Something Blue, page 12
So, before the bottom fell out, and just in case it didn’t, he’d had to let her know.
“Sawyer?” she called his name from the hall.
“In here. Sorry. Just washing up too.” He met her at his office door. “I was thinking I’d grill some steaks, maybe toss on some potatoes. I’ve got salad, you’ve got Lina’s samosas.”
“That sounds delicious. I’m starving.”
“Me too. C’mon.” They went into the kitchen, where he grabbed the steaks he had marinating, a salad Lina had already prepped, a couple of potatoes, and aluminum foil.
Lina must’ve gone for the night, but the kitchen still smelled like spices.
Beth carried the potatoes and foil and he led her to the back patio, location of the bridal shower, and some of the best fajitas he’d ever had, come to think of it.
“I meant to tell you already, but your sister Aurora is one mean cook. Those fajitas from the shower were incredible.”
Beth beamed with a bright pride like she’d cooked them herself. “I’ll tell her you said so.”
“I already did. I think I had two at the party, but once everyone left, I ate about three more in the kitchen, standing by the sink. She was still here cleaning up and laughing at me.”
“She didn’t tell me that.”
“They don’t always tell us everything, huh?”
“No, they do not.”
“We don’t either, though. Goes both ways.”
“I guess, just because we saw ourselves as responsible for them when we were kids doesn’t mean we are now. Or that they see us that way now.”
He saw what she was getting at, with him feeling responsible for Garrett, but that was different. Marriage was a big deal.
But then, careers were too.
He finished wrapping the potatoes and moved to light the grill.
“I know Aurora is a grown woman,” Beth continued, “and the very definition of independent, but I worry she’s unhappy because she had to leave LA.”
“She seems really happy to me.”
“But she could be doing so much more out there. Did you know she was the top of her class at culinary school?”
“I did not know that.”
“And she was the youngest chef to ever be hired by that restaurant group in LA. I know the hours were crazy and she was stressed most weekends, but after a couple of years there, she could’ve written her ticket. Gone anywhere, worked at any restaurant, maybe even earned a Michelin star level.”
“Hmph,” Sawyer responded. “Will you hand me the potatoes?”
“Hmph? That’s it? What do you mean, hmph?”
He turned to her, chuckling. “No, I mean, that is impressive. And I’m sure Aurora could do pretty much anything she set her mind to, but I also got the impression she’s doing exactly what she wants, exactly where she wants. She didn’t seem stressed while in my kitchen. And she was telling me about how the town needed a farm-to-table restaurant, and how she’d met with some vendors. She didn’t come across like a person who was unhappy with where she was, career wise.”
Beth stared at him, a potato in each hand.
“Can I—” He waved her over. “Think I can have those now?”
“Oh. Sorry.” She handed them over. “I just…so she seemed happy?”
“Very.” He nodded. “And she was saying something about the freedom of doing the food for the shower. Because she got to do basically whatever she wanted, how she wanted.”
She continued to stare as he worked the grill. “I never thought about her liking it here more than being in Los Angeles. I thought that was her dream.”
“Dreams change,” he said. “And you never know. Maybe she likes being home.”
“Yeah, and our home is especially awesome so…”
He laughed and closed the grill’s lid. “Those will take longer than the steaks. I’m assuming and hoping you don’t like your steak charred beyond recognition.”
“No, medium rare at most, thanks.”
Be still his beating heart. “You want something to drink? Soda, beer, wine?”
“A glass of wine would be nice, if you have some.”
“We always have red wine on hand. Doctor told Joe that red wine was good for his heart, so Joe took that to mean he needed to have a glass of upper-shelf red almost every night.”
They went inside and downstairs to the small cellar in the basement.
“My gosh, this is so cool.” Beth went to the corner where they kept the wine and ran her fingers across the bottles.
“Well it’s cool down here. Best place to keep them. Ever had a wine from Valley Falls Vineyard?”
“I’ve heard of them, but no.”
“I think they only grow grapes for two or three of their wines, but the winery puts out six or seven varietals altogether. Lina swears by this Tempranillo. Want to try?” He turned, wine in hand, to find Beth staring at him in the dim cellar light. “What?”
A smile curled the corners of her lips. “I just didn’t expect to ever hear you talking about wine varietals with such surety.”
“Is that a nice way of saying you didn’t think some ole cowboy like me knew a Tempranillo from a Merlot?”
Her laughter filled the basement. “I didn’t say that. But you can be full of surprises sometimes.”
“I’ll have you know that I am a Renaissance man,” he teased her.
Her laugh grew louder and his chest filled.
“Fine, maybe not exactly,” he admitted, “but I know something about some things.”
Beth’s eyes and smile were so bright she lit up the dark corners of the room. “You are too much, Sawyer Silva. I bet people around here would be shocked to know how good-natured you can be.”
“Are you insinuating folks in town think I’m bullheaded?”
“I’m not insinuating. I’m straight-up saying it.”
