Love is Grand - Rachel Blaufeld Read online

  Love Is Grand

  Copyright © 2022 Rachel Blaufeld

  All rights reserved

  ISBN: 978-1-7340017-8-5

  Edited by

  Pam Berehulke

  Proofread by

  Virginia Tesi Carey

  Cover design by

  © Sarah Hansen, Okay Creations, LLC

  www.okaycreations.com

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Without limiting the rights under the copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the above author of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Warning:

  This book is intended for mature audiences.

  Interior design and formatting by:

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  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Books by Rachel Blaufeld

  About the Book

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Epilogue One

  Epilogue Two

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Grand Love Series

  Grand Escape

  Love is Grand

  World of True North Series

  Friendzoned

  Stand Alone Titles

  Break Point

  To See You

  Heart Stronger

  Hot for His Girl

  Wanderlove

  Love Disregarded

  Love at Center Court Series

  Vérité

  Dolce

  The Electric Tunnel Series

  Electrified

  Smoldered

  Tinged

  Crossroads Series

  Redemption Lane

  Absolution Road

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  With sultry beach vibes, steel-drum music playing in the background, and the smell of coconut and money all around, welcome back to Grand Cayman Island and the Grand Escape.

  A true island beauty, single mom Shell needs life to give her one tiny break. Her husband took off, leaving her to work as a waitress and a coffee delivery gal. Surrounded by wealth and extravagance in paradise, she’s doing her best to take care of her daughter.

  On a whim, Shell takes a quick breather in front of the jewelry store at the posh Grand Escape. Knowing it will be love at first sight with everything in the window, she tortures herself anyway. What she doesn’t expect is to meet the man who will soon occupy all her thoughts and dreams.

  In command of every situation he’s faced with, Caleb Stern is a pro at the bachelor life. He works hard, plays harder, and has no regrets about any of it. That is, until he meets a sweet and sassy single mom in the Caribbean.

  Certain he can have a fun time with Shell and let her go, Cal makes secret visits to the island to see her. But falling for this island girl seems to be the one situation Cal can’t control.

  Both are doing their best, playing the hand they are dealt, until Shell challenges Cal to a showdown. With a spunky kindergartner leading the charge, Shell gives Cal a chance . . . but can he steal the heart of the one woman who has mesmerized him?

  For my stepdad. We can all use a dream come true in our lives . . .

  • October •

  Shell

  “You back there, Sam?”

  When I heard the woman’s voice coming from the front of Island Coffee, my dad’s coffee shop, I wanted to hide in the back room forever. Taking my time to grab an extra milk, I was in no hurry to wait on the customer whose voice was all too familiar. The sound of it used to make me smile, but now, hearing it made me want to run away.

  Keeping secrets would do that to you.

  “Dad’s not here,” I called out, making my way up front to the counter.

  “Oh, Shell, what’s up? I haven’t seen you in a while.”

  Rylan gave me a kind smile, but I didn’t deserve her kindness.

  My friend stood there, glistening from her run but looking as beautiful as ever. The thing was, it was hard to hate her because she didn’t even know how gorgeous she was. Her smile was captivating when she chose to share it, and up until a couple of months ago, she’d been heartbroken. Now, her prince was back and living in the West Bay on the island.

  Lucky girl . . . unlike me.

  “You okay?” she asked, pulling me from my unhappy reverie.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Tired. Weezie is getting over a cold, and she’s been coughing at night.”

  Knowing Rylan’s usual order, I poured a large coffee and added milk.

  “This is the Caribbean,” she said. “We’re not supposed to get colds.”

  I knew Rylan was kidding. Damn vacationers brought all kinds of viruses to the island.

  “Exactly,” I said, teasing back, hoping she’d get leave quickly.

  Another thing about Rylan was she pretended to not get involved in people’s lives, but she did. Especially mine. All. The. Time.

  “Where’s your dad?” she asked.

  “Took my mom to the eye doctor. No biggie. She just can’t drive after they dilate her eyes. Weezie went with them and is waiting in the car with my dad.”

  “No school?”

  Cripes, Rylan was a nosy one.

  “Parent/teacher conference day. So, nope.”

  She nodded. “These kids have it made. She’s in what, kindergarten now?”

  I nodded.

  Leaning on the counter with her coffee next to her, Rylan gave me an odd look. “So, how are you, Shell? I mean, really?”

  Wiping my hands on my apron, I averted my gaze.

  “Shell?”

  “It’s been tough,” I said, keeping busy so I didn’t have to look my friend in the eye. “Weez misses her dad. As for me, I just wish he’d burn in hell for leaving us like he did. Sorry to say.”

