In response to the what-the-hell and the I-want-all-of-that-right-now that went coursing through her body, all she could do was make a strange little squeaking sound she’d never made before in her life.
Parker heard it and pivoted to face her. There was a beat where they just stared at each other. Then he pushed the plastic goggles he wore to the top of his head, lowered the hammer, and said, “Hey, Boss.”
And just like that, tears filled her eyes. Yeah, he definitely called her that with affection. And it made her feel insanely hopeful. And like she was looking at something she needed more than she could even understand. She hugged her arms to her stomach.
She thought briefly about replying with a simple “hey” herself. Then thought about confessing that she’d messed with his menu today. Then about begging him to help her make peach and pork pies. But instead she said, “Parker, do you know what I’m really, really good at?”
“Everything.”
She smiled at that response but shook her head. “I’m really, really good at recognizing people’s potential, and giving them the opportunity to do great things.”
He sighed. “Ava—”
“I might have been wrong to knock the wall down between the diner and pie shop without talking to you,” she said quickly. “But I wasn’t wrong about you.” She took a step forward. “You have to know why I did it, Parker.”
“I do know.”
“I wanted—” She stopped. “You do?”
“I do.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
He laughed at that and a twist of heat went through her belly. “Because you wanted to combine the things that are important to both of us. Mesh them together somehow. Make our worlds work together.” He paused. “Because you can’t stand being apart from me for even a few minutes now.”
She knew he was teasing, trying to lighten the moment with that last sentence. But she nodded solemnly. “Yes. All of that. I love watching you work, working with you, helping you.”
“I love that too,” he said, still smiling, but his voice gruffer.
“And so, when I was trying to think of a way to show you that, and to make things better for you, I went with what I know. I’m not fun and creative like Cori. I’m not brilliant like Brynn. I’m not sweet and patient like my mother. I can’t fix your car, or manage your legal affairs like Noah and Evan, and I can’t bake and cook like you. But I can get things done. I can call exactly the right people for the job. And I can throw money—lots of money—at things. So that’s what I went with. But—” she said quickly when he took a breath to respond, “you have to understand that it’s just how I support the people I love. I don’t know any other way.”
He blew out a big breath and leaned to prop the sledgehammer against the wall. He turned to face her, tucking his hands into his back pockets.
She was momentarily distracted by the way the position showed off the wide expanse of his chest.
“Do you know what I’m doing here?” he asked, gesturing at the hole in the wall behind him.
She made herself focus. “No.”
“I’m knocking this wall down.”
“Okay.”
“I’m knocking a wall down,” he said again, slower, as if waiting for her to catch up. “In a house that has been exactly the way it is now for as long as I’ve lived in it.”
Oh. She felt her eyes widen. “You’re changing something.”
“Right. I’m making a bigger closet.”
“Too many jeans?”
He gave her a half smile. “To make room for all of your shoes.”
She blinked at him. She looked at the wall. Then back to him. “You’re knocking a wall down to make more room for me?”
“You have a shit-ton of shoes, right?”
“I do.”
“Well, if we’re going to meld our lives together—at the diner and pie shop and here—we’re going to need more room. For all of it.”
“Parker, I…don’t know what to say.” That was amazing. It was a grand gesture. A grand, grand gesture. The grandest anyone had ever made for her. Ever.
“I wasn’t mad about the wall at the diner,” he said after a long moment.
“You definitely seemed mad about the wall at the diner.”
“I thought I was, but it wasn’t that. I was hurt. I wanted what I already had, what I was already doing, to be enough for you. I wanted you to be content and happy with what was already here. With a simple, straightforward setup.”
She felt tears stinging and pressed her lips together, nodding. “I know,” she finally answered. “But I didn’t change it because I wasn’t content or happy.” She took a deep breath. “I changed it because that’s all I know—knew—how to do.”
“Ava—”
But she cut him off once more. “That diner is hugely important to this town. The food you make there is important to this town. And to you. But you’re also washing dishes, and dicing onions, and ordering supplies, and going to the store for more butter all the time.”
He lifted one brow in a very sexy, very knowing, somewhat amused, and completely resigned way. “So much butter,” he said with a nod.
She felt her lungs expand as she took a big breath, not realizing she hadn’t been breathing for a few seconds, or maybe minutes, there. She took another step forward, into the closet. “You want to do more. Maybe not nationally-distributed-specialty-pie more, but more than washing things and dicing things. You’re happy when you’re taking care of the people here, and the way that you take care of them is by making them food…and giving them a place where that food becomes a part of other things. And I think you do, actually, want to make them dessert and good coffee after all. So what I need to give you is a way to do more of what you love for the people you love. And…I can’t actually do that with money, it turns out.”
He stepped forward, now only a few inches in front of her. She wanted to run her hands all over his hot, slick skin, but she tucked her hands into her back pockets too and just stood, looking up at him.
“You’ve found something you couldn’t buy, huh?” he asked.
