No Place Like Home - Love in Seattle

by Christina Butrum

  “How many people wanted cookies after they were sold out?”

  Shrugging once again, he offered nothing more than, “I guess I really wasn’t counting. I was too excited for you when the last cookie was sold.”

  Well, at least there was that. She needed to give him credit for the amount of excitement he had stirred into this whole situation. Hell, if it hadn’t been for him, she never would have thought twice about her idea to bake for the coffee shop. Their customers would still be customers without the baked goods, but the thought of bringing more people to this side of Seattle, and into her parents’ coffee shop for her baking, was more than enough to make her happy. She only hoped her parents felt the same way—there was no reason why they wouldn’t want extra business—so it had to be a win-win for everyone.

  Chapter Eighteen

  After crunching numbers and figuring out what it would take in order to bake a certain amount every night instead of all night, Janelle prepared the mixes as Colin leaned against the counter as he waited for her to instruct him on what to do. Newspapers could wait, baking was making a comeback and this time, she wasn’t going to give up.

  “I will definitely need to go to the store and stock up on ingredients,” Janelle said, scribbling a reminder on a magnetic notepad on the fridge door. “I should be good for now, though, if you want to reach behind you and double check that I have enough flour.”

  Pulling open the cupboard door, Colin pulled a large rectangular shaped container from the shelf and held it out for Janelle to see. “Do you think this will be enough?”

  “Plenty,” she said. The smile on her face had become a permanent expression. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been this happy. For once in her life, things were actually looking up, and she couldn’t be happier about it. “If you want, you can leave that out. I’ll be needing it here shortly,” she said, pointing to the open spot on the counter for him to put the container.

  She had offered him time to go home and change, warning him that things get quite messy in the kitchen while baking. He had insisted he would be fine. She had laughed when he insisted “that’s what washers were for.” If only he knew what he was getting himself into.

  Prepping the mixing bowl on the KitchenAid mixer with the ingredients for her pie crusts, she allowed Colin to measure out what was needed of the flour he had just taken out of the cupboard.

  Tossing in the ingredients, they found themselves laughing and having a good time. Flour dusted the air, and soon there were handprints on her apron. No matter how busy she was with mixing, Colin couldn’t keep his hands off of her. Taking advantage of the mixer doing the work for them, he distracted her with the kisses he left trailing along her neck.

  “We won’t get any baking done if you keep that up,” she warned, with a finger and a furrowed brow. “I’ll have a mob of angry customers to tend to, also.”

  Laughing, he took her hint and sat back down. He waited patiently for her next round of instructions. She was impressed by his skills. She had yet to meet a man who could cook, let alone bake, the way Colin could. He was focused and determined to have the perfect turnout of the pies they placed in the oven. He stood close by the oven—every so often he would take a quick glance to make sure they were browning evenly. She couldn’t have any better help than he was.

  “You must really be enjoying this,” she said, pouring them each a glass of Chardonnay.

  “Well, I told you that I bake for my mother, right?” he asked, lifting his glass against hers.

  “Yes, you mentioned something about that to me in our first conversation,” she said, recalling the memory of their discussion. Her heart had ached from the story he had told her.

  “Ever since I was a teenager, my mother told me that she’d make me a woman’s man,” he said. “I’d like to think that she kept that promise.”

  “It appears she did,” Janelle said. “How often do you bake for her?”

  “Well, I try to bake at least once a week. Usually right after your article publishes is when I grab everything I need,” he said, not one bit embarrassed at the fact he’s a man who bakes for his mother. She liked that about him. He didn’t seem to get embarrassed too easily, and he was willing to do whatever it took to make his mother happy. She watched him set his glass down before he said, “I’d like for you to meet her one of these days.”

  Had she not thought about it the day he was telling her the story, she would have been speechless at the moment. Instead, she had been thinking about the kind of mother he had, since the day he told her. She also wondered if his mother was anything like hers—full of life and love, but strict and full of stubbornness. Taking another drink, she said, “I would love to meet her.”

  “I only offered because she would love to meet the baker behind the articles that have influenced her son’s ability to bake,” he said, chuckling nervously as he gulped the last of his wine.

  She held the bottle of Chardonnay up and offered him a refill, which he accepted without hesitation. Who cared if they got drunk on Chardonnay while baking the night away? It was a good night to celebrate, and an even better night to spend with Colin.

  ***

  The piercing sound of the alarm clock echoed from Janelle’s phone. Reaching out from under the warmth of Colin’s arm to shut it off, she mumbled under her breath. They had spent most of the night baking and the other love making. She was tired and comfortable. The last thing she wanted to do was leave his arms to get ready for the day ahead of her.

  Tossing the covers aside, she attempted to climb out of bed, but was pulled back as Colin swung an arm around her. “Do you know what today is?”

  “Yes,” she said, half asleep.

  “What is it?”

  “Tuesday,” she answered without hesitation. How could she forget what day it was? Fun-filled Mondays brought hold-it-together Tuesdays. Tuesdays were the busiest days of the week, according to her observations, and her observations were hardly ever wrong.

