When Love Returns Read online

  Beverly, on the other hand, had never had to work. Her husband, Bruce, had owned a software company, and when he retired, they had moved to Star Lake. When Presley first met Beverly, she had still been uptight and obsessed with money, but a few months in this town wore anyone down, and by her first Christmas, she was wearing jeans and sweaters instead of business suits and pearls.

  “Hello Beverly, Anna.” Presley nodded at each of them. Anna looked grown up, with her hair down around her shoulders instead of always in a ponytail the way she had worn it in High School. She was also thinner, and her face had taken on a more womanly, angular shape. Anna was only a few years younger than Brandon and Presley, but at sixteen and seventeen, those few years of maturity mattered. Now, Presley imagined they would be close friends, if they didn’t have the giant elephant of Brandon between them.

  The little girl, young as she was, was smart. Her eyes traveled from her family to Presley and back again. Though she might not have understood everything, she caught on that something was amiss.

  “What did you want again, honey?” Presley hoped it was something in the back she would have to go look for. Her guess was that if his daughter was here, then Brandon was too, unless he and Morgan shipped her off to have some time alone. Regardless, she wanted to check her appearance in case either Brandon or Morgan entered her store.

  Her words, “a pretzel,” filled Presley with relief. She didn’t have any of those in the front counter, but there were a few frozen in the freezer.

  “I have some in the back. Would you like one as well?” Presley glanced up at Beverly and Anna.

  Anna shook her head. “Not for me. I’ll have one of those.” She pointed to a chocolate éclair on the bottom shelf.

  “That looks delicious. I’ll have one too,” Beverly agreed.

  “Wonderful, I’ll be right back.”

  The freezer was at the back of the shop, but just across from it was the bathroom. Presley ducked into the tiny room first and cringed at the face in the mirror. Her hair was piled in a messy pony; the purple streak hanging loose near her face, and a smudge of white flour resided on one cheek. Wiping at the smudge with one hand, she pushed the loose hair back behind her ear with the other. It was not a perfect look, but it was the best she could do for now.

  Darting into the freezer and grabbing the pretzel, Presley unwrapped it as she headed to the toaster oven. In it went, and she set the timer for two minutes, just enough to warm it without making it hard and chewy. When the oven dinged, she wrapped the pretzel in some wax paper and took it back out to the girl.

  A smile lit up her face as she reached her tiny hands out. As soon as the prize was in her grip, she chomped on the pastry. Suppressing her laughter, Presley extracted two chocolate eclairs and held them out to the women. Beverly handed her a twenty, and Presley dropped her head to make change. Then the bill jingled again.

  A shudder ran down her spine, and she knew who it was before even looking up. She handed the change to Beverly, but her eyes were not on the woman. They were on the man with the chocolate brown eyes and the full beard. He looked older with the beard. Masculinity rolled off him in invisible waves, but she was the only one affected.

  His eyes caught hers, and just like that Presley fell again. There was something about those intoxicating brown eyes that had always sucked her in. The day they met flashed in her mind.

  “What are you drawing?”

  The voice over her shoulder startled her, and she slammed the sketchpad closed. Presley didn’t share her drawings with anyone. They weren’t very good, just one of her ways to escape reality. The other was baking, but that was harder to do at school. “Are you talking to me?”

  He swung his lean frame onto the bench next to her, and the smell of him floated on the air. Soap and sandalwood. She lifted her eyes to his face. Liquid pools of chocolate gripped her gaze, and her heart stopped in her chest.

  “I don’t see anyone else drawing around here, do you?” His eyes twinkled as if he was teasing her, but why would he do that? He didn’t even know her.

  What was he doing talking to her? Didn’t he know he should be hanging with the other rich kids, and not with her? “But why are you talking to me?” She tucked her purple streak behind her ear and tried not to turn the shade of red she felt inside, but the heat climbing her ears told her she was losing that battle.

