Sweet Entanglement (Indigo Bay Sweet Romance Series Book 12) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Front Matter

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Epilogue

  Indigo Bay Sweet Romance Series

  About the Author

  S W E E T E N T A N G L E M E N T

  I N D I G O B A Y S W E E T R O M A N C E

  J E A N C. G O R D O N

  S W E E T E N T A N G L E M E N T

  Is three the charm?

  Lauren Cooper is on her way to her life’s dream. She’s financed and finished college and law school all on her own. And she’s up for partner at the largest law firm in Indigo Bay. There’s nothing to stop her from concentrating everything on achieving that goal. Until Jesse Brewster, the man who broke her heart twice, shows up sleeping off the night before on the beach, and she’s called in to serve as his public defender.

  Looking to make a new start after the racing accident that ended his lucrative motocross career and sent him spiraling into darkness, the former champion had envisioned an entirely different scenario if he ever saw Lauren again. That vision was more along the lines of the successful businessman he’d be once he rehabbed the seaside mansion he’s inherited from his uncle and sold it to open a custom bike shop.

  Sparks fly between them, and Jesse vows to fan those sparks once he’s got the project successfully underway. But someone starts sabotaging it, putting Jesse behind on the deadline he has to meet to get the property off the Indigo Bay Planning Board’s condemned property list. And Lauren has a sick suspicion that her bosses are somehow involved.

  Jesse and Lauren had once promised they’d wait for each other while they pursued their career dreams. Despite that broken promise, neither can deny the love that’s still between them. But now that they are on the cusp of reaching those dreams, are they willing to risk everything to renew that love?

  Team Macachek: Fall in love with the strong women and fearless men of the motocross circuit.

  This is the 12th novel in the Indigo Bay series, but all books can be read as standalones.

  I N D I G O BAY S W E E T R O M A N C E

  What is the Indigo Bay Sweet Romance Series? It’s tons of fun for readers! But more specifically, it’s a set of books written by authors who love romance. Grab a glass of sweet tea, sit on the porch, and get ready to be swept away into this charming South Carolina Beach town.

  The Indigo Bay world has been written so readers can dive in anywhere in the series without missing a beat. Read one or all—they’re all sweet, fun rides that you won’t soon forget. Also as special treats, you’ll see some recurring characters. How many can you find?

  Sweet Saturday by Pamela Kelley

  Sweet Beginnings by Melissa McClone

  Sweet Starlight by Kay Correll

  Sweet Forgiveness by Jean Oram

  Sweet Reunion by Stacy Claflin

  Sweet Entanglement by Jean C. Gordon

  Upstate NY Romance

  Sweet Entanglement

  Copyright ©2018 Jean Chelikowsky Gordon

  Cover art by Najla Qamber Designs

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author-publisher.

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, places, and events portrayed in the book are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Much thanks to my critique group BFF (Colleen, Chris, and Thomasine),

  my editor Jena O’Connor, my cover designer, Najla Qamber, and last but not least, the Sweet Reads author group for inviting me to visit Indigo Bay with them. I couldn’t have done it without you all.

  C H A P T E R 1

  Jesse Brewster ran his tongue around the inside of his mouth and tried to swallow the grit. He didn’t know if it was actual sand from the South Carolina beach he tried to sleep on last night or the tequila shots he’d downed like water after he’d gotten a good look at the monstrosity that was supposed to be his life-saving legacy.

  “Sir, your public defender is here,” a male voice said.

  Jesse opened his eyes to the neon yellow walls surrounding him, reflecting back every sharp ray of light from the inside lighting and small window. He squinted against the pain to his head. Someone here at the Indigo Bay, South Carolina, police department had some sense of humor painting the combination interrogation room/holding cell walls bright yellow with royal blue trim. The sleeping block and covers he was sitting on and the table and chairs were the same blue.

  “Thanks.” Jesse squinted again at the police officer’s name badge. “Officer Andrews.” The man looked vaguely familiar. Probably his arresting officer. That would make sense, him being here for his arraignment.

  “The dispatcher will bring you some breakfast. You can eat while you talk with your lawyer. The judge will be over as soon as she finishes her coffee at Caroline’s.”

  “Coffee will be fine,” Jesse said. He closed his eyes against the yellow and held his head in his palms.

  A minute later footsteps sounded. “Sir.”

  What was with all this sir? Jesse shook his head to clear it. The bright paint hadn’t just affected his sight. His ears were also hallucinating.

  “I’m Lauren Cooper, the public defender.”

  He raised his head. No, his ears were right. It was Lauren.

  “Jesse?”

  Her voice dripped with disbelief that matched his own. And he’d thought things couldn’t get any worse. “In the flesh.” He flexed his bicep, unable to resist going full obnoxious, in case she still harbored any positive thoughts about who, what he was.

  “You didn’t have any ID on you, and apparently declined to identify yourself to the officer.”

  By reflex, Jesse patted the back pocket of his jeans. No wallet. A vague picture of it on a bar swam before his eyes.