  “Of course
you do. Ricky is slime, but you’re a better woman and the best mom.”

  I shook my head. “I’m messing it all up.”

  “Nah,” Rylan said, waving off my concerns. “No way. Plus, Tony is crazy for you.”

  “We’re just friends,” I said a little too defensively.

  I was my own worst enemy. Here I was wanting Rylan to ask less, and yet I was leaving little bread crumbs for her to follow a path straight to the truth.

  Rylan tilted her head, studying me. “Tony would be good to you. He’s a nice guy.”

  “Look, he’s great, and I know you two are best friends, but now isn’t a good time for me to get involved like that.”

  Except, I was involved, but with someone else. Someone more complicated, and much worse for me than Tony.

  “I hear you,” Rylan said softly. “But you’re not alone, Shell. I’m here. Teddi loves you. Reach out.”

  “By the way, you didn’t run here from the new house, did you?”

  Everyone knew Rylan’s guy, Adam, had bought a huge house in the West Bay. He’d decided to live here for most of the year, traveling back and forth to the States, wooing her along the way. Of course, she’d moved in with him.

  “No, I came in early to work to check on a delivery, took a run, and now I’m going back to work.”

  “You’re still bartending?”

  “Yep, but I start my new gig in a few weeks. I’m nervous I won’t like it, but this will let me travel back to the US with Adam. He only has a three-month visitor’s visa now.”

  I knew what Adam wanted because he’d told Dad, but I was pretty sure Rylan was in denial.

  “Do I hear wedding bells?” I asked, pleased to see Rylan looking uncomfortable instead of me.

  “Uh, no.”

  “We’ll see.”

  With that, Rylan stood tall and finished her coffee. “I gotta jog back and get a shower. Are you free this Friday, or do you work?”

  Actually, I had the night off at the restaurant, and my parents were taking Weezie, so I was totally free. I’d planned to take a bath and read a book, but I wasn’t about to tell Rylan that yet.

  “Why?” I asked warily.

  Rylan smiled. “We’re going to have some cocktails and apps. Can you escape and come?”

  “Oh, that sounds so nice,” I said, unable to control my desire to have some adult time.

  Then Rylan dropped the bomb.

  “Cal’s flying in. Adam wants him to have a good time since he’s shouldering a lot of the workload. Which I know is BS, but you know Adam. He’s always indebted to his family.”

  Sadly, after she said Cal’s name, everything else sounded like gibberish as my brain fought to find an excuse for begging off on Friday.

  Rylan must not have noticed because she said, “See you around seven,” flicking her ponytail and then hurrying out the door.

  The chimes tingling above the door after she left didn’t even bring me out of my haze.

  Cripes. Cal was coming back to Grand Cayman.

  Luckily, the floors in my bedroom were hardwood, so there was no evidence left behind that I’d been pacing my room for an hour or longer early Friday night. Not like anyone was going to walk in while I ran around in circles in a bra and a jean skirt.

  My parents insisted on taking Weezie for a sleepover, leaving me home alone in the tiny house I normally shared with my daughter. With my husband gone for good, I should stay put and concentrate on being the best mom I could be. Instead, I walked back and forth in front of my dresser, contemplating what to wear on top, or whether it would be best to just change into my jammies.

  A romance novel called to me from the nightstand, and I paused my pacing, staring at it. I could make a cup of tea and crawl into bed for the night, no one the wiser. When Rylan asked why I didn’t show up for the party, I’d blame it all on Weezie wanting me to stay home.

  The windows were open, allowing a light breeze to filter in, along with the ever-present island humidity that threatened to return my just-straightened hair to salty natural curls.

  Tony always said I was the quintessential beach beauty, whispering sweet nothings in my ear, trying to get me to agree to go out with him. He’d say my skin was perfectly bronze and my curls were perfect.

  But none of his BS really mattered because I didn’t care for him in that way. Tony was a project, and I’d already failed at a project like that. Ricky was my biggest failure.

  Despite his compliments not swaying me to date him, Tony was a great guy. One of the best. Dedicated, loyal, and compassionate—he had all the character traits I should be looking for in a replacement father for Weezie. Only problem was Tony was a recovering alcoholic, and that scared me. Not to mention, he didn’t do it for me. I always liked the bad boy . . . or the bad-for-me man, as in my current situation.

  Blowing out a long breath, I pulled my mint-green satin tank top from the top drawer and slipped it over my head. The color did pop against my skin.

