CHAPTER TWENTY
“SURPRISE!”
Velvet thought the looks on Vaughn’s and Sierra’s faces were priceless. It was evident neither had had a clue that the party given by Kaegan and Bryce was for them. And when Vaughn saw his sister, Zara, and Sierra saw her sister, Dani, they couldn’t help but laugh.
“We got them good, didn’t we?” Vashti said, coming to stand beside her with her camera in hand.
Velvet smiled. “Yes, we did. And I think the decorations are super.” She had arrived three hours early to help Bryce, Ashley, Vashti and Donna with the decorations. The men had been outside, helping Kaegan with the food, and from the aroma that had seeped into the house, it smelled delicious.
A half hour later, it seemed the couple had gotten over their initial shock and were mingling with the guests. Velvet thought Bryce and Kaegan had a beautiful home. Connected to the first level was what was called the party house, a spacious building where they hosted their parties.
Sierra approached her a short while later with a scolding grin on her face. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me anything.”
“I wasn’t supposed to,” Velvet said, grinning.
“You just wait. I’m going to find a way to pay you back.”
“You can try,” Velvet countered.
“And I will.”
Velvet looked at her watch. “Your bridal shower will begin in a half hour.”
Sierra lifted a brow. “Bridal shower?”
“Yes. It’s being hosted in another part of the house. And while we’re having your shower, the men will help Kaegan set up for all the delicious food we will eat afterward.”
Sierra rubbed her hands together. “Good. Kaegan’s a great cook.” Then she leaned in to ask, “How are things with you and your neighbor?”
Velvet knew why she was asking, given the last conversation they’d had. “I haven’t talked to Jaye in over a week.” As far as she was concerned, sending him that text yesterday didn’t count.
Sierra raised a brow. “I thought the two of you were jogging together every morning.”
She shrugged. “I felt the need to put space between us for a while.” And knowing this was Sierra she was talking to, she added, “Whenever we’re in close proximity, I can’t think. All I want to do is seduce him. So, I’m giving myself a mental break since there’s only so much torment my body can take.”
A smile touched Sierra’s lips. “Umm... I wonder how that’s going to work out for you when the cause of your torment just walked in the door with Saint.”
“What!”
Velvet turned and her gaze collided with Jaye’s. She hadn’t expected to see him and desire suddenly rushed through her.
“Hmm...this is the first time I’ve been in the presence of the two of you since that town hall meeting and I can feel the heat you’re both generating, Velvet.”
Velvet broke eye contact with Jaye before others began feeling that same heat. “Why didn’t you tell me he was coming?”
Sierra laughed. “Since I didn’t know about this party, I wasn’t privy to the guest list.”
That was true, and neither Bryce nor Vashti would have had a reason to tell her, since they didn’t know of her and Jaye’s past relationship...or present one for that matter.
“Umm, now that’s interesting.”
Velvet tried to calm her racing heart after sneaking a peek at Jaye. “What is?”
“Zara just stepped in off the patio and seems to be having the same reaction seeing Saint as you had seeing Jaye. I didn’t know they knew each other that well,” Sierra said.
“Didn’t they grow up here in the cove?”
“Yes, but Saint was in the class that graduated the year before Vaughn. That was five years before Zara and I did.”
Velvet couldn’t help Sierra in figuring anything out about Zara and Saint. All she could think about was how good Jaye looked in his jeans and button-up shirt. She didn’t have to glance around the room to know other women were probably noticing as well.
Trying to get her heart rate under control, she asked, “Are Brody Dorsett and Freda McEnroe a couple now? I noticed earlier they arrived together, and they were together during the water taxis open house.”
She understood that both Brody and Freda had grown up in the cove but moved away after college. Brody had returned a few years ago to take over the job of fire marshal when Brody’s father, who’d been Catalina Cove’s longtime fire marshal, retired early due to an illness. Brody’s father had subsequently passed away.
Like several others, Freda had returned to the cove last year. She’d opened a bakeshop, taking advantage of Reid’s Lacroix low-interest loan program. Velvet thought she was a very attractive woman and Brody was a handsome man. Personally, she thought they looked good together.
“No, they’re just good friends who enjoy each other’s company. Both are recovering from broken hearts,” Sierra said.
“I definitely know how that is.”
Bryce let out a loud whistle to get everyone’s attention. “The men are to follow Kaegan to the party house and, ladies, please follow me.” She grinned and added, “The fun is about to begin.”
“I GATHERYOUdidn’t get the memo, Jaye.”
