Bad Taste in Men (Clover Park, Book 3) Contemporary Romance (The Clover Park Series)

by Kylie Gilmore

  “It’s great. We’re clearing a profit, and more people are coming in every day. Plus we have lots of repeat customers.”

  “I heard about your coffee reward card. Very smart.”

  Rachel smiled. “Thanks.”

  At least Shane’s grandmother appreciated her marketing efforts, unlike her big lunkhead of a grandson.

  Maggie hit the highway and floored it. The wind whipped around them, and Rachel could barely hear Maggie over the radio and the wind whipping past. She pushed some hair behind her ear that had escaped her braid. The older woman was saying something about tea or coffee or maybe she said toffee? Rachel just smiled and nodded.

  Finally, they pulled into a parking lot with a lot of old and classic cars. The sign on the large garage read Exotic and Classic Restorations. Maggie got out, and Rachel looked around in confusion.

  “Are you buying a new car?” she asked, surprised because the convertible looked brand new.

  “Come with me,” Maggie sang, heading to the side of the garage where a door led into a small office. “Hello-oo-oo, I’m looking for Kevin.”

  “Just a minute,” a receptionist said. She hit the intercom. “Kevin, someone to see you.”

  Kevin, a middle-aged man with a full head of white hair, came out of the work area in coveralls. “I’m Kevin.”

  “Hi, Kevin, I’m Maggie O’Hare. We spoke on the phone. This is my friend Rachel. Can you show us that surprise?”

  Kevin grinned. “Sure. I keep her under lock and key in my private garage. Right this way.”

  Rachel followed with a sinking feeling. They walked to the back of the property. Kevin punched in a code, and the garage door opened. An older model shiny red Mustang. This had to be the Shelby. The car was gorgeous. Shane giving it up was even worse than she’d thought. Guilt swamped her.

  Kevin gestured to the car. “Check her out.”

  “Can I get in?” Maggie asked. “I’ve missed it.”

  “Of course.”

  Maggie waved Rachel over to the passenger side while she got in to the driver’s side.

  “This was my departed husband Patrick’s car,” Maggie said. “It’s a Shelby Mustang. See the signature.” She pointed to the glove box in front of Rachel. “He took such good care of it. Only took it out on sunny days. We’d take these adventures, driving to beautiful parks for picnics, cruising the highway. It’s a powerful car.” She turned and looked Rachel in the eye. “It makes you feel alive to ride in one of these.”

  “Spoken like a true Shelby lover,” Kevin said from outside the garage, where he was smoking.

  “Maggie, I’m sorry,” Rachel said. “I wish I could buy it back.”

  Maggie shook her head, fondling the wood steering wheel. “After Patrick died, it sat in the garage for years, untouched. Then when my son, Jack, moved nearby, sober again, I gave it to him so he’d have a project. My boy always did love cars. And after many, many weekends of working with Shane to fully restore it, he gave it to him.”

  “I tried to pay Shane so he could get the car back,” Rachel said over the tightness in her throat. “I gave him a check from another investor, and he ripped it to bits.”

  Maggie raised her brows. “That sounds like my Shane. It’s not about the money. This is your café. He did it to make your dream come true.”

  Her voice came out small. “Why did you bring me here?”

  “I wanted you to see with your own eyes what you mean to Shane.”

  She turned despairing eyes to Maggie. “How can I ever repay him?”

  Maggie patted her hand. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out. Just remember it’s not about the money.”

  Rachel’s stomach churned. She had no clue what to do. She just had this awful, awful feeling that she’d been in the wrong all this time, not Shane.

  They drove back to Clover Park with the wind whipping through their hair. Rachel was too depressed to even attempt conversation.

  Maggie dropped her off at the front door of her shop. “See you soon!”

