Sweet Something (Sweet #1) Read online

  Grace pulled her jacket around her trying to escape the cold November weather.

  “Lead the way.” Tyler was standing next to her waiting for her to decide which way was home.

  She walked a few feet ahead leading the way. He followed behind her taking advantage of the great view of her perfect ass. He wondered what she had on under those jeans, what color panties, or if she even wore any. Get real Tyler. You don’t even know this woman and you just got out of a serious relationship. More baggage is the last thing you need, he thought to himself as they made their way up the street. But it really is a good ass. Damn!

  “Are you alright? You seem to be having trouble keeping up.”

  He shifted his gaze quickly to her face, not wanting her to notice he was checking her out. “I’m good. I am just making sure you get home safely. Remember?”

  She remembered. She was also aware that he was behind her every time she felt flutters in her stomach. She wondered if he was staring at her ass, and if he was, whether he like what he saw.

  “This is me.” Grace stopped in front of her driveway looking around to avoid eye contact with him. What was wrong with her? She never let a guy get to her like this . . . not since Denny.

  Tyler turned in an almost complete circle, with a confused look on his face. “You live here?”

  She nodded. Why he would ask her that if she just told him this was her house?

  “I just bought the house on the hill down the street. I moved in two days ago,” he said, explaining the confusion on his face.

  Ahh, the grumpy neighbor.

  “You’re the grumpy neighbor who I shouldn’t borrow a cup of sugar from.” It was out of her mouth before she could stop it. She was mentally kicking herself for not thinking about what she said first.

  “What? I have sugar. Do you need some? Why can’t you borrow any from me?” He seemed to be even more confused now.

  This was going to be delightful to explain. She shifted nervously on her feet. “This is just weird now. I saw you this morning throwing your for sale sign by the mailbox. You looked mean, so I made a mental note to never ask you for sugar. Just forget it please.” She was mortified and probably red in the face. No wonder she went three years without a date.

  “Well . . . I never saw you. I would have remembered such a good looking neighbor.” He took a step toward her. “I would have definitely made a mental note to borrow sugar from you. If you must know, I am not grumpy, and

  you’re always welcome to my sugar.” He was grinning and it was sexy as hell. It actually made her clench her thighs together.

  His sugar is probably the best sugar in the world.

  “Good night, Grace. Thank you for the company tonight. I enjoyed it. I’ll see you around.” He took one more look at her before turning and walking up the street.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “You told him you couldn’t borrow a cup of sugar from him?” Autumn looked completely mortified at the thought of telling that gorgeous guy anything like that.

  “I know! I’m an idiot! I should just be banned from dating ever again. I can just get a bunch of cats and be the crazy cat lady.” Grace hit her forehead against the kitchen counter one more time, kicking herself for her big mouth.

  “Maybe he is one of those guys who drinks a few beers and doesn’t remember what he did the night before. There still might be hope for you, Gracie.”

  There was no hope and she knew it. She was officially giving up on dating or trying to meet someone. It only ended badly for her, or made her look stupid.

  “Maybe you should go over to his house and see if he remembers what you said.”

  Autumn must have hit her head too because that was the worst idea ever.

  “Are you crazy? I’ve already made an ass out of myself. What do you want me to do, knock on his door and say, “Hi, remember me from last night? You walked me home and I told you I never want to borrow sugar from you again, and, oh yeah, you’re kind of grumpy. I’m Grace; nice to meet you.”

  I’m sure it sounded better in her head, but when Grace put it that way, of course it was a bad idea. Autumn thought for a second as she glanced out the window. “Maybe he doesn’t remember because he is coming up the driveway right now.”

  Grace almost fell off the chair when she heard the knock on the door.

  “Oh no! Go answer the door.” If only a huge hole would open up now and swallow her it would be perfect. Not every day was her lucky day.

  “No way! He isn’t here to see me!You go answer it!”

  She gave Autumn a ‘you’re going to pay for this’ look. Just breathe Grace. He probably doesn’t remember anything about the sugar, she thought to herself as she opened the door.

  No such luck because there he was, looking even sexier in the sunlight, and holding a bag of Dixie crystal sugar.

  “Hi Grace. I thought this might come in handy for you. You know, with grumpy neighbors and all, you wouldn’t want to run out of sugar and have to ask one of them for a cup.”

  He was being smug about it and not even trying to hide the ear-to-ear grin on his face. He was the sexiest man she ever laid eyes on . . . even if he was being a complete ass.

  “Oh . . . uh . . . please, can we just forget about last night and pretend it never happened?” she asked, trying to keep the heat from rising to her cheeks.

  This was the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to her. Of course it had to be with ‘hot as hell, makes me want to rip his clothes off and lick him from top to bottom like a lollipop gorgeous guy.’

  “Hi, I’m Tyler Reese, your new neighbor up the street. I just wanted to say hi and bring you some sugar, in case you were running low,” he said. He was trying to be serious, but failing miserably because of the smile and intense heat in his eyes as he looked at her.

