Velvet and Lace (3 page)

But it was her body that he couldn’t stop starring at. No matter what she remembered, he thought she was beautiful in high school. But now it was the way she carried herself that snagged his attention. She walked and held herself with confidence, which was sexy as hell.

And he wouldn’t be a man if he hadn’t noticed that her breasts weren’t real anymore. They were luscious and full, not too ridiculously huge like some women but definitely more than a handful and more than they had been back then.

She had been wearing a sports bra and a tank top and her breasts had barely been restrained. When she turned to jog away from him, he noticed her shorts were definitely short and he could see the rounded globes of the bottom of her ass cheeks. Damn he had it bad. Fifteen years later and she was still getting under his skin.

He took a couple of deep breaths before he grabbed his belt and tool box and headed up to the house. He had a lot to get done today and if he wanted to do any work on his own house, he needed to get started.

Chapter 3

Daphne pulled into the parking lot of the vacant building and slowed to get a first glance of the place. It was an old brick building near the outskirts of town that had been vacant for a while. She didn’t know how well this venture was going to turnout, but she had bought the building last week. Today she was meeting her contractor for the first time.

With the key in hand, she unlocked the front door and stepped inside. The air was stale, which was a pleasant way of saying it smelled rotten. The building had been built a long time ago and with the amount of time it had been vacant there was no telling what inhabited the building now. Daphne knew she wanted the whole place gutted and redone. This was the third store she was opening in the company, and she couldn’t wait to see what her old town thought of her new business venture.

She was taking a look around the building, trying to get accustomed to the space when she heard tires crunch on the pavement outside. She was expecting her contractor so she wasn’t surprised at the sound.

“Well, I’ll be damned.”

She froze at the sound of deep, husky, male voice and a sense of dread washed over her. It couldn’t be. How did this keep happening to her? Instantly her palms were sweaty and she felt her skin flush.

“Please tell me, that you are here following me and that you are not here because you are my contractor.” Daphne hadn’t turned around yet, because she didn’t want to see his face again. But when there was no response she turned around slowly and saw the look on his face.

“Did you not see my name on the contract that you signed?” He had a confused look on his face.

“I saw the company name when I signed but I didn’t pay that much attention. My assistant is the one who would have spoken with you on everything. I just signed the paperwork.” She ran a hand down her face. “And how about you? If you knew you were going to be working for me, why haven’t you said something by now?” This time her temper spiked. She hated being deceived or lied to.

“There wasn’t a name on any of the paperwork, just the company name. Same as you. Fate has a funny way about things doesn’t it? And what kind of company name is “Velvet and Lace”? Is this going to be a fabric store of sorts?” He backed up a couple of steps. Apparently, he was expecting some sort of anger. He looked around the store and, damn him, he had a slight smile on his face.

He was still wearing the broken–in jeans, but he had changed into a button–down, dark–blue long sleeve shirt. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, exposing his tanned forearms. His brown hair was a mess. But it looked like he had tried to at least finger comb it. Daphne noticed a small bundle tucked under his armpit.

“Did you bring the floor plans and wood samples?” She tried to take the anger out of her voice. She had already signed the contract so there was no getting out of working with him. She just needed to get this meeting over quickly so she could get away from him. She was also hoping to avoid the initial, ‘What are you selling?’ conversation.

“Of course, I brought everything. Would you like to take a look?” His voice was calm, but he didn’t smile. He held up the bundle that was underneath his arm. It appeared to be a large bundle of catalogs and samples.

The building used to be a clothing store, so there wasn’t anywhere for them to sit. But there was a wooden counter where they could lay out the plans. They spent a long time talking about the structure of the building and what they could and couldn’t do with it. Then they had to discuss wall material and whether she wanted paint, wallpaper, or paneling.

By the time they got from wood samples, to flooring, to windows and doors, Daphne was exhausted and her temples were beginning to pound. However, she was happy with her decisions and she found Trent to be incredibly knowledgeable and kind once he delved into something he enjoyed discussing. His eyes lit up and it was hard to not watch him in his element.

When they were finished, she went to shake his hand. He glanced down at her extended palm and then back up at her face before glancing back down once more. His gaze made her nervous and she dropped her hand. He continued to stare for a moment longer, then opened his mouth, and then closed it just as fast.

He stuck his hand out, and she tentatively slipped hers inside. The heat of his palm almost seared her, but she resisted the urge to pull away. Then when he smiled, she knew he felt it too.

“Thank you, Mr. Bradshaw. We are going to be meeting again in a few days correct?” She pulled her hand away and gave him a small smile.

“Trent. Please, Daphne, call me Trent. And yes, it shouldn’t take long to get the supplies in. My crew and I will go ahead and begin the gutting process on the building. Then as soon as everything comes in, I’ll give you a call and you can make sure everything is what you wanted. Once we have your approval, we will continue the construction.” He gathered up all of his samples and paperwork.

With his back turned from her, she was able to look him over without him noticing. He was taller than she remembered and he had definitely filled out. He had always been in good shape in high school but now his muscles were more defined beneath his clothing. He just looked thicker, but not fat.
Definitely, not fat
.

When her gaze dipped down to his behind, her pulse picked up. The jeans molded completely to his very round backside that she could easily sink her fingers into. She noticed him shifting slightly and she jerked her gaze away.

Once he turned around, she led him out of the building and then turned to lock it the door behind him.

“You never did tell me what you were planning on selling. Fabric, craft supplies, clothing?” He walked in the direction of his truck, before turning to look at her with his eyebrow raised.

Once she was safely next to her Camaro she turned around and smiled.

