reached over and gave his shoulder a squeeze.
“This fire… ” Reeve turned to face her, and she saw the conflict in his eyes. “They say it was an electrical fire. Old wiring, old wood… Even the insurance guy barely looked twice, but… I can’t help thinking that the timing was pretty convenient.”
Jules blinked. “You think it wasn’t an accident?”
Reeve sighed. “I think my dad would never use that barn to store wine. The temperature isn’t right, and you can’t control humidity like in the cellar. But he claimed he lost over a hundred bottles of last year’s harvest—and is getting the payout for them, too.”
“So, what do you think really happened?” Jules asked, watching him.
Reeve looked out at the ocean again. “I think the harvest failed, the wine turned—something went wrong, the way it always does. And instead of admitting that place is cursed, my genius father decided to paper over the cracks and keep going, any way he could.”
“It’s not cursed,” Jules said gently, and Reeve gave a rueful smile.
“I know. It just feels that way sometimes.” He shook his head. “Listen to me, we were supposed to be leaving all this stress back in Sweetbriar Cove.” He got to his feet suddenly, and stripped off his T-shirt and jeans, revealing swimming trunks beneath. “Come on,” he grinned, holding out a hand to Jules. “First one in the water gets the biggest slice of pie!”
* * *
They spent the rest of the day camped out there in the dunes. Eating, talking, kissing… Letting the hours slide past in a sun-drenched haze. Jules hadn’t felt so relaxed in years. It was as if the sunlight was soaking into her bones, melting her from the inside out, until she almost drifted off to sleep right there in Reeve’s embrace.
Even after they finally packed up the blanket and the now-empty cooler, and Reeve dropped her back at the Beachcomber, Jules couldn’t shake that summer weekend feeling. She stared in vain at her laptop screen, trying to focus, but it was no use, so she dragged an old lawn chaise out into the sun by the blackberry thicket, and just lay there, feeling her heart race and the cocktail of delight shimmering in her veins.
This wasn’t just a fleeting crush anymore. The way she felt with Reeve, it was getting stronger, deeper, the more time she spent with him.
So much for not rebounding straight into another man’s arms. But Jules couldn’t feel bad about it, not when that man was as witty, and charming, and grounded as Reeve. What was she supposed to do—ignore the romance that was standing right in front of her, just because he’d appeared in her life the moment she’d become single again?
Maybe there was something to the idea of fate, after all…
Jules shook her head, laughing at herself. Clearly, a night of hot sex was going straight to her head if she was reconsidering all her views on soulmates and destiny. Who knew what the future would hold past summer? She’d never worried about plans or commitment before. As long as the present included more nights—and days—like the ones they’d just spent together, that should be enough for her.
Shouldn’t it?
Jules was trying not to ponder the question when Reeve’s truck came into view, bumping back down the stony road. She sat up, puzzled to see him again so soon. “Did I forget something?” she called, as he got down from behind the wheel and made his way over.
“Nope. I did.” Reeve said, arriving beside her chair. “This.”
He leaned down to kiss her, and Jules was glad she was already sitting down, because she just about swooned. She came up for air, breathless. “I thought you had things to do this evening.”
“I do. I just realized none of them are as fun as spending time with you.” Reeve flashed a heart-stopping smile, and Jules felt her pulse kick. This man was downright intoxicating. “Besides,” he added with a suggestive sparkle in his eyes. “Didn’t you say you needed to move some more stuff around the studio? I wouldn’t want you straining your back.”
“That’s very considerate of you,” Jules laughed. She got up, and took his hand, pulling him back towards the shed. “Just as long as you don’t mind working up a sweat.”
Reeve chuckled. “I think I can handle it.”
“Then let’s start with the bed.”
9
After spending the weekend tangled up in bed with Reeve, Jules finally emerged on Monday to face real life again.
At least, what passed for real life in Sweetbriar Cove.
“Come on in!” Cassie greeted Jules and Evie at her door that evening, when they arrived for the local book club meeting. “We have snacks set up on the patio, and Wes just picked up enough takeout from the deli to feed an army.”
“But don’t worry, I’m not sticking around to get in the way,” Wes added, passing them on his way out of the door. “Don’t get too crazy.”
“It’s the new Marilynne Robinson,” Jules murmured, as they headed through the house. “How crazy can things get?”
But she’d forgotten the cardinal rule of book club in this town: that the reading was the least of the appeal.
When they stepped outside, there were already a dozen people there, sipping drinks and filling their plates from the huge buffet of food and snacks on display. She recognized familiar faces from the bachelorette party and around town: Natalie, Poppy, Alice and a few more, already chatting and having fun.
“Jules, Evie! Come sit.” Summer called them over to one of the couches set up to enjoy sweeping views of the bay. In fact, everything about the old historic mansion was a showstopper. “Have you met Paige and Arthur?” she asked, introducing the blonde woman beside her, with a cute baby wriggling in her arms.
“I think we met at JamFest.” Jules smiled. “Do you want anything, while I’m up?”
“Some food would be amazing.” Paige grinned back. “I’d go myself but this guy has a habit of diving head-first into the nearest table of dip.”
“Coming right up.” Jules grabbed a plate of eggplant parm, and threw some salad on top too, just
for appearance’s sake. When she rejoined them, Evie was holding the baby with a besotted look on her face. “Uh oh,” Jules said, laughing. “I know that look. It’s the one you usually reserve for the last slice of birthday cake.”
“He is delicious,” Evie said wistfully. “Look at his little thighs.”
“Feel free to take him for the night,” Paige replied, going straight for the food. “Or better yet, the week. He’s been keeping me and Declan up at all hours. Just when we thought we had his sleep schedule down.”
“It gets better.” Poppy joined them, balancing a glass of wine and a plate of pie. “Emma loves bedtime so much now, she toddles herself to her room right on cue. All it takes is an hour of storytime, with Cooper acting out the parts.”
They laughed. “Now that I’d love to see,” Paige said.
Evie saw Jules watching her, and offered up the baby. “Want a snuggle?”
“No, it’s OK—” Jules started to reply, but Evie had already deposited him in her arms.
Jules looked down at his chubby little face, and felt an inconvenient pang. “Biology really does a number on you, huh?” she said, as he gripped her finger tightly, and something melted inside. “A baby should be the last thing on my mind, but then you put one in my lap, and suddenly, it doesn’t seem like such a bad idea.”
“The best and worst idea I ever had,” Paige agreed cheerfully. “You’re thinking about it?”
Jules shook her head reluctantly. “I need a job, and a place to live first. A partner kind of helps, too. And I don’t think two dates with Reeve qualifies,” she added, before Evie could say anything.
“Reeve?” Paige looked curious.
“Keep up!” Poppy laughed. “Haven’t you heard about them? They’re the hottest gossip in town.”
“Then it really must be a slow news week,” Jules quipped, but she couldn’t keep the satisfied smile off her face.
“Look at you,” Evie said, smirking. “You’re smitten.”
“I’m going to find the bathroom,” Jules corrected her, getting to her feet. She gave Arthur back, and gave Evie a warning look. “No talking about me and my love life while I’m gone.”