She's the One (Lowcountry Lovers Series Book 2) (11 page)

“I’ve decided to stay put, here in Charleston.”

“You love the road, Bo; it’s your home.”

He shook his head. “Melissa, when I’m with you, I’m home. I want this. Us. I have no idea where the desire to stay with one woman comes from. I’ve never done that before, but I want to be with you. You make me feel open and bare. I’m writing again.”

“Bo, I don’t know what to say.” Looking into his soulful eyes, she knew they had enough in common to make a good match. And even though Bo hadn’t known her very long, they were enough alike to make it seem like he’d known her forever.

“You don’t have to say anything just now.” He kissed the palm of her hand and put it over his heart. “This is where you are. This is where I want you to stay.”

He set their drinks on the coffee table. She looked into his face; it would be so easy to lose herself in him. Would loving Bo be settling? Could trying to make a go of it with a guy like Bo be considered settling? Melissa knew the answer was there somewhere, but she forgot what the question was every single time he kissed her.

“God, you’re beautiful.” He threaded his hands in her hair but must have felt her holding back. “You okay?”

She shook her head. “I had a good time tonight, Bo, a great time really. But—”

“You’re not into me like I’m into you.”

“That’s not it. I like you. A lot.” She did. There was no denying she wanted Bo, after all, she did have a pulse. Could she have a good life with him? Little blond babies running around? A house full of music? Melissa wasn’t in love with Bo, but, if she let herself, it wouldn’t take long to fall for that sexy drawl, that face, and those very talented hands.

“It’s that other guy, isn’t it?”

“No. Yes. God, Bo, I feel so crazy. I really like both of you.”

“Baby, I can’t get you out of my head, and I don’t want to. I don’t want to share you with anybody. I know you need to figure things out; I should go. Let you get some rest.” He pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her waist, those piercing blue eyes making her feel all tingly south of the border. He pushed a stand of hair away from her face. “I haven’t booked the band anyplace that isn’t close by, and I won’t. I came back to Charleston for you,” he whispered, and then kissed her like he was trying to make her forget all about Shane Carver.

T
here were a couple dozen sun worshipers around the pool, including Jack Johns, when Melissa and Savannah claimed their lounge chairs and pointed them slightly west. The sun felt delicious and Melissa couldn’t wait to hear about Savannah’s date.

“So, Parker didn’t do it for you?”

Melissa and Savannah were ignoring Jack for the most part, but peeking at him through her mirrored shades, Melissa knew he wasn’t ignoring them.

“I met Parker just out of college. I had just started dating J—. Anyway, there weren’t any sparks then either. But he’s a super nice guy. We had a good time, and he wanted to go out again, but I passed.”

Jack was definitely within earshot, but Savannah didn’t seem to care. The date with Parker had done wonders for her. She seemed relaxed, happy, and didn’t resemble the woman who’d been holed up in the townhouse a couple of days ago. She retied her bathing suit straps at the base of her neck, and flipped over onto her disgustingly flat stomach.

Savannah asked Melissa to rub sunscreen on her back just as Jack was reaching for his iced tea. Over it went, ice cubes skittering across the concrete. He rebounded quickly, putting the ice back in the cup, but when Melissa squirted the lotion over Savannah’s legs and her back and started rubbing it in, his mouth gaped open slightly, like he’d kill to be the one with sunscreen duty.

“I wish I had your butt,” Savannah said as Melissa’s hand slid up the back of thigh and rubbed the lotion in good. “I don’t have one.”

“Stop it. You’re gorgeous. Besides, I saw Parker looking at you last night. Definitely liked what he saw.”

“I wish we’d clicked, but I
really
wish I’d gotten back out there sooner. Thanks, Melissa, it was fun.” She propped up on her elbows. “So who’s next?”

“I’m glad you’re having fun.” Melissa sat back down on her lounge chair and poked her finger on her chest to see if she was getting too red. Almost time to turn. “But it depends. Do you want to go older, younger?”

“Hmm. Let’s try younger, but not more than ten years.” Over went Jack’s cup again, and to his credit, this time he just left it. “I do want to find someone fun to go with me to the gala for the children’s wing, but that’s a few weeks away.”

“Okay, then, not less than twenty-two? I have just the guy in mind.”

“I can’t wait. Set it up.” Savannah laughed. “I’m going in to make us some lunch.”

As soon as Savannah disappeared into the townhome, Jack was in her chair beside Melissa.

“Hey, Jack. Good to see you again.”

“I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to make me jealous.” And it was definitely working. “But I’m not. If she wants to go out with other guys, great.”

“Relax, Jack, you really need to get into the island groove. It’s worked wonders for Savannah.” Melissa pushed her shades back. “And we’re not
doing
anything other than baking in the sun and having a little girl talk. If you’re offended—”

“I’m not.”

Really? Because you look like you’re ready to snap someone in two. Maybe me.

“Good. Savannah’s serious about moving on with her life without you. Maybe you should be, too.”

He didn’t say a word, just snatched up his towel and headed toward the beach.

S
hane went to the Starbucks near his house, picked up coffee, and one of those mocha frappucchio drinks that Melissa loved, before swinging by the house on Ocean Boulevard just before 7:00. A cute, thermal cup, one of those Tervis things, caught his eye. There were a bunch of the
I Heart
cups. Shane handed the guy at the counter an
I Heart the IOP
one and asked him to put Melissa’s drink in it, hoping it would keep it good and cold until he saw her.

