Sapphire Falls: Going To Be Yours (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read online

  “I’m Mary, by the way,” the woman said. “You look familiar. Have you been here before?”

  “Here?” Serena squeaked and then immediately cleared her throat. “Um…no. No, I haven’t.” It wasn’t a total lie – it was the first time she’d been in this convenience-store-slash-pizza parlor.

  Mary studied her for a long minute and then shook her head. “I guess I thought…never mind. I just thought I’d seen you before.”

  Rather than say anything, she simply nodded.

  A couple of people walked in and Mary waved to them before turning back to Serena. “I hope you have a good day in Sapphire Falls and maybe we’ll see you tonight at the Come Again.”

  “Thanks,” Serena murmured and with a small wave of her own, she walked out. Once she was at her car, she continued to just stare toward the town square and all she could think was – now what?

  ****

  It wasn’t often that Will had a Saturday off and when he did, he made the most of it by doing what he loved – working on his own cars or going out for long drives.

  His family often teased him about having motor oil flowing through his veins but he didn’t take any offense to it. It was probably true. From the first time his father showed him how to change a tire when he was twelve, Will was hooked on cars. He loved taking them apart, putting them back together and listening to them run. When Dylan Maxwell opened Sapphire Falls Auto Care, it was like a dream come true.

  Maybe I need bigger dreams, he thought to himself.

  But it had been true. A chance to work on cars in his beloved hometown? Perfection.

  The weather was clear and a bit on the warm side but at least there was a breeze. Will stood out in his front yard and stretched, considering the possibilities for the day. He had a ’58 Chevy in his detached garage that he’d been tinkering with for well over a month now. It had been a mess when he found it – a guy in Lincoln who’d been holding on to it and neglecting it for far too long finally decided to post it online to sell it and Will jumped at the chance.

  It was a labor of love and yet…he wasn’t quite feeling it today. No, today he felt like getting out for a bit. There wasn’t anything going on in town and he didn’t have a particular destination in mind; all he knew was that the road was calling him.

  He stepped back into his small house – a great little Craftsman-style bungalow – and grabbed a bottle of water and his keys. Locking up the house, he went out to his beloved Dodge Ram pickup. Will looked at it and smiled while others looked at him like he was crazy. It was a little bit beat up – and showing its age – but it was Will’s baby. He bought it when he was eighteen and it was already ten years old then. But with the constant work Will did on it, it still ran like he’d just taken it off the showroom floor.

  Within minutes he was approaching the heart of Sapphire Falls and even though that meant driving way slower than he wanted, he was curious to see what was going on – if anything. Realistically, he knew it was far too soon to see anyone setting up anything for Halloween but as he passed the town square, he couldn’t help that his heartbeat kicked up a notch at the thought of seeing his sexy kisser.

  Shaking his head, he chuckled. He sure as hell wished he had gotten her name. He was running out of cute ways to describe her.

  Sexy, beautiful, great kisser, his-every-fantasy-come-to-life…yeah. He’d used them all. A real name would be nice.

  He waved to Joe and Levi Spencer who were walking down Teal Street next to the town square. Levi motioned for him to stop so Will pulled over and watched Levi’s approach. “What’s up?”

  “Did Dylan talk to you about the Camaro?” Levi asked.

  “The one you were thinking of bringing in from Vegas? Yeah, sure. How come?”

  “Are you up for a job like that?”

  Will laughed with disbelief. “Seriously? You have to ask? I’d love to get my hands on it. But I don’t know why you’re bringing it all the way here to get work done if it’s for a friend who still lives in Vegas. I’m sure they have plenty of qualified mechanics there. Why pay the shipping cost to get it here?”

  Levi shrugged. “A favor for a friend and I know you and Dylan aren’t going to rob me blind or talk me into unnecessary repairs.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “I know you guys are busy at the shop and it’s not like we’re in a real rush with this car but…I want – no, I need – to make sure that you’re committed to doing it.”

