“I have no idea. White Oaks Mill was built in nineteen hundred as a cotton mill, and about ten years ago, it was renovated into apartments. I have an apartment there. Rachael does, too.”
Living in a rehabbed industrial building must be interesting. “Do you have family here?”
April nods and steps off the sidewalk to cross the road. “I do. My parents and one of my three brothers still live in the area.”
“Three brothers? That must have been exciting growing up.” At the next intersection, we pause to let a late-model Ford truck pass. The man driving waves, and April calls out a greeting. Small town living is charming.
We hurry across the street. “It was. We’re still very close. But growing up, it was like I had four fathers.”
“I bet you couldn’t get away with anything.”
April turns to me, grinning. “Oh, I don’t know about that. You forget that I had Rachael. Between the two of us, we could come up with a scheme to do most anything we wanted.”
“It sounds like boys were involved.”
“A time or two. When we had just gotten our driver’s licenses, we hijacked Rachael’s mother’s Cadillac and drove to Charlotte to see a concert after our parents wouldn’t allow us to go. We found out at the concert where the band was staying for the night. Since we didn’t have money for a room, we slept in the car in the hotel parking lot, hoping for a glimpse of them. Looking back, I can’t believe we were so stupid or that we didn’t get caught. Rachael was going with or without me. I went along to keep her out of trouble. Rachael and trouble always went hand in hand. She had a very big crush on the lead singer of the very band that’s playing at your sister’s wedding.”
“Kyle Welsh?” Every woman young and old has a crush on Kyle Welsh. I’ve always said it’s the accent because he’s really homely looking in my opinion.
“That would be the one. But don’t worry, Rachael has mellowed since her rocker days. I promise she won’t cause a scene.”
“I’m not worried. Kyle can take care of himself. How did you get into the floral business?”
“My grandmother. The year I graduated college, Grammy put me in charge of the shop, so she could retire. It wasn’t in my plans—it just kinda happened.”
“Was that your grandmother at the shop today?”
“Yes. She still comes in to help if I need her. She’ll be filling in for me until after the wedding. I also have a lot of extra staff coming in to help.”
“We haven’t talked about price. But get whatever you need to make Belinda’s wedding special.”
“It will be, Elias. I know you’re concerned with having the wedding here. Especially since I’ll be handling everything, but I promise I will do everything in my power to give Belinda a dream wedding.”
“I know you will, April. I have every confidence in you, and White Oaks is a grand estate. Tell me more about your renovation plans.”
“Well, I hope we’ll be able to finish the inside renovation this year. You saw what it’s like now, but we have big plans for bringing the house back to the way it was when it was built.”
“Who’s been doing the work so far?”
“Mostly Rachael and I have. My brother helps, too, when he can spare the time. We had the wiring and plumbing contracted out, but everything else we’ve done on our own by learning from YouTube videos and watching shows like yours.”
“That’s unbelievable. I hope you’ll let me know when you finish. I’d like to come back and see what you’ve done.”
“Really? You don’t get enough renovation in your day job?”
“Strange, right? But I love what I do. It didn’t start out that way. When I was helping my uncle and learning, it wasn’t any fun.”
“But you weren’t supposed to be doing that. You were supposed to be in college. It’s understandable that you had some hidden resentment towards that.”
“You know, April, I’d never put it together that way. Don’t get me wrong. I am thankful to have had my uncle to lean on and learn from, but at the time, I was so overwhelmed.”
She puts her hand on my arm, and I can feel the warmth of her skin. “Elias, you did a great job. Never doubt that. Now, are you ready to eat?” She points toward the bakery door.
We stop in front of a storefront. Large glass windows surround the glass door, painted letters proclaiming, The Sweet Spot is open. “The bakery?” I take a guess.
“Yeah, Rachael works at the bakery, but she hopes to open a restaurant on the grounds of White’s Manor someday.”
