by Jill Sanders
“Right.” Kara snapped her fingers. “You own the amazing animal sanctuary just outside of town. I’ve been meaning to head out there. Not that I can afford to bring anything home with me, but…” She shrugged. “I can look.”
Carrie nodded. “Speaking of knowing what you want, have you guys decided?”
“Two of tonight’s specials,” Conner responded.
“Great choice. I’m taking a few specials home when I get off shift.” Carrie wrote down their orders and added their drinks and left.
Conner leaned across the table and lowered his voice. “A little hint; always order the special. It has never steered me wrong when I don’t know what I want.”
“Good to know. I’ve had lunch here plenty of times, but not dinner yet.” Kara glanced around. “For some reason, I was thinking people would waltz in here in formal attire.”
He held in a chuckle. “Only on Saturdays.”
Her eyebrows shot up and he could tell that for a split second she believed him. Then she relaxed and shook her head as she continued to look around.
“I hear that your great-grandmother painted most of these.” She motioned to the large oil paintings covering the walls.
“Yes.” He smiled and followed her gaze. “The mermaid is everyone’s favorite.”
“That’s your mother’s.” She motioned to a painting of a small boat.
“Yes.” His smile slipped a little. “The Dawn-Treader.” He sighed. “It’s my mother’s gift to my dad.” His eyes met hers. “It’s the sailboat he and my grandfather were in when my dad lost his hearing and George Jordan lost his life.”
“I’m so sorry. It’s still a lovely painting,” she said softly. “And my favorite in here.”
His full smile returned. “My father proposed to my mother standing right there, in front of that piece.”
Kara’s eyebrows shot up, and she glanced at the art again. Then she slowly smiled, and he could see her eyes soften.
“How wonderful.” She practically purred it. The low sound caused his body to vibrate with want.
He’d meant the kiss he’d given her to be light. He’d wanted to taste her from the moment he’d pulled her out of the water, but he hadn’t expected to be hit by a lightning flash of desire when she’d responded in his arms. Even now, he wanted to taste her again. Wanted to feel her soft body up against his.
He tried to focus on their conversation during dinner, but his mind and his body kept returning to that kiss. Even though he was gloriously tired from the long day’s work, he still had the energy to climb a mountain if he knew he’d be rewarded with another kiss from Kara.
It was stupid. He was stupid. He knew his heightened libido was due to the fact that it had been a few months since he’d been out on a date. Longer than that since he’d been with anyone. Sure, he knew the rumors going around town about the Jordan men. Some of them were true, others weren’t.
He wasn’t like his cousin George, who had a different woman on his arm or in his bed each time he talked to him. Out of all the Jordan men, George was the biggest player.
The running family joke was that it would take a freight train to tie George down. That or a woman that could knock him on his ass and hog-tie him.
“You’re deep in thought,” Kara said as he drove them back to the cottage.
He chuckled. “Thinking about my cousin George.” He shook his head.
“Which one is he again?”
For some reason this made him laugh even more. “Probably the one who’s hit on you.” He glanced at her. “Multiple times.”
Her eyes narrowed, as if she was trying to remember all the Jordan men.
“Not married?” she asked.
He laughed harder. “No,” he said between the laughter.
“Lighter brown hair? Haunting silver eyes?” she asked slowly.
“Yup, that’s the one.”
She smiled as he parked beside the old truck.
“He hasn’t hit on me,” she said, surprising him.
Shutting off the truck, he turned to her. “He hasn’t?” He frowned and ran his eyes over her as she shook her head from side to side slowly. “Why the hell not?”
This time it was her laughter that filled the cab of the truck. “Guess I’m not his type?”
“Every woman is his type,” he responded quickly.
“Now, your bother on the other hand…” she began, and he felt his entire body stiffen.
“What?” He almost growled the word out.
She lifted her shoulders slightly in a shrug.
“He asked me to dance at your cousin’s wedding,” she said, glancing over at the small cottage.
“Did you dance with him?” he asked between clenched teeth.
Her eyes moved back over to his, and the corners of her mouth curved up.
“Why? Are you the jealous type?” she whispered.
His eyes moved to her lips, and he watched her tongue slowly play over her bottom lip. He hadn’t realized he’d groaned out loud, but when her eyes darted to his lips, he reached for her. He came up short when his seatbelt jerked his shoulder back.
The soft chuckle of hers had him groaning at his stupidity.
Yanking off his seatbelt, he reached to undo hers and then pulled her across the space until she was pressed up against him.
“Normally, no,” he said, cupping her chin with his fingers. “But the thought of you dancing with my little brother irritates me.”
Her smile grew. “I turned him down. Employees aren’t supposed to dance with guests.”
He relaxed slightly and ran his eyes over her face slowly.
“I’d like to kiss you again,” he said softly.
“I’d like that,” she whispered. She leaned into him as her hands moved over his shoulders.
She tasted better than before, felt better than before. Her entire body melted against his. His hands roamed over her hips, her back, as she lightly dug her nails into his shoulders.
