“Jesus, Josh. What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming in until later?”
“I got bored. Plus, you’re entertaining a beautiful woman in my office. Did you honestly expect me to stay away?” Josh took her hand and kissed the back of it, never breaking eye contact with Sadie. “This is your caterer? I have to say, you have excellent taste, Paul.”
“Sadie, this is Josh Scott, owner of Mavericks. Josh, Sadie is one of the owners of Pulled Long.”
“I’ve been in there a few times for coffee,” Josh said. “Amazing stuff.”
Her laughter helped ease the sudden tension building inside her. “That would be my brother Ian’s doing. Paige and I aren’t allowed near the coffee machine.”
“You’re the culinary queen?” Josh cocked an eyebrow at Paul.
“We were discussing the details when you came in.” Paul’s smile didn’t drop but it somehow changed.
Sadie knew she wasn’t always the most observant person when it came to nonverbal subtleties between people, but even she picked up on the intensity flowing between the two men. Paul had mentioned him a few times over the years, but for whatever reason, she’d never actually met him. Odd, given how much time she’d spent with Paul over the years.
Josh took a step closer to Paul, but his gaze didn’t move from Sadie. “I can always come back later.”
“No, it’s fine.” Paul pressed his hand to the middle of Sadie’s shoulder blades.
Josh kissed the back of her hand once more. “The two of you work out the details, while I go attend to business in the club.” He caught Paul’s gaze for a moment before turning his attention back to Sadie. “I can’t wait to see what you’ll come up with for our celebration.”
The sensation of being between the two men sent a sharp spike of arousal straight to Sadie’s pussy. Damn, it was almost too much, the undercurrent of raw sexual appeal. Too close to some of her fantasies for her to push the thoughts aside. She bit her tongue to keep from moaning or doing something equally stupid, like throwing herself between them and begging them both to fuck her.
Sadie cleared her throat and ignored how her lips trembled when she smiled. “I’m sure Paul and I will come to an arrangement. It sounds like it will be fun.”
“Excellent.” Josh stopped at the door. “Oh, and Paul, come find me when you’re done. We still need to discuss that other matter.”
Sadie swore Paul muttered bastard before he answered, “Will do.”
There was something about Josh that had caught her interest and made her pay more attention than she should. He was a bit shorter than Paul, but far broader across the shoulders. He wasn’t the type of man she was normally attracted to, which was interesting. Seeing him side by side with Paul, now that was an image worth dwelling on. She imagined, in vivid detail, how the light would play across the muscles beneath their naked skin. How their bodies would complement each other, stretched out before her on a bed.
Fuck. Me.
“So…” Sadie licked her lips and turned her attention back to Paul. Whatever she was about to say died on her lips at the expression on his face. “What?”
“You’ve never met Josh before, right?”
The devastating glint of possession in his gaze sent the fluttering in her stomach into an all-out riot of jumbled nerves. “Nope, you’ve never introduced us before now. And at the shop they have me tucked away in the kitchen. Call me Cinderella. Ian would probably recognize him. He doesn’t forget an attractive man.”
Sadie barely scratched five foot three. When someone as large as Paul pushed his way into her personal space, the world around her shrunk. The inches separating them did little to stem her attraction. Heat from his body enveloped her as he reached behind her to grab a sheet of paper from the table.
“How about I give you the proposal and some time to review the details?” When he stepped away, the good-natured expression was back on his face. Sadie couldn’t help but feel a pang as the odd moment between them passed. She didn’t like seeing him that intense. Paul’s easygoing nature had always been one of his most attractive qualities.
Without touching him, she took the sheet and secured it to her clipboard. “I’ll check with Ian and Paige to see if they have reservations about taking on a job this big, but I can’t anticipate there being any.”
“And you’ll agree to be here the night of the party?”
She nodded. “It shouldn’t be a problem. Though I’ll want to meet the wait staff before the event to make sure we’re all on the same page.” She also hoped she would be able to chat more with Paul. And even Josh for that matter.
“If that’s the biggest request you’re going to make of me, I don’t think we’ll have any issues.” He reached out and gently squeezed her arm. “Thanks, Sadie. This means a lot to me.”
Really? Her inner eighteen-year-old started dancing. “It means a lot to us, too. We need to get a few big events like this under our belt to establish Pulled Long as something more than a coffee shop.”
“To us?” Paul cocked his eyebrow in that way she could never manage herself.
She rolled her eyes. “To me,” she admitted. “Ian doesn’t think we should’ve divided our focus. I’d love to prove him wrong.”
“Who am I to stand in the way of a sibling rivalry?”
“A friend who has no issues enabling me?’
Paul’s cell phone rang before he could answer. When he glanced down at the number, his frown told her he’d be occupied for a while.
“I’ll let myself out.”
“Sorry.” He put the phone to his ear. “Hi, this is Williams.”
Sadie waved and was heading for the door when Paul called out to her.
“Hang on a second.” He covered the microphone of his cell and flashed her a grin. “I want you to think about my question.”
She frowned, tucking a loose lock of her hair behind her ear with a self-conscious pass. “Question?”
