He raked a hand through his hair. “Mom has never liked anyone telling her what to do. It’s going to be a challenge to bring her about, but it needs to be done now, not later,” he said, resolute in his convictions.
“That’s too bad,” Pilar lamented. “The Sweet Spot is truly magical. It’s almost tragic to think that you’ll sell it.”
“First mom, and now you. I see I’m gonna need to find a better solution for the shop and her employees.”
“Yes, please find a solution.” Her eyes beseeched him. “I can’t bear to think of how sad it’ll make your mom to sell her beautiful shop.”
“In business, you have to be practical and not allow it to take over your life,” he said, feeling lame when he saw the deep disappointment in her eyes.
“Not everything is business, Jake. Feelings count.”
“They do, Christmas angel.” He looked at her and smiled, his hand caressing her delicate jaw. “I can’t seem to get you out of my mind.”
“That’s what angels are for,” she said lightly. She glanced at the slice of bacon on his plate. “Are you going to eat that?”
“Nope. I’m full.”
She picked up the bacon and nibbled on it.
“Hey, I thought you already ate breakfast,” he teased.
She grinned. “I did, but I can’t let a tasty piece of bacon go to waste.”
He pulled her toward him and gave her a resounding kiss on the apple of her cheek. “I hope you feel the same about me.”
“I do think you’re tasty, but not in a porky way,” she said, giggling.
She was too adorable not to kiss again, but any minute Mom would be back from walking Suzette. He didn’t want to be caught in a clinch with Pilar, especially by the resident matchmaker.
It suddenly occurred to him that he was entering precarious territory with Pilar. She was proving to be irresistible. Where would she fit in the coming year, one already fraught with challenges and complications?
He had to return to Shanghai to finalize and execute the dream deal on the app that had been years in the making. His professional reputation and livelihood depended on the success of the global launch, especially in Asia.
He was getting too attached to Pilar…and so was Mom. He should pull back, but he didn’t want to. On New Year’s Day, she would return to Naples, and he’d start the new year alone.
The situation sucked.
Chapter 9
Seated at the back of The Burger Bite, Emily was glad to have a booth away from the entrance so she could chat confidentially with Choco Bear. It was their favorite burger joint where they’d had many business meetings in the past.
She’d arrived early to gather her thoughts and try to assuage the impending gloom and doom she was feeling. She’d tried so hard to keep her spirits up during the first Christmas without John, but today’s heated discussion with Jake had brought her down and now she felt melancholy.
She spotted Choco Bear and waved, relieved to see him looking better than the last time. As he trudged forward, she noted was walking a bit slower, but the ruddy color was back in his cheeks, a good sign that he was on the mend.
Emily smiled when he got to the table. He leaned over and kissed her cheek in greeting, the whiskers of his neatly trimmed goatee tickling her skin. “It’s good to see you back in commission, Choco Bear. I’m glad you’re not limping anymore.”
He snorted. “This old guy still has it in him. My back is 100% better and so is my appetite,” he said, sitting across from her.
Emily’s spirits lifted seeing he was back to his robust self. “Glad you have an appetite. I went ahead and ordered the usual for us. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Why would I mind? I’m hungry, and I get to eat with my favorite person.”
“Ah, you’re sweet.” His good mood was rubbing off on her. What would she do without her dear friend, she wondered, gazing at him fondly. “Before I forget, the team sends you their love. They miss you. And this morning, Pilar asked me to tell you she hopes you feel better soon.” She beamed at him. “Now I can tell her you’re better already.”
Herbie, their usual waiter, appeared with their order of Santa Fe burgers and sweet potato fries.
“Good to see you, Brad,” Herbie said. “What do you want to drink?”
“I’ll stick with water, thanks.” Choco Bear raised the water glass to his lips and drank deeply. “Man, I needed that. The cold air always makes my throat parched.”
Herbie nodded and scurried to the next table where hungry diners were waiting to order.
Emily took two bites of her burger and set it down. “This is delicious, but I don’t have much of an appetite today.”
