Healed: Stone and Pepper (Cliffside Bay Book 7) Page 9

  “You’re nothing if not self-confident.” She gave the platter to Ria, who sat next to her.

  “Come on, now. How could I not be when I’m clearly awesome?” Stone heaped potato salad onto his plate before passing the bowl to her.

  She passed it along to Ria, who was cutting up a piece of chicken into small pieces for David’s toddler, Laine.

  “Not a fan of potato salad?” Stone asked.

  “Mayonnaise is a foul combination of oil and egg yolks and should not be eaten by humans.”

  “I see.” Stone lifted one eyebrow, clearly amused.

  There’s this guy.

  As she ate, Pepper scanned the table. It was the usual suspects. Lisa, Mama Soto, and Ria made up the female contingent. Four-year-old Oliver, David’s son, sat on a booster between the two older ladies. His daughter, Laine, sat in a portable high chair strapped to the bench.

  The conversations had splintered into three separate discussions. At the far end of the table, Rafael and Lisa were chatting with Mama Soto and Ria about their upcoming trip to LA. Rafael would work remotely while Lisa filmed several episodes of Indigo Road. Several months back, Rafael had given his notice to the Mullens. With Lisa’s fat paychecks, they didn’t need the money. She wanted Rafael to have the flexibility to join her for filming. They’d promised never to be away from each other for more than a week at a time.

  A pinch of envy tightened the muscles of her stomach. It had been the three of them for so long, and now she had to share Lisa and Maggie. From the moment they’d met in college, the three girls had been inseparable. They’d shared everything for twelve years. Heartbreaks and a hundred different awful jobs. Terrible apartments and looking for money in the couch cushions so they could buy a bag of beans to make soup. Auditions and dance classes and nights on their ratty couch drinking wine from a box and talking until two in the morning about everything and nothing.

  And then one day, Maggie got the call that her father was dying. She decided to go home to Cliffside Bay and get the truth from him before it was too late. Maggie and Lisa had taken it as a sign that it was time to give up on their dreams. Lisa went back to Iowa. Maggie went home to California and learned the truth about her father—how he’d manipulated the truth to keep her from her childhood sweetheart, Jackson. It didn’t take long for Maggie and Jackson to fall back in love and get married. Now Lisa was engaged to Rafael. Pepper was the one discarded and left behind because her two best friends had replaced her with men.

  She missed the old days in a visceral way that made her skin hurt and her bones ache. For the first time in her life, she felt alone.

  Pepper took a sip of wine and listened in on the conversation happening opposite her. Trey and Nico were discussing an art exhibit they’d attended in San Francisco. David and Lavonne were dissecting the merits of a parenting course they’d attended at church last week. A stranger might find it odd to hear men discussing parenting, but around this table it was a normal occurrence. Lavonne was Honor and Zane’s nanny. He took care of seven-year-old Jubie and her ten-month-old brother, Sebastian, while their parents were at work. David was raising his two young children by himself.

  Given the conversation, apparently Oliver was struggling with nightmares and sleepwalking. The little one, Laine, was sleeping in his bed every night. Having lost their mother suddenly must be so hard.

  Pepper had no memory of living with her biological father. She’d been only two when her mom moved to the Hamptons. From then on, she saw her dad once a year. Like clockwork, he showed up the day after her birthday to take her to lunch and give her a card with a twenty-dollar bill tucked inside.

  She nibbled on her chicken and the watermelon salad and chastised herself for thinking about her father. Great way to wreck a good mood. Her gaze moved to Stone’s muscular thighs. What would it feel like to sit on his lap? She was small, and he was deliciously big.

  “Can I get you anything?” Stone asked, startling her from her brazen thoughts. “More wine?”

  “What? Sure, yes.” She hadn’t realized her glass was empty. Stone filled it again. She took another sip, then another. The alcohol loosened the tension in her shoulders. Her mind quieted slightly.

  “Sounds like you’re on wedding duty.” He smiled down at her as he wiped at his square jaw with his napkin.

  He did have the prettiest eyes. Dark blue with thick black lashes.