  “Well, I thought you seemed interesting, and you were sitting over here all by yourself. I’m Brandon by the way.” He stuck out his hand, and she stared at it, afraid to shake it. What if her hand was sweaty? What if she had paint or charcoal on her fingers? She didn’t usually care about those things, but this was Brandon Scott, hottie new arrival to town and every girl’s dream.

  “I know who you are.” Her eyes dropped back down to the sketchpad in her lap. “Everyone knows who Brandon Scott is.”

  “Hey, Presley.” He said the words as if it had only been days since they’d seen each other and not six years. “You look good.” His voice was deep and rich, different than when they were in high school and yet still the same.

  “Hi Brandon. It’s been a while.” She wanted to slap her forehead. Six years she had dreamed of this moment, and that was all she could say? Where were the flowery words she practiced over and over in her head for the time she saw him next?

  A smile tugged on his lips, and she knew he could tell she was uncomfortable. He had always been able to read her like an open book, which she used to love, but now she wished he’d slam the cover closed and put the book back on the shelf. They didn’t have that relationship anymore. He didn’t deserve to be able to read her.

  “I see you’ve met my daughter, Joy.”

  Presley’s eyes fluttered to the girl, who was nearly finished with her pretzel. Joy was a pretty name, and it suited her. It was easy to imagine that she brought joy to those around her with her mesmerizing eyes and Brandon’s contagious smile. As the women rose from their table, Presley realized that Beverly and Anna had moved away and seated themselves. She had no idea when.

  “She seems lovely.” Though she meant the words, they sounded forced and trite as they came out. “Would you like a pastry too?”

  He smiled at her, and the world went silent. The surrounding noises and shapes faded away, and it was just her and him. “Of course.” He pointed to one of the double chocolate espresso brownies, and on autopilot, she removed it from the case and handed it to him.

  She didn’t even remember to charge him, but he placed a five next to the register for her. “It was good to see you,” he said, and then the four of them walked out of her shop. The little girl turned and waved, breaking the spell.

  When they were out of sight, Presley sank to the floor. Her heart was racing as if she had just downed five cups of coffee. She placed a hand over it to slow the beating. She had thought she was over Brandon, but she was clearly just denying her feelings.

  Chapter 5

  As the door closed behind them, Brandon couldn’t help but sneak one final glance at Presley. She had always been beautiful, though she didn’t know it, but age had defined her features even more. Her face had shed the extra roundness from childhood, accentuating her soft cheekbones and the slender curve of her neck. Her eyes were still the same arresting blue they had been back in high school, the kind that was hard to look away from. It had been her eyes that first drew Brandon to her.

  When he had arrived in Star Lake as a Sophomore, he had known no one, and was angry at leaving his friends behind. His father’s money had attracted people, but none he wanted to call friends. When he saw the quiet blond girl across the way in the lunchroom, he felt drawn to see what she was all about.

  “What are you drawing?” Brandon leaned over her shoulder to try and get a glimpse of her sketch pad. She always had it with her, and he was curious what she drew in it. She rarely spoke though they had several classes together.

  She tucked the purple strand of hair that always fell in her face behind her ear and looked up
with piercing blue eyes that sent his heartbeat speeding up in his chest. They were beautiful and breathtaking. “Are you talking to me?”

  He swung his lean frame onto the bench next to her and turned on his charm. “I don’t see anyone else drawing around here, do you?”

  She stared at him, unaffected. “But why are you talking to me?”

  Brandon blinked; he was unaccustomed to his charm not working. “Well, I thought you seemed interesting, and you were sitting over here all by yourself. I’m Brandon by the way.” He stuck out his hand, and she looked at it but didn’t take the offer.

  “I know who you are.” She dropped her attention back down to her sketchpad. “Everyone knows who Brandon Scott is.”

  That had been the beginning of his interest in her. Brandon wasn’t used to someone who didn’t fall at his feet right away, and at first it had been about the challenge. He had wanted to get her to open up to him, but the more he’d gotten to know her, the more he realized she was an amazing person who completed him in a way he didn’t understand.

