Tart

by Lauren Dane

  “Yes.” She licked her suddenly dry lips again. “Though some things are worth losing sleep over.”

  The way he paused, sharpened his focus, sent a shiver through her.

  “Yes, they are, Juliet. Are you going to make me lose more sleep than I have already?”

  He stood so very close that each time he took a breath he very nearly touched her, the heat of his skin brushed against hers.

  It was broad daylight in the middle of town and yet it felt intimate between them just then.

  “I make you lose sleep?” It had been a long time since she’d flirted with so much intent.

  He nodded. “And even when I finally get to sleep I dream of you.”

  She smiled, flattered and breathless. And then she wondered if there were other things he did thinking of her. Hot, masturbatory things. A flush went through her, leaving her sweaty at the thought of him, fist around his cock, her name on his lips as he jerked off.

  “I’ll see you tonight.” He bent and slid his lips over hers. Just a breath of a touch and she arched to keep contact as he began to straighten.

  Then his arm was around her waist, pulling her close to him and his mouth owned hers.

  Her heart pounded as he flicked his tongue against her bottom lip, she gasped when he nipped it, pulling it slowly and then releasing it only to lave the sting.

  “You’re a temptation, Juliet Lamprey.” He stood back, sliding his tongue along his lips as if to taste her one last time. She nearly leapt at him.

  Instead she took a deep breath and got herself back under control.

  She pulled a pad from the pocket of her apron and wrote her address down. “See you at six.”

  • • •

  “I think you should wear the navy-blue dress. It’s such a pretty color on you.” Gillian sat on Jules’s bed as Jules tried to figure out what to wear on her date. It wasn’t like she’d never dated, for goodness sake. But after that kiss earlier that day, Gideon made her nervous. In a good way.

  She held the blue dress up against herself as she looked in the mirror. “You think? I don’t even know where he’s taking me. I should have asked, I guess. What if this is too formal?”

  Jules pulled the dress on and zipped it at the side. The blue was good. Didn’t wash her out and make her look like she’d been without sun for months.

  “Then he clearly has no idea where to take a beautiful woman on the first date and so we won’t like him at all.” Gillian said it so primly it made Jules laugh. Which was most likely Gillian’s intent anyway. “It’s a nice evening. Not too cold. A light cardigan should be good.”

  Jules knew which one she needed and pulled out a bright red sweater. Soft as a breath.

  “Perfect.”

  “One of Daisy’s presents. If she ever decided to be a personal shopper she’d make a killing.” Jules secured it with a pretty white belt. “Shoes. Hm.” She scanned her shoe racks and smiled when she found the perfect pair.

  She turned to the mirror and stepped into the navy pumps with the little white bow tied on the front. Gillian had been right, Jules thought as she looked at her reflection in the nearby mirror. The dress was flattering. Fit her just right and accentuated all her best parts. Her boobs in particular looked freaking awesome.

  “My girls look like beauty queens in this dress.” She waggled her brows at Gillian’s reflection.

  “They really do. You look beautiful and one hundred percent Juliet Lamprey in that outfit. I really don’t know how you can look as if you just walked out of a milk advertisement or a magazine ad at any and all times. In the morning you look like a cereal commercial. I’d be quite cross about that if you weren’t also so wonderful at baking things and being my friend.”

  Gillian grinned at her.

  “Thanks for the pep talk.”

  “You don’t even need one. You know him already. That takes away a big part of the anxiety. And you’re gorgeous so that will work in your favor, I hear.”

  Jules laughed. “I know him, yes. In a way. But that’s kid stuff. He’s a man now. I don’t know him as a man. Not yet. But Patrick is such a wonderful person it’s hard to believe he grew up badly.”

  Gillian’s features were sad a moment. “He’s a lovely gentleman. I was sorry to hear about the loss of his wife.”

  “Yeah, they were very good together.”

  “What’s the story about the ex-wife? Gideon’s, I mean. You said he’d been married.”

  “I don’t know much more than that. I heard it from Mary, who’d heard it from Cal. I haven’t spoken to him in several years. Well, other than at his house and at Tart. Not enough to really get any details. At the funeral and wake I never got a chance to speak with him and then he left. I guess I’ll find out.”