  “Yes, did Rafael tell you about Colorado?” She lowered her voice and spoke close to his ear, hoping he would do the same.

  He leaned closer, matching her volume. “He did. Is there anything I can do to help?”

  She matched his quiet tone. “Maybe. But first, I have to say something. I’m sorry I’ve been a brat to you. You’ve been nothing but nice to me.”

  He blinked, and his eyes widened a smidge. “Think nothing of it. Plus, you saved my life, so we’re even.”

  “Well, that’s true. It does kind of trump the other stuff.”

  “Totally. And I’m serious. If you need anything, just let me know.”

  She had a sudden idea. “What are you doing later in the week?”

  His eyebrows twitched. “Not much. We’re waiting for the permit paperwork to go through on the new house. Why?”

  “How would you feel about joining me on a reconnaissance trip to Colorado?” Pepper looked away, flustered suddenly. It was a strange thing to ask. She knew it the moment the words were out of her mouth.

  His dark blue eyes had narrowed, as if he expected her to pull a mean-girl prank on him. “Why would you want me to go?”

  She fought the prick of embarrassment that wandered up the back of her spine. There were practical reasons she could use his help, which were convenient excuses to get him alone for a few days. “I don’t know how to drive.”

  “You need a driver. I am available for such duties.” The corners of his eyes crinkled with amusement. He ate another bite of his potato salad.

  She studied him. Stone was one of those people who could seemingly eat without moving their jaw. He was like a hundred-year-old tree, this man, all steady and uncompromised with a strength that seemed rooted into the ground. Nothing could make him falter or blow away. A still person. There were faint lines near his eyes—proof of a man who laughed frequently.

  “It’s not just the driving. I’d like you to go with me,” she said.

  “You would?”

  “Yes. I might even let you take me to dinner while we’re there.”

  His eyes danced, tormenting her. He was way too good-looking for his own good. Or hers. “Fine. I’ll go. But if this is just a ruse to get me into bed…I accept.”

  Her eyes stretched open until her lids hurt. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

  “I’m just a humble country boy with no way to fend off a wicked city girl.”

  The low, sexy tone of his voice made her entire body tingle. She leaned even closer, inches from his ear. “If there’s a wicked one between us, it’s certainly not me.” She caught a whiff of his neck. A craving for the taste of him made it hard to breathe.

  He brought his hand to his chest as if she’d wounded him. His eyes still pranced and danced, as though he was laughing his head off without making a sound. “I’d love to take that to a test.”

  “I’m not sure you know this, but sometimes you’re annoying. Not everything’s funny.” Her mouth twitched. Stone was funny. And sexy. However, it would take a crowbar to wrench that truth from her.

  “Most things are funny, including you,” he said.

  “That statement is a perfect example of the expertise you bring to the art of annoying others.”

  He laughed, deep and throaty. She liked the low rumble of it, how it sounded like the engine of the vintage cars in the Fourth of July parades of her childhood. “I’ll try very hard not to annoy you from now on.” Using a spoon, he chased an elusive piece of watermelon around his plate.

  “Good luck with that.” She reached over to his plate and stabbed th
e wayward watermelon with her fork. “It’s always better to stab than chase.” She waved the fork in front of his nose before popping the watermelon into her mouth.

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” His gaze appeared to be fixed on her mouth as she swallowed the watermelon. The air seemed to still and warm, as if a tropical storm were about to unleash.

  “I’m sorry if my good attitude about life bothers you.” He scratched under his chin with the end of his spoon. “I developed it because much of my life has rained canned peas.”

  “Canned peas? Those awful ones they served in school lunches?”

  He cocked his head, watching her. “You know the ones?”

  “I’m familiar with their heinousness, yes.”

  “I figured rich girls didn’t have to eat those.”

  “Canned peas infiltrate all levels of income.” She shuddered dramatically.

  He grinned at her. “I find them a useful metaphor for the stuff life’s thrown at me.”

  Raining canned peas. It was an apt metaphor. Stone Hickman was smart. Damn him. Nothing attracted her more than wit.

  Aware suddenly of eyes upon her, she looked over to see Lisa staring at her—communicating with her eyes exactly what she thought.