  “No,” he said, nuzzling against her back. “It’s day number two of your bakery business, and you’re going to rock it.”

  He wrestled her underneath him as he climbed on top of her. Like a wild animal, he couldn’t get enough of her—hence the cause of her sleepiness this morning. She had a big day ahead of her and she wouldn’t get anywhere with her idea if she stayed in bed all day.

  “Then I’d better get ready,” she said, squirming out from under him, knowing he had much more control over this situation than she did—not only with his strength, but also the look he was giving her. He looked like a sad puppy, with his lip pouted out and his sad eyes. “I can’t rock anything if I’m in bed all morning.”

  Only after the words were out of her mouth she realized he would have a remark from that dirty mind of his. “I know something else you could rock while...”

  “Shh... don’t say it,” she said, pressing a finger against his lips. She had had enough sex last night to last her awhile. She was satisfied and sore—two things she hadn’t been able to say in a while.

  “When are you planning to tell your mom?” Colin asked, climbing out of bed after her. He reached to grab his shirt off the floor, which allowed her to catch a nice view of his abs. His whole body was muscular. There wasn’t a single inch of him that wasn’t covered in muscle.

  “About my sex life?” she asked innocently, blushing at the thought she would never tell her mother of such things.

  Shrugging into his shirt, he said, “Well, I guess if you want to...”

  “No, I don’t,” she said, cutting him off. “I would never in a million years talk about that part of my life with my mom.”

  Grabbing the rest of his clothes, he made his way to the door. “When are you going to tell her about selling what you bake at the coffee shop?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine,” she said. She had thought about this last night while she baked her final round of apple pies. She couldn’t help but wonder if her mother would be happy or
if she’d have something negative to say about it. Janelle knew that it would depend completely on her mother’s opinion and not of her father’s. “I think I’ll actually wait until they come back, to tell them.”

  “I wouldn’t wait that long,” he offered, making his way to the bathroom. “I would at least tell them in the next week or so. That’d give them plenty of time to think on it before they came back home.”

  “I’ll think about it,” she said, following him into the shower. She had less time to get ready this morning. Showering together would save her time as long as he kept his hands to himself—which of course, she warned him about before stepping in next to him.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Stacking the containers neatly into the trunk of his Chrysler, Janelle said, “Thank you so much for offering to take these to the coffee shop.”

  “It’s not a problem,” he said, fishing his keys from the pocket of his slacks. “I didn’t think they would all fit into that little red wagon of yours, but I wasn’t going to say anything until you were done trying to cram them together.”

  “Thanks,” she said, shutting the lid of the trunk. “I need to run inside and grab something before we go.”

  “I’ll wait,” he said, opening the driver’s side door and sliding in behind the wheel.

  Hurrying up the steps and into the house, she grabbed the vase full of flowers he had brought her. She wanted to bring them to the coffee shop as an added boost to the mood for the day. They were lovely flowers and their scent carried farther than she had imagined they would. They would be a perfect addition to the coffee shop’s counter.

  With the vase in hand, she locked the door with her free hand and made her way down the steps and back to the car where Colin was patiently waiting for her. He leaned across the passenger seat and pulled the handle to open the door for her. She slid into the seat slowly, careful not to damage the flowers.

  With his eyes wide and his expression questioning what she was doing, she said, “I think they’d look great on the counter at the coffee shop, don’t you?”

  “I agree,” he said, turning the key in the ignition and shifting the car into drive, he drove the car away from the curb and in the direction of Harper’s Café.

  They had less than a few minutes to talk before arriving at the coffee shop. Not much was said except for how much they both had enjoyed the night. They were getting along quite well. Janelle’s wall was slowly crumbling, and she was losing control in this whole situation. It was going to be hard for her to walk away from Seattle when the time came to go back home. She wasn’t sure she would be able to leave it all behind her.

  “What are you thinking about?” Colin asked, pulling up to the curb of the café. The last minute of the ride had been filled with an awkward silence.

  Shaking her head, she told part of a lie, “Nothing really. Just wondering how it’s going to go.”

  Shutting the car off, he turned to look at her, desire with a fair mix of happiness gleamed in his eyes, making it hard for her to look away. “Today and every day’s going to be something worth all of this time you’ve spent here, I promise.”

  With that, she gave him a smile mixed with a bit of uncertainty and pressed the trunk release in the glove box. “I sure hope so.”

  ***

  Once again, the customers were thrilled to see a selection of baked goods to choose from. She had baked the last of her sugar cookie dough and had brought plenty of pies to last most of the day.

  With Kelsie’s help and mad skills with coffee mixing and customer service, they were able to keep up with the morning rush. Customers thanked Janelle for bringing her baking to Seattle and sharing it with them. A few had told her that they were sure her mother would be proud of the way she was running the place while they were away, and would be tickled pink to know about Janelle selling baked goods, too. She could only smile, pretending to go along with what they were saying. Everyone had a different impression of her mother from her reality.

