Finding Promise (The Promise Series, A Small Town Romance) (20 page)

“I got that but what are we celebrating?” Luke was finding
it hard to concentrate on what she was saying, feeling her pressed against the
hard evidence of his arousal.

“Rachel, Faith and I are opening a business together. A
bakery. In town on the waterfront.” Her words were slightly slurred and she was
feeling a bit tipsy. After their idea had sprung, they decided to head to
Caroline’s place and put together their business plan. After nearly a whole day
of facing facts, figures and trying, they’d decided to celebrate with copious
amounts of wine. It was tough work trying to turn a dream into numbers on a
spread sheet.

“Caro, are you drunk?” Luke’s mouth curved. She was always so
sweet and proper that it was a sight to see her inebriated.

“No. I’m only half-drunk. Tipsy, if you wish to label it.”
She swaggered towards him. “Guess what tipsy does to me?”

“What?”

“It seems to make me horny, very horny” He had come here
straight from work. His shirt was streaked with dirt and he had the look of a
man, who’d done hard labor for the day, a bit rugged but oozing yummy
masculinity. Caroline licked her lips, anticipating the taste of him laced with
the saltiness of sweat.

Jesus. She was killing him. He fought for some grounding to
reality. “Really? I can’t say that I’m unhappy to hear that at all but tell me
about this business. You never said anything about this before. When did this…”
He was cut off as she kissed him, hard and hungry.

“Later.” She panted, in between kisses and deliberately slid
out of the arms holding her up to stand on her feet, moving slowly and making
sure that she rubbed against him all the way down. “I’ll tell you later.”
Moving her mouth over his jaw, then his neck, she rubbed her breasts against
his chest. “First you feed me and then we talk. Later.” She repeated, all
coherence gone.

He couldn’t have spoken anyway. He wanted her and he eagerly
took what she offered. He kissed her hard, savagely; his mouth moving over her
body as he used hands and teeth to rip the bits of lace away, her silk robe
slipping conveniently to the floor. Wrestling with him, she pulled his shirt
off and made quick work of unbuttoning his pants. Impatient to be naked together,
they slipped and fell onto the couch with her landing on top of him.

He pulled her down, taking her breast into his mouth. He
sucked, nipped and bit alternatively, making her arch her back in response. He
wanted to taste more. Flipping her so that she was under him, he moved his
mouth down her stomach, licking his way to the apex between her thighs.

The cold of the leather as she hit it, in contrast to the
warmth of his mouth, was erotic, sending her desire to new heights. She felt as
though her senses were being assaulted from every direction, overwhelming her
and forcing her to let go. It was as though she didn’t have any choice; her
sanity depended on her being able to give herself up to that moment. Completely
at his mercy, she cried out in pleasurable agony as he put his mouth on her
again, teasing her as he moved away to kiss her inner thighs only to return to
feast on the throbbing core of her desire.

She needed her mouth on him; to feed on him. Wriggling him
up with her hips, she flipped him over. He fell onto the floor besides the
couch allowing her to straddle him; as she took him deep inside of her. Fingers
tugged and pulled, hands stroked and tongues licked. There were no words
spoken, no apologies for bumps and bruises. They both took and gave in equal
measure, furiously driving an unspeakable passion to bring each other to their
release.

“So, what’s the damage?” Rachel asked the estate agent,
Tommy. The three of them had come to view the shop.

“For this location, being in the hub of the tourist hot
spot, so to speak, and so close to the business district, it’s a good price.”
Tommy’s words prepared them for the dread of the number but not well enough,
their mouths hanging open when he rattled it off. “Of course, it would be
cheaper to buy and the owners would prefer to sell rather than rent. You know,
of course,” Tommy flicked his hand, assuming that being residents of the town,
they’d know why the owner had to leave town, “that Mrs Russell had to move back
to be closer to her mother. Such a tragedy, so difficult, I imagine to take
care of a dying parent. So, it would be more convenient for her if she didn’t
have to worry about shop rental too.” While it was true that the owners
preferred to sell, entrepreneurs requiring a business property were not
plentiful in Promise, unless one counted restaurants and the town already had
enough of those to see it through the peak tourist season. So, he decided that
he’d try another angle. He gave them a figure that made them stop in their
tracks. “So you see, in the long run, purchasing this piece of property would
be a worthy investment.”