  Will looked at him oddly. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  Joe poked his head by the window. “Because word around town has it that you’re already starting this year’s kissing booth campaign to find your elusive kiss-and-run chick.” He laughed. “Is that why you were driving so slowly by the square? Mapping out a strategy so she can’t get away this time?”

  Damn. “First of all, I wasn’t driving slowly. That was Margie Ferguson in front of me and she always drives ten miles under the speed limit.”

  “And why were you driving by the square?” Levi asked with a smirk.

  “Because it’s in the center of damn town and in order to get out of town, you have to drive by it,” Will answered sarcastically. “Are we done now?”

  “I don’t know…,” Joe said. “Still seems a little suspicious.”

  Will flipped him off and then looked at Levi. “It will have my full attention. Trust me. Send me the specs and what you think needs to be done and we’ll talk about a timeline. I can work on it after hours, no problem. I’ve got plenty of free time.”

  “Until Halloween,” Joe murmured.

  “Bite me,” Will huffed. “Anyway, so…yeah. Let me know about it, Levi.” He looked beyond the Spencer brothers to where TJ Bennett was pacing and talking on his phone. “What’s up with the mayor?”

  “Who knows,” Joe said. “There’s always something town-related to deal with. I swear, I don’t envy TJ at all. It’s a freaking Saturday and that’s the fifth call he’s taken.”

  “Goes with small town living. Even when it’s not a big thing, he’s easily approachable by everyone,” Will commented. “You know most of those calls could probably be handled by anyone else besides the mayor.”

  “That’s true,” both Joe and Levi said and they all looked over at TJ who was slipping his phone back into his pocket.

  “Well, if you guys don’t mind, I’ve got some driving to do,” Will said.

  “Around the other side of the square for comparison?” Levi teased.

  And with another one-finger salute, Will pulled away.

  Maybe he’d go to Lincoln and check out the classic car dealership where he often went for inspiration. Or maybe he’d go and check out the Harley Davidson place and look at motorcycles. That was one mode of transportation he’d always wanted to try but never had. Or maybe…

  He was driving by the Stop when he saw a car he didn’t recognize. Being an enthusiast and the fact that he worked for the town’s one and only mechanic, Will knew every car in town. But this little blue hybrid Honda wasn’t from around here, of that he was certain.

  He slowed down and noticed a woman standing beside it. She had on some sort of baseball hat and sunglasses and…nope. She did not look familiar to him. It was always possible that he didn’t know everyone in Sapphire Falls but…he had a feeling he’d seen this woman before.

  He watched her in his rearview mirror for a minute and saw her take off her hat and shake out her hair and…

  Holy shit!

  It was his mystery woman!

  Three

  SERENA NOTICED THE truck drive by and then stop, but she wasn’t paying too close attention - she was still lost in her own indecision about how to go about trying to find Will. She shook out her hair - hating the tightness of the ponytail - and sighed. “Clearly I should have thought this through a little more,” she murmured just as the pickup truck backed up and pulled into the parking spot beside her.

  It took all of three seconds for recognition to hit.

  Holy.
Shit.

  Will slid out of the truck and simply stared at her. The intensity of his gaze had her feeling a mixture of apprehension and arousal. Every time she had ever seen him it had been at the kissing booth and he had been joking and laughing and smiling.

  None of which he was doing right now.

  “It’s you,” he said.

  Serena nodded, knowing exactly what he was referring to. “It’s me.”

  Will stood next to his truck facing Serena while she stood next to her own car. Part of her wished he’d just come around the car and...what? Touch her? Shake her? Kiss her? At the thought of kissing Will, she subconsciously licked at her lips. His gaze honed in on her lips before looking her in the eyes again.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked. “There’s no festival this weekend.” And yeah, okay, there was an edge to his voice. Clearly finding her here wasn’t as pleasant of a surprise as she’d been hoping for.

