Be Mine Forever (A St. Helena Vineyard Novel) (12 page)

“Not a one-night-stand kind of girl, no matter how much I wish I were,” she clarified, but sounded disappointed by her statement. “My life is complete chaos right now, and I don’t want to give you the wrong impression.”

“It was a dance, Sara,” he said, purposefully flashing his easy
going smile and trying to bring everything back to light and manageable. Though she didn’t come off as the manageable type. “Followed by a kiss, a very brief, but very hot kiss. One which I wouldn’t mind repeating.”

“Me either, but…” she faded off and looked at the floor.

And Trey got it. He suddenly felt the third person in the room.

“Is this about Garrett?” When she raised a startled but confused brow, he clarified. “Coop told me what happened.” Trey reached out and took her hand. “I’m sorry. That must have been hard.”

“Very,” she whispered and Trey felt his heart pinch, which was ridiculous. Trey didn’t do complicated. Didn’t have the time or interest. And there was nothing more complicated than a single mom who’d at one time been married to Captain America and obviously still loved him. Plus, Sara was the take-home-to-family kind of girl, and Trey avoided his home and family as much as possible.

“Are you still in love with him?”

“I think a part of me always will be,” she said, looking him dead in the eye. No hesitation, no bullshit. “But I want to be happy again, maybe even find that kind of happiness with someone else. I’m open to dating, even open to more.”

He liked the sound of
more
. Especially when her face turned the cutest shade of pink.

“But I need to go into this slow, feel my way through the dating pool. And I don’t think you have a slow move in your body.”

Normally, Trey wasn’t in one place long enough to do slow. If he took his time with every woman, he’d never get laid. Not that sex was the only thing he was interested in. Not with Sara. Oh, he wanted to do the sweaty, naked tango with the girl next door, but he also wanted, well, he wasn’t sure…but he had one month to figure it out.

First, he had to get her to agree to spend time with him. If that meant taking it slow, well, he was willing to give it a try. “Then have dinner with me. Saturday night. We can talk about anything you want, get to know each other.”

“We have ballroom medley,” she reminded him. “Mrs. Moberly has already asked if she could partner with you.”

“How about lunch then, at the Sweet and Savory?”

“Cooper has his pinewood derby race Saturday,” she said casually, but the way she searched his face told him that his answer here would make the difference between
more
and
there’s the door
.

“So does Holly. The Lady Bugs have their race right before the Mites and since Gabe won’t be back in time, I’m filling in.”

That
talk had gone well. Holly had been devastated that Gabe wasn’t going to be there, which had Gabe considering rushing back for three hours to catch the race, which if you asked Trey was beyond ridiculous. Which no one had, but he’d said his piece anyway, which got Holly crying and landed Trey in the role of pit boss.

“I figure since we’ll both be there, we could grab a bite after.” He held his hand up before she could object. “I don’t want to jump into anything serious. And with everything going on here at home and at the studio, I don’t think you do either.”

She shook her head. “Then what do you want?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted, slipping his hands around her waist and pulling her snug. “But when I’m with you, I get closer to figuring it out. I like being around you. You’re funny and sexy and smart and…did I mention sexy?” She nodded her head, those big hazel eyes flashing up at him. “Have lunch with me, Sara. Saturday at the Savory. It is beyond kid-friendly so Coop will have a fun time. And since most of my family will probably show up to spy on us, it is as laid back as you can get for a first date.”

“What about coffee?”

“Lexi usually has some on hand.”

“No, I mean, aren’t we supposed to go to coffee and make sure we are compatible before committing to a prolonged block of time?”

“Sweetheart, we already had coffee.” He fit her against his body. “And our tasting proved just how compatible we are. If you want to take this slow, then a dimly lit café without chaperones isn’t a smart move, since I bet we’ll prove to be damn near combustible.”

CHAPTER 8

S
ara clung to her umbrella as she ran down the alley next to the Sweet and Savory. A vicious wind blasted her the second she got to Main Street, turning her umbrella wrong side out. Jacket drenched, she pushed open the door to the bistro and stepped inside.

