One Christmas Wish by Brenda Jackson
CHAPTER THREE
THREEDAYSLATER, Sierra felt a jolt of sexual energy all the way to her bones the moment Vaughn Miller walked through the door of the Green Fig. She didn’t know where that jolt had come from. She’d never responded that way to a man before. But then few men were as handsome as Vaughn Miller, she thought dryly. Definitely not Nathan and not even Mervin Price, the guy she thought she was head-over-heels in love with while in college.
And it didn’t help matters just now when their gazes connected, and she could almost feel herself drool. Holy moly, how crazy was that? She figured it wasn’t any crazier than the fact that when he’d entered the restaurant, his gaze had gone straight to her instead of glancing around for a table. Should she be flattered or worried that something was happening that she might not be able to control?
And she was finding it hard to control. She wasn’t imagining the fact he was still holding her gaze or the heat it was stirring inside of her. Nor did she imagine the smile he gave her before finally turning his attention away when one of her waitresses approached him. It was only then that she exhaled a deep breath. Another thing she hadn’t imagined was that she’d gone to bed thinking about him every night since the last time he’d been to her restaurant.
“He’s a looker, isn’t he?”
Sierra looked at the woman now standing beside her. She raised a brow at Emma’s comment. The happily married woman was the same age as Sierra’s mother. “Why, Ms. Emma, I wonder if Mr. Frank knows you’re checking out other men.”
Emma chuckled. “He knows I’m not blind and that says it all. Catalina Cove is a lucky place for a young, unattached woman with so many good-looking single men around. Unfortunately, most aren’t staying single long. So, if you’re interested, you might want to strike while the iron is hot.”
Sierra reached out and straightened the menus in the rack. “I’m not interested. Have you forgotten why I’m here?” Although she hadn’t gone into details with anyone about why she’d gotten divorced, everyone knew that she had. And since Emma was one of her mother’s good friends, she figured her mother had expressed her dislike of Nathan.
“No, I haven’t forgotten and I’m glad you came back home to the cove. This is the best place to heal and find love again.”
Sierra agreed with the healing part but not so much with the finding love again. “It’s not easy when your heart has been broken.”
Had her heart been broken, or was it just her pride that had been damaged? During the last three years of their marriage, Nathan had been competing for a key promotion in his company, which had caused a lot of stress. A stressed Nathan had turned into a mean Nathan, and he’d found fault in practically everything she’d done. He’d even been jealous when she received a big promotion at work.
“Your parents and grandparents would be proud of you for coming back to the cove,” Emma said, puncturing Sierra’s thoughts. “Now if we can only get Dani to come back.”
Sierra grinned. “You can forget that. She loves living in Atlanta and is satisfied just to come back and visit like the folks are doing.”
“Your parents got wanderlust. They will eventually come back and settle down again. In the meantime, I am happy for them. Well, break time is over. I’m needed back in the kitchen.”
When Emma walked away, Sierra told herself she would not look to see where Vaughn was seated. The waitress who’d seated him was now headed to the kitchen to put in his order and prepare his drink.
Would he want brown ale again? Not able to resist temptation any longer, she glanced over at him and saw he was staring at her, as if he’d been waiting for her to look his way. As if he’d known she would.
She wasn’t sure how long she stood there exchanging stares with him, or if he felt the same thing she was feeling in that moment—a surge of yearning and acute awareness erupting and tying her insides into knots. The peep of her wristwatch finally made her break eye contact with Vaughn. Glancing down she saw it was a text message from Velvet saying the girls had done so well at gymnastics practice, she wanted an okay to treat them to burgers and shakes at Spencer’s before returning them to their parents.
It was a Friday night and with no school tomorrow, Sierra got her phone and texted Velvet that it was fine. Besides, one of the other little girls getting lessons was in Teryn’s first-grade class. Teryn and Chelsea had become the best of friends and since they wouldn’t be seeing each other again until Monday, they would probably enjoy that.
She had slipped the phone back in her pocket when she felt a presence in front of her. Across the counter from her was Vaughn. His appearance surprised her. “Is anything wrong?” she asked, fighting back the nervousness in her voice.
He shook his head. “No. I was just wondering about something.”
She regarded him inquiringly. “Wondering about what?”
“I prefer not eating alone and wondered if you would join me.”
Join him? Why would she do that? And would that constitute a date? Something she wasn’t ready to do? Of course it’s not a date, Sierra. He’s merely asking you to sit with him while he eats. No biggie, so you shouldn’t blow his request out of proportion. But still...
Sierra was about to tell him that she was too busy to sit with him when she studied his eyes, and those beautiful hazel depths seemed to reach out to her with mesmerizing force. And she was aware of it in every part of her body.
She shouldn’t be drawn to him this way, yet she was. That made her curious as to why. It would be a while before Velvet brought Teryn home, and it was time Sierra took a break anyway. There was no reason she couldn’t give Vaughn fifteen minutes of her time. Fifteen minutes and no more.