  Forgiving and sexy; two great qualities a man should have, she thought as she took the bag of sugar. “Grace Carter. It is nice to meet you, Tyler.” She couldn’t help but stare into his eyes. The mystery and warmth behind them was almost impossible to look away from. It was like a vortex pulling her in slowly.

  “Are you going to invite me in?” He was leaning against the door frame with his arm resting above his head. It made his shirt ride up, exposing a small patch of smooth tan skin and the band of his underwear.

  She wondered what it would be like to touch his skin and feel the heat of it on her hands. “Oh sure, would you like to come in?”

  She left her fantasy of Tyler half naked in the back of her mind. He smells good, she thought as he walked passed her. Like soap, laundry detergent, and cologne. It made her remember the fantasy she was just daydreaming about.

  “Hi, I’m Autumn, bartender from last night. You do remember last night, right?” She winked at Grace who was still standing by the front door, lost in a sexy fantasy of Tyler being completely naked.

  “Uh . . . yeah. I usually don’t black out after a few beers, so yeah, I remember last night.” He glanced over his shoulder to where Grace was standing and felt something in his chest he hadn’t felt in a long time.

  “Pay no attention to her, please. I told you yesterday she has a problem saying things before she actually thinks about what is going to come out of her mouth,” she said, closing the front door still holding the bag of sugar.

  “I guess that’s a family trait then?” Tyler was grinning again, trying to be funny.

  “I tell Gracie that all the time, but she says it’s just me. Well, look at the time! I have somewhere to be. Tyler, it was nice seeing you again. Love you Gracie,” Autumn said, and walked out the front door.

  “Thank you for the sugar, Tyler. That was nice of you, but you didn’t have to bring me a whole bag,” she said.

  “This is a nice house. Have you and your sisters lived here long?”

  This was the house she grew up in. She learned to ride a bike here, lost her first tooth here, and learned how to grow up overnight here. She loved the house. It was the only thing she could really call
home.

  “Yeah, it’s just me and Autumn now. Paige lives in New York City.” Paige always wanted to live in a big city and when she turned eighteen she left without even thinking twice.

  “You are the oldest sister, right?” he asked, trying to find something to take his mind off of her hot body. She was driving him insane, and he found himself needing a cold shower.

  She hated being called the ‘older’ sister. She was only twenty nine, but most days she felt like she was forty since she had to become the responsible adult at the age of fifteen.

  “I’m the oldest. Paige is the middle one, and Autumn is the baby, but probably the one who keeps it together the best.”

  Grace was good at keeping her life together, but recently things seemed to be going downhill. After Denny left, she felt like her world turned upside down. Three years of hoping for marriage were over in less than five minutes.

  The heartache was still there sometimes when she thought about the night Denny ended it. He left her alone on the docks in the rain like a wet rat as he walked off with his new love.

  “You keep saying you don’t have it together, but from where I’m standing things look pretty good,” he said, as his eyes burned into her with his gaze, heating her and making her feel like she was about to go up in flames.

  “Enough about me. What about you Tyler? Do you have it together?”

  He was as far from having it together as he could be. He felt lost, confused, and heartbroken, but he never let anyone see that side of him. Over the past few weeks he learned how to hide his emotions.

  “What exactly does ‘having it together’ mean? Is this some trick question about having your life figured out and planned by the time you’re forty? If it is, then I never plan on having it together. I had everything planned and together back in San Francisco, and a lot of good that got me.” A successful business, a house, and a soon-to-be wife was the life Tyler had planned and put together in San Francisco, until his wedding day when his bride left him at the altar.

  “Sounds like some tough stuff to deal with back home.”

  Grace was the type to stay and work on the tough stuff and get through it. When her mom left, that’s exactly what she did and never once thought about leaving. She wondered who made him want to leave San Francisco. It must have been pretty bad if he felt the need to start over on the other side of the country.

  “How do you like life in Bar Harbor so far?” He watched her moving around the kitchen until he found himself walking up behind her as she reached up to put the sugar away.

  “Let me get that for you.”

  He reached around, grabbing the bag of sugar from her hand, and put it away. Being so close to her made his heart jump, but he didn’t want to move back just yet. He liked being this close to her, feeling the warmth of the soft curves of her body against him, and smelling the sweet smell of her hair. It smelled like flowers and shampoo. He took a deep breath and inhaled the sweet smell of her hair before backing up. This was bad and he felt the need to get the hell out of there.

  “Well, I should be going. I don’t want to take up anymore of your time. It was nice seeing you again, Grace.”

  Being so close to her when they were alone was testing his control. He had no intentions of getting into any type of relationship with a woman right now, or anytime soon for that matter. He left San Francisco to be on his own and start over and that was exactly what he intended to do as he walked out.

  “Thanks again for the sugar. Feel free to stop by if you need any,” she said.

  That sounded bad. She let her head hit the back of the door when she closed it behind him. At this rate, her dating slump was never going to end. The only thing in the near future was lots of cats.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The buzzing alarm in her ear was enough to set her off. She lifted her head from the pillow, squinting to see what time it was; 4:30am. Hitting the snooze button, she contemplated if she should skip the usual morning run. She knew she would regret it later and finally got out of bed after the alarm went off for the second time. She splashed water on her face, trying to wake up, looking at herself in the mirror, trying to tame her wild bed hair. It was still dark and quiet outside as Grace made her way down the driveway. She could hear the waves crashing on the rocks and the bells of the buoys far out in the water as she stretched her back and legs.