When the porch light flashed on, Kara jerked free of his hold and sighed.
“I’d better go.” Her eyes were glued to the cottage.
“I’ll come in and hang the doors. They’re bound to be dry by now.” He got out before she could say no. He raced around the truck and helped her out, and they walked into the cottage together in silence.
Robin was sitting on the sofa, engrossed in a book. Or so it appeared. When they walked in, she glanced up and smiled at him.
“Evening,” she said in a soft tone.
“Hi.” He nodded to her. “I’ll get these doors hung and get out of your hair,” he told them.
“Thank you,” Robin said. “The place looks so different.” She set her book down. “I guess it was lucky that Kara ran into you today and lucky that you had time to help out.”
He felt Robin’s eyes running over him, assessing him.
“She helped me avoid helping my brother out,” he said with a shrug before turning and disappearing into the kitchen.
“Wow,” Kara said after he’d hung the first door up. “They look brand new.”
He had to admit that the cabinets looked amazing. “I didn’t have one that would fit this one above the refrigerator, but I figured I could take measurements and cut one down. I can drop by later this weekend to hang it.”
“I’m just thankful we have more than a few cabinets we can use.” She was sitting on the edge of the countertop, helping him hang the next door. She held it in place while he used his drill to screw the new hinges into place.
“You’re lucky to have granite countertops. Patty sells some granite polish down at the grocery store. I bet you can get it shining like new.”
“I’ll stop by tomorrow and get some before the event.” Kara dropped her hold on the next door as he finished up. “I’m sure we can make it without…” she started.
“It’s no problem. I like to finish a project. Besides, something tells me that my mother will be stopping by later this week to check out my progress
.” He rolled his eyes with humor. “You might actually get a visit from all my aunts.”
She chuckled. “The perks of having a big family.”
“Oh? Do you have a large family?” he asked.
She chuckled. “No, not really. My father was an only child and best friends with my mother’s only brother.” She held the next door as he got to work.
“My uncle Todd was best friends with my aunt Megan’s brother, before he died,” he said absently.
Kara sighed. “It’s one of the reasons why we picked Pride to open our business. The fact that this is where our parents fell in love.” She glanced towards the dark kitchen window. “Coming here every summer, we both decided it was one of the most romantic places we knew.”
He stilled. “Pride? Romantic?” He chuckled and shook his head as he got back to work.
“Of course, you won’t think so. You were raised here. You’re too close to the subject.” She nudged his shoulder. Then she sighed and glanced out the window again. “But every wedding we’ve hosted so far says differently. The sunsets on the beach, the way we’ve turned the barn into a venue to make dreams come true.”
Her voice had turned soft, wishful sounding. He stopped working and watched her closely as she spoke. She probably didn’t realize how dreamy she sounded. How wishful.
“I never imagined it would turn out so perfect.” She turned back towards him. When she realized he was watching her, she shook her head quickly and turned back to the task.
He’d never known anyone as committed to her dreams as Kara was. Well, with the exception of his cousin and sister. When they’d gotten it in their mind to open their boutique a few years back, nothing could have stopped them.
By the time he was finished hanging the last door, Kara had hidden a few yawns from him by covering her mouth with her hands.
“I’ve taken enough of your day,” he said, gathering his tools.
“Are you kidding?” She leaned against the countertop. “You’ve saved us. You’ve single-handedly turned this place into a home in one day.” She glanced around. “We were afraid to cook in here, for fear that the cabinets would fall off the walls.”
He nodded. “The new screws I put in place should hold up for years.”
“See.” She motioned towards him. “You saved us.” She quickly stood up. “We owe you.” Then she snapped her fingers. “Dinner.”
His eyebrows shot up. “We’ve already had dinner,” he reminded her.
“No.” She waved her hand. “I mean, I owe you dinner. Properly.” She glanced around. “Here.”
“Okay,” he agreed quickly.
“A week from now. Next Thursday?” she asked after glancing down at her phone.
“Okay,” he agreed again, causing her to smile.
“You’re easy,” she joked, setting down her phone.
“When it comes to a free meal, what guy isn’t?” he said with a chuckle.
She nodded. “Thanks again.” She looked around just as Robin walked into the room.
“Wow.” Robin could have easily been Kara’s twin. They were almost identical except that Kara’s hair was a few shades lighter than Robin’s and Kara’s smile and eyes drew him in and did things to his gut and his loins. “This looks amazing.” She walked over and opened a door. “They all work now.”
He nodded. “I’ll bring the last two for above the fridge when I come on Thursday,” he said to Kara.
“Perfect.” She beamed before turning to Robin. “I’m making Conner dinner to thank him for all of this.” She motioned to the cabinets and then to the hardwood floor and the living room walls.
“I didn’t really do anything to the floor except yank up the carpet,” he said.
“It looks like a different place,” Robin said easily. “Thanks.”
He nodded as he gathered his tool bag under his arm. “I’ll leave you two to fill the cabinets. Night.”
