She Loves Him...Not

  She Loves Him…Not

  Carter’s Cove Sweet Beach Romance, Book 5

  Elana Johnson

  Contents

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  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

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Sneak Peek! The Rockstar’s Bride Chapter One

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  Chapter One

  Gwen Heartwood paused just inside the doorway, the temperature in the kitchen almost hotter than outside. But that wasn’t why she’d stopped out of sight. No, that was so she could take a long, deep breath of the scented air.

  It always smelled a little bit like Teagan’s cologne in the morning, before everyone else arrived and before the true cooking began. He beat her to work almost everyday, and she’d given up trying to be the first one in the kitchens at The Heartwood Inn. As far as anyone else knew, she was first and he second, as they all arrived after the two of them anyway.

  Gwent tried to push the maddening man out of her mind as she rounded the corner and went into her office. He didn’t have one of those, and until a few months ago, they’d actually shared.

  Shared a lot of things, actually.

  A pang of sadness hit her, but she straightened her shoulders and pushed it away. Not today, she told herself. September had arrived, and it was time to get over Teagan Hatch. The end. Nothing more to it.

  And for the first time in many weeks, Gwen actually thought she could do it. Her phone brightened with a text, but she ignored it. She knew who it would be from, and she wasn’t in the mood to converse with her sister quite yet.

  She sighed as she scooped her hair up into a ponytail. She had a lot of pale blonde hair, but it was very fine, and her heart swooped as she realized how tiny of a ponytail she made. Celeste had gorgeous hair, but she hated how she had to baby it so much. Gwen had learned over the years that everyone hated their hair. Women with curly hair wanted it straight, and those with straight hair wanted it to curl.

  So she wished she had more hair than she did, while one of her best friends hated how thick her hair was—especially in the summer.

  Gwen looped the ponytail up again and secured it a second time to keep her hair out of the way for the day. She donned her white chef’s jacket, though she really just wanted to wear her T-shirt with a cartoon crab on the front.

  But Teagan would be in his jacket, and by the way the air was now scented with onions and bacon, he’d already started the frittatas for their brunch buffet that morning. The hotel hosted dozens of conferences each year, and this breakfast buffet was for a small group of technology influencers staying at the hotel until Sunday.

  She loved coming to work in the restaurant, but she sat down at her desk and pulled the schedule in front of her, so she’d look busy if someone came in. No one would. Everyone in the main kitchen knew exactly what time to arrive and exactly what to do once they did.

  The outside door opened with its loud squeal, signaling the arrival of someone else. Gwen didn’t need to guess who it was. Gage Sanders had taken over as the head pastry chef about six weeks ago, and he almost beat Gwen to work some days.

  He claimed it was because he didn’t sleep well, and Gwen was an early-riser too. Her sister, Sheryl, who was Gage’s girlfriend, was not. Neither was Celeste, and Gwen wished she could stay home until ten o’clock in the morning.

  Out of all the sisters, only Olympia worked more than Gwen did, and honestly, she was tired.

  Only thirty years old, and tired already. Alone, and tired.

  The adjectives were only getting more negative, and Gwen derailed her train of thought before she started spiraling again.

  Besides, she had a new prospect for a boyfriend. Celeste had hosted a Love to Forty tennis event for singles at the inn a few weeks ago, and Gwen had gone. She’d met a few men there, and she’d been going out with anyone who asked. One man had asked a few times, and Gwen didn’t entirely hate hanging out with Daniel Jenkins.

  “He’s certainly not Teagan,” she muttered, immediately hating the words and wishing with everything in her that they weren’t true.

  Unable to distract herself with mindless administrative tasks, she got up and went into the kitchen. Gage worked at his station, his hands sure and his movements precise though he had no formal culinary training.

  Gwen had gone to culinary school, but she could appreciate raw talent when she saw it. And Gage had it, as even the guests had started to notice the different bakery items his mind had come up with.

  Gwen had worried about her sister’s departure from the inn, but she now envied Alissa. Gwen didn’t want to leave the family business. Not really. But she certainly needed a break. A vacation from her own life.

  But she couldn’t have one today. No, today, she was on the room service orders, and she stepped over to the stainless steel counter where she’d put together the items the delivery waitresses needed.

  Scrambling eggs and pouring juice was easy work, and she loved the tiny little salt and pepper shakers, miniature bottles of ketchup, and the smell of bacon and sausage that came from her station.

  Once she completed those orders, she’d attend a meeting with Teagan, as it was Friday, and he had a house special for Redfin every weekend. As the executive chef, it was his job to make sure everyone knew about the items from his sous chefs to the waitresses.

  “Eggs benedict,” he called, and no one responded.

  Gwen glanced around the kitchen, which had moved into its hot breakfast service for the bakery. Redfin, their on-site flagship restaurant, was only open for lunch and dinner, and Gage stocked all the baked goods in the bakery. But they also offered a short selection of hot items that Teagan made in between his other work, whether that be the catering or the meal prep for lunch and dinner.

