Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
TANNER
“ R ight?”
I blink and try to focus on the young woman speaking to me about a seascape painting hanging on the wall of my gallery. She’s been droning on and on, and I drowned her out with thoughts of Sarah.
“I’m sorry, would you mind repeating that?”
“I was just saying, the colors in this are so vibrant. It looks like there’s about to be a thunderstorm over the water here, and it makes me want to curl up with a blanket and a book.” She laughs and tosses her dark hair over one shoulder. “Which means I probably shouldn’t buy it for my office because I’d never get anything done. It is tempting, though.”
I nod thoughtfully. “I see what you mean. This artist is from up in Astoria, and we feature many pieces from him here in the gallery. Take your time to think it over, and let me know if you need anything.”
“Wait. Perhaps we should talk it over more, maybe over lunch?”
She bites her lip provocatively, and I want to roll my eyes, which is rude and unkind, so I simply smile but shake my head. “I’m sorry, I have commitments here. Spend some time with the art, and I’ll be around if you have questions.”
I nod politely and walk away from her. I’m simply not interested.
All I can think about is Sarah and the fact that she’s moving into my guesthouse right about now. Or sometime today, anyway. I want to be there to help her settle in, and just to be with her, which just sounds creepy as fuck, even to my own ears.
I sounded so confident when I assured her that it would be uncomplicated to live so close to each other, but it’s not that simple at all. Not for me.
Because despite my better judgment, I still have feelings for the woman that stole my heart at just sixteen years old. She was pretty as a young woman, but now she’s gorgeous. Smart. Witty.
And although she hasn’t come right out and said it, I suspect that a romantic entanglement is the last thing that Sarah wants after a bad marriage. I’ve given her space since she arrived home last year. Space to heal, to plant her roots here, and to get her equilibrium.
It hasn’t been easy. At one time in our lives, I wouldn’t have hesitated in reaching out to touch her to get her to talk to me.
We were as close and intimate as two people could get.
I was in love with her.
But, I was young and stupid, and because of hormones, I lost her.
Now, she’s back in my life, and as of this afternoon, she’ll be living about ten yards away from me.
“I’m an idiot,” I mutter before pushing my hand through my hair. How do I sleep mere feet away from her? I won’t, that’s how, because I’ll yearn to be in that bed with her, listening to the ocean as I make love to her. I’m a patient man, but even I’m not that patient. “Idiot.”
The bell over the door rings, and I see the back of the flirty woman as she walks out of it, and I’m not sorry to see her go.
I wander back to the painting that the customer was looking at and sigh. I’ve always pictured this hanging above the couch in the living room of the guesthouse, but I just never took the time to put it there. Sarah would love it.
She’s always been obsessed with the beach.
“I’ll take her any way I can get her,” I finally admit to myself. If that means that we’re just friends, and I make her feel welcome and comfortable in her new home, with no strings attached, then so be it.
Because although she’s never confided in me about what happened in her marriage, I can feel that she’s recovering from something bad.
And I’ll be damned if I give her even one minute of uncertainty while she’s living under my roof. I know what her childhood was like, so this part of her life will be exactly what she wants, on her terms.
She’s earned that.
With a new plan in my mind, I take the painting from the wall and signal to Wayne, my assistant.
“Did she buy it?” he asks as he approaches.
“No, I did. I have some errands to run, but I’ll be back in a couple of hours. Just call me if you need anything.”
“It’s pretty chill in here today,” he says, glancing around. “Need help with that?”
“I’ve got it. Thanks, Wayne.”
Thirty minutes later, I walk into the guesthouse, relieved to see that Sarah hasn’t been here yet. It doesn’t take long for me to hang the painting above the couch, and then I get to work on the rest of my plan.
I stock the fridge and freezer, fill a fruit basket for the table, and put a bouquet of flowers in a vase.
“Delivery.”
I glance over at the open doorway and grin at Montana Jericho, the owner of Huckleberry Delight.
