An hour and a half later, they paid a dollar to enter the flea market and walked hand-in-hand down the first aisle of vendors.
“The name of the game here is to negotiate the best deal for you and the vendor,” she said. “They mark their prices up because they know you’ll offer less.”
He gave her a peck on the cheek. “Let the negotiating begin.” He moved toward the first booth and looked over the trinkets until he found a heart-shaped box. They priced it at five dollars. That seemed to be the standard cost of things.
“How much will you take for this?” He held up the box and opened the lid to show a red velvet interior.
Funny because it was the same box Danielle picked up weeks ago. At that time, she had wondered if her own heart would always be so empty, and now, she knew the answer was no. Her heart surged with feelings for James. She wouldn’t call it love, but it was close. How could a woman not love a man who made her feel the way he did? Every cell in her body called out for him.
The vendor looked down at her dog, a mutt with scraggly fur and a snaggle tooth. “I’ll take five dollars.”
James pulled a ten from his wallet and handed it to the older woman. “I’ll give you ten.”
“But I only asked for five,” she told him.
He tucked the box into Danielle’s hand and said, “Sometimes we get more than we asked for.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and moved toward the next booth. “Take care of my heart, okay?”
In that second, she fell head over heels in love with him.
“You’re a poor negotiator.”
He shook his head. “How can you put a price on a heart?”
They made their way down the first aisle until they reached the vendor who sold cross-stitch.
“Before you came along, early bedtimes and television were my life.”
“Glad I arrived in time to save you.”
“You didn’t save me from cookbooks.” She pulled him toward the table and picked up a book about pickling.
“Why cooking?” He took a step back. “Obviously, the books will come in handy, but most people choose a hobby they’ll enjoy.”
“It was books or cats, but now … it’s you.”
“You’re far too pretty and interesting to be a woman with a dozen cats. Besides, I’m a dog person. If we ever get a pet, I’m voting for a chocolate lab.”
He talked of them getting a dog like this was a forever deal. Her heart skipped a beat, hoping he was right.
“Did you have a pet as a child?”
He chuckled. “We got a Boston terrier when my parents divorced.”
“That’s so sad.”
He shrugged. “I was grown, and my dad was lonely. He named him Alimony to remind him of the cost of love.”
“I get it. I’ve been paying for my mistake since the day I said I do.”
They moved down the row. “I paid for mine with one big check, haven’t heard from her in years. It’s too bad more marriages don’t last.”
“Some do. My parents have been married forever.” She tucked the heart box he’d purchased into her pocket so she’d have a free hand to pick up other things. There was no way she was letting James go. He was a keeper. “When I say forever, I mean it. They grew up together. Dad’s mom was best friends with my Mom’s mom. My parents shared a playpen every day while their moms shared coffee.”
“Have you thought about having children?”
“I definitely want kids, but I don’t want to have them alone. You?”
He stopped and looked at her. “I definitely want kids. I can see them now. They’d have your eyes and your hair.” He palmed her cheek. “Your skin and your heart. Or my heart since you have it in your pocket.”
Her ovaries cartwheeled. Is he talking about their kids?
“As long as we’re playing, I think your eyes and hair would be better.” She ruffled her fingers through his thick waves. “I also think they need your patience and coffee making skills.”
“I’m not playing, Dani. Our children will be amazing.”
He was seriously talking about having kids with her. This was a forever kind of relationship. She froze where she stood. Was she getting a second chance at love? After the first disaster, she hadn’t considered the possibility because the fallout was too painful. Then again, she thought about the last few weeks and how James had chipped at the ice surrounding her heart. It was fully thawed and warm again.
A thought occurred to her. Maybe it was the Recipes for Love Cookbook. She had picked Forever Fudge Cake.
He tugged her over to a table with games, boxes of Legos, and Lincoln Logs. His inner child came out when he reached for the Erector Set.
“I had one of these as a kid.” He ran his hand over the box. “I’ve always loved to build. The other parts of the business aren’t my thing. I never got into the numbers game or the operations.”
“You’d be great at them all.” She handed the vendor a ten-dollar bill and put the Erector Set in his hands.
“I don’t need an Erector Set.”
“I saw the light of excitement in your eyes. You definitely need it.”
“I need you.” He set the box on the table and pulled her in for a kiss.
“I run a PG table. Move it along,” the vendor said.
James picked up his new toy, and they turned the corner to walk down another aisle.
Danielle laid her head on his arm as they passed table after table of stuff they didn’t need. In that moment, the world could fade away, and she wouldn’t care. As long as James was at her side, everything would be perfect.
“Since we’re getting to know each other better, what would you consider the most important thing in a relationship?” she asked.
He didn’t answer immediately. She liked that. Whatever he would say would not be an off-the-cuff response but something thoughtful and from his heart.
“Trust. Without it, you have nothing. What about you?”
She considered a lot of things like patience and kindness. Forgiveness and humility. Resourcefulness, perseverance, and teamwork. She sounded like the cookbook. When it came down to it, James was right.
“Trust is the foundation on which we build everything.”