  Gwen stepped around her prep station and watched as Lilly, the petite brunette who’d put in the eggs benedict order stood by the window, obviously trying to catch Teagan’s eye. She was Gwen’s opposite in every way, from the color of her hair to the curves she sported to how easily she could flirt with a man and walk away with a date.

  Except for Teagan, obviously, as the man barely glanced at her. “We’ll get it done, Lilly,” he said.

  She giggled, and Gwen rolled her eyes. “Do you need help?” she asked, trying not to focus on Teagan’s gorgeous hair. The color of wet sand, his hair hung around his face, and he sometimes smoothed it back into a manbun that left every female who saw him swooning.

  Gwen included, unfortunately.

  “I’m not sure where Gordon went,” Teagan said without looking at her. His voice took on a dead quality, almost a monotone. The same I’m-bored voice he’d been using with her in the kitchen since they’d broken up.

  Gwen’s pulse skipped over itself. “He went out on the floor,” she said, nodding out the service window.

  “Why would he do that?” Teagan’s han
ds flew as he garnished a plate of pancakes with powdered sugar and set them in the window. Lilly didn’t move to take the order out, instead still smiling at Teagan. “He’s on the egg station this morning.”

  “I can do it,” Gwen said. “And Lilly, you might as well give up. Teagan doesn’t date.”

  Lilly’s mouth rounded, she grabbed the plate of pancakes, and walked off. Satisfied, Gwen turned to the egg station. No, she hadn’t made a poached egg for a while, but she certainly knew how. Her expensive New York City culinary education had taught her that much.

  “I date,” Teagan barked.

  “You do?” Gwen laughed. “Since when?”

  “You don’t know what I do after I leave here,” he said.

  “Yes, I do,” Gwen said. “Same as me. You drag yourself home after cooking for six straight hours and you collapse onto a couch somewhere, eating whatever you can find easily.” She met his sea green eyes, almost daring him to contradict her. Or maybe she just wanted to swim around in those pretty eyes. She wasn’t sure which.

  “Then you come back and do it all again, only this time for eight hours.” She cocked her hip and dared him to contradict her.

  He didn’t, which meant she’d spoken true.

  “You’ve been going out a lot lately,” he said coolly.

  Gwen blinked, because she wasn’t sure what to do with what he’d said. He’d noticed? “Who have you been out with lately?” she asked, treading on very dangerous ground now. The last woman Teagan had been out with had earned herself a new stalker—at least for a few hours while Gwen searched and read everything the woman had ever posted on social media.

  That hadn’t ended well. In fact, Gwen distinctly remembered the stomachache she’d had after eating an entire carton of double chocolate fudge ice cream during the search.

  She didn’t mean her question to be a challenge, but Teagan’s chin lifted, his way of saying, Challenge accepted.

  Everything between the two of them was a challenge, and Gwen was tired of that too.

  He didn’t answer the question, instead saying, “Eggs benedict,” again.

  “Yes, chef,” she recited back to him, tearing her gaze from his. She hadn’t asked him who he’d dated since her, but she already knew that answer: No one. In fact, in the five years Gwen had known the dark, mysterious, handsome Teagan Hatch, he’d only been out with the woman Gwen had looked up. Just her.

  And then Gwen.

  No one else.

  As she poached the eggs, she couldn’t help remembering those few months. They’d been amazing, filled with wonder and excitement as she learned more about the man who could put out a plate of delicious food better than anyone she’d ever met. She’d seen his soft side, and his funny side, and his adventurous side, and she’d liked them all.

  Too bad he’d broken up with her out of the blue, with absolutely no explanation at all. And the man was a vault when he wanted to be. He could shut down faster than a convenience store at closing time, and Gwen hadn’t been able to crack his stoic exterior since.

  Her only comfort was that no one else had either—not even the giggly, voluptuous Lilly. In her chef’s jacket, Gwen looked more like a man than a woman, which had become a reason to keep her hair as long as possible. Oh, and she wore oversized earrings everyday too. That helped her feel and look more feminine.

  “Eggs benedict,” she said, placing the dish in the window, her body getting dangerously close to Teagan’s.

  He cut a look at her out of the corner of his eye, and Gwen pulled in a breath and held it. Time slowed, and when it came roaring back to full speed, she stumbled.

  “Whoa,” she said, her head spinning. She grabbed onto Teagan’s arm, and unfortunately, he’d reached for her plate of eggs in the window.

  The next thing she knew, they were both on the floor, covered in hollandaise sauce and runny egg yolks.

  Chapter Two

  Teagan Hatch had never fallen so fast—unless the last time he’d allowed himself to get tangled up with Gwen Heartwood counted. He’d definitely fallen fast then—right in love with her.

