Sunkissed Days Read online

  It would be easy to lie, to say the words and then leave.

  “I…I can’t,” he said, his voice low and gruff.

  Her shoulders dropped, her expression turned sad. “Then why? I know you want me…”

  And he did – more than anything. But…he owed more to the Colemans than to take advantage of her. They had no future, and she deserved more than to be a summer fling.

  So he’d be the bad guy and let her think he didn’t want this – her. He’d rather she hate him now than later.

  “Sorry, Mal, it’s just not gonna happen. I prefer my girls a little bit older.” He shrugged, looked away. Grabbing his forgotten bottle of water, he made his way to the door. “We’ll be done with the roof by the end of the day Friday. Don’t make me go talk to Zeke about what you’ve been doing.”

  And then he was out the door, storming up the pier and cursing himself for being the world’s biggest fool.

  Girls like Mallory Westbrook deserved guys with staying power.

  And as much as he hated to admit it, that just wasn’t him.

  5

  “Tell me how to dress and where I can and can’t be,” Mallory muttered to herself again three days later. It was infuriating. And if she hadn’t been busy working with Pops on organizing his library, she would have pranced around however she damn-well pleased.

  Is that your thing now? Walking around being a tease?

  His words played on an almost continuous loop in her head and each time she heard them, she teetered between embarrassment and rage.

  Mostly rage.

  It wasn’t supposed to be like this! They’d known each other for so many years and she knew Jake genuinely liked her. After the way he kissed her, she knew he was attracted to her.

  No matter what he tried to say.

  It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen him every day since he threatened to tell Pops what she’d been doing. With him working on the house it wasn’t as if she could completely avoid him. The few times she had seen him, however, Mallory could feel the tension rolling off of him.

  She just wasn’t sure if it was sexual or annoyance.

  “There you are,” Pops said as he walked into the room carrying two glasses of lemonade. Had Mallory known he was going to grab drinks for them, she would have offered to go to the kitchen for him. Carefully, he placed the glasses down on his desk and looked around his study. “I think we’re making progress here, sweet pea.”

  Following his gaze, she had to agree. One entire wall was floor-to-ceiling shelves that were lined with books of all kinds – history, fiction, biographies, along with family scrapbooks and Bibles. They’d been on the shelves for so long that they were covered in dust. Mallory had no idea why Pops was suddenly so keen on cleaning the shelves, but she was more than happy to help. They’d spend a lot of time talking about family history and she’d seen more pictures of her relatives in the last several days than she’d seen in her entire life.

  Walking over to one of the shelves they hadn’t started on yet, Pops pulled down a tall thin book and smiled. Turning toward her with twinkling blue eyes, he said, “This is the most important book in this entire study.”

  Curious, Mallory stepped closer. “What is it?”

  He held it up, his smile growing. “This is the history of Magnolia Sound.” Slowly, Ezekiel sat down in his massive, old brown leather chair behind his desk and opened the book. “It’s more of a scrapbook, but everything has been documented in here. The division of the land originally and what was built on each parcel and when.” He flipped a few pages. “Look at these photos, Mallory. They’ve faded some, but you can still see how much the land has changed in the last hundred or so years.”

  Standing behind him, that’s exactly what she did as she looked on in wonder. Page after page showed the growth of the small coastal town – from the original, small homes that eventually were torn down to make way for the larger ones that were currently here. The main street that housed only a few small brick buildings now had storefronts lining it for several miles.

  “One thing that never changes,” Pops said, breaking the silence, “is the water and the peace it brings. We’ve got the beach on one side, the sound on the other, and the land is wide enough to give us all spectacular views.” Looking up, he studied her. “You don’t get views like that back home, do you?”

  Living on Long Island meant she did have water around her.

  She just couldn’t see it from where they currently lived.

  “No, I don’t,” she agreed. “That’s why I love coming here so much.”

  “You should move here. After you graduate,” he clarified. “I can see how much you love this town, Mallory. And once you’re done with school, I think there’s a lot you can do here.”

  Small town life wasn’t really going to be conducive to her career as a computer systems analyst, but she didn’t think Pops would understand that.

  “Maybe,” she said, unwilling to get into that discussion with him.

  “I know you think your fancy degree in computers would be lost here,” he went on, as if reading her mind, “but you and I both know it isn’t exactly what you want to be doing. It’s what you let some guidance counselor talk you into.”

  Her eyes a little wide, she began to sputter. “How…I mean…you don’t know…”

  Placing one weathered hand over hers, his expression softened. “I do know, Mallory. I know how creative you are. How much you like to hide that side of you because you think you need to be some sort of big-shot in the business world.”

  “That’s not it…”

  “For the last two summers, you took painting classes and yoga classes,” he went on as if she hadn’t said a word. “I watch you lend a hand wherever you’re needed. I see you outside with your face looking up at the sun. Why do you want to hide away in a cubicle somewhere?”

  “Pops, I’m not going to be hiding out anywhere.”