  Lauren dropped the folder she’d held to the table and pulled out one of the chairs, giving him a moment to study her. He raked his hand though his matted hair. She looked good. But when didn’t Lauren look good? Her crisp power suit did nothing to hinder his memories of the soft curves beneath them. His stomach churned with something that had nothing to do with his excess of tequila.

  She motioned to the other chair. “If you’d care to join me, I’ll go over the charges. Ben … Officer Andrews said you may not have had the capacity to understand them last night.”

  Ben, was it? Jesse’s gaze darted from Lauren to the hallway the officer had disappeared into. He stood, letting the spinning in his head stop before he took the two steps from the sleeping block to the table. What did he care? He and Lauren were over. He’d made sure of that. They’d been growing apart, going in different directions. He didn’t need to get into the direction he’d been headed after his accident and his mother’s death—with himself or anyone else. Jesse looked around. He’d arrived at his destination. There was nowhere to go now, but up.

  “Any questions?” Lauren pinned his gaze with hers. “Let me rephrase that. Did you listen to a word I said?”

  “Public intoxicatio
n. Vagrancy. How’d I do?”

  Officer Andrews appeared at the door. “Lauren, the judge is here.”

  She rose. “We’re ready.”

  He didn’t get a say? Jesse wasn’t sure he liked this take-charge Lauren. But wasn’t that one of the reasons he’d let her go? So, she could reach her potential, as his mom might have said. His throat clogged with the loss that would always be too fresh.

  “Before we go into the court room, I have an ID for your vagrant. Jesse Brewster and I are old friends.” She handed the officer a sheet from her folder.

  So, they were still friends. Some of the darkness in Jess’s soul lifted, not that meant much. There was plenty left. He gauged the other man’s reaction. Aside from a raised brow, he didn’t have any outward reaction to Lauren’s statement.

  “Brewster,” the man said, offering his hand.

  Jesse wiped his gritty palm against the pant-leg of his jeans. “Under different circumstances, I’d say nice to meet you.” He forced a smile.

  “Brewster,” the officer repeated. “You used to race. Motocross.”

  “Yes, yes, I did,” Jesse said tightly, bracing for the judgmental look from the officer and Lauren.

  “We shouldn’t keep Judge Trexler waiting,” Lauren said.

  If she’d interrupted for his benefit, because of their friendship, she shouldn’t have bothered. He knew what he’d done, who he was now far better than she did, and he was a big boy, ready to move past it.

  They walked upstairs to the city hall adjoining the police department and into a large room with rows of chairs facing the court bench. A middle-aged woman sat behind it with another woman seated to her right and a man in a suit standing in front of the bench talking to them.

  “Judge Trexler, the court clerk, and the city attorney,” Lauren explained as they entered the room.

  Officer Andrews led Jesse to the front row, where the three of them took their seats, Lauren on one side of him and the officer on the other. The city attorney sat next to officer Andrews.

  The judge called the court into session. “Mr. Johnson and Ms. Cooper, please approach the bench.”

  Jesse shifted in his chair as bits of the conversation drifted back to him. “Identified. No damage. Vagrancy. Vouch.”

  “Mr. Brewster.”

  The judge’s voice jerked Jesse’s gaze from where it rested on Lauren’s back.

  “Please join us.”

  Officer Andrews walked him the few feet to the bench, as if he were going to make a break for it.

  “Your Honor.” Jesse nodded in respect.

  “The city attorney has agreed to drop the vagrancy charges since your wallet with ID has been found and turned into the court and to reduce the other charge to sleeping on the beach, a violation with a fine. How do you plead to the charge? You can consult with your attorney.”

  “Guilty.” He had several things he’d like to consult with Lauren about, but his sleeping on the beach wasn’t one.

  “Your plea is accepted. You can settle the fine with my clerk. Any questions?”

  “No, but I want to clarify that I definitely am not a vagrant, and further, I’m not a tourist. I’m Indigo Bay’s newest property-owner.”

  The slightly wide-eyed surprise that accompanied Judge Trexler’s “Welcome to Indigo Bay” after Jesse had dropped his bombshell didn’t come within a thousand miles of the surprise and other jumble of feelings careening through Lauren. She breathed in until her lungs were close to bursting to compose herself.

  “Thank you. It looks like a fine community,” Jesse said, nodding to the judge before he turned his attention to her.

  “Thank you, Judge,” Lauren repeated. She lifted her hand to touch Jesse’s arm and dropped it. “This way, Mr. Brewster.”

  “Mr. Brewster, is it?” he said in a low, just-for-her voice as he walked beside her toward the court clerk.

  She flushed, a curse of her fair hair and skin. “For now,” she ground out between her teeth. “We need to talk when you’re done here.”

  He favored her with a slow smile before he stepped up to the clerk behind the bench. The smile she’d once thought of as her smile. Her chest hollowed. He probably used it with all his women.

