Page 1 of The House on Blueberry Lane

CHAPTER ONE

VELVET SPENCER SAT in front of her TV with a glass of wine in one hand and the remote in the other. There had to be something worth watching other than romance movies, cop shows and sci-fi films. She was in the mood for none of those. In her present frame of mind, she should just finish her wine and go on to bed. She loved her job as a teacher but was glad she didn’t have to dwell on lesson plans for a while. School had ended for the holidays and with nothing planned this week, she thought she might drive into New Orleans to start early Christmas shopping. Shopping was always a girl’s best friend.

Anything was better than sitting around and letting her thoughts dwell on that town hall meeting she’d attended last Thursday, when she’d seen Jaye Colfax for the first time in two years. That’s when she had ended their relationship and left Phoenix without telling him she was leaving or where she was headed. For two years she had tried building another life for herself without him in Catalina Cove, and had done a fairly good job.

And now he was here.

His presence was already the talk of the town. Everyone at that meeting had been introduced to the wealthy entrepreneur who had purchased the only bank in Catalina Cove. Women were whispering about how drop-dead gorgeous he was and speculating about what it would take to capture such a man’s eye. She had been tempted to tell them unless they were in for an affair that led nowhere, not to waste their time.

Afterward, she couldn’t get home quick enough to call her best friend, Ruthie, to tell her that Jaye was not only in town but would be here for a while to get his newly purchased asset, Barrows Bank, up and running.

Her best friend was just as shocked as she was. Ruthie even brought up the possibility that Jaye had somehow found out her whereabouts and that was why he was in Catalina Cove. Velvet knew that theory wasn’t true. Jaye didn’t run after women. Besides, why now, after she’d been gone two years?

Velvet put the remote on the table and went into the kitchen. She was about to pour some more wine when her doorbell sounded. Who in the world could that be? Maybe it was her neighbor, Delisa Mills, letting her know she was back in town.

Delisa wasn’t just her neighbor but also her landlord. The woman had inherited the huge Victorian-style two-story home that could house a family of fifteen easily. Not needing all that space, Delisa had transformed the house into a duplex with separate entrances—one from the side and one from the front—all without altering the style and elegance of the beautiful and spacious house. Velvet lived in the lower section. Her three bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen and dining area fit her needs and suited her just fine.

Delisa lived above in the second story. A divorcée in her late fifties, Delisa loved to travel and spent most of her time out of the country. She thought the older woman was friendly, and as far as Velvet was concerned, their arrangement worked out great.

When she reached the door, she asked, “Who is it?”

“Jaye Colfax.”

Velvet’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest. What was Jaye doing here? How had he found out where she lived? Drawing in a deep breath, she tried to calm her erratic heartbeat. Glancing down at herself, she was glad she was decent since she hadn’t changed out of the slacks and blouse she’d worn to her dentist appointment that day. With slightly trembling hands, she opened the door.

The porch light illuminated his features, and she went still, taking in just how handsome he was. Jack Colfax, Jr., known to his friends as Jaye, stood there looking simply gorgeous, from his head to his toes and every part in between.

“Jaye. What are you doing here?”

“May I come in, Vel, so we can talk?” he asked with an unreadable expression.

Hearing him say her nickname, which nobody in Catalina Cove used, gave her pause. Ruthie called her that all the time but hearing Jaye say it brought a lot of memories rushing through her mind...and her body.

“Vel?”

He’d said it again. She could easily say no, he couldn’t come in, and they had nothing to talk about. She had put distance between them for a reason. She had given up talking to him then, why should they talk now?

She could tell him just what she thought of him but knew that wouldn’t be a smart move. He was the new banker in town and agitation between them could call for awkward moments she’d rather not deal with.

If nothing else, they needed to talk about the best way to handle things since nobody in Catalina Cove, except for Sierra Crane, knew about her and Jaye’s past. Upon moving to the cove, she and Sierra—who owned the local soup café—had struck up a close friendship.

“Yes, please come in,” she said, stepping back.

When Jaye crossed the threshold, her gaze roamed over him. He was six foot two, but he appeared taller than she remembered. He was dressed in a tailor-made suit, one that fit his toned body to perfection.

Regaining control of her senses, she closed the door behind him and repeated her question. “What are you doing here, Jaye?”

“I think we need to talk.”

Yes, he’d said that, and they had, back when it mattered, and it had gotten them nowhere. “I was about to have another glass of wine, would you like one?”

“Yes, thanks.” There was no need to make sure what she was drinking was what he’d want because she and Jaye always liked the same wine. In fact, they liked most of the same of everything—food, places to visit, music, movies, political party. They’d been perfect together. Perfect for each other. Too bad he hadn’t seen or accepted that.

“Please have a seat. I’ll be right back.” She hurried to the kitchen, holding her breath. It was only when she leaned against the counter that she exhaled. When she’d rented this house, she’d never imagined that Jaye would ever walk through the door, sit on her sofa or share a glass of wine with her. She’d figured when she’d left Phoenix she’d made a clean break. Obviously not.

But then, she couldn’t place the blame solely at Jaye’s feet. He had been upfront with her from the beginning. He wasn’t the marrying kind, he’d said. All there would be between them was companionship and sex, sex and more sex. He’d also made it clear when she’d pushed for exclusivity that although they wouldn’t date others, it was still just an affair. She would be a bedmate and never a wife.

He didn’t love her and could never love her. She thought that she could be content with their arrangement, had convinced herself she could settle. It took her three years to accept that she couldn’t change his mind about loving her, and she knew she deserved more. She’d also known she would never get that more from Jaye. His mother had broken his father’s heart, and Jaye had vowed from an early age never to let someone hurt him that way.

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