“Why, Mr. Bradshaw, I’m opening an adult sex toy and clothing shop.” Daphne laughed at the expression on his face, before she climbed into her Camaro and left him standing open–mouthed in the heat.

****

At 12:30, Daphne was rushing into the diner to meet Anna. Patty’s Diner was the same place it had always been, the central hub of gossip and good food in Ambrosia. The red booths had been redone since the last time she had been home. But it was the exact same look. The benches just weren’t cracking in places. The counter was full with the usual suspects and behind it stood Patty, the owner, operator of the diner.

In the kitchen, Daphne was sure she would find Joey, Patty’s son who joined into the business. There were two waitresses in the restaurant and they were new to Daphne. Patty always tried to hire local girls to work as waitresses. She believed in giving back. But she also believed in discipline and that a person should work hard for what they had. Patty was in her early fifties, with brown hair that had just a few streaks of grey. She had a large wide smile that graced every single one of her customers as they entered her domain.

She was a larger woman, which told everyone she enjoyed food and she wasn’t ashamed to admit it. Her husband left her when Daphne was in high school and Daphne remembered it being the hot issue for a long time. Until the day Patty came into work with a genuine smile on her face, and told everyone she wished Jed well with the hooker he ran off with. Since then it appeared she had been enjoying her life for her and not someone else. Daphne always respected her for that.

As Daphne scanned the restaurant she found Anna in one of the booths that didn’t face Main Street, for which she was grateful. She was sure that after running away from Trent at the reunion, she would probably be the hot gossip of the day.

When she reached the booth, she placed her hand on Anna’s shoulder before gracing her old friend with a tight hug. She sat down and smoothed her flowing skirt around her legs. She had chosen a simple ice-blue peasant skirt and a white tank top, with her black wedge flip flops.

“Anna. I’m so glad we could get together for lunch.” Daphne smiled at her own friend. Ana was dressed in simple jeans and a black v–neck t–shirt. Her curly brown hair framed her face and her brown eyes sparkled with mischief.

Anna rolled her eyes in a very familiar way and waved away Daphne's polite small talk.

“Girl, spill it. You were all upset last night so I didn’t want to push, but what the hell happened with Trent?” Anna narrowed her eyes and Daphne released a sigh. Daphne had known, of course, that she wasn’t going to be able to get through lunch without tell her, but she had hoped it would be a while before she would have to face the truth.

“I’m not really sure. He recognized me as Daphne, which means Trent has been a very naughty boy. But I was going to go with it because I only wanted to see you. I had been hoping that we could engage in some idle chit-chat and then I could escape. It almost worked until her grabbed my arm and called me Maggie. To be honest, I still don’t know what happened. I was enjoying the flirting and then all of a sudden the past came flooding back and I felt like the same idiot who pushed myself on him all those years ago. I froze, and then I ran.”

Daphne paused to take a breath. She knew she was rambling but she couldn’t help it. Seeing Trent last night and then again today, not once but twice, had her absolutely frazzled.

A waitress who’s name-tag read ‘Whitney’ came by and took their order. Anna raised an eyebrow at her healthy salad with dressing on the side but she didn’t say anything. She ordered a burger with all the trimmings and seasoned fries. Daphne’s mouth watered at the thought of the flavors in Anna’s meal but she knew she would be better off with the salad.

“So you saw Trent today did you?” Anna raised her eyebrow again.

“Yes I did. Did you know he’s building a house up near Grams’? It looks like it’ll be a gorgeous place. The second time I saw him was at a meeting for my business venture. He’s a contractor now. So I guess the house near Grams could be for a client.” Daphne still hadn’t had time to process everything from the day, so she meshed it all together for Anna.

“I know he is working on the house, but I'm not sure whose it is. He currently lives over the hardware store. Bob Pearson, who owns it these days, renovated the second floor into an apartment and Trent jumped at it first. He was living in the next town over for a long time but his business is going pretty well. He goes to the cities around us and has done a lot of the renovations around town, including Patty’s. It still looks the same because that’s the way Patty wanted it. But almost the whole interior is new.” Anna smiled and Daphne wondered why she was talking Trent up, so to speak. She raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"When did you become Trent's biggest fan?"

"A lot has changed since you left, Daphne." Anne's voice was just above a whisper and it was a low blow. But Daphne also knew that it was the truth. She was sure there was more to Anne's response to Trent but she decided she didn't want to argue with her friend today. 

“So tell me, Anna, how is everything with you?”

If Anna noticed the push for a change in a topic she didn’t say anything. She began talking about her newly married life and her seemingly amazing husband, Liam. Daphne was a little jealous of the blissful look on her friend’s face.

It was obvious she was head-over-heels in love with her hubby. They met at a medical conference. Anna was a nurse at the hospital and Liam was an ER doctor two towns over who transferred to Ambrosia when they got serious. They had married eight months ago after dating a year before that. Daphne had been scheduled for a photo shoot and had missed the wedding.

By the time Anna had finished, there was a dreamy look in her eyes. Daphne playfully swatted her friends arm to bring her back into reality and away from thoughts about her husband. Anna laughed and Daphne couldn’t help but join in. The waitress arrived with their food and they were both still giggling like the school girls they had once been.

Daphne’s mouth watered at the smell of Anna’s burger and looked down at her salad. She hated dieting. Anna waved a french fry in Daphne’s direction and she almost caved and took it. But she had been unhealthy this morning. Grams had made homemade biscuits. Of course she hadn’t been able to resist the smell. She had also slathered them with butter and topped Grams homemade peach preserves. Then there was the half pound of bacon she consumed. But she loved every bite. In her mind, if she was going to break her diet, she was definitely going to make it worth it.