But no. I couldn’t do that. If I started any sort of romance with Logan, no matter how fleeting, the whole town was going to hate me. And rightly so. Logan might have a bit of a nice side, but that didn’t change who he was, or the fact that his property conglomerate was trying to take over the island. I had to be strong, and remember that I was a local.
With a determined grunt, I unlocked the doors and got out of the car. I opened the back passenger door, and pointed to the backseat, where a plush blanket was spread out. “You can put him there. He likes to lie down in the back.”
Logan nodded and gently set down Decaf, who gave him a friendly lick on the face. I gave Decaf a look that said “traitor!” But Decaf only gave me a wag of his tail. I guess I couldn’t blame the dog for loving Logan. It wasn’t often that anyone had the strength or patience to carry around a big Lab.
“Julia,” Logan said, reaching out for my arm.
I pulled away. “Don’t,” I said. “Thank you for carrying my dog, but this doesn’t change anything. I think it’s better if we stay away from each other. I appreciate your giving business to my café, but even if you do have the best of intentions, you don’t realize how it looks to everyone I know.”
“What? It looks like you’re hanging out with the ‘enemy?’” His voice sounded hurt, with a tinge of anger.
“It’s complicated. It’s just better this way, trust me. Now I really have to go. I really should be working on my ideas for a sculpted cake, anyway, instead of hanging out at the beach.”
I got back into my car and shut the door, revving the engine and pulling away before he could try to say anything else to me. When I looked in the rearview mirror, though, he wasn’t trying to chase me down. He was just standing there with a scowl on his face.
Whatever. Let him be angry. Things would be easier that way. Having a handsome billionaire around only made my life so much more complicated. And I definitely didn’t need any more headaches right now. I had enough going on as it was, trying to keep the café afloat while trying to get Decaf the surgery he so desperately needed.
No time for distractions. I was going to make the best damn sculpted cake Driftwood Island had ever seen. How hard could it be?
Chapter Six
* LOGAN *
“Sorry, I’m closed,” Julia’s muffled voice called out from somewhere in the café’s back room. “I just always forget to lock that damn front door.”
I ignored her and stepped into the café anyway, taking a step toward the jukebox. I knew damn well she was closed. So did everyone else in town, I assumed. It was two hours past her posted closing time. But I wasn’t here to buy coffee. Not today. I was here because ever since I saw Julia on that beach, her skin glowing in the sunlight with that little red bikini leaving very little to the imagination, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her.
I swiped my credit card on the side of the jukebox’s screen to buy credits, then chose a couple of Christmas songs to play. As soon as the notes from “Santa Baby” began filling the air, I heard a loud groan from the back. A minute later, Julia came storming out to the front of the café. She was wearing an aqua apron that was covered in flour, and she had a hairnet on over her red curls, which were gathered in some sort of an attempt at a bun. She was a mess, but the effect was surprisingly sexy.
“I’m closed,” she repeated. “And even if I wasn’t, I thought I asked you not to come around here.”
I turned, and flashed her a big smile. “I know. But come on, you were angry when you said all of that. And besides, I can’t stop thinking about you.”
She crossed her arms. “I’m still angry. In fact, now I’m even angrier, because I don’t want to listen to Christmas music right now. Go away, and find someone else to think about.”
Instead of going away, I walked up to the front counter and leaned across it so that my face was only inches from her own. I was banking on the fact that once I got close enough, she’d have a hard time resisting me. I’d seen the passion in her eyes when we kissed back on the beach. I knew that, no matter how many times she said that she wanted me to go away, she didn’t actually mean it in her heart. In her heart, she wanted me to throw her down on the counter and make love to her.
Just as I suspected, her expression softened when I got close to her.
“Go away,” she said, but there was much less conviction in her words.
“Not until you hear me out.” I moved an inch closer. She didn’t pull back, but her pupils went wide and I could tell that her breathing was becoming rapid. The air between us was electric, and I could feel my cock stiffening between my legs. I wanted her so badly, but I had to be calm and take my time. I had to show her that she could trust me.
