Sweet Nothings: A Bethany Beach Romance Read online

  Shannon turned into the bathroom and slammed the door shut as I turned off the alarm. I switched on the hall lights in the downstairs portion of the house.

  James had walked up behind me carrying a couple of the bags.

  “I guess she’s a little grouchy,” James said as he came inside.

  “Just a bit,” I answered. “James, your room is down the hall, on the end to the left. Shannon’s is the room just before yours. The game room is down here with its own bar and small kitchen, and there’s a laundry room down here as well. I’m going to head upstairs and look around a bit to see how everything is.”

  “Where do you want your bags?” James asked me.

  “You could just toss them on the elevator and send them up to the first floor. My room is up there.”

  “Whatever you say, boss. After I get the bags in, I am going to crash for a few hours. When I wake up, I think I’ll wash the car off,” James said as he started walking down the hall.

  “James,” I yelled at him. “Don’t rush to do that. This is your time off too. Sleep as long as you want and relax.”

  “We’ll see,” he said as he dropped two bags in front of Shannon’s door and then walked down to his, going inside the room.

  I knew James wouldn’t do as I asked. When I hired him years back, I hired him to be more than just a driver. James is a driver/bodyguard/friend, and he took each role he has in my life seriously. He had a military background that came in handy on more than one occasion, and his driving skills are second to none, whether he is driving the limo, a sports car, or a Jeep. James kept himself in impeccable shape, something that caught the eyes of the ladies no matter where we happened to go or whatever he happened to wear. He’s been my constant companion on every trip I have taken for five years. Even though there may not be much of a call to have a bodyguard in my mind, the board of directors started insisting on it when I would get threats from different fanatics on one side or another. Also, when you have money, people tend to come out of the woodwork and try and say crazy things, so having James around gave me peace of mind. More than once I had seen him wrestle someone to the ground or move me through a crowd with lightning precision.

  I slowly made my way up the stairs, stopping on the second floor just to take a quick look around. There were four more bedrooms located on this floor, along with the workout rooms and access to the special swimming pool I had asked for. The pool looked great and was massive, having an indoor portion that led directly to an outdoor portion into the backyard that was closest to the ocean. The pool used ocean water, filtering it to clean it up, and it was a sparkling clear color both inside and out. There was plenty of room around the pool deck in both locations for deck chairs, and there were umbrella tables available outside, along with a couple of cabanas. The inside area of the pool also had a hot tub for use.

  I walked to the top floor, where there was an immense living room space, dining room area, and kitchen, along with my master bedroom. There were also decks on both sides so that you could sit out on the side facing the ocean, over the pool area, or on the front side of the house. My bedroom had access to either deck so I could choose what I wanted to do. I was impressed by the job the design team had done with all the furniture, and everything looked comfortable and homey, just the way I wanted it.

  I entered my bedroom, with its king-size bed against the far wall, a couple of sitting chairs, and a TV and sound system all set up already. There was also a large walk-in closet that was already filled with some of the clothing I had sent ahead of my arrival, so I didn’t have to worry about packing or traveling with a lot of things right away. I opened the curtains covering the glass windows and doors that led out to the wood deck on the ocean side and stepped outside. The warm ocean breeze caught me right away, and the taste of salt was in the air and in my mouth already. With the sun rising now there was a brilliant color lighting up over the ocean as I watched the waves roll gently in and out. I sat myself down in one of the high, white wooden deck seats so I could just watch, listen and enjoy.

  The silence was broken quickly as I saw Shannon open one of the glass doors leading from the living room and walk out onto the deck. She strode over to me and leaned against the railing, looking out towards the beach access and the ocean.

  “Pretty amazing, huh?” I asked her as I kept watching the ocean.

  “It is beautiful, Damian, I’ll give you that,” Shannon said. She turned back to me, and then walked over and sat in one of the chairs next to me.

  “How’s your room?” I said.

  “It’s incredible,” she said to me with a smile. “I think it’s nicer than my bedroom in my apartment. You really didn’t have to go that much trouble.”

  “I wanted you to be comfortable here. That’s your space here whenever you want to use it. James’ room is the same. You two are important to me, and I want to make sure that you have what you need and can enjoy your time here.”

  “Well, I think I am going to enjoy my time here by going down and getting some good sleep if that’s okay,” Shannon said as she stood up from the chair. She yawned widely, and I could see that she needed some rest.

  “Go to sleep. I am going to stay up for a while. I think I am going to go for a run before it gets too hot. It will give me a chance to see some more of the area.”

  “You’re crazy,” Shannon replied. “You’re supposed to be on vacation, and you’re going to go for a run in the heat? Have fun with that.”

  Shannon gave me a light wave and went back inside. I took one more look out onto the ocean, watching the seagulls dive back and forth over the water, getting a morning snack. I could see off in the distance a couple of dolphins jumping in the water.