  Rachel waved weakly, completely bypassing Book It and slipping into the café. She sat down in the shop, only a few people were hanging out in it, writer-types with laptops. She barely heard Tanya’s cheerful greeting. She just stared at the table. She owed Shane so much. And how had she repaid him? By kicking his ass. She could at least apologize for that. The rest she hoped she’d figure out when she saw him.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Shane was behind the counter of his shop, feeling tense and restless. Things were slow at his shop now that the weather had cooled. He went to the back to the kitchen, thinking of baking something with pumpkin for the café. Maybe he’d make pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. He’d just started gathering ingredients when he heard the bell from the shop indicating he had a customer. He went back behind the counter. Rachel.

  He blew out a breath. He wouldn’t bring up the café or the health inspection or the need for more staff. He missed her way too much to get into all that.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hey,” she said softly.

  When she said nothing else, he looked around to see what he might have on hand that she’d like. “Want some ice cream? I’ve got a new flavor. Honey swirl.”

  He’d created the flavor with her in mind. He always said she tasted like honey. It had been a hit in the shop too.

  Her gaze jerked to his. He smiled. She remembered all right.

  “Can we talk?” she asked.

  Dammit. When a woman wanted to talk, it was usually about the relationship. And the way things had ended the last time he’d seen her, this couldn’t be good.

  He took off his apron and joined her at a table. “What did you want to talk about?”

  Her chocolate brown eyes met his, full of remorse. “I want to apologize for kicking your ass the other day. It was wrong. Vio—”

  He held up a hand. “You tried to kick my ass. You didn’t actually kick my ass.”

  She waved that away. “I knocked you down, and I was punching—”

  “You didn’t kick my ass,” he barked.

  “Um, okay.” Her eyes darted to the side. “Anyway—”

  “You could never kick my ass. No lightweight has ever kicked my ass.”

  She nodded. “Okay. I, uh, know I can never repay you for all you’ve done, but—”

  “I thought we covered this. You don’t owe me anything.”

  “Are you ever coming back to the café?”

  “Do you want me to?”

  She stared at him, her expression serious. “I want to be in charge.”

  “Then there’s your answer.”

  Her shoulders drooped. “I have to get back. I’ll see ya.” Her voice came out sounding choked at the end.

  He didn’t mean to upset her. “Rach, wait.”

  She waved a hand behind her back and kept going.

  “I love you!”

  She froze, and he held his breath, waiting for her to come back to him, hoping she’d say the same.

  But to his utter alarm, Rachel, his strong, sarcastic, tough Rachel, turned around and broke down in tears.

  ~ ~ ~

  Rachel was so embarrassed about crying in front of Shane, but she couldn’t seem to stop the tears now that they were flowing. She never cried. It was just that Shane was so loving and so sweet, and she’d almost thrown it all away. She felt strong arms around her, and then she was in his lap, sobbing into his shirt. She could hear the steady thump of his heart beating strong and true.

  She grabbed a napkin off the table and wiped her tears. Then she blew her nose in it and crumpled it in her hand.

  He stroked her hair. “Tell me why you’re crying.”

  “Because I finally realized that the problem I needed to fix, the thing that was wrong with this relationship was me!” She sobbed again, feeling absolutely ridiculous, but unable to stop. “I’m Mr. Darcy!”

  “You’re who?”

  She sniffled. “I’m the arro
gant cad brought low by love!” Fresh tours poured down her cheeks.

  He wiped some tears away with his thumbs. “Oh, Mr. Darcy. Am I Elizabeth Bennet? Cuz I gotta say—”

  “No, you’re just Shane,” she choked out. “Perfect Shane.”

  “Honey, I’m not perfect.”

  “You’re a lot closer to perfect than me.” Her shoulders sagged. “You’ve done everything you could to show me you loved me, you confronted my stalker, you sold your inheritance—” she threw her hands up, and the napkin went flying “—you bought all those cookbooks! Who knows what other wonderful things you did! And what did I do? I pushed you away.”

  “No—”

  “Yes! You know I did!”

  One corner of his mouth curled up. “Maybe a little.”

  She nodded vigorously. “A lot! First I told myself we were just friends and no more when I always knew…”

  “Knew what, sweetheart?”

  “I always knew I had strong feelings for you,” she admitted.

  He kissed her hair.