“You have impeccable timing.”
She grins, a dimple flashing in her left cheek. “I know. One dozen lemon cupcakes with whipped strawberry frosting. Where do you want them?”
“Just here on the counter.”
Montana frowns at me. “Are you going to leave them in the box?”
“Where else would I put them?”
She rolls her eyes. “I’ll be right back.”
I called her from the car and told her what I needed, and why, and she assured me that she’d have the cupcakes to me inside of an hour.
She didn’t lie.
Montana and I tried to date a couple of years ago. She’s a beautiful, bright woman who runs a successful business. But after three dates, and one night of sex, we decided that we’re much better as friends.
She hurries in, carrying a pretty cake stand. The base is made out of driftwood, and it has a handblown glass dome that fits over the top. She painstakingly arranges the cupcakes on it, then fits the dome over them.
“I’ll pay you for that.”
“You sure will.” Her smile is bright as she winks at me. “I’ll add it to the tab. It looks great in here. Sarah will love it.”
“I just want her to feel welcome.”
“I think you succeeded in that, and I love that you want it for her. Sarah’s awesome.” Montana pats my shoulder and turns for the doorway. “Have a good day, Tanner.”
“You, too. Thanks, Montana.”
I grab the simple card I brought with me from the gallery and write Welcome home, Sarah. –Tanner
Once it’s leaned against the cake stand, I take one last look around and nod in approval before I let myself out, locking the door behind me.
This is one step in the right direction of making Sarah feel at home, with no awkwardness in sight.
“But I wanted to buy it. I told him that it was mine. This is absolute bullshit.”
I frown at the shrill voice as I walk back into Whalers Gallery. The woman from earlier is standing at the counter, scowling at Wayne.
“What’s up?” I ask as I approach.
“The painting I wanted is suddenly gone.” She points to the wall where the seascape hung earlier. “I came back to buy it, and your incompetent employee isn’t doing his job.”
“I don’t have any incompetent employees. Unfortunately, the painting you’re referencing sold shortly after you left.” I give Wayne a nod, indicating that I’ll take care of this.
He walks away without hesitation.
I don’t blame him.
“How is that even possible?” she counters, waving her arms about dramatically. “It hasn’t been more than an hour since I was here.”
“Like I said, it sold.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “You’re hiding it from me.”
“I assure you, I’m not hiding it. I’m in the business of selling art, not playing games. I can see if I can get another print of that piece for you.”
“I don’t want a print , you moron . I want the original.”
“And that has sold. ” Clearly, this woman isn’t used to being told no. “I have other seascapes on the wall, if you’d like to look around, or I can find out if the artist offers prints of that particular piece. Otherwise, I can’t help you.”
If looks could kill, I’d be six feet under right now.
“Fuck you, and fuck this stupid, hick excuse for a gallery. I bet you would have been a pathetic lay, anyway.” She turns and storms out of the gallery, and I let out a long breath.
“Well, she was pleasant,” Wayne says as he joins me at the counter. “She threatened to sue if I didn’t produce the painting. I told her I couldn’t produce what I don’t have, and she was welcome to contact her lawyer.”
I grin at him. “Good one. I’d been meaning to buy that piece for my guesthouse, and after she left, I assumed she was passing on it. So, I took it home. I rented out the guesthouse earlier today and wanted to hang it before the new tenant moved in.”
“Makes sense.” Wayne nods. “I was going to hang the portrait of the train with Mt. Hood in the background in its place. It’s the right size for the spot.”
“Perfect, thanks.”
My phone buzzes with a text.
Apollo: Beers after work. LP. 6:00 work?
I tap out my response. I’ll be there.
It’ll be a great distraction from thinking about Sarah.
“It’s been a shit day.” Apollo, my best friend of several decades, doesn’t mince words as he sits on the high-top stool across from me at Lighthouse Pizza and sips the beer I ordered for him. “How about you?”
