Sweet Talk Boxed Set (Ten NEW Contemporary Romances by Bestselling Authors to Benefit Diabetes Research plus BONUS Novel) (128 page)

Read Sweet Talk Boxed Set (Ten NEW Contemporary Romances by Bestselling Authors to Benefit Diabetes Research plus BONUS Novel) Online

Authors: Brenda Novak,Melody Anne,Violet Duke,Melissa Foster,Gina L Maxwell,Linda Lael Miller,Sherryl Woods,Steena Holmes,Rosalind James,Molly O'Keefe,Nancy Naigle

BOOK: Sweet Talk Boxed Set (Ten NEW Contemporary Romances by Bestselling Authors to Benefit Diabetes Research plus BONUS Novel)
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“Oh, Pam. You are going to spoil us,” Elli said.

“That’s the plan.”

Nana took a glass and lifted it to her lips. “Delightful, dear.”

“You deserve it, Nana.” Pam sat down in the chair on the other side of Elli. “You too,” she said to Elli. “Wish I could spoil you into sticking around.”

“Must be nice to be able to sit in these chairs whenever you like.” Elli reached over and pushed the button to start the massage mechanism in Pam’s chair.

“You can. Just pop on in whenever you have time. I wish I had more time for it myself. I’m glad y’all took me up on a visit today. Monday is always our slowest day of the week. I personally think it’s nicer when it’s quiet.”

“But a bustling business is the sound of money,” Elli said.

“I’ve been really lucky. A lot of the other businesses around here are struggling. I would be too if I’d kept this to just a little day spa. It’s exhausting sometimes, but I knew it when I got to the point that I needed to go big or go home.”

“You need to hire more help.”

“I have. I’ve tripled my staff over the past five years.”

“You need more management staff so you can take some time off. If I know you, you probably have your hand in every single tick of the clock around here.”

“Guilty as charged.” Pam swiped the glass of champagne from Elli’s hand and took a sip, then handed it back. “I would hire someone if I could get someone like you to come work with me. Why don’t you move back and partner with me. We’d have so much fun, and you’re the smartest businesswoman I know.”

“I couldn’t stay cooped up all day. Not my style. Plus you wouldn’t want me working while on a mimosa buzz. I’d be a maniac.”

“Fine. Then come back and just rent a space from me for your office. You could work from here and just dawdle in the Charlotte market instead of vice-versa.”

“That’s a great idea, Pam. Listen to her, Elli. She’s one smart cookie.” Nana took another sip of the mimosa. “I think this is something anyone could get used to, Elli. Even you. Maybe we should look for a place at this end of the beach so I can treat myself to this once in a while.”

“Nana’s thinking of moving?” Pam’s look of surprise was probably the first of many that Elli would see as people found out they were going to sell Sol~Mate.

“We’ve been talking, and Nana thinks a little bungalow with no stairs will be the way to go for this phase in her life. If we sell Sol~Mate, she’ll have plenty of extra money for fun little getaways and spa days like this.”

“I’m going to like this very much,” Nana said with a tipsy grin. It looked like the mimosa was already tickling her. “I might become a frequent flyer here.”

Pam clapped her hands. “This is so exciting! I’ll give you a deal on a season pass. You can come as often as you like.”

“Sounds divine.” Nana wiggled her freshly painted toes. “I’m thinking with toes as pretty as these, it’ll be flip-flop weather year round.”

Pam’s eyes brightened. “You know, I might just have the perfect person to look at Sol~Mate. He was just in here the other day. He was here to meet someone for lunch, and we chatted while he waited for her. Said he’s been looking for a place around here. Something kind of secluded. Sol~Mate would be perfect. I don’t know what his budget is, but he was driving a pretty hot car. So maybe he can afford it. I’ll give him your number.”

“Do that. I’d love to start showing it as soon as possible. I figure we’ll have to move quickly if I want to use the summer rental option as a selling point.”

“Is he single?” Nana asked.

“Yes. I believe he is,” Pam said with a teasing glance in Elli’s direction.

“Good, then tell him about the house
and
about Elli. It’s about time Elli found a man and settled down. Preferably here in Sand Dollar Cove.”

“Whatever you say, Nana,” Elli said with a smile.
And wouldn’t it be nice to be the age that you could pretty much do or say anything you like and get away with it.

Oh yeah, someday she’d be like that…but for now, she had a lot of things to deal with. The first being to start the hunt for a new place for Nana and getting Sol~Mate cleared of more than fifty years of accumulated clutter.