“The boutique wasn’t as successful as expected.” Rachel
didn’t mean to sound mean but she also didn’t like the sales pitch he was
giving them. It smacked of extortion.

“Of course but I understand that you want to open a bakery.
That’s an entirely different market.” Tommy waved his hand, brushing away
Rachel’s statement as though it was an insignificant detail. “I for one have
heard a lot of good about Mrs Lowell’s baking.” Looking at Caroline, Tommy
decided that a change in target was called for. “You’ve already created a
reputation for yourself, so I’m sure that a bakery will do seriously well.”

As flattered as Caroline was by the compliment, she could
see where Rachel was going and decided to play it cool. “Thank you, Tommy.
That’s precisely why we’re looking to open a business. Now, I think Rachel is
correct. We need to review at our business plan, investigate the merits of
buying the shop and then we’ll get back to you.”

“I agree. We need some time to think this through.” Faith,
too, could see the hand that Tommy was dealing.

“That’s fine with me but don’t take too long to think. A
property like this will be snapped up quickly.” He indicated the empty room.
“It’s in a prime location, is already registered as a business property and I
feel that it’s only fair to inform you that I have another potential buyer
viewing it tomorrow. They’re from out of town though and I’d hate to see such
an opportunity slipping through the fingers of such delightful, local women. We
all have a responsibility to look after our own first.”

Jeez, he was just too much. Caroline wanted him gone so she
could speak to Rachel and Faith alone. This certainly put a different spin on
things. “If it’s okay with you, we’d like to spend some time alone here so we
can get a feel for the place?”

“Sure, go right ahead. Just lock up when you leave. And if
you need to see the place again or discuss it further with me, just give me a
ring.” He handed his card to Caroline before he left. “Take care now.”

“That one is an operator.” Caroline watched Tommy navigate
his way through the crowded waterfront. Tilting her head to the side, she
contemplated, “I wonder why he reminds me of Brady?”

“It could be the sincerity that you felt from him.” Faith
remarked sarcastically.

“So, what do you think? I think that it’s a pretty big leap
between signing a lease to buying the place outright.” Rachel was already
working out finances. “But, as much as I hate to admit it, he does have a
point. It will cost us more to start with but if we’re serious about making
this commitment, it will save us in the long run. On the down side, can we
afford it? We all agreed that we’ll be partners in this right?” Seeing the
other two incline their heads, she continued, “So, over and above the usual
things one would require to open a business such as licenses, fees and other
legal requirements, we’ll also need capital to put into the place and enough
money to see us through the first few months, which are inevitably hard for any
business. I have a bit of money saved from my inheritance from my parents, so I
could put a third into the business. It’s a risky step, a crazy one but it
deserves to be explored.”

“I know it’s a big step but I think that we have a sound
business plan and I made a tidy sum of money myself that I could put into it?”
Faith replied, thinking of the money she’d made from her art sales. It was
supposed to be her college fund to study art. However, when Matt had broken
things off with her and left town, she’d found that it hurt too much to
continue painting, she’d always considered him to be her muse. So, the money
she’d made from selling her paintings was wisely invested instead, with
Rachel’s advice. She’d never needed the money as life in Promise was simple and
required few luxuries, lessening financial demands. Her investment has thus
been growing without purpose. Maybe this was what it was meant for. She filled
Caroline in as Rachel walked around the room, already aware of her financial
state. “So, you see, it’s like serendipity.”

“I have a bit of cash but not enough. Maybe I could sell the
Range Rover? James had put it in my name; he didn’t want to risk his reputation
in case I got into any trouble, like parking tickets for Pete’s sake. But, his
lack of Faith in me, may give me enough money. I could sell the SUV and get a
truck!” Caroline’s declaration made them all laugh.

“I can’t picture you in a truck, Caro.” Rachel, wiped the
tears from her eyes, laughing as she pictured it, “It’s like Santa on a
Harley.” The image made them laugh more.

