He’d have to look at hiring more people if the lunch crowd continued to grow. When he’d first bought the place, they’d only opened at four in the afternoon, but with the lucrative changes he’d made, opening earlier had been wise. The addition to the menu from just bar food to pub food had been another good decision.
He’d hired Leif Saahko, a strapping Scandinavian, who’d been a sous chef on the cruise ships that traveled to Alaska all summer long. Leif arrived in Valdez and decided not make the return voyage, which had been pure luck on Avery’s part when he’d picked him up hitchhiking along the Glen Highway.
Since Leif had no plans and no money, other than wanting to see all that Alaska could show him, Avery had offered to try him out as a chef for his new venture. The town of Heartbreak and Avery’s bottom line had benefited from Leif’s spontaneous decision to get off the boat those many years ago, and their friendship had grown.
“Hey, Dawson, you have got to try these.” Leif entered his office with a quick knock on the door. He carried in a plate of appetizers, sidling into the cramped room sideways to allow for his large bulk. Topping off at six feet seven inches, at first glance he was an imposing man with his shaved head, barrel of a chest made of bone-crushing muscle, and love for food. Most gave Leif a wide berth. But like a lot of men Avery had met over the years, the large ones tended to be more teddy bear than grizzly. In his experience, it was the short, thin, wiry ones you had to watch out for as they tended to have the personality of wolverines.
Leif set the plate on Avery’s desk, and the scent of salmon drifted to his nose.
“Smoked salmon?” Saliva rushed into Avery’s mouth. He loved seafood, and Leif was a master with anything that came from the ocean.
“Smoked salmon on goat cheese with a drizzle of homemade blackberry jam presented on sourdough crostini. You’re going to love them.”
He picked up one of the little appetizers and ate it in one bite. “Holy shit, Leif.”
“Right?” Leif smiled knowingly. “They’re going to sell like hot cakes.”
“These are so good. How soon can you get them on the menu, and can you develop a sandwich too?”
“Already on it. We should be able to serve them this weekend.”
“You’re a genius.”
Leif rubbed his belly. “And the body of a god to prove it.”
They shared a laugh.
“We need to hire a new dishwasher,” Leif said. “Beth broke her leg skiing and will be out for at least two months. Plus, I could really use two dishwashers. She could barely keep up with how busy we’ve been of late.”
Avery already knew this was coming and had stopped in at Beth’s parent’s house to check in on her and reassure her that he would hold her job. Soon he might have to hire a production manager as the brewery side of the business had taken off as well, with him placing in the latest US brewery contest.
“I have an idea, but I need to swing it by Drew.” The kid needed a job. He did the odd things for his dad in the summer, and shoveled snow in the winter, but he was almost sixteen and would be driving soon. As crazy as Drew drove a snow machine, Avery hated to see what he’d do behind the wheel of a car. Filling his time with school and work would help to keep him out of trouble. And trouble went hand-in-hand with Drew. He’d thought of employing him before, but due to alcohol being served in the pub, he couldn’t work on the floor. But he could wash dishes.
“The sooner you have someone the better, or you will lose Honoree if I ask her to cover another dishwashing shift,” Leif said. “That girl is amazing with food, cleaning up, not so much. Besides, she scares me a little.”
“You’re not the only one,” Avery agreed.
Honoree was a tyrant in the kitchen and ran it very efficiently, letting Leif be the creative genius he was, and Avery was surprised something hadn’t sparked between the two. Everyone else who entered the kitchen could feel the singe.
There were certain things Honoree wouldn’t tolerate. Being asked to wash dishes was definitely one of them.
“I’ll call Drew as soon as school lets out and see if he can come in tonight,” Avery said.
“Thanks, boss man.” Leif moved to leave, but Avery stopped him, holding up the empty plate.
“Any chance I can get some more?”
Leif laughed and took the plate. “You got it. Didn’t have breakfast again, did you?”
“Guilty.” Of that and so much more. He’d been on his way to Pulse for coffee and a danish when he’d seen Catriona’s car parked outside Dawson Realty and Development, right alongside Jill’s. He would have been better off if he hadn’t swerved in and caused a scene, his actions bringing sadness to Cat’s sparkling green eyes. He should probably apologize, but how?
“Hey, Leif…”
“Yeah?”
“If you really screwed something up with a woman and needed to apologize, but you didn’t want her to take it the wrong way, what would you do?”
“What do you mean the wrong way?”
“I don’t want her thinking there’s something between us.”
“Is there? Something between you?”
“Hell no.” He’d made sure of that.
“And you don’t want there to be anything between you?”
Did he?
Of course, he didn’t. Geez, where was his head and why the hell had he brought this up to Leif? What was wrong with him?
“Well, if it were me, and I’d cocked it up with a woman, I’d bring her food. Stay away from flowers and chocolate because they always speak of romance. I’d suggest maybe a sandwich.”
Hmm, a sandwich sounded friendly enough. “Good idea, thanks Leif.”
“Not a prob, and when you take Catriona a sandwich, don’t forget a side of my rosemary fries.” Leif’s laugh boomed out of his chest as he left the room.