  Selling pies like hotcakes, and taking recommendations of what to bake and bring next, Janelle felt a sense of accomplishment. Not only were people requesting her to continue bringing her baked goods to the café, but they were telling her to never leave.

  “Seattle needs a baker like you, Janelle,” a petite older woman said, as she made her way through the line at the counter. She had chosen a few pieces of apple pie to take home to her dear husband and to a daughter who would be home this afternoon for a short visit. Only, when she asked what Janelle planned to do once her parents returned home, Janelle was speechless. She hadn’t thought about what to tell the customers who were getting used to having her there.

  “I have no idea,” she said, being as honest as she could. “I haven’t really thought much about it.”

  The last thing she said was a lie. God only knew how many times she had thought about life in Seattle versus life in Cincinnati. She hadn’t thought things would have turned out like they had in Seattle in such a short time. One thing she hadn’t expected to happen was Colin—Colin and her, to be exact.

  “Thank you, dear, for such lovely pie,” the petite woman said, as she turned to walk away from the counter. Turning back toward Janelle, the woman motioned for Janelle to lean in close as she whispered, “Whatever you decide to do is fine, but follow your heart.”

  The words hit Janelle and stuck like feathers on tar. The older woman was wise beyond her years. Those words meant more to Janelle than that little old lady knew.

  “I will, thank you,” Janelle said, stepping around the counter to hand the bag to the woman.

  When the line died down, they decided to take a quick break. Grabbing their coffees, they headed to an empty booth off to the side. Colin had left over an hour ago, because he had to get to work. He told Janelle that he needed to spend most of his time this week in his office—an eight by eight cubicle. He had promised to pick her up at the end of the day, and told her good luck “even though she didn’t need it” before he left.

  “How are things going between you and Colin?” Kelsie asked, taking a sip from her cup. “You two have gotten pretty close these last couple of weeks.”

  Feeling a rise of heat in her cheeks, Janelle reached for her cup to avoid eye contact with Kelsie. It had been a while since they’d had time to talk about anything other than business. Janelle was sure that Kelsie had her suspicions and was curious about her and Colin, but so far it had been kept on the down low. Not because she didn’t want Kelsie to know, but because she didn’t want too many people to know.

  “No way,” Kelsie said, before Janelle had time to tell her anything. “You’re... you two are...”

  Taking another drink from her cup to hide her expression, Janelle said, “Yes, we’re dating or whatever you want to call it.”

  Kelsie’s eyes widened as she brought a hand up to cover her mouth to muffle words as she said, “Holy crap. No way.”

  “Yep.”

  “I can’t believe it,” Kelsie said, still in disbelief as she sat dumbfounded across from Janelle. “I mean, I had a feeling, but I didn’t think...”

  “That I’d actually hook up with him,” Janelle finished her sentence for her.

  “Yes,” Kelsie said, shocked beyond words that this was truly happening. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I think you two are good together, but I didn’t think Miss he’s-not-my-type and I-hate-his-guts would actually fall in love with him.”

  “I never said I hated his guts,” Janelle corrected. “I strongly despised him.”

  Hiding her smartass grin behind her cup, she took a drink. Kelsie was definitely in shock as she sat silently shaking her head while looking at Janelle for an explanation. The explanation was going to be the hard part and even harder to get other people to understand. Everyone who knew her, knew that she had despised Colin Davis since her college days. How would she get people to understand how she fell in love with him. Love—that was another thing. Love was a strong word, too, and she wasn’t quite su
re she would call it that—yet.

  “When did all of this happen?” Kelsie asked, leaning in closer over the table. “It was that date he took you out on, wasn’t it?”

  Laughing, Janelle explained, “That wasn’t technically a date, but yes, that’s when feelings stirred.”

  Shaking her head, Kelsie leaned back and crossed her arms. “I told you, didn’t I? I told you this was going to happen. I just knew it.”

  Chuckling at the melodramatics of Kelsie, Janelle turned her head in the direction of the door when the chime sounded above it. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. A line of more than twenty people had pushed their way through the door. They were now lined and ready to order at the counter.

  Janelle looked at Kelsie with raised eyebrows as they both slid out from the booth and made their way to the counter. Today was definitely Tuesday, and the word about her baking had certainly traveled quicker than she could have planned for.

  Chapter Twenty

  Ending the day with negative pieces of pie, Janelle was exhausted. The day had completely spread her thin, and she needed a long, hot bath to soak her aching muscles. She had never been on her feet as long as she had been today, and she had not used her arm muscles the way she had today, scooping more than ten pies to customers.

  Colin had kept his promise and met her out front, under the awning. He approached her ready and willing to do whatever she needed him to do. The look on her face must have told him of the day she had, because without a word, he helped her to the car and carried the empty containers to the car by himself.

  He helped her inside, listening to her grumble about the aches she had and how tired she was. After running her bath water, he told her not to worry about dinner as he had ordered in. It would be there in the next hour. She had plenty of time to soak and relax.

  Stripping her clothes, she stepped into the hot water and allowed herself to sink down into it, allowing bubbles to rise and hug against her naked body. Leaning back, she closed her eyes and allowed the bath water to take her away.