  You have it bad for him. I so called this.

  She sent a silent message back. It’s not nice to say, “I told you so.”

  Pepper turned back to Stone. “I’m in awe of the cleverness of your metaphor and humbly ask that I might borrow it from time to time.”

  “It’ll cost you,” he said. “A game of truth or dare during our trip. That’s my price.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “I’m dead serious.” His midnight-blue eyes burned into her. “Have you ever met someone you desperately wanted to know, but they can’t stand you?”

  “No. Everyone likes me.” She meant to sound flippant. Instead, she sounded breathless.

  He brushed her hand with his thumb. “I like you.”

  His touch sent a lightning-bolt shock of energy through her entire body.

  “I want to get to know you, Pepper Griffin. Like every detail. I want to have the chance to show you who I am.”

  “I’d like that too.” For a moment they stared into each other’s eyes. She knew just what he meant about life raining canned peas. She’d had a truckload of them during her thirty-odd years of life. As the light faded around them and the others were having conversations of their own, the world became smaller. “Good. When is the earliest you could accompany me?”

  “The day after tomorrow,” he said.

  “I’ll look for tickets. We’ll have to fly into Denver and then drive the rest of the way up to the mountains.”

  “Should I bring my driving gloves?” he asked.

  “You don’t really have driving gloves?”

  His shoulders lifted in a slight shrug as he smirked at her. “I might.”

  “You can bring your gloves, but leave those shorts behind.” She boldly tugged at the hem of his right leg under the table.

  “What’s wrong with them?”

  “Nothing, if you’re on the beach. Otherwise, they make you look like an overgrown man-child.”

  “Isn’t a man-child always overgrown?”

  She shook her head, pretending to be irritated but secretly impressed at his clever wit. “Again, annoying.”

  “I don’t even know when I do it.”

  “Just stop talking.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “And don’t call me ma’am.”

  “So many rules,” he said. “Should we put a contract together?”

  “Great idea. You can get that started after dinner. Right now, I have another mission. Watch and learn the subtle art of doing something bad and begging forgiveness later.” She tapped her glass with the end of her knife to get everyone’s attention. “I have an announcement. Lisa wants a snowy wedding in the mountains.”

  Mama Soto’s mouth dropped open. Lisa sent a death stare from the other end of the table.

  “She does?” Mama Soto asked before turning to Lisa. “Is that right, love?”

  “It was just an idea I had after seeing an article about this little mountain town,” Lisa mumbled, and ducked her head, clearly mortified.

  “Stone and I are going on a reconnaissance mission,” Pepper said. “As best man and maid of honor, we will scout out the situation and report our findings. We’ll be leaving the day after tomorrow and won’t come back until we have planned the perfect wedding.”

  Lisa continued to stare at her, but with less of a death glare. Rafael leaned back in his chair with a satisfied smile. “Excellent idea. We’ll leave it in your capable hands. We all want to give Lisa what she wants, right, Mama?”

  Mama Soto reached across the table to pat Lisa’s hand. “Anything and everything.”

  “There’s this church with a red door,” Lisa said. “And a steeple.”

  “I love red doors,” Ria said. “It sounds lovely.”

  “Like a postcard,” Mama Soto said. “Why didn’t you say what you wanted?”

  Lisa’s expression had gone from shocked to a pretty pink rosé wine. “All I truly care about is marrying your son.”

  Mama Soto’s black eyes shimmered. “You’re a sweet angel, but all little girls dream of their wedding day, and you should have the one you want.”

  “Thanks, Mama,” Rafael said.

  “I’m a bossy old lady,” Mama said. “I’ll not say another word.” A short pause. “As long as it’s a church, that is.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Rafael said as Lisa beamed down at Pepper.

  A conversation ensued about the location of the church with the red door and the lodge where they hoped to have the reception. During all of it, Pepper remained acutely aware of Stone. She could feel him next to her even without touching, as if the bulk of him were already familiar to her.

