2. Trevor
That is a partial lie! Yes, I’m back for Gracie, but it’s not in the way she thinks. The past few months have been rough, and Golden Bay has the answers to all my problems. My fresh start.
Gracie blinks numerous times because my words shock her. She gasps and a flush burns her cheeks. I’ve always loved the fiery look on her, and how the crimson color blends with the red coppery shade of her hair. I sense how she tenses and her shoulder stiffens. My words are a huge blow, so her reaction isn’t out of the ordinary.
She is beautiful.I never forgot for a second how those sage-green eyes made me feel. Like now, they melt my insides and fill me with a tunneling heat that burns me to the core.
Gracie’s presence always has this effect on me. But she can never know that because it is of no good for either of us. She is the kind of woman I should avoid. She believes in sunshine and magic. The fairytale stuff you read in books.
I am a realist, and in the real world, there is no sunshine and magic.
I smile when she finally regains her breath, tips her head back, and bursts into a full laugh. The rumble of her merriments strokes something in me and makes my heart tingle.
“I need to get back to work,” Gracie says and turns away from me as she adds. “I don’t have time for this.”
I take her arm and spin her back around before she can make a full circle. Her eyes land on mine before mine shifts to her lips.
She is driving me insane, and I’ve only been with her for a few minutes. Will this plan work?
“Let me go,” she says in a stern voice, then wrangles her arm out of my grip. I let her go because I don’t want to hurt her, and she staggers back a bit, her smaller frame shrinking as she lowers her eyes and huffs out a deep breath.
“I own the bookstore now and I’d like for us to work together. I’ll be making lots of radical changes and firing a couple of staff. I’d like you to stay…Of course, I know you’re not leaving, and I’d like for your friend, Natalie, to stay too because she’s cute and that’s good for business.”
Gracie scoffs and shakes her head. “You can’t be here because of me,” she says, combing her fingers through her hair, and swaying her wavy strands to one side.
“We’re discussing business now, Gracie,” I answer, not wanting to dwell on our previous conversation. Telling her I came back for her was a slip. Her nearness clouds my thinking and makes my heart pound in ways I don’t understand.
I thought the years would have quenched these feelings. Gracie was the reason I left Golden Bay to play for the Washington Wizards. Six years on the team and it was all crumbling before me. Finally, in my weakest moment, returning home to where I was the happiest was all I had thought of.
Of course, my manager did not support my move back to Golden Bay in California, but it is only for some time till the rumors blow over and my team lifts my suspension.
At this time, I must win Gracie over to my side. Because I need her.
She’s still speaking, and I don’t hear her because I’m lost in my thoughts.
“Did you hear a word I just said?” I love the sound of her voice, but I honestly did not hear a thing she said.
“I get it,” I lied, then brushed a hand over my hair. “I’ll try my best.”
Gracie arches a brow. “You didn’t hear me, did you?” she asks, figuring out my lie with ease because she knows me well.
Gracie and her brother Jace have been family for as long as I can remember. They understand me better than anyone else. I fear Gracie understands me a little too much.
Everything about that scared me back then.
“How are you going to manage the business when you have no idea what we do?”
“I have you,” I answer with a smile. “I know I’ll manage. All you have to do is follow my lead.”
Her defiant glare returns. She tips her head to one side, assesses me closely, and then murmurs. “You wish.”
I chuckle as she walks away, and I admire the smooth sway of her hips from side to side. Gracie has aged in the last six years since I saw her. She’s added a little weight in the right places, and her skin is more supple than before, even though she still has cute freckles.
That scary tingle returns to my heart as I watch her attend to the customer who troops in and walks to the coffee counter. Did I make the right choice coming back here? Or will my plan end in a disaster with the one woman I never want to hurt hating me in the end?
***
My first day as owner of Espresso Books didn’t go as planned. There’s a total of six staff here besides Gracie and her friend Natalie. Three are baristas, one is a cleaner, and the other two are book sales reps.
Gracie does all of their jobs anyway and I was here early enough this morning to realize that the book sales reps troop in whenever they want.
“This is bad for the business spirit,” I scold as we hold a meeting that morning. Gracie isn’t listening to what I’m saying. I sense her hostility stems from the fact that she’s still annoyed at the way I ended things six years ago.