“Yep.” She gave him a smile. “It’s something that has to be done.”
“So you can hire someone to do it.”
She shook her head. “Interestingly, I don’t think anyone else can do it as well as I can.”
He wet his lips and she could have sworn that he was fighting the urge to touch her too. “What’s going on in that beautiful, crazy head, Boss?” he asked, his voice rough.
“I am going to take over all of those things that you don’t need to be doing so that you can make your magic in the diner’s kitchen…and the pie shop kitchen.”
Now both of his eyebrows went up and she realized that she truly had surprised him. “Things like what?”
“Like everything but the cooking and baking. Though you’ll have to share the baking with Cori.”
“So you’re going to wait on customers, bus tables, and do dishes?” Parker asked, clearly skeptical.
“And run the register.”
He straightened as he clearly realized that she wasn’t kidding. “You’re not running the register.”
“I’m very good at taking other people’s money, Parker.”
He ran his hand along his jaw, watching her. “I like doing things a certain way.”
“I know. But my way is even better in most cases.”
He opened his mouth. Then shut it again. Then opened it again.
“And I might hire Hank and Roger to help with the lunch rush,” she said.
He narrowed his eyes.
“And I’m going to do some of the farm chores too.”
“You like my rooster that much?” he finally asked.
She grinned and nodded. “Rudy was right. I didn’t understand how satisfying it can be to actually have my hands on things. To directly affect what’s going on. I’m so used to just sitting in an office and making decisions based on reports and papers and ema
ils from other people. Now I can be in it.”
“You’re not going to be the CEO anymore?”
“Oh, I am. But…like I said before, I’m simplifying. I’m going to promote some people. I’ll make once a month trips to New York, more as needed, I’ll have Skype, conference calls. I can be bossy even over a long distance.”
He finally reached out, put his hand on the back of her head, and threaded his fingers into her hair. “You actually want to do this, don’t you?”
She met his gaze. “I really do. Parker, taking care of the people I love, making sure they have what they need, that’s what makes me happy. And now I’ve realized I can do more than just writing checks and making bank transfers.”
He took a deep breath. “The people you love? That’s the second time you’ve said that.”
“Yes. The people I love.”
He pulled her closer, until she was nearly standing on his toes. “I love you too, Ava.”
She was so incredibly glad she’d put her heels on when she’d left the house to head to the diner. She was at exactly the right height to wrap her arms around his neck and press against him. “I’m sorry I changed your diner.”
But he shook his head slowly. “It didn’t change. Not really. Not the heart of it. It just got bigger. And better. Like everything else in my life since you came along.”
She sniffed. “Your greenhouse didn’t get bigger.”
“It’s going to. I need to add on so I have room for all these salad things you’re thinking about. And my crop already got bigger. I planted two avocado trees today.”
Her eyes widened. “You did?”
“Of course. You love avocados.”
“I do.” She nodded, her heart flipping in her chest. That was the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for her. Well, maybe second to knocking out a wall in his closet to make room for her shoes. “I really do.”
“And I’ve decided my flock of chickens will need to get bigger too. I’ll need more eggs if I’m cooking for two.”
She couldn’t resist any longer. She put her mouth to his, kissing him with all of the love and hope and happiness buzzing through her. When she finally let him go, he cupped her face in both hands.
“So my answer is yes, I will be your boss, Boss.”
She lifted a brow.
He shrugged. “You’re going to be working for me. The tables, the dishes, the register…”
“With you.” She pointed at him. “Kitchen.” Then at herself. “Everything else.”
“Partner in Blissfully Baked with Cori,” he said, pointing at himself. “Full owner of the diner.” He pointed at himself again. “Owner of the avocados.” He pointed at his chest again. “Girl who’s picking up after me and cleaning up my messes.” He pointed at her.
She tipped her head, narrowed her eyes, then stepped back, pulling her phone from her back pocket. She turned away, pretending to scroll through her address book.
“Who are you calling?” he asked.
She could hear the amusement in his voice. “Evan. My lawyer.”
“Ah, rethinking the partnership between me and Cori?”
She turned back, putting her phone to her ear. “Thinking I might just buy the whole thing.”
“You’re just going to keep that deed for the building?”
“I mean the whole town of Bliss.”
There was a beat as he absorbed that, then he threw his head back and laughed. She put her phone down, grinning at the sight before her. The hottest, sweetest, grumpiest guy she’d ever dated. The man she was madly in love with.
He focused on her again. “Okay, get in bed.”
“I’d love to, but we have to get back to the diner. Things are a little crazy there.”
He nodded. “I’m sure. Get in my bed. Now.”
“I need to tell you about the peaches.” But she was already backing toward the bed.
He paused slightly at that, but then shook his head. “Peaches later. Bed now.”
“And the lunch menu today.”
“And I clearly have to prove who the boss is here.”
She grinned. “How about we take turns?”