He walked out and put his tool bag in his truck. He tossed his sawhorses in the back and reached for the passenger door, only to stop when Kara called out his name.
Seeing her standing in the soft porch light, he caught his breath at her beauty. Why, oh, why hadn’t he really noticed it before now?
He swallowed the desire that had rushed through him.
“Yeah?” he asked.
“You forgot.” She waved his cell phone, which he’d left on the counter. He walked over and stopped at the foot of the porch steps. From here, they were eye to eye. He couldn’t stop from gazing down at her lips as he took the phone from her, letting his fingers brush over hers slowly.
“Thanks,” he said.
Before he could turn away, she jerked closer and covered his mouth with hers in a quick kiss.
“Night,” she said. Before he could respond, she turned and rushed back into the house.
Smiling, he climbed into his truck and ignored the tiny voice in his head screaming that he was in deep trouble.
Chapter Nine
A bead of sweat trickled down the middle of Kara’s back. How could the evening be so humid? Wasn’t winter supposed to be right around the corner? The leaves on all the trees had already changed colors, yet only a few had hit the ground so far.
It was easily hotter tonight than it had been at their last event. Maybe it was because she had been forced to run around and replace all of the decorations after one of the guest’s children had pulled down most of the ones she’d put up earlier that morning.
The wedding the evening before had been perfect, but this anniversary party seemed to be going less smoothly.
It didn’t help that she’d had a tough time sleeping last night. The night before she’d been so tired after the full day’s work that she had fallen into a deep dreamless sleep. But last night her mind and her dreams had been filled with Conner.
Normally that would be a good thing, but she’d ended up only having five hours of sleep before she had to wake up and get ready for a birthday party lunch then switch the decorations for the evening’s anniversary party.
“We really need to hire a few more employees,” Robin said in passing.
“Yes,” she agreed as she rushed the opposite direction. “Hopefully, before next weekend.” She disappeared into the kitchen for more tape.
When she didn’t find any extra tape rolls in the kitchen, she darted out the back door, knowing there were four new rolls in one of the cottage’s kitchen drawers. She’d put them there herself the other night when returning her kitchen to normal after Conner had left. She and Robin had spent most of the night reorganizing the cabinets and drawers.
Their kitchen now looked as if it could be in the country magazines she always browsed through at the market.
She hadn’t been watching where she was going and bumped solidly into a very large dark mass.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, thinking it was a guest.
“Miss Jenkins?” The older man gripped her shoulders as if to hold her in place. She frowned and instantly wished that there were lights on the pathway between the cottage and the barn.
“Yes? Can I help you? Are you a guest?” she asked, a little breathless.
“No, I’m a lawyer.” The man continued to hold her shoulders. “I’m here about this property.”
Kara’s heart jumped in her chest and then did several little flips. Everything had gone smoothly with the closing more than a year ago, but at the possibility that something was wrong, her head felt light.
“Is there a problem?” she asked, tensing.
Instead of answering, the man took a deep breath, and, in the darkness, she could imagine him assessing her before he finally spoke. “There could be. I’m here because my client would like to make an offer on some of your land.”
She relaxed instantly and held in a chuckle. “We’re not interested.” She moved to sidestep around the man, but he continued to hold onto her shoulders.
In the year that she’d lived there, not once had she felt unsafe. Even walking on the dark
pathway between the cottage and the barn or on her many walks on the dark beach at night. Now, however, with the large man hovering over her, holding her in place, she felt panic start to bubble in her gut.
“That’s just the thing. I think this offer is one you and your sister might not want to overlook,” the man said in a deep voice.
“If you could come back during business hours”—she tried to break free from his hold— “maybe my sister and I could entertain your client’s offer. However, currently, we are in the middle of an event and I’m running late.”
When she finally got free of the man, instead of continuing down the pathway towards the empty cottage, she turned around and rushed back through the kitchen door of the barn.
Leaning against the barrier, she took several deep breaths.
“You okay, missy?” Joy, their head cook, rushed to her side. “You’re as white as the biscuit dough I’m rolling.” The woman gripped her shoulders, much like the lawyer had outside. Only Joy’s touch was soothing instead of nerve-racking.
“There was a man,” she started, closing her eyes and trying to swallow the panic.
“Where?” Joy’s voice turned from concern to anger.
“No.” Kara sighed. “He was a lawyer,” she corrected. “He… had an offer…” She rolled her eyes. “I guess he just spooked me because it’s dark out there and… well, he caught me off guard.”
Joy’s eyes narrowed as she glanced towards the back door. “Did you get the lawyer’s name?”
“N-no,” she admitted. She’d been so eager to get away from him that she hadn’t even thought to ask him.
“I’ll have Will go out and see if he can find the man.” Joy turned and waved to one of the waitstaff. Will happened to be the largest of the men that worked for them.
Before Kara could convince Joy that she’d just overreacted, Will was heading out the back door looking for the man.
She sat inside the kitchen and drank the glass of water Joy offered to her as they waited. Moments later, Will returned and shook his head.