A low yip broke the tension and heat of the moment, and I looked down to see that Decaf had hobbled out from the back to stand beside Julia. He was smiling up at me and wagging his tail like we were best friends, and I smiled back at him, leaning over the counter so I could stretch down to scratch behind his ears.
“Hey, buddy. How are you?” he let out a low, happy whine in response, and I scratched more vigorously behind his ears. I loved dogs, but I hadn’t had one since I was a kid. It just didn’t work well with my lifestyle of too-frequent travel and long hours at the New York Office. If I’d been able to sell out my shares of the company and retire, I would have moved to a house with land and bought a puppy immediately. But that day was still a long ways off. Zach didn’t want to slow down the business anytime soon.
“You can’t come in here whenever you want just because my dog likes you,” Julia said. She had taken several steps back from me, wary of letting me get too close again. Smart girl, I supposed. The heat between us when we were inches apart had been overwhelming. But I was determined to get through to her, and putting a few more feet of distance between us wasn’t going to change that.
“Actually, it’s your dog I wanted to come here to talk to you about.”
Julia frowned. “What about him?”
“I want to pay for the surgery he needs. No strings attached, I promise. This has nothing to do with me trying to take over your café or make you owe me a favor or anything like that. I just hate to see an animal suffer, and I can help Decaf. Please, let me.”
I had expected a little bit of pushback from Julia, but I hadn’t expected her eyes to darken as much as they did. “Get out,” she said, her voice dangerously low and tense.
“Julia, please. I mean it. I have more money than I know what to do with, and this would be a way for me to actually do some good with it. It has nothing to do with any schemes to try to expand the resort or—”
“I said, get out!” This time, she shouted the words. “Get out, and never come back again. I don’t want you in my café, I don’t want your stupid Christmas music playing here, and I don’t even want to send any food deliveries over to your damn resort. If you come back here again I’ll call the cops. And trust me, you don’t want that. All the cops here are locals who hate the Evans resort and will be more than happy to rough you up while kicking you out of my café.”
I could see by the look in her eyes that she was serious. I looked down at Decaf, pleading with him to help me out a little bit here. But even he wouldn’t meet my eyes now. He knew when his momma had reached the point where she was not to be crossed, and it looked like she had reached it. Still, I was not ready to give up yet.
“Julia, think of the pain Decaf is in. This could make his life so much better, and—”
“You have three seconds to get out of my café before I call the cops.”
“Julia, really!”
“One.”
“I’m just trying to help!”
“Two.”
I raised my hands in surrender. “Fine. I’m leaving. But if you change your mind, give me a call at the resort. I’ll tell them to send through any calls from you.”
She made no reply, other than to point at the front door. Dejectedly, I walked over to it and slipped out
onto the street where my driver was waiting for me inside the sleek luxury car that seemed to stick out like a sore thumb in this downtown area. I slipped back into the car before he could get out and hold my door for me, and instructed him to take me back to the resort.
As he drove, I stared unseeingly out the window. Today was Tuesday, which meant the long weekend was over. I was scheduled to fly back to Miami tonight and then back to New York tomorrow morning. I should have been thrilled to leave, especially considering the way Julia had just kicked me out of her café. I had been looking forward to getting off this island since the moment I arrived, but suddenly I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving. I pulled out my smart phone and started scrolling through my schedule for the rest of the week. I had a lot of meetings, but they were all conference calls or video meetings which could be done from anywhere with internet. I could stay here another week, no problem. In fact, it looked like I could stay another two weeks without running into anything that couldn’t be handled remotely.
My heart started pounding in my chest. This was crazy, but I was going to do it. I was going to extend my stay by two weeks and find a way in those two weeks to show Julia that I really was a good guy. I guess I couldn’t blame her for not wanting me to swoop in and save the day by paying for Decaf’s surgery. She didn’t seem like the type who was searching for a knight in shining armor. But still, I wish she would just let me help. What else was I going to do with the ridiculous amounts of cash I had, other than to help people?