Pulling up in front of the house, he smiled. His guys wouldn’t be there for at least another thirty minutes; he’d have the whole place to himself. He liked to wander though the homes he was building when no one was there. He saw things that needed to be fixed that he didn’t see when the guys were milling around. It was kind of like the house spoke to him, showed him what she needed to make her perfect.

This was the first spec house he’d built since the real estate market crashed. A lot of his builder friends had jumped back into the game, building right and left on spec, praying for buyers to come along. Sure, the economy was better in Charleston than in the rest of the state, hell, with the exception of Texas and Florida, maybe the rest of the country. But a lot of those contractors were back in the same boat they were six years ago when the bottom fell out of the housing market and they had to sell the homes they’d built at a loss or for next to nothing.

Shane liked this house a lot. It was far enough away from Front Beach, down on the quieter end of the island, but not too close to Breech Inlet, which separated the IOP from Sullivans Island. The homes perched on that end of the island were just as beautiful as the rest of the ones that dotted the coastline, but the currents on that end of the island were deadly.

Even though the lot was a decent size, he’d gone smallish on the house. He’d learned his lesson, building McMansions on spec. Nearly finished, he already had a contract on it. The offer came though at the end of the day yesterday, full asking price. He’d been in such a hurry to get out of the office and get to his softball game; he hadn’t even looked to see who the buyer was. Just signed the contract and had his assistant fax it back to the Melissa. Another one of her listings, sold, she’d like that. Damn good for her.

Truth was, he liked this house so much, if he could find someone who wanted his place, he’d give the buyer back their earnest money and whatever it took to make them happy, move into it himself. Melissa would be pissed at him, but he’d smooth things over, give her the listing to his place in Old Mt. Pleasant that was worth at least twice what this house was selling for. He’d already had a couple of neighbors tell him if he ever sold, to let them know because they wanted it. She might not even have to list his house, just handle the sale.

This place was a cute, much smaller than the sprawling, Georgian home he’d gutted and restored to its former 1908 glory, but he didn’t need sprawling. This cottage was perfect, three bedrooms, three baths. He hadn’t been sure about the coral exterior the designer chose, but she had done a good job choosing contrasting paint colors that made the house pop, right down to the caramel colored shingles.

The foyer was small, but opened up into a great space that had made the designer sigh and call cozy. And she was right. The appliances were in, the granite countertops covered in butcher paper to protect them until the clean up was done. The pool was done in the back yard, small, but in ground, and the privacy fence had been installed. Right now, the yard itself looked like shit with no landscaping and the pool empty, but he could see beyond that, how beautiful it was going to be when he was done. Shane was good at that, seeing possibilities and making them reality.

He went upstairs and walked through the rooms, making mental notes of what needed to be done. Hell, he’d just give Melissa the listing for his house in Mt. Pleasant when he gave her the coffee; tell her to cancel the contract on this place.

He heard a car door slam out front and looked out one of the windows to see Melissa in the driveway, talking to someone, maybe one of the neighbors. He was grinning, heart beating fast, man oh man, he was so far gone over this woman. He hurried down the stairs to give her the coffee, give her anything she wanted. Just then the front door opened and Cassie stepped in, followed by Melissa.
WTF?

“Hey, Shane.” Melissa knew his early morning ritual with Starbucks and whatever house he was working on. “Cassie wanted to take another look at the house, before the workers get in.”

Another look? “Sorry. It’s off the market.” He pushed past Cassie, went into the kitchen to snag Melissa’s drink off of the counter. “Extra chocolate. Just the way you like it.” Melissa blushed when he handed it to her.

Cassie’s eyes narrowed at Melissa for a fraction of a second, then she gave Shane a look that was pure sin. “I love my house, Shane.”

“Your house?” He growled the last word.

Melissa’s eyes were wide. “You signed the papers last night, Shane.”

“Can I talk with you?” he asked Melissa. “Privately.”

He’d have to wait to wipe that smirk off of Cassie’s face. “I’ll just wander around my house. Look for ways for you to make it better.”

Melissa followed him out onto the back deck and he closed the kitchen door.

“You signed the damn contract, Shane. What’s the problem?”

“You know what the problem is.” Being yoked to Cassie for the next three months, meeting her every whim. “I want to cancel the contract.”

“You can’t do that,” Melissa sputtered. “I’ve
never
had a builder cancel a contract before and it’s not happening now.”

He shoved a hand through his hair. “Look, I didn’t know what I was signing.”

“Really? What are you, eight?”

“I know her, Melissa. I know why she’s doing this. Yeah, I made a stupid mistake.” The contract, but the biggest mistake was dating the woman tramping around upstairs. “I want this place. I was just about to head to your office to list my home with you when you drove up.”

“No, Shane Carver. That woman will sue your ass.”

“I don’t care.” He was one of a handful of contractors he knew who had never been sued.

If it was going to happen, breaking a contract with Cassie was as good a reason as any. The only problem, other than pissing Melissa off, was, if Cassie didn’t make it her mission to ruin him, her daddy would.

“You should care, Shane. This won’t be good for your reputation, not to mention what it will do to mine. During the boom, I stayed away from builders who broke contracts so they could sell to a higher bidder.”