And Then One Day Read online

  Because yeah, sometimes the truth did hurt.

  Stepping away from him, Courtney stormed to the bedroom and began gathering her things. As she moved around the room, she wanted to yell at herself for not leaving earlier in the day on Monday, for stopping to eat at The Sand Bar instead of getting on the road, for calling Jones Automotive when her car broke down…on and on she thought of all the bad decisions she’d made.

  And that was just on Monday. She didn’t even want to think about how different everything would be if she just hadn’t kissed Dean at the rehearsal or gone home with him after the wedding.

  Tossing her dirty clothes into her suitcase, she cursed the fact that now she knew what it was like to be with him. If she had just left things the way they were and never crossed that line, she would have moved away and eventually gotten over her feelings for him. But now? Now she knew there was no way she’d ever forget and there certainly was no way any man would ever compare.

  Ugh…I make the worst decisions…

  Yeah. She knew this and yet she went and did what she did anyway.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  Looking over her shoulder, Courtney did her best to look calm–like it wasn’t killing her to be leaving. “Getting my stuff together,” she said blandly, turning her attention to all her stuff cluttering up his bathroom. She walked over to it. “Now that Scarlett thinks I’m staying at the old house, I figured I should. Plus, my car should be ready tomorrow, right?”

  It wasn’t until she was in the bathroom collecting her things that she noticed he’d moved to the doorway. He didn’t say a word. He simply glared at her.

  With her arms loaded, she went to step around him.

  But he wouldn’t move.

  Sighing loudly, she glared back at him. “Seriously? Can I please get around you?”

  “No.”

  Part of her wanted to throw her stuff to the ground and fight while the other part wanted to sit on the floor and cry. What was she thinking, getting involved with someone like him? He was older and more mature and so different from any guy she’d ever been with. Her pouting and temper tantrums usually helped her to get her way, but it was clear that wasn’t going to work with Dean.

  “Look, what do you want from me?” he asked after a minute. “I’m trying to have a…a conversation with you and you just decide to get up and pack your shit? Why would you do that?”

  Okay, she could throw out a bitchy comment and finish packing so she could leave–that would be the easy thing to do–or she could do something she’d never done before.

  No manipulation.

  No pouting.

  No tantrums.

  Straightening slightly, she looked him in the eye. “I guess it just hit me how…that maybe…I’ve never done this before, Dean. I have no idea how to talk to you.” Courtney was amazed at how calm she sounded considering she felt like she was going to throw up.

  “What are you talking about?” he asked, sounding calmer than he was just moments ago. “We’ve never had a problem talking to each other.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. That’s when it’s about nothing personal or when Scarlett’s there with us or we’re talking about her. We’ve never just…you know…had a conversation that was specific to us.” She paused and shifted uncomfortably. “Okay, I really need to put some of this stuff down before it all falls on the floor.”

  Dean stepped in close and took it from her and placed it back on the bathroom vanity. Once he was done, he took her by the hand and led her back out to the couch. They sat and looked at each other and Courtney realized they were right back to where they started. She was about to comment on it when he spoke.

  “I’m not going to lie to you,” he began solemnly and her heart sank. “For a lot of years, I only saw you as my sister’s friend.

  Don’t get up and run away…don’t get up and run away…

  “But lately…things started to feel different.” He paused. “It’s not like it was a spur of the moment or an instantaneous sort of thing, but…all I know is that I started feeling different around you and I kept telling myself it was wrong.”

  “Why?” her voice barely a whisper.

  “Let’s be real, Court. I’m older than you and any time you ever came around the house when we were all younger, you gravitated toward Kyle. I was almost like one of the parents when we were growing up, and you were one of the kids. It felt wrong to think of you in any other way.”

  If he was being honest, she knew she owed it to him to be the same. “I’ve had a crush on you for years,” she said quietly, opting to look down at her hands in her lap rather than at him. “I never told Scarlett. Heck, I never told anyone.” Now she did look up. “And I figured you’d never look at me as anything other than a kid. Which…you just said you did.”

  “Courtney…”

  “No, I get it. I do. And I don’t hold it against you. I mean, how could you know?”

  She wished he would reach out and touch her–even just a caress on her hand–but he didn’t.

  “I always thought I’d outgrow it,” she went on. “I’ve dated other guys–probably more than I should have–and I kept telling myself I’d get over it. Over you.”

  His expression softened but he didn’t say anything.

  “Part of the reason I want to leave Magnolia is…well…because I’m not getting over it. I figured the best thing for me to do was to move. You know, out of sight, out of mind.”

  “You shouldn’t have to move away,” he said, his voice gruff. “I don’t want you to move away.”

  Wait…what?

  “But…”

  Now he did reach out and take her hand. “I know this sort of started weird–well, not weird, but…in reverse. Maybe we could try hanging out and doing things together other than…you know…just sex.” Then he gave her a lopsided grin. “Although, I’m all for that continuing too.”

  She knew her face was flaming red. “So you want to…date?”

  “Yeah. I do.”

  Ohmygod! Ohmygod! Ohmygod!

