Velvet and Lace (2 page)

Chapter 2

Daphne smiled as she watched her Grams move around the kitchen. It didn’t matter that Grams was the only one left in the house these days, she still got up at 7:00 am every morning to make breakfast. This morning was no different. Daphne had woken up to the smell of chicory coffee and bacon drifting up the stairs. 

It had been too long since she had seen her Grams. After her parents died when she was seven, Grams had taken her in and raised her. She was one of the most amazing women she had ever met in her entire life, and she was glad to be back in the old house.

Grams was currently at the sink washing dishes. She had never bought a dishwasher. She didn’t believe in the things. Daphne shook her head at her grandmother as she sipped her coffee. She had offered to help but that was out of the question too. Even though she was family, she was currently a guest in the house, and guests didn't help clean up. So she sat quietly looking out the window into the back yard.

The house sat on about ten acres and the backyard extended about 100 feet before it became a forest. It was a sunny day and Daphne loved how peaceful it was compared to her apartment in the city.

This particular morning Grams had curlers in her grey hair, and was wrapped in her Asian–print night gown. Her house slippers were yellow and Daphne noticed they were the ones that she had sent her for Christmas a few years ago. Daphne liked the fact that they looked well–worn. 

Grams never turned around, she just kept washing the dishes. However, her voice was clear over the sound over the sloshing water. “How are you doing these days, Magnolia?”
              Daphne smiled at the old nickname.  It was the only thing that used to comfort her when she came home. It made her feel special and beautiful during a time when most of her days were spent thinking about much she hated herself. Daphne shook her head at her depressing train of thought. That always seemed to happen when she returned to Ambrosia, Georgia.

“I’m doing alright. Staying busy.” She liked watching the methodical way her grandmother moved.

Grams looked over her shoulder. “Is that right? Busy with work or men?”

“Grams!” Daphne laughed when the older woman winked.

“I was just curious, sweetie. With that body I’m sure they are lining up for you these days.” She was now drying all the dishes she had just finished washing. Grams had been surprised when Daphne had shown up with a new body, and although she wasn’t particularly fond of the plastic surgery, she was happy if Daphne was happy. She loved her Grams for that. She never questioned something too much, as long as she was happy. And Daphne loved the way she looked.

“Grams, most of the men who line up for me these days are slime balls who just want to see my tits.”

“Daphne!” She looked shocked for a moment but then Daphne saw her smile and she knew she wasn’t really in trouble. Grams raised her to be lady–like, polite, and to think before she spoke. Unfortunately, Daphne had a hard time filtering her mouth most days.

“Well it’s true. Besides, it’s not like I have a lot of time on my hands. I’m either working on a shoot, working out, or trying to finish up my business plans.”

Grams started to open her mouth but Daphne’s phone buzzed with a text message. She glanced down and noticed that it was from Anna.

“Lunch at Patty’s at 12:30?”

Daphne quickly responded with a “yes”. She hadn’t been to Patty’s in a long time and she was curious to see how the diner was doing. The owner, Lois, had given her the first job she'd ever had and it would be good to see how she was doing. But she had a lot to get done before then, even if it was only 8 a.m.

"I'm sorry Grams. Do you mind if we catch up later? Anna just texted me about lunch and I have a bunch of errands to run today. Maybe we can do dinner or something?" Daphne felt a twinge of guilt, but Grams must have seen it and waved it away.

"Magnolia, you are not here to cater to me and I am fully aware of that. Go, have fun with Anna, and take care of whatever you need to. You are staying here so I know I'll be seeing you around. We can finish our discussion later." After wiping her hands dry on a paper towel, she patted Daphne's cheek.

Daphne gave Grams a kiss on the cheek and a soft smile before she headed up stairs to change for a quick run.

When she walked into her room she shook her head. She still couldn’t believe that it had stayed the same after all of these years. The walls were still painted the same lavender color and the bed was still made up with the same sheet set that she had picked out when she was fifteen. Shaking her head again, she gathered some clothes from her suitcase before changing and then jogging back down the stairs.

She waved at Grams who had now picked up her sewing in the living room, and then she headed out the front door. She paused for a moment on the front porch to stretch before she headed down the stairs and started jogging down the driveway.

Her Grams only had a few neighbors, each having between ten and thirty acres. A dirt road ran through the middle of the 5 properties that led back out to the highway. The ‘neighborhood’ was about a 15 minute drive from town. 

Instead of heading toward the main road, which was pavement, she turned right onto the dirt road. It was well–maintained and flat so it was easy to run on. Daphne concentrated on her breathing and her pace just like her trainer had taught her. Her heart beat increased and she could feel her blood pumping as her muscles stretched and strained. She hadn’t run in a few days and she felt guilty about it. She knew she needed to stick to her routine. She hated running but she loved how it made her feel.

About a mile up the road, she noticed a house being built where she remembered an old white farm house being. She had heard from Grams that one of the neighbors had died, but she wasn't really sure whose house it had been so she wasn't sure who had passed. Apparently, someone had purchased the property though, it had a sold sign in the front lawn and it was clearly being remodeled.

The house was mostly up but around the second floor the outside paneling wasn’t quite finished. It looked like a cross between an old Victorian and a country home with a wraparound porch. It was mostly white, but since it wasn't done she couldn't be sure what it would look like when it was finished. There were a lot of windows and she could only imagine the amount of natural light that would be in the house. The roof was steep and black with lots of angles. There was a large oak tree in the front yard and Daphne felt a breeze rush past her and goose bumps rise on her flesh. She stopped to admire it for a moment. It would be a gorgeous home once it was done.

