by Addison Cole
“Yes, please. Make it twelve.”
Kurt reached for her hand. “So what now? We prepare better for next week’s meeting?”
We? I love that. “Yes, but I have other decisions to make, too. I think I should delay next week’s meeting until I have a better handle on things. They asked about things I haven’t even thought of, like backup services in case the electricity went out and turnaround time on replacement stock if there are issues. And as Leslie, the owner, walked me out, he said that if we decided to work together in the future, it would likely involve more than just the Wellfleet store, which means I’d need a bigger kitchen with more stovetops, maybe a real facility to work in.” She took a long drink of the wine cooler.
“Is that what you want?” Kurt asked.
“You know what? I wasn’t sure when I went in how committed I was, but once I was there, talking about it and thinking about what I wanted, I realized that yes, that is exactly what I want.” She assessed her friends’ faces and thought she saw a combination of surprise and support. When her eyes met Kurt’s, there was no doubt about what she saw in those pools of blue. Depths of support and maybe even a little pride. “I love making jam and jelly, and baking breads, and I’m even thinking that at some point I can expand into making tarts and other baked items that work well with jam. I know it sounds crazy, and I know I’m the most unorganized, forgetful, whim-seeking person on earth, but I think—”
Kurt interrupted her. “I don’t think it sounds crazy at all. I think it sounds like you just found your passion, and when it comes to something that means that much to you, the rest will fall into place.”
“Kurt, I have a clone machine inside. Could you please step inside my cottage for a minute?” Amy opened the glass door. “Pretty please?”
He laughed and brought his eyes right back to Leanna. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Will you help me figure out the organization side of things? I mean, I really suck at research and, well, anything that requires structure.” Maybe I can’t do this.
“Of course.” Kurt pulled her onto his lap. “But you don’t suck at anything. You just haven’t gone down that path yet.”
“Um, have you forgotten little miss OCD here?” Bella nodded in Jenna’s direction. “Jenna can organize your ingredient lists, turnaround times, etc. And I kick butt on PowerPoint, so I can help you make the brochures pretty.”
“And I can help you look into locations if you need more space to work. I’m good at haggling.” Amy went inside and came back out with a newspaper.
“Thanks, you guys. But I need to decide where I’m going to live. I mean, I’m not even sure where I’m going to be after the summer, and if I really do this, I have to settle that end of things before looking for a better facility to work in. Gosh, I also have to decide if this is a summer business or a year-round endeavor.”
“Which way are you leaning?” Kurt asked.
She shrugged. “I guess when I first started, I thought it would be kind of part-time and year-round. You know, work the flea markets in the summer, maybe indoor fairs in the winter, and see how it goes. Then I had the idea of trying to connect with grocers. I never thought I would have a chance, but now I’m not sure that I don’t have a chance. Then again, I don’t even have one contract, so maybe I should just stick to my plan of working from the cottage, at least for the summer, and then, if I am able to secure enough to keep me busy during the winter, I can always put more time into it and look for a better facility at that point. I would love to see this become a real business.”
“That’s what I would do,” Amy said. “It seems like a big jump to plan for a full-time, year-round business based on what you hope you can do.”
“But how can you ever accomplish more if you don’t hope and plan for it?” Kurt touched her hand. “Not that Leanna has to do more. I’m just curious about your thought process. If you build a business based on a three- or four-month schedule, then you’re winding down at summer’s end, whereas if you are trying to really build a brand, and a business, you’re marketing and moving forward in the fall, and I wonder if it affects cutting deals with suppliers?” He had that serious look in his eyes again. “Maybe I’m way off base, and I am definitely not trying to push you to do more. I’m just playing devil’s advocate. When we first met, you told me how much you loved what you were doing and that you hoped this would be the thing that fit your personality best. Why not plan for it?”
“I hadn’t thought that far out, but I’m not sure I want to be locked into a facility for twelve months out of the year. What if I take a twelve-month lease and…? I don’t know. Something in my life changes? Or I don’t have enough contracts to cover the rent? That would be awful.” She bit her lower lip. “I need to think about this, but we can still work on everything else, if you’re sure you guys still don’t mind helping.”
“I’m in,” Bella said.
“Definitely in. Why don’t we plan on working together Saturday after the flea market closes? That gives you a few days to think about it before we get started.”
“Suits me!” Amy said as she finished her wine cooler.
Leanna felt Kurt’s arms tighten around her waist, and she leaned her forehead against his. “How much of your day did I suck away from you?” She saw a glint in his eyes and wondered if he was thinking about the evening before on his deck, just as she’d been.
He cleared his throat. “Not much. I’ll have to write tonight for a while to catch up, but that’s okay, and Pepper was happy to see me.”
She wiggled her butt on his lap and whispered, “Not as happy as you are to see me, I hope.”
Chapter Eighteen
LEANNA AWOKE EARLY Friday morning and peeled her arm from Kurt’s chest carefully, trying not to wake him or Pepper, who was curled up at his feet. After barbequing with the girls last night and celebrating her first big decision with margaritas, they’d stayed at her cottage. She worried about how much writing time Kurt was giving up to be with her, but he assured her that he was capable of managing his time and his deadline.