  “First, here’s your wallet,” the clerk said. “The bar owner turned it in this morning. Check to make sure everything is there.”

  Jesse took the wallet and shoved it in his back pocket. “I’m sure it is.”

  Lauren bit her tongue to stop herself from telling Jesse to check his wallet. Indigo Bay was a small, close-knit community, but it was also a tourist spot and had its share of petty crime.

  “I have some forms for you to sign.” The clerk pushed a couple of papers toward Jesse. “And your fine will be three hundred and fifty dollars. We take cash, certified check or money order, or a major credit card.”

  Lauren waited a step back for Jesse to whip his wallet back out and plunk the cash or, more likely a credit card, on the wooden bench top. The Jesse she knew generally didn’t carry large amounts of cash with him when it could be deposited somewhere to make more money.

  Jesse cleared his throat. “When does it have to be paid?”

  “Within thirty days.”

  “Are there any other options? I’m not in a … let’s say a good financial position.”

  Jesse’s rigid stance told Lauren what it took out of him to make that admission.

  “Judge,” the clerk said. “Could you step over here?”

  While Judge Trexler finished her conversation with Ben and the city attorney and made her way over, Lauren stared at the back of the man she’d once known so well, the man she didn’t know at all anymore. Her Jesse wouldn’t have been in a financial bind. He’d have had every extra cent he had invested for emergencies and the future. She swallowed hard. For their future. So he could retire from motocross in his late twenties or early thirties and be set. To blow through that kind of money, he must have gone even crazier after his accident than the motocross fan magazines had reported. Lauren’s gaze traveled down his dirty, weathered, form-fitting jeans for any sign of the injury that had cut his career short, but she didn’t see one.

  “Are you willing to do community service?” Judge Trexler asked.

  Lauren had been so intent on Jesse, she hadn’t noticed the judge join the clerk and Jesse.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Since you’ll be on the beach anyway …”

  On the beach? Lauren shook her head to clear it. What had she missed? Jesse was the only person who could ever knock her off focus.

  “… The city attorney said they’re short a person on the public beach clean-up crew. One of the college students got a better job. Work starts at sun-up and finishes at eight when the beach opens. Four weeks at half pay will work off your fine.”

  “Sounds good to me, and thanks again.”

  Lauren snapped shut her dropped-open jaw. International racing phenom Jesse Brewster picking up trash?

  The judge motioned to her clerk. “Annie will get you set up.”

  Once the judge had left, Lauren touched Jesse’s shoulder, rethinking her earlier statement about talking with Jesse. “I need to get back to the office.”

  “We’ll only be two minutes,” Annie said. “Then you and your friend Mr. Brewster …”

  “Jesse,” he interrupted.

  “You and Jesse can go have a coffee and something sweet at Caroline’s.

  Her friend? Where had Annie gotten that from? Ben was the only one she’d told that she knew Jesse, and Ben had been with them. She bit and released her lip. It didn’t matter, and it wasn’t like she was going to hide that she knew Jesse. “I really should get back to work,” she said. And look up what property Jesse owned in Indigo Bay, along with anything else recent she could find on him. She needed to be prepared to talk with him.

  “Acer and Acer won’t miss you if you take an hour to catch up with your friend,” Annie said. “What are the guys doing this morning anyway? Reading The Wa
ll Street Journal and the Charleston Post and Courier, as usual?

  Probably. But having coffee with Jesse wouldn’t generate billable hours. Besides, the partners didn’t like her spending too much time on her fill-in public defender work. Expanding their contract with the city as back-up counsel to also provide services when the public defender’s office was swamped had been her idea to fill some of her down time. Even though it brought steady income to the firm, the work didn’t generate the fees real estate and estate work did. And if she weren’t there, who would be doing the research grunt work for the real estate and estate business, which Lauren admitted she did willingly. She’d joined Acer and Acer because it was the largest law firm in town revenue-wise, and the retirement-age owners had offered her a fast track to partner.

  Lauren glanced at Jesse’s stony expression. He didn’t look any more anxious to get together with her than she was with him. Perversity took over. “You’re right. An hour won’t hurt.”

  Jesse scratched his signature on the form the clerk had slid across the bench to him. This wasn’t the way he’d planned on reconnecting with Lauren. Not that he’d had plans for reconnecting.

  No.

  Who was he kidding? He’d thought about seeing her at one of the Christmas galas Team Macachek threw every year for current and former members and employees of the team. But that picture had him attending as a successful business owner, not the down-on-his-luck man he was at the moment.

  He pasted on a smile and faced Lauren. “So, what’s this Caroline’s everyone keeps talking about?”

  She drew her lips into a smile that looked as fake as his must look to her. “Sweet Caroline’s Café. Just the best coffee and selection of sweets in Indigo Bay.”

  And most likely a gathering place for the good citizens as well. He and Lauren stepped out into the hot, bright mid-morning sun, and his stomach grumbled with hunger, he hoped, and not in protest of last night. He glanced down at his grimy t-shirt.