I hold the door open, and I’m hit with a sensory overload of scents. My stomach growls, and I know I’m not leaving without a takeout box of cinnamon rolls. April walks in just as a young boy with hair so deep red it appears copper, runs from the back room. Something jogs my memory, but just as quickly disappears with the boy’s excitement.
“Aunt April!”
I see it coming, and I brace April from behind as the boy dives in for a hug.
“Hey, buddy.” She ruffles his hair. “Why aren’t you in school today?”
He rolls his eyes and takes her by the hand tugging her toward the back. “It’s a teacher work day.”
“Your mom’s not making you do homework?”
“Henry K. Hart!” A woman’s loud voice rings out from the back of the shop.
The boy’s shoulders stiffen. “Oh no, gotta go. I’m supposed to be reading a yucky old book for school.” The boy runs back through the doors behind the showcase counter.
A very pretty woman appears. I remember her from the bar. She’d been with April. Her straight hair is dark as night, and her brown eyes glare at me as she approaches. From the burnished tone of her skin and her high cheekbones, she might have a Native American ancestor in her background.
“Rachael, this is Elias Holt. Our customer. Who you will be nice to,” April says with an overly nice smile.
“Rachael, it’s nice to meet you.” I hold out my hand to shake, and I’m sure I see Rachael’s nose turn up in disgust. I try not to grin. That wouldn’t be a good thing.
She ignores my outstretched hand and says, “If you’ll take a seat at the back table, I’ll bring your first sample appetizer.”
I watch her retreating back. “Was it something I said?”
April chuckles and leads us over to the back table and pulls out a chair. “She’s still not over her snit about what you said to me.”
Of course, April would have shared about our first meeting and my rude behavior. I’ll just turn on the charm; it’s never failed me before. “Ahhh, I need to make sure to tell her how wonderful her food tastes.”
“That will certainly help.” April pulls a few paper napkins from the table dispenser and hands me one. “And if she refers to you as dipstick, just ignore.”
I’m cautiously smiling when Rachael reappears. “These are my recommendations.” She sits a platter down in front of me with a loud clatter. The smell alone is divine, and my stomach rumbles.
Rachael gently places another platter in front of April. “And these are other options you can select from.”
“These look too beautiful to eat,” I say, winking at April. Rachael snorts and goes to get a few bottles of water from the cooler.
“Too much?” I ask April.
“Little bit.” She bites her lip to keep from laughing.
Over two hours later, we are walking back to April’s shop with the menu for the wedding locked down. I’m uncomfortably full, but April was correct. Everything Rachael had prepared was top-notch. I’ve never eaten anything better. “Where did Rachael learn to cook like this?”
“It started when she had Henry. She was really paranoid about him eating healthy, so she taught herself and found she had a knack for it. She wanted to go to culinary school, but things just didn’t work out that way.”
“Why not?”
“You met her son, Henry.”
“The red-headed boy is Rachael’s son? Is he adopted?” I ask.
Apri
l laughs, “I know, they don’t look anything alike. Rachael was a teen mom who was disowned by her family.”
Some people have no right to be parents. “That’s rough. How old is Henry?”
“He’s ten,” she answers.
Ten. I would have thought he was older. He’s a big boy for his age. “Wow! She doesn’t look old enough to have a son that old. What about Henry’s dad?”
“We don’t talk about him. Actually, I have no idea who he is.”
“Oh, okay.” That seems odd, but April doesn’t want to talk about it. “Well, I know Belinda will love what we picked out today.”
I change the subject, and we talk about wedding things until we are once again in front of her shop. “I would offer to take you out to dinner, but I don’t want to think about food for a while.”
“No problem. I’ve got some orders I need to work on before I can go home. But be back in the morning. We still have a lot to do.”
“Hey, April.”
I look up to find a man making his way toward us. His eyes are fixed on April in a much too possessive way. Instantly, I don’t like him.
“Hi, Banks. What are you doing in town?” April says, moving toward him.
I grind my teeth together as the doofus leans in and kisses April’s cheek.