I never meant to hurt her, but I had to.Pushing Gracie away protects us both from unnecessary heartbreak. I know this…So why do I keep looking at her? Why does she stir this innate longing deep inside me?
It’s like I can’t control myself and I clear my throat, hoping to get her attention, to no avail. “I like to run my stuff strictly, and so the next time you two waltz in here like you own the place, it’ll be your last day here. Got it?”
“Yes, sir,” the sales reps chorus.
“Thank you. I hope we have a good time working together!”
I dismiss them and smile at Natalie when I catch her eyes on me. Having women glancing at me all the time is nothing new. “Can I get a cup of espresso?” I ask her.
“Coming right up, boss,” she answers with a wide grin.
“Please…It’s Trevor,” I tell her and notice Gracie glaring then. My smile widens because I finally have her attention. I find her frown cute and those tiny crease lines that form on her forehead even cuter.
Natalie scurries away, and Gracie focuses on the book she’s trying to put on the shelf again. She places it in its stand and jumps to get another from the shelf’s quarter far out of her reach.
I get up, walk over to her, and get the book off the shelf with ease. Gracie turns towards me when our bodies press close, and she lifts her chin to look at me. “Thanks,” she murmurs, then licks her lips.
I’m intensely drawn to her, and the scent of lilies that clings to her teases my senses, making me lean closer. I remind myself of all the reasons I should stay away from her.
Gracie is too much for me…Too many emotions, too many feelings.She makes me experience sensations I never expect to feel for any woman.
“Espressos are really strong,” she says as I step away from her, putting a safe distance between us so I don’t lose my mind with her.
“What?”
“You ordered an espresso,” she continues, those wide, innocent eyes blazing on mine. “You’re not the kind to take strong coffee, and our espressos are really strong. Besides, if you have a sweet tooth, you should go for a latte with our creamy mocha instead. I recommend that to customers who want something on the sweet side.”
I know espressos are the tough stuff, but I opt for it anyway because I need an extra caffeine boost to stimulate my nerves and get me out of the daze I’ve been in since I walked in here yesterday.
I don’t say these things to Gracie, though, because I love her honest concern. “Will you sit and share a latte with me?”
“No way!” she snaps, then clutches the book she’s holding to her chest. “I’m staying as far away from you as possible, Trevor.”
“Why?” I can’t help my light chuckle because I love our banter. I have always loved it! Gracie is the only woman who has ever stimulated me in this way.
“Does it have something to do with the fact that you’re excited to have me back in Golden Bay?”
Her cold laugh holds a sarcastic bite to it. “You haven’t changed,” she answers. “Cockiness isn’t that attractive, Trevor.”
“Really?” I glance at the coffee counter and find two girls waiting for their coffee, glancing at us and blushing at me. “They beg to differ.”
Gracie rolls her eyes while my amused smile widens. “They don’t know you like I do. If they do, they’d realize you’re a cocky guy who thinks he can charm his way into anything and make anyone forget all about how he hurt them!”’
Her outburst attracts attention, and I know that wasn’t her intention when she turns pale immediately. Her eyes widen, her nose wriggles a little, and she nibbles on her lower lip.
“Forget I said that,” she murmurs, and lowers her head. “I meant…”
“I know what you meant, Gracie. You have every right to be pissed at me for what I did six years ago.”
She shakes her head as my regret overshadows every other feeling and leaves me with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Gracie will not believe this, but I spent many nights thinking about why I lied to her that night. I’ve also wondered if my life would have turned out differently with her. But these were mere thoughts because I could not let myself want her.
Do I regret it?No! I would do it again to protect her from a man like me. Gracie deserves sunshine and happiness. The kind of man who would love her and never feel guilty about it.
The kind of man not damaged by his past demons.
I can’t give Gracie the life she wants, and seeing the flicker of hurt in her eyes reminds me of that. My heart is a battleground of sorrow and remorse. The turbulent storms deep within leave me with an unsettling prick in my heart.
Deep down, I know using Gracie will end whatever affection she has for me once she finds out. But I’m doing it, anyway. Because that’s the kind of man I am. She definitely deserves better.