Make Me Stay

  Not that the dog was his. He wasn't.

  He drove over to the diner. Bert's was one of the most popular places in Hope, thanks to Bert and Charlotte, a couple of the best cooks in town. Besides Martha's home cooking, eating at Bert's was one of the things he'd missed most since he'd moved to Boston. So he intended to eat there a lot while he was working on the mercantile.

  Luke had already grabbed a booth for them. He made his way past the tables, saying hello to people he knew along the way--which was pretty much everyone. He finally slid into the booth.

  "I'm going to assume you're having the burger," Luke said.

  "Hell yeah. With onions and mustard and pickles."

  "You're so predictable."

  "Hey, you can eat here all the time. This is a special treat for me."

  "Not my fault you decided to up and move to Boston for no damn good reason."

  Reid laughed. "I had plenty of damn good reasons, the first one being I got a great job offer after college. Which worked out really well, since I ended up starting my own business."

  "Yeah. Money. Whatever. There's plenty for you to do here, ya know."

  Anita, whom he'd known ever since high school, came by to take their order.

  "Sure is good to see you here again, Reid," Anita said. "And everyone in Hope is really darn happy you're cleaning up the old mercantile."

  "Thanks, Anita. I'm glad to be back."

  They ordered their food and drinks, and Reid settled his gaze on his brother. "There were more opportunities for me in a large city and you know it."

  "Hope's a growing town. You might be surprised by all there is to do here now. You've been gone awhile. You saw what they did with the town square project."

  Reid nodded. "Yeah, that turned out great. The park is amazing, and I can't believe they brought the old fountain back to life. I almost wish I had been a part of it."

  Anita brought their iced teas. Luke took a sip, then pointed a finger at him. "See? That's exactly what I'm talking about. You could have been a part of the whole process if you'd been here."

  Reid laughed. "I didn't say I wanted to be here. I just said it turned out great and I would have . . . You know what? Never mind. I don't live here. I'm never going to live here again. My life is in Boston now."

  Anita set their burgers down in front of them. Reid's stomach growled. Loudly.

  Anita patted him on the back. "Enjoy those burgers, you two."

  Luke laughed. "I heard your stomach all the way across the table."

  "Oh, man. I can't wait for the best burger in the world. And those fries. No one makes fries like Bert."

  Luke lifted his burger. "Just remember that when you say Boston is home. Boston will never be home." Luke lifted his burger. "This is home, man."

  Reid bit into his hamburger, and a little bit of him died at how good it tasted, at the rush of memories just the taste of it evoked.

  Driving into Hope after school to meet up with friends, hanging out on a Friday night after the rivalry football games between Hope High and Oakdale High.

  The memories clouded so thick today it was hard to see.

  But this was just a burger, and Reid firmly believed in living in the present, not the past.

  Today he had a life and a career in Boston, and that's what he intended to go back to after this project was finished.

  No matter how damn good this diner food tasted.

  Chapter 8

  "IT'S NOT REALLY a date, Megan."

  "Hey, I'm going to the party, too. With a non-date kind of date. And I'm wearing a hot-damn dress. So we're making a big deal of it."

  Sam stood in her bedroom, eyeing her closet while Megan helped her figure out what she was going to wear to dinner.

  Megan sat on her bed, cross-legged, and surveyed the contents of Sam's open closet. "Besides, in your case it's totally a date. Reid asked, you said yes. That makes it a date."

  Sam disagreed. "He only asked me because he's new in town and he and I have talked a few times. I'm probably the only female on his radar at the moment. I was convenient."

  Megan laughed. "Honey, he grew up here. He knows everyone in Hope. He asked you. Not some other woman. You. Give yourself some credit. You're a smart, successful, hot blonde with a gorgeous body, and he wants to go out with you. How convenient is it that Des was throwing a couples party?"

  Sam sighed and sat on the bed. "Who's your date tonight, by the way?"

  "No idea. Probably one of the McCormack cousins. Des wanted me there and she said she'd take care of it. I'm excited to be going and hanging out with all of you, since I'm not currently part of a couple."