It was Sawyer’s turn to laugh as they left the basement, Beth ahead of him. “Oh, so now you’re funny?” he baited.
“I’m always funny,” she said, glancing back at him, eyes flashing green.
They returned to the back patio and he checked on the potatoes while she poured the wine. She brought him his glass and they stood near the grill in a comfortable silence.
“Are you warm enough?” he asked, as the temperature was quickly dropping.
“I’m great.” She smiled and sipped her wine.
But a moment later, “There is…one thing I’d like to talk to you about.”
“Good thing or bad thing?”
“I’m not sure, actually. At first, I was convinced it was very bad.”
His stomach plummeted through the patio’s stone. She knew. She’d found out about his checking up on Shelby.
“Now, though, I’m not sure what to think.”
Or not. “Okay, go ahead and we’ll see.”
“I met with a potential bride earlier today. Her mother had heard from another lady in town that you were bad-mouthing Orchard Inn to your brother, in a parking lot downtown for all the world to hear. Is that true?”
She didn’t take a breath between sentences.
“No, that’s not true.”
“You weren’t outside of a bank or financial office building saying your brother shouldn’t get married at our inn, like the inn is trash?”
“I did not say the inn was trash. Who told you this, again?”
“That doesn’t matter. I thought we’d moved beyond all of this.”
“We have.”
“Then you didn’t say he shouldn’t get married at the inn?”
“No, I…it wasn’t like that.”
“Then what was it like?” Beth crossed her arms and waited.
Sawyer was no longer worried about a chill in the air. He was sweating bullets.
“I have absolutely no issue with Orchard Inn. I think it’s the perfect place for a wedding and any other event. I was upset with Garrett because—”
If he said they’d had a confrontation about Garrett putting Shelby on his accounts, that would only make Beth more upset and likely cause another argument. He refused to do that again. His issue had nothing to do with Beth.
“I was upset because he was making some financial decisions and being covert about it. I didn’t want him spending even more money on the wedding when I’m already committed to help, and he needed to slow down and not jump things. There was no reason to rush to get married.”
Beth stared him down. Unsurprisingly, she was not easily convinced.
“I can see how that’d be misinterpreted, given my tone and my…”
“Intensity?”
“Yeah. Fair enough. Intensity.”
She gave him a slight nod and sipped her wine. At least she’d uncrossed her arms, yet she remained silent.
“I’m sorry that kind of message got back to you. Especially after what we’ve been through and sorted out. I don’t want you to ever think that I doubt your inn, your job as a planner, or you. Any…issues I have are family issues. They’re my issues with my brother. Not yours. Please don’t ever think differently.”
She nodded again, more firmly. “You promise you are not out and about trash-talking the inn? And you aren’t going to?”
He held up one hand as if he were being sworn in. “I swear I’m not, nor will I ever be, trash-talking the inn or you, or anything to do with Orchard Inn.”
Beth took a steadying breath and gave him a final nod. “Fine. I’ll take you at your word.”
And that was all he could ask for.
He knew better than to air family business in public. Any family business.
He’d been rash with his brother, acting hastily instead of letting his temper cool. Over the years, he’d gotten better at taking a walk or at least counting to ten before confronting an issue with anyone, but with Garrett, that had gone out the window.
“I’m going to put the steaks on now,” he said, swearing to himself he’d do better.
It took mere minutes to have the steaks ready, and they sat at the outdoor table, with refilled wineglasses, mixed greens with a balsamic vinaigrette, steaks, and baked potatoes with butter, salt, and pepper.
The ideal meal, with the best dinner companion he could ask for.
“You still warm enough?” he asked.
“I’m good.” She raised her wineglass. “Fruit of the vine helps.”
They began eating and once Beth bit into her steak, she moaned around her fork.
Sawyer shifted in his seat. “Good?”
“So good. Oh my word.”
“It’s all about the quality of the meat. And Texas has the best.”
“You’ll get no argument from me.”
They continued eating and, while he loved that they didn’t need to fill up the evening with pointless small talk, he did want to finish their talk about her sister.
“We were talking about Aurora and her cooking earlier. Do you think you’ll ask her if she’s happier being back in Texas? Or see if she wants to go back to LA once business turns around at the inn?”
She chewed in thought for a long moment. “Maybe? I don’t know. If it comes up? It’s a catch-22 because she may think I want her to go, or she may feel obligated to stay. The timing has to be right.”
“And it’s hard to say the right thing. I’m sure I come across like a bull in a china shop with my brother sometimes, but I only want to spare him some of the mistakes I’ve made.”
“Exactly! I don’t want Aurora to give up her dream of owning a restaurant one day so she can cook at the inn forever. That wouldn’t be fair to her.”
“Yep. And I want Garrett to learn from what I’ve done, how I’ve messed up, and save himself the pain of finding out the hard way.”
“Like with your ex?”
Sawyer’s gaze flew to hers, but in her eyes he found no judgment, no prying intent. Just a need to understand.
“Yeah. Like with my ex.” He took a sip of his wine. “So you heard about that?”