“What is your fantasy? Because I really want to know.”
The blush was still on her face when she got back to the store.
Chapter Two
“Holy shit, I think her boobs are going to fall off.”
Sadie spun around to face her brother, who stood scrutinizing her latest culinary attempt at a female bust. “Boobs? Boobs? How old are you again? They are her breasts and they’re fine as long as you don’t touch them.”
It had been two weeks since she’d accepted Paul’s job. Two weeks during which she’d been forced to learn more about cake art than she ever thought possible.
Two weeks for his damn question to burn a hole in her brain.
What’s your fantasy, Sadie?
Ian snorted. “Like I’m the one to run around tweaking female body parts. Seriously though, those won’t come off? What about when you get the fondant on there?”
I love my baby brother. I love my baby brother.
“Are you going to give her nipples?”
Sadie growled. “Don’t you have some coffee to brew? Customers to harass? Beans to burn?”
Ian gasped and pressed a hand to his chest with enough dramatic flare to impress Broadway. “Bite your tongue. I’ve never burned anything. I believe tormenting my older sister was next on my to-do list.” Ian grinned as he stole a cookie, shoving most of it into his mouth.
“I swear to God you stopped maturing at twelve.”
Sadie turned her back on her half-done cake. If she didn’t get her filling boiled in the next few minutes, it would never cool off in time to fill the tart shells and get them on the shelf before opening. Ian would be singing a far different tune if his customers didn’t have their favorite treat to go with their coffee.
The rustle of papers behind her had her casting a quick glance over her shoulder. Ian had been shocked when Sadie had first shoved the request under his nose. A fact she’d taken pleasure in rubbing in for a solid twenty-four hours before the reality of what she would have to do to pull it off sunk in.
; “Man, Paul must be in love with you or something. I can’t believe how much food he ordered for this, seeing as it’s only for eighty people. We might actually be able to pay ourselves after the bills this month.”
Sadie ignored the love word with a roll of her eyes. “He’s helping out a friend. Plus, I told you branching out into private functions was a good idea. It means a wider customer base and we can drive business back to the store.”
Ian hummed, flipping the page and tapping several lines as he read. “I’ll need to order some of the premium beans to roast. No sense in giving him the crap stuff and ruining their experience. Does Paige have business cards done up?”
It was Sadie’s turn to snort. “This is Paige we’re talking about.”
“Still, I’ll ask her when she gets in. What time is it?”
It didn’t matter that there was a large clock taking up half the kitchen wall. Ian was lost in his own world and wouldn’t notice if the building was on fire.
“Five-forty. Have you done front cash yet?”
“Yup. I’ll put the cookies out in a second. I’m waiting on the tarts.”
“They’ll be done.”
“And can you make some extra banana bread? The blonde girl from the office across the street cleaned us out again yesterday morning. I swear to God she’s pregnant.”
“You asked me that yesterday. It will be done.”
“Oh, and would you mind—?”
“Ian!” Sadie picked up the pot, not wanting the filling to burn, and pointed her spatula at him. “If you don’t leave my kitchen right this second I promise to tell Paige it was you who took her Brad Pitt poster when we were kids and explain to her in exact detail what you did to it.”
Ian’s eyes bugged out. “You wouldn’t.”
Sadie simply smirked. He quickly dropped the clipboard with her notes and scurried out to the small closet he called an office.
She would be more annoyed with his meddling if they didn’t owe the entire existence of the coffee shop to Ian in the first place. Both Sadie and Paige had been struggling in their day jobs, miserable and exhausted week after week. She never would have started her own business if Ian hadn’t taken them both out to supper one night two years ago and posed the idea.
Though he’d conveniently left out the getting-up-at-four-thirty-in-the-morning bit.
While the filling cooled, Sadie finished up the rest of the baking. Keeping everyone fed and happy did give her a sense of satisfaction. With Ian doing everything caffeine and Paige running the business elements, they somehow managed not to kill each other and even collected a decent paycheck at the end of the day.
Now instead of miserable and exhausted, Sadie was simply exhausted.
While she loved running their own business, Sadie hadn’t fully realized the impact it would have on her personal life. She’d gone from hardly dating, to men asking her for a triple espresso and oh, can you leave some room for cream, yeah? At least she’d picked up a new vibrator recently.
Then again, there was Paul.
Sadie turned back to the stove and let her mind wander back to their conversation in the office. He’d teased her about her sex life in the past, but nothing so specific she couldn’t brush him off with a smartass remark. Hell, he normally didn’t say much about his own love life except to sulk when the relationship didn’t work out. But this time it had been different.
He was different.
She’d been unable to get him or his stupid question out of her mind since her hurried escape. She knew he wouldn’t back down until he got his answer, which had her freaking out. Paul was more relentless than a bloodhound on the hunt when he had something in his head.
Oh, she had fantasies. For the past few evenings most of them involved Paul.
And Josh.
Hadn’t that been a bit of a surprise.
The hour before their opening quickly evaporated. All the staff had arrived on time for once, which meant Sadie didn’t have to help Ian with the morning rush. The open sign was flicked on and the doors unlocked the moment she slid the tart tray into the display case.