  After dinner, everyone pitched in to clean up before parting for the evening. Mama Soto, Ria, Lisa, and Rafael broke out the cards and moved to play at the low table on the other end of the porch. Lavonne begged off, saying he had an early morning. David took the little ones up to his apartment to put them down for the night. Given the dark smudges under his eyes, Pepper guessed he wouldn’t be far behind them. Stone disappeared upstairs without saying why.

  She really wished she hadn’t noticed and that she didn’t care.

  “I’m going upstairs to read,” she told the group.

  “I made up the guest room,” Lisa said. “Clean towels are in the cabinet under the sink.”

  Pepper thanked her and trudged up the stairs to the third floor. As she arrived on the third-floor landing, Stone was coming out of his apartment, a bottle of scotch tucked against his side.

  She halted. The landing outside the apartments was dim. They were alone. She waited for the familiar sense of panic that came when she was alone with a man in a dark space. It didn’t come.

  In fact, she wished he would ask her inside for a drink.

  “You going to bed already?” he asked.

  “Not bed. I’d rather read than play cards.”

  He nodded and ducked his chin to his neck, as if contemplating what to do next.

  “I wouldn’t mind a drink, though. If you wanted to invite me in.” She flashed her best flirtatious smile, known to make men swoon. Would it work on Stone?

  He stumbled backward as though she’d pushed him. “Really? Sure. Yeah, come on in.” He opened his door and stepped aside to allow her to pass through.

  She’d been in the apartment once or twice before, but never after dark. Trey had decorated it in masculine grays and blues, with a comfortable leather couch and several floppy easy chairs. Eclectic pottery collected during Trey’s travels were displayed on shelves and on the fireplace mantel. Tonight, with the lights turned low, it felt cozy and seductive. She slipped off her ballerina flats and left them by the door.

  Stone fixed them both a scotch and handed one to her before turnin
g on the fireplace. Then he folded himself into the oversize blue chair, which shrank compared with his large frame. Pepper wandered the room on bare feet, sipping her scotch and looking at the abstract paintings on the wall. She stopped to admire a wooden bowl of blown-glass ornaments in shades of the sea.

  Stone said he’d brought the glass home from one of his trips to Spain. “Most everything else is Trey’s.”

  “They’re so delicate and pretty.” She picked one the color of a hazy blue sky and held it up to the lamp. The light changed the hue to a smoky blue. “This is my favorite.”

  “Mine too. It’s the same shade as your eyes.” He paused for a moment, as if considering what to say next. “The color changes depending on the light. Like your eyes.”

  She placed the glass bulb carefully back in the bowl and turned to look at him. “You noticed the color of my eyes?”

  “Maybe.” His gaze flickered over to the fire. In the glow of the flames, the sharp angles of his cheekbones softened.

  She crossed to the fire and stood with her back to the gas flames.

  “Do you ever sit still?” he asked with an amused arch of his brow.

  “Stillness is for sleeping, nothing else.”

  He chuckled as he stretched his legs out over the ottoman and snuggled deeper into the cushions of the chair. “Good point.”

  “You have a physical job. There must be a reason you chose it.” Her legs were warm, so she left the spot in front of the fire and sat on the end of the couch closest to Stone.

  “True. I like working with my hands or body and coming home tired but satisfied.”

  She watched him lift his drink to his hard mouth. What would it feel like to be kissed by him?

  “Did you work today?” she asked, hoping to distract herself from thinking about his lips.

  “No, not today. I surfed this morning. Tried to surf. Jackson’s teaching me, but I’m terrible.”

  “These Californians are weird. Obsessed with the beach and running around half-naked. Have you noticed that no one wears clothes here?”

  “I have, and I’ve embraced the culture thoroughly.”

  I’ve noticed.

  For the next few minutes, they talked about places they’d lived and their differences. She learned that Stone had grown up in a small town in Oregon where it rained a lot. He’d been stationed in South Carolina and Georgia as well as several bases in Afghanistan during his service. She was surprised at the ease with which he shared the details of his past, including how poor they were growing up and how joining the military had saved his life. “Not that I didn’t see a lot of bad stuff in the service. I did. But the Marines gave my life a direction instead of staying in my small town after high school. It gave me a way out. I didn’t want to end up like my dad.”