  I shooed the thought from my mind because chasing the bad boy had already gotten me in trouble once, leaving me with an MIA husband and a daughter. Of course, Weezie was a wonderful bonus, but she deserved a dad. An involved dad, not an asshole who was off somewhere “discovering” himself.

  Discovering his dick is more like it.

  Freaking Ricky and his never-ending bellyaching over needing time to really know who he was, blaming my getting pregnant for his sad life, saddling him with a family and keeping him on this island.

  Whatever. I deserve to have fun too.

  At least, that’s what I told myself as I ran my fingers through my hair and then applied a pale pink lip gloss. I slipped my feet into wedge sandals, my anklet with seashell charms tinkling with my every movement.

  I’d admired the anklet every time I went over to the Grand, drooling over the expensive trinket sitting front and center in the display window of the overpriced jewelry store near the elevator. I made the mistake of stopping to look at it one day last year when I was delivering some coffee to the resort for my dad . . .

  I’d been standing there staring at the gorgeous anklet in the window when a man came up behind me and whispered, “Beautiful.”

  Caught up in the moment, and maybe drowning a little in my own self-pity now that Ricky was gone, although I was the only one who knew it yet, I’d whispered, “It is.”

  We stood there for a while, the man’s front nearly touching my back. He was so close, I could feel his breath on the nape of my neck, but I wasn’t scared. Whoever he was, he radiated an aura of being in complete control. He seemed like the type of man who was always in charge of who, what, where, when, and why.

  “It would look stunning on you,” he said, sliding his palm down my arm and turning me to face him.

  A man had never been so forward with me, taking such liberties in touching me without permission, and I never imagined myself to be the type who would allow it. When men got chummy with me at work, they got a tongue-lashing and the brush-off.

  “I’m sorry,” he said unapologetically. “I wanted to see your face.”

  I blinked at the gorgeous man in front of me, wondering what was happening to me. He was tall, with dark blond hair and yummy brown eyes, and a smile that I was sure had melted panties since he was sixteen.

  He took a step back, putting some space between us, and said, “Cal,” holding out his hand in introduction.

  I stared at his large hand a beat or two before slipping mine in his. “Shell.”

  He smiled, and I nearly swooned. “Makes the bracelet even more appropriate.”

  Trying to pull myself together, I said, “It’s an anklet, actually. My parents love this island, what can I say? I’ve lived here all my life. In fact, I’m delivering some coffee for my dad.”

  Holding up the bag to proudly display the family coffee shop’s label, I sounded like a naive idiot who had never dated. Actually, I hadn’t dated much. I got pregnant at nineteen.

  “It’s a beautiful island. B
y the way, I’ve seen that coffee before. My brother had some yesterday with his friend, Rylan. Must be a popular place.”

  “Ry? She’s a good friend of my dad’s. She was over at Camila’s earlier in the week with a guy. Your brother, I’m guessing.”

  “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  The man ran his hand through his hair, and I noted flecks of gold dancing in his brown eyes, beckoning me.

  Clearing my throat, I tried to think what I must look like to him, ultracasual in jean shorts and a pale pink tank top. At least my hair was down and smooth, not curly like it usually was.

  “Ry doesn’t really date, so probably. He seemed like a nice guy.”

  “He can be. I got dragged here for him, but it’s not that bad of a place to get stuck. At least, what I’ve seen of it.”

  “Oh, did you—”

  I never got to ask him if he’d seen a sunset on the beach here because a loud “There you are!” rang through the hallway.

  A well-dressed, perfectly coiffed woman appeared, a small smile on her plastic-looking face, and slid her arm through Cal’s.

  “Sophia,” she said to me boldly without waiting for an introduction, letting it be known she held a claim on this man.

  Territorial much? I thought, then remembered my manners.

  “Shell. I’m a local. I was just recommending a tour company. Don’t forget, Sun and See Tours, with two e’s.” I said the last part to Cal in a hurry before scurrying off like a kid caught with both hands in the cookie jar.

  Two days after I met Cal, my dad came by with a small gift-wrapped box that had been delivered to the coffee shop for me, but he didn’t ask questions. He played downstairs with Weezie while I took it up to my bedroom, debating whether to open the box.

  Once I opened the box and saw the pretty anklet I’d been drooling over, my eyes filled with tears. How could Ricky walk away from his family, and then a strange man be sending me jewelry, all in a few months?

  The gift shouldn’t make butterflies swarm in my stomach, but it sure did. I told myself to ignore those pesky little bugs, but I couldn’t seem to take the anklet off.