She finally nodded and said, “I was about to take a break, so yes, Vaughn, I’ll join you.”
VAUGHNLOOKEDATthe woman sitting across from him in the booth. Even though he hadn’t seen her in three days—and he’d tried not to be—he couldn’t deny that he was still attracted to her. He could tell she was nervous and he didn’t want her to be. So, he tried making her feel relaxed by asking, “Would you like something to drink? It will be on me if you do.”
She smiled and like before, that smile did something to him. It was the same smile he remembered every night when he closed his eyes before falling asleep.
“Although I’d love to have what you’re drinking, I’d better settle for iced tea instead. After all, I’m still on duty.”
He wanted to tell her in that case he needed to make sure they shared a drink somewhere when she wasn’t on duty, but he knew it was too soon for that. Instead, he said, “I take it you’re a fan of brown ale, too?”
She chuckled, and the sound sent sensuous shivers flowing to his groin and he had to shift in his seat.
“Of course, especially since it’s manufactured right here in Catalina Cove,” she said. “Demetri Langston returned to town the same time I did to open that brewery, thanks to Reid Lacroix’s low-interest loans. Even my attorney had a hard time believing how great the terms were.”
Vaughn could believe that. Reid had more money than he knew what to do with and Vaughn was glad he was using it to grow Catalina Cove into the kind of place everyone would be proud of. In reality, what he was doing was home growing their own. Vaughn had looked at the stats just that morning and over twenty new businesses had opened in the cove. All were owned by those who’d been born in the cove but moved away for college with no intention of returning.
Reid had found a way to lure them back with a strategic plan that benefited the town. And to accommodate all that required more housing. Already Reid was working on a project to tackle that issue.
Vaughn nodded. “The terms are hard to believe, but it’s serving a purpose. He wants the cove to flourish for future generations, especially now that he has grandchildren.”
“His granddaughters, right?”
“Yes.” Vaughn smiled. “His granddaughters.” He would never forget the first time he’d seen Julius’s daughters. His best friend had died not knowing that he’d fathered two beautiful baby girls who were now in college.
“I understand that you and his son, Julius, were good friends.”
Vaughn nodded as he took a sip of his ale. “Yes, Julius was my best friend.” Vaughn had known Julius’s secrets. He had also known his pain and the guilt that had eventually destroyed him. He had chosen social class over love and he had lived to regret it. Vaughn didn’t intend to make that mistake. If he had to, he would choose love and not wealth.
“I was sorry to hear about the car accident that killed him.”
“So was I. I miss him,” Vaughn said.
One of the waitresses came up to take Sierra’s order and she asked for iced tea.
When she glanced over at him, he said, “You might want to try the special for today. I heard that the black bean soup with crab meat and andouille sausage is to die for and would make you want to slap your mama.”
Another grin lit up her face. “And just who told you that?”
“A number of people, but those words came from Sawyer.”
She laughed in delight, and he thought it was a beautiful sound and wondered if she did it often. “I can believe you,” Sierra said. “The sheriff never misses a chance to come in whenever I serve it. He’s been in already today for family takeout.”
“I think the kegs you use to put takeout orders in was a novel idea. How did you come up with it?”
“It was my grandmother’s idea actually. Whenever she made the soup for the neighbors, she would give it to them in a cute miniature keg my grandfather made. That way, when it was time for a refill, people brought their kegs back for more. Of course, due to health department restrictions we can’t refill them, but it’s a cute keepsake.”
“It is. Some of the ladies in my office use it as a pencil holder.”
At that moment the waitress returned and set his bowl of soup in front of him with a chicken sandwich on toasted bread. His mouth was watering from the aroma. He thanked the waitress and looked over at Sierra. “Would you like to try some of this?”
She chuckled. “No thanks. I know exactly how it tastes. The crabs came off one of Kaegan’s boats this morning. You can’t get it any fresher than that.”
“You’re right about that.” He spooned up a taste, which caused him to moan in pleasure and lick his lips. “This is the best. I don’t know what you did before moving back to the cove and opening this restaurant, but I’m convinced being a soup-maker is your calling.”
“Thanks, but I’m not sure my former boss would agree. Before coming here, I worked in Chicago’s business district as a software development manager for Smithfield and Tyler.”
“I’ve heard of them. They are a well-known and respected company.”
“I know. I got hired by them right out of college and enjoyed working for them.”
“What made you want to move back to the cove?”
She didn’t say anything for a moment and Vaughn wondered if he was asking her to tell him too much too soon. He wanted her to feel comfortable with him, to feel that she could talk to him about anything.
Instead of answering, she checked the time and then said, “My break is over, and I need to get back.”
He knew she didn’t really need to get back, but if she felt she needed to end her chitchat with him then he would not stop her. “Thanks for sitting with me for a while.”
“No problem. I enjoyed it.”
He held her gaze when he said, “Then we must do it again.”
She smiled as she stood. “Sure. Anything to please the customers. Goodbye.” She turned and quickly walked off.