Damn small towns. They knew too much of his business.
Chapter 9
Catriona couldn’t believe it when Jill called later that afternoon to tell her that Second Chance Books was hers.
“How? Why?” she stammered. How in the world had she beaten Avery’s cash offer?
“I listened to my gut, and it told me to sell to you,” Jill said. “A long time ago someone helped me out and this is my way of paying it forward. Promise me that someday you’ll do the same.”
“I promise, but I have to tell you, if I were in your shoes, I would have taken the money and run away to the islands with it.”
Jill’s laugh carried over the line. “Believe me, I was tempted, but I know myself well enough that having money coming in every month from your mortgage is a wiser investment. If I had taken the money, I most likely would have blown through it in under a month.”
“Thank you, Jill. You don’t know what this means to me.”
“Actually, I do as I’ve been in your shoes. I’ll get with Hank and have the papers drawn up. See you later, Cat.”
Catriona hung up thanking her lucky stars that Jill believed in her and wondered how Avery had taken the news.
She’d probably find out sooner rather than later. He wouldn’t be happy about it, and she didn’t have any doubt he’d share his feelings with her as soon as he saw her.
Regardless, she needed to get to busy.
It only took a few days to complete the paperwork. Since Jill agreed to carry the contract, there was just the matter of signing papers and turning over the down payment.
That was harder to hand over than Cat thought it would be. She’d been saving her money since her babysitting days. Living at home, owning a sensible used car that was paid off, she didn’t have many expenses and had been able to put away a nice chunk of change. Now her bottom line wasn’t nearly so comfortable, but that was okay. She wasn’t really spending money—she was investing. And most important, she was investing in herself.
Jill held a Last Chance Sale and cleared out a good portion of the remaining inventory, then she was off, her bags packed and headed to Fairbanks to catch a pl
ane for Hawaii.
The place was now Cat’s.
She stood there in the somewhat empty house pinching herself that this was really happening. It was late, way past dinnertime. The snow of the last week had let up and the clear skies currently danced with northern lights, lending an otherworldly cast to the winter wonderland outside her window.
Cat should have waited until morning, but she couldn’t wait to get started. She wore old jeans that she should have tossed as they had holes in the knees and were frayed at the hem, but they were her go-to jeans for dirty work or painting, and an equally ratty t-shirt that had one time been black but now was closer to gray. She knotted her long hair into a loose bun and anchored it in place with a pencil. Starting in the galley kitchen she scrubbed, mopped, and windexed until the room and windows sparkled, then she moved on to the bathrooms and repeated the process.
Music boomed from the old-school portable radio she’d brought along. Maroon Five’s Sugar played, and Catriona sang along trying to match Adam Levine’s high falsetto. The song’s lyrics touched a chord with her as Adam sang of needing some good lovin’. Yes, please, she belted out, knowing she was alone and there would be no one to hear her godawful screeching. Maybe if she sang loud enough, God would heed her wish for some good lovin’ and send her a man that would make Avery pale in comparison.
Moving into the main room, dancing and pretending the broom she held was a microphone, she squeaked, coming up short at seeing Avery inside the door.
“Damn you!” She dropped the broom and placed a hand over her pounding heart. “You scared the very life out of me.”
“Just returning the favor as I thought someone was being murdered over here. I didn’t know it was Adam Levine.”
“Very funny.” She grimaced at him. “What are you doing here?”
“I told you. Your caterwauling was scaring my customers away. There were serious complaints and talk of calling the police to investigate.”
She arched a brow in disbelief and looked past him out the window at the sleepy night. The parking lot on his side of the street was empty. Only her car and his were parked outside.
Had she scared his customers away?
“What time is it?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
“Two in the morning. How late are you planning on working? Some of us would like to get some sleep tonight.”
Who were us? Did he have a woman waiting for him?
She hated how that thought made her feel. “Then go home and get some.”
Geez, she’d been at this for six hours. Now that she’d stopped, she could feel the muscles in her upper and lower back twinge. She’d have to do some yoga before she went to bed to work out the kinks from muscles not usually forced to clean and sweep.
“Home is above the bar,” Avery informed her.
Oh no. He did not live on the premises, did he? Of course, he did. The pub was his life. She hardly ever saw him anywhere but there. She didn’t know why she’d assumed he still lived at his dad’s place.
“How long have you lived there?” Had he lived there when they’d been dating? Why had he never told her? There was so much it seemed they didn’t know about each other, other than they fit together like peanut butter and jelly. Her stomach rumbled. She’d missed dinner in her haste to get started cleaning the place.
He smiled, obviously hearing the stirring of her appetite. How embarrassing.
He held up a brown paper bag. “I brought you a sandwich and a side of Leif’s rosemary fries.” He didn’t seem too happy about the offering.
“Why?” She frowned.
He frowned back. “What do you mean why?”
“Why would you bring me dinner when you obviously don’t want me across the street from you? Did you poison it?”
“No, I didn’t poison it. Hey, I’m trying to do a nice thing here. A neighborly kind of thing.”