Jaye took a sip of his beer and looked at Sawyer. They had been talking about how the bank could support Catalina Cove’s Police Department’s athletic league when the women appeared, arriving from the bridal shower to join the men in what Kaegan called the party house.
“What memo?” He was trying to keep up with Sawyer’s conversation while keeping his eyes on Velvet.
Sawyer chuckled. “The one I heard Webb Crawford sent all the single men in the cove, letting them know Velvet Spencer was off-limits.”
Jaye wondered who else might have picked up on his interest in Velvet. Sawyer didn’t count. He was the sheriff, and since moving to Catalina Cove, it hadn’t taken Jaye long to discover that Sheriff Grisham made it his business to notice everything.
“Nope. I didn’t get a memo. Webb Crawford paid me a personal visit instead.”
Sawyer was about to take a sip of beer and the bottle stopped inches from his mouth. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope.”
Sawyer sipped his beer and then said, “For him to do that means he considers you fierce competition. I would love to have been privy to that conversation.”
“I’m glad you weren’t. Let’s just say I all but told Crawford what he could do with his asinine directive.”
Sawyer shook his head. “Good for you. It’s a pity that he can intimidate others into following his orders. There’s nothing I can do since no laws have been broken and, so far, none of the men have complained.”
“All I got to say is that he doesn’t know me,” Jaye said.
“And I guess he also doesn’t know of your past relationship with Velvet, either.”
Jaye held Sawyer’s gaze. “Do I have a past relationship with her?”
Sawyer’s lips spread into a smile. “If there was any doubt in my mind before, there isn’t any now. Whether you know it or not, the two of you generate a lot of heat. Sexual energy is nothing to mess with.”
“Tell me about it. And what makes you think it’s because of our past? Why can’t it be because we met as neighbors and—”
“Cut the crap, Jaye. I don’t know the particulars, but if anyone were to take the time to think about it long enough, they’ll figure things out. Especially since both of you are from Phoenix. Most people never bothered to find out where Velvet lived before moving here, but if they did, they’d begin wondering. So why are the two of you pretending otherwise?”
Jaye released a deep sigh. “Velvet’s choice, not mine. And you’re right about our past. We were together three years and I fucked up big time. My being here in Catalina Cove is no coincidence. I came here to win back Velvet’s heart and no one, especially someone like Webb Crawford, is going to stop me.”
Sawyer gave him a leveled look. “So far Velvet hasn’t filed any complaints of you being a nuisance, so I guess you’re handling your business within the confines of the law.”
Jaye couldn’t help but smile. Leave it to Sawyer to look at everything as law and order. And as far as anyone in Catalina Cove noticing he was attracted to Velvet, he really didn’t give a damn. Even now, he could barely keep his eyes off her. That’s what she got for making herself scarce for over a week. Avoiding him only made the situation worse. Case in point, Velvet glanced over at him and when their gazes connected, he felt a deep stirring in his groin.
“Ahh...maybe this is where I need to make a suggestion,” Sawyer said.
Without breaking eye contact with Velvet, Jaye asked, “What’s that?”
“Unless you want every single person here to figure out that something is going on between you two, I suggest you and Velvet cool off the heat or leave and go take care of business.”
VELVETTRIEDNOTto look at Jaye but found it impossible. She had tried so hard to put distance between them and now here they were in Kaegan and Bryce’s party house, across the room from each other, breathing in the same air and sharing stolen glances, and according to Sierra, emitting heat.
She felt his eyes on her again and, unable to ignore it, she turned and saw him looking at her. She knew that look and knew what it meant. If others paid close attention, they would know as well. She should care if they did, but...
“Are you enjoying yourself, Velvet?”
She switched her gaze from Jaye to Bryce when she walked up.
“Yes, I am, Bryce. And I think everything turned out great. Sierra and Vaughn received a lot of nice gifts, and the food is delicious as usual.” The menu had consisted of a feast with all the shrimp, crabs, lobsters and oysters you could eat, and all harvested by Kaegan’s shipping company.
“I’ll let the cooks know that you thought so. You can never go wrong with both Kaegan and my dad in the kitchen. And I want to thank you for all your help, Velvet. I appreciate it.”
“No problem. I enjoyed doing it. Sierra is a good friend. Catalina Cove is a nice town and I’m glad I moved here and got to meet all of you.”
Bryce smiled. “And we’re glad you did, too. And just so you know, I was selective with my invitation list and you’re here among friends you can trust.”
Velvet wondered why Bryce was telling her that and was about to ask when a deep husky voice said, “Excuse me for interrupting.”
Bryce and Velvet glanced up to see Jaye standing there. “Hello, Jaye,” Bryce said, smiling brightly. “I’m glad you came.”
