Her handsome, tempting past.
“Good evening.” He smiled at the cluster of people. “I need to borrow Grace for a moment.”
“Excuse us.” She smiled warmly, Reed’s reminder echoing in her head. “Enjoy the party.”
Walking with Cal was the opposite of mingling with Reed. Her heart raced and her skin prickled with awareness as he searched for a quieter spot. Worst of all, her instinct was to take his hand the way she used to.
Somehow, he found a quieter spot near the stern. The crowd noise seemed to dull to a low murmur behind them and if she didn’t know better, she’d swear they were alone. An effect that was unique to her relationship with Cal. Pressing her lips together, she told her heart to slow down. “What did you need?”
He tucked his hands in his pockets, his gaze dark with an intensity that made her breath hitch. “You look incredible, Grace. The color... it matches your eyes.”
“On purpose,” she said. “In the right lighting.” That was the magic of watered silk, not that she’d bore him with fabric trivia.
“You don’t usually carry formal wear in the boutique.” His brow flexed.
She recognized his analytical frown. “I made it.” Her defenses were rising like a king tide. “We should talk about the vendor layout.”
He rocked back on his heels. “So you did get my email.”
“Yes.” She laced her fingers together and kept her voice low. “You shuffled off the quilting circle to the parking lot.”
Calvin sighed, his professional mask sliding back into place. “Grace, not here. I was hoping to enjoy the party with you.”
“Does Mrs. Higgins know?”
His gaze slid to the water and slowly back to her. “Yes.”
The reply startled her. “Seriously?”
“Yes,” he assured her. “She’s actually excited about the new location. She tells me it will be easier to get volunteers in the booth now because?—”
“Less hauling and walking across the sand,” she finished for him. “We have dedicated crew to help everyone, but?—”
“Mrs. Higgins is about as independent as they come.”
“True.” She forced a smile, refusing to dwell on how they finished each other’s sentences. “Good job.” She owed him that much at the very least. “As the person representing our local businesses, I want to be sure we’re still guiding and encouraging people toward Central Avenue and not simply prioritizing corporate sponsors.”
“We will. That was the first draft from the new guy in town.”
She peered up at him. Was that how he saw himself? Her heart longed for it to be true, to have him in her life in a way that wouldn’t chafe the dreams she left behind. “Okay.”
“These first changes are all about logistics. That’s all. I respect what the festival is about and how you run it.” His voice rumbled across her senses. “Levi’s influence, along with a few small adjustments, can turn the festival into a serious revenue machine. Imagine how this one event could fund the annual budget for Brookwell and the local businesses. Not to mention the repeat customers.” He inched closer. “You could hire the help you need and finally get started on your own dreams.”
Her heart plummeted.
“I don’t need you to fix my life!” The words burst out of her, fueled by suppressed grief and the simmering fear that she was just one more small-town project to him. “You came here with your big-revenue solutions and a misguided rescue fantasy. Have you even bothered to seeme?” She went toe to toe with him to keep from shouting. “Me, Cal. Today. You can’t keep me boxed up as the girl you once knew.”
“That’s not it, Grace.” His fingers skated over her arm and she jerked away from him. “You’ve done an amazing job, but?—”
She shook off the spell cast by his familiar touch. “No buts. I’m not disappointed in me. Not even a little bit. I stand by every decision I made back then.”
He folded his arms. “Every decision?”
“Yes.” Even the one where she pushed him away. She sent up a silent prayer to the universe that she wouldn’t have to resort to anything as drastic as that again. “Can we be colleagues here or not?”
“No.”
Cal closed in on her, this time crowding her between his body and the railing. Not quite enough to cause a scene, but enough to force her body to betray all her wishes for distance.