  Her heart felt like it was going to beat right out of her chest, but she managed to smile and say, “I’d like that.”

  Then he leaned in and kissed her because…they’d talked enough for one night. They could start dating tomorrow.

  “Let’s go work on Scarlett’s place!” she said excitedly. Dean had asked her if she wanted to do anything special today–it was Saturday and he had the whole day off–and this was what she wanted to do. Why? Because she knew how badly her friend wanted to sell the house and how she felt bad for holding up the renovations.

  So yeah…dating Courtney was…different.

  It had only been a couple of days, but…things were good. Really good. There was a certain level of ease because they had known each other for over twenty years, and yet…he was learning so much about her.

  Sometimes he’d sit and listen to her talk and feel like he never knew her at all. For so long she was simply this snarky friend of the family who was a little dramatic, a little loud, and, sometimes, really immature.

  Not that he would ever admit that to her.

  Now he was discovering a woman with a wicked sense of humor who isn’t afraid to laugh at herself–or him–and someone who genuinely cares about the people she loves.

  Every day she went over and had lunch with Scarlett and made sure to always bring her some of her favorite treats or a new book or her guilty pleasure, gossip magazines.

  Women.

  But it was her date suggestion for today that really surprised him.

  “Are you serious?” he finally asked. “I thought…I don’t know…that we’d go someplace–maybe grab some lunch or go down to Wilmington for the day.”

  She was smiling serenely as she sipped her coffee. Waving him off, she said, “Nah. We’ve both been there a million times. Let’s work on the house! We can be like one of those HGTV couples and tear the place apart while we bicker about my crazy design ideas and your
need to stay on budget! It will be epic!”

  That wasn’t quite the word he’d use, but…it definitely could be fun. Plus, he really did want to get started on it. He and Courtney watched quite a bit of HGTV during the week and even though he never mentioned anything to her out loud, he did get a few ideas for things he wanted to do at Scarlett’s.

  “Um…I’ll need to get you some gloves and safety goggles,” he began. “Have you ever done any demolition on a house?”

  “Nope, but I am a quick study, I swear!” Placing her coffee mug in the sink, she turned and looked up at him and was practically bouncing on her toes. “C’mon, I’m dying for something to do! I’m so bored!”

  That made him laugh. After he told her there was more damage to her car than they originally thought–and it really wasn’t a lie–she had settled in and accepted that she wasn’t going to Raleigh just quite yet. Besides spending a couple of hours a day with Scarlett, she also went and met with some of the people at town hall to discuss ways to possibly gain a new dentist for Magnolia. And if that wasn’t enough, she volunteered over at Happy Tails, the animal rescue his sister was so passionate about.

  The woman was never still; how could she be bored?

  After finishing his own coffee, he told her how to dress to best protect herself and then went out to his shed to see if he had the supplies she would need. When she met him back there a few minutes later, her excitement hadn’t lessened one bit. If anything, the fact that they were gathering tools got her even more worked up.

  “This is going to be so cool,” she said, placing the safety goggles on. Her long hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she had on black leggings, an oversized t-shirt, and sneakers. “Do you have a flannel shirt I can borrow?”

  “A flannel shirt?”

  She nodded. “To tie around my waist to give me the whole construction chick vibe.”

  Laughing, Dean hauled her in close and kissed the top of her head. “Far be it from me to keep you from looking fashionable.”

  After getting her a shirt, they climbed into the truck. “Do I get a toolbelt?”

  “Court, you seem a little more fixated on how you look than the work we’re going to do. Trust me, you don’t need a toolbelt.”

  “Will you be wearing a toolbelt?”

  “Yeah…”

  “So why can’t I wear one?”

  They hadn’t even pulled out of the driveway yet and he was already exhausted. Twisting in his seat, he looked at her. “For starters, I don’t have one small enough for you and it seems a little crazy to go out and buy one for a single day’s work.”

  “I only get to work today? Why?”

  “How about we just take it one day at a time, okay?”

  “Fine. Whatever,” she murmured, crossing her arms with a pout.

  Pulling out of the driveway, he chuckled. “You forget my sister is the queen of pouting when she doesn’t get her way. That tactic doesn’t work on me.”

  He heard her small curse and grinned.

  She didn’t say another word until they were both standing in Scarlett’s kitchen. “Okay, we’re going to start by taking the doors off the cabinets, okay?”

  “Are you reusing these cabinets?”

  “No. Why?”

  “Then why can’t we just smash them? It seems like a lot of extra work to take the doors off if we’re not saving them.”

  She had a point, but…

  “Look, I don’t have a dumpster here yet so I’m trying not to make more of a mess than we need to.”

  “Ugh…I thought this was demolition, not let’s-neatly-take-the-house-apart. On HGTV, they take a sledgehammer to the kitchen and call it a day!”

  “Do you see a camera crew here?”

  She shook her head.

  “Then can we please try it my way?” he asked wearily. “I promise to let you smash one of the walls we’re taking down, okay?”

  Her shoulders slouched but she agreed. “But it better be a big wall!”