“It’s been…weird.” I sip my own beer, thinking it over. “Maybe Mercury is in retrograde or some shit.”
“No, I think people just suck in general,” he replies with a sigh.
“What happened?”
“I wired an entire house, over on Wildfire Lane.”
“The rehab job on the big house that Genevieve Nelson used to own?”
“That’s the one. The new owner gutted it, and to be honest, he probably needed to. It’s an old house. So, updated plumbing and electrical, all that jazz.”
“Okay.”
“I finished up, and he says to me, ‘I wanted electrical in the pantry.’ And I said, ‘That wasn’t in the plan, but if you want that, I can add it.’”
“This doesn’t sound too bad.”
“He wants it for free. Because I should have known that he wanted it to begin with, and it should have been in the estimate. What am I, a fucking mind reader?”
“I assume you told him that it would not be free.”
“Oh, I did. And he was pissed, and we exchanged some shit words until I just walked out on him. If he wants it done, he can find someone else. I’m busy enough as it is, and I don’t need that shit.”
“I got yelled at today, too,” I inform my friend, and watch as his eyebrows climb in surprise. “I run a business, Apollo. It happens.”
“In an art gallery ?” He shakes his head. “Aren’t people supposed to be happy when they look at art? If they’re pissed off, you’re carrying the wrong stuff, my man.”
“Ha ha. I’ll have you know that some people take art very seriously. But yes, a woman came in…” I tell him the story, and when I’m done, Apollo’s laughing into his beer.
“Ridiculous,” he mutters. “Wait, who did you rent the little house to?”
“Sarah.”
Our pizza is delivered, and I dig in, suddenly starving. Lighthouse Pizza has the best pie in Oregon.
“ Sarah Sarah?” he asks and slips a slice onto his plate. “As in your Sarah?”
“She’s not mine. ” And the reminder leaves a bad taste in my mouth. So much for not thinking about her this evening. “She wanted to move out of June’s place, and it worked out well for her.”
“Hell, who would want to live with June?” Apollo asks with a scowl.
I don’t bother to say that the way he looks at June, the way he goads her and bickers with her, is so full of sexual energy that I don’t think he’d mind living with her.
He’d probably punch me.
“I think it makes sense for a grown woman to want her own space.” I reach for a napkin. “And this way, she can walk to work, and she has beach access. She likes to walk the beach.”
“Uh-huh.” Apollo narrows his eyes on me. “Perhaps there will be some hooking up. That, too, would be convenient.”
“We’re friends. Nothing more.”
“I know you, man. And I know that you never stopped caring about her. She’s here, has been for a while now, and I don’t think it’s a bad idea to make a move. If you keep waiting, someone else will move in on her, and you’ll be elbowed out of the way again. Don’t be a jerk twice with the same woman.”
The thought of someone else with Sarah ignites flames in my belly. “Thanks for the advice, Dr. Ruth.”
“That’ll be five hundred bucks.”
“How about I just pay for the beers?”
“Sounds fair. After this, let’s go to your place. I want to see the situation. See if there’s anything I can do. I like Sarah.”
“I’m so relieved that I can bring entertainment to your life.”
“Me, too. Aside from a bitchy homeowner, my life is damn boring.”
“We could probably change that.” I bite into the pizza. “There are women in town who would love to date you. One of the sisters at Three Sisters Kitchen, maybe? They’re southern and hot.”
“Nah, I like boring. It’s easier. Far less drama.”
“How’s the inn coming along?”
“Faster than I thought. I figured Luna was nuts when she said she wanted to open a new inn by this fall, but as long as there are no major snafus, I think it could happen. It’ll be a lot of work, but Luna’s never been afraid of that. And June’s working like it’s her one mission in life.”
“Those women are a force to be reckoned with.”
“You’re not kidding. Speaking of, let’s go check it out over at your place.”