  This place is perfect, I thought as I wandered back into my bedroom.

  I stripped out of yesterday’s suit that I was still wearing and found a pair of running shorts and a compression shirt to put on for my run. After grabbing a pair of my favorite running shoes from the closet and putting them on, I was ready to head out the door. I made sure to remember to grab the fob that would let me back in the front gate after I went out, and then made my way down the stairs and out towards the front door. Shannon and James must have both been in their rooms sound asleep because the place was completely quiet when I left.

  I decided to run right on the beach to start out with, placing myself close to the edge of the water where the sand was firmer and easier to run on. I glanced out over the water as I moved along to see the sun dance along the wave tips. I spotted a few people heading out to try to catch some early morning waves for surfing, and there were other runners along the beach that passed me as I went, barely looking over at me as I went by. There was also a fair share of couples walking along the beach, young and old, holding hands or just walking together. I thought about how nice it would be to have someone I could share all this with, stroll on the beach with, and hoped that someday I could have the same smile on my face as each person seemed to have that I came across.

  After heading down the beach for quite a while and then making my way back towards the house, I decided for my first run here I wanted to see a bit more of the boardwalk area. I hadn’t spent a lot of time in this area since I was a kid and my parents would come down this way for vacations now and then. My father was a long-time congressman from New York and we would occasionally vacation here when he would get a recess in the summer. My mother always loved to come to the beach more than he did, and my brothers and I would spend all our time in the water, on the sand, or wandering the boardwalk looking for things to do.

  As I got to the beach by my house, I turned left and headed up towards the boardwalk. The house was just off the end of the boardwalk itself and was separated just by the walls we had erected to surround the house and backyard area. Once I was up on the boardwalk, I started my run at a slow pace, just taking in the area and seeing what was around. It was still early, just after seven, but people were already out and about, staking claim to their positi
ons on the beach or wandering up and down the boardwalk. Most of the shops wouldn’t open for a while, but there were a few breakfast spots that people were going in and out of to get their morning coffee or breakfast sandwich.

  I made my way further down the boardwalk, feeling the planks hard beneath my feet. The boardwalk itself wasn’t quite half a mile long, so I figured I would turn around at the end, go back towards the house, and then do it again once more to finish off my run in my first time out. By the time I made my second pass, the sun was getting warmer, and I had worked up a bit of a sweat. I had gotten so accustomed to running on a treadmill at home or the gym that I could feel the difference in my feet and legs from pounding on the boardwalk. I had gone about three-quarters of the way back to the house when I decided to slow down to a walk for the rest of the way.

  As I strolled along, I came across a quaint spot I was not familiar with. I looked up and saw the pastel-colored sign that read ‘Sand and Sprinkles.’ I looked through the window and could see there was a bit of crowd in the place, with people loading up on pastries and donuts. I pulled the glass door open and was hit with a cold blast of air conditioning as soon as I opened the door, fogging up the sunglasses I was wearing so I had to take them off. I could feel goosebumps forming on my arms and legs, and a chill raced up my back as I got on line to order.

  The shop was well kept, clean, and beautiful inside. Just the smells in the air from all the baking were enough to bring a smile to your face. There were a few tables scattered against the far wall with patrons sitting, enjoying a coffee and a treat before starting their day. People ahead of me were getting bags of donuts, muffins, pastries, and cookies. I craned my neck around the long line to try to get a better look at what was in the display cases.

  I scanned over to one of the cases and saw that they still had a good assortment of donuts, including jelly donuts that were covered either in powdered sugar or granulated sugar. I could remember eating donuts like this when I was a kid, with my grandfather going down to the local bakery to get us donuts and hard rolls every Sunday for us to enjoy for breakfast. It had been many years since I had indulged in a donut like this, and I knew I had to try one to see how it was.

  I had just gotten up close to the counter, with two other people ahead of me still waiting for their orders. The two women behind the counter, one older and one much younger and both with the same red hair, were hastily packing treats into bakery boxes and tying them off. The older woman glanced at the line forming behind me and yelled out.

  “Kelly! Can you help at the counter?”

  Within seconds, a woman appeared from behind the swinging doors which I assumed led into the kitchen. She walked over to the register at the counter in front of where I was standing. I could see her apron dotted with signs of baking, and she had a hint of flour dusting the front of her blond hair. She looked up at me with a bright smile and brushed away the single strand of hair that had fallen in front of her dark brown eyes.

  “Hi there,” she said to me. “What can I get for you?”

  I found myself staring at her longer than I probably should have, and the older gentleman standing in line behind me gave a light cough and gentle push of my shoulder, getting my attention and pointing at the counter so I could place my order and keep the line moving.

  “Oh… I’m sorry,” I said, feeling flustered. The woman just grinned wider at me.

  “I’d like one of the sugared jelly donuts, please,” I asked her, pointing to the donuts with the granulated sugar.

