1. Promise

CHAPTER 1

One more hour. Just one more hour and I can go home for the day and enjoy a cool sweet tea on my little patio in the back and savor the breeze coming off the ocean at this cooler time of the evening.

I sigh and run my fingers through my hair, my eyes catching on my reflection in one of our antique mirrors on display. I wince and turn away immediately. I look like hell and there's no other way to put it. My hair is hanging down on my shoulders in a limp, tangled mess. My eyes have dark circles under them and my skin is lackluster, pale and slightly sweaty from the humidity that the low country is famous for in the summer.

I growl and pull a hair tie off my wrist and yank my hair back and out of my face.

"Hey, Promise! How are you today? Anything new?" Petra giggles and I roll my eyes at her.

"I know you think that you're super funny, Petra but I don't agree."

She grins at me, her long blond curls gleaming in the store lights, her blue eyes wide and happy. Petra always seems happy and sometimes I envy her that but I have a feeling that it's actually only the tip of the iceberg with her. There's something bubbling under the surface but she never lets anybody get close enough to figure out what it is.

"I don't do new stuff and you know that." I smirk at her. "Everything's old in an antique store. Including me"

She giggles. "Yeah. I know. That's why it's so funny. Except for that snarky comment about yourself. You know damn well you're not old, Promise. You're just seasoned."

I roll my eyes. "I'm thirty-three, Petra. I feel every single one of those years."

She growls under her breath and then rushes around to hug me. "Girl. You need to stop being so nasty to yourself."

I shrug my shoulders. "Not nasty if it's true."

Her eyes soften and she says, "Have you seen their son yet?"

My heart sinks and my eyes sting with tears. "No, the attorney said he's been notified but that he's just winding up his own affairs. I swear I don't understand why he's coming here. He hasn't been back here since they moved here."

She shakes her head. "That you know of. Besides, although you liked his parents you don't know what their relationship was like. So don't pre-judge the poor guy."

I shoot her a cynical look. "You know. For a girl who's been dumped by her boyfriend recently and has a horrible relationship with a certain man because of your parents and his, I find it hard to believe that you should tell me what to think."

"Pfft! Behave. I know that you're still upset about their deaths but maybe you'll find out that their son is like them and he'll be a great friend. Just try not to judge someone before you even meet them."

"I'm sorry. I'm just upset about their death. I can't believe that they went out for a nice dinner the next town over and were killed by a drunk driver. It's so awful."

"It is." Petra comes around and hugs me, my head barely coming up to her chest. She's tall, willowy and beautiful. She has a crazy job that she loves. And I'm just me. I run my mother's' old antique store that I inherited when she passed away a few years ago. I never went away to college. Petra did.

"But I want to remind you that they loved their son. They loved you. You both already have something in common."

I eye her and then smile. "Good lord! You are such a sap!"

She grins. "Unrepentant too! But I know damn well that you're not usually like this. You're just in a funk. So….as soon as you close the doors tonight we're gonna go out and have a few drinks and dance to a few songs and you're gonna have fun!"

"I just wanted to go home and go to bed," I protest. "I'm really tired."

She stalks to the door and turns after she opens it, pointing at me. "Tonight we're going out and you're gonna have fun! Hell! Maybe you'll even kiss a guy and dance with him."

I snort. "I don't remember the last time that I did anything like that." My lady bits are probably closed up about now. Use them or lose them.

"You've been cooped up in the store too much. You're still young. We both still are. It's time to remember that! Wear a damn dress and some heels. No boots!" She hollers as she stalks out the door.

I groan and drop my head to my hands. "I shouldn't be doing this. I have too much work to do." The store needs a good cleaning and I need to get the ad finished for the Fourth of July sale that starts next week. I've also got some boxes that need to be priced and put out.

But under all the pressure to do all that stuff is a slow-burning desire to enjoy myself with my friends and finally have a night out, a few drinks and just relax like I don't have a million things that need my attention.

So when it's finally time to close up, I find myself heading next door to my cottage and climbing into the shower, washing up and then pulling out one of the few short, sexy dresses that I have left. I grab my bottle of lotion and squeeze out some on my legs and arms, smoothing it on until my pale arms and legs glow with health.

Blowing out my long, ginger hair into a smooth, silky curtain, I lightly apply eyeshadow to make my hazel eyes look dark and mysterious, dusting my cheeks with a soft coral color and then slathering on a layer of mascara to make my skimpy eyelashes look like I actually have some since they're the same color as my hair.

