by Candis Terry
He loved women, especially those who exuded confidence. He just wasn’t always sure what to do with them. There were times when all he could do was stand in awe of their willingness to do whatever the hell needed to be done to make things work. The women he knew, most often, gave without asking for anything in return. And much like his future sisters-in-law, Gabriella Montani appeared to be far from a sit-back-and-let-it-happen type of woman.
Though a damp autumn chill hung in the air, she wore lightweight exercise clothes. Bright pink running shoes instead of drop-dead-red high heels. A body hugging racer-back tank top instead of the next-to-nothing sweater. And black athletic leggings instead of painted-on jeans.
Yeah.
He’d have to be dead not to notice her.
And last time he’d checked, his equipment was in perfect working condition.
Regretfully, he had to pull his attention away from the luscious Ms. Montani to deliver an order. He swept up a newly plated dish, leaned across the stainless steel counter, and winked at the elderly woman in sparkly sneakers at the front of the line. “I hope this pleases your palate, sweetheart.”
Surrounded by her cronies—a self-proclaimed group of mall walkers without an actual mall—the woman stuck her fork in the center of the pancetta and saffron rice. She took a bite, hummed her pleasure, then gave him a big thumbs-up to let him know he’d scored gold.
Before he returned to the next item up on the order wheel, Parker slid his gaze back in Gabriella’s direction. As if he’d called her name, she looked up. He crooked his finger. She glanced around as if he might be motioning to someone else. When she looked back at him, he crooked his finger again. She pointed at herself.
Yes, you, he mouthed. Chin tucked like she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, she eased her way through the crowd toward the truck.
“Stalking me again, Ms. Montani?” He folded his arms across his apron.
“No!” Her dark eyes widened. “I was just . . . waiting. You know, for the lunch crowd to thin out before I placed my order.”
“Really.” The hesitation in her explanation gave away more than she’d probably hoped. For him, the revelation was enough to keep her there just a little longer. If only to break up the monotony of his busy day.
At least that’s what he told himself.
“Really.” She nodded.
When she criss-crossed two fingers across the front of that skintight tank top his gaze couldn’t help but follow. And linger.
“I swear,” she promised. “I wasn’t stalking. No need to call in law enforcement.”
“Furthest thing from my mind.” And only because he wasn’t into the whole handcuffs scene. In bed or out. “So what did you plan to order? I can get that up for you.” Among other things.
“Oh no.” She glanced at the others in line who were now giving her the death glare. “I’m not going to cut in and unleash an angry mob.”
“Not sure that’s possible. But just in case, come around to the door.” He turned to his team, who were working away on orders. “Can you guys handle this for a couple of minutes?”
“Got it covered, boss.”
“Thanks.” He opened the door and stepped down to where Gabriella waited a few feet away, arms crossed, attempting to look like she couldn’t be less interested or impressed.
A chuckle rumbled in his chest.
“So what would you like to order?” he asked.
The bling on her ball cap sparkled in the sunlight as their eyes met and the truth was revealed. She hadn’t planned on ordering a damned thing.
“Ummm.”
“Did you even look at today’s menu?” he asked.
“Of course.” A tiny furrow sprung up between her eyes as she nodded, then changed the nod to a slow shake. “Actually? No.”
“So . . . stalking again?” Keeping a smile from his face became impossible, because whatever she was doing was kind of cute. And he was sure it was harmless.
Hopefully.
“Not stalking,” she insisted. “Preparing. For my audition.”
“By . . . ?”
“By studying your customers. Seeing what they order and their reactions to the taste. I’m trying to decide what to make for you and I’m having a hard time choosing between three of my specialties.”
“I’d suggest making all three, but that would probably be a lot of work.”
“I don’t mind hard work, Mr. Kincade.” Her lips pressed together. “I prefer to work hard. It’s the way to success.”
“Success isn’t everything.” It was a lot. But not everything. At least not in his book. “Some things are far more important.”
Her dark eyes flashed and her chin lifted as though she didn’t like having such things pointed out to her. And that made him curious as hell. “Such as?”
“Family. Honor. Loyalty. Commitment.”
“But those aren’t things you have to work for.”
“Aren’t they?” He’d had to work his ass off to earn every single item on that list.
“Maybe.” Perplexed, she sighed. “Can we get back to talking about food? I can carry on a better conversation with that topic.”
“So you’re saying you’re not good with family, honor, loyalty, and commitment. Yet you expect me to hire you as my chef?”
Obviously frustrated, she pressed her lips together again and shifted her weight to one curvy hip. “You’re twisting my words.”
He was actually just having a little fun, but apparently he’d hit on a touchy subject.
“Consider it part of the interview,” he said. “And I apologize. I always mean what I say, but I don’t always say what I mean. In tough working conditions sometimes my crew needs to bail me out.”
“I’ll try to keep that in mind.” She glanced inside the truck where his team was working their little hearts out. “So you’ll still let me audition even though I didn’t really plan to order anything today?”
Let her?
Hell. At the moment, it was the only thing he was looking forward to.
