Dedication
Thank you to Andy Finseth from Seattle Fire, Mr. Delilah Marvelle, and Karen Erickson and her dad, for all your fabulous firefighting info. Thanks to my awesome editor, Tera, and to Scott for the great covers in this series! And of course to my readers, because I wouldn’t be telling stories without you!
Chapter One
Kate wrapped her pea coat tighter around her curves, slipped from her car and rushed toward the front door of her shop.
The autumn wind whipped blonde strands of her hair about her face, and she shoved them aside as she fumbled to unlock the shop door. When the key finally twisted she stepped inside and shut the door, a shiver running through her.
“It’s definitely winter,” she muttered, flipping on the lights.
With a sigh, she glanced around the shop, taking in the decorations taped to the walls and the small snowflake lights surrounding the bakery display case. Christmas had been over for a few days, but since most of her decorations were more seasonal than holiday, they could stay up for a bit longer.
The smell of sugar, yeast and cinnamon was a familiar scent that never failed to bring a smile to her face. Baking was in her blood—if you cut her open she’d ooze lemon buttercream frosting.
She glanced at the clock on the wall and bit back a yawn. Five a.m. The hours, however, were the part of baker’s life she wasn’t all that crazy about. Some nights she stayed way too late preparing for the morning baked goods.
When she’d opened the shop just over a year ago, she’d been a little worried about whether Kate’s Cakes would sink or swim. Especially since she made everything from scratch, the cost of her food was a little more on the pricey side. But during the tourist season business boomed, and fortunately the locals seemed to love her too. In fact it seemed the fresh, high-quality ingredients became her selling point.
With a sigh, she went to start the first batch of cupcakes. A couple of hours later she’d loaded up the display case with a few dozen batches of cupcakes and pastries, when a sharp knock landed on the door.
Her heart leapt in her chest as she tried to see out into the fading darkness. The sun was not quite up and the shop didn’t officially open for another hour and a half.
Wiping her hands on her apron, she stepped out from behind the counter and walked toward the door. As she recognized the man outside, the tension eased from her body. Unfortunately tingling heat and sharp awareness replaced it as she let Todd Wyatt inside her shop.
“Well, aren’t you up early?” she asked, hoping her voice didn’t sound as high pitched to him as it did to her.
Todd grinned, his broad shoulders and tall frame filling the entryway before he closed the door behind him.
Her breath caught and she tried not to think about how handsome he was. He’d always seemed impossibly sexy to her, though. And maybe part of her attraction to the youngest Wyatt brother came from the fact that he’d always been so damn nice to her.
“Just coming off a twenty-four hour shift. Was heading home when I saw your lights on.”
“Stalker,” she teased and started to fidget, before curling her fingers into fists at her sides. Her heart had yet to slow down, but then, she’d kind of gotten used to it racing when Todd came near.
She cleared her throat. “I’m not even open for business yet. So, what, are you here to mooch some free cupcakes again? Beg me to take pity on my local fireman?”
“You know it.” Todd grinned, before his light expression suddenly darkened and he stepped past her and moved around her shop. “And I also wanted to make sure things have been running smoothly around these parts. No more trouble.”
Ah, yes. Trouble. Her brows drew together and she worried her bottom lip between her teeth, letting her gaze dart to the window that had been broke a few months ago.
“No. No more trouble. I’m guessing that the brick-thrown-through-the-window thing was just a teenage prank.”
“Hmm. Only they never caught the guy, which is unusual in a town this size.”
She sighed. “Look, I’m not worried. Besides, I’ve got Walt next door who’s pretty much transformed himself into my own personal guard dog.”
Todd scowled and then thrust his hands into his pockets. “I don’t like that guy.”
Seriously? Kate’s mouth parted slightly as she tried to figure out how to respond. What wasn’t to like about Walt? The poor young widower was quiet and charming and protective of both her and her shop. But Todd’s drawn brows over an irritated gaze clearly indicated he didn’t share her appreciation for the hardware shop owner.