  He agreed just for the sake of getting them started.

  Within minutes Courtney was using the drill to take the doors off and Dean was disconnecting the plumbing under the sink. Once they were both done, they worked together to remove the countertops before carrying them and the base cabinets out to the living room.

  “Why are we leaving it all in here?” she asked. “Why can’t we put it all outside?”

  “Because there’s rain in the forecast and wet wood is a bitch to try to move. We’ll make a big pile of debris and then when the dumpster gets delivered, I’ll haul it all out there.”

  “Okay. Gotcha.”

  After that, Dean pulled the upper cabinets off the wall and tossed them into the living room and stood back and studied the almost-empty space.

  “You’re keeping the appliances?”

  “Yeah. How come?”

  Shrugging, Courtney replied, “Well, I guess it depends on what you’re going to do in here and how much money you want to spend. They’re white and…I don’t know…they look old. We should see if we can find a deal on some matching stainless steel ones–you know, like maybe ones that have a small scratch on them or something to get them at a discount–and maybe consider adding a dishwasher.”

  Rubbing a finger over his chin, he nodded. “I thought about it. Mason told me to just give him all the receipts, but I was trying to be mindful of the cost.”

  “Trust me on this, good appliances will help them sell this place. You can make the kitchen look gorgeous and updated, but if you put the old appliances back in, it’s going to look awful.”

  He had to agree.

  “Okay, so we’ll call the town and arrange for them to come pick up the stove and refrigerator.”

  “Sounds good.”

  After that, they worked on tearing down the non-load bearing wall that divided the kitchen and living room before tearing up the old linoleum flooring up. It was only in the kitchen and the rest of the house had the original hardwood, so it only made sense for the cheap stuff to go.

  “You going to tile the kitchen?” she asked, wiping the sweat off of her forehead.

  “Yeah. That’s the plan. Why?”

  Another shrug. “I’ve seen shows where they match the existing floor and sand it all down and then stain it for a better flow. This place is small enough as it is and having a break in the flooring is going to be distracting.”

  Dean lifted his shirt and used it to wipe the sweat from his face. “I know what you’re saying, but…how much do you really think this house is going to sell for? I don’t want to upgrade it out of a reasonable asking price.”

  “Have you looked at the comps in the area?”

  Unable to help himself, he chuckled. “You really watch way too much of that channel. You know just enough to be dangerous.”

  She smiled sweetly at him. “Let’s put a pin in the whole floor thing for now and I’ll do some research later on and see what we’re competing with. Deal?”

  “Deal.”

  “What’s next?”

  Pulling out his phone, he saw they’d already been at it for almost four hours. If it were just him here alone, he’d keep going, but he didn’t want to exhaust Courtney. Plus, until some of the clutter was gone, there wasn’t much more they could do.

  “Ooh, can we demo the bathroom now?” she asked excitedly. “Scarlett always hated that bathroom and I know it’s small, but I think we can do a really cool shower in there.” Her big green eyes shone with enthusiasm. “What do you say? Can we yank out the shower, toilet, and vanity? Please?”

  “I think I’ve created a monster,” he muttered, raking a hand through his hair. “I was thinking we’d call it a day and…”

  “No!” she cried. “Come on! This is so much fun, and after the bathroom, we can call it a day. Then we’ll go back to your place and shower and maybe go grab some dinner out. What do you say?”

  “You want to go out to eat?”

  “Sure. Why not?”

  He s
hrugged. “This was a lot of hard work. I just thought maybe I’d grill some steaks for us or something, and we could watch a movie and just…you know…chill.”

  It wasn’t like they were hiding out, per se. But they were just being a little choosy about where they went out together. Tonight, however, he knew they’d both be exhausted from all the demo and staying in sounded really appealing.

  She moved in close to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I have to admit, I was looking forward to going out and maybe getting something a little farther up the coast, but a good steak certainly has its appeal, too.”

  He mimicked her move, wrapping his arms around her. “I happen to grill an excellent steak.”

  Humming with approval, she went up on her toes and touched her lips to his. “You happen to be excellent at many, many things, I’m finding.”

  Was it wrong how much he loved hearing that? “Oh, yeah? Like what?”

  “Hmm…let’s see…you’re really good with your hands,” she said, her voice a little breathless and sexy.

  Dean let his hands skim down and cup her rear. “And what else?” he teased, his own voice going husky.

  “You’re very strong…”

  He lifted her until her legs wrapped around his waist. “Go on.”

  “You are extremely caring and generous and sexy…” She began to nibble along his jaw. “And you always smell so damn good.”

  “I like where this is going.” Looking around, he tried to find a spot where he could either put her down or lean against something so he could kiss and touch her properly. There was the bedroom. The furniture was gone, but…”

  “There is one category, however, where you’re a little disappointing.”

  Say what now?

  Pulling back slightly, Dean looked down at her and was certain his expression was slightly horrified. “Um…excuse me? How am I disappointing?”

  And then that impish grin that he knew so well crossed her face. “Well, I used to think you were a stellar mechanic, but since it’s taking so long for my car to get fixed…”