  This was one of the reasons she loved living in Bar Harbor. In the dark early hours of the morning, everything was peaceful. The sounds of water and the harbor always gave her a feeling of tranquility. It helped clear her mind while leaving all of her worries behind, even if it was for just one hour.

  Just as she was about to start her morning run, she turned back to look at the house up the hill. It was dark. The only light on was at the front door.

  Looking at Tyler’s house made her feel a longing in her heart she hadn’t felt in a long time. What is wrong with you? He runs away from his problems. This isn’t the guy to start anything up with, she thought, as she started slowly jogging toward the harbor.

  What she wouldn’t give to have someone to come home to at night; someone to share her life, her hopes, and her dreams; someone to love her and all of her flaws. Grace wanted true love; the kind of love that fits perfectly, like the missing piece of a puzzle. The kind of love, that with every kiss, you feel deep in your heart and know it’s going to last forever.

  It was a little past eleven now. Her Monday was dragging on like every Monday did for her. Grace was looking forward to the weekend because Paige was coming home to visit. It had been two years since Paige came home for the holidays, and she was excited to see her sister again.

  Grace. Don’t look up yet, but the man walking in the door now is hot.

  Of course she looked up just then, and when she did, her heart skipped a beat because the man was indeed hot. But she already knew that, and she knew he was a gentleman because he made sure she got home safely from Geddy’s on Friday. He was thoughtful too. He brought her a bag of sugar, and she could feel herself blushing just from the thought of how her body reacted when he brought her that sugar.

  Tyler walked into the bank looking like pure sexiness. He was wearing blue jeans with a pair of brown hiking boots, and a gray t-shirt with a long-sleeve, button-down, light-blue shirt. She shifted in her chair, leaning forward to get a better look.

  It should have been illegal to look that good on a Monday. His hair looked like he used his fingers as a comb, and it made her want to run her fingers through it. She was so distracted by him that she hadn’t noticed he was standing right in front of her.

  “Hi Grace. See something you like?” he said, with a drop dead sexy smile.

  For the love of all pennies, she thought. She almost fell out of her chair when she heard his voice.

  “Tyler! What can I do for you?” she asked, her voice sounding shaky from the nerves.

  He noticed her practically undressing him with her eyes. He leaned in a little closer, resting his elbows on the counter with a sexy grin on his face.

  “I need to change the address on my accounts since they all have my old California address on them.” He kept his voice low, almost whispering in her ear.

  Just hearing the word California was enough to make Grace cringe.

  “Ok, I can do that for you. Do you have a debit or credit card that’s linked to your accounts? It will be easier to bring it up that way.”

  He reached into his back pocket, pulled out his wallet, and handed her a credit card, never taking his eyes off of her.

  The touch of his fingers brushing across her skin when she took the card sent a shiver of pleasure down her body. She already knew his address since he lived up the street, so she didn’t have to ask him for it as she deleted the old address.

  “All done. Everything else is still the same, so you shouldn’t have a problem. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

  He took his card back, placing it back in his wallet as he looked at her. His e
yes seemed to find their way to her lips again. It was going to kill him if he didn’t get to feel those lips and taste them, but it wasn’t going to happen. He gave her lips one last glance and gazed at the rest of her. She looks pretty today, he thought. Her hair was down, falling around her beautiful face, and he liked that she wore only a little makeup even though she was beautiful without any. She was sitting down so he couldn’t see the rest of her, but he was enjoying the view he was getting of her boobs with the pink satin shirt she had on. It was a button down pink blouse with the first three buttons open, giving him a perfect view of what was under her shirt. It was enough to leave him speechless at the sight of the see-through lace bra she was wearing. What he wouldn’t give to see her without that shirt right now, but it was probably not appropriate attire for a bank. The thought of anyone else seeing her in just a bra didn’t sit well with him for some odd reason. He shouldn’t care about her that way.

  “Actually, I’m kind of hungry,” he said, as his eyes devoured the site of her breast peeking out from her shirt.

  Grace looked around the bank and back at him with a smile on her face. “This is a bank Tyler. We don’t serve food here.”

  Food was the last thing on his mind now, but the need to spend time with her was too strong.

  “What I meant is, it’s almost lunch time, and I’d like you to join me for lunch. You do eat . . . right?” he asked. What I wouldn’t give to have you for lunch.

  Of course she ate. It was sometimes a problem for her, but her morning runs helped with her love for food.

  “Yes, I eat, but I don’t go to lunch for another fifteen minutes.”

  He looked down at his watch and back up at Grace. “I can wait fifteen minutes. I’ll wait for you outside.” He was still looking into her eyes while making her feel the flutter in her stomach again. She wasn’t drinking and couldn’t blame alcohol for the flutters this time. She knew they were from Tyler. “Ok, I’ll see you in a few minutes then.”