 

***

 

The next morning, Elli got up with the sunrise. Something she hadn’t done in months. Maybe years. Maybe since she’d lived here in Sand Dollar Cove. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and opened the curtains.

This view begged to be on a postcard. Every part of the day brought something a little different. The tide changed the very angle and landscape of the sandy beach, and this morning the sunrise was reflecting a thousand little sparkles back at her. It looked like she could walk all the way out to the fiery sun and ride it into the sky.

Mornings were always magical in Sand Dollar Cove, and there’d been a time when Elli couldn’t imagine starting her days anywhere else but here. Being here just a short while, she felt the pull of nature. This was where her heart was. It was where everything she’d ever loved had ever started…or stopped.

She poured a cup of coffee and tippy-toed past Nana, who was snoring softly on the couch. Nana looked pretty comfortable, but it kind of broke her heart to see her looking like a stranger borrowing a nap on the couch in her own house.

With the door pulled tight, she held the screen until it closed…quietly…and hiked to the beach.

The brisk morning air nipped at her nose. She pulled her hood up over her ears and plunged her hands deeper into her pockets, moving with ease through the sand toward the pier. Not for any particular reason, except that it was what she used to do every morning. It had been her routine for years. Her shoes were already filling with sand, but she didn’t mind. It felt good to push her muscles; no treadmill would ever be like walking in the sand.

Dolphin played along the shoreline like a Zumba class tempting her to join in. Gulls squawked in their wake, boisterous, maybe hoping to share the fish the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin snacked on as they journeyed along the coast. Must be nice to eat and exercise at the same time.

Halfway to the pier her coffee was gone and her stomach was growling. It was a bit of a hike from the Sol~Mate to the Sunrise Breakfast Shop, but she’d been in the mood for one of their amazing breakfasts ever since she’d rolled into town. Since she was up early, why not treat herself? Once she passed the pier it was only another ten-minute walk.

She turned up from the shore to the beach road. The Sunrise Breakfast Shop was as busy as she’d remembered it. The sound of the metal utensils clanging against the cooktop sounded like an inviting promise of something Southernly and tasty as she took a seat at the counter.

A waitress placed a heavy white ceramic mug in front of her and filled it to the top with coffee without bothering to ask. “Know what you want, sweetie? Or you need a menu?”

“I’ll have the Cove Cadillac and orange juice please.”

The woman snickered. “You’re from around here. Don’t recognize you though.”

“You’re right. I’m Sandy Eversol’s granddaughter.”

“Elli? Oh gosh, you sure have grown up. How are your folks doing?” the waitress asked.

“Good. They’re still living up in Virginia.”

“Always did enjoy them. Glad to hear they’re doing well.” She scrawled on the paper. “They don’t call it the Cove Cadillac anymore. Someone came in and renamed everything last year. That’s the Beachcomber Breakfast now.” She flipped her pencil against the order pad. “Whatever. It didn’t change anything. Still two eggs scrambled with cheese, two strips of bacon below that and two biscuits for wheels, and the gravy road.”

“That’s it. As long as it tastes like it always did, I don’t care what they call it.”

“You and me both, gal. Good to see you.”

And just like that she felt a little like she was back home. “Thanks.” She lifted the mug to her lips, and the warm steam felt good against her cool skin. She wiggled out of her jacket, and just as she put it on the back of her chair someone took the seat right next to her.

She could hardly believe it. “You again?”

Holden set his coffee and his half-eaten plate of breakfast on the counter. “Figured there was no sense us both eating alone.” He shifted into the seat. “You mind?”

“Um. No. Of course not.” But she did. Sort of.

“Great. You order the Cove Cadillac breakfast?”

“I did.”

“Of course you did.” He smiled and swept his toast into the yolks that had run across his plate. “Remember that morning you tried to make me homemade biscuits for breakfast?”

“Oh, you’re not going there, are you?”

He laughed. “I think I was scarred for life.”

She swatted his arm. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“It wasn’t that good.”

“But you tried to choke it down.”

“I did. But there wasn’t enough orange juice in the state of Florida to get that biscuit down.”

She’d forgotten about that. That little breakfast might have scarred her forever too, because she hadn’t tried making biscuits from scratch since. “And you still let me try to fix breakfast for you again.”

“Yep. The camping trip in Buxton. Your scrambies in the cast-iron pan were perfection.”