“You’ve never been much of an eater, other than sweets, that is,” Choco Bear said with an indulgent laugh. “How is Jake? You must be enjoying having him home for a month.”
“I am, but…” She stopped and looked down at her plate. A dispirited sigh slid from her lips, and she shook her head.
“Is something wrong? What’s causing those crinkles in your forehead?”
Emily tapped his arm. “You shouldn’t mention a lady’s wrinkles, Choco Bear.” She gave a self-deprecating laugh. “I wish I could say they’re caused by my current worries, but my age is the reason for my crinkles, as you call them.”
The corners of his eyes creased with a smile. “You’ll always be young in my eyes, Emily.”
“Thanks. Very kind of you to say that.” Emily got a flashback of the portrait he had made of her, and her smile wavered.
“Not kind, it’s the truth.” He studied her in quiet contemplation. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m worried about a lot of things,” she admitted.
“It can’t be that bad.” He covered her hand with his larger one, imparting strength. “Tell me what’s worrying you the most, and I’ll do my best to slay the dragons for you.”
“I appreciate your good intentions, but I wish it were that easy.” A brief shudder ran through her, remembering her argument with Jake. “My knuckleheaded son wants to sell The Sweet Spot.”
His brows shot up to his hairline as he squeezed her hand. “Did you just say he wants to sell The Sweet Spot?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
Choco Bear sank back and rubbed his whiskered jaw. “Wow, I wasn’t expecting that.” He shook his head slowly, his eyes troubled. “We’re about to celebrate 25 years with a big party, and he wants to pull the plug? The timing seems off.”
“Exactly, but he’s concerned about the rising cost of everything, and he pointed out that we could lose the sweetheart lease we have. He said if we don’t expand our distribution, we’re going to lose money and eventually have to close shop.”
“Why so sudden?”
“It’s not that sudden. He has mentioned it before, but I’ve always managed to put him off. Now he’s determined to get it done because he has to leave for Asia at the end of January.”
“I see,” Choco Bear said slowly. “Surely, you can come to some kind of understanding with Jake.”
“I guess,” she mumbled. “Pilar arrived while we were in mid-argument. But the other issue is that he thinks I should move to Naples because I’m getting old and feeble,” she groused.
Choco Bear’s jaw dropped. “Rubbish. He said that to you?” he demanded.
She smiled ruefully at his umbrage. “Not in those exact words. I was just being sarcastic.”
“I’m glad he wasn’t being disrespectful,” he said with a shake of his head.
“The truth is, it’s been a challenging year emotionally and physically. I’m grieving for John, and I also had health problems. Jake was very worried about me getting around the city with my broken foot in a cast, and then when I got pneumonia a few months later, he decided I shouldn’t risk another winter here during flu season. It didn’t help that my doctor agreed.”
“Can’t say that I blame them, Emily. January and February are brutal here.” His thick brows lowered
over probing eyes. “Tell me what’s bothering you the most. Selling your shop or moving to Naples.”
“Both. I wouldn’t really mind living in Naples part-time in the winter. The weather is temperate, and the sunsets are spectacular. I love it there during high season when the snowbirds come down to play.” She smiled at him. “There are many outdoor art shows that you’d enjoy. I could see you displaying your work there.”
His whisky colored eyes lit up. “I wouldn’t mind leaving the cold behind for sunny skies and the beach.”
“Would you ever move from New York?” she said hesitantly. She needed to know. Something inside her made her panic at being separated from him forever if she were to relocate to Naples.
“Sure. I’m not married to the city,” he said. “Before I moved here, I lived in LA, as you well know. But after Melanie and Sean passed, I couldn’t live there anymore.” His eyes met hers with an openness that startled her. “I’m here because of you, Emily.”
“Me?” Her heart lurched at his confession.
He nodded. “I can paint anywhere. I just need my muse to be with me.” He heaved a deep breath and expelled it. “There’s no use hiding it. At first, I was embarrassed when you saw the portrait I painted of you, but you know something? Life is too short to waste on pretenses. The truth, plain and simple, is that you are my muse, Queen Bee.”