  "I'm not part of a couple, either."

  "Tonight you are. Because you have a date." Turning her attention to the closet, Megan said, "You should wear the green dress."

  Sam wrinkled her nose. "It's body-hugging and a little low-cut."

  "Exactly. He'll want to lick you all over."

  Sam laughed. "Megan. We're just going as friends."

  "You keep saying that, Sam. But I don't think he's putting you in the friend zone. And speaking of someone who's going to be in the friend zone tonight and still doesn't care, I have to go get dazzling."

  After Megan left, Sam made a dash over to Grammy Claire's house. Her grandmother was seated in her favorite comfy chair, eating pretzels and watching television--some soccer match between Argentina and Brazil.

  "Soccer, Grammy Claire?" she asked as she bent to kiss her cheek.

  Her grandmother looked up at her with a bright smile. "Those boys have great legs."

  Sam shook her head. "So what you're saying is you're ogling and you don't have the slightest interest in soccer."

  "I didn't say that. I like sports. But football isn't on until tomorrow, so for tonight, it's soccer."

  Sam wandered into the kitchen, which was, as usual, spotless. It was a small kitchen, much like her own, with light oak cabinets and old, worn laminate countertops. The stove was ancient, but Sam could still remember Grammy Claire fixing her oatmeal on it while she sat at the kitchen table with Grandpa Bob. Then they'd read the comics in the newspaper and Grandpa Bob would help her with her homework.

  She owed her entire life to her loving grandparents. She missed Grandpa Bob, missed the sound of his big, rough laugh and the way he used to hold her hand when he walked her into school as a little girl.

  Feeling oddly nostalgic, she set about the task she'd come into the kitchen for. She checked the pantry and the fridge to make sure her grandmother was stocked up on the essentials. She grabbed a paper and pen and made some notes for her next grocery shopping trip. After tucking the list into the back pocket of her jeans, she returned to the living room.

  "You're fine on staples and your milk and bread should be okay until I go to the grocery store. I see you froze half a meat loaf, and there are some pork chops in there as well."

  Her grandmother pulled her gaze from the television. "Yes, I have plenty to eat, honey. But I'm going out tonight, anyway, so I won't be cooking."

  "Really? Where are you going?"

  "Faith and I are off to the senior center for bingo."

  Faith Clemons was her grandmother's best friend, so Sam knew she was in good hands. "Okay, good. So you'll call me when you get home?"

  Grammy Claire shifted her gaze from the television onto her. "It's like having parents all over again. And a curfew."

  Sam laughed. "Sorry. But you know I worry about you, so please call me?"

  "I will. Can I hope you won't be sitting around your house on a Saturday night waiting for me to call you?"

  "Actually, I'm headed over to the McCormack ranch tonight. Desiree McCormack is hosting a dinner party."

  "That sounds fun. Who are you going with?"

  "I'm sort of going with Reid McCormack."

  Grammy Claire grabbed the remote and muted the sound on the TV. "What does 'sort of going' mean?"

  "It's a couples dinner, and Reid needed a date, so he asked me."
/>
  "Then you have a date with Reid McCormack. Nice young man. Very fine-looking. And he's renovating the old mercantile. I'm very happy about that."

  "I am, too. But it's not a date, Grammy Claire."

  Her grandmother gave her the look--the one that said she wouldn't tolerate any BS. "He's picking you up and taking you out somewhere to eat. In my day, that was a date."

  She wasn't about to argue with her. "Yes, you're right, Grammy Claire. It's a date. And I need to go get ready."

  She kissed her grandmother and reminded her to call when she got back from bingo, then walked home and got into the shower. She dried her hair and put on makeup, then, against her better judgment, she went with the green dress, feeling decidedly naked. It was short and clingy and, with the bra she'd chosen, pushed what breasts she had up and over the top of the dress.

  It was scandalous, but when she glanced in the mirror, she had to admit she looked pretty darn sexy. If that was the look she was going for.