“He just rubs me the wrong way.”
“Right. Well, I suppose I can buy that.” She cleared her throat. “Now, about that cupcake…I can spare one for my local firefighter. I always do.”
“You are such a doll.” Todd’s roguish grin reappeared and her stomach did another summersault as he squeezed her shoulder.
Just a friend, just a friend. He’ll never be anything except a friend. She repeated the mantra in her head, keeping a smile on her face as she went to box him up a chocolate cupcake that she knew he loved. Though she needn’t have bothered with a box, because he took the treat, sat down at a table and immediately began to devour it.
God, she was such a sucker. Good thing she didn’t give away free cupcakes to every hot guy in town or she’d be out of business. Not that there were all that many totally hot guys in Wyattsville…the first ones that came to mind were the Wyatt brothers. Todd was the youngest and the last bachelor standing. To the disappointment of town’s female population, the other two brothers, Tyson and Trevor, had recently gotten married.
With a sigh, she went to frost cupcakes again, sneaking the occasional glance at Todd as he ate. Her mouth dried out as his tongue circled the top of the cupcake, licking up buttercream frosting like it was ambrosia.
His mouth was so full and sensual, and the way he worked his tongue…how many women had firsthand knowledge of just how talented Todd Wyatt was with his mouth and tongue? A damn good amount of them, that was for sure. Heat slid low in her body and her hands weren’t as steady as she reached for another cupcake to frost.
She should’ve been repulsed by his womanizer reputation, and yet, it almost fascinated her. Her and the entire town, really. The female sex seemed to know and accept Todd Wyatt for what he was. A charming playboy.
But she knew better than to get involved with the one man in town who’d never settle down. Even if she’d been a little more than tempted lately. No matter how good in bed he was supposed to be, or that going to bed with Todd Wyatt seemed to be equivalent to riding a mega roller coaster at least once before you died.
Her nose crinkled as she reached for the bowl of pistachio buttercream frosting so she could frost another dozen cupcakes. Well there was no way she’d give her heart—not to mention her virginity—to a man who wouldn’t value either of them. Especially after what had happened during Ellie’s bachelorette—
“Have dinner with me tonight.”
Kate’s fingers clenched around the cupcake she’d been carefully decorating. The top of the cake exploded over the delicate paper wrapping, sending pale green frosting and glittery sugar crystals everywhere.
Her heart thundering in her chest, she set the massacred sweet treat aside and glanced up at Todd again. She had to have heard that wrong. Surely Todd Wyatt had not just asked her to dinner.
Struggling to keep her voice as casual as possible, she still squeaked. “Dinner?”
Todd stood up and crinkled the cupcake wrapper in his hand, before tossing it in the garbage. “Yeah, dinner. If I wasn’t going home to crash for the next ten hours, I’d say
lunch.”
Kate struggled to keep her mouth from flapping. Todd had never asked her to go out with him—not alone, at least. Sure, they’d hung out with friends and his family more often than not, especially with all the weddings lately…but alone? Why? What could possibly be his moti—
“I mean, dinner is the least I can do with you being my cupcake dealer and all.”
When he flashed his pearly whites again, her knees trembled a little. She slid her gaze over his face, trying to read his thoughts, but all she could focus on was the dark stubble on his chiseled jaw. She ran her tongue over her mouth and swallowed hard.
Answer him.
“Sure. I’m up for dinner.”
“Great. You want me to swing by your place about six?”
“I can meet you somewhere, no need—”
“Come on and embrace your inner tree hugger, Kate. Let’s save some carbons and carpool. Or we could even walk.”
“It’s freezing,” she replied automatically. And why was Todd suddenly spouting off like a local environmentalist? “Fine, just pick me up.”
“Great. I’m going to head out and hit the sack.” He winked and turned toward the door. “See you tonight, doll.”
“Okay…” She gave a light laugh. Did it sound as skeptical as it felt? “I’ll…see you tonight.”