  “Um...I was...I wanted to…”

  And then he did move. Slowly Will stepped away from his truck and came around the hood of her car and didn’t stop until he was merely a foot away. “You wanted to what?” he snapped. “See if you could play another round of kiss and run?”

  Okay, she deserved that.

  “Is that what you’re doing? Driving through town in hopes of finding another way to mess with my head or something? Is that how you get your kicks?”

  Okay, not quite sure she deserved that one.

  “Or maybe - just maybe - were you driving around thinking of new ways to mess with my head?”

  Mess with his head? Wait a minute…

  “Okay, hold on,” Serena said, holding up a hand to cut him off. “How about you actually let me answer a question or two before you steamroll along any further? How about that?”

  Will seemed taken aback by her response and then he literally took a step back and motioned for her to continue.

  Unfortunately, she had no idea what to say. They stared at each other for a minute and when Will quirked a brow at her, she actually blushed. How had she never noticed how dark his eyes were? They were so blue they were almost black - like his hair. He had a strong jaw that right now had a bit of stubble on it and she knew it would feel just a bit scratchy if she grabbed his face and kissed him.

  No! Bad Serena! No kissing right now.

  “You were saying,” Will prompted.

  Oh. Right. She was supposed to be explaining herself. Clearing her voice, she met his gaze and said, “I was hoping...I was looking for you.”

  Will’s eyes went a little wide, but he didn’t say anything.

  “I drove into town and stopped here to grab something to eat and then I realized that I had no idea where to go or how I was supposed to even go about looking for you.” When he still didn’t say anything, she gave a mirthless laugh. “I certainly didn’t expect you to be driving by and find me here.”

  “Looks like I made your search a little easier,” he said after an awkward silence. There was a little less of an edge to his voice - which was kind of deep and gravelly and very sexy.

  Serena nodded. “I suppose I should thank you.” She smiled shyly at him and almost sagged with relief when he seemed to relax and gave her a small smile. Holding out her hand she said, “I’m Serena.”

  Will didn’t hesitate taking her hand in his. “Will.”

  She almost said “I know” but decided against it. “It’s nice to meet you, Will.” He was still holding her hand and she was in no rush to take it back. They already knew each other, but not really. All Serena knew was that she liked the way his hand felt and she had to fight the urge to step in closer to him.

  “So where were you going to start?”

  She looked at him oddly. “Start?”

  “Looking for me,” he said, his smile growing.

  “Oh...um...I was sitting here staring at the town square and trying to figure that out. Should I just drive around? Or walk around? I really had no idea. Which is crazy because I’d been planning this for a few days and…”

  “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why were you planning this? You’ve been coming to the festivals for three years. Why come to town looking for me now?” he asked, still holding her hand in his.

  “Honestly?”

  “I always find it to be the best policy,” he said teasingly, his head tilting toward her.

  She sighed. “I heard about the Halloween festival and...I felt bad.”

  Will looked at her curiously. “You felt bad about the Halloween festival? Why? Don’t you like candy? Hayrides? Costumes?”

  She chuckled. “That’s not what I meant. I felt bad because of the way I’ve been behaving. You seem like a really nice guy and you kiss like a dream and when I think of the Sapphire Falls festivals, it’s you that I think about - you who I’m really coming to see. And I feel like an idiot for taking a stupid dare and kissing you - repeatedly - without taking the time to get to know you.”

  “I kiss like a dream, huh?”

  And then she let out a hearty laugh, her hand slipping from his. “That’s what you got out of that whole speech? I’m kind of pouring my heart out here and confessing everything to you and that’s the one thing you heard?”

  Will laughed with her - and he had a really great laugh. “I heard everything you said, Serena. I just wasn’t sure how to respond to most of it. I kind of tend to take the humorous approach to things. You’ll learn that once you get to know me better.”

  She definitely liked the sound of that. It was...well...it gave her hope. “You think so?”

