Chapter Seven
Jade
I pulled my sunglasses from my backpack and slipped them on as I headed toward the employee entrance. This time of year, it was light when I went to work, and light when I left—even if it was on time, not an hour and a half past when I was supposed to clock out, like today.
Blackout curtains were a lifesaver.
Although, since this was the beginning of my weekend, I’d try to stay up when I got home and take a nap in the afternoon, with the hope of sleeping tonight.
I wanted to go see my BFF, Sophie, in Charleston tomorrow.
She and I had gone to high school together but hadn’t really become friends until we were in the same nursing program at Clemson.
It was nice having someone who knew what living in Haven Springs was like and what working in an understaffed department did to your social life.
I hadn’t decided if I’d stay the night at her place or come home.
It'd probably depend on how Penny, my tortoiseshell cat, was behaving. Some days she acted like she couldn’t care less about me, and others she’d be extra needy—usually when I started getting ready for work.
It was like she knew how to guilt trip me into giving her extra treats before leaving.
I’d adopted her as a kitten from the shelter right after I bought my two-bedroom bungalow. She’s been the longest grownup relationship I’ve had. For the first year, she had more furniture than I did.
It hadn’t been that I couldn’t afford it, I just hadn’t had the time—or energy—to decorate my house. I’d had a bed, loveseat, and milk crates for tables, and the previous owners left the bar stools for the kitchen island. I didn’t need anything else.
Of course, when Lainey stayed with me during her summer break between her sophomore and junior years at UNC, she was having none of that.
On my first day off, she dragged me to three different furniture stores in Charleston and insisted on making me buy all-new-everything for every room in the house.
Fortunately, the store had a four-years, no interest credit plan.
Last month had been my final payment, which meant I had a nice chunk of change to use if I wanted to go out of town.
I was so lost in thought about my weekend plans, that I didn’t notice Lainey and Adam until I practically ran into them on the sidewalk under the awning.
It took me a second to process it was my sister.
“What are you guys doing here? This is the employee parking lot.”
“We’re taking Brian home.”
“You need to park out front. That’s where they’ll wheel him out to.”
Adam’s face was solemn when he replied, “I take it you haven’t been out front.”
“No. What’s going on?”
“Lainey’s kidnapping somehow got picked up and is now ‘trending’. There are reporters camped out at the main entrance, hoping to catch a glimpse of Brian. Angus is going in through the front and causing a diversion while we sneak Brian out the back in Granny O’Brien’s Cadillac.”
“You guys are so sneaky. I love it!”
I meant that in more ways than one, considering the two had been sneaking around for almost a month.
“I wish we would have thought to be sneakier yesterday. They got a photo of us leaving the hospital last night—hence the need for Granny’s car.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I grabbed my sister’s hand. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Paulina said the bakery was a mad house when she opened this morning. All kinds of reporters asking when I was coming in; thankfully they were buying something first. I had to have Marie come in to help her.”
“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. But I’m glad you’re at least making some money from it. If you and Conor need to hide out at my place…”
“We’re staying at Adam’s. Since he’s renting and gets his mail delivered to a PO Box, we’re off-grid for now.”
He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against his side. It was adorable how she melted into his embrace.
“My brother, Alan, said we could go hang at his beach cottage on Cape Cod, but since I have the least seniority on the force, and we don’t know how long Brian will be out, I have to stay here.”
“I’m not going anywhere without you,” she assured him with an adoring smile.
He grinned back at her like a fool.
Barf.
I inched toward the parking lot. “Well, if you need anything, you know where to find me.”
“Thanks,” they said in unison and headed inside.
I really was happy for my little sister. She’d been through hell this year and deserved a happily ever after. Adam seemed like just the man to give her one. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a tiny bit envious.
I was worried that maybe I’d missed my chance at my own fairytale. My Prince Charming had turned out to be a big ol’ toad.
Not even a frog.
A warty toad.