She studied him for a long moment. “You feel bad for trying to stop my deal with Jill.”
“Do not.”
“Do too.”
“I’m not going to get into a childish argument with you. Either take the food or don’t.” He shoved the bag toward her.
“Just admit you feel like an ass.” She tried not to smile as he fumed and shifted on his feet.
He growled at her. “Fine. I’m sorry,” he bit out through clenched teeth.
“For?” she pushed, knowing she was driving him crazy and not really caring. A sadistic part of her was enjoying this.
“Damn it. You know what for.”
“There are so many things you should apologize to me for that I really have no clue.”
“See, this is why I stopped dating you.” He set the bag of food down on a small display table.
“Excuse me? You ended what was between us because I called you on your bullshit?”
“Yes. No. Shit, woman, you drive me to distraction.” Something seemed to snap in him and he advanced toward her.
She backed up a step and then another when he kept coming, looking very much like a sexy big bad wolf. She came to a stop, her back literally against the wall. “What are you doing?”
“Shutting you up,” he growled, his hands bracketing around her upper arms, holding her in place for his mouth to swoop down and capture hers.
The kiss was no gentle exploration. It was full of frustration and demand, and it destroyed any objection she could make. On a whimper, she folded into him and kissed him back, her hands pulling at his hair, not knowing whether to push him away or keep him close.
She didn’t know anything when he kissed her, which had always been the case. She turned into a seething bundle of need. No coherent thought intruded other than to get him naked and have him get her naked. No man should have this kind of power over a woman. It stripped her down to her animalistic urges.
He lifted her off her feet, and her legs automatically came around and locked around his hips.
He groaned, grinding against her. The kiss went wild. His lips, tongue, and teeth tried to devour, and she reveled in the overpowering sensations of being consumed by him. How she’d missed this, missed him.
He tore his mouth from hers, breathing hard, and buried his head in the crook of her neck.
“Damn it, why does it have to be like this with you?”
“What do you mean, with me?”
“I don’t want this.”
She begged to differ. He badly wanted her. Certain things didn’t lie, like what lay beyond his zipper pressing hard and thick against her.
“You might not want me, but your body does.” She arched against him, dragging another feral groan from him. The sound made her feel powerful, and she wanted to push him until he admitted how much he wanted her too.
“Shit. Stop it.”
“Stop what?” she purred, her hands snaking under his shirt, brushing the sensitive skin of his abdomen.
A rumbling traveled up from deep within his chest, vibrating against her.
“Cat,” he warned. But she was past heeding any warning. She could come right like this, being held in his arms, locked against him and the wall at her back, her legs parted and allowing him to hit that perfect spot.
If he would only…
“Yes,” she hissed, rubbing against him. “There…right there.”
“God, Cat,” he muttered through teeth clenched so tight she was surprised he didn’t break a molar. But she was past caring about him, about her, about what she’d have to face tomorrow, not when her world was on the verge of exploding.
Uttering an expletive that she wished he’d actually follow through with, he grinded against her in such a way that she gasped and then cried out in satisfaction as everything inside her rocketed to the moon. Wave after wave of pleasure slid over her in colors that rivaled the northern lights dancing outside the window.
Slowly she came back to earth and opened her eyes to find him staring at her, his expression a mix of dismay and fascination.
He wasn’t happy about what just
happened, yet he’d been the one to send her on a trip into the stratosphere, albeit with a lot of insistence on her part. Eventually she would feel mortified over her behavior tonight, but thankfully those emotions stayed tucked away with the euphoria still flowing through her veins.
She unhooked her ankles and reluctantly let her legs fall until her feet hit the floor. She couldn’t look away from him, no matter how much she wanted to, and she shouldn’t feel shame for what had just happened between them. She was a healthy, grown woman with needs. She doubted a man ever felt bad about having an orgasm.
Why was he fighting what was between them? They could be so good together. Part of her wanted to demand an answer to that question, the other part was afraid of what he’d say.
Chapter 10
“I gotta go.” Avery backed away from Cat, knowing that if he didn’t get away from her now, he wouldn’t be leaving until he wore that same sexually satisfied look that she currently sported.
Leaving her as though a pack of wolves were chasing him, he returned to his empty apartment and tried in vain to erase the memory of what just happened between them. The feel of her body against his, the heat, the passion. The mewing sounds she made when he touched her, kissed her, made her climax.
He never should have touched her. What had possessed him? She had, obviously. The woman could get under his skin faster than anyone he knew. She could rile him up with a word, heat his blood with a look out of those bewitching green eyes, and harden him to a level of aching, physical pain with just a kiss.
Why hadn’t she pushed him away? He treated her horribly. She should have slapped him, not melted when he kissed her. He stumbled on the stairs, realizing that not once had she spurned his advances. The minute he touched her, kissed her, she melted in his arms.
What would she be like in his bed?
No, don’t think like that. You know better. She’s the marrying kind, and you sure as hell aren’t.
Besides, he couldn’t do that to her. He cared about her too much.
Wild Cat (Alaska Wild Nights Book 2) Page 4