  “Seems in my day women were happy to settle down with a man and have a family.” He shook his head. “Now, all everyone does is talk about their careers. It’s not right.”

  Unable to help herself, Mallory leaned over and hugged him. “Times change. It’s not a bad thing, you know.”

  He waved her off. She knew Pops wasn’t usually the warm and fuzzy type, but when it was just the two of them, he normally didn’t mind. Today he just seemed to be in a bit of a mood.

  Rather than stay on a topic that clearly bothered him, she went back to asking about the scrapbook. “Isn’t that where the ice cream parlor is now?”

  Nodding, he pointed to one of the pictures. “This strip of the road is where the record store is, the video game store, the ice cream parlor, and the diner.” He smiled. “Quite an eclectic little town we created from nothing.”

  It was true. Although, by the time Mallory was born, the town was well-established, but there had certainly been growth over the years. New businesses, new residents…still, there was a classic small-town feel that never went away.

  Pops was looking at all the pictures and he just seemed so relaxed, so happy…

  “So tell me something,” she said softly.

  “Hmm?”

  “Why the sudden need to clean up the study? We’ve taken three boxes of donations to the thrift shop already and we’re only halfway through the shelves. I thought you hated doing this kind of thing.”

  He laughed and spun his chair a bit so he could look at her. “It seems like I’m finally tired of listening to your mother and your aunts getting on me about the condition of this house. This summer I’m going to work on a few small projects to get them all to leave me alone.”

  “Oh,” she said, smiling with surprise. “That’s wonderful!”

  The grunt he responded with told her he was fully in agreement.

  “The roof needed to be done but I was told it didn’t count toward the kind of fixing up they all want me to do.” He paused and glanced around his study. “We’re going to do some repairs on the pier, t
he deck, and the boathouse.”

  “The boathouse? But…why? There’s nothing wrong with it! It’s in perfectly fine condition!”

  Okay, defensive much, Mal? She chided herself.

  Taking one of her hands in his again, he gave it a gentle squeeze. “That one’s going to be your call.”

  “What?”

  He nodded. “It just needs a bit of TLC. There are some rotting boards around it and some water damage, but I’d like to get some new furniture for it and I’d like you to be the one to do it. I know how much you love that old shack. Never understood why…”

  Mallory’s heart beat wildly in her chest. So many times she’d envisioned redecorating the old boathouse to her own style and now she could! Not wanting to sound overly-anxious, she asked, “So, um…when will that project be starting?”

  Pops shrugged. “You can start shopping any time. I imagine it will take a couple of weeks before all the work’s done. We’re not changing anything structurally so you can work with the space as-is.”

  Ideas began to swirl in her head – vibrant colors, a big comfy couch, sheer curtains…Oh, it was going to be lovely. Of course it would have a beach vibe, but very chic. There was a great little shop downtown where she always found cute little knick-knacks and it would definitely be the place to go get the final touches. Although…they did have some interesting pieces of furniture for sale there too…

  “…and that’s all going to start on Monday,” Pops was saying and she realized she had zoned out.

  “Wait…what?”

  Before Pops could answer, there was a knock on the front door and whoever it was, decided to let themselves in. Mallory was just stepping out of the study when Jake came strolling down the hallway.

  And her heart kicked hard in her chest.

  He instantly halted and looked around nervously, stuffing his hands into his front denim pockets. “Um…is Zeke around? He asked me to stop by.”

  “He’s in the study,” Mallory replied, hating the slight tremor in her voice. Motioning behind her, she stepped aside and let Jake walk in. She was about to leave when Pops called her back in.

  “Some of this pertains to you too, sweet pea,” he said with a small wink before shaking hands with Jake. “Why don’t the two of you sit down?”

  There were two large leather wing chairs facing the desk and Jake let Mallory take a seat first before sitting down. They both looked at Pops expectantly.

  “I was just telling Mallory how she’ll be responsible for decorating the boathouse after the repairs are done,” he began, looking at Jake. “But I would appreciate it if you could lend a hand should she need it with disposing of the old furniture and moving the new stuff in.”

  Jake gave a curt nod.

  Then Pops looked at Mallory. “Jake will be taking care of most of the repairs himself. With him leaving for college in a little less than two months, I thought it might be nice if he had the opportunity to work close to home rather than driving to a construction site every day.” He paused and smiled at Jake again before returning attention to his great-granddaughter. “He’ll be helping with the study, too. That’s why I needed you to give me a hand with decluttering a little. He’s going to sand these old shelves down and repaint them and even put a fresh coat of paint on the walls.”

  “Have you decided on a color yet?” Jake asked, not looking at Mallory at all.

  Waving him off, Zeke said, “Nah. What does it matter? This used to be white paint on the walls and now it looks yellow. Any color will fade over time.” Then he looked at Mallory. “What color would you recommend?”

  “Me?” she squeaked, nervously glancing at Jake and then back to Pops. “Oh, I wouldn’t know where to begin…”

  “I’d go with a nice soft gray,” Jake said, interrupting her. “It’s neutral, but it would look great against the white trim. Which – I think – we need to think about replacing some of. There are some cracks in the crown molding that would be smarter to replace than repair.”

