Sweet in Love (10 page)

“Especially if it would’ve been better for me. Even if I didn’t like the change, I’d still have been stuck. Wouldn’t have any good reason to go back because, like you said, not smoking is better. And if I went back to smoking anyway, I would’ve disappointed your mother. But then that all went out the window when she died. I quit the next day. Wasn’t even that hard.”

“Why did you keep the cigarette then?”

He paused for a moment. “I don’t know. I threw out all of them except this one. To remind myself not to be stupid or drag my feet, maybe.” He looked out into the dark, then faced her. “Pete told me you want to be an interior decorator.”

She groaned. “He shouldn’t have said anything. I don’t know if I’m going to be any good at it, or if I’m smart enough to run a business.”

“Don’t say that. You’re plenty smart.”

“Oh, come on, Dad. I wasn’t like Sandy. Besides, it’s not easy. I don’t know if it’s even possible. I don’t have the right training or certifications or anything.”

“You think you need to be smart and get a piece of paper before you can live your dream?”

She flinched at the aggression in his voice. Her father never spoke to her that way.

“You think I started my business because I’m smarter than other people?” His mouth twisted. “When your grandparents and I first came here, we didn’t even speak English all that great. I studied hard and worked hard, helping my parents build the business and doing everything I could to contribute. Lemme tell you, everyone’s smart. Life isn’t about this” —he tapped his temple— “it’s about what’s in your heart and how hard you’re willing to work for it. Young people these days.” He tsked. “You guys think life is like that
Harry Potter
movie. But there’s no magic.”

“Dad… I know there’s no magic. I just don’t feel confident that I can do it.”

“Why not? Too much work? It’s more work than being Amandine’s assistant?”

“No.” She sighed. “I don’t want to be a disappointment.”

He frowned, his face a mask of bewilderment. “What disappointment?”

“I might fail. I have this nice secure job that I’ll have to give up to do decorating full-time, and if it doesn’t work out I’ll have…nothing.”

“You got it all wrong. You’ll only be a disappointment if you’re too lazy to make it work. The daughter I know is not like that.” He crushed the cigarette in his hand, ruining it. “I’ll always be proud of you.”

Moisture surged in her eyes, and she blinked the tears away.

“Don’t worry about what might happen. Do what makes you happy. Life’s too short to waste, doing something you don’t enjoy to make other people feel good.”

She swallowed. “Thanks, Dad.”

He threw away the empty cigarette pack in a small bin in a corner of the deck and patted her hand. “Come on. Let’s go in and have some cake.”

“You think there’s any left?”

“Told Pete to save some for you, and I have a feeling he did.”

* * *

Pete saw Brooke and her father slip inside together. Her eyes seemed a bit odd. As she got closer to the table, he realized her eyelashes were spiked with tears.

Her father gave her more cake, and she took the empty seat next to him and ate wordlessly. Pete looked at her. Was her father upset about her dream of wanting to be an interior decorator instead of Amandine’s assistant? The latter promised more security. Amandine would never fire Brooke, and Gavin would never run out of money. Brooke would get automatic annual pay raises and benefits. Some socialites had schedules jam-packed with all sorts of foundation work and charities, but Amandine spent most of her time in her studio and so Brooke had a fairly light workload. It was a fabulous, cushy job, and Pete would understand if her dad wanted her to stay at it in this economy.

But still…

Since the next day was a work day and they lived more than an hour away, Pete and Brooke made their excuses and left before the party ended. Brooke said nothing in the car the entire ride home, and finally Pete couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Did something happen?” he asked as he pulled up outside her apartment.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“You’re awfully quiet. And I’m pretty sure you cried outside.”

“I’m okay. I’m quiet because I’m thinking.”

That’s what I was afraid of
. He hated not knowing what the hell she was thinking. It was one thing to deal with market uncertainty. It was something else to deal with Brooke uncertainty.

She took a deep breath. “Pete. Thank you.”

He started. “For what?”

“For giving me the courage to acknowledge my dream.”

“You would’ve done it eventually.”

“Maybe. But even if I had, it would’ve been years.” She reached out and held his hand. “I told myself I shouldn’t become attached to you, that you’re wrong for me because you’re younger and Amandine’s brother and things would be too awkward.”

Jesus. His heart started to thud. Was she trying to say she wanted to commit to their relationship or was this a polite goodbye?

“But no other man helped me see myself as clearly as I do now. And I know how you see me, too.”

“How about you? How do you see me? Am I still just…a younger guy? Amandine’s brother?”

“No.” She leaned closer and he could see her eyes shining in the car. “You’re Pete, the man I love.”

He rested his forehead against hers. “I thought I might never hear that.”

They kissed, and she said. “How could I not love you?”

“Because I’m Amandine’s younger brother. You’re a lot stronger than you realize. If you’d really set yourself against me, I’m not sure if I could’ve done anything to change your mind. And the idea was just…unbearable. I love you. I’ve loved you since forever.”

“What are we going to do now?” she murmured.

“Who knows? We’ll figure things out. But in the meantime,” he whispered against her lips, “let’s go upstairs.”

She looked into his eyes, her grin wicked. “A man after my own heart.”

They got out of the car; she took his hand again. And they walked into their future together.

* * *

Thank you for reading
Sweet in Love
. I hope you enjoyed it!

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You’ve just read the fourth book in the
Hearts on the Line
series. The next book in the series is
Forever in Love
(Catherine Fairchild & Blaine Davis). You can pick it up from Amazon Kindle Store in May 2014. Please sign up for my mailing list at
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Coming up next in the Hearts on the Line series is Catherine Fairchild and Blaine Davis.