She loved seeing him in her bed, and waking up to him now felt like something she expected, rather than hoped for. How did that happen so fast? They’d closed the windows last night when they made love so the others wouldn’t use their sounds as entertainment—and tease her about it later. She wasn’t exactly a quiet lover, but Kurt didn’t seem to mind. Last night he’d whispered everything he was going to do to her before he did it, and hearing those naughty things in his gravelly voice had aroused her almost as much as the things they’d done.
She lifted up on one elbow and whispered, “I’ve fallen hard for you, Kurt Remington.” She lay back down and closed her eyes. “Yup. I feel it in my crazy heart. I love you.”
Leanna got out of bed and padded quietly into the kitchen in her cami and boy shorts skivvies and sent an email to Daisy Chain, requesting to reschedule their meeting. She needed time to prepare so she didn’t blow that meeting, too. A hobby. She thought about the comment Leslie had made and realized now that he’d seen right through her. She had been thinking of the business as a hobby, even if she’d been verbalizing something else. She knew the minute the rebuttal left her mouth that a hobby was not what she was looking for, and she was determined to make this business work.
She took a deep breath and began typing a list of the things she needed to do in order to move forward with her plans.
Figure out where I want to live in the fall! Cape?
Kurt?
Product list
Ingredient list
Delivery timetable
Backup generator? Cost? Facility cost? Share space? Check out bakeries?
Talk to an attorney about contracts and insurance liabilities
Employees?
Then she began another list, a list she’d never before contemplated, a list that she’d made fun of other women for creating. Nonetheless, she began typing.
What I want in a boyfriend:
Kind, considerate, empathetic, fun, interesting, careful, smart! Has to be willing to listen to me talk. A lot. Can’t get mad about my awkwardness in bed. Good in bed. Really good. Maybe even helpful. Encourage me in every way. Sexy. Very sexy. Good body. Likes my friends.
She pulled back from the computer and realized that she wasn’t just creating a list of what she wanted in a man. She was describing Kurt. With pinpoint accuracy.
She sighed. I’ve got it bad.
“You’re up early.”
Startled, she closed the laptop and spun around. Kurt’s hands were stretched above his head as he used the doorframe for support and arched his broad chest forward in a stretch as slow and graceful as a Cheshire cat, wearing nothing but his boxer briefs.
“You should have a warning sign on that body.” She rose, and he folded her into his arms.
“If I had a warning sign, you might not come near me. That was nice last night. I love being close to you.” He kissed the top of her head.
She pressed her cheek to his warm chest. “Me too.” And, by the way, I think I’m falling in love with you. “Would you like some coffee?”
“No, thanks. I know you have to go to the flea market today, so I’m going to head home and go for a run. You know my morning routine. Hopefully, I can make up for the writing that I skipped last night. My deadline is coming up fast, and I need to catch up to meet it.”
“I’m sorry that I’m such a distraction.”
He pulled back from their embrace and kissed her. “You are the best distraction I could ever imagine and worth every moment away from my writing. Want to come by after you’re done at the flea market?”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
Kurt pulled on his shorts and picked up Pepper’s leash. “Come on, Pep.”
“Where are you taking him?”
“I was going to walk him since you’re not really dressed for it.” He ran his eyes down her body with a hint of appreciation—but his offer was more than sweet assistance; it held a flavor of possessiveness.
It was so different from what she’d seen from him that it took her by surprise. And she liked it.
“I can do it. He’s used to waiting for me to throw on shorts and a top. Besides, the last thing you need is more time away from your writing.” She reached for the leash.
“Would you mind if I walked him? We’ve sort of bonded.”
Pepper whimpered.
“I can’t even believe you’re the same guy who scowled at him when we met.”
Kurt paused on his way out the door. “I’m not sure I even know who that guy is anymore.”
KURT PULLED INTO his driveway still thinking about Leanna. He seemed to always be thinking about Leanna. When he stepped from the car, he looked for Pepper out of habit, then reminded himself that Pepper was with her at the flea market. He never understood how some people claimed to fall in love so quickly, but now he was beginning to understand. He couldn’t deny his feelings for Leanna if he had a gun to his head, and hearing her whisper that she loved him when she thought he was sleeping had sent a chill right through him. Fear and happiness had collided, paralyzing him for a minute or two, until he’d been able to breathe again with the relief that she had the same strong feelings for him as he had for her.
He walked around the cottage and crossed the grass to the studio. It was surrounded by an umbrella of trees. The real estate agent he’d bought the property from had told him that the previous owner had planted the trees, as he preferred natural cooling to air-conditioning, although the studio as well as the cottage had central air, which was uncommon on the Cape. He hadn’t been in the studio since he’d arrived a few weeks earlier, and he’d been thinking about it since Leanna mentioned needing a larger place to work. He unlocked the heavy wooden door and pushed it open. The inside was cool despite the warm summer days. An industrial-sized sink and built-in cabinetry lined the wall to the right. The ceramic floor was in good shape, and the cathedral ceiling allowed most of the heat to rise away from the living space. He crossed the floor to what had been a supply closet in the back of the building. It was cool and dry, and the deep wooden shelves would be perfect for Leanna to store her products. There were three windows on either side of the studio as well as a skylight in the roof, allowing for plenty of natural light. He contemplated adding stovetops, cooling racks, and whatever else Leanna might need.