The restaurant was already overflowing with parents, excited kids, and the sugary scent of heaven baked in pastry dough and, she sniffed, pumpkin spice. Customers gathered by the front door, while the line for the to-go desserts and hot concoctions was already fifteen people deep.

Lexi peeked out from behind the display case, a pink box in hand, and when her eyes caught Sara’s, she smiled. As always her blonde hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail and she wore a purple apron and enough flour and filling to make a dozen éclairs.

“Trey called ahead. Your table is over there.” Lexi pointed to a booth at the back, which sat right next to the dessert rack. Talk about the way to a woman’s heart. “Give me a minute and I’ll be over.”

“As long as you come bearing coffee,” Sara said, sliding into the seat.

Lexi saluted and went back to helping Mrs. Kincaid with her heart-shaped bonbons to go.

Sara looked around at the restaurant and smiled. Last summer, Lexi had completely renovated the pastry shop. The over-decorated, kitschy feel that was synonymous with old ice-cream parlors had been replaced with warmer natural hues and earthy materials. Not a sequin or doily in sight. In fact, the only thing that remained was the cardboard cutout of David Hasselhoff, which stood by the cash register holding a plate that displayed the pastry of the day.

Today, however, nearly every rustic farm-style table had a car prominently displayed, and for a lucky few, it was accompanied by a trophy. A big, plastic trophy like the one Cooper, who as of 11:43 a.m. was an official St. Helena Pinewood Derby finalist, clutched to his chest as he burst through the front door of the bistro with Heather, back from New York, in tow.

“Mommy, look!” Cooper said, dropping Heather’s hand and tearing through the restaurant, not stopping until he shrink-wrapped himself around Sara’s body.

Looking completely huggable in his navy-blue uniform with the official Mighty Mites red kerchief knotted around his neck, he ran the car up her arm and down the other side. Even though he’d come in fifth place, the smile on his face said he felt like a champion.

“Hey, honey. I missed you.” Keeping one eye on her son, and the other on the front door for Trey, she held Cooper tighter and placed a kiss on top of his head.

“Trey will be here in a few minutes,” Heather said with an amused smile.

“Oh, I was just checking to see if the rain had stopped.”

“Uh-huh,” her sister-in-law said, not convinced. “I promised to help Lexi run the register this afternoon. And she promised to show me how to make her fig-almond bars since I can’t get them in New York. Anyway, I guess Gabe thought it would be funny to e-mail Commander Roman and offer up Trey’s services for the tear-down committee, which is what he is still doing. And since I was needed here, and Cooper couldn’t wait to show you his trophy, he offered to escort me.”

“Want to have lunch with us?”

Heather looked at the tempting desserts and sighed. “I have to be back in New York tomorrow and I don’t think they will be happy if I come home five pounds heavier. So do me a favor and go wild for me.” She leaned in and whispered, “And I’m talking about the hot date who couldn’t keep his eyes off you at the race. I expect juicy details.”

Heather disappeared behind the counter and Sara smiled. Juicy was a good goal.

An elbow in the ribs had her scooting over to make room for Cooper, who was sprawled out on her lap.

He climbed over her and plunked the trophy on the table. “It’s real gold. I heard Hunter say so. Did you see how fast my car went?”

“I think I even saw smoke, it went so fast.”

“It wasn’t smoke,” he said. The
jeez Mom
was implied. “It was pencil lead.”

“Pencil lead?”

“Yup.” He was back to making a racetrack out of Sara’s leg. “Trey put pencil lead on the axle cuz it makes the wheels spin faster.” Cooper looked up, his brow puckering in thought. “He did say we smoked ’em, so maybe that’s what you saw. You know, the smoke?”

Sara had no idea what an axle was or how drawing on it could make it go faster, but she didn’t care. This was the first time since she’d signed him up for Mighty Mites that Cooper seemed to fit in.

After he’d raced, his hive mates had gathered around, high-fiving him and wanting to check out his camo racer. And Trey had been right there in the mix, helping Cooper point out the cool parts, bumping knuckles when the other guys stood in awe.

“It’s the lead. It greases up the wheels. Smart move, kiddo,” Roman said, stopping at the edge of their table.