Julia had been pretty serious about not wanting me at her café, though, so I was going to have to figure out a way to see her that didn’t involve the café. And I thought I had the perfect plan. I called up my assistant at the resort on my phone, already feeling a rush of excitement at what I was about to do.
“Yes sir?” my assistant asked in her typical, overly-professional tone.
“Hi, Carrie,” I said, too excited to match her formal manner. “I need you to change my travel arrangements. I’m going to stay here on Driftwood Island for an additional two weeks.”
There was a momentary pause, and I almost had to laugh. I knew I had shocked her. I hadn’t been too secret about the fact that I couldn’t wait to leave the island, so my decision to not just stay longer, but to stay two whole weeks longer, must have come as a surprise to her. She recovered quickly, however.
“Of course, sir. Consider it done. Anything else?”
“Yes, actually. Are you familiar with the Summer Fair here?”
“Yes. It’s a local event that’s quite popular with the island’s permanent residents. They’ve been trying for the last few years to entice resort guests to attend, although I’m not sure how successful those efforts have been.”
“Right. Well, there’s a cake sculpting contest this year, and I’d like you to enter my name in the contest.”
There was an even longer pause. This was not something about which my assistant could easily hide her shock.
“I’m sorry, sir. Did I hear you correctly? You want me to enter you in the cake sculpting contest?”
“That’s right.”
Another long pause.
“Um, certainly, sir. But I didn’t realize you were a baker.”
“I’m not. But I’m going to try to learn in the next week. Can you see when the resort’s head baker might be free to give me some lessons? And I’d love it if you could research whether there are any video lessons or YouTube tutorials or something like that online that deal specifically with sculpting cakes.”
“Uh, of course, sir. I’ll get on it right away.”
“Excellent. Keep me posted on what you find out.”
I ended the call and leaned happily back against the backseat of the car. I had no idea how much progress I could possibly make on learning to bake and sculpt cakes within the next week, but I was going to try my best. Even if my cake looked god-awful, entering the contest would give me an excuse to attend the judging panel, where Julia would surely be. It would give me a legitimate excuse to see her, and surely she would be impressed that I had at least attempted to bake. Besides, entering the contest would show everyone that I did care about the locals and about supporting their events and businesses. How could Julia claim I didn’t when I showed up at the fair as one of the contest participants?
She was going to be so impressed.
Chapter Seven
* JULIA *
“What the hell?” I stared down at the list of contest entrants, sure that Megan must have made some mistake. But no. His name was there, printed in black and white. Logan Evans.
“Yeah, I was just as shocked,” Megan said. “I mean what is his game? It’s not enough that his resort ruins our local businesses’ chances at a decent income? He has to come ruin our Summer Fair too?”
I wasn’t sure if I’d ever been so angry in my entire life. What kind of a point was Logan trying to prove? Was he trying to force me to need his help? I had no doubt that he could have the most talented cake sculptors in the world working for him at a moment’s notice. He’d probably commissioned some gorgeous cake to be made in his name, just so that he’d be sure to win and I wouldn’t get the prize money. I glanced down at Decaf, who was lying sorrowfully by Megan’s feet. The dog was getting worse, and if he didn’t get the surgery he needed soon then he wasn’t going to even be able to hobble anymore.
But if Logan thought he could force me to take money from him, he was wrong. I’d sell my café to pay for the surgery if I had to, but I would not accept one cent from that bastard.
“What are you going to do?” Megan asked.
I shrugged. “I’m going to drop off my cake and leave. I’m not sticking around to watch him gloat when he wins just because he has money to get whatever the hell kind of cake he wants made at a moment’s notice. My coffee booth at the fair doesn’t open until tomorrow, so there’s no reason I need to be there today other than to drop off the cake.”