“Mom had a doctor’s appointment in Asheville. I just dropped her off back home and thought I’d stop by and see if you were free.”
“Oh, excuse me. Where are my manners? Elias, this is Banks Bishop. Banks, this is Elias. His sister Belinda is having her wedding at the Manor.”
My eyes clash with Banks’s. What a stupid name. I detect a proprietary message being hurled my way. In every animal species, males mark their territory. I have no problem picking up on the no-go-zone around April. The problem I have with that is April doesn’t seem all that into Banks.
“Sorry, man. April was just saying she had a lot of work to do tonight.” I take a step closer to April and put my hand on her lower back. I know it’s not my imagination that she leans back into my touch.
Banks turns to April for confirmation.
April nods and doesn’t look all that heartbroken. “Yeah. Sorry, Banks. I do have a lot to do tonight. Maybe next time?”
“Sure.” Banks scans my face like he’s trying to remember where he’s seen me. “I’ll give you a call.”
I happily watch him walk away. “Is he your boyfriend?”
“No. I don’t have a boyfriend. We went to school together and we’ve been friends for a long time.”
I let it go. What Banks is to April is none of my business.
April
I knock on Elias’s door and wait. We’ve gotten so much done over the past week. We weren’t supposed to meet until later in the morning, but I’d finally been able to get in touch with a friend of my dad’s, and I need Elias to go with me to his farm. My head is still spinning with all we have to accomplish before the big day.
His door opens. I smile and open my mouth to explain all this, but then my eyes and thoughts disintegrate when Elias’s hard, wet chest greets me. Somewhere in the far, far reaches of my mind, I may have heard someone speak, but I can’t be bothered with hearing or understanding what is said. Instead, my steady, singular focus is on counting and memorizing each defined muscle before me. I blink and could swear I see actual steam rising from his smooth skin.
My panties are wet, and I may have drool seeping from the corner of my mouth. He’s tanned, like he works outside without his shirt on. And why wouldn’t he? Broad shoulders that I couldn’t have wrapped my arms around are at least half a foot above my head. His pecs are bulging and rounded, and my hand wants to reach out and discover if they’re as hard as they appear. I swallow as my mouth begins to water. My gaze moves lower, taking in his flat, pebbled nipples, which are a few shades darker than his bronzed skin. His rippled abs have so many peaks and valleys that need to be explored, caressed, kissed.
Lower my eyes travel. I want to snarl at the hand gripping the edges of a towel covering the parts I really wanted to see. And if I’m not mistaken he’s… My gaze snaps to Elias’s as he intently watches me turn what I am sure is flaming pink. I lower my eyes and try to take a deep breath to restart my brain function. Don’t look. Don’t look.
“Good morning, April. What gets you up so early?” he says, an amused twinkle in his eyes at his play on words.
“Um…I need wood,” I blurt, and cringe when I realize what I’d said. I close my eyes and rub my temples, needing to get things back on a professional track. I’ve been having an increasingly difficult time remembering that lately. Every day we spend together, it gets harder and harder to remember he’s my client.
Elias chuckles and leans against the door jam. “Really?”
“Stop,” I beg. “Could you put some clothes on? You’re… distracting with all that.” I wave an imaginary Z-shaped line with my finger over his muscles, but I keep my eyes averted.
He fights a grin as he steps back. “Of course. Would you like to come in?”
“No!” I shout, then clear my throat and calmly answer, “No, thank you. I’ll wait out here.” A much-too-wide smile is frozen on my face. I hold my breath when it looks like he is going to say something, but then he nods and closes the door. My breath leaks out as I fall forward, hitting my head on the door. I’m toast.
We’re a few miles outside of town, and I’ve been weighing my options the entire time. I could apologize for ogling him, or I could ignore the incident entirely. Maybe he didn’t even notice me staring. Then I dismiss that idea. He knew.
“So where are we going?” Elias asks.