“Not really. A little.”
He smiled, already knowing the truth. “Lina and Joe told you earlier, didn’t they?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m not going to ask how that topic came up. Not sure I want to know.”
“We were talking about your…hesitancy regarding the wedding. I didn’t understand why. So they told me. I imagine it was awful.”
“It was, but it’s been over a year now. Time to move on.”
“Sure, maybe. But that’s not always how the mind works. Sometimes it takes a little more time.”
“Maybe. We’d been engaged for a couple of months and, boom, it all went to hell and we were through.”
“What happened?”
“What usually happens. What we had was built on a lie so it didn’t last.”
Beth’s gaze softened. “I’m sorry you went through that, but to be fair, that’s not what usually happens.”
“In my experience it does.” He recognized how bitter he sounded, but there was no reason to hide how he felt from her.
“What was the lie?”
“That she loved me. I found out she was seeing someone else while she was with me. Probably even before we got engaged. I thought I knew her. I thought she was the one. I’d always been a good judge of character, but I was so far off base with her.”
She nodded. “Love can make us blind.”
“Exactly.”
“But not always. Some love is good, and real, and it makes us see.”
Not his experience, but he guessed it was possible. “I suppose.”
“Do you think all women are like your ex?”
“No. Not at all.”
“Do you think you’ll be able to trust again?”
“Yeah. With the right woman, I think so.”
Beth smiled softly at that and sipped her wine. “It’s not just about it being the right woman, though. Your trust comes from you. You must be willing, and ready. Otherwise, it won’t matter how right the woman is.”
“Guess I’ll just have to go out on a limb and trust her?” He shared her smile.
“I guess you will.”
He didn’t break eye contact as a slow and steady warmth spread across his skin. It had nothing to do with the wine.
Beth leaned forward and set down her glass. His muscles tightened as he wondered about what she’d say or do next.
“You should let me handle cleanup, since you cooked,” she said.
Disappointment relaxed his muscles. “You don’t have to do that.”
“At least let me help.”
They rose and she gathered up their plates. She took them inside and he followed with the empty salad bowl and grilling tools. They went back outside for the rest, and Beth stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“Thank you for dinner,” she said, standing so close to him.
“You’re welcome. I enjoyed this.”
“I did too.” Her eyes sparkled as she smiled again. She seemed impossibly close. Close enough to kiss.
“You sound surprised by that.”
Beth dipped her chin and laughed. “Not surprised, exactly. Just…okay, maybe a little surprised.” She met his gaze again, and in her eyes he saw his attraction, his desire to know more, mirrored.
He slipped the salad dressing bottle from her hands. “I can finish cleaning up.”
“Uh-huh.”
“You should come back and see Amber in a couple of days. Once she’s up and moving around at full capacity.”
“I’d…” She wet her lips. “I would like that.”
He touched her empty hands with his fingertips.
“And I’d like to kiss you. Right now.”
She barely managed a nod before his lips met hers.
Her lips were warm, soft, and giving. He kissed her until she leaned into him, molding her frame to his. His hands found her waist, the side of her face, then the curve of her neck.
She smelled like the evening air and felt like heaven, and when the smallest sound left her lips, he had to pull away a moment to contain himself.
Beth’s gaze sparked in the moonlight. “Wow,” she whispered.
His sentiment exactly, so he kissed her again, this time his fingers in her hair, cradling the base of her neck. She kissed like she lived. With intention, and purpose, passionate, leaving no room for doubt about what she thought or how she felt.
It was everything he’d wanted since the moment he met her. He could’ve kissed her all night, but her phone began to ring inside her purse.
They ignored it at first, and the call went to voicemail.
Then it immediately rang again.
“I better get that.”
Chapter 12
With a disgruntled huff, Beth grabbed her purse and dug around until she found her phone. The number was local, but she didn’t recognize it.
“Hello.”
“Is this Beth Shipley?”
Some telemarketer better not have interrupted their kiss, or she was going to—
“This is the administrations desk at St. Anthony’s Hospital. You’re listed as emergency contact for Cece Shipley.”
Oh god, what had happened?
“Yes, this is Beth Shipley. Cece is my sister.”
“Okay, hon. Well, your sister is here in our emergency room.”
“Oh god.”
“Now, don’t worry. She’s okay, but she requested we call you so you can come get her.”
“What happened?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t go into all that. HIPAA and all that, you know. But can you come down here now?”
“Yes. Yes, absolutely. I’m on my way.” Beth hung up on the nice lady. “My sister is in the ER. Something has happened to her but they can’t say what.”
Sawyer rushed closer, his hand on her shoulder. “What can I do?”
Beth looked around, frantic for her purse, which was still right in front of her.
“Let me take you to the hospital. You shouldn’t drive if you’re upset.”
He led her to his truck and they made it to the hospital in record time. She called Aurora to let her know what was going on as Sawyer pulled right up to the ER door. “Go on in and I’ll park. I’ll wait in the lobby if they let you on back.”