Emily felt her face redden, and she quickly lowered her gaze to collect her rampant emotions. She hadn’t blushed in a very long time, yet here she was, tongue-tied and humbled by his frank revelation.
She could feel his searching gaze on her, and when she lifted her eyes, a warm smile spread over his face, putting her at ease. “I’m honored, Choco. I never knew…” she trailed off helplessly.
“I didn’t want you to. You were happily married to a great guy whom you adored. You had a wonderful marriage. I know how that kind of love feels. I had the same with Melanie, until she was taken from me in that horrible accident,” he said sadly. “But we’re not here to talk of the past. We have to find a solution to get Jake to back down.”
“There are so many memories in that little shop. It just seems so cold and final,” she despaired.
“I feel for you, Emily. The Sweet Spot is your magnum opus.”
“It’s ours,” she said in all honesty. “I couldn’t have done it without your artistry and your support. You were there from the beginning. I could always count on you.”
“It was a labor of love. For both of us,” he agreed, his eyes pensive. He leaned forward and took her hands in his big warm ones. “You can’t leave here. What will I do without you?”
Her eyes welled up at the stark love in his eyes. “Oh, goodness, now you made me cry,” she said, her chin quivering. She dabbed her eyes with her napkin and drew in a shaky breath.
He got up and joined her on the bench seat. Putting an arm around her, he gently patted her shoulder. “A Queen Bee doesn’t cry, she delegates,” he murmured. “Tell me what you want me to do. Should I talk to Jake?”
She tilted her head on his shoulder. “No, I need to hash this out with him and make him see reason.”
“I’ll help you brainstorm. We’ll find a way to resolve this on your terms, not Jake’s,” he said firmly.
“I’m worried about Jake. He needs an anchor, and I was hoping it would be here in New York, but it doesn’t seem likely.”
“Why not?”
“He inherited his father’s wanderlust, and now he’s fascinated with Asia. But it’s time for him to settle down.”
“You can’t decide that for him.”
“I know, but I was hoping he’d fall in love with Pilar, marry her and give me some grandbabies to spoil. Is that too much to ask?” she said shamelessly.
Choco Bear’s lips twitched. “Sounds like you want a fairytale ending for them.”
“I do,” she admitted. “From the moment I met Pilar in Naples, I thought she’d be perfect for my son. She is beautiful inside and out, and I think he’s beginning to fall for her.” She let out a hapless sigh. “But even if he does, he’s still planning to return to Asia. Why can’t he stay in New York and take a stronger interest in The Sweet Spot instead?”
“I wish I had an answer for you,” Choco Bear commiserated. “But you’ve raised him to be independent, and that’s what he is.”
“But he’s my only son. You’d think he’d want the legacy of The Sweet Spot to continue for his future children.”
“Have you said that to him?”
“Not in a long while. When he was in grad school, we had a long discussion over him taking over The Sweet Spot one day, but he said he wanted to travel the world and make his own success.”
“I can see how he’d feel that way. Jake is a brilliant businessman, and he isn’t sentimental. He’s practical and industrious, and that’s why he’s so successful. But one thing is for sure, he loves you very much and only wants the best for you.”
Her shoulders lifted as she sighed helplessly. “I know he does. That’s what makes this so difficult.”
Choco Bear lifted her chin with his thumb and met her gaze with an encouraging smile. “Wipe your tears now. I’m going to order us a big hot fudge sundae with lots of whipped cream, and we’re going to polish it off together.”
“My mouth is watering already,” she said, smiling into his kind eyes. “Chocolate fixes everything.”
“Amen to that.”
Chapter 10
Exhilarated from her recent morning jaunt to the market with Jake, Pilar already felt his absence as she pranced around Emily’s kitchen, stirring pots and getting everything ready for her tamale making. She’d been enjoying his company so much that when he’d left to do last-minute Christmas shopping, she’d felt let down. It was probably just as well that he was gone because she needed to concentrate on her menu.