“How about we start the audition right now. If you pass the first round then . . .” He shrugged. “Sure. We can go ahead with round two on Friday night.”
She glanced down at her exercise clothes then back up at him. “I didn’t come prepared to cook.”
“Not everything about cooking is cooking.”
“You’re confusing me again.”
“Sorry.” He reached out and lightly touched her arm, simply because he had to. All that soft-looking skin had been calling out to him from the moment he’d seen her in the crowd. “Close your eyes.”
“Excuse me?”
“Round one, Ms. Montani.”
“Oh. Right.” She squeezed her eyes shut.
With her lip snagged between her teeth, she looked so damned sweet it was all he could do not to wrap his arms around her. “Tell me what you smell.”
“Ah. A sensory exercise.” She smiled then tilted her head back and inhaled deeply.
With her eyes closed Parker let his gaze roam her face. She was incredibly beautiful. And, he thought, equally as complicated.
“Sumac,” she whispered as though she’d discovered a secret. “Allspice, ginger, and”—she inhaled again—“saffron.”
“Very good, Ms. Montani. I expected you to name the obvious.”
Her eyes popped open and there were sparks of challenge within the dark brown depths.
“Naming the meats or certain vegetables would be too easy. And as you said, this is an audition.” She smiled as though she’d already won. “Would you like me to continue?”
“One second.” Another crazy idea sprang into his head as he reached inside the truck and pulled out the list of ingredient supplies they had on hand. He gave her the list and her eyes immediately scanned the contents.
“Choose five ingredients from that list,” he said. “Then tell me what you’d make with them.”
“Off the top of my head?”
“In this case, off the top of your angel wings.” He gave a nod to her ball cap.
“Clever.” One sleek brow arched as if to say, game on.
While she scanned the list, Parker became anxious to hear what she’d come up with. Much like when he’d been on Chopped and they’d handed him a basket of unknown ingredients, he’d had to think on his feet. Not only to actually make something, but to make something that would please the judges. In this case, her creativity needed to appeal to him. Although he could admit right now she didn’t need to do much to accomplish the deed.
“Keeping in mind that this is an audition . . .” She tapped a finger against the soft cushion of her bottom lip. “I’d never go for the mundane.”
“Of course not.”
“Or . . .” She gave him a sideways glance with those mesmerizing chocolate brown eyes. “Not knowing your heat tolerance—choose something too spicy.”
At that moment his heat factor was topping the meter.
“And because I’d want to create something memorable, I’d have to make . . .”
Anticipation curled in his belly like a live wire. The moment she snagged her bottom lip between her teeth again, he wanted to forget the whole damn cooking audition, send everyone away, and haul her inside his truck where he could give her a piece of something memorable.
“A brioche French toast with a brown sugar and cranberry sauce.”
“Breakfast?” His head went back.
“Dessert.”
“Interesting. I expected you to opt for an entrée of some type.”
“And there you go.” A suggestive grin lit up her face, making her even more beautiful. If that was possible. “You expected me to make an entrée. But the exercise was aimed at getting an insight to my creativity. Yes?”
Among other things. “Yes.”
“Well then, don’t you agree that an unexpected dessert can be more extraordinary, more memorable than an entrée? And a woman—especially if she’s a chef—wants to be deliciously remembered at the end of the night.”
While Parker stood there momentarily stunned and so turned on he needed to readjust himself, she flashed him a smile and a wink as she handed him back the list.
“I’ll see you Friday night, Mr. Kincade.”
Chapter 3
“Distracted?”
Parker stopped daydreaming long enough to turn and find Lili, his new half sister, behind him inside the barn. “Hey, you made it.”
A slight tilt of her head sent her pale blonde hair cascading over her shoulder. “Did you think I’d back out?”
“Given the circumstances, there was a good chance,” he replied honestly.
In order to get Lili to agree to move from Philadelphia to Sunshine so they could begin the task of becoming a united family, he and his siblings had needed to sit down and have a little heart-to-heart. Getting everyone on board hadn’t been an easy task. Eventually the majority of them agreed that Lili had all the credentials they needed as their event planner. Their only holdout had been Nicole, who’d eventually caved enough on the matter to give them an I-don’t-give-a-shit-what-you-do shrug. Instead of putting the blame where it belonged, Nicki held Lili responsible for all her problems. And that was an issue that needed to be handled. Even if their father wasn’t around anymore to defend himself, the facts were there; proven by a DNA test that Lili was indeed their father’s illegitimate daughter.
In general Nicki had a good heart and a somewhat level head for an eighteen-year-old. Parker hoped eventually she’d come around.
“Can I be honest with you?” Lili pressed her lips together and looked like the slightest sound would send her running.
Wishing they knew each other well enough for him to offer a hug to put her at ease, he gave her a smile. “I hope you always will.”
“For the second time in my life I’m so scared to death I can barely breathe,” she admitted.
“About making the move?”
She shook her head. “About getting to know all of you. Especially Nicole.”
“We’re not as bad as we seem.”