  Though quiet in large groups, she was fiercely opinionated in private, and she always called him out on his crap, which no one had ever done before. Her calm and quirky manner also soothed his irritation at being in this new town, and their friendship had grown.

  At some point, he had fallen in love with her, but was too afraid to tell her. Too afraid to lose his best friend and his link to sanity in this tiny town. So, he had buried his feelings and sought comfort in the arms of other girls, but none of them made him feel the way he did when he was with Presley. At least not until Morgan came along.

  “Daddy, let’s go.” Joy tugged on Brandon’s hand, pulling his thoughts back into the present. “I want to see the ducks.”

  “Yeah, Romeo. Get your head out of the clouds and join us.” Anna’s eyes twinkled as she teased him.

  Brandon flashed her another warning glare. There was no time for romance; he was only here until their father got a little better, and then he was going back to the city and his job. Still, it would be nice to see Presley again, just to catch up on old times.

  He allowed himself to be drug down the sidewalk and tried to see the town from Joy’s eyes.

  “Look, an ice cream shop.” Her little finger jabbed to the right. “Can we go sometime, Daddy?”

  If it hadn’t changed, Mr. Perkins ran the ice cream shop. It used to be one of his and Presley’s favorite hangouts. They would often stop in after school and sit on the red padded barstools and order milkshakes, making faces at each other in the large mirror that hung on the wall behind the counter.

  “Sure, we can.” But she had already lost interest and was pointing at the old dollar cinema, which still appeared to be playing movies and then at Ms. Paula’s dance studio. Relief flooded Brandon as the shops of downtown faded, and they reached the more residential part of town.

  The trees had all lost their leaves for the winter, and the remnants of them crunched under their feet. A cool breeze blew a few tattered pieces across the sidewalk and lifted strands of Joy’s hair.

  “There it is.” Her voice was shrill with excitement as she dropped his hand and ran to the lake. It hadn’t iced over yet, but it would with the first big snow. Star Lake never had a long winter, but it generally had at least one or two good snows between December and February.

  The few ducks on the lake scattered as Joy ran at them, sending her into gales of laughter. As they flew off, she ran after them. If nothing else, she would expend some energy here.

  “She looks happy,” his mother said placing a hand on his arm.

  “She’s happy in Dallas.”

  “Is she?”

  His mother left it at that, but her damage was done. Watching Joy running after the ducks and tossing rocks into the lake, Brandon wondered if she was happy in Dallas. Due to his work schedule, she was usually taken to school by his nanny, Amber, who dropped her off on the way to her own college classes. Then Amber picked her up from school and stayed with her until Brandon returned home around six or seven in the evening. He and Joy would then have dinner and play for an hour or two before time for bed.

  The thought plagued him the remainder of the time they stayed at the park and during the walk back to the car. He decided to make the most of this trip. There might not be another chance like this to hang out with Joy if the proposal he was working on got accepted.

  Chapter 6

  “So, the hottie is Brandon Scott?” Trudy asked before shoving a fry in her mouth. The two were eating a late dinner at The Diner.

  Presley dropped her head in her hands. “Yes, and I thought I was over him, but I am clearly not.”

  “Why don’t you just tell him how you feel?” Max placed a hamburger and fries in front of Presley. His ball cap was pulled low on his head in his signature style, and his plaid today was a blue and white. He and Presley were not close, but Max had a habit of listening to conversations and butting in with his advice whether it was asked for or not.

  “Because I don’t know if Morgan’s still in the picture for one,” Presley said, rattling the reasons off on her sparkly painted fingers. She should give up glitter nail polish now that she was in her mid-twenties, but like her purple streak it had been a part of her for so long, she was not sure she could part with it. “He lives hours away from here for another, and I don’t even know if he likes me. What if he’s never thought of me as more than a friend?”