  He nodded. “Definitely.”

  “So...what were you doing today?” Serena asked. “You know, before you spotted me trying to spot you.”

  He laughed again. “I was just going out for a drive. It’s my day off and I didn’t really have anything planned.”

  “It’s the weekend,” she commented. “Most people have the weekend off.”

  Will shook his head. “Not me. I’m a mechanic here in town and I normally work every other weekend.” He shrugged. “It goes with the territory and I don’t mind it. Not really. What about you? What do you do for a living?”

  “I work in graphic design - logos and that sort of thing. I’m with an ad agency in Lincoln.”

  “That sounds interesting,” he said, smiling.

  She shrugged. “It can be, but…”

  “It’s not right now?” he finished for her.

  “Exactly.” Then she sighed. “I want to do more. Design more. Learn more! But my boss isn’t too interested in my ideas. But...it’s a job. We can’t all have jobs that we love, right?”

  Will looked around and seemed to be thinking about something. After a minute, he faced her. “Tell you what...why don’t we head over to Dottie’s and have some coffee or something. I really want to keep talking to you and hear all about your life and how you ended up at all of the Sapphire Falls festivals for the last three years, but I’d rather do it while we’re sitting and relaxing instead of standing in the middle of a parking lot.”

  She was just about to agree when Mary stepped out of the store. “Hey, Will!” she called out and waved. When she saw who he was talking to, she grinned.

  And then Serena had an idea. “Hey, Mary?” she asked. “Can you vouch for this guy? Is he the decent sort?”

  Mary burst out laughing. “Will? He’s one of the best, sweetie! Honest to a fault.” Then she studied them for second and then gasped before turning her attention to Will. “Is this…? Is she…?”

  Will nodded.

  Serena wasn’t too sure about the exchange but when Mary turned to her and said, “You be gentle with him and everything will be just fine!” with a wink, she knew exactly what she was going to do.

  Turning to Will she said, “How about we go for that drive instead?”

  ****

  He still couldn’t believe his luck.

  What were the odds of being out driving at the same time Serena was gettin
g ready to go out driving to find him?

  Serena. Hell, even her name was beautiful. And as much as he loved driving, Will loved being able to look at her - really look at her - even more. Now he could see the tiny flecks of gold in her green eyes and how her lashes were ridiculously long, how her skin was lightly tanned and when she blushed her cheeks turned an adorable shade of peach. Her lips, though...he sighed. Those were simply beckoning him to lean in and kiss her.

  It almost seemed wrong that they hadn’t done it already. After all, it was their thing.

  So as Serena settled in on the seat beside him, Will decided to be bold. He leaned over and cupped her cheek in his hand and couldn’t help but smile when she just as easily leaned into him. And then...damn. He’d kissed her close to a dozen times and yet this time it hit him like it never had before. Maybe it was because he could actually touch her and she was closer than she had ever been. Or maybe it was because they were alone. Either way, it didn’t matter because as soon as her tongue touched his, Will was lost.

  Her lips were so damn soft and the way she sighed and melted against him had him cursing the fact that they were in his truck in a public parking lot. Over and over he slanted his lips over hers and they each kept inching closer and closer to each other. And when he felt those lush curves pressed up against him, he knew he was in trouble and needed to bring things to a halt.

  Lifting his head, he was pleased to see that she was just as dazed as he was. He smiled as his thumb caressed her cheek. He leaned in and rested his forehead against hers. “It just seemed like that’s our thing and I couldn’t wait any longer. Sorry. I probably should have asked first.”

  And there was that blush that he was really starting to love. “It’s okay. I was kind of hoping you’d do that.” She paused. “Actually, I had been trying to figure out how to do it without coming off as being too forward.”

  Will lifted his head and looked at her. Was she for real? It was almost as if she were too good to be true! “Serena, any time you want to kiss me, you don’t have to ask. I will gladly oblige.”