Eversea: A Love Story Part 4

"Ha, ha," I managed, pretending like I wasn't moved by the situation at all.

"I mean, a guy can hope right?" He winked.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Yeah, you can hope." G.o.d, I was embarra.s.sed. "So the wall color in here is nice." What?

I continued making bland statements about the house as I anxiously made my way back to the safety of anywhere but his bedroom. I basically bolted. I had almost made it down the short flight of stairs to the front door before Jack caught up with me.

"Hey, careful!" Jack's voice reached me as I slipped on the last step in my haste and barely caught myself. "Keri Ann?" His voice morphed from amused to concerned. He quickly hopped down the last few steps to catch up with me and put a warm hand on my arm.

"Sorry," I managed. "Just felt lightheaded for a second."

Jack chuckled. "Okay?" He didn't sound convinced, and he sucked his lips between his teeth to keep from smiling again. "Do you want to sit down?"

I smiled, ruefully. "No, I'm fine. Look, uh, thanks for the tour ... I'm, uh, I have to get going. To work," I finished lamely and pulled my arm free.

By some miracle, he decided to follow my lead and move on from our embarra.s.sing groin brush. "Okay. No problem. Thanks for the ride. And the groceries." He held the door open for me, a small furrow between his eyes. "See you tomorrow, Keri Ann."

The way he said my name was soft, and altogether too appealing. He said the words deliberately and separately, very unlike the way it had been said to me my whole life ... which was more like Kerianne. I turned and hopped down the steps outside and got into my truck.

I was going to try and recreate the way he said my name in my head for the rest the evening, I just knew it.

S E V E N.

The Snapper Grill was busy. It was Friday night. The weekends, now that the tourists had mostly gone home, always drew the locals out. For me, it meant I hardly had a moment to think about my strange day with the runaway Hollywood hottie. Yeah right. In less than twenty-four hours, he had taken up residence in my life and mind. If I was honest with myself, it was all I could think about. I just couldn't work out whether my feelings were about Jack the man or Jack the hot Hollywood actor or more specifically his character Max. I knew in part it wasn't about Jack the man because, and I couldn't kid myself about this, I hardly knew him. Part of me had to be projecting my feelings for a nonexistent perfect hero onto him.

I thought about what I did know. He was gorgeous, that was a given. But he was also talented, hardworking, funny, and from what little I had gleaned from his conversation with his agent and things he'd said, he was at odds with his life right now. And he was also potentially heartbroken over his ex. That had to point to some kind of depth in him, unless it was just a bruised ego.

Unfortunately, what I kept having to remind myself was that it didn't matter either way. In fact, it would be better for me if he was just a smug celebrity. I needed grounding, badly, and I didn't know who I could talk to about it without revealing who he was. I tried to call Joey right before leaving for work but ended up just leaving a message. It wasn't like I was going to tell him, I just needed to remind myself I wasn't in the midst of a very long and amazing dream.

The busy sounds of the restaurant drew me out of my head. The talk was all about the potential path of the hurricane that formed in the Atlantic a few days ago and headed our way. Butler Cove hadn't had a direct hit in a hundred and sixteen years. People surmised it was something about the way we were kind of tucked in a bit above Savannah before the land curved out seaward again as it went on up to Charleston and Myrtle Beach. I knew it meant our insurance was a bit lower than other seaside towns, and for that I was grateful.

It sounded like the hurricane might be downgraded to a tropical storm, but it reminded me that Mrs. Weaton's cottage needed a new roof. As her landlord, it was my, and Joey's, responsibility. Luckily, I had managed to save up most of her rent money for the last year knowing it was imminent. I needed to see about getting it done though.

"Hey, Hector," I said, swinging through to the kitchen with some dishes. "Is your nephew still on that roofing crew down in Savannah?"

"Chiquita! How is Meester Mystery?" He waggled his eyebrows at me. So much for being surrept.i.tious. Luckily, Brenda, one of the other waitresses who worked with me on our busy weekend shifts, had been on her way out as I entered.