And there weren’t exactly a plethora of prospects in Haven Springs. When I returned home after college, all the single men in town either had a girlfriend, were man whores, or workaholics.
I’d been there, done that, and had no interest in a repeat performance.
~~~~
I hung my keyring on the hook by the door leading to the garage, then kicked off my Crocs and left them on the mat.
After starting the washer and adding a few detergent pods, I stripped out of my scrubs and tossed them in the washing drum as it filled with water.
Next, I reached inside my backpack and fished out the clothes from my locker and threw them in next to my scrubs before padding barefoot inside in nothing but my bra and underwear.
I smiled when I noticed my clean kitchen.
I didn’t care about having a fancy car or the latest designer label clothes; my idea of luxury was having a clean house.
My housekeeper, Michelle, was worth every penny.
I set my wallet and purse on the island and almost felt guilty when I pulled a plate from the cupboard, knowing I was about to dirty it.
But my growling stomach overrode my desire to keep my kitchen spotless, so I pulled out all the ingredients to make a sandwich: bread, cheese, meat, lettuce, mayo, and salt and pepper, and set them on the counter next to the plate.
I heard my phone buzz with a text and almost ignored it. Anyone who I cared enough to talk to should know I’d just gotten off work and could possibly already be in bed. Then I thought about the shitshow that was going on with Lainey and Brian and decided to look at my screen. Sure enough…
Lainey: Can you open your garage? Please!
Me: Of course! Doing it right now!
Without a second thought, I opened the door to the garage and hit the button for the opener. I watched as the door slowly came up and Adam sat in the driver’s seat of Granny O’Brien’s maroon Cadillac CT4.
At that second, several thoughts flooded my head at once.
Where was Lainey?
Had they been able to get Brian out of the hospital without the media noticing?
And finally, oh, shit, I’m in my bra and underwear.
The last thought came a little too late, as Brian’s head popped up from the backseat and a slow, salacious grin formed on his face when our eyes met.
****
Brian
One look at Jade in nothing but white lace and I forgot how to breathe. My pulse thudded in my ears, and for a second I just stared, drinking her in—long legs, smooth skin, curves that hit me like a punch to the chest.
By the time she bolted, my grin had already settled into place, cocky as ever. It was safer to play it off like a joke. But deep down, I knew the truth: this might be a bad idea.
Adam drove the Cadi into the garage like he lived there, then slipped out of the driver’s seat, strolled toward the button on the wall, and pushed it. The second the door was down, Lainey and I opened the rear passenger doors where we’d been hiding.
They’d managed to get me out of the hospital without anyone noticing.
Lainey had gotten in the back seat at the hospital to help me on the ride home, but the second Adam pulled onto our street, I knew there was no chance of me making it into my house without being mobbed.
Neither my house, nor Adam’s, had an attached garage.
Adam had exclaimed, “Get down!”
We did as he commanded, and he drove past our houses, and kept going.
I saw him look in his mirrors before he said, “I don’t think anyone’s following us, but text Jade and ask her to open her garage door, just in case someone’s hiding in her bushes.”
“You think they’d do that?” Lainey asked with her forehead pressed against the back of the passenger seat next to Adam as she typed out a text.
His eyes darted between the mirrors and the road before he replied, “Before yesterday, I would have said, ‘Nah,’ but after the photos they took of us last night without us even knowing, I wouldn’t put it past them.”
“Fuck that,” I said in disgust. “I’m getting out of town.”
“Alan offered his beach cottage to us. I’m sure he’d let you stay there.”
I could handle some time at the beach.
“Sounds like a plan.”
“How are you going to get there?” Lainey asked as we pulled into Jade’s driveway. “You can’t fly yet, and you can’t drive.”
I shrugged because who the fuck was going to stop me from driving? “I’ll figure something out.”
Then I saw Jade standing there in her underwear and all the blood rushed from my head to… other parts of my body.
That’s when I decided I might be in love with her, when my brain was obviously not firing on all cylinders.