“Thanks, Commander Roman.” Cooper beamed proudly. “It was Trey’s idea.”

Roman’s smile became tight. “Well, it was a great trick. You were looking good today, Coop.” Roman ruffled Cooper’s hair, then he turned his attention to Sara—to all of Sara—and leaned in. “You too.”

Sara smiled and looked at Roman. Really looked at him for the first time as a single, handsome, available man, because Roman would be the safe bet. He’d been married, had his heart broken, and knew the struggles single parents went through. And he was nice and patient and safe and—there was that word again. “Hey, Roman. It’s good to see you. Today was great. Your hive did a great job.”

Roman smiled and leaned in for a hug and Sara let him. She even rose out of her seat and pressed closer than normal, letting his hands rest on her back a little longer than necessary.

He was big and built and smelled all manly and—nope, nothing. Not even a little flutter of maybe.

“I wanted to see if you thought any more about this.” He stepped back and handed a Mighty Mites–inspired flier to Sara. “Spots are filling up quickly and I would hate for him to miss out.”

Sara looked at the bold, collegiate letters at the top of the flier and felt her heart sink. This was the Mighty Mites’s annual swarm father-son campout that Roman had been telling her about the other night at dance class. It was just a few weeks away and her family was short a few of the necessary requirements—namely the father part.

Even worse, this year’s theme was Make Fire and Burn Rubber.

“Especially since he placed so high today at the qualifier because the campout is where the kids will represent their hive in the final pinewood derby race.” Which explained the “burn rubber” part of the campout.

Cooper scooted to the edge of the bench on his knees. “Me and Matt are bug-buddies, plus I get to show everyone how fast my camo car is.”

“I don’t know yet, honey,” Sara said gently. “It’s Sunday through Tuesday and with Auntie Heather gone, there’s no one to teach classes.”

Canceling classes would mean a huge loss in money. She’d already canceled two classes today so that she and Heather could be here for the race. She couldn’t cancel more. Not so close together.

“He has to go,” Matt said, his shocked expression matching Cooper’s. “Cuz he’s my bug-buddy and we can’t go nowhere without our bug-buddy.”

“I worked really hard and I won and all the kids who won get to race, it says so right there.” Cooper divided his attention between the flier, Sara, and Roman, his eyes so bright with hope it just about broke Sara’s heart.

“I’m sorry, honey, but I have to think about it.” Sara placed her hand on Cooper’s bony shoulder.

Cooper slumped back against the wall, pulling his hat down until his head almost disappeared, and flipped the car over in his hand. “But it’s dad’s car.”

And if that didn’t have her searching for a way to make this happen, seeing Garrett’s name scrawled onto the bottom of the car did. She couldn’t afford to close down the studio for three days, but maybe she could use some of the money from the Garden Society to fly Heather back for the weekend. “When do you have to know by?”

“I can hold the spot until next weekend, but Monday I have to send in the total head count to the regional office.”

“All right. Let me see what I can do,” she said.

Part of her was determined not to let Cooper miss out on something so huge. The other part though, the part that wanted to protect him from any more heartache and disappointment, knew that her son was smart, and the second they started building fires or burping the alphabet or all of the other manly things Sara had no idea how to do, Cooper would figure out that he was the only kid on the father-son campout minus the father.

If he didn’t, then Hunter Lock would point it out. Of that she had no doubt.

Roman must have sensed Sara’s hesitation, because he said, “Just let me know,” then turned his attention to Cooper. “Matt and I invited some of the hive over for a campfire showing of
Cars
, complete with hot dogs, popcorn, and s’mores next Friday. A practice night under the stars. What do you say?”

“Can I go, Mom?”

“I don’t see why not.”

Cooper would have more fun hanging with his friends than sitting around the studio. Plus, it would give her time to catch up on all of the paperwork that had accumulated since the auditions.

“What time should I drop him off?”

“I can pick him up after school if that works,” Roman said, looking at the vacant seat next to Matt.

Suddenly Sara wondered if she was supposed to ask them to join her. She had in the past and now Roman was looking at the table like he hoped she would again. Sara might not be current on the rules of dating, but she knew that asking another man to the party wouldn’t go over well.