I hissed at him anyway. "Hector!"

"Lo siento! Lo siento! But it is love, yes? You can fix hees broken heart?" I knew Hector wasn't that naive. He was waggling his eyebrows again.

"Stop that. And the only thing that's getting fixed is Mrs. Weaton's roof. Your nephew, can he do it? He'll need to quote me a price first, ok?"

Hector looked totally disappointed I wouldn't play his game. "Si, Si. I call Jose tomorrow, give him your number."

"Thanks, Hector." I smiled prettily and thumped his shoulder. "Gracias."

Jazz popped in around ten o'clock, along with Jasper, Cooper, and Vern and a couple of other regulars from our extended circle. There was a small crew of us left in Butler Cove either by choice or circ.u.mstance, and we'd all gotten pretty close. Liz never made it out to the grill unless her mom agreed to watch her son, and pretty much everyone else from our graduating cla.s.s had moved away for college or greener pastures. Lucky them. It was another busy evening, but as it wound down and got near closing, I found myself looking up every time someone walked through the front door. At close to eleven, I looked up just as Jasper headed over to talk to me. He was looking sleek and put together in his polo shirt and chinos, croakies around his neck like he'd just had lunch at a country club or played a round.

"Hey, Keri Ann," he greeted me. His blonde hair was brushed sideways across his forehead, just so. I thought of Jack with his dark, mussed hair and wondered how long it took Jasper in front of the mirror to make his look perfect. I felt mean for thinking that. He had been the golden boy of our cla.s.s and finished college in three years. I wondered idly why I had never been interested in him romantically. He had certainly had his fair share of the high school girls. He'd never let his popularity go to his head though and always chose to stay friendly with everyone.

"Hey Jasper. What's up?"

"Nothing." He slung a leg over a barstool across from me, his eyes earnest. "So my dad says you need some help with the house Sunday. I was going to come over after church, about twelve thirty. I'll bring some lunch."

I had completely forgotten about Pastor McDaniel sending Jasper over on Sunday. So much had happened between then and now. I had no idea how I was going to get out of it without arousing some major suspicion, and I didn't want to cancel Jack coming over. I tried not to a.n.a.lyze that too much.

"Oh. Um." I had to do some quick thinking. "That's ok. I actually don't even need help at the moment." Ok, maybe that was a dumb thing to say. All my friends knew I always needed help.

Jasper quirked an eyebrow at me with a puzzled look. "Yeah, okay," he said, his tone implying anything but. "I'll see you at twelve thirty."

"No, really. It's just that I was going to take a break from the house on Sunday. I'm really tired. It's been a long week."

"Keri Ann, it's ok, you know. I know you don't like to ask for help, but I don't mind helping you. Besides, even if you want to take a break from the house, you've still got to eat. Like I said, I'll bring lunch. Anyway, I wont be able to stay long, I have to head back up to Charleston."

I nodded. There wasn't really much else I could say. Jasper was a good friend, but I was careful not to take advantage of him. Sometimes, not accepting help was more hurtful to the person offering. I grabbed at the topic change.

"Your parents must be happy you are closer." Jasper had been looking at going further away, but I sensed things at home, namely his father, had caused him to make the last minute decision to stay near Butler Cove.

"They are." There was something amiss with Jasper though. He seemed more introspective and thoughtful than usual. "So, how's Liz doing? I haven't seen her lately."

I smiled. "She's good, still working at The Pig. Brady keeps her busy, but he's doing great, getting big. Apparently he's super smart and way ahead of the curve."

He nodded. "That's great. It must be tough doing that all on her own."

Thinking back to Liz asking after Jasper at the store, I looked at him carefully. We were all friends, it was natural for us to inquire after each other, and I was pretty sure Jasper was not the father of Liz's baby. I'd never noticed any awkwardness between them that would signify something that big, but stranger things had happened.

We chatted some more before he headed out. I should talk it over with Jazz and see if she had any vibes about what was going on with him. I also needed to tell Jack not to come over on Sunday, a thought that was ridiculously depressing since I had the day off.