“I don’t think you’re bad. Just intimidating. After all, I’m the outsider. The ‘bastard,’ so to speak.”
“That’s not how we see you.”
“Maybe not all. And maybe not anymore.”
“You’re right. Not anymore.”
Her blue eyes widened slightly in an I-knew-it kind of way.
“Those days are behind us now, Lili. And pretty soon, we hope you’ll feel like we’re your family.”
“I hope so too.” She took a shaky breath. “Because I have given up everything—including my pride—to come here.”
“I know you did.” He reached out then, grasped her hand, and gave it a squeeze because he thought she needed the reassurance. Hell, he needed the reassurance.
“It wasn’t an easy decision.”
“I don’t imagine it was.”
“When I left here before I thought I never wanted to see any of you again.”
She tried to slip her hand from his but he held on. His past had taught him many things; one of them had been that you can’t always conquer things alone.
“I apologize for that. Everyone around here has pretty much been on an emotional roller coaster since our parents died. Getting hit with a multitude of other issues didn’t help. But that’s no excuse.” He gave her a wry smile. “We were assholes.”
“Yeah you were.” Even though the anguish in her expressive eyes was clear, she chuckled to take away the sting of her words.
“I promise we’ll do better in the future.”
“No pressure to become the perfect, most amazing big brother on earth though.” She withdrew her hand from his and gave him a poke in the chest. “However, I can be bribed should you want to become my favorite.”
“With that sense of humor you’re going to fit right in.”
“Who says I was kidding?” A smile caught the corners of her lips, and besides her blue eyes, Parker definitely recognized the family genes.
He laughed. “Just so you know, I am the most amazing big brother on earth. Two out of three younger siblings agree. I just have to get you on board.”
She let go an exaggerated sigh. “Time will tell.”
“True that. So what do you think?” He waved his hand at the interior of the building. “Is it starting to come together?”
She made a slow circle and gave the surroundings her complete focus before she responded. “I think it’s going to be wonderful. And what a great idea to use this old barn. It has so much character. Although . . .”
“Uh-oh.”
“As an event planner, can I make a suggestion?” She scrunched her nose.
“If it doesn’t require tearing down walls and starting from scratch, sure.”
“Keep an open mind.”
“I’ll do my best.” Lately with everything going on, his mind felt like umpteen thousand thoughts had been stuffed inside. Maybe it was time to open the door and let a few of them out.
“Not everyone will have a large enough party or reception to fill the event center,” Lili said. “You could always replicate the barn doors on the back wall and have them open up onto a patio that would face the creek. From there you’d also have a peaceful view of the vineyard. It would be great for photo ops and would also enhance the atmosphere. You know, like when the barn doors open up at the end of that movie White Christmas? Plus, a lot of people just really like to dine outdoors when the weather’s nice. And extra seating brings in extra dollars.”
“And having another exit would probably make the fire marshal happy.”
She nodded. “Definitely someone you want to keep on your side.”
“It’s a great suggestion, Lili. I’ll talk to the project manager and see if we can make it happen.”
“Make what happen?” a brother’s voice asked from just inside the doorway.
Lili’s shoulders stiffened when she realized Jordan had joined them. Parker sense
d a huge spike in her anxiety. The last time Lili had been at the vineyard Jordan had still been running on alpha male hockey mode and hadn’t been the friendliest. This was the first time they’d seen each other since Lili had come back to Sunshine.
“Lili. You remember our brother Jordan. Formerly known as Mr. Intimidation. Now not-so-fondly known as Groomzilla.”
“Fu—” Jordan bit back the curse that would have been aimed at Parker. Then he plastered a smile on his face and tried to present himself as Mr. Pleasant. “Glad you decided to give us another chance, Lili.”
“I think we all have to give each other a chance,” she said. “We deserve that at least, don’t you think?”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
Parker’s heart warmed even as his gut twisted. Between the tragedy and the lies, the surprises and the devastation, they’d all been through enough. Now was the time to heal.
If only it was that easy.
“So what do you think of this place?” Jordan asked Lili. “Think our brother will have everything ready in time for my wedding reception?”
“You’re getting married?” Lili asked in the same manner one might ask a husky bulldog if it had been neutered.
Parker laughed his ass off and received the flash of his brother’s middle finger for his efforts.
“Yeah. Me. Go figure.” Jordan grinned to put her at ease. “Want to help? These jerks we call our brothers said I should look into getting a wedding planner because my fiancée is too busy to handle everything by herself.”
“A bride who’s too busy to plan her own wedding? That’s new.”
“Long story. Not the first go-round for her. The first one was—” The bitter face Jordan made pretty much explained it all.
“Ugly?”
Jordan nodded. “I want this one to erase the other one from her memory.”
“Awww.” Lili patted Jordan’s arm. “That was so sweet it almost made me forget you’re intimidating as heck.”
“Don’t let him fool you,” Parker said. “Groomzilla. I’m telling you.”
A smile popped up on Lili’s face. “If you’d like I could come up with a few ideas to help you out.”