Vaughn watched her leave, determined that one day he would be more than just a customer to her.
“HOWMANYMOREDAYS, Goddy?”
Sierra smiled at Teryn as she helped her goddaughter into her pajamas. Rhonda had warned her that Christmas was Teryn’s favorite day of the year. This would be the second one the two of them shared together.
“There are seventy-four more days left until Christmas, Teryn. Are you getting excited?”
“Yes!”
Usually on Friday nights, Sierra allowed Teryn to stay up later than normal and they would watch a movie together. However, she could tell by Teryn’s yawning and drowsy eyes that school, gymnastics practice and dinner with Velvet and some of the other kids had worn Teryn out and she was ready to fall asleep.
Teryn’s question had Sierra thinking about Christmas.
Last year Dani had talked Sierra into spending the holidays with her, Emory and their kids—eight-year-old twin boys, Tucker and Turner, and their six-year-old daughter, Crane. She had gone along with it, thinking being around other kids would be good for Teryn. It had been, and Sierra was glad she’d made that decision, but this year they would spend Christmas here in the cove. And Sierra had already volunteered to be a part of the cove’s Christmas planning committee, which consisted of local business owners.
Catalina Cove had always been such a beautiful place during the holidays, and she couldn’t wait to introduce Teryn to it. The lighting of the Christmas tree in the town’s square would kick off the holiday season the first Saturday in December.
There was also Christmas on the Main, an annual event where everyone was encouraged to visit all the stores, restaurants and shops on Main Street. That night, the best decorated storefront was given an award. Since the Green Fig was on Main Street, Sierra intended to participate.
Then there was Christmas Wonderland. It rarely snowed in the cove, but that didn’t stop the locals from bringing in their own fake snow and creating a section of downtown that looked like the real thing.
The people in town were known to go overboard when decorating their homes, and even decorated their boats for a boat parade. It was fun to see all the various boats decked out in Christmas regalia to parade in the gulf, with holiday lights flashing. There was even a prize for the most decorated boat.
“Is there anything in particular you want Santa to bring you this year?” Sierra asked as she pulled back the bedcovers for Teryn to slide under.
“Yes. I will be giving you my wish list to send to him soon.”
Sierra nodded, thinking that was good to hear, and she intended to make sure Teryn got everything on that list.
“What about you, Goddy? Do you have a wish for Santa? You only get one.”
Sierra gazed at Teryn as she adjusted the pillow beneath her head. “Oh, really? And why do I only get one Christmas wish?”
“Because you are a grown-up. Mommy said grown-ups don’t need as much stuff as kids.”
Sierra smiled. Yes, she could certainly see Rhonda saying something like that. Her friend always thought of others before thinking of herself, which is why for years she’d worked at a nonprofit agency that handled multiple charities and foundations. “If that’s what your mom told you, then that’s the rule. I will only get one Christmas wish.”
“Do you know what it is yet?” Teryn asked, her eyes widening with excitement.
“Nope, not yet. But I will think of something.”
“It has to be something you truly want, Goddy, and then you need to write your own letter to Santa. Remember, you only get one wish.”
Sierra hugged Teryn. “I’ll remember.”
A short while later, Sierra was in her office, curled up on the sofa in front of the fireplace with a glass of wine. Dani had called every night while Emory was out of town on business, and this was the night he was to return home. Sierra hadn’t heard from Dani, so she could only assume her sister was jumping her husband’s bones, like she said she would be doing the moment he got home.
She took a sip of wine and her thoughts went to Vaughn Miller.
She would admit after he’d visited her restaurant on Tuesday, she had gone to sleep every night thinking of him. When he hadn’t come back over the next few days, she figured he had returned to his regular routine of dropping in every so often for takeout. She definitely hadn’t expected him to walk into the Green Fig this evening.
She hoped joining him while on her break had not been a mistake. The last thing she wanted was to give him the impression that she was interested in dating, because she wasn’t. She was way too busy and her main focus was Teryn. But she had enjoyed sitting across from him, hearing the sound of his voice, watching him enjoy his meal. She rubbed her hand down her face. Dani was right. She was attracted to the man. Was that pathetic or what?
Vaughn wasn’t the first man to show interest in her since she had returned to Catalina Cove. Several of the single guys she’d gone to school with had asked her out, including Demetri Langston—back in the day, he’d taken her to her high school prom. In the beginning, she always held back because she was taking care of Teryn. Now Teryn was getting older and Sierra wasn’t as protective of her. Several of the women in town had shared the names of teens they used as babysitters who were responsible and dependable. One just happened to be Emma’s granddaughter, Jacquelyn, who was a junior in high school. On a few occasions, she had hired Jacquelyn so she could attend a committee meeting or join Velvet for a girls’ night out. Jacquelyn had worked out wonderfully. But still...
Sierra knew that staying busy was key, and she was doing just that. However, tonight, while she sat across from Vaughn Miller, he had been able to do what all those other guys hadn’t. He had reminded her that she was not only a woman, but she was a woman with needs.