Chapter Six
Where were her sports bras?
Bras didn’t just disappear into thin air. It was hot, and Jade was sticky and sweaty and she needed a damn sports bra. She couldn’t stand unpacking her house in her oppressive, confining regular one for another second.
Okay, think.
The night she’d packed up her dresser was the same night she’d gotten that super-nasty phone call from her stepmother, Cassandra. Jade remembered because she’d been holding a pair of stockings in her hand when she answered the phone, and she’d imagined choking the life out of the woman with them. After hanging up, she had opened a bottle of wine—
Bingo.
She went into the kitchen and, lo and behold, there were her bras, folded up in a box with her wine bottles.
She barely had a comfy sports bra over her head when the doorbell rang.
Weird.
No one knew her address…except Hunter because she’d foolishly given it to him when he was still working for her. She groaned inwardly.
Please don’t let it be him. After hours of working around dust and grime, she didn’t feel like facing him with sweat dripping down her back.
She opened her door to a tornado.
Dark hair, ebony skin, and a giant fruit basket came barreling at her, shoving her back inside her living room with a giant hug.
“Oh praise Jesus! You’re a girl!”
Oh no.
Her first religious nut.
Jade had heard of religious crusaders going door to door trying to convert people, but had never encountered one on her own doorstep before. She never imagined they would be so touchy-feely, though.
She carefully peeled the woman off her and was surprised to see she was very striking. Her hair was long and wavy, held back by a brightly colored scarf, her eyes were a deep chocolate, and she was stylishly dressed in a peach maxi dress.
“I prayed you would be a woman,” her visitor exclaimed. “And I’m so glad you’re not my grandmomma’s age, or a single mother with five kids, and— Oh, I bet we have so much in common!”
Jade stared, awestruck by her visitor’s presence. Vibrant was the best way to describe her. “I’m sorry, who are you?”
The woman shook her head and smacked herself in the face. That sounded like it actually hurt. “I’m such a goof.” She pointed at herself. “I’m Ivy, your next-door neighbor.” In lieu of a handshake, she wrapped Jade up in another hug. “What’s your name, honey?”
“Uh, I’m Jade.”
Ivy burst into…a cackle? Jade assumed it was her laugh, but the sound had a bit of a witchy flare to it.
“Ivy and Jade,” Ivy said, clutching her chest. “Oh my God, we sound like a couple of strippers, don’t we?”
Hunter’s warning of being cautious with the friends she made suddenly flashed through Jade’s head. This one might seriously be off her rocker.
Ivy didn’t wait for a response but started giving herself a tour of the house. Jade looked down at the large fruit basket in her hands and—wait, no, it wasn’t a fruit basket. Was that a rat trap in there?
“So, what brings you to our little hamlet, Jade?” Ivy called out from the kitchen.
Jade set down the basket and walked in to find her casually rearranging the magnets on her fridge.
“I’m opening up a beachwear shop downtown, right by the marina. Chic on the Beach.”
Ivy looked back at her, squinting in thought. “Oh, right. I’ve seen the coming soon sign. I was wondering what was going on. Love the name, by the way.”
Ivy was making her way from room to room, dodging boxes and stepping over random pieces of furniture. Jade followed because she really didn’t know what else to do.
“How long have you lived here?” Jade asked, figuring that was a safe place to start.
“About five years,” Ivy replied. “I’m from Georgia originally, but my husband, Garrett, grew up here. We moved here after we got married.” She picked up a tank top from one of Jade’s suitcases and held it up. “I have a shirt exactly like this, except mine has penises all over it.” She cackled again. “Got it for my bachelorette party. I made the mistake of wearing it into the pharmacy one time. Within ten minutes, I’d been cussed out, hit on, and an older couple had stopped to pray for my soul.”
Okay, so maybe not a religious nut…
Ivy’s cackle was becoming contagious, and Jade couldn’t help it. A laugh bubbled up her throat, and it felt…really good.