  She wasn’t done. “And then once we hooked up, I told myself we could only be business partners, but then I kept sleeping with you. And every day I fought with you again, trying to keep things all business and failing miserably.” His warm hand rubbed her back. “And then when you got mad about the business side of things, I tried to end that too.”

  “But I didn’t go for it.”

  She looked at him. “No, you didn’t. And then…I saw the Shelby, Shane! It’s gorgeous! I can’t believe you gave up that car!”

  He shook his head. “Gran,” he muttered.

  She took off her glasses and wiped them clean from the tears. “I owe you too much. Too much money, too much making up for how I treated you.” She slid her glasses back on. “I mean, I kicked your ass when—”

  “I think we’ve already established that you did not kick my ass.”

  She smiled through her tears, and he kissed her. She kissed him back, taking every bit of comfort she could, missing this part of him, of feeling connected so fully to someone who knew her so very well.

  She pulled back and stroked his strong jaw. “I love you. It scares me, but I do.” She shook her head in amazement. “It finally happened for me.”

  “I love you too,” he said huskily. “Amor vincit omnia.”

  She bit her lip. “Love conquers all.”

  He smiled. “I was saving that one. Let’s get out of here.”

  Shane locked up, and they walked outside. Rachel stopped on the sidewalk and took a deep breath for courage. Now that they were together, really together, she didn’t ever want to be apart. She pulled her keychain from her purse. She slid off the key to her apartment and gave it to him. “I want us to have a place together. I don’t want to be away from you anymore. I want to be with you every day and every night.”

  He closed his hand around the key. “Are you sure? Be sure. Because once I move in, I’m never gonna leave.”

  She nodded, her eyes stinging with tears. “I’m sure.”

  He gathered her in a warm embrace and kissed her tenderly. “Let’s go home.”

  They walked to her place, and Shane stopped at the door to kiss her. She threw herself into the kiss, her hands running all over him, needing to feel that closeness with him again. Her entire world narrowed down to simple burning need. He broke the kiss and gazed into her eyes with a hungry look. She knew they were both thinking the same thing—bed. Now.

  He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Of course, there won’t be any funny business between us until you agree to marry me. I’ve been there, done that, got the keychain.”

  She stared at him. She was just coming to terms with the fact that she loved him so deep and true. She’d never been in love before. Marriage was like a whole new terrifying level.

  She socked him in the arm. “Very funny, mister, now get that firm ass of yours upstairs!”

  A corner of his mouth kicked up. “Okay, but you’re still not getting any until we’re married.”

  “What!”

  ~ ~ ~

  The look on Rachel’s face was priceless, and Shane bit back a laugh. There was one thing he was beginning to understand about Rachel, and that was sometimes she needed a little push to bring out what was really going on in that heart of hers before her big brain had a chance to rationalize it into something else.

  She sputtered, and he kissed her again. He stroked a hand up and down her side, purposely slipping close to her breast. Her breath was coming faster now. He pushed her a little further, placing a kiss on the side of her neck in the spot that always made her soft and pliant. This time was no exception. She sank against him.

  “Okay, I’ll marry you!” she exclaimed.

  He grinned. “You’re so easy.”

  “Only you would say that.”

  He swept her off her feet, carrying her upstairs to her apartment, remembering the first time he’d carried her up the stairs when she’d sprained her ankle. And now look at them, getting married. He set her down in the apartment. There was just one more thing he had to make clear to her.

  Before he could get out a word, she launched herself at him. He caught her, walking back to the bedroom with Rachel’s arms and legs wrapped tight around him. She kissed him frantically, and he laid her down on the bed, returning her passion with everything he felt inside. Finally, he nuzzled her neck and moved up to her ear so he could tell her what was on his mind.

  “I want a big family,” he whispered, his hand slipping under her shirt, caressing her breast. “A house full of love.”

  “Are you nuts?” she asked, shoving his hands away. “I just agreed to marry you and now you want to knock me up?”

  He laughed. “Yes.”