  “So you were quite circumspect last night in front of Adrian. What does this Gideon really look like? Spare no lascivious detail.”

  Gillian could be so prim and buttoned up on the outside but just underneath she had a lovely sense of humor that could be just as bawdy as Jules’s.

  “He’s gorgeous. He’s long and lean. Blond with a beard and mustache. Not like a weirdo beard, he’s not starting a doomsday cult or anything.”

  She decided to add a few bangle bracelets and a pair of earrings her mother had sent her from Bali, where she and Jules’s aunt were spending a few months just hanging out. Some lipstick—red, she decided, to match the sweater. She smoothed her hair back to catch a few flyaways.

  “Blond like honey. His hair I mean. A little too long, which looks sexy of course. Curls. I bet they’re soft. I can’t believe I didn’t get a good feel earlier when he kissed me.”

  “You can be forgiven. Some men have the power to kiss the sense right out of you, and before you know it you’re getting married.”

  Jules let herself be calmed by Gillian’s way. That funny, matter-of-fact teasing she did to put people at ease was one of her finest qualities.

  “Yes, I believe he’s one of those. He’s got slow, sexy green eyes. Oh! Really nice arms. The kind of man who works with his body. I bet the rest of him is just as hard and defined.” She transferred a lipstick, her phone, some money and a credit card into her bag.

  “He’s . . . well, for want of a better phrase, he’s a cowboy, complete with boots and worn jeans.”

  “Well now. I can most certainly understand the appeal of that.” They headed out to the living room where Gillian leaned against the couch. “I’ve been arguing with myself as to whether or not I should say anything.”

  Jules knew. Cal.

  “I’ve watched you watch Cal. And watched Cal watch you for years now. This Gideon is not the same as the others you’ve dated. I’ve never seen you like this with anyone before. Just . . . what about Cal?”

  “Yeah, Gillian, what about Cal? Huh? All he’s done is look. He’s never made a move. I’m thirty-three years old and he’s never made a move. Am I supposed to wait around and pine forever? I want what you have with Adrian. I want a man in my life. Gideon is different. Or, well, he feels different anyway. Who knows? He may not be. He might be a jerk who never makes me come. But I won’t know if I don’t give this a try. I can’t wait for Cal. I have to move on and I will. Cal has moved on, for god’s sake. He’s had how many girlfriends and boyfriends?”

  She’d waited so long and he’d never stepped up. As much as she’d wanted Cal, it was time to let go of something that would never happen.

  “You’re right of course. I just love you. Him too. I want you to be happy. And you should move on.”

  “I bet no one ever says, What about Jules? to him. It’s stupid. And while I know everyone is just trying to be nice, it’s not going to happen. There is no Jules and Cal, no matter how much I might have wished it, or you all wanted it. I’ve wanted Cal for a long time. I can’t lie about that. But he doesn’t want me back. Not the same way. It’s long past time I move on. And so I am.”

  Gillian sighed. “I know. I know. For what it’s worth, I absolutely believe
with all my heart that he does want you. But you’re right to say he’s never moved on it and you have to let it go. I don’t even know Gideon; he could be far better for you and you should make that choice yourself. I’m sorry.”

  She hugged Gillian. “Don’t be sorry. You all have brought him up in one way or another. I think for a long time it was expected. People just assumed it would happen. Anyway, it’s not going to, and I have this other thing and it’s just a date, but it feels like more. Gideon is different from those other dates I’ve had.” She shrugged. “This is a good time in all our lives.”

  It was. She needed to keep that first and foremost in her mind. Gideon came with all sorts of possibilities. Which was pretty cool.

  • • •

  Gideon drove up the street slowly; it was dark and he hadn’t been to her house before. But he knew which one was hers without having to glance at the address. Just a simple white house with dark blue shutters and window boxes. He parked and walked up to her door, pausing to smile at the wind chimes she’d hung from a nearby tree and all the birdhouses she had. Pretty and classic. A lot like the woman who lived there.

