Page 62 of The House on Blueberry Lane

Sawyer chuckled. “The one I heard Webb Crawford sent all the single men in the cove, letting them know Velvet Spencer was off-limits.”

Jaye wondered who else might have picked up on his interest in Velvet. Sawyer didn’t count. He was the sheriff, and since moving to Catalina Cove, it hadn’t taken Jaye long to discover that Sheriff Grisham made it his business to notice everything.

“Nope. I didn’t get a memo. Webb Crawford paid me a personal visit instead.”

Sawyer was about to take a sip of beer and the bottle stopped inches from his mouth. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope.”

Sawyer sipped his beer and then said, “For him to do that means he considers you fierce competition. I would love to have been privy to that conversation.”

“I’m glad you weren’t. Let’s just say I all but told Crawford what he could do with his asinine directive.”

Sawyer shook his head. “Good for you. It’s a pity that he can intimidate others into following his orders. There’s nothing I can do since no laws have been broken and, so far, none of the men have complained.”

“All I got to say is that he doesn’t know me,” Jaye said.

“And I guess he also doesn’t know of your past relationship with Velvet, either.”

Jaye held Sawyer’s gaze. “Do I have a past relationship with her?”

Sawyer’s lips spread into a smile. “If there was any doubt in my mind before, there isn’t any now. Whether you know it or not, the two of you generate a lot of heat. Sexual energy is nothing to mess with.”

“Tell me about it. And what makes you think it’s because of our past? Why can’t it be because we met as neighbors and—”

“Cut the crap, Jaye. I don’t know the particulars, but if anyone were to take the time to think about it long enough, they’ll figure things out. Especially since both of you are from Phoenix. Most people never bothered to find out where Velvet lived before moving here, but if they did, they’d begin wondering. So why are the two of you pretending otherwise?”

Jaye released a deep sigh. “Velvet’s choice, not mine. And you’re right about our past. We were together three years and I fucked up big time. My being here in Catalina Cove is no coincidence. I came here to win back Velvet’s heart and no one, especially someone like Webb Crawford, is going to stop me.”

Sawyer gave him a leveled look. “So far Velvet hasn’t filed any complaints of you being a nuisance, so I guess you’re handling your business within the confines of the law.”

Jaye couldn’t help but smile. Leave it to Sawyer to look at everything as law and order. And as far as anyone in Catalina Cove noticing he was attracted to Velvet, he really didn’t give a damn. Even now, he could barely keep his eyes off her. That’s what she got for making herself scarce for over a week. Avoiding him only made the situation worse. Case in point, Velvet glanced over at him and when their gazes connected, he felt a deep stirring in his groin.

“Ahh...maybe this is where I need to make a suggestion,” Sawyer said.

Without breaking eye contact with Velvet, Jaye asked, “What’s that?”

“Unless you want every single person here to figure out that something is going on between you two, I suggest you and Velvet cool off the heat or leave and go take care of business.”

VELVET TRIED NOT to look at Jaye but found it impossible. She had tried so hard to put distance between them and now here they were in Kaegan and Bryce’s party house, across the room from each other, breathing in the same air and sharing stolen glances, and according to Sierra, emitting heat.

She felt his eyes on her again and, unable to ignore it, she turned and saw him looking at her. She knew that look and knew what it meant. If others paid close attention, they would know as well. She should care if they did, but...

“Are you enjoying yourself, Velvet?”

She switched her gaze from Jaye to Bryce when she walked up.

“Yes, I am, Bryce. And I think everything turned out great. Sierra and Vaughn received a lot of nice gifts, and the food is delicious as usual.” The menu had consisted of a feast with all the shrimp, crabs, lobsters and oysters you could eat, and all harvested by Kaegan’s shipping company.

“I’ll let the cooks know that you thought so. You can never go wrong with both Kaegan and my dad in the kitchen. And I want to thank you for all your help, Velvet. I appreciate it.”

“No problem. I enjoyed doing it. Sierra is a good friend. Catalina Cove is a nice town and I’m glad I moved here and got to meet all of you.”

Bryce smiled. “And we’re glad you did, too. And just so you know, I was selective with my invitation list and you’re here among friends you can trust.”

Velvet wondered why Bryce was telling her that and was about to ask when a deep husky voice said, “Excuse me for interrupting.”

Bryce and Velvet glanced up to see Jaye standing there. “Hello, Jaye,” Bryce said, smiling brightly. “I’m glad you came.”

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