Wracking her mind for any other way to find money, she
thought of things she might have brought with that she could sell. “Nope, I’m
afraid that the SUV is the only thing I can think of that will bring me enough
cash. Unless…” Caroline trailed off as an idea started to develop.

“Unless what?” An impatient Faith prompted.

“Unless I go to my parents’ home in New York. I recollect
that I left a lovely six carat yellow diamond ring set in platinum in my old
room’s safe. It even has two tiny bands of platinum brimming with little
brilliants to offset the yellow of the diamond in the ring.”

“Caro, are you sure?” Faith enquired. “From what you told
us, you don’t exactly have a great relationship with your parents and they’re
part of the reason you left New York in the first place. We can come up with
the money in another way. I could sell some more paintings and we could wait.
We have the idea now and maybe that’s enough. We could bide our time until
we’re ready.” Faith looked at Rachel for confirmation, who nodded her
agreement. They’d come to realize how dysfunctional Caroline’s family was and
did not want to cause her any discomfort, even inadvertently.

“No. The more I think of it, the more fitting it seems.
James took so much from me and it’s like poetic justice to use what he gave me
to give myself something I want. The rings aren’t even being used. They’re just
lying in the safe. In fact, I think I have a few more baubles that might bring
in a tidy sum. There’s a tennis bracelet with a total of three carats in it, a
few pairs of earrings and necklaces. If I can get this and sell it, and I know
a few good jewelers that will give me a fair price, I could manage to come up
with a nice tidy sum to do this properly.”  Caroline replied with a
confidence that she was far from feeling.

“Okay. I can buy that but what about your parents?” Rachel
got to the crux of the matter as she so often did.

“And wouldn’t you want to keep some of that honey? If not
for you, for daughters you may have one day?” As excited as she was by the
prospect of this new business venture, Faith didn’t want Caroline to have any
regrets.

“My legacy to my children will not be material things. It
will be the love that they’re raised with and the gift of seeing their mother
work to achieve what’s needed. I was raised in the lap of luxury and would’ve
traded any of that, when I was growing up, to have what you have, Faith, with
your parents.” Caroline spoke with quietly and with conviction, leaving no
doubt in their minds that she was serious. “As for my parents, I’ve dealt with
them before and what’s a bit of unpleasantness in the bigger scheme of things?”
She shrugged, trying to make light of it but they weren’t fooled.

“Well then ladies, it looks like we’re buying ourselves a
business!” Faith’s excitement bounced off her, ricocheting off the walls of the
light, airy, empty shop.

“Let’s take a step back.” Rachel cautioned. “It’s not as
simple as buying the shop, we do need to review our business plan but, what the
heck! I’m in. I’ll help us sort out the facts and figures. Faith, you’ll do
your genius planning thing and Caro, your talent will lure the local tourists
and residents alike and make us a stack of money. Partners?” She looked at
them.

“Partners.” The other two echoed, Caroline ignoring the
handshake that Rachel was offering, pulling them into a hug instead. “That’s
it!” her squeal shocked them apart. “That’s the name. Serendipity,” she said,
savoring its sound. “We can call it Serendipity.”

--------

Boy, he was in for another surprise, Luke thought as he
walked into the house. Mentally preparing himself for the delights she must
have planned, he recalled what had happened when she’d last surprised him like
this, making him quicken his steps to the dining room. The lights were off,
leaving the room glowing in soft candlelight. But she wasn’t in the dining room
and it wasn’t set, yet he could swear that he smelled the heavenly scents of
her cooking. When he didn’t find her in the house, every room in darkness and
her bedroom filled with lit candles, he started to worry. Then, on the kitchen
table, attached to a bottle of champagne, was a note, “Meet me at the back”.
Looking out of the kitchen window, he spotted her. She was sitting on a blanket
spread on the lawn, a picnic laid out in front of her. The candles she’d lit
around the back yard seemed to transform it into a romantic picnic spot. She
was playing the classic tunes she favored, hearing Ella Fitzgerald’s voice
battle with the sound of the waves at high tide.