Paige's Turn, page 9
“Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.” I stood frozen at the entrance.
Sam pressed his hand against the small of my back. “Come on, it will be fun.” Was he oblivious to the stares? Or was he just used to them?
I grimaced and moved forward.
Mabel Lu’s eyebrows went way past her hairline as we approached. She too was shocked. I had at least hoped she wouldn’t have thought it was so outlandish, even though I agreed with the assessment. She already had two menus in hand when we reached her. She kept shaking her head back and forth and back and forth. “Well, what do you know, Mitzi was right.”
My heart dropped to my feet. I prayed with all that I had that she wouldn’t reveal Mitzi’s plans for Sam and me. I knew without any doubt by her tone and the utter shock on her face, that’s what she was talking about. I begged her with my eyes not to say anything. If I had to, I was going to fake an illness.
Sam was more than curious. “Miss Mabel Lu, what are you talking about?”
“I am so hungry.” That came out louder than I wanted it to, but Mabel Lu was going to answer him without any regard to the pleading going on in my facial expressions.
Sam laughed and focused back on me. “A woman with an appetite; I like it.”
Great. Now everyone was thinking I was plain and a heifer.
He turned back toward a smiling Mabel Lu. “You better get us seated before she expires.”
“Follow me, you two.” She gave me a wink.
We followed her back to a cozy table in the corner. I was hoping she would have put us out in the middle. Sam did the worst thing possible and behaved like a gentleman. He pulled my chair out and the tongues began to wag. I was so concerned about everyone else, I forgot to say thank you.
Mabel Lu handed me a menu. “Sugar, before you go, I have something for you.”
I took the menu. “Okay. What is it?”
She looked at a curious Sam and then back to me. “Just a little something from your aunt, darlin’. I’ll give you two a minute to decide what you’d like to order.”
“Hurry back,” Sam teased, “the princess is hungry.”
A piece of my soul died of embarrassment. “I’ll be okay.”
Mabel Lu gave me a wink and walked away, swinging her hips like she was trying out for a part in Gone With the Wind.
“Since you’re paying, order whatever you want.” His eyes danced with merriment.
“What a gentleman you are. Thanks.” I perused the menu.
“Before I forget, thanks for visiting my mom today. It meant a lot to her.”
I lowered my menu and met his gorgeous eyes. “She’s wonderful. You know, she mentioned today that she misses reading. I found an e-reader online that would allow her to adjust the font and size. It’s lightweight and all she has to do to turn the page is tap the screen. I think it might work for her, so I took the liberty of ordering one. What do you think?”
He kept steady eye contact and leaned my way. “I think you’re something else. She’ll love it.”
“I hope so. If it works, I thought I could talk her into coming to the women’s book club that meets once a month at the store.”
“If anyone can talk her into it, it will be you.”
I held up the menu in front of my face, trying to hide the blushing I had going on. I decided I better order something indicative of my earlier declaration.
“What are you going to have?” Sam looked over his menu.
“I’m thinking a bacon cheeseburger and fries.”
He raised his left eyebrow. “You really are hungry.”
“Famished.” I grinned. “I may even order a strawberry milkshake.”
“You surprise me.”
“Really? How?”
He took a moment to gather his thoughts. “One minute you’re all business and tough as nails, firing my butt, then the next you’re in a ponytail and cutoffs, sweet as can be, climbing trees. And to look at you, one would never think you’d eaten a cheeseburger in your life. So who are you, Paige James?”
“All of the above.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.”
I leaned back, not sure what he meant by that, but Mabel Lu interrupted us to take our order. I threw caution to the wind and ordered the milkshake. Mabel Lu, after all, made the best hand-dipped shakes this side of the Mississippi. Just ask Mabel Lu.
As soon as she left, I got down to business. “Proposal please.” I held out my hand.
He grinned before opening his leather folder. “Now, before you look at this, you need to promise me that you’ll be honest about the estimate.”
“Since I really don’t know anything about this sort of thing, sure.”
He shook his head. “You can’t say things like that when you work with contractors.”
I reached for the paper. “I know you won’t cheat me. Mitzi never would have hired you if that was the case. And like you said, you’re the best.”
He relented and handed me the estimate.
I looked it over and knew full well I could afford it. I didn’t know what the going rate was, but it seemed low for the kind of work he was going to do. “Are you giving me a discount?”
He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. “No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Do you want to move forward?”
“You know I do.”
“It’s a deal then.”
I lay the paper aside. “So, tell me where you acquired your design skills. Did you study that in college?”
“No.” He wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I dropped out of UF after your brother died. I figured why keep wasting mine and my parent’s money when I knew what I was going to do and already had the skills for it.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“We aren’t all meant to get fancy degrees from prestigious schools.”
“Are you making fun of me?”
“Nah. It’s something to be proud of. Part of me wishes I would have finished, or at least taken some business and marketing classes. I know our business, but word of mouth doesn’t really bring in business anymore.”
“You know, I might be able to help you there.”