“That should do us until at least ten. I can run another batch then if we need it.”
Ian kissed her on the cheek as he slipped a large black into her hand. “You are the best middle sister in the world.”
She chuckled and swallowed down the caffeine gold that was her brother’s coffee. “I bet you say that to all your middle sisters. Paige in this morning?”
“She’s coming in after the bank. She wants to check something about consolidating a loan.” Ian waved his hand, dismissing whatever flitted through his mind. “I told her not to worry about it. But she won’t listen to me.”
It was an old fight between them, one Sadie happily stayed out of. “I’m going to be locked in the backroom most of today. I want to have everything finished for tomorrow, which means I need to get the fondant on this morning.”
Ian blinked at her.
“You know, Boobs.” She held out her free hand and pretended to cup her breast. “The cake.”
“Oh that. I got thinking we should take pictures of you and your creation. It would be cool to have them up on the website to advertise your baking prowess. Maybe even do a feature on what you can offer clients.”
“You want to feature me on the Internet?”
Unlike Ian, Sadie was rarely the center of attention. Not because she had issues with it, but having two siblings with strong personalities, Sadie often found herself fading into the background, unwilling to expend the energy to keep up. She’d gotten used to it over the years.
“I’m not putting up a singles ad or anything. You’re making the business as much money with this one event as I’ll bring in for three days at the store. It would be a huge boost if we can get more bookings for you. Maybe even hire you an assistant.”
The next sip of coffee burned as Sadie swallowed it down. It had taken her a long time to convince Ian of the merits of expanding their store into catering. To have him willingly offer to advertise was a huge win.
Sadie couldn’t stop smiling. “If you think it will help. I can ask Paul if he minds if we take some pictures at the club too. You know…the setup before the members arrive.”
“Yeah, that might be for the best. We don’t necessarily want a bunch of fetish gear up on the walls. Might clash with the décor unless we make a few critical changes.” Ian licked his lips.
“I thought you liked leather?” Sadie smirked as a blush crept across Ian’s cheeks. She wasn’t the only one with that particular family curse.
Of course when Ian got embarrassed he tended to get even. “Paul ask you out yet? He’s been sniffing around you enough since he bought our services. I think the world might be coming to an end, or something.”
She didn’t have to ask if she was red or not, the heat rolling off her face told her enough. “I hate you.”
“You adore me. I know you have a thing for him too—don’t try denying it, Sadie Claus.”
“Don’t call me that. And why the hell do you think that? He’s a friend. I’ve never said a word one way or the other about him.”
“I have my ways.” Ian chuckled. “And you’re less subtle than you think.”
The conversation had to be paused as the morning crowd started to filter into the shop. Sadie would have helped but she did need to get a start on Boobs if it was going to be done in time.
She shut the kitchen door to cut off the buzz of voices from the main store, giving her the peace she loved. But the quiet and the steady work let her mind wander to Paul.
Paul. Her best friend’s ex-boyfriend. And when he’d broken up with Rachel, Paul had gone on to become someone else’s boyfriend. Always someone else’s boyfriend.
Not that she’d ever bothered to chase after him. At first she couldn’t do that because of Rachel. Later, the timing never worked out for her. Paul was busy at his day job and working on the board of directors at Mavericks. And when the time came around wh
en they were both finally single, she’d grown to value their friendship too much to risk it. No matter that his touch sent her heart racing like no other man’s, the idea of losing Paul if things didn’t work out between them was simply unthinkable. Sadie had no doubt Paul would consider her sex life, and even her fantasies for that matter, pretty run-of-the-mill after hanging out at a place like Mavericks.
Despite the few questions Sadie had asked her, Rachel hadn’t ever come right out and told Sadie what went on there. But she’d gotten the impression it was more of an anything-goes environment. Of course, the giant cross in the main room confirmed her assumption.
Cake McBoobs here would have to be grand indeed to leave any sort of impression on Maverick’s crowd.
Grabbing her glass bowl, Sadie began to pull together everything she needed. Only a day to go before her creation would have to be out for the world to see.
The next few hours disappeared in a blink as she sculpted and cut the fondant, making sure the layering fit perfectly, down to every detail. She would need more than one layer to get the corset effect.
After some quick research, rereading her books and watching more than a few episodes of Cake Boss, she’d planned everything out. Crispy rice turned out to be the perfect solution for the breasts. She prayed that everything didn’t fall apart the second she tried to move it to the club.
As she got into the project, she slipped into her own world.
Sadie didn’t hear her cell phone ring at first, as she hummed a wordless tune. But after a solid ten seconds of “Carry On My Wayward Son” blasting out from her purse, she snapped into action and fished it out.
“Hey. Hi. Hello, Sadie here.”
“That was some welcome. Are you this warm and fuzzy with all your clients or only me? Please say it’s only me.”
Paul. “Of course it’s only for you.” Sadie chuckled as she wiped her hands on her apron, ignoring the sudden tremor in them as she did. “Sorry. I was in the middle of layering the base and didn’t hear the phone.”
“Is that my cake you’re working on?”
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