Emily had requested that Pilar make an authentic Mexican Christmas meal for The Sweet Spot team’s holiday dinner, and Pilar was delighted to oblige. She’d brought a big packet of cornhusks from home for the tamales along with key ingredients she would need for the rest of her menu.
Nothing made Pilar happier than to introduce her family’s cuisine to others. It was the food of her childhood, guaranteed to bring happiness to the candy shop team tomorrow.
Her iPhone was set on Spotify, and she was singing to her favorite songs while she cooked. When “Feliz Navidad” came on, her feet spontaneously began to dance. Her ponytail bounced as she swayed her hips and shimmied her shoulders. She grabbed a clean wooden spoon and used it as a mic as she belted the lyrics and rocked out.
“Where did you get all that loot?” a familiar deep male voice called out.
Pilar yelped and dropped the wooden spoon as she spun around, nearly toppling over when she saw Jake at the entrance of the kitchen. Her arms flayed as she fought to regain her balance and recoup her poise. “When did you come in? You scared me half to death.”
Jake threw his head back with a deep rumble of laughter.
She ran forward and playfully socked him on the shoulder. “Stop laughing. How long have you been standing there?” she demanded, noting the way he was struggling to stop laughing. She had put on quite a show for him.
A sardonic smile was tucked in the corners of his mouth. “Long enough to know you can’t carry a tune.” He wiggled his brows. “But you sure can move.”
“Of course, I can. I’ve been dancing all my life. I may not be a Broadway singer, but I can cook,” she countered.
He tugged her ponytail. “Good thing you don’t cook like you sing,” he teased, and another round of guffaws ensued.
His laughter was contagious. Laughing, she waved her wooden spoon. “Do you want to eat tomorrow?” When he nodded, she said, “Then don’t mess with the chef.” Nose pointed upward, she returned to the stove. She shut off the music and began stirring another pot.
He came up behind her. “You shouldn’t wear your hair up like that.”
“Why not?” she said,
not turning around.
“Because this soft little nape is irresistible.” Sliding his arms around her waist, he nuzzled the back of her neck and caught her earlobe between his teeth, causing gooseflesh to tickle her skin. She shivered and closed her eyes when he nipped it lightly. His fingers slid from her waist to her ribcage and she let out a high-pitched squeal, part giggle part yelp.
“Stop, please. Remember I’m very ticklish.” She turned to face him. “If you keep that up, I won’t get any cooking done.”
“What do you have in there?” he inquired, peering into one of the pots.
“That’s one of the fillings for the tamales for tomorrow’s party.”
“It smells amazing.”
“It is.” She grabbed a clean spoon from the drawer and ladled a bit for him. “Want a taste?”
“I do.” His gaze dipped to her mouth. “Of you.” He took the spoon out of her hand and set it on the spoon rest. “I’ll taste the filling later.”
He firmly gathered her in, and kissed her, his tongue making a sweet, restless foray into her mouth. After several heart stopping kisses, he released her, and she had to grab hold of the counter for balance. Where were her limbs? She’d gone boneless during his kisses and her skin felt ultra-sensitive, as if all the tiny hairs stood on end.
She felt a fluttering deep inside as her fingertips touched her lips. His indigo gaze held hers with the promise of more pleasure as if he couldn’t get enough of her. The potent pull of his arousal rocked her. She sucked in a deep breath and blew it out slowly to regain her composure.
“Don’t distract the cook,” she mumbled breathlessly. “I have a lot of work to do.”
He gave her one last kiss and tweaked her nose. “I can see that, Chef Pilar. What else are you making for tomorrow?”
“I’m making shrimp ceviche, spiced chicken and pork tamales, red rice, and jicama and cabbage slaw. And two desserts—dark chocolate passion fruit mousse and coconut flan.”
“Can’t wait. Sounds delicious.” He surveyed the counter. “I see a lot of supplies here we didn’t buy this morning. Where’d you get all this stuff? I don’t know of any Latin markets nearby.”
The Holiday Sweet Spot: An opposites attract, gorgeous, feel-good romantic comedy (Falcons in Love Book 2) Page 8