A squeal made her lift her head in time to see Trish rush toward them. She opened her arms wide and plowed straight ahead on a crash course for a hug.
“Brace yourself,” Danielle warned.
James held his Erector Set to his chest like armor.
The impact jarred them, but they held their ground because two were stronger than one.
“You made it,” Trish said.
James cocked his head. “You must be Trish.”
She stood back with her hands on her hips and hummed out an mm mm mm. “You’re the hottie with the hammer.” She turned to Danielle. “Has he swung it for you?”
“I’ll pretend you didn’t ask that.” Dani waved Rob over. “Can you control your wife?”
He threw his hands in the air. “Nope. She’s who she is, and I love her for it.” He tugged Trish to his side and kissed her on the head. “Authenticity is hard to find these days.”
James shifted the box to his left hand and shook Rob’s. “Nice to me you. I’m Dani’s boyfriend, James.”
Could a woman climax on words alone? He’d claimed her right there in the third aisle of the flea market in front of her best friend.
“Nice to meet you,” Rob said. He pointed to Danielle. “Be good to her, or my wife will hurt you or burn down your house.”
Danielle laughed. “I’d say he’s joking, but it’s probably true. Best thing to do is buy insurance from her. She’ll never want to pay the claim, so you’re probably safer.”
James nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind when I get a place.”
Trish’s eyes lit up. She dug through her purse until she found what she was looking for. “If you’re in the market for a house, call my uncle Ezra. He’ll treat you right.” She handed the card to James.
&
nbsp; “He split the commission on my house. Three percent can be a lot depending on the price,” Danielle said.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” His stomach growled. “I’m sorry about that. All I’ve had to eat since dinner was toast and a half jar of chocolate.”
He knew exactly what he was doing because he looked from Trish to her and back again.
“Best dessert ever,” Trish said with a giggle. She hip-checked Danielle. “You dirty girl.”
Rob held up his hand. “Wait a minute. Did you give them our last jar?”
Danielle knew her friend far too well to be embarrassed. “It was six ounces of dark chocolate that took a fifteen-minute shower to wash off.”
Trish made a pffft sound and waved a hand at her. “You’re not supposed to shower it off. You’re supposed to lick it off.”
James laughed. “When we finished, I was nearing a diabetic coma.”
Rob broke in. “So that’s a yes? We have no more good-time chocolate?”
Trish lifted on tiptoes and kissed him. “Don’t be silly, there’s a case coming tomorrow.” She looked at Danielle. “For both of us. I love prime shipping.”
“A case? What are we going to do with a case?”
James pulled her to his side. “Don’t you worry, sweetheart. You’re not the only one with a sweet tooth.”
Trish’s attention went beyond them. “That’s the one.” She pointed to a lamp on a table ahead. “Nice to meet you, James.” Looking at Danielle, she said, “We’ll talk later.” She tugged Rob’s hand, and they left.
“I like them.” His expression turned serious. “Rob’s right. Authenticity is hard to find.”
“So is good food,” she said. “I know a great hot dog stand near the park. We can grab one and nap on the lawn when we’re finished.”
“I’ve never napped in a park. I’m happy to try it, but if we nap at your house, we can finish that jar of chocolate.”
They walked out of the flea market and climbed into his truck.
“You’re right. I’ve got frozen pizza or peanut butter and jelly.”
Chapter 18
James
Allie was right. The furniture in the offices was the perfect scale for the space. James stood inside what would be his office. He chose this one because it was directly across from Dani’s.
“This looks great.” Dani snuck up on him, which was a hard task to pull off since she wore heels every day to work and the cadence of her walk stuck in his brain. She was a tip-tap tip-tap person whereas his sister had a clickety-clack-clunk kind of walk.
He pulled her into his arms for a kiss and a hug. “I missed you this morning.” He’d left her place late last night and went back to his father’s cold empty house. It was a long, lonely evening.
“I missed you too, but we can’t do this here.” She wiggled from his hold. “Someone might see us.”
“Does it matter?” he asked. “Are you embarrassed to be my girlfriend?”
She stepped so close their chests touched. “In what universe would it embarrass me to be yours?”
He palmed her hips and tugged her closer. “No one will care what we do.” He nuzzled the curve of her neck. “We could break in this new desk.” He reached around and knocked on the wood.
“No, we can’t. You don’t even know whose desk this is. As tempting as your offer sounds, this is my job, and I can’t risk it.”
“What if this was my office?”
“The question is irrelevant because it’s not your office. What if it’s Allie’s or Julian’s, and I have to sit in here for a meeting? I’d never hear a word they said because I’d be thinking about what we did on that desk.”
Resignation came in a hearty huff. “How about lunch then? I’ll pick up salads from Daisy’s.” He winked. “We can try out the studio apartment.”
She looked around before she pressed a chaste kiss to his lips and stepped away. “Lunch sounds great. Until then, I’m interviewing people for my old job.” She looked at her watch. “I’ve got to go, but can we meet in my office at noon?”