  Was it? She wasn't sure. Because despite her conversations with Megan and her grandmother, she knew Reid had only asked her because he didn't have many options date-wise. He'd only been here a week, and she was certain he hadn't spent that time reacquainting himself with the female population of Hope.

  Still, he'd asked her and not someone else. He hadn't left it up to Des to match him up with someone. He'd come to the shop to ask her himself. So maybe it was a date after all.

  She really had no idea. This whole thing was so confusing. Either way, she knew all the couples Des had asked, so she was going to have a great time no matter what.

  She was just adding earrings when her doorbell rang. She went to the door and opened it.

  "Holy shit," Reid said as he took in her appearance.

  She smiled. "I hope that's a good thing."

  He looked her over from the top of her hair down to her sparkly-heeled shoes.

  "Hell yes. I mean, yes. Wow, Sam. You look . . . amazing."

  "Thank you. So do you."

  He wore black jeans, a white button-down shirt, and very shiny cowboy boots. His hair was slicked back and obviously freshly washed. And since he'd stepped inside her house, she caught his clean scent. He looked and smelled good enough to lick all over--a thought that sparked all her fun places.

  Especially the way he kept giving her hot looks, as if his thoughts were straying in exactly the same wicked way hers were.

  But now the two of them stood in her foyer and neither of them moved. Maybe they'd never make it to dinner. Maybe they could just hang out here and spend time playing undress-each-other games.

  Her mind was already awash in those visuals, her body heated from the ground floor up at how it would play out. First, her shoes. She could well imagine those great hands of his rubbing her feet. Then her calves . . .

  "So . . . we should probably go," he said, pulling her out of that amazing fantasy. "Des made me promise I'd get you back there in time for cocktails."

  "Oh. Sure." She'd have to quash the sex fantasy. For now.

  But wouldn't it be a fun thing to ponder for after dinner tonight?

  "Let me grab my sweater and purse."

  "Okay."

  She put on her sweater and met him back at the door. "I'm ready."

  For anything that might happen.

  Chapter 9

  REID TRIED TO focus on the road, the speedometer, on anything but Sam's legs and that damn dress she wore.

  Christ, but why was it so hot in the truck? And why had he decided to help her climb in, which gave him an eyeful of her dress riding up her thighs and that tight material cupping her supremely sweet ass?

  It might have taken him a few minutes to walk around the back of the truck, count to a hundred, and get his ridiculous erection under control.

  No woman had made him so hard so fast just by wearing a goddamn dress.

  "Are you excited about the party tonight?" she asked, making small talk no doubt because he'd been mute for the past fifteen minutes.

  It's possible that after ogling her thighs and her butt he might have swallowed his tongue and would never be able to speak again.

  "Uh, sure."

  He caught the slight quirk of her lips. "So, not really all that thrilled about a dinner party."

  He shrugged. "I have a lot of events I go to for work. The mix-and-mingle kind of thing. This dinner party is something I've done before."

  "Oh, of course. So this isn't a big deal for you. Plus, it's your family--both your brothers, I mean. So I assume Luke and Emma will be there tonight, along with Logan and Des?"

  "Yeah. Otherwise, I have no idea who else Des invited."

  "I see. Well, I know everyone in town. And out of town, for that matter."

  He made the turn down the road that led toward the ranch. "By virtue of the fact that a florist pretty much knows everyone?"

  She laughed. "Yes. I've done flowers for births, weddings, high school graduations, funerals, birthdays. You name it, if someone has an event that requires flowers, they usually call me. I mean, they could also call one of my competitors."

  "But why would they do that? I've heard you're the best florist in Hope."

  She shifted, causing the material of her dress to ride higher on her thighs. He tried not to groan. "You did? Who told you that?"

  "Deacon."

  "Really. You and Deacon were talking about my flower shop?"

  "He saw us walking together the other day. Then he mentioned you handled the flowers for his granddad's funeral several years back. He said you did a really nice job."

  She nodded. "That was very sweet of him. I was so sorry about his grandpa. Lovely man."

  "He was. So was his dad."