She waited until he’d left the shop to let her laugh turn a bit maniacal. She’d just agreed to have dinner with Todd. It didn’t mean anything, how could it? She certainly wasn’t his type. And they’d been friends for way too long. But still, dinner with Todd? Just the two of them?
Her stomach flipped and she let out a small groan. How the hell was she going to keep her head on straight for the next ten hours? She shook her head and walked to the back of the shop to start preparing more pastries.
Todd drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he pulled his truck off Main Street and headed toward the east side of town. Maybe he should’ve skipped the cupcake—and subsequent sugar rush—when he was going to be heading to bed in a few minutes.
But driving past Kate’s shop, seeing the lights on, he’d had the strong compulsion to stop by. Sure, begging for a free cupcake was the usual excuse, and he’d topped it off with the concern of any more vandalism, but there’d been more to it. With his brothers getting married and things dying down a bit, he hadn’t seen Kate as much. Hadn’t realized how much he missed seeing her.
Which was a little weird. It wasn’t like he lacked female companionship by any means. But Kate was the only woman who’d been consistent in his life—the one woman who he’d never let himself imagine what she’d be like in bed. Well, until that night he and his brothers had had to break up Ellie’s bachelorette party.
The memory stirred in his mind, almost like it was yesterday, not almost five months ago. Kate’s soft, hesitant lips, pressed against his in what could’ve only been an impulsive move. A drunken, impulsive move. It hadn’t meant anything. One minute he’d been lecturing her about hiring a stripper for the bachelorette party, the next she was kissing him to shut him up.
She’d shocked the hell out of him, and for a moment, his dick had taken over. She wasn’t Kate, she was a sexy woman kissing him, and he’d almost started to kiss her back. Had almost taken control of the oddly chaste kiss and shown her what a downright dirty one was like. But then he’d remembered who she was. Kate, the girl who’d been a few years behind him in school. The girl who’d grown into a bubbly woman who was everyone’s friend. Including his. And like hell he was going to screw with that. So he’d set her aside, paid her tab, and hauled her drunken ass home.
Sure, there’d been times over the years when he’d thought Kate might nurse a bit of a crush on him, but he’d dismissed it. He was a fireman—half the girls in town got wet when they saw a fire truck go by. If she’d had some kind of crush, it was probably some misguided hero worship he wasn’t all that worthy of—he certainly wasn’t going to take advantage of it.
Still, the kiss with Kate had never really left his mind, and sometimes, when he saw her, it was the first thing he thought of. It bugged him. He didn’t want to think about how ripe and pink her mouth had been, delicate like a flower whose petals he wanted to crush with his mouth.
Todd sighed and tightened his fingers around the steering wheel. And yet here he was thinking about it again. So weird. He shook his head to rid the image, firmly placing Kate back in the friend section of his brain. The side where mostly men and sisters-in-law lingered.
Asking her to dinner tonight was just to reaffirm that their friendship was on the level it should be. Just friends. His brows drew together as a thought hit him. Kate had almost seemed panicked when he’d asked her to dinner, what if she’d been thinking he was asking her on a date? Like a real date and not a friend thing.
Shit. No wonder she’d looked like she was ready to faint.
Todd pulled into the driveway of his house and stared out into the fenced backyard and the trees beyond.
Well, he’d just have to put her worries to rest at dinner. The last thing Kate wanted to do was get involved with a guy like him, though she was far too smart for that. Maybe at dinner he’d beg her to share some baking secrets, tell her he wanted some tips on how to charm a girl. Something like that…yeah. That’d put Kate’s nerves at ease.
A yawn popped his jaw and he opened his truck door and stepped down. If he was going to even make this da—shit—dinner tonight, then he’d better get his ass to bed.
Grabbing his bag, Todd headed inside the house where his bed awaited him.
Chapter Two
Kate locked the door to her shop and checked her watch. Four thirty. That gave her an hour and a half to get ready for her not-a-date. Because no way was she letting herself think that this was anything but dinner with a friend.
