Friends.
Paige replayed the conversation with Shep and her final, stupid, clichéd line in her head as she showered later that night. That’s what friends are for. She might as well have just teased her hair and broken out in song, like it was 1985.
Of course she and Shep were friends of a sort, but her feelings for him went so much deeper. So deep that they scared the heck out of her.
She had no idea if any of it was reciprocated. She’d been a fool when she’d told herself it didn’t matter. Of course it mattered. How could she be in love with a man who put her in the “friends with benefits” category? They’d never discussed or put any kind of label on their relationship.
They’d never even been on a real date with just the two of them. They’d skipped straight past dating to living together and raising his child. And Paige had moved right through like or infatuation to full-out falling in love.
The visit from his ex-girlfriend’s parents had shaken Shep. There was no doubt about that. The conversation with her mother had rattled Paige. She knew there were things he wasn’t telling her, and she couldn’t seem to make herself share everything with him.
What a pair.
He didn’t even know the real reason the inn meant so much to her. As far as Shep understood, she was trying to honor her nana’s legacy, which was true. Just not the whole truth.
Everyone else saw her as delicate, as the woman who’d once been a sick girl. That was the thing about cancer, even if you survived it, the damned disease never truly went away. The vague notion of it returning was always there for Paige. She didn’t want to admit how much her mother’s fears mirrored her own. She only wanted to be whole. To shed the mantle of survivor and trade it for regular person.
When the water began to cool, she turned off the tap, stepped out of the shower and wrapped one towel around her wet hair and another around her body.
She’d made an excuse to Shep about going to bed early but already missed spending an evening with him. How much worse would it be when he and Rosie moved out? She knew he was looking at rental houses, and Carly made regular comments about how they couldn’t book the inn when Paige had Shep and Rosie living there.
But she didn’t want him to go. This was a test, she told herself. She could spend the evening by herself, reading or binge-watching some new series.
Her heart practically leaped out of her chest when she opened the bathroom door to find Shep asleep on her bed.
He was on his back, one of her fashion magazines open on his chest. He’d taken off his shoes and socks and his legs were crossed at the ankles. A fine shadow of stubble coated his jaw and his hair was messy, like he’d been running his hands through it.
He’d changed into clean clothes, a white T-shirt that made his skin look even more golden and faded jeans. Even though his features were relaxed, she could still see the tension in him, as if even sleep didn’t give him reprieve from whatever was going on in his life. She wanted to know everything and hoped he’d find a way to trust her enough to share his troubles.
But trust was a two-way street and she’d have to own up to the things she was keeping from him, as well.
As she walked closer to the bed, his eyes blinked open. His gaze raked over her, seeming to snag on the bottom edge of the towel that covered her body.
“I fell asleep,” he said, voice hoarse.
“I see that, Goldilocks.”
“I was waiting to talk to you,” he explained.
She pulled the towel tighter around herself. It would be smart to back away now and put on her pajamas or at the very least a robe. But something about the way he looked at her pinned her in place. There was a sense of wonder in his eyes, like he found her truly beautiful.
“About what?” she asked.
He shrugged, a faint smile playing around the corners of his mouth. “I can’t remember. Waking up to you standing in front of me like that has sent every last brain cell I have racing south.”
Paige lifted a hand and tugged off the towel holding her hair. It fell to the carpet, and her damp curls cascaded over her shoulders.
“Now, that’s playing dirty,” he whispered, sucking in a breath.
“I just got out of the shower,” she countered. “Technically, I’m clean.”
“You interested in getting dirty?” He sat up on the bed, resting his back against her wrought iron headboard.
“Maybe,” she lied. Her body was already burning for him, heat pooling between her legs and her breasts growing heavy with need.
“I think you should drop that towel, sweetheart.”
She did without hesitation, the breeze from the ceiling fan making her shiver.
Shep crooked a finger. “Come closer.”
“You’re still dressed,” she pointed out.
“We’ll get to that soon enough,” he promised.