“No penis shirts in public,” Jade mused. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I suppose it depends on the kind of impression you want to make,” Ivy said, making both of them chuckle. “Garrett works on an offshore oil rig, so he’s away for weeks at a time. I’m left here all alone when he’s gone. Sometimes I’m perfectly fine with it. Other times I feel like I’m losing my marbles.”
“Do you not like it here?” Jade asked. It would be nice to hear an honest opinion from a fellow outsider.
Ivy vigorously nodded her head. Woman’s going to give herself a headache. “I love it here. The town is quaint and peaceful.” She pursed her lips. “It’s just…”
“I’m sensing a ‘but,’” Jade said warily.
“No. There’s just…a lot of small-town thinking around here, you know? Some of these people live in their own little bubbles. They don’t realize there’s a whole big world out there where well-done isn’t the only way to eat a steak. And women can look nice without being called harlots or accused of thinking they’re better than everyone else. Where salmon is both a type of fish and a color. And where people actually know what freaking kale is!”
Jade couldn’t explain it, but listening to Ivy’s semi-hysterics made her feel…comfortable. “I love kale,” she said with a grin.
Ivy’s shoulders relaxed. “Thank God. Because if I have to listen to one more conversation about why the local grocery store selling Maxim magazine is immoral and disgusting, my head might explode.”
What did that have to do with kale?
All of a sudden, Ivy threw her hands up. “Oh, my gift!” She pranced out of the room and returned seconds later with the huge non-fruit basket. “This is my welcome basket for you.”
She shoved it into Jade’s arms and started digging through the assorted items inside. “All your moving-in essentials are here. Let’s see. There’s disinfectant wipes, bathroom cleaner, Command strips and hooks, candles, bath oils, and—”
“Rat traps?”
“Oh yeah,” Ivy said, waving her hand as if rat infestations were no big deal. “It floods around here sometimes when tropical storms blow through, so it’s always good to be prepared for the little bastards.”
Jade nodded. Something to look forward to.
“And most important,” Ivy continued, “a bottle of some of the best Cabernet Sauvignon you’ll ever have. In my experience, unpacking always goes smoother with a glass of red in hand.” She patted Jade’s arm. “I have a feeling you’ll need it.”
Clearly, this woman wasn’t off her rocker.
The label of the wine looked familiar, and Jade leaned forward to get a better look. “I may have had this before. What year is it?”
Ivy snorted. “We don’t look at years around here, honey. All we care about is the alcohol content, and this stuff has a darn good amount.”
Jade was liking her new neighbor more and more. She was actually feeling a bit warm and fuzzy. Receiving a gift like this—one that actual thought and care had been put into—was, sadly, a new thing for her. She wasn’t used to unprovoked acts of kindness. She was more touched by the small gesture from this flamboyant woman than she could say.
Other than her friend, Gwen, she hadn’t had many girlfriends in DC, and she hadn’t even known Gwen that long.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. “This is really sweet of you.”
Ivy waved her off. “Oh please. That’s nothing, honey. If you really want to repay me, you can let me come over occasionally to drink wine and let me bitch about my job.”
“I’d like that. Where do you work?”
“I’m a dental hygienist down at Dr. Mayweather’s office. And let me tell you, it isn’t as glamorous as it sounds.” Ivy sighed, getting a far-off look in her eyes. “But man, oh man it makes for some great stories. Like this one time, a patient got so hopped up on laughing gas he started to take his pants off in the chair and sing the chorus line to Oklahoma!”
Jade grinned. She could totally be friends with this woman. “Feel free to drop by anytime to vent. I’m sure I’ll have a lot of questions for you about the goings-on around here.”
“Oh, you definitely will. Maybe—”
The loud ring of the doorbell interrupted her. She stopped talking and dashed over to the front windows before Jade could even react to having yet another visitor.
Another neighbor?
Ivy peered through the windowpane and turned back to Jade with both eyebrows raised. “Woo-wee, girl,” she said with a low whistle. “What in the world is Hunter Sparks doing on your front porch?”