  This was the first date he’d taken seriously since his divorce. Juliet Lamprey was far more than some woman he wanted to get naked with. He’d been accused of being too laid back, but it wasn’t that. He fought for things he wanted. He’d failed once and it was a pretty big failure. But some things weren’t meant to be. Some things can’t be fixed by only one person trying.

  That instant sort of zing and attraction he’d experienced with Jules on his granddad’s porch had woken him up from a long nap of sorts. He was awake now and hungry. For her.

  He’d been looking forward to this more than he’d wanted to admit, and when she opened her door looking absolutely gorgeous, he couldn’t help but smile and take her hands. “You look beautiful.”

  She smiled back with shiny red lips. “Thank you. I was just about to say you clean up well, but I realized you’re just as alluring in jeans as you are in dress pants.”

  Pausing just a moment, she tipped her chin to look up at him. He leaned in to kiss her cheek but she smelled so good he ended up with his face at her nape, breathing her in.

  “Um, yeah, sorry about that.” He stepped back but she didn’t look upset. She looked . . . interested. A good sign. “You smell good.”

  Her smile tipped up a thousand watts. “You’re full of compliments tonight. A girl could get used to that.”

  He led her down the walk to his car. “That’s the point.”

  5

  She sipped her wine and looked at him over the rim of the glass. “So, I know you like to skateboard and ride bikes, but since you graduated college and stopped visiting here so often, what have you been up to?”

  He forked up some of the crab cake from his plate. “I’ve spent the last few years traveling.”

  “Why? I mean, as part of your job or did you have an epiphany and go off on a grand adventure?”

  “A little bit of all that, I suppose.”

  “I’d really like to travel more. That was my New Year’s resolution this year. I haven’t gone on a single trip yet though. My mom is currently in Bali with my aunt and I’d love to go visit.”

  “Did she move there?” That surprised him. He’d never really imagined Mrs. Lamprey to be the type to up and move across the globe.

  “No.” She hesitated. “She and my father divorced. God, seven years ago now. Anyway, she . . . changed a lot after that. For the better.” She added before he could get worried. Even so, there was an unspoken mostly at the end of that sentence.

  “So she travels around the world now?”

  Jules nodded. “Pretty much, yes. I guess she’s finding herself.” Her shrug was supposed to be casual, but Gideon noted the strain around her eyes. “She comes back here once a year or so. Spends a few weeks here and some time with my brother and his family. Pretty much the rest of the year she travels. My aunt sold her house and retired from her job and joined her. They’ve spent time in South America and Europe and now it’s Bali. I admire her—my mom, I mean. Her entire life was turned upside down. She married my dad on her eighteenth birthday. They ran the diner for my entire life and then you know, it all fell apart and she remade herself.”

  “And your dad?”

  She sighed and he watched her body language tighten up. “He lives in San Diego with his wife and their two kids. One is a preschooler and the other is in kindergarten.”

  Once again he was reminded of why he was so relieved he’d never had kids with Alana. At least he hadn’t had to deal with that kind of pain. “Ah. So you don’t have any sort of relationship with him?”

  She dipped her bread in the olive oil and chewed slowly. He could tell she was thinking of how to put the words. He liked that.

  “He’s my father. I love him if for no other reason than that. But he’s not the same man who raised me. Or hell, maybe he is and I’m just old enough to see it. It’s easier not to be around him. He’s got a new life anyway. A new family. So you know, I get presents that only underline just how little he knows me, but he remembers so that’s a plus. He doesn’t come up here. I run a business and can’t just jet down there, even if I wanted to or felt welcome. We have the equivalent of a Facebook friendship. Like we went to high school together or something.” She shrugged again and looked lost as she sipped her wine.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m a big girl. I don’t want him to be unhappy. He seems to be in love with his wife. My brothers, and that’s odd to say, but they’re my brothers, just the same, are sweet. She’s pretty—his wife—so they made pretty kids. I wanted to hate her. I’m not crazy about her still, but she’s all right. She loves him. I hope he doesn’t do to her what he did to my mother. I hope he’s learned his lesson. I’m not holding my breath over it, but it’s really not my problem anyway. And wow, I’m sorry I’ve totally turned this conversation into a downer.”