She moved forward, sucking in a breath when he reached out and trailed one finger from the base of her throat down between her breasts then farther along her belly to the apex of her thighs.
“You are perfection,” he murmured.
“I’ve never felt that way before you,” she admitted.
He smiled, obviously pleased with her words. “It’s good to know at least I’m doing one thing right in my life.”
Despite his teasing tone, there was a hollow ring to the words that made her heart stammer. Paige understood not feeling like she measured up, and she wanted Shep to know that she believed in him even if he couldn’t believe in himself.
She bent and fused her mouth to his, climbing onto the bed to straddle him at the same time. His big hands cupped her breasts, thumbs grazing over the tips of her nipples in a way that made her moan low in her throat.
She ran her hands down his chest to the hem of his shirt, tugged it up and over his head.
“You do lots of things right,” she told him, cupping his face and willing him to believe her.
“Oh, I know, darlin’,” he said, affecting a convincing Southern drawl. “In the bedroom I’m quite the master.”
“In life,” she corrected. “With me and with Rosie. Your company. The men on your crew at the ski resort.”
He closed his eyes like her words pained him. Why was it so difficult for this man to see the good in himself?
“You’re not your father,” she whispered and felt him flinch.
He blew out a breath, opened his eyes and gave her a crooked smile. “This is definitely not a conversation I was planning to have in your bed with you naked on top of me.”
“I thought we’d already established that I like to talk when I’m naked.”
That earned a laugh. “And I love listening, but let’s save the conversation for later.” He wrapped his arms around her and flipped her so she was under him on the bed. Then he kissed her as his big hands roamed her body, driving her into a frenzy of need.
When she couldn’t stand the sweet torture any longer, Paige pushed at his chest. “Too many clothes.”
As Shep straightened from the bed to strip out of his jeans and boxers, Paige pushed down the covers until she was lying only on the bottom sheet. She grabbed a condom from the nightstand drawer, and once it was on Shep, she welcomed him into her body again.
They moved together and the wish of leaving the rest of the world behind was blessedly granted. There wasn’t room for anything else in this moment but physical sensation and the need pulsing through her.
Except there was more. More than the way he made her body come alive. Her heart was deep in the mix and with each moan, sigh and whispered endearment, she fell harder for him.
He looked into her eyes as they found their release together, and all of her doubts were chased away by the intensity she saw there. It was everything she needed from him communicated without a single word.
After, as Shep snuggled her against him in the dark, she fell asleep with her heart full, believing she finally had a chance at true happiness.
The next day Paige drove toward The Bumblebee, looking forward to an afternoon alone in her house. The inn had been so busy over the past couple of weeks, from Shep, Rosie and Janet, to Carly as she made sure details were in place for guests to arrive.
The official reopening was planned for mid-September, but they were hosting a trial weekend with friends and members of Crimson’s tourism committee who’d been invited to stay for free. Shep had been oddly supportive of it, as if he was coming to care as much about her dream as his.
Although Paige’s nerves fluttered at the thought of her dream becoming a reality, she felt confident that all her hard work over the past year was finally going to pay off.
Today, Janet had taken Rosie to a toddler tumbling class at the community center, Shep was at the resort and Carly had driven to Grand Junction to pick up the travel-size toiletries they’d ordered from a local soap maker in the neighboring town.
Paige planned to enjoy the quiet, perhaps the last she’d have in the house that had come to represent so much to her.
Several pickup trucks were parked in the driveway as she approached the house. An oversize dumpster had been placed directly in front of the porch, one end of it crushing the shrubs she’d planted this past spring.
She threw her car into Park and dashed toward the house, where a man in a tailored button-down and neatly pressed slacks stood, clearly overseeing whatever was happening to her house.
“Excuse me,” she called, her stomach tightening sharply as he turned.
The man was around her age, late twenties, and by all accounts appeared quite handsome with tanned skin, a lean physique and hair that looked like it had been styled by a professional. But his dark eyes were cold, almost calculating, as if he’d been waiting for her to show up.
“What are you doing to my house?” she asked, her voice coming out so high she wondered why neighborhood dogs didn’t start howling in response.