  “Seems to me that since you aren’t really friends anymore it wouldn’t matter.” Before Presley could respond, he whirled around and returned to the kitchen, but she heard him mutter “women” as the door closed behind him.

  “You know, he might be right,” Trudy said. “You haven’t spoken to him in years, so it’s not like you’d be losing anything.”

  Except my fantasies. Presley was ashamed to admit that part of her fear was hearing Brandon say he’d never thought of her as more than a friend and no longer having hope to cling to.

  “Here’s an idea. Why don’t you take him and his daughter to the holiday fair this weekend? Layla is going to have a pie tasting competition and Ned is planning to make candles. If nothing else, it will be some cheap entertainment.”

  Presley rolled the thought over in her head as she took a bite of the burger. It would be fun to spend more time with him and at least catch up on old times. That was if Morgan wasn’t in the picture.

  The next day, gathering her courage, Presley packed a basket of pastries for the family. She’d been planning to bring them over anyway, but realized now they would make a great excuse if Morgan was around. After donning her coat and locking the shop, she forced her feet to follow the familiar path to Brandon’s parents’ house. The yellow house was just as she remembered it, if not a little more worn.

  The porch step creaked under her footstep, and she cringed at the sound. She should have remembered that step. It was what got them caught one night when they arrived back after curfew. The image of his mother, irate and red, brought a smile to Presley’s face. If only they had been doing something worth getting so worked up over instead of innocently studying for a test at her place and simply losing track of time. She almost lost her nerve and turned back, but her finger touched the doorbell before she could retreat.

  Anna opened the door and smiled, knowingly. She was not fooled by Presley’s ruse of freshly baked goods.

  “Come in.” Anna opened the door wider, and Presley shuffled inside, ducking her head to hide the pink flag across her cheeks. “Brandon and Mother are in the family room.” She began to lead the way, but Presley’s hand reached out to stay her arm. Curious, Anna turned back.

  “Anna, is . . .” Presley didn’t really know how to ask what was on her mind, but she couldn’t go in there without knowing. “Is Morgan out of the picture?” She spat the words out before she could change her mind about asking them. Waiting to hear her fate, her hands gripped the basket tighter.

  Anna’s eyes twinkled, and she nodded. Relief
flooded Presley’s body so quickly that her knees buckled. Anna grabbed her elbow before she tumbled to the floor, and Presley mouthed a silent thank you. When her legs regained their strength, the two resumed the walk to the family room.

  She felt him before she saw him. His presence was like a giant magnet, drawing her to him. He looked up from his phone as she entered.

  “Presley? What are you doing here?”

  Her ears flamed, and she was glad her hair was long enough to cover them. “I heard about your father, and I wanted to bring you some pastries. It isn’t much, but . . .”

  “It is wonderful, my dear. Thank you.” Beverly stood and took the basket, exiting the room and pulling Anna behind her. Presley was left alone with Brandon, who looked as uncomfortable as she felt.

  “Here, sit,” he said finally, pointing to an empty space on the couch next to him.

  Despite being afraid to sit next to him, afraid to be too close to his magnetic pull, her feet propelled her there anyway. “It was good to see you yesterday.”

  “Yes, you too.”

  An electricity ran between them. Presley could hear the soft buzz of it, and the hairs on her arms stood up. She was drowning in those dark pools once again.

  “How was Paris?”

  The breathiness of his voice told her he was feeling something similar. Could it be that he had feelings for her as well?

  Her tongue swiped her bottom lip, and his eyes followed the movement before returning to hers. “It was nice, until it wasn’t. I met a guy there, but it . . . it didn’t work out.”

  His free hand grabbed hers. “Presley, I’m sorry to hear that.”

  A fiery tingle ran up her arm at his touch, and her eyes dropped to their entwined fingers. Her throat had gone dry, and it was hard to form her next words. “I’m sorry about Morgan.” She pulled her gaze up as she finished the words to judge his expression.