“Thanks for inviting me.” He shifted his attention to Velvet. “I was wondering if I could get a ride back to town with you when you left?”
Velvet swallowed. She and Jaye riding in the same car with all that sexual energy? Seriously? “How did you get here?” she asked.
“I rode here with Evans Toussaint. I didn’t want to risk driving myself and getting lost.”
Velvet was about to ask why he couldn’t ride back with Saint and then thought better of it. She looked across the room and saw Saint standing in a group with Isaac, Brody and Ray, and they seemed to be sharing a joke. Zara was on the sidelines, talking to Freda and Donna. After Zara’s earlier reaction at seeing Saint, she seemed to be ignoring him now.
There had to be a reason Jaye couldn’t ride back with Saint. Maybe the man had made other plans when he left here. But still... “I’m not sure when I’ll be leaving, Jaye. I helped plan the party and I might be needed to stay and—”
“Do nothing,” Bryce broke in quickly. “Vashti, Donna and I can handle everything, Velvet. Don’t worry about it. But the two of you can’t leave before the dancing begins to work off all that food we’ve eaten.”
Suddenly, loud music began playing and Bryce grabbed Velvet’s hand and pulled her toward the dance floor.
VELVETENJOYEDTHEline dancing, where you didn’t need a partner. She hadn’t danced this much since Kaegan and Bryce’s wedding reception. She liked dancing, always had, and Jaye would take her dancing all the time because he liked to dance, too. But he wasn’t dancing tonight. Instead, he was sitting at a table with Sawyer, Ray and Kaegan. They were talking and Jaye was obviously pretending to listen because she felt his eyes clearly following her.
When the DJ announced he was toning things down with a couple of slow tunes, Velvet turned to Bryce to let her know she would be sitting the next ones out. But then she felt someone take her hand. She didn’t have to wonder who it was.
Turning, she saw Jaye’s face. The intensity of his gaze held her spellbound and he said in a low throaty voice, “Please dance with me, Velvet.”
She knew without looking that several pairs of eyes were on them, and to avoid stirring up further attention, she nodded. He gently pulled her into his arms. The moment her chest pressed against his, she thought that maybe dancing with him wasn’t such a good idea. They were two aroused bodies moving in sync to a slow tune.
She remembered the last time they had danced this way together—her body remembered as well. It recognized the solid muscular body that was holding her, and just like the last time, she was enveloped in his heat, his scent and all that was Jack Colfax, Jr. Automatically, she rested her head against his firm chest and closed her eyes, letting her mind and senses absorb everything about him. Even the sound of his breathing was soothing something within her.
She knew people were probably looking at them and wondering how a man and woman who barely knew each other could connect so perfectly. Velvet didn’t want to think about the implications of that now. All she wanted was to feel Jaye’s hand gently gliding across her back, stroking a need she couldn’t deny.
The music came to an end and Jaye whispered into her ear, “Let’s step outside for a moment.”
She nodded and with his warm hand at the center of her back, he led her outside to the patio where a few couples were talking. He guided her to a darkened area that overlooked the Bayou. She inhaled the fresh air, loving the scent of the seasoned seafood that still lingered. But more than anything, she loved the masculine scent of the man standing beside her with his hand still at the center of her back.
Jaye hadn’t said anything, but then no words were needed. They had come to a crossroad although nothing had changed between them. The relationship was still one-sided. She knew she still loved him, although for the past two years she’d tried fighting it. She had told herself she had eradicated him from her heart, but in essence she hadn’t. Now, she was in the same predicament she’d been in two years ago that had driven her to leave him and not look back.
“Velvet, we need to talk. There’s something I need to tell you.”
She really didn’t want to hear it. There was no need for him to reiterate that although he desired her, he could never love her.
“I don’t want to talk, Jaye. I want to act. I don’t love you and you don’t love me. I think we’ve pretty much established that fact.” She couldn’t admit to him she still loved him and had never stopped loving him. She didn’t want to think what that said about a woman who loved a man who would never love her.
“You said I was the only woman you would engage in a sex-only affair with, then that’s all I want until you leave the cove. The one-and-done wasn’t enough for me.” There. She had said it, without shame. If physical pleasure was all she would ever get from him, then she would take it.
He’d leave in a few months, and when he left, she knew he would be taking a piece of her heart with him. But at least she would have this time with him. She intended to create new memories to sustain her.
He didn’t say anything, just stared at her for a long while. Then when he spoke, he asked, “Are you ready to leave?”
She nodded and answered, “Yes, I’m ready.”