Daphne heard the rumble of an engine sound behind her and she stepped out of the way to let it pass. It was a black Chevy truck that looked new. She couldn’t see inside but she was curious. The truck sped passed her, and then pulled into the driveway in front of the new house. She checked her watch, and although she would need to meet Anna soon, her curiosity was piqued. So she jogged up the driveway.

She stopped dead in her tracks when a pair of long, lean male legs slid out of the driver side. His legs were encased in a pair of worn, pale denim that had a rip in the knee and looked like they would be butter against his skin. When he turned to grab something from inside his truck she was given the view of a butt so fine it should be illegal. As her gaze traveled up the strangers back, she got a look at the muscles there as they moved underneath a thin black t-shirt. Daphne’s mouth was watering by the time he turned around. And then all moisture left her mouth in an instant.

Trent smiled like the cat who ate the damn canary. “Hello, Daphne.” It felt like she had followed him up to the house, and walked right into a damn trap.

“Trent.” She could barely breathe let alone speak through her clenched teeth. This man always caused that sort of reaction in her, especially back in high school. All it took was one sentence and she turned into a babbling idiot.

“Awe, see, you do remember me.” He walked closer to her and she was tempted to take a step back. But his smile held her in place.

“Of course I remember you.” She squared her shoulders. She had learned how to act around hot men. Hell, it was part of her job.  This should be no different.

“Then why did you run away from me last night?” He kept smiling and she wanted to knee him in the balls. He was right, though, which made her want to smack her forehead. She had run away from him. She had been preparing herself for coming home and facing all of the people who tortured her in high school. She never wanted to run away from anyone ever again, and last night that's exactly what she did.

“You surprised me. That’s all. I wasn’t prepared for anyone to recognize me. I had the evening all planned out and you ruined it.” She placed her hands on her hips, hoping for a stern look, but he just kept smiling. His green eyes sparkled in the sunlight and the sensual curve of his lips made her quiver. His brown hair had gotten lighter. It looked like he spent a lot of time in the sun. There were faint blond highlights running through his thick hair. The sound of his voice drew her attention away from his body.

“If you weren’t going to be Maggie at the reception, then why were you even there?” He crossed his arms over his chest, which just made the shirt tighter across his pectoral muscles and shoulders. Daphne didn't fail to notice that both had gotten considerably larger since high school.

“I was hoping to be there as Anna’s friend “Daphne”. She was the only one I wanted to see. You just stopped me before I could reach her.” She pushed back the wispy strands of hair that had come lose from her pony tail.

“So you were going to spy on all of us, while deceiving everyone. That doesn’t sound like the Maggie I knew.”

“But you didn’t really know me, now did you? And I would much appreciate if you called me Daphne. There isn’t a Maggie anymore, there hasn’t been for a long time.” She started to turn away and leave when one more thought stuck her. “How did you know it was me last night?” When she looked at him over her shoulder she noticed his grin had gotten wider.

“I am a huge fan of yours, Ms. Brooks. I’ve been following your career.” When his gaze dropped down to her ass, he cheeks flamed all over again. “I recognized that ass the first time I saw it in a magazine. It looked amazing back then and it still looks amazing now.”

He moved to step toward her and she found herself moving down the driveway. And then, for the second time in twenty-four hours, she was running away from Trent Bradshaw, all over again.

****

Trent slammed his fist up against the door to his truck as he watched Daphne jog away.
Daphne.
He liked that name better. It fit the woman who was just standing in front of him much better than the name ‘Margaret’ ever had. He was frustrated that he couldn’t get her to stay in his presence for more than a few minutes.

Back in high school, she had been the outcast and labeled the ‘fat girl’ even though she was just slightly overweight. Unfortunately, she had been shy and different and the popular girls had picked her to be the butt of all of her jokes. It was even worse that he had been apart of that crowd. He had never directly picked one her, hell he was nice to her when they were alone. But he could remember trying to pretend she didn't exist when his friends picked on her so he didn't have to get involved. She was a nice girl, and he had been too concerned with status to care about how much she was hurting.

If he could turn back time, he would do everything differently. But he couldn’t change the past and he knew that. When he had gone to the reunion, he had been looking for Daphne. But he hadn’t been expecting her to turn and run away at the first sight of him.

Today, it had been a blessing when she jogged up to his house. He knew her grandmother lived just down the street but he hadn't expected her to show up. In high school, he had enjoyed her company but he never took advantage of her crush on him. He had been stupid, and listened to all of his friends. He had never made fun of her but he never stopped them from doing so either.

His favorite memory from high school was the night she had tutored him for a math test. They had been in the library at school, sitting side by side at one of the work stations. She was so excited when he finally got the problem right that she had leaned over and kissed him. He had been so shocked he hadn’t kissed her back and she had run away in horror before he could do so. He hated the ending, but he could still remember the plush feel of her lips and body against his. After that moment in the library he had never been able to forget her.

Today he had wanted to try and ease her into a friendship. He had heard that she was going to be moving back to Ambrosia and she was just the kind of woman he was looking for. Well, at least from what he could remember. But she showed up looking awestruck by the house behind him and so damn sexy in jogging clothes that he had lost all train of thought. She definitely wasn’t the same girl any more but she was an even better woman.

She had slimmed down a lot since high school but wasn’t necessarily skinny. She had a lot of curves and that was more attractive to him than anything. He knew she was what they called a 'plus size' model, just from seeing her in the magazines, but he didn't care about any of that. Her blonde hair had a few extra colors and it had an elegant look to it. There were shades of lighter blonde, a light brown and almost a copper color when the sun hit. It was long and sleek and framed her face. Her blue eyes were the same but had a jaded look in them.