  “Coming up,” she said to me. I watched her pull on a pair of plastic gloves and grab a piece of tissue paper before gently plucking a donut off the pile and placing it in a small, white paper bag. She rolled the top of the bag down and placed it on the counter in front of me.

  “Anything else?” she asked me.

  “That’s it,” I told her.

  “That’s one dollar,” she asked as she punched the transaction into her register. I reached down for my pocket to get my wallet and quickly realized that not only was my pocket not there since I was wearing running shorts, but my wallet was nowhere to be found either. I had left it back in my bedroom on my bureau when I was getting changed and had nothing on me right now.

  I could feel my face turning red as I patted the sides of my shorts. I looked over at the woman waiting on me and tried to crack a smile.

  “This… this is embarrassing,” I said to her. “I don’t have my wallet on me, I’m sorry.”

  The man behind me let out a frustrated sigh, clearly loud enough so I would hear him and feel that much smaller now.

  “Thanks anyway,” I said to her, and I pushed the bag back towards her. I’m sure the disappointment showed on my face, along with my embarrassment. I started to turn to walk away.

  “Wait,” the woman called out to me. She held out the bag with the donut in it, waiting for me to take it.

  “Take it, please, it’s fine,” she said to me. “Having a donut will make your day better, trust me. Enjoy it.”

  “Thank you so much,” I said to her, grasping the bag in my hand. Our hands touched briefly as I smiled at her again.

  “I promise I’ll be back to reimburse you,” I said honestly.

  “No need,” she said to me. “Just tell people you had a great donut and service here, and pay it forward, okay?”

  “You bet,” I replied, holding up the bag. I moved out of the way and could hear the man behind me mutter “Finally,” as he stepped forward to the counter.

  I looked back as I was walking towards the door and my eyes met hers again. I bumped right into someone coming through the door, causing them to drop the bag they were carrying and bringing some giggles from other patrons and from the nice woman who waited on me.

  I finally got out of the bakery and stood outside by the front window and opened the bag. I held the bag up to my face and just breathed in the smell of the donut. I inhaled the familiar smell of the yeast and the sugar and was brought right back to my childhood. I eased the donut out of the bag and took a bite, savoring the flavor and the raspberry jelly inside as it hit my tongue. Naturally, a gob of jelly also oozed out down onto my shirt, but I didn’t even care about it. I devoured the donut in no time at all, wiping the sticky trail of sugar from my lips and then the jelly that was inching its way down my shirt, leaving smudge marks to mix with the sweat that had formed.

  I was almost tempted to go back in and get a bottle of water or a cup of coffee before I remembered I had no money on me. The thought crossed my mind just to go back in and tell that woman how wonderful the donut was and how nice she was for giving it to me, but as I peered through the window, I could see she was no longer at the counter.

  I stepped back just as the grumpy patron who was behind me was coming out of the bakery, bumping into him once again and jostling the cup of coffee he had in his hand.

  “Buddy, you need to get your head in the game today,” he said to me gruffly as he held the coffee away from his body, so it didn’t spill on him. He moved off to the side and started making his way down the boardwalk in the opposite direction I needed to go.

  I walked the rest of the way back to the house, still tasting the donut in my mouth, and feeling satisfied from the run. I reached down into my sock and pulled out the remote to activate the gate so it would open and made my way inside and down the driveway toward the house. After punching in the code, I stepped inside and felt the air conditioning flowing nicely in the house. I was sure Shannon had turned it up to make things even cooler while she slept.

  I walked up the stairs, deciding to forgo jumping in the pool to cool off, and instead went up to the bedroom to shower and change. I walked into the bedroom and saw my suit jacket laid out on the bed, and my wallet resting nicely on top of the bureau, along with my watch.

  I peeled of the sweaty and sticky shirt I had on and tossed it into the wicker hamper in the corner of the room. That jelly stain on the shirt would be a bitch to get out.

  All
worth it, I thought to myself with a smile.

  I knew I would be returning to the bakery, and not just to pay them back for the donut.

  4

  Kelly

  With the warm weather outside, there was a constant flow of business into the bakery from the time we opened the doors at seven until we finally shut the doors at three. All of us were exhausted, but as is the case with a business like this, we spent another hour or two cleaning everything up and doing prep work for tomorrow to make the morning go smoothly. Getting dough started for morning buns and sticky buns, prepping donut dough, restocking supplies so they are at hand easily, and other chores like this are all part of our routine. It doesn’t matter how tired you may feel after the day – all this stuff needs to be done so the next day goes well.

  As we wrapped everything up, and Mom closed out the registers and put the cash in the safe, I saw Jodie putting the finishing touches on the basket she was making to bring to the big beach house. She had crammed it full of pastries, cookies, and brownies. She tied some nice blue ribbon on it, and even put one of our coffee mugs with some ground coffee in the bag as well.