He gave me his full attention.
“At the small publishing house I worked for, we got pretty savvy advertising on social media and online. It’s hard for new authors to get recognized, even if they’ve written a fantastic story. And we all wore lots of hats, so I became familiar with the ins and outs of it all. A few of our authors even hit the The New York Times bestsellers list through our efforts.”
“Impressive.”
“They had a great editor.” I gave him a coy smile.
“You would really help me out?”
“Of course.”
“I could give you a discount on your lawn care.”
I shook my head no. “Isn’t this what friends do for each other?”
He gave me a charming smile. “Where do we start?”
“We would need to set up a Facebook page first, and some Facebook ads. You could also think about starting a referral program with existing customers. I might be willing to say you’re okay.”
“Just okay?”
“When you’re not thinking that I’ve bilked millions away from my family.”
His face turned a shade of red. “I told you that was sun sickness.”
“Uh-huh. Do you have a website?”
He shook his head no.
“Really?”
“I told you, my dad and I are old school.”
“Don’t worry, we can fix that. They have some great sites that make designing your own website easy, and I know a thing or two about Photoshop, so I can design a logo. The more traffic we can drive to your website, the better. And don’t take this the wrong way, but we should plaster your pretty face on everything.”
He leaned in closer. “You think I’m attractive?”
“I think you’re tolerable.” Meaning I wouldn’t mind tolerating his presence for the rest of my life.
He chuckled.
Mabel Lu returned with our food and shakes. He ended up ordering the same as me, except he was a chocolate shake sort of guy. “Now don’t you two look cozy.”
I tensed up. For a moment I had forgotten we were in a crowded café, or that Mitzi had stirred up trouble.
“I love to see my customers so happy, especially you, sugar.” Mabel Lu gave me a wink.
I gave her a return smile, but again begged her with my eyes not to say what I knew she was dying to blurt out. Thankfully, she took the hint and left us to our sinful food.
I reached for the ketchup bottle as soon as she left.
“Hold up.” Sam placed his hand over the ketchup bottle. “Don’t ruin your fries with that. Try the honey mustard sauce first.”
I had wondered why he ordered it. “I’m game.”
He dipped one of his hand-cut fries in the liquid gold and, instead of handing it to me, held it out to feed it to me. I bit my lip. I felt like we were on a date for a blissful moment, and it was one of those cute rom-com scenes.
“Don’t be shy,” he coaxed.
I leaned forward and he placed the fry in my mouth. I chewed as he watched. “Mmm.” I swallowed.
“I told you. And lucky for you, I’m willing to share.”
He didn’t know how lucky I was feeling.
I don’t know how long we sat there and talked and laughed, but I found that I didn’t want it to end. That was, until my mother showed up. Of all the times and places. I heard her before I saw her.
“Ugh, look at all these tourists. You can’t go anywhere this time of year,” she complained too loudly to her friend Lila.
I set down my glass of water. “How far down would your opinion of me sink if I hid under the table?”
“I would actually pay money to see that.” Sam’s eyes lit up.
I was seriously considering it, but it was too late.
“Darling, how wonderful running into you,” she said that even louder.
I cringed in my seat.
My mother made her way over to us. She wore an expression of disbelief as she looked between Sam and me. “Well, well. I have to say I’m surprised to see you two together. I thought you were seeing the Coulter girl, Sam.”
Sam ran his fingers through his hair. “We’ve gone on a few dates.”
“I hope you aren’t going to disappoint her momma. You two are a fine-looking couple.”
Sam’s skin broke out in red blotches. “Why are you here, Mrs. James?” It was polite, but bold.
“As you know, I’m part of the town’s beautification committee, and we meet here on Monday nights.”
That was good information to know. I would make it a point to never come here on Monday night again. “Don’t let us keep you, Mother.”
She gave me a fake smile. “Darling, if I didn’t know better, I would think you are trying to get rid of me.”
“Sam and I are in the middle of a business dinner.”
She placed her hand over her heart. “That makes much more sense.”
I bit my tongue at the slight, but the pang in my heart was acute.
She glanced over the table and the remnants of food. “You know, you really should be more careful about what you eat, darling. You don’t need the extra weight.”
I sat stunned and hurt. I was at a loss for words. My eyes began to sting, but I was determined not to let her see any show of emotion one way or the other. The strawberry milkshake began to roll in my stomach.
“Who talks to their daughter like that?” Sam’s eyes locked with mine. He gave me a reassuring smile.
My mother turned a violent shade of red, but she laughed it off. “She knows I’m kidding.”
“Do you, Paige?” Sam’s eyes bored into mine. I found the same kind of safety I had in Mitzi’s eyes. “Because I, for one, think you look great. And it’s refreshing to be around a woman who orders something besides a salad.”
In sync, we turned to my mother who, for once in her life, didn’t know what to say. I had never known anyone but Mitzi to have the courage to stand up to her.