She stuffed her keys back into her purse and turned away from her shop, nearly running smack into Walt.
“Oh.” She lifted her hands to stop herself from slamming into him, and her fingers brushed against his shoulders. Muscle and bone underneath his denim shirt registered, before she jerked away uncomfortably. “Walt, you crept up on me.”
“Sorry about that.” He grinned, the lines around his eyes crinkling. “Guess I should’ve said something, but I thought you saw me approaching.”
“No, sorry, my mind was elsewhere.” She gave a brief smile and tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “What’s going on?”
“I thought I’d see if you wanted to grab a bite to eat with me after I close at five.” He cleared his throat and shifted. “I realize you’re heading home, but I could swing by and pick you up.”
Whoa. Asked out to dinner, for the same night, by two separate men. Weirdness. Though Walt’s offer wasn’t all that surprising, seeing as they’d been having dinner together at least once a week lately. He was a nice-looking man, very Northwest with his red goatee and flannel and denim all the time. She just wished she felt…more. But it never seemed more than platonic.
“Walt, I would, but…I have other plans.”
Disappointment flashed in his blue eyes, but he nodded. “No problem. Maybe another time. Have a good night, Caitleen.”
Kate winced when he turned and walked away. She headed toward her own car. For some reason Walt enjoyed calling her by her full name, had said it was far too lovely not to be used for such a pretty woman. Oh the man oozed charm, and he used it aggressively in his pursuit of her, which overall was a bit of a novelty. Because, well, men generally didn’t pursue her. And the one time a guy had, well, she really should’ve known better…
She pushed aside the uncomfortable memory and soon she was cruising up the hill in her old Ford Escort toward her small house.
Once inside, she had a mission. Though it shouldn’t have mattered one iota what she wore tonight, it did. And somewhere in her closet, was an outfit that would up her attractiveness, at least a tiny bit.
But after searching for at least ten minutes, she gave up. Apparentl
y, she owned lots of jeans, sweaters and shirts. Nothing suitably sexy.
She paused in the midst of her frantic searching and shook her head. “What the hell am I doing? I shouldn’t be trying to look all super hot for Todd. I’m trying to remind myself we’re just friends.”
With a new determination, she grabbed a black sweater off a hanger, pulled out a fresh pair of jeans and underwear, and then went to grab a shower.
When Todd rang the doorbell, she probably wouldn’t have qualified as sexy, but she definitely looked a little more pulled together.
Before opening the door, she gave herself one quick glance in the mirror. Her hair shined almost white blonde and loose over her shoulders, and the sweater hugged her excess of curves nicely. The V-neck giving just a hint of cleavage—definitely no push-up bra needed there.
Good enough.
Kate jerked her gaze away from the mirror and opened the door.
“Hi,” she said brightly.
Todd’s answering smile never left her face, didn’t drift over the cleavage she’d been more than a little proud of, but she tried not to feel a sting of rejection. This was, after all, exactly what she wanted. Friends.
“So where are we off to?” she asked.
“You up for Mexican? I’m craving some fajitas.”
“I’m always up for fajitas,” she said, following him out to his truck. “Just load up the guacamole.”
“Amen to that.” He opened her door and her heart did a little flip.
It’s just manners, Kate, some men still have them.
She braced her hands on the door and the truck frame and climbed into the truck. She’d almost made it in, when she wobbled to the left, brushing up against Todd’s arm. Or at least her breast did.
Heat rocketed through her body and she lost the air in her lungs. Her right breast tingled with awareness as the nipple slowly tightened.
Should she apologize? Would he say something? But then she was in the truck and he’d shut the door as if nothing had happened.
Right, you dork, she scolded herself silently. Todd probably touches breasts at least once a day. He probably didn’t even realize yours was all over his arm like icing on cake.
Flash Point: Holding Out for a Hero, Book 3 Page 1