I knew I couldn't tell Jazz about Jack, but I really needed to talk to someone. She offered to stay and help me close up, so I waited until we were alone and almost done before bringing it up.

"Hey, sooo remember Hoodie Guy from last night, who left right after ordering a burger?"

"Yeah?" Jazz was straightening up the piles of coasters, the one job we really didn't need to do, but it was good to have company.

"So he came back for his burger after you left." I grant you, that sentence, in and of itself didn't say much, but this was me and she was Jazz. Her head whipped around, her eyes suddenly laser sharp and focused on me.

"And?"

"And ... he came in, he ate, we talked. I saw him today-"

"You saw him today? Oh my G.o.d. Is he nice? Was he hot? This is fantastic, so was it like a date? Did he ask you to meet him today?"

This was so not going according to plan. "No, Jazz. Slow down with the questions already. It wasn't like that."

"Sorry, I was just excited that you might actually be interested in someone. Are you?"

I stayed her with my hand. "I mean he's nice and not from here, but he's going through a break up. Well, it may not be a break up, just a break, but basically he's not free."

"What do you mean he's not free? If he's here and going through a break up, he's totally up for grabs. I mean, he wouldn't have seen you today if he wasn't interested, right?"

"It wasn't like that. It was just friendly. Look never"

"Well, wait. Did he say the words break up? Because if he did, that means it's a break up, not a break."

"He didn't use either." I sighed. This wasn't going well. "Look, it was just friendly."

"If it was just friendly, why are you telling me like that and looking like that?"

"Like what?" Now I was confused.

She rolled her eyes. "You are bright red and fl.u.s.tered. The only other time I saw you like that was when Colton Graves asked you to dance in front of the entire senior cla.s.s at prom. You liked him and you like this guy." Trust Jazz to bring that up.

When I was fifteen, Joey invited Jazz and me to his senior prom. It was just after our parents had died and he thought it would be a fun thing for us to do to take our minds off stuff. Colton Graves was on the football team with Joey and he was, without a doubt, the hottest boy there, with Joey supposedly being a near second. Colton and Joey floated down school hallways on a waft of sighs and dreamy eyes. It wasn't that I 'liked' Colton Graves as much as I'd probably needed to let off some teenage emotional steam and he happened to be the target. I was so embarra.s.sed and fl.u.s.tered while we danced I hardly remember the experience. I did a lot of staring at his bowtie. That part I do remember. It was red. Ok, so I had 'liked' him a bit. And remembering the experience definitely put my feelings for Jack in perspective.

I was in serious trouble.

"Ok, look. I do like him. But the problem is he's really attractive, and I guess I am not sure if I like him for him or just because he's hot."

Jazz looked exasperated at my lame explanation, but I pressed on. "Also, he's only been friendly to me, no come-ons at all."

"Can I meet him? Maybe I'll be able to tell if he's interested or not."

No.

"Well, he says he's hiding out here, in case his girlfriend finds him, so he doesn't want to be seen out and about." Even to my ears that sounded weird.

Jazz narrowed her eyes. "Do you think he might be married and is worried someone will think he's cheating? Where's he live?"

"California." It was out of my mouth before I could think.

"Okaaaaay." Jazz looked at me with concern.

I didn't say anything. How could I respond? No it's ok, Jazz. It's just that he's super famous and despite the fact you and I tell each other everything, and I am forever in your debt for helping me through all the deaths in my family, I am going to keep this huge whopper of a secret from you, even though he's actually someone you've had a crush on for, like, five years.

I wished I had never brought it up.

I knew part of me looked at Jack and saw Max. The situation was a little surreal. Big time Hollywood actor at the mercy of small town girl. I mean technically he needed me, he'd either starve or blow his cover. It was probably pretty natural to project a sappy 'romcom' outcome of that particular scenario. I wasn't letting myself go there though. The fact of the matter was, whatever I thought of Jack or why, it was on my side entirely and it would be me who dealt with it when he left, as he surely would in exactly three weeks time. In the meantime, I would have to steel myself against his obvious charm.

