Sleighing sage, p.1
Sleighing Sage, page 1
Sleighing Sage
A Shore Thing Novella
Copyright © 2023 Jaclyn Quinn
jaclynquinnbooks.com
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Editing done by: Anita Ford
Cover design by Designs by Morningstar
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval systems, without express written permission from the author, Jaclyn Quinn. The only exception is in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. While references may be made to actual places and events, the names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Licensed material is being used for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted in the licensed material is a model.
TRADEMARKS
All products and/or brand names mentioned are registered trademarks of their respective holders/companies.
SHORE THING UNIVERSE
Sleighing Sage is a novella from the Shore Thing Universe, featuring previous couples. If you’d like to start this series from the beginning, here is the recommended reading order:
Shore Thing series in order:
Convincing Cole
Landing Levi
Flustering Ford
Navigating Noah
Baiting Burke
CONTENTS
Trademarks
Shore Thing Universe
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Epilogue
Author’s Note:
Other Books By Jaclyn Quinn:
About the Author
CHAPTER ONE
SAGE
“Make him have an opinion,” I barked the second Cole, my friend and part-owner of the Coral Pointe Inn, answered his phone.
Cole snorted a laugh in my ear, as if his business partner wasn’t currently making my life difficult. “Uh…you want to elaborate, Sage?”
“Do I really need to, Cole? Do I?” I pushed my chair back from my desk and abruptly stood, sending the chair into the cabinet behind me and knocking over the elbow pasta picture frame my nephew made me at school last Christmas. I jerked my hand out, swiping and missing the blur of red and green as it fell to the floor, a sprinkle of gold glitter floating down in a cloud. Pressing my eyes closed, I stopped and inhaled a deep breath then released it slowly.
“I’m guessing this has to do with the man sitting across from me?” He didn’t sound the least bit concerned about my current state of distress. In the background, a faint voice said, “Hey! What did I do?” Damned if that baritone didn’t send a chill down my spine and a flutter to my heart.
“Oh, he knows exactly what he did. This morning, as a matter of fact.” I bent down and picked up my treasured frame, making sure it was all right. Two of the sneaky little red and green suckers that had fallen off were staring up and taunting me as if to say, Good luck finding our friend, buddy. “Shit. See what he made me do? Three came off!”
“Actually, no I can’t see. Did you forget we’re not on FaceTime?”
“I’ve been reduced to cleaning up a pasta massacre, crawling on the floor to gather any remains.” Kneeling down, ass in the air and cheek pressed to the cold tile, I scanned the dusty Lost Items Cemetery under my cabinet. Pen… LifeSaver… Quarter… “Ah ha!” I yelled as I reached for the rogue elbow macaroni, swiping it out along with an army of dust bunnies in its wake. I itched my nose as the dusty cloud tickled my nostrils, coughing out the particles that managed to take a ride on a deep breath in. Note-to-self…have a little conversation with the cleaning service…
“You do know you’re not making any sense, right?” Cole was still laughing at me. I made another mental note to bribe Burke into switching out the sugar with salt for Cole’s coffee. God knows the big guy loved torturing his business partners every chance he got.
“Two words: Seating. Chart.” I put the frame and its casualties on my desk and crossed the room to another cabinet, digging around for the glue I kept in there for occasions such as this. Well, not occasions such as attaching pasta back to a picture frame—because my little nutter butter would most certainly notice the accoutrement missing from his well-thought-out masterpiece—but for holiday decorations and such for the restaurant.
“Ah. I see,” Cole said.
“So, you and your little friends need to have a Bat Meeting—”
“Send out the Bat-Signal…”
I heard Levi’s faint voice say, “What the hell?” in the background, but I pressed on.
“Whatever the hell you call it when you need to slap some sense into a member of your club! Talk to him because every time I try to, it results in me ass up and calling out for Jesus—”
“I so did not need to know that,” Cole groaned.
“Hey, you told me to elaborate.” I laughed, sighing as I sank down in my chair, glue in hand, and blew out a calming breath. At least, I was going for calm but not quite succeeding. “He distracts me with that sexy smile and those puppy dog eyes, and I forget all about how we’re running out of time to make these decisions.”
“Wait…Levi is avoiding something? Unheard of!”
“Okay, now I need to know what the hell you’re talking about!” Levi yelled, bringing a smile to my face even though I was frustrated with him at the moment.
“Put my fiancé on the phone, please.” He was driving me crazy, but I knew my man and didn’t want to worry him. There was nothing in this world that would stop me from marrying him in a month.
“Sage…”
“Listen to me, Levi Hansen, love of my life. We have four weeks to figure out the last-minute details for our wedding and, for whatever reason, you’re avoiding it.”
“I’m not—”
“You are.” In a small voice, I forced myself to say what was really making me nervous. “Just promise me it isn’t because you’ve changed your mind.”