“You’re just gonna let him win?” Megan’s honey brown eyes widened in surprise. I guess I couldn’t blame her. I’d always been a bit of a spitfire and not taken anyone’s crap. But I’d never gone up against a billionaire before. It didn’t matter how much spunk I had. I knew when I was defeated.
“What choice do I have? I’ve done my best on the cake, so maybe I’ll get second prize. That’s better than nothing. But I’m not going to sit around for the judging panel and watch him gloat.”
Megan sighed. She knew I was right. “Here. Let me help you box that up.”
She went to the back to grab me the biggest cake box I had. I stared down at the cake while I waited for her, admiring my work. It wasn’t the most professional thing you’d ever seen, but I didn’t think it was too bad for a first attempt at cake sculpting. I had done my best to recreate, in cake form, Sunset Lagoon—the secluded, rocky beach that every local knew and loved. I’d done my best to carve out a cake into the exact shape of the rocks, and then to add palm trees in the exact spots they stood in real life. I included the coastal road on one side, complete with little fondant cars, and then on the other side was a turquoise ocean with dolphins leaping across the surface. In between was soft, rolling “sand.” Anyone who lived here would immediately know what the cake represented. I was hoping that this recognition would also give me a leg up with the judges. But as cute as the cake was, it still looked somewhat amateur. It wasn’t going to win against whatever concoction Logan had commissioned.
Megan returned, and we boxed up the cake in silence. I felt bitter as I closed the top of the box lid securely. I had been so excited about this cake, but Logan had taken all the joy of the contest away from me. Wearily, I told Decaf to come with me to the car. Megan followed. The plan was for her to sit in the passenger seat and hold the cake box so that the cake didn’t topple over on the drive. I felt a little badly for her as she climbed into the passenger seat. The Summer Fair was the biggest event of the year, and, like everyone else, she’d been looking forward to it for ages. She was dressed
to the nines, with a hot pink tank top setting off the deep blue of her cutoff shorts. Dangly earrings sparkled in her ears, and her hair had been carefully pulled back into two French braids. I didn’t look that different. I was wearing a bright, sun yellow, tank top, but my cutoff shorts were almost identical to Megan’s. My earrings were sparkly studs, and my hair, not usually amenable to braiding, was instead piled up into a messy, cascading bun. My makeup was perfection. But despite wearing my best fair-going clothes, I would not be spending a minute longer on the fairgrounds than I had to. That didn’t mean Megan shouldn’t have a good time, though.
“You know you don’t have to leave and mope with me after I drop off the cake,” I said as I turned my old coupe into the dusty temporary parking lot that had been taped off for the Summer Fair.
Megan loyal as ever, shook her head. “You’re my best friend, Jules. I’m not going to leave you alone to be miserable while I’m off partying it up.”
“I’m fine, really,” I lied. “I just want to be alone, anyway. You go have fun. I just don’t want to take the chance of running into Logan, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy the fair.”
Megan hesitated, and I could tell she was tempted. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
She seemed satisfied by that. “Okay. But call me if you need anything, okay? I’ll leave in a heartbeat if you need me.”
“Thanks. But I’m sure I’ll be fine. Now let’s go get this cake set up so you can move on to more exciting things.”
I lifted Decaf out of the car, but told him to wait under the shade of a nearby palm tree. He gratefully lay down, happy that he didn’t have to walk far. Megan carefully carried the cake for me all the way to the tent where the food contests would happen. We found the area for the cakes, and I signed in. I noticed that Logan hadn’t signed in yet, and I felt somewhat relieved that I wasn’t likely to run into him. I was a little disappointed that I wouldn’t be catching a glimpse of his cake—I had to admit I was curious. But that disappointment paled in comparison to the relief of not having to see his gloating face.
Craving Him: A Billionaire Beach Island Romance (Billionaires of Driftwood Island Book 1) Page 5