  He reached across the table and took her hand. “No, you didn’t. I asked, you answered. So how did you end up with Tart and why did you decide to change the diner into a bakery?”

  “On Ethan’s birthday—you remember him right? My brother?” He nodded and she continued. “Anyway, at his birthday dinner, right after the cake had been sliced, my dad got up and told us all he’d filed for divorce that day. He was getting married to his girlfriend, who by the way is my age. Oh and she was knocked up.”

  He sat back, wide-eyed.

  “I know, right? It’s like a plotline from a television drama. Anyway, my mom just sort of lost it. She made us go and when I turned up again the next day she’d broken every last piece of their china. That china of hers was so special. I remember growing up how she’d buy little pieces of it here and there when they could afford it. She asked me to take out the trash and when I got back inside she handed me the paperwork signing the building over to me. They gave my brother the house. She told me that at least my father had been good for something and she wanted us to have the business and the house.

  “We tried to talk her out of it, but she was adamant. So. I wanted to make the space my own. I didn’t want to run a diner. So I talked to Gillian, that’s my best friend, and she suggested a bakery because she knew how much I loved to bake. It really just sort of went from there.”

  “Looks like you’ve been really successful there. Granddad told me Tart was even in the Northwest guidebooks as a place to go when in town.”

  She grinned. “I know! Crazy, isn’t it? It’s good for business, but it’s also great for my ego.” She looked him over. “So now it’s your turn.”

  He figured he was up next and in the face of her honesty could he really not give her the same?

  “I was in college but restless. It wasn’t the right place for me. I met this girl.”

  She laughed then. “Oh, how many times has that sentence been part of a story?”

  He grinned. “Yeah. Well, that girl lived in Wyoming and when she took me h
ome to meet her family I fell in love with the area. I got some work on a ranch, learning the ropes so to speak, and when I’d socked enough money away, I bought a cattle ranch with my brother-in-law. We ran it together for over a decade. It was good. I loved the work, loved being outside so much. Loved the animals and the land.” He’d loved the feeling of looking out their bedroom window and knowing he owned all he could see around them. It had meant something to build it with her. Then.

  The server came and took the appetizers away and brought their entrees. He liked the way Jules dug into her steak and sighed happily at the first bite. Liked that she wasn’t afraid to eat or enjoy the process. Made him wonder again what she’d be like in bed.

  “But then we got divorced. I tried to stay on but it became pretty clear after a while that it wasn’t possible. So I sold my half to my ex-brother-in-law. And like your mom, I headed out to do some traveling. I didn’t go to Bali though.”

  “Where did you go?”

  “Let’s see . . . I started out by going to New York to visit some friends. Hung out for a few months.” He’d had a lot of firsts in New York, including his first experience with a man. “Then I went to Spain a while. England. Italy. I was in Japan for a time. I’d been consulting with an old friend who ranches beef and he invited me to stay with him. Learned a hell of a lot. The quakes happened when I was there. I gotta tell you, I’ve never been quite so freaked out to be on an island. When I left I visited my parents in Oakland for a while. My sister lives in Eugene so I visited her and all my nephews. She’s got five kids, all boys. I don’t know how she makes it through each day.” But he’d loved every minute of the total and utter chaos of his sister’s home. Loved his rough-and-tumble nephews.

  “Wow, I’m envious of all that great stuff.”

  He clinked his wineglass to hers. “It was great stuff, yes. I met so many wonderful people. Experienced things I’d never imagined before. Hell, before my divorce I’d never been out of the country. I like travel. But I like roots too. So my grandmother passed and my parents and my aunt were trying to get my granddad to move in with one of them and give up the farm. But that’s his home, you know? I came out for the funeral and the wake and he and I had a long talk about his future and the future of the farm. He asked me if I’d be willing to come out and stay on, help him run the place, take over when the time came. I’ve got a lot of ideas, things I’d like to try. The land means a lot to me. Working the farm with my granddad means a lot to me. And then you.” He nodded. “Yes, this is all good too.” He was a blunt man. He didn’t like games or pretending he wasn’t interested when he was. He wanted her to know up front what his expectations were.