“What? No! Of course, I haven’t!” Levi’s forceful tone relieved the tension tightening the muscles in my neck. “Babe, I love you and want to marry you more than anything. You know that.”
“I do,” I said, pushing my shoulders back in confidence because I did know that he loved me. “And later tonight, I will show you just how much I love you, but first…talk to them. I have no problem with you confiding in your best friends so long as you come home and tell me what I can do to make this easier on you…with the exception of you not helping me with these last-minute things. I have to work late tonight, anyway.”
There was a beat of silence until Levi said with defeat, “Yeah, okay.”
“I love you. If we can make it through the next few weeks, we can make it through anything.” I believed those words without a doubt in my mind, but I had a feeling Levi would still need reassuring. If it took the rest of our lives, I would make sure he always knew that.
“I love you, too,” he whispered.
Levi
I cocked an eyebrow at Cole as I handed him back his phone and watched as he lifted it, thumbs poised over the screen. “You can’t be serious.” Cole tilted his head and typed out a text then arched an eyebrow right back at me. “I don’t need—” His mouth twisted to the side in a mischievous smirk as his thumb pressed the screen one last time. My phone vibrated on my desk and I groaned. “You did. You sent it out.”
“I sure did.” Both of our phones went off three more times in response to the Bat-Signal, all three confirming they’d be at Cole’s at seven.
My chin dropped to my chest as I let out another dramatic groan just as heavy footsteps pounded down the hall toward the office. “Now you’ve done it. You’ve summoned the beast. Are you happy?”
Cole’s smile grew wider. “I’m delighted, thanks for asking.”
“What’s going on?” Burke’s booming baritone filled the space. His dark eyebrows pinched together, forming a deep canyon between the two big enough to go bungee jumping. In one hand, he held a miniature Christmas tree while the other gripped a jumbled strand of Christmas lights. But the kicker was the garland of pine branches and berries hanging around his neck.
“Well, hello there, Mr. Grinch. Stealing Christmas already?” Cole snorted and shook his head, looking down at his non-existent watch. “Aren’t you a little early?”
“Cole, do you hear what I hear?” I whispered loudly, cupping my hand behind my ear. “It’s obviously a cry for help. The Grinch’s heart is struggling to grow.”
“Let me guess. Even Jared won’t touch you with a thirty-nine and a half inch fishing pole.” Cole and I snickered wickedly at our friend while Burke’s scowl grew impossibly deeper.
“I’m fucking festive, dammit.” He pointed the tree at us both for emphasis. “I’m jollier than you jackasses. And Jared can’t keep his hands off my thirty-nine and a half inch pole.”
There was a beat of silence before all three of us burst out laughing. If there was one thing I could always count on, it was that
“Don’t you know better than to come into this office without any food?” Cole grumbled seconds before his stomach did.
“You know where the kitchen is,” Burke shot back.
Cole leaned back in his chair, bending one leg to rest his foot on the opposite knee. “Right. Because you love it when we—or anyone, for that matter—invade your kitchen.” Oceanside Grill was Burke’s baby. From conception to the most recent addition of his family’s recipes, he had a hand in every single aspect of the steakhouse attached to Coral Pointe Inn. But it was just too damn easy to give him shit.
“Miss Margie’s waiting to help me decorate. I gotta get back to my festive…ness. ” Burke’s eyebrows drew together in confusion and he laughed again. “If it’s not a word, I just made it one.” He leveled me with a serious look. “You okay? Anyone I need to hurt?”
Warmth bloomed in my chest, but I shook my head. “It can wait until later.” I knew he was joking…to a point. Although he’d never had to before, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he’d take anyone down who hurt the people he cared about. I was lucky enough to be included in that. My stomach turned when the thought hit me that even Burke might not be able to save me from the Ghost of Christmas Past.
“Okay. I’ll see you two later.” He turned on his heel and stomped out of the room, grumbling, “I’ll never get that damn song outta my head now. Miss Margie, Cole and Levi are misbehavin’!”
We could hear our front desk clerk—who also happened to be one of our favorite people in the world—giggle and respond, “What else is new?”
I glanced at Cole as we both laughed. Sending out the Bat-Signal was a little much, but it was too late now. The troops had been alerted. The problem was, up until the Christmas I told Sage I loved him, this had never been the most wonderful time of the year for me. Hopefully, marrying Sage at Christmastime would change that, even if my side of the seating chart was more sparse than the needles of a Christmas tree after the new year.
CHAPTER TWO
LEVI
I’d already planted my ass in Cole and Aiden’s big comfy chair in the corner of their living room, a bottle of Home of the Wave lager in hand, by the time Burke, Ford, and Noah showed up with the pizza.
Ford beelined for the fridge, scrunching up his nose as he scanned the contents. “Cole, you don’t have any Home of the Wave? What the hell? Your husband makes the damn stuff.”