“If it makes it easier,” Roman offered, “I can drop him off at the studio Saturday morning after breakfast.”

Breakfast? As in sleepover? Sara wasn’t sure if she felt comfortable with Cooper being gone for a whole night. The house would be lonelier than ever. Plus, he was barely five. Way too young to be away for an entire night. He’d only ever spent the night away with Garrett’s aunt and that had been so Sara could plan the memorial service.

“I’m not sure about the sleepover.” All the boys, including Roman, looked crestfallen, so she quickly added, “But I can always come pick him up when everyone’s climbing into their sleeping bags.”

“All right.” Tears avoided for the moment, the two boys high-fived. Roman smiled.

“What about you, Sara?” A low voice whispered in her ear. “You up for a night under the stars?”

Sara looked over her shoulder to find Trey standing right behind her. He was holding two large coffees—and at least one was spiked by the smell of it—and a hot cocoa. And there was nothing “maybe” about the way her body took notice, or friendly about the way he was staring at her mouth. His gaze was so intense she could almost feel her lips throb.

Gone was suit-and-tie Trey, and in his place stood a rugged, sexy man. Not that she didn’t appreciate him in a suit but—
wow
. Dressed in a pair of well-loved jeans that were loving all the right places, a long-sleeved, dark-blue T-shirt, and a ball cap pulled low on his head, the man looked beyond hot.

She looked at the puffy, pink letters painted across the bill of his hat and grinned. In fact, she’d been grinning since she first saw it that morning at the race. “Team Terrific?”

“I wanted Team Outta-Here, but Holly said it didn’t have the right ring to it. Regan shot down Team Take That, claiming it was too confrontational.” He shrugged. “And since the alternative was Team Tinker Bells, this didn’t seem so bad.”

“Trey!” Cooper said scooting everything over to make room for the newcomer. “You’re here! Look, Mom, Trey’s here.”

“You think I’d miss this party? Never.” Trey bumped knuckles with Cooper, who looked like Trey had just said he was taking him to Disneyland with the entire Chargers football team.

Roman, on the other hand, looked less than thrilled and a bit territorial. He crossed his arms as he took in the situation, no doubt putting two and two together and coming up with: Sara’s on a date.

“Roman,” Sara said, wondering what the etiquette for this kind of situation was, and flashing what had to be the most forced smile she’d ever conjured. “This is my friend—”

“Hey, Trey.” Roman held his hand out and, as if it wasn’t uncomfortable enough already, the two shook like old friends.

Of course they would know each other. St. Helena had two gas stations, one fire station, and enough wine to ensure that everyone knew everyone’s business. And Sara would bet by the fifty sets of eyes riveted her way that everyone stationed within the bistro was, at the moment, interested in knowing her business.

“Roman went to school with my brother Marc, but we were actually all in the same Mighty Mites swarm,” Trey explained, resting a pretty possessive hand low on Sara’s back, which ticked her off. Or maybe that was what being turned-on felt like. It had been so long, she wasn’t sure.

Sara blinked. “You were in Mighty Mites?”

“All of my brothers were. It’s like a rite of passage here in St. Helena.”

So they weren’t just friends, they’d known each other since birth it seemed, and yet neither had spoken a word to each other at Swinging Singles.

“What?” Trey looked her in the eye. “Why do you look so surprised?”

“I’m not, I just—”
Feel completely out of my element and want to go home.
“I guess I took you more for a junior golfer kind of guy.”

Roman laughed. Trey did not.

Instead he leveled Roman with a challenging glare. “I believe that I earned my knot merit badge before anyone in our swarm. In fact, I still think I hold the county record for mastering all eight knots.” He turned that intense gaze on Sara, only the challenge held a different kind of heat, then he grinned. “Fastest fingers in the valley.”

Sara looked at the drawstring on her pants and laughed. Trey got it. He got her. There she was, feeling nervous and unsure and kind of like she’d made a gigantic dating misstep, and Trey had somehow managed to make her laugh—managed to break the growing tension.

Bad idea or not, she liked him.

“Why am I not surprised?” she said.