Page 63 of Enemies in Paradise

Passion is passion, whether Bear and I are yelling at each other or giving a nice polish to the hood of his Mustang. Right now,my body is having a hard time telling the difference between the two, and I hate feeling torn in two. Angry enough to hurt Bear while also longing so much for his touch that I take an involuntary step closer.

I’ve got to bring the temperature down. “I don’t want—”

“—Mom taught me how to skate on that pond!” Bear explodes, and the tension between us crumbles into pieces. “I want to keep a piece of her alive after she’s gone!”

He steps back, pressing himself against my kitchen table, his chest heaving. Our eyes are still locked, but I follow his lead and put more space between us. His eyes drop from mine, releasing me from my desire, but not from the urge to pull him into my arms and comfort him for the pain that I can now see so clearly.

“Bear…” Britta whispers, touching his arm gently.

He rakes his fingers through his hair, and Britta lets her hand drop. My eyes bounce between them.

“I’m sorry, Bear,” I say quietly.

He shakes his head but doesn’t meet my eyes. He takes a deep breath, then raises his gaze to mine. “Please don’t turn in that paperwork yet. At least give me a chance to convince the city to create a park where the shop is and keep the pond. Mom deserves to have a legacy—a place with her name on it. So people remember her.”

I want to tell him okay, if only to wipe the broken look from his face. I want the anger back that was there a few seconds ago. I want the raging giant. As hard as that Bear is to walk away from, it would be easier to tell him what I have to.

This Bear, though, is about to get his heart broken.

“I scanned the application this morning and submitted it online to the city council and the state historical society.” I reach for Bear, but he twists away from me.

I push back my hurt and force myself to continue. “Your grandpa’s already promised to give the final okay if the citycouncil approves the designation. I’m on the agenda to speak to them on Tuesday about why they should do that and approve my plan to open a bookstore in it.”

Bear drops his head and squeezes his eyes shut. When he lifts his head again, the anger is back, but it’s laced with hurt. He walks past me without saying a word and lets the door slam behind him.

Britta follows but stops long enough to squeeze my hand. “It will be okay. This is more about him needing to grieve than it is you.”

I nod my thanks and push back the lump in my throat.

I wanted to ensure I’d get my bookstore, but not at this cost.

Chapter 20

Bear

I should thank Cassie.

If not for her, I’d never be angry enough to confront Grandpa about choosing to help a stranger over his own grandson. As soon as I leave the shop, I drive straight to his house. He and Granny are headed to Arizona to look at houses and won’t be back until next week, so this may be my only chance before Tuesday’s city council meeting to convince him, face-to-face, that he’s made a mistake.

Granny opens the door and I give her a hug and peck on her cheek before I charge through the house to Grandpa’s den. The smell of steak and potatoes follows me from the kitchen into the TV room where Grandpa is in his recliner, reading the newspaper. He’s had a man cave since before they were athing, and he doesn’t like people barging in, especially when he’s reading.

But instead of the scathing look I expect from him, I barely get a glance. “I thought you’d show up tonight.”

I lose the rational words I’ve been prepping in my head, and burst out with, “You can’t let Cassie turn in those papers!”

Grandpa looks over his reading glasses at me, then folds his newspaper across his lap. “And why is that?”

I stare hard at him. His uncharacteristic calm is disconcerting, but even more so because I’d expected him to at least raise his voice when I confronted him.

“You know why.” I stumble over the words, questioning if Grandpa really does know why historic status will put a permanent end to my plans, or even why the pond is so important to me.

“Pretend I don’t.” He takes off his glasses and grips me with his gray eyes.

I swallow hard to push back the lump of anxiety threatening to block my airway and the words I need to get out. “If the city council signs the documents to make the building a historic site, it can never be torn down. Even if Cassie doesn’t buy it, or her bookstore goes bust after a year, I can’t sell the city on my proposal. They won’t keep the pond without the green space that will replace the building. They want a park with the pond and won’t even consider buying the pond unless the shop can be torn down.”

“That’s not true.” Grandpa pops the footrest on his recliner and pushes all the way back.

“What do you mean, it’s not true? You know it is.”

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