  "Yes. I wasn't running the flower shop when his father died. That was before my time. Grammy Claire was still in charge back then. I know it was awful for Deacon to lose his dad at such a young age."

  "Yeah."

  "But he's done great things with his life. He's got the construction company now. His dad would have been so proud of him."

  Reid liked that Sam had such a positive outlook, that she didn't seem to dwell on sorrow. "You're right. He would be."

  "Just like your dad would be proud of all you've accomplished."

  Reid had always wondered what his dad would think of him owning his own business, and of him making his life in Boston. "I'd like to think so. He always told us we should make our mark on something, do whatever it was that made us happy."

  Sam didn't say anything for a few minutes, so he figured their talk was over. He pulled up to the house and parked.

  "And are you?" she asked.

  "Am I what?"

  "Happy."

  "Sure."

  She cocked her head to the side. "That doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement of your life, Reid."

  She opened the door and got out of his truck, leaving him sitting there wondering if she just didn't get that he was content.

  Or maybe he wasn't really as happy as he tried to convince everyone.

  He got out and joined her.

  "I would have come around to open your door," he said as he met her by the front porch.

  "Sorry. I have a tendency to be independent. And I don't date much, so I forgot the whole guys-open-doors-for-me routine."

  "I bow to your independence, but how about for tonight you let me open doors for you? Otherwise, Martha might smack me on the back of my head."

  "We can't have that, can we?" She slipped her arm in his and nestled her body close, and Reid sure as hell had no complaints about Sam's warm body against his. They walked up the stairs together, and she waited while he opened the front door for her to walk in.

  He hadn't wanted to do this whole couples dinner, but having a smart, sexy, beautiful woman like Sam on his arm tonight?

  Maybe not a bad thing at all.

  Chapter 10

  THERE WERE WORSE things to do on a Saturday night than spending the evening in the company of some of your closest f
riends.

  Reid had his brothers by his side, of course. And with his brothers came Sam's friends Emma, who was married to Luke, and Des, who was married to Logan. Along with them were Chelsea and Bash, Jane, who was Emma's best friend and married to Luke's best friend Will. There was also Emma's sister Molly and her fiance, Carter. This group had always felt like family to Sam. She walked in the door and was immediately assailed by the smell of something . . . wonderful. What was it?

  The doorway to the left led to the kitchen, the heart of the McCormack house, mainly because of Martha, the housekeeper and ranch manager and pseudo mother to the McCormack boys. Martha was in there with Des, who looked stunning, as always, her dark black hair piled high on her head. She saw Sam and came over to give her a hug.

  "You look ravishing," Des said.

  "And you look beautiful. I love that dress on you. Aubergine is definitely a hot color this season."

  "Thanks. Logan just finished pouring champagne, complaining the entire time about wanting a beer. But he's suffering for me tonight because I've wanted to throw a fancy dinner party, and he thinks I'm unhappy because we don't live in Hollywood."

  Sam accepted the glass of champagne from Des. "But you'd rather live here than in Hollywood."

  "I know that, and even he knows that, but there's always a part of him that thinks because I'm an actress I have this desire to live in LA. Which couldn't be further from the truth. But if it gives me a win like this dinner party every now and then, who am I to complain?"

  Sam grinned. "Good point. It smells amazing in here. Did Martha cook?"

  "Absolutely not. She tried, but I told her she and Ben were guests tonight, so no cooking. I had the entire event catered. I flew in a chef from one of the finest restaurants in New Orleans. The menu is extraordinary."

  "I can't wait."

  One of the caterers waved at Des. "Excuse me for a minute. I'll catch up with you shortly. Head on into the living room. Everyone's here."

  Sam wandered in to see Reid engrossed in conversation with his brothers, so she left him there and searched out Megan. She found her standing to the side of the room with Molly Burnett and Molly's fiance, Carter Richards. And Brady Conners, who worked with Carter.

  She headed over to join them.

  "Hi, Sam," Molly said. "You look gorgeous tonight."

  "So do you. And you, too, Megan."

  "Thanks."

  "Hi, Carter," she said.