I’m getting ahead of myself.
Her voice sailed through his mind, bringing another chill down his back. I feel it in my crazy heart. I love you. Maybe he wasn’t getting ahead of himself after all.
Chapter Nineteen
LEANNA HAD BEEN worried about how Carey would treat her after she’d turned down his advances, but he had acted no differently all day, and she was relieved. She’d brought her laptop with her and worked on creating product and ingredient lists when she had a few minutes without customers. It had been a productive day, and even Pepper had been better behaved, allowing her to walk him instead of taking off running as soon as he was untethered from the table.
As she climbed into her van at the end of the day, Carey came to the open window.
“Wanna hit the beach?” Carey asked.
“Thanks, but I can’t.”
He ran his hand through his hair and looked away, then drew his eyes back to Leanna. “So, it’s cool that you weren’t into me, but I’m wondering. Was it because you’re into the writer? I’d totally understand. I’m just curious.”
He looked so sincere, and for some reason, vulnerable. She hoped she hadn’t hurt his feelings. “I wasn’t dating him the night you and I went to the Beachcomber, but I’m seeing him now.”
Carey nodded. “That’s cool. He’s a nice guy. If you guys don’t work out and you want to hang, you know where I am.”
“Thanks, Carey. I really enjoyed the time we spent together, and you made the flea market a lot more fun.”
He smiled in that easy way of his. “So did you. Your dancing? Priceless.”
She watched him walk away and breathed a sigh of relief. Her stomach fluttered again as she drove toward Kurt’s cottage. It had been doing that a lot, fluttering, tightening. Her entire body reacted to Kurt—his touch, his voice, his facial expressions, his scent—in ways it hadn’t reacted to any other man. She was a little frightened by how fast she felt her heart becoming his, but at the same time, she’d never known anything to feel so right.
When she arrived, she didn’t bother going to the front door. Instead, she followed Pepper down the path to the back deck, where she found Kurt, shirtless again and typing a mile a minute.
“Hey, babe. I’m glad you’re here. I missed you.” He didn’t shift his eyes from the computer screen as his fingers sailed across the keyboard. Pepper lay down at his feet with a loud sigh. “I’ll be done in a few minutes. This has been an incredible day for my writing. How was your day?”
She kissed his shoulder as she walked by and sat at the table. “I missed you, too. My day was surprising. I had three people come by and place orders. Orders! I never saw that coming. One was for a bridal shower, and the other two were for families. They were customers who had bought from me earlier in the summer. You know what that means.”
He kept his eyes trained on the computer. “They loved it?”
“Yup. That’s got to be a good sign.”
“Mm-hm.” He saved his work, and in one swift move, he cupped the back of her head, then met her in a sensuous kiss. “I really missed you.”
“Me too.” She settled back in the chair and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. She was getting used to being there with him, and she took comfort in the familiarity that had settled in between them.
“I’m excited for you. That’s really good news.”
“Yeah. And you know what? I’ve never felt so excited about anything in my life.” Except you. “I have no idea what’s changed, but this feels like what I’ve been searching for. I can control who I work with and how many clients I take
on. If I decide to work with only one grocer, or none, then that’s fine, as long as I can make rent or whatever, depending on where I end up living.”
Kurt pulled her onto his lap. “Talk to me. I know you’re not a planner, but where are you heading in your mind with all of this?”
I want the business and you. She didn’t want to put Kurt on the spot, so instead she swallowed her thoughts and shrugged.
“Are you thinking you’ll stay in your parents’ cottage for a while and plant your business roots here at the Cape?” He tucked her hair behind her ear.
“I’m not sure. I do love it here, but here on the lower Cape, everything is so expensive. I’m not sure I’d make enough money to be able to afford a bigger place in the first year or two, and I don’t want to use my great-grandfather’s money.”
“I don’t blame you, and I love that you feel that way.”
“So I have some thinking to do.”
“I want to show you something. I don’t know much about your business, but I was doing a little research today, and I found this drawing. Is this what you have in mind for your facility?” Kurt pulled up a picture of the interior of what looked like an enormous kitchen. There were four stainless-steel stoves against the west wall and a sink and counter space along the east wall. Large stainless-steel tables formed a U-shaped workspace in the center of the room. He clicked on another image that showed an open door. The walls beside the door were lined with stainless-steel shelves. He pulled up a third picture, which showed a large storage area with deep wooden shelves. There were plenty of windows and what looked like ceramic or tiled floors. Easy to clean. Even for her.
“I hadn’t really thought about it in detail, but that’s amazing. The only things that are missing are freezers and refrigerators. Other than that, that’s a dream workspace for any jam maker. Or baker, really.” She searched the images and realized they were individual photos, not a website. “Where is that place?”