When Petra knocks on my door and I grab a light jacket, she grins. "Damn, girl! Look at you! I knew you still had the goods!"

I glare at her and then bend over, laughing. "Alright, fine! I need to get out. I've been working too hard."

She nods her blond head. "See. Just do what Dr. Petra says and you'll be all better in no time."

I shake my head and grasp her arm, pulling it through mine. "You are insufferable when you're right."

She grins cheekily. "I am. Now let's go have a good time!"

When we reach the bar, Hole on the Water, both of us grab a drink and eye the ‘action' as she calls it.

"They all look like babies," I growl, my eyes on her as I sip my whiskey.

"Please," she huffs. "None of these guys are in a cradle. Just relax and let's have some fun."

She sets her beer down on the small round table and takes mine out of my hand. "Let's go! Time for the second part. Let's dance!"

I sigh but let her drag me out onto the little postage-stamp-sized wood floor. There's a real band for the night and they aren't half bad, a strange mix of 80's rock music and country songs which makes no sense but is actually a lot of fun.

I relax and move my hips, letting the beat catch me. With her hands up and her hips twitching to the beat, Petra soon has her own fan club. I fade into the background but there's a smile on my lips and my eyes close, my hands reaching for the sky, my wide hips swiveling as I let myself go and finally feel the weight of all my problems fall away from my shoulders.

Until someone slips up behind me and I feel his front against my back. His hands grab my hips and I growl under my breath, wrenching myself away from him. I turn and glare at a very drunk older man who's grinning at me as he blows kisses.

My face flushes and I growl, stomping away from him only to have him grab onto my hips. "Let me go!" I grit out between my teeth.

"Have some fun." His burning gaze runs up and down my body. "You look like you could use it."

My head jerks back and I clench my fists, fighting the urge to punch this guy in the face. But when he reaches for me again, I pull my arm back and cock my fist.

"Whoa, whoa!" I lunge forward, but I'm stopped by someone's hand grabbing my fist and jerking me back into him. He holds me tight in his arms as I fight to get to the asshole. "Hey," he growls. "The lady's not interested. And she's with me so go bug another lucky lady."

The drunk snaps his fingers in my face and I growl, lunging forward again.

"Dude! Get the hell out of here!"

Snarling, I whip around and push hard at the man holding onto me. "Let me go!"

"Nope! Not until you don't look like you're gonna challenge that guy to an MMA fight."

I open my mouth to yell at him and then my eyes open wide as I finally get a look at him.

Damn, he's hot! Annoying but hot.

"Who the hell are you?" I growl, jerking away from him. My body is suddenly noticing that he's got a body like a Greek god with wide shoulders that taper down to slim hips encased in a pair of worn jeans that hug his muscular thighs as he smirks at me, leaning forward to tap my nose like I'm a toddler having a temper tantrum.

"You're cute when you're all pissed off. What's your name?"

"Promise. But you didn't tell me yours."

He winks at me and his pale green eyes sparkle wickedly. "Kade, sweetheart. You can call me Kade."

I snort. "I don't want to call you anything. But since you insisted on sticking your nose into my business…"

My voice trails off as I lift a brow at him when he busts out laughing, slapping his big hands on his thighs like I'm just the funniest damn thing he's ever seen.

"What's so funny?" I ask him mildly, fighting the urge to deck him.

"Not a damn thing, sweetheart. I'm looking forward to getting to know you a lot better, that's all."

Grunting, I stomp away, glancing back at him. "There's nothing interesting about me at all, sparky. So you might as well not even wonder."

He eyes me with a knowing look in his eyes that I don't like. "I bet that's not even remotely true, sweetheart. There's a whole helluva lot I want to know about you!"

My heart skips a beat and my lower body clenches even as I glare at him then stomp off.

This guy's just passing through. I'm sure I won't see him again.

But my good mood is gone and I stalk up to Petra who's dancing with a flirty guy who's eyeing her like she's his main course for the night.

"Hey, I'm gonna head out. I've got a headache."

Petra groans. "Oh no! You need me to walk with you!"

"Nope. There's nobody that's gonna bug me. You have a good time. I'll talk to you later."

She nods and blows me a kiss over the guy's shoulder.

I grab my jacket and slip it on, feeling the night-time chill in the air as I step outside. I look up at the moon and feel the cool breeze on my flushed cheeks and then I start walking, pushing the stupid men out of my mind.

But pale green eyes sparkling with desire are the last thing I think about as I pull my sheets up to my chin and drift off to sleep.