Forever in Love

Catherine Fairchild fakes being perfect by keeping everyone at arm’s length. But her billionaire CEO husband’s bigamy shatters the illusory life she’s built, and vengeful in-laws want to send her to jail for embezzling from the failing family business. Desperate, she accepts an offer from a powerful friend: help him reconcile with his illegitimate son in return for protection. How hard can it be to dazzle a small town guy?

Small town bar owner Blaine Davis has zero interest in claiming his fifty million dollar trust fund or joining the family of a father he barely knows. He can never forgive his womanizing father for seducing his mother or forget the cruelty his father’s high-society wife inflicted on them. Catherine comes from the same rich and entitled background, but he starts to fall for her anyway. Can their fragile bond survive when the true reason for her presence in his idyllic little town is revealed and Blaine’s old wounds are re-opened?

CATHERINE FAIRCHILD SAT in an upscale bistro near her hotel in Atlanta, sipping coffee. The coffee was good, although the bone-colored china cup in her hand looked ridiculously fragile, like it would snap if she held it tight.

It pained her slightly to be there. The décor was pure kitsch and didn’t really go with the dark wooden walls and leather seats. But the slim white gold and diamond watch on her left wrist said it was almost ten. It shouldn’t be long before Salazar Pryce showed. For such a lazy man, he was surprisingly punctual.

Barely a minute later, Salazar walked in. Despite being in his late sixties he’d aged remarkably well, his body still fit underneath a bespoke navy pinstriped suit that she knew must have cost at least six thousand dollars. His hair was fashionably cut and perfectly dark except for a hint of silver at his temples that gave him a distinguished air. He paused, looking around for her, and she got a glimpse of the famous Pryce profile. When he saw her he raised a professionally manicured hand in greeting and waked over. She noticed that his Italian leather shoes were actually shinier than the highly polished hardwood floor.

“Been waiting long?” he asked.

“No.” She rose and gave him a hug.

“You look good.” He took the seat across from her.

“Thank you.” She’d taken some time and care that morning. Her glossy hair tumbled over her back like a queen’s cape, and careful makeup hid the dark circles under her eyes and lent a healthy glow to her pale skin. The cream dress she wore was precisely fitted to show off her most strategic assets. Her world was falling apart, but it was paramount that she look like a million bucks. “So do you.”

“Well, what can I say? I have a great life.” His pale gray eyes searched hers. “Everything all right with you? I was surprised to find you in Atlanta when I called. Didn’t know you had any friends or family here.”

“I drove to Charleston to see my mother.” She hadn’t been able to think of anyone else she could run to.

The skin around Salazar’s eyes crinkled. “How did that go?”

If Catherine hadn’t been subjected to that very same mother’s upbringing, she might have snorted. “The visit ended within an hour.”

Salazar sighed. “Olivia’s too tough on you. Always has been.” He called a waitress over and ordered some chocolate, a couple of cream pastries and coffee. When they were alone again, Salazar leaned across the table. “Don’t let her get to you.”

“I try not to.” Catherine gave a bitter laugh. “I have no idea why I thought it’d be such a great idea to go to Charleston. Would’ve been better just to stay in Houston.” She’d thought that her mother might have been able to soothe her hurt…except Olivia had never been the “kiss it and make it better” type.

“Yeah, but then you might have run into Jacob. If he, ah, came back.”

Salazar, along with everyone else on the planet, knew that her “husband” Jacob Lloyd had run off with a Las Vegas stripper—who turned out to have been his first, real wife. The betrayal of bigamy would’ve been enough to drive any woman insane with humiliation, but it hadn’t ended there. The family business was doing badly, and her in-laws blamed her. Even now, her brother-in-law Ethan—or whatever he was to her now—was auditing the company, undoubtedly looking for some way to pin its financial problems on her, and her humiliation and pain were rapidly turning into despair. Jacob’s family was powerful, and would do anything to protect its own.

“Well, anyway. There’s actually a reason I called.” Salazar leaned back in his seat. “Here’s what I’m thinking. You’re already in Atlanta, right? Why not drive on up to Tennessee?”

“Tennessee?”

“Yeah. There’s this real pretty place called Cooter’s Bluff. A quaint little slice of Small Town Americana. I own a house there. Modest, but comfortable. And fully furnished—housekeeping and everything. You should stay there. Relax. Play a little tennis. Get away from all the shit you’re faced with.”

“Cooter’s Bluff? Really?” She looked at him skeptically. “And relaxing is all you want me to do there?” Salazar never gave things away for free. Usually when he was generous with women, it was because he wanted to sleep with them. And when men offered things to Catherine, experience had shown that the desire to sleep with her was generally behind it.

But that wasn’t their relationship.

“You could eat at a place called The Line a few times, if you felt the urge.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Are you thinking about buying it?”

“God, no. I don’t do restaurants. That’s Mark’s thing,” he said, referring to his youngest son.

“Then why? You know I hate eating out by myself.”

“I want you to check out the owner, Blaine Davis.”

The waitress arrived with Salazar’s order. She refilled Catherine’s coffee and left.

Salazar watched appreciatively as the young woman walked away, then took a bite of his pastry and pushed his phone across the table. Catherine picked it up and looked at a photo of a guy who seemed to be in his early thirties. A pair of aviator sunglasses hid his eyes. Longish dark brown hair brushed the base of his neck, and there was an intriguing crookedness in his nose that said it’d been broken at least once. His mouth was set in a flat line, but there was a firmness to his lips. She found herself thinking that they probably felt amazing against naked skin, and wondered if he kissed well. Handsome, all in all, though rough around the edges. Probably not anyone Salazar’s daughters were involved with. They were too busy to date, as well as having three overprotective brothers.