“What?” Jade screeched and sprinted over to the window.
Sure enough, there he was. Standing tall in all his gruff, manly goodness. He rang the doorbell again, and she swallowed around her dry mouth.
“He’s my contractor,” she whispered. “Was my contractor. He quit.”
Ivy clicked her tongue. “I guess it’s too late to warn you about that one.”
Yes, it was.
Because she had not only slept with him. She had allowed him to infiltrate her thoughts and invade her dreams.
But she didn’t care how drool worthy the man was, she was keeping the walls she’d erected around her heart guarded at all times. A veritable fortress of emotional protection.
She had to.
For her own sake and sanity. She could not take one more heartache in her life.
His eyes darted to the window and spotted her before she could lurch back out of view. He gave her an obnoxious finger wave as if to say I’m not going anywhere until you open the door.
She stepped back and tried to straighten her hair, but knew it was a fruitless task. Ivy stood at her back as she opened the door.
His smile was waiting for her. For some frustrating reason, her chest felt lighter at seeing it.
“Jade,” he said, nodding. “Hello again.” His eyes flicked to the space over her shoulder. “Hey, Ivy.”
“What’s shakin’, dollface?”
“Same ol’, same ol’,” he replied, the familiarity between them obvious. “Garrett still out?”
“Yep. Supposed to be home next Wednesday for four days.”
Hunter’s gaze landed back on Jade. “How’s the unpacking going?”
She gestured to the room behind her and tried not to sigh. “Slow, but it’s going. You come here to tell me you’ve changed your mind about the job?”
Because that was the only rational reason for him to be standing in her doorway.
Some of the light faded from his eyes, though he tried to hide it with an easy grin. “Not exactly. I just, uh, thought this might help.” He held out a piece of paper. “I made a list of folks you can call about the renovations. All these guys should shoot you straight on estimates. I trust them.”
She took it from him, squirming when his smoldering dark eyes remained on her. That too-serious look was doing funny things to her insides.
“Thanks,” she mumbled.
He hesitated for a second, the tension in the air thickening. She was distracted by the way the glow of the sunset behind him lightened his dark beard. He was much too attractive for his own good. All the women in this town must flock to him like sharks to blood in the water.
She sensed there was more he wanted to say, but suspected her neighbor’s presence kept him silent. She wasn’t sure if she was grateful or not.
She wanted to be mad at him—and truthfully, she was. She should be angry after the bind he’d put her in. But more than anything, she was enamored of the giant sexpot. Completely and totally attracted.
And that was even more infuriating.
She knew better than to be drawn in by a pair of broad shoulders and a dirty mouth.
Fortress of emotional protection, she reminded herself.
Eventually, he stepped back. “All right.” He waved his hand toward her living room. “Let me know if you need help moving anything heavy or hanging stuff up. I happen to be pretty handy with a hammer.”
“Oh, I bet he is,” Ivy whispered behind her.
Thank God he hadn’t heard that.
“Well, when you want to put that hammer to good use at my store, you just let me know,” she called out as he sauntered down her walkway.
He stopped to look over his shoulder. “Never give up, do you, Red?”
She shook her head. “Nope.”
“Good.” He gave a curt nod. “Neither do I.”
Leaving her with a rakish grin, he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked to his truck. With rapt appreciation, she watched the material of his jeans pull across his butt as he strode away. His entire body was just so…brawny.
“My Lord, that man is mouthwatering,” Ivy said, breaking Jade out of her stupor.
She closed the door and fell against it, taking a deep breath.
When she looked up, Ivy was giving her a knowing grin. “You want to tell me what’s going on between you and one of Shell Grove’s most eligible bachelors?”
“What makes you think anything is going on?” Jade asked cautiously.
Ivy rolled her eyes. “Because my skin was scorched by the heat coming off you two, and I was standing three feet away.”
Jade collapsed on the sofa, burying her face in her hands. “How much time you got?”
Ivy’s response was immediate.
“I’ll grab the welcome wine. Told you, you were going to need it.”