I was just so inexperienced with men.

I had been kissed approximately once, two years ago by Jasper. It was fine. A bit awkward, but over quickly and had not, thank the stars, ever happened again after I told him I didn't feel that way about him. I understood this was a little unusual for a girl my age in this century-to have only kissed one boy. The truth of the matter was no boy I knew lived up to the fantasy I'd created from the many books I'd read, and I wasn't going to settle. And I for sure wasn't going to have s.e.x with any of them.

I was inexperienced, but I wasn't naive.

"What's his name?" Her question caught me completely unaware. I hadn't really thought anything through about what to call him.

"Um..." I wondered if I should make one up but what if I forgot it? "Jack?"

It couldn't hurt to be truthful about this one thing. There were plenty of Jacks in the world.

"Jack. Okay, you don't seem sure. Keri Ann, are you okay? You are acting really odd, it's wigging me out."

"I'm fine. Totally fine. Just tired."

She seemed to buy that. "Okay, let's get done here and I'll drop you home."

After she pulled up at my house, she made me promise to be careful of Jack and call her in the morning. I was already trying to be careful. It was a confusing situation, made more so by the fact I couldn't tell if my feelings were based on anything real.

I'd felt my phone buzz with a text while Jazz and I were finishing up at the grill, but had forgotten to check it. Pulling it out, I went inside and closed the door. The text on the screen made my stomach dip.

Late Night Visitor: Walk you home?

s.h.i.t. I checked the time, fifteen minutes ago. Had he been waiting outside for me? I quickly texted back.

Me: Sorry, got a ride with Jazz, didn't see this.

My phone buzzed back immediately, searing my palm, or perhaps my nerves. I pressed my lips tightly together, keeping my breath tightly inside me a moment.

Late Night Visitor: Noticed. No problem, have a good night.

So he had been outside. I was surprised, warmed, and regretful all at once that I hadn't checked my phone right away. I bit my lip and tapped out a reply.

Me: Thank you. You too.

I waited, staring at my phone. Would he text back again?

E I G H T.

I woke up at eight, right on the tail end of a dream that was ending way too soon. I was out on the marsh, my bright orange kayak stark against the glittering water as I glided my paddle in and out of the water in perfect rhythm with my breathing.

The sudden sound of ripples and a puff of air had me looking to my right to catch the sight of a dolphin as it dove back under. In it's wake, my eyes were drawn to the paddler in the kayak next to me.

Jack was there, his chest bare and tan, smiling at the dolphin. He looked up too, catching my eye. Slowly his smile faded, and his gaze became intent. "I want to kiss you," he breathed quietly across the water.

His words and the intense way he said them, pounded into me, each one a fist that slowly took ahold of something deep inside. My breath caught. I stared back at him. I think I tried to form some words after a few moments but couldn't, and then he faded away. The glittering of the sun on the water grew brighter. I blinked a few times and opened my eyes as the morning light in my bedroom crossed my face.

It was another warm fall day. I shifted my gaze out the windows where the light filtered through the branches of the huge Live Oak in the front yard. The draped Spanish moss slowly swayed in the breeze. At least the air was moving more today, maybe it wouldn't be so hot.

I thought about Jack in his bed and whether he had remembered to close the blinds. If he had, he may not wake up and get over here before I had to leave for work.

We hadn't really worked out a plan of how and when he would come over today. Riding his motorcycle might draw too much attention. I guessed he would jog over again, but maybe I should go and get him. I dropped that idea as soon as it crossed my mind. If he showed up, that was great. If not, then I guess that meant he was getting his shopping done elsewhere. That thought filled me with the appropriate dread expected of a miserable groupie.

I hadn't heard back from him after my last text.

I sat up abruptly, mentally pulling myself together. I had made it through some pretty traumatic experiences in my life. I was definitely beyond being a sappy little mess who was grateful for a sc.r.a.p of time and attention from a divine being like Jack Eversea.