I pay the bill, and we walk out of Lighthouse Pizza to our cars. “You okay to drive?”
“Since when has one beer rendered me incapacitated, especially after eating half a pizza?”
“Not since high school,” I reply with a laugh. It doesn’t take long for us to drive the short distance to my house. I pull into the garage, and Apollo parks behind me.
June’s truck is parked in front of the guesthouse.
“Looks like we’re crashing a party,” Apollo says with a grin, and we walk over to knock on the door.
A few moments later, Sarah answers. Her cheeks are flushed, and she’s smiling with so much joy, it takes my breath away.
“Hi, guys. Come on in.” She steps back and gestures for us to come inside. “We were just getting settled.”
“Meow.”
Petunia ribbons between my legs and purrs when I pick her up and scratch behind her ears.
“She likes you,” Sarah says with surprise.
“I’m a likable guy.”
“Ugh, why are you here?” June demands, glaring at Apollo.
“We heard there was a creep in the area and decided to check it out. Turns out, the rumor was true, because here you are,” Apollo says to June with a satisfied grin.
“You’re so fucking witty,” June says with a roll of the eyes.
“I know. Nice digs, Sarah.”
“Isn’t it awesome?” she gushes as she looks around the space with flushed cheeks. “It’s a little cramped with all of us in here, but as summer gets closer, I can use the back patio as entertaining space, too, so Luna isn’t always the one to host our fun dinners. And look, I have space for a studio!”
She shows us into the small nook that the last tenant used as an office, and I lean against the wall, watching as Sarah points out all of her ideas.
I love that she’s going to make art here.
“But the best part is, I can see the ocean from here. And it’s just a short walk down to the beach. I’ll probably walk down there every morning.”
“Thank you,” Luna says quietly beside me. “She’s stupidly happy.”
“She should always be happy.”
I feel Luna look up at me, so I meet her gaze.
“Does she know?” she asks.
“About what?”
“That you’re still in love with her?”
My eyes turn back to Sarah, who’s joking with June and Apollo. Her head is tossed back, and she’s laughing.
I want to kiss her neck.
“No. And she may not for a long while.”
“Oh, Tanner. Don’t be too patient, okay?” Luna pats my arm, and we all turn as Luna’s fiancé, Wolfe, walks through the door.
“I found you. Hey, this is cute. It suits you, Sarah.”
“Are you mad that I’m not waiting for the apartment above the garage to be done?” she asks and worries her bottom lip between her teeth nervously.
“It could be another year,” he says with a sigh. “You’d be crazy to wait. We’ll figure out something to do with it. Don’t worry. This is way better. Quieter. And closer to your job.”
“Exactly,” Sarah says, excited all over again. “Petunia already found a sunny spot on the living room rug, and it just feels right here, you know?”
Suddenly, she turns to me and presses her finger into my chest.
“You didn’t have to fill my fridge and leave cupcakes for me.”
“Maybe it was the cupcake faerie?” I feel my lips twitch as her gorgeous eyes narrow.
“Thank you. It was the sweetest, and they were delicious.”
“Hold up,” Apollo says. “You ate all the cupcakes already?”
“Of course, we did,” June replies with a satisfied Cheshire grin. “Too bad, so sad.”
“You’re mean,” Apollo says to her.
“You’re slower than I thought if you’re just now figuring that out.”
I want to brush the loose strand of blonde hair behind Sarah’s ear. I want to pull her to me and kiss her until she can’t remember her own name.
So, I take a step back and shove my hands in my pockets the way I always do when I’m around her, just to be safe.
“I’m glad you’re getting settled. I’m going to head out. Have a good evening.”
“We’re about to go, too,” Luna adds as I turn to the door. Once outside, I hear the door open and close, and footsteps sound on the driveway behind me.
“Tanner?”
I turn at Sarah’s sweet voice. “What’s up?”
“Thanks.” She boosts up on her toes and presses her lips to my cheek. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.”