  She thought about that. He leaned against the headboard and pulled her close, cradled in his lap, savoring the honey lavender of her skin as he kissed along her cheek, her jawline, her throat, waiting for her to decide. Now that he had her love, he wanted her to know just how serious he was, how much he dreamed for them.

  “How many kids?” she asked, breathless as he sucked one erect nipple through her shirt.

  She tangled her hand in his hair. He peeled off her shirt and bra and suckled at her other breast, teasing with his tongue and teeth. She moaned again, and he looked up. Her eyes were closed; head thrown back.

  “Six,” he said.

  Her eyes flew open. “Four.”

  He slid a hand across her inner thigh, nudging her legs apart. His knuckles brushed her center, and she jolted.

  “Really? Four?” he asked.

  Her eyes flashed fire. “You are the biggest tease. You really want to talk about this now?”

  He kissed her until she settled down again; then he laid her out on the bed, sliding off her jeans and panties, arranging her so her legs were spread wide. He left her glasses on so she could watch. He kissed his way down her body and stopped at her belly. “Four kids sounds good.”

  Their eyes met. He grinned up at her. She looked disgruntled. He kissed her center and looked up at her lovingly.

  She groaned and closed her eyes. “Why did you say six?”

  He smiled devilishly. “Because I wanted you to say four.”

  “Ergh! You wanted—”

  He silenced her protest by clamping his lips around her hard nub. She arched up into him, and he savored his personal nectar. Within minutes he had her on the brink. He teased her with soft kisses and flicks of his tongue until she was writhing under him, murmuring, “Please, please.”

  Then he sent her over, loving watching her in full ecstasy. When she came back to earth, she reached for him.

  “I love you so much,” he said, sliding into her.

  She wrapped her arms around him. “I love you too. So very, very much.”

  He had her heart now, just like she’d always had his.

  Epilogue

  Rachel brewed another carafe of coffee to go with the pancakes Shane was making by the dozen at
the annual Clover Park Breakfast with Santa. Shane always volunteered to cook at the breakfast, but it was Rachel’s first time working the event. Her shiny diamond engagement ring flashed as she worked expertly to fill the machine with freshly ground beans. She still couldn’t believe she was getting married in just a few weeks. They planned to marry on New Year’s Eve, both wanting to get started on a family right away. They’d agreed to raise their children both Jewish and Christian, double the holidays. Her parents were thrilled. Maggie was happy she’d get her great-grandkids to visit every Christmas Eve.

  Daisy and Trav brought Bryce to sit on Santa’s lap. Bryce pulled on Santa’s beard and patted his face. This year Trav’s friend Rico had stepped in to play Santa at the last minute and was extremely uncomfortable with the gig. They’d been laughing at Rico all morning. Clearly Bryce recognized him, but since he couldn’t talk yet, he didn’t give Rico away.

  “Hey, Rach, check it out,” Shane said, pointing as Maggie sat on Rico’s lap.

  Apparently Maggie had a long list for Santa.

  Rachel giggled. “You think she’s naughty or nice?”

  He held up the pancake flipper and pointed it at his grandmother. “She’s naughty, but makes you think she’s nice.”

  “I’m on the nice list,” Rachel said.

  “You are most definitely gonna be naughty tonight.”

  A hot flash went through her at the hungry look in his eyes. Thankfully he was a distance away. She turned back to the coffee brewer. Two large hands wrapped around her from behind. Shane kissed the side of her neck. He still snuck up on her, but her body knew his scent, his touch immediately. He bit gently on the side of her neck, and she felt an answering throbbing between her legs.

  “Shane, stop,” she said breathlessly. “Not here, there’s kids.”

  He chuckled, turned her for a quick kiss, then went back to pancakes. She found herself staring at the rear view. It amazed her how a man in an apron could look so sexy.

  He turned. “Like what you see?”

  “Mmm-hmmm.”

  He laughed. Ryan and Liz stopped by to grab more pancakes and coffee to deliver to the families.

  “You guys need any help back there?” Liz asked.

  “We’re good,” Rachel and Shane said in unison.