Good. That’s good. Ignore for the win. I take my eyes off the road for a moment to glance his way. “We’re going to a Christmas tree farm up the mountain. Mr. Barner is a friend of my dad’s. He’s going to cut tree disks for us to use as centerpieces for the tables and serving platters,” I explain.
“That sounds interesting.”
“I was going through some bride magazines last night for ideas. I saw them in a photo and really liked the look for Belinda’s reception. However, the cheapest I could find was two hundred apiece. That’s just ridiculous when we can cut them ourselves. We’ll have to put a food-grade varnish on the ones we’ll be serving food from, but the ones we use as centerpieces will be fine to leave natural.”
“April, you know that you could have simply ordered them. I don’t care how much they cost.”
I give him an affronted look. “This is much more fun than placing an order. Plus, we know what we’re getting, and they will mean more to your sister knowing that you had a hand in creating them. Just because you have the money to spend doesn’t mean you should.”
Elias looked mildly intrigued. “You are a very unique woman, April White.”
I glance his way. I still can’t believe Elias Holt is in my old, beat-up truck. “What do you mean by that?”
He stretches his legs out and rests his left arm across the back of the seat. His fingertips are mere inches from my shoulder. “I’ve just never known a woman like you.”
I cut my eyes toward him, not pleased with his statement. “A woman like me…” My tone may have been a bit brash.
He chuckles, “Calm down, tiger. I mean that in a good way. For example, I’ve never known a woman who owns a pickup truck.”
I don’t suppose trucks are the choice for California women. That’s understandable. “I used to have a SUV, but when we bought White’s Manor, it made more sense to have a truck to haul what we needed. Plus, we get a lot of snow and ice in the winter so it just makes sense.”
“Practical. I like that. I’ve never known anyone to go to such lengths for a stranger, either. You’ve only just met Belinda, yet you were willing to pull this off for her.”
I take my eyes off the road for a second, and our gazes meet. “Well, you don’t know the right type of people.” My lips curl into a grin.
He smiles and nods. “I would agree with you there.”
“Besides, I may have only known Belinda for a short time, but I knew instantly that I liked her. She’s so sweet, and so in love with Wes. How could I not help her?”
The rest of the thirty-minute drive goes by fast as we make small talk about movies, favorite books, and our pet peeves. We both agree loud chewing and people who are chronically late drive us nuts. Mr. Barner is waiting at the top of his driveway. I pull in slowly and cut the engine.
“Good morning, April,” Mr. Barner calls as he shuffles out to meet us.
I jump down from the truck and shut the door. “Good morning, Mr. Barner.” I walk right into his waiting arms for a hug. “Daddy says to say hi, and he’s waiting on you for a corn hole rematch.”
Mr. Barner chuckles. “We’ll just have to be seeing about that soon. Who’s that you’ve got there?” He nods toward Elias.
“This is Elias. His sister Belinda will be getting married at the Manor.” I’m sure Mr. Barner has no idea who Elias Holt, is but I leave his last name out anyway.
“Nice to meet you, young man.” He shuffles a few steps and holds out his hand in greeting.
Elias shakes Mr. Barner’s hand. “Nice to meet you, sir. Thank you for helping out.”
“My pleasure. I put a tree in the hopper, so let’s get to it.”
We work as a team for the rest of the morning. We each take a turn at the saw, and Elias seems to enjoy the time we spend there. However, he has a strange look on his face when I work the sawmill. I suppose he never knew a woman who could work a saw, either.
Close to noon, we are on our way back down the mountain with the bed of my truck filled with wooden disks.
“So, what’s next on the agenda?” Elias asks, wiping his hands on a rag I keep in the truck. I reach over and open the glove box to fish around for the wet wipes I keep on hand. I accidentally brush his knee, and I hear his breath catch. “How about lunch?”
“Thanks.” He pulls a wipe from the box and cleans his hands. “That sounds good. I’m hungry.”
Heartbreaker: Billionaires of White Oaks Page 6