She stood up tall and squared her shoulders. “Well, I just wanted to invite you over for dinner, perhaps next week. We haven’t spent any time together since you’ve been back.” She faced Sam. “You’re welcome as well. We’ve missed your visits. And I know Maggie and Darrell would love to catch up with you.”
“If Paige comes, I would be happy to accompany her.” That put my mother in her place.
“I’ll have to check my schedule.”
Sam smirked at me.
“I’ll call you with the day and time.” She marched off.
I took a deep breath and let it out.
Sam reached across the table and took my hand. “Are you all right?”
“Sometimes I question my sanity for moving back here.”
“I had no idea. I guess I never paid enough attention to how your mom treated you. I’m so sorry for how I behaved toward you when you came back, but I for one am happy you did.”
“Thanks for trying to tame the beast.”
He gave my hand a quick squeeze and released it. “Anytime you need back up, let me know.”
Chapter Thirteen
I lay in bed that night holding an unopened envelope from Mitzi. Mabel Lu gave it to me with the check that Sam ended up paying for. He was quicker and more insistent than me. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t opened the envelope yet. I guess I was trying to process the night’s events. I was doing my best to calm my heart that unfortunately was becoming attached to the unavailable, but very handsome and kind, Sam. Tonight was proof positive that everyone agreed Sam was out of my league.
I kept repeating to myself I was good with being single. That was true, right?
I picked up the envelope that lay on my midsection. It was lavender and smelled like gardenias, just like Mitzi. A tear trailed down my cheek. I ripped open the envelope and pulled out a one-page letter.
My Dearest Darling,
Bravo! You took my advice. If you are out in public together, I hope you and Sam are well on your way now. I wish I was there. I imagine you are uncomfortable in this new role. I know your experience with relationships has been, let’s say, scarce. There is nothing wrong with that. I applaud you for being selective and knowing yourself well enough to stand on your own, but don’t let that get in the way of you and Sam. You both possess qualities that will only make you better together as a couple.
I know you will fear what others may think. I know you well enough to know you will think you are not enough. Believe me, darling, he is the less deserving one. Please love yourself enough to see that.
I hope when the wedding bells ring for the two of you, I will hear them in heaven, or better yet, I’ll be the one ringing the bell. I’ll even be happy if you choose to live in sin, or whatever you call it, like most kids do these days. I won’t judge. But I do have to warn you that I’m sure your grandfather wouldn’t approve of those activities in his old home. And I really don’t want to have to listen to him complaining up here. You understand, right? So never mind. Get married first, then do whatever you want in the house. In fact, enjoy it. How could you not? Look at the man!
Love, love, love you.
Mitzi
I was dying. How could she be writing to me about having sex with Sam? But part of me was laughing about the whole “living in sin” thing. I was well aware of Grandpa Hollis’ view on the subject. And I knew he would roll over in his grave if I ever lived with anyone in this house without a marriage certificate. I knew that man wasn’t going to be Sam. It bothered me more than I cared to admit.
I turned off the light and tried to sleep. My mind was making that difficult. All I could think about was Sam and how difficult it was going to be for me to spend so much time around him and keep my ever-growing feelings for him buried. He had no idea how much it meant that he defended me against my mother tonight. How un-lonely he made me feel in Bella Port. He made me feel like I didn’t want to be alone, knowing there was a chance I could see him.
I thought about our plans for meeting at his place, which doubled as his office and his home. I could tell that embarrassed him. He seemed uncomfortable to have me come, but he knew his business needed the help, so he set his pride aside. I found myself thinking more about what I could do to help Kennedy DreamScapes. I wanted to help ease the burdens of the Kennedys. They were some of the hardest working people I had ever known. And I was positive Sam was giving me the deal of a lifetime on the remodel.
I didn’t sleep well, but I was up early and on the beach doing yoga. On my way down, I stopped at the treehouse and sighed. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen to my beloved place. I really could use some time in it to contemplate my life. The beach would have to do. I needed to get centered.
It was a beautiful morning, warm, with wispy clouds in the pink sky. The waves gently lapped against the shoreline. I breathed in the salty air and took the child’s pose. I paid attention to the way I inhaled and exhaled. I filled my torso and let it out. I moved to down dog and stretched my spine and back. I was getting into my groove when I had a visitor.
“I thought I might find you out here this morning.” Sam was bent over smiling at me.
I lifted my head, with my butt still in the air. “What are you doing here?”
“Enjoying the view.”
I dropped to my mat and rolled my eyes.
He laughed and sat down next to me. He had come bearing coffee and muffins. He handed me a warm, lidded cup.
“Thank you. What’s the occasion?”
He took a sip of his coffee before answering. “I wanted to get an early start and I know how hungry you get, so I thought maybe I should feed you.” He handed over a bag filled with an assortment of muffins from Mabel Lu’s.
I peeked inside the bag, excited. I nudged him. “Thank you. But just so you know, I’m not always hungry, nor do I eat like I did last night every day.”
He looked at my bare legs. “That’s apparent.”