  Working with her every day since their relationship had ended had been torture, but he couldn’t give up the head chef job at the most prestigious inn within three hundred miles. And he wouldn’t go back to Whistlestop Shores.

  Oh, no, he would not.

  “I’m so sorry,” Gwen said, pure shock in her voice. Teagan wiped the hot sauce off his arm and looked at her. A beautiful flush stained her neck and face, turning her from a pale goddess into an embarrassed woman in less than a moment.

  He wanted to laugh. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to assure her everything was fine, and they could go to lunch later, and maybe he’d kiss her after their staff meeting.

  He did none of those things. Instead, he swallowed the feelings that had been needling him with greater strength lately and said, “It’s okay, Gwenny. Let me—” He froze, realizing too late that he’d used her nickname.

  Their eyes met, and he could see everything in her mind in that moment. He’d known she wasn’t over him, just as he’d known he wasn’t over her. He hadn’t even tried to get over her—because he’d been the one to end things between them.

  And when she’d asked why…yeah, Teagan couldn’t tell her.

  He cleared his throat and ducked his head just as Gordon came back into the kitchen. “What’s going on? What happened?” His presence broke the tension between Gwen and Teagan, and he let the other chef help him to his feet. Together, they got Gwen standing too, and she moved over to the sink to clean up.

  With Gordon’s help, Teagan got his station cleaned up and a fresh plate of eggs benedict out to the customer. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he said, untying his apron and tossing it on the table before he strode out of the kitchen.

  He went down the hall and outside, where the wide, Atlantic Ocean spread before him. He drew in a breath, counting all the way to ten to do it. And he could finally breathe. “What was that?” he asked himself.

  He had a reason for breaking up with Gwen. He just hadn’t wanted to tell her. Because if he told her, then he’d be telling her what he didn’t want her to know.

  He sighed, thinking of the person who’d caused him to get too deep inside his mind. He wasn’t ashamed of his daughter—he just hadn’t told anyone on Carter’s Cove about her. And since Gwen was only ten years older than his daughter, Teagan worried about what her reaction would be.

  Those thoughts had spiraled and coiled until he couldn’t bear the thought of telling Gwen about Abby. Of course, the months since had been completely unbearable too, so he wasn’t sure what he’d saved.

  His pride.

  He dropped his head and studied the sand strewn across the sidewalk here. His watch buzzed, but he ignored it. Yes, he’d be late for staff meeting, but everyone could wait. Alexa worked the lunch shift, and as soon as the meeting ended, Teagan could go.

  He worked two shifts at the inn, and he liked having the majority of the day to do what he wanted. Sometimes he laid on the beach, and sometimes he took a nap, and sometimes he went next door and made a week’s worth of meals for Sheila, the widow he counted as his only outside-of-work friend.

  When he finally felt centered enough, he went back inside, ready to talk about the Friday night specials he’d concocted for Redfin.

  He’d only taken two steps when he heard Gwen’s giggle. His heartbeat jumped, because he’d been dreaming of that giggle for months. He hadn’t even tried to go out with someone new, because he knew one thing about every woman he met: They weren’t Gwen Heartwood.

  And the real Gwen Heartwood was currently hugging another man. Daniel Jenkins. He was nowhere near good enough for Gwen, and Teagan couldn’t believe she saw anything in the man at all. A piece of driftwood had more personality, for crying out loud.

  And yet, she smiled at him and waved as he walked down the hall. Teagan glared at the man as he walked away, but Daniel was so oblivious, he just smiled the whole wa
y down the hall.

  Teagan passed him, and his eyes met Gwen’s. “You know he’s not employed, right?” he asked, wishing his voice didn’t sound so acidic. It wasn’t any of his business anyway, which was exactly what Gwen said.

  “I know that,” he said, approaching her.

  “You’re the one who broke up with me,” she said, her voice just as blunt and unforgiving as his.

  “I know that,” he repeated. He stopped in front of her, his nerves buzzing and his thoughts whirling. He couldn’t tell her about Abby right this second. He couldn’t kiss her. Gwen wasn’t his to do anything with, and in fact, she could fire him without any explanation.

  The fact that she hadn’t revealed a lot about her and her feelings for him, and Teagan was tired of pushing her away.

  “Maybe I made a mistake,” he said, pushing past her and entering the kitchen. “And now we’re late for our meeting.”

  Teagan left The Heartwood Inn several minutes after he normally did, having rushed through their specials of short ribs and rosemary and garlic mashed potatoes and the freshly caught halibut that had come off the boats that morning.

  The prep team would have all the fillets ready, all the vegetables cut and seasoned, the desserts in the fridge before they left. Then he and his kitchen staff would come back and run their dinner service.

  Teagan loved working in a busy kitchen, and Redfin was full most nights. The Heartwood Inn was full almost year-round, as the inn had a magical quality to it that even Teagan could feel.