Cole came down the hall from his bedroom in sweats and a t-shirt. “Well, I did, but…” He glanced in my direction and I gave Ford a shit-eating grin, swinging the bottle back and forth between my fingers.
“Cole and Aiden should never be outta Home of the Wave. I’m just sayin’,” Ford grumbled then aimed a finger at me, his brows pulled into a scowl. “You’re lucky this night is about you.” He grabbed a bottle of Stella from the fridge, popping it open.
“Pfft,” I scoffed. “I didn’t ask for this meeting, so…”
“No, you didn’t,” Cole agreed, then locked his eyes on me. “Sage did.” He crossed his arms over his chest and widened his stance, daring me to argue while the other three shook their heads, and mumbled things like uh oh and he’s in trouble and oh, sweetie, how can I help? That last one came from Noah, the heart of our group of friends since the day we’d met eighteen years ago.
“Would you all stop looking at me like that and bring the damn pizza here? I’m fucking starving.” Deflection, at its finest.
Burke put the boxes on the coffee table and Noah went and grabbed plates and napkins, setting them down next to the boxes. I leaned forward and took a slice, dropping it on a plate. All the while, I could feel all eyes on me.
“Stop it. I’m fine. Sage is just anxious about the wedding.” Silence. “I’m serious. There’s nothing goin’ on.” More silence coupled with cocked eyebrows and tilted heads. “Y’all need to stop…” I looked at each one of their expectant stares, sighing as I sat back with my plate in hand. These people knew me better than most. I couldn’t hide anything from them, until it dawned on me… Why was I hiding something from them?
I focused on the glow of the colorful lights hugging the Christmas tree as they reflected in the shiny ornaments. After a long pause, and my friends sitting patiently until I was ready, I said, “I’m the logical one, right?” We’d fallen into those rolls easily all those years ago. Noah was the heart, Ford was the comic relief, Burke was the protector, and Cole was the mediator. They remained quiet and gave me space to get my thoughts out. “So, if I’m the logical one”—I blew out a trembling breath, trying to keep my composure—“then why did I almost call her the other day? Why was I seconds away from opening myself back up to that toxic relationship? I know better.” I leaned forward and set my plate down with a shaky hand. I propped my elbow on the chair and pulled at my bottom lip to stop the quivering. For fuck’s sake, I was a grown man crying about his mommy. What the hell was wrong with me?
“Oh, sweetie…” Noah put his own plate down and slid to the floor by my feet, resting his arm on my thigh. “That has nothing to do with logic and everything to do with wanting what any human being wants. There’s nothing wrong with longing for something you deserve.”
Cole pushed the pizza boxes over and sat down on the coffee table in front of me. “So that’s where the seating chart comes in, huh?”
“Seating chart?” Ford asked.
I let my head fall back on the chair and closed my eyes. “Yup. I love you guys. You know that, but I’m not gonna lie and say there isn’t a part of me that doesn’t feel the absence of blood relatives after watching Sage choose seats for his parents, his sister and her family, his uncle and Aiden. Hell, I was seconds away from calling dibs on Aiden, just so my contribution to the guest list didn’t seem so small. I mean, he did marry one of my best friends.”
Cole nudged my knee and I looked at him. “You know he considers you family. So do the rest of the Raffertys, my parents, Abe, Hunter and Logan, Jared, I could go on…”
“But we get it,” Burke added. “Jared’s in the same boat. We rallied around him when he needed us most, but it took some convincing that he had people who love him like family, even without sharing DNA.”
Ford huffed and dropped down onto the couch. “Yeah, with you and Jared, DNA stands for Do Not Acknowledge.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” Noah rolled his eyes. “Do Not Accept.”
“Do Not Admit,” Coles added.
“Deadbeat No-good Assholes.” Burke shrugged as all eyes fell on him. “What? At least mine was original.”
The joke landed where it needed to, releasing some of the tension in the room. We were all quiet for a moment, but I needed to admit one more thing. “I feel like I’m letting him down. I want him to have the wedding he deserves…the wedding of his dreams…but is he gonna feel like it’s enough?”
“Why the hell wouldn’t he feel like it’s enough?” I knew the anger in Burke’s voice wasn’t because he thought I was being ridiculous but, instead, reflected his need to defend me.
“I don’t know,” I groaned, letting my head fall back on the chair cushion. “I’m not really bringing much to the table, am I?”
I felt a sharp pinch on my thigh and jerked my head up, rubbing the throbbing spot. “Ow, Noah. What the hell?”
It wasn’t often there was fire in Noah’s kind eyes, but that’s exactly what was aimed at me. “Levi, I know you’ve had it rough and our stories are not the same, but listen to yourself.”
“Oh, he’s done it now,” Ford singsonged.