“Your office sounds perfect.” He glanced across the hallway and regretted putting in a wall of glass. At the time, he thought it would open up the place, but now he realized she’d get no privacy, which meant they’d get none. The studio was the best thing about this floor outside of Dani.
His phone buzzed. He had reminders scheduled for his meetings. “I’m off to the recreation department. By week’s end, I’ll have a crew tearing the place apart.” They walked out of the room.
“Don’t kill him,” she teased.
“What if I just hurt him a little?” If only that was an option. The more he heard about Chris, the more he wanted to introduce a fist to his face, but James was a gentleman and he was a professional. There was no need to hurt Chris because if given enough rope, the man would hang himself.
“That also sounds appealing, but I don’t want to visit you in jail. Not up for the no-contact clause or the body cavity checks.”
“Now, that sounds interesting to me.” At the elevator, he gave her another quick kiss. She turned around and walked to the conference room while he went to visit her ex.
Since the outdoor recreation department was on the other side of the resort near the lake, Chris wasn’t under anyone’s constant supervision. Somehow the security system never seemed to function on that part of the property.
“Hey, Chris.”
Chris nodded toward James before he shoved the rest of a donut into his mouth. “What brings you out here?” he said around a mouthful of food.
He pointed to the box tucked under his arm that he picked up on his way. “New security cameras and I wanted to let you know that we’ll be remodeling next week.”
Chris turned around and looked at the shelves haphazardly stacked with everything from fishing gear to ice skates.
“I’ve got a system. They shouldn’t mess with something that’s working.”
Nothing was working in the outdoor recreation department, including Chris. “I hear the boss lady wants a comprehensive inventory. I figured you could count everything while you move it into temporary storage.”
“The boss lady”—he air quoted—“can want whatever she wants, but it doesn’t mean she’ll get it.”
“Sounds like you don’t like her.”
“Like her? Not so much anymore. Hell, I stayed married to her faithfully for a few weeks. That was actually a record for me. If she hadn’t caught me, I’d still be her husband. She couldn’t cook worth a damn, but she sure could—”
James turned and walked away before the idiot said another word. They were both lucky because he would risk going to jail for a chance at one good hit.
He checked in with the various crews working on-site and then headed to Daisy’s to get their lunch. On the way back, he picked up coffee.
The closer he got to the resort, the quicker his heart beat. She did that to him. It beat harder and faster today knowing that he would come clean. They were a breath away from saying I-love-you, and she was entitled to know who he really was.
More than once, he’d slipped about his life and his family. He’d done what he intended to do, and that was get into the building to see how things ran. He got to know everyone without the formality of being an owner of Luxe.
The first few builds they did, he remained anonymous. It was never his intent to be sneaky or dishonest. He was the silent behind-the-scenes partner. People were real with him and didn’t feed him what they thought he wanted to hear. They told the truth. Like Rob said yesterday, authenticity was a rare quality. Too bad he had to be inauthentic to get others to be genuine.
The problem with the plan this time was he didn’t expect to fall in love. Love complicated everything, and his undercover boss scenario would not last for long. He had to tell her.
When the elevator arrived on the corporate floor, he walked past the conference room. Dani was sitting with a woman. He could see by her body language that she liked t
he interviewee. She’d let her shoulders fall into their natural relaxed position, and the smile on her face was sincere.
He held up the bag and the coffee and nodded toward her office. She raised her hand, showing she’d be five minutes.
He took the subordinate seat in front of the desk and waited and waited and waited. He had a one o’clock appointment with his sister to talk about the next remodel project. They worked on the things that mattered most to their guests. Polls showed visitors rated the rooms least important as long as they were clean, comfortable, and relatively updated. It was the amenities the resort provided that spoke to their clientele. The pool, the spa, and the outdoor recreation options were huge, along with food and beverage—especially beverage. He had no worries about Flynn. In fact, he was his first choice for general manager, but Allie pointed out that promoting him would put the quality of the food at risk. Flynn ran a tight kitchen, with little turnover and few complaints.
Somehow his sister was usually right. Regarding Dani, she was probably right too. He planned to sell Dani on the benefits of him being an owner. He hoped to convince her that he was the same man. In his eyes, he was, but would he be in hers?
At fifteen minutes to one, she rushed in. “I’m so sorry. She had so many questions.”
He’d used the time to make the meal special for her. He’d laid it all out and folded her paper napkin into a swan. He’d doctored her coffee so it was mostly sugar with a touch of caffeine.
“Good interview, then?” He forked a bite of his salad.
“Yes, I have a couple more, but she’s at the top of the list.”
He swallowed his bite. “That’s great. What qualities are most important to you in an employee?”
She consumed her salad like she hadn’t eaten all day and knowing Dani she probably hadn’t.
“Honesty for sure. I think it’s important to surround yourself with people who aren’t afraid to tell it like it is. I don’t want to hear things are perfect and then find out there’s something huge lurking under the surface that I don’t know about.”
“Some surprises are good.”
A Tablespoon of Temptation (A Recipe for Love Novel Book 1) Page 14