He had his jeans unbuttoned and unzipped. “Being the boss in bed? You can absolutely tell me what you want me to do to you once you’re naked.”
She actually meant taking turns in everything, but they could go through this “meeting” one point at a time. She pulled her T-shirt off as the backs of her knees hit the mattress. “How about we negotiate a few terms?”
He reached out and pulled one of her bra straps down, exposing her breast and rubbing his thumb over her nipple. She bit back a moan.
“Negotiate. As in, you give me something and I give you something?”
“Yeah, kind of like that.” She pushed his jeans down his legs and ran her hand up the length of his erection. “I think this merger is going to be wildly successful.”
He dragged in a quick breath, then pushed her back onto the bed, moving over her. “I actually prefer the term acquisition,” he told her.
“Oh really, because the synonym is possession?” Strangely, she didn’t mind that from Parker at all.
Heat flared in his eyes, but just before he kissed her, he said, “Another synonym is prize.”
She melted a little at that and kissed him deeply.
Another word for acquisition was also gain. And that one felt most appropriate of all.
Next from Bliss
Next from Bliss, Kansas and the Billionaires in Blue Jeans!
* * *
Cashmere and Camo
Billionaires in Blue Jeans, book three
* * *
A friends to lovers romance…and then some.
* * *
Run a pie shop with her sisters for a year. Date for the first time at age twenty-nine. Don’t be terrified.
Well, she’s got the first thing under control at least. Mostly.
But this is exactly what a best friend is for. Advice, pep talks, matchmaking, sex education…
So what if her best friend is a guy? A very hot, tattooed, ex-Marine, mechanic guy? He’s definitely well-versed in everything she needs to know. And she trusts him. Who better to teach her the man-woman stuff she’s been missing out on?
But there could be one tiny problem. The only person causing her any butterflies…and dirty dreams…is her matchmaker himself.
* * *
Enjoy this excerpt from Cashmere and Camo!
“So, that’s Brynn Carmichael,” Mitch said to Noah as Brynn rounded the corner at the end of the block.
Noah gritted his teeth. He turned back into the shop and to the car he’d been working on.
Cars. Those he understood. Those he could fix.
God, he loved cars.
Everything else in life less so.
He picked up a wrench and leaned in over the engine. He’d known Mitch Anderson all his life. He wasn’t worried about hurting the guy’s feelings or offending him by getting back to work in the midst of a conversation.
A conversation he did not want to have.
“Mom said that things have been interesting since the Carmichael girls came to town,” Mitch commented, moving to lean against the front of the car.
Noah didn’t respond.
“Now I can see why. Have there been a lot of injuries?”
Noah frowned. “Injuries?”
“From all the men in town tripping over their tongues?”
Noah rolled his eyes. Mitch was a dumbass. A handsome, successful dumbass who had made Brynn blush. Noah gripped the wrench. “Everyone’s been very nice to them.”
“I’m sure,” Mitch mused.
Noah tried to focus on the hoses he was supposed to be replacing. It didn’t work. “Of course, Cori’s been involved with Evan from day one and Parker and Ava have been together for about three months now,” Noah said. “So it’s not like guys have been lining up or fighting over them.” Mitch made a huh sound and Noah glanced up. “What?”
“Just that Evan and Parker are with Cori and Ava.” He looked over. “No one’s with Brynn.” He paused. “Right?”
Noah clenched his jaw and straightened away from the car. He wiped his hands on a rag. No, technically no one was with Brynn. Except that he was with Brynn nearly every spare hour either of them had. They both worked a lot. Brynn spent her days at the pie shop and then at least an hour each evening on the phone or computer with people running her lab back in New York in her absence. Brynn also had her sisters and he had his mom and dad and Maggie, his buddy Jared’s mom, to take care of. So they both had other things and people taking up their time, of course. But yeah, they seemed to spend a lot of time together too.
“She’s not dating anyone,” he finally said in answer to Mitch. That much was true. What he and Brynn were doing wasn’t dating. Because dating came with the expectation of things possibly progressing and becoming more over time. He and Brynn were exactly where and what they needed to be to each other. That wasn’t going to change. She was here because her father had mandated it. And it was temporary. Thank God. Noah was looking out for her as her father had asked him to. But he could only handle it if he knew there was an end point. If he knew there was a goal.
Mitch hadn’t replied to the news of Brynn’s single status.
“You want to ask her out for real, don’t you?” Noah asked.
“For real?”
“You were just testing the waters with the invite to your back porch.” Noah didn’t phrase it as a question.
Mitch didn’t deny that. He nodded. “Yeah, I think I want to ask her out for real.”
Noah sighed. Dammit. He had to get used to this. She had to date six men. It was in the will. If she didn’t, she and her sisters didn’t inherit Rudy’s company, and his fortune. The money was important to Brynn because of the life-saving research she and her team were doing and it allowed her sisters to do what was important to them as well. She would do her part For sure.
High Heels and Haystacks: Billionaires in Blue Jeans, book two Page 30
