Page 15 of The House on Blueberry Lane

“No, it never came up, although I did tell him about my parents. I have no reason not to share who I am with him, though. From what I understand, he and his family have plenty of money and he didn’t come off as someone who would need mine.”

“At least that much I can vouch for. He’s a nice guy, well-mannered, successful and professional. His only downfall is that he is bad news just like those Steeles.”

Velvet shrugged. “He’s not looking for a serious relationship with a woman and I get that.”

“But you want a serious relationship with a man, Vel. I know you. Casual sex isn’t your thing.”

Ruthie was right. Casual sex wasn’t her thing. She always dreamed of having the same solid and loving relationship that her parents shared. And she wouldn’t settle for anything less. “I might be just the one to change his mind, Ruthie.”

Ruthie shook her head. “Don’t hold your breath for that to happen. Jaye Colfax is a total player. Don’t let him break your heart. Promise me that you won’t let him do that.”

Velvet saw the deep concern in Ruthie’s eyes. “I promise, Ruthie. I won’t.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Present day

VELVET WOKE UP bright and early the next morning, immediately remembering what year it was and the fact that she was not in Phoenix but in Catalina Cove. Taking her thoughts down memory lane had been difficult, and she ended up drinking more wine than she’d intended. It was a good thing there was no school today. She enjoyed her weekends, especially those where she had nothing planned.

Then she quickly remembered she did have something planned today. A bridal meeting hosted by Sierra. She had asked Velvet to be one of her bridesmaids. Velvet felt honored to have been chosen and looked forward to the get-together at noon. She quickly pushed the thought to the back of her mind that she was always a bridesmaid and never a bride. In June, she would be a bridesmaid in Ruthie’s wedding, too.

“Oh, well,” she muttered, getting out of bed. If anybody would have told her that she would be looking thirty really close in the face and still be single, she would not have believed them.

She’d been so convinced Jaye truly loved her and would realize it and make her his wife. She’d been crushed to discover he hadn’t loved her at all—just the sex. Heck, she’d loved the sex, too, but that was only a part of what their relationship had been about. Too bad he hadn’t known that.

Unfortunately, she had broken the promise she’d made to Ruthie. Her friend had asked her more than once not to let Jaye break her heart. She had promised Ruthie that she wouldn’t, but in the end she’d allowed him to do that very thing.

She heard a noise and knew it was coming from outside. Moving to the bedroom window, she nudged the curtain slightly aside and saw him. Jaye was whistling while busy painting the storage shed in the backyard. Although it was something Delisa had planned to have done at some point in the future, why was Jaye spending his Saturday morning doing it? It wasn’t like he owned the place. He was just a tenant like her. But then she knew that Jaye was a man who liked using his hands. Whether it was cooking, building or repairing things, or...using those hands on her.

She pushed the thought from her mind and recalled that Jaye’s paternal grandfather had owned a huge construction company in Phoenix, and while growing up, Jaye and his brothers had worked alongside their grandfather. That was the reason Jaye could build almost anything. She recalled one weekend he had installed new kitchen counters and he’d enlarged her patio deck one summer. The one thing she’d liked about Jaye was that he never let his wealth dictate any limitations. He always said that no job was beneath him if the work needed to be done or if he wanted to do it.

Velvet had felt the same way. She knew there would be some who would not understand why the Spencer’s restaurant heiress would want to teach instead of functioning as CEO of her mega corporation. She was asked that all the time while living in Seattle and she began her teaching career. She got tired of explaining herself to people, although she’d been tempted to tell them many times it really wasn’t any of their business.

That was one of the reasons she’d made the decision not to broadcast her connection to the restaurant chain when she relocated to Phoenix. She’d kept that same mindset when she’d moved to Catalina Cove. Those she wanted to know knew. She was never one to flaunt her wealth.

Velvet continued to watch Jaye work and was ready to drop the curtain back in place if he glanced toward the house. The last thing she wanted was for him to see her staring out the window at him. But dang, she was definitely enjoying the view as her eyes followed his every movement. His hands certainly knew how to handle a paintbrush.

If she recalled, his hands knew how to handle just about anything...

Sharp, intense, sensations flowed through her when she remembered how those same hands knew how to handle her. She would come apart under the ministrations of those very skillful and gifted hands. Just watching how they were stroking paint on that building reminded her of the feel of them stroking her the same way. The memories caused heat to flare within her. Two years had been a long time to go without being made love to when Jaye had made love to her every single night.

She was about to drop the curtain in place when he shifted positions. But instead of looking toward her window, he turned and she could now only see his back. When he stretched his tall frame to paint an area higher up, her eyes stretched with him. She always thought he had a nice physique and that hadn’t changed. January weather in the cove was comfortably cool, but forecasters said today would be in the seventies, so Jaye wasn’t wearing a jacket. She thought the way his T-shirt and jeans were fitting his body should be outlawed. Jeans that hugged his firm hips and strong thighs. She couldn’t help remembering the tight hold those same thighs would have on her while thrusting hard into her over and over again.

The memory set the area between her legs throbbing. That was the last thing she needed now. Just recalling their time together was filling her with an intense need that was nearly unbearable.

She would take a shower to cool off. Then she would get dressed and meet Sierra and the other bridesmaids for lunch at the Green Fig. Jaye had another side of the building to paint and, hopefully, by the time she returned, he would be finished and back inside. If past weekends were anything to go by, she wouldn’t be seeing him again today, which made her wonder how he spent his weekends. Then she recalled what Sierra had said about Jaye refusing to date any of the single women in town. But those had been the ones who’d thrown themselves at him. Would he eventually meet someone of his own choosing?

Velvet took another look at Jaye and that fine body of his before dropping the curtain in place and moving away from the window.

JAYE HAD KNOWN the exact moment Velvet began looking at him. Out of the corner of his eye, he’d seen the curtain move and had known she was there. The primitive evidence being the way his body had reacted...the way it always reacted whenever she looked at him in a certain way. He had been tempted to turn around so she would know he was fully aware of her presence but then decided against it. She’d once told him she enjoyed looking at him when he wasn’t aware she was doing so, so he decided to let her. He had plenty of time on his hands, which was one of the reasons he had decided to paint this storage shed.

The building wasn’t an eyesore. Far from it. In fact, he figured it had been painted just a few years ago and had done a good job of withstanding the Louisiana weather. However, while out jogging, he had wondered what he could do during the weekends to stay busy. He liked boating but he didn’t want to spend an entire day out on the water when the object of his attention, desire and affection would be here at this house on Blueberry Lane.

Last night, he’d tossed and turned for most of it. Eventually, he’d rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, remembering the day he and Velvet had met. He’d thought about that day a lot lately.

He knew from talking to Vaughn this week that Sierra had invited the women who were part of her wedding party to meet today at the Green Fig. That meant Velvet would be attending since she was a bridesmaid. By the time she returned, he would have the grill fired up and the meat cooking. He loved to grill and Velvet hadn’t been able to turn down any Colfax grilled barbeque ribs yet.

He recalled the first time she’d bit into one. The look on her face had totally turned him on. But then it hadn’t ever been difficult to get turned on by Velvet. They’d had a perfect sex life and he knew she assumed during the three years they’d been together that he’d only seen her as a sex partner. For a long time, he’d thought the same thing. The person who said you don’t miss your water until the well runs dry knew exactly what they were talking about.

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