  “Normally I’d say we need to keep as much original material as possible,” Zeke said thoughtfully, “however, this was all added about twenty years ago so it’s not original to the house. Good call, Jake.”

  Mallory fought the urge to roll her eyes.

  “Why don’t the two of you go get some paint samples – maybe even think about the color you want on the walls of the boathouse, Mallory – and we’ll talk about this more tomorrow?” He slowly came to his feet and yawned. “It’s about time for my afternoon nap. I’ll see you both later.”

  Speechless, Mallory let Pops kiss her on the cheek before he walked out the door. There was no way Jake was going to take her anywhere with him so it wasn’t like that even required a thought, but…

  “Mind if we take your car?” he asked.

  Her head snapped around. “Excuse me?”

  He laughed softly. “Your car. Mine’s full of work supplies and I’d have to clean it out for both of us to ride in it. I just figured yours was closer and cleaner.”

  “Where are we going?”

  Frowning, he replied, “Uh…the paint store. Didn’t you just hear…?”

  “I heard him, but I didn’t think you’d actually listen to him. I thought you’d just go and do it on your own.”

  And dammit, the tremor was back.

  And she sounded a little needy and pathetic.

  Double dammit.

  His smile was patient and it made her feel even more awkward than she already did. “Look, I think we’ve known each other long enough that we can put what happened this last week behind us and…and do this for Zeke.” He paused. “Right?”

  She’d been brutally honest with him thus far so…

  “I’m not so sure.”

  “Oh,” he said quietly, looking at the floor. “Okay. I uh…I guess I’ll go do my thing and you go do yours and…”

  “Yeah,” she said, although she didn’t know why. “I guess I’ll just see you around.” When she went to turn and leave the room, Jake’s hand on her arm stopped her. But she didn’t turn around. She couldn’t.

  He moved in close and Mallory had to fight the urge to lean against him.

  “I’d really like for us to do this, Mal. For Zeke.”

  And that was her weakness – whether he knew it or not.

  There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for her great-grandfather.

  Even put herself in an incredibly painful and awkward position with the man she wanted more than anything and couldn’t have.

  Sighing softly, she turned and looked at him – swore she saw a flare of heat in his blue eyes. “Okay,” she forced herself to say. “For Pops.”

  Before she could say another word, Jake’s hand slowly skimmed down her arm - giving her chills - and he took her hand in his as he led her from the study.

  What in the world had she gotten herself into?

  6

  He was having fun.

  And that was a huge problem.

  The entire week had been…pleasant. Enjoyable.

  Fun.

  Beside him, Mallory was testing paint samples on Zeke’s wall. Jake had refinished the bookshelves and replaced lengths of crown molding and now they were making the final decision on the wall color. Standing back, Jake watched her carefully paint a patch and then step back to consider it. So far there were four different colors on the wall that looked incredibly similar and he already had his favorite, but he was curious what she was going to decide.

  Actually, he was curious about a lot of things where she was concerned. For all the years they knew each other, he found that he was learning something new about her every day.

  She had a spray of freckles across the bridge of her nose that she hated.

  Strawberry ice cream was her favorite.

  She had a mild obsession with boy bands.

  And she had the throatiest, sexiest laugh he had ever heard.

  Every day they ended up spending some time together due to the work he was doing a
round Zeke’s house and rather than avoiding it – like he thought he was going to do – Jake found himself looking forward to it. Mallory seemed more relaxed with him with each day that passed and it made him feel like they were back on even ground.

  Except he was more aware of her than ever.

  Although, he had to give her credit. She hadn’t been spiteful about his request not to walk around in skimpy attire. All week long she’d been dressed conservatively – all girl-next-door and fresh-faced – and it was still driving him mad.

  Only he had no one to blame but himself for his wayward thoughts.

  It wasn’t even as if she were doing anything deliberate to be sexy – she just was. Like now, for instance. Mallory was standing on the other side of the room in a pair of faded denim shorts that weren’t Daisy Dukes or anything remotely short like that, and a simple white t-shirt. Her hair was up in a ponytail and she was barefoot and…he almost groaned. She did have a tiny silver ankle bracelet on and her toes were painted a sweet shade of pink.

  He needed to get a grip.

  Fast.

  All she was interested in was helping Zeke and for some reason, that was more appealing to him than anything else. It had always been obvious just how much affection the two had for each other. They had some kind of special bond. Maybe it was because Sam and Mallory’s dad had taken off and they’d been without a father-figure for so many years, or maybe it was because they were the only two great-grandchildren who didn’t live here in Magnolia Sound. All Jake knew, however, was that none of the other kids were here helping out with the work on the house or spending the kind of time with old Zeke like Mallory was.

  Walking over to her, Jake noticed her biting her lip and his gaze lingered longer than was appropriate, but she didn’t notice. She was still studying the colors on the wall.

  “Which one are you leaning toward?” he asked, forcing his attention to the wall.