Assuming they could hear her over the noise from truck engines idling in her driveway and men’s voices carrying across the property.
“Your house?” The man feigned surprise. “I was under the impression this property was owned by Shepherd Bennett of Trinity Development.”
“Well, yes,” Paige stammered. “But Shep and I have an understanding.” She paused, drew in a steadying breath. “Who are you, anyway? Does Shep know you’re here? I left my phone in the car. I need to call him and—”
“I’m Vincent Delorca,” the man said smoothly, holding out a hand.
Paige took it automatically but got the distinct impression that some sort of a reptile was touching her instead of a man.
“I work with Shep at Trinity.” He gave her a puzzled look. “It’s odd that you mention an agreement because I have...” He pulled out a piece of paper from the file folder he was holding. “A signed agreement that Trinity Development will lease a portion of this property from Shep in order to gain access to the back side of the ski mountain.” He held out the paper, and she stared at it like he was gifting her a venomous snake. She’d known Shep’s plans for the inn, but he’d also known hers. And he’d let her believe he had the power within his company to change things if she succeeded with her goal. Maybe they’d never talked about the future outright, but he’d understood what this meant to her.
“It’s a legal document,” he explained as if she wouldn’t realize that on her own. “Binding and enforceable if you’re concerned with that sort of thing.”
Paige felt all the blood rush from her head, and she forced her knees not to give way. There was no way she was going to let this man watch her break.
“I need to talk to Shep,” she whispered.
Vincent’s lips pursed and he made an obviously fake sound of sympathy. “It would seem so.” He waved a hand toward the inn. “It’s a quaint little place you have here, although not exactly my normal taste. Shep’s either. He and I have worked on several projects together. Normally he goes for a much swankier vibe. Upscale, you know what I mean?”
He didn’t wait for her to answer, which was helpful since Paige didn’t think she could manage to put even once sentence together at the moment. “It’s a shame you and Shep had that miscommunication. I don’t really get it. He’s known all along the fate of your inn. I’m not sure what he’d have to gain by keeping the whole truth from you.”
Paige understood nausea. Her months of chemo treatments had sent her rushing to the bathroom more times than she could count. But the queasiness surging through her now was different. It was like a monster had come to life inside her, engulfing her until she was a shell of a person.
An image of Rosie flashed in her mind. All the diapers she’d changed, the stories she’d read to the girl, then watching Rosie take her first steps along with Shep. Had all of that been a lie? A manipulation so that he’d get what he needed from her?
Oh, no. She pressed a hand to her stomach, pushing hard against the tidal wave of disappointment and betrayal gathering inside her.
“Leave,” she whispered, glaring at Vincent Delorca.
“You really need to take a look at the contract,” he said, shoving the paper into her hands. “It explains—”
“Get off this property,” she screamed, stalking forward and pointing at any man who would make eye contact with her. “All of you, leave. Right now. I want you gone. I want your trucks out of the driveway.” She sucked in a breath. “Now.”
After a prolonged moment of staring at her like she had a second head growing out of her body, the men scattered like cockroaches in a beam of light. She turned to Vincent. “You, too,” she told him.
He didn’t argue, but he also didn’t move to do her bidding like the rest of them. “I appreciate that this is a shock, and I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. We’ll leave for today, but the guys will be back. Shep’s in over his head with this one and it’s clear he’s thinking with his...” His slimy gaze raked over Paige in a way that made her skin crawl. “Not his brain in any case.”
“Leave,” she repeated, praying with every fiber of her being that he’d go. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold it together.
“I’m heading back to the ski mountain,” he said. “Want me to say hi to Shep for you?”
The mention of Shep was too much for her to stand. Paige rushed past him to the house, let herself in then slammed the door behind her. She was certain Vincent would leave after she’d gone. What reason would he have to stay once she’d taken herself out of the line of fire?
But she couldn’t say for sure because all she could hear was the sound of her own sobs as she fell to her knees on the hardwood floor, her dream and her heart both shattering around her.