“Haven’t cooked over a campfire in years.”

“Me either. I loved camping on the beach. You still know how to make those scrambies?”

“I can even make them on a stove these days. On the right bell curve I look like a pretty spectacular cook.”

“You look pretty spectacular. As for the cooking?” He leaned an elbow on the counter. “I wouldn’t mind finding that out.”

Elli’s mouth opened but nothing came out. The way he was undressing her with his eyes was borderline between flattering and creepy.

The waitress scooted her breakfast in front of her and tucked the ticket under the edge. “Take your time, sweetie. Good seeing you. Tell your grandmother Evelyn said hello.”

“Will do.” Although Holden’s attention was a little unsettling, it wasn’t totally unappreciated, but why was he still having an effect on her after all these years?

The waitress walked back over and topped off her coffee.

“Two creams,” he said to the waitress and flashed a smile toward Elli.

He remembered. Now what the heck did that even mean?

Holden had been the first guy to tell her he loved her. And she’d loved him too. She’d have married him and had his babies in a heartbeat. Maybe it was for the best that he left and didn't come back. But now? Now, he should be like a stranger, but he wasn’t. For some reason, that really bothered her. He was familiar, and he looked great, and he still knew everything about her.

She stabbed a fork into one of the biscuits and swept a bite into the gravy. Too bad her stomach was swirling like a washer on the spin cycle with a heavy wet quilt inside.

Holden pushed back from the counter. “I’ve got to get to work. I’m really glad I bumped into you. Maybe we can do it on purpose one day soon. Maybe for that hot dog.”

Only he didn’t even give her a chance to respond. Instead he tossed a tip on the counter and waved to the waitress and said, “Put the lady’s on my tab too.”

The waitress gave him a wink and a wave, and before she could say thank you, he was out the door.

 

 

CHAPTER SIX

 

What the heck had just happened? She’d been holding on to the anger she felt for Holden for how many years? And now she bumped into him twice and it was like her heart forgot everything it had gone through. This was not good. He was all she could think of. That somehow felt all kinds of wrong.

She added a couple of dollars to the tip, to not be outdone, then walked out the front door. She had too much swirling in her head to go back to Nana’s now; besides, she was halfway to Carolina By The Sea Resort and Spa, and she needed to talk to Pam. One of those mimosas Pam loved to serve her clientele 24x7 might help calm her frazzled nerves too.

The sun felt good on her skin, and she’d broken a pretty good sweat by the time she got to the spa.

“Do you have an appointment, ma’am?” the young man behind the desk asked.

Ma’am? When the heck had she become a
ma’am
? “No. I’m here to see Pam.”

“May I tell her who’s here?”

“Elli.”

He walked away, and Pam walked back out with him. “I didn’t know you were coming by. Do you want to grab some breakfast?”

“No. I just ate.”

“Did you walk down here?”

“Yeah. It just kind of happened. Why do you ask?”

She laughed. “Your hair. You look kind of like the Heat Miser from that Christmas show we used to love, but in a blonder version.”

“Thanks.” She tugged at her new short do to tame the windblown mess. That was the only bad thing about this short haircut. She couldn’t pull it back in a ponytail.

“Well, I’m glad you stopped by. I talked to Ed this morning, the guy I thought might be interested in Nana’s beach house. He’s so excited to see it. He’d already found a few others he was going to look at, but I told him to stop the process until he talked to you. Can you meet with him tonight?”

“Absolutely. I can make time for that. Thanks, Pam.” Timing was everything, and if opportunity was going to knock this quickly it had to be meant to be.

“No problem. He’s super nice. It’d be great to get some folks that are our age moving in to this town. Seems like everyone who’s come lately is retiring. Don’t get me wrong, the blue-haired and retired with cash to spend are great for business, but not so much for fun or just making new friends.” She sat down at her desk and started typing on her laptop. “I’ll just message him real quick.” Her nails clicked and clacked away. Then she looked up. “Great. He’ll meet you at Breakers at six.”

“Can you have him e-mail over the listings he’s interested in? I’ll pull them. That’ll give me an idea of what he’s got in mind.”

Pam typed a couple more lines. “Yep. He’s e-mailing them to me right now.”

“Great. Perfect timing.”

 

***

 

Elli had been sitting at the bar at Breakers only long enough to get her glass of wine when a man walked up to her and said, “You must be Elli.”

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