As soon as she crashed through the swinging kitchen doors, relief opened her lungs. The Walker Mountain Ranch kitchen happened to be her favorite room on the property. She liked it even better than the sauna room next to the pool. It didn’t have much to do with the tidy granite countertops or the happy yellow color of the walls or Elsie Walker’s collection of cuckoo clocks hanging above the sink; it had more to do with the exact sight she saw when she stepped in.
Clad in a ruffled apron and a polka-dotted chef’s hat, Elsie stood at the stove, humming to herself as she stirred a pot with rosemary-scented steam curling off the top. Bryce’s mother was hands-down the kindest person Paige had ever met. She ran the kitchen at the ranch, but she also ran an unofficial counseling service, which Paige had used on more than one occasion.
On the other side of the kitchen, near the commercial-grade stainless refrigerator, Ruby James, Elsie’s new kitchen assistant, was rolling out a pie crust.
The door closed behind Paige with a loud thud.
Elsie spun, her spoon flinging sauce through the air. “Paige!” She tossed the spoon aside and bustled over to gather her in one of those signature, cinnamon-scented hugs.
“Hi, Elsie.” She squeezed her back and fought off a bittersweet pang. With her sculpted white hair and deep smile lines, Elsie reminded her so much of Gramma Lou, sometimes it hurt.
“I haven’t seen you for ages.” The woman let her go and looked her over like she suspected she might be dying from some rare disease.
Not all that surprising seeing as how she normally did spend a lot of time in the kitchen. What could she say? She’d always been a good eater. “I’ve been covering some shifts at the café.”
“Well it’s about time you came to visit us, isn’t that right, Ruby?” Elsie glanced over her shoulder.
“It sure is,” Ruby answered, leaning her back against the counter. “I expected to see you long before now. Especially since we made chocolate chip oatmeal cookies two days ago.” Ruby had kind, emerald-colored eyes and a heart-shaped face that instantly put you at ease. Paige had always envied girls with those full cheeks and perfectly shaped lips. Speaking of lips, her own were chapped.
She dug into her pocket and pulled out a tube of Burt’s Bees. There. She smacked them together. They’d never be pouty-model lips, but at least the skin wasn’t flaking off anymore.
“I could package you up some cookies, if you want,” Ruby said with a tempting lift of her eyebrows. She’d only been working at the ranch a couple of months, ever since she’d been stranded when her car broke down as she drove through Aspen. Paige had heard that Ruby had nowhere to go, and no money, either. Somehow Elsie heard about her and offered her a job. The woman never turned down a charity case.
Even though she didn’t know anything about her, Paige liked Ruby. They were about the same age and had connected right away. She was easygoing and quiet, but just when you were ready to label her as shy, she’d come up with some witty zinger.
“Thanks, Ruby. But I stole some cookies last night,” Paige admitted, though she wasn’t ashamed. She knew Ruby would take it as a compliment. The woman could bake. Before stepping into Elsie’s kitchen, she couldn’t even bake refrigerated cookie dough, but in two short months, Elsie had turned her into a five-star pastry chef. “I took enough cookies to keep me stocked for the week.” Lord knew she’d need some good cookies to get her through their little whitewater rafting excursion.
Her friend laughed. “You’re always welcome to them. You know that.”
That was exactly why they got along so well. Because Ruby was open and friendly and she needed more people like that in her life. Maybe someday Ruby and Elsie would rub off on her. Probably not before the seven o’clock pre-trip meeting with the Nobles, though. Anxiety rushed in and prickled up her neck. “Thanks. But I’m actually not here for cookies.”
“Oh?” Elsie’s sparse eyebrows peaked. “What else can I get you then, dear?”
Paige plopped down on a stool at the kitchen island, which happened to be as big as an ocean liner. “I didn’t come here to eat.” Shocking, I know. “I need help.”
Concern furrowed Elsie’s lips. “I’ll get you a slice of cake and coffee.” Because Elsie firmly believed that no problem could ever be solved without some type of delicious homemade temptation. Paige loved that about her. And though she wasn’t exactly hungry, she knew there was no point in politely declining. Elsie lived to feed people.
“So are you looking forward to your next trip?” Ruby crossed to the coffeepot and poured a mug, then set it down in front of Paige. “That senator guy is pretty cute, huh?”
Her face got as hot as the burner’s on Elsie’s stove. “Oh, I don’t know about that,” she lied. Cute wasn’t exactly the best phrase to describe Ben. Sexy. Tempting. And totally arrogant, the hundred-dollar bill reminded her from inside her pocket. She’d dated a man who threw around his money before. She’d let him lie to her, let him make her all kinds of promises he never intended to keep. She’d given him everything, a huge slice of her heart and in the end she wasn’t good enough for him, and she’d already decided that she would never let anyone make her feel so small again.
“Here we go, dear.” Elsie slid a fat piece of chocolate cake in front of her.
The scent of expensive dark cocoa and powdered sugar woke her appetite. She picked up her fork and sawed off a huge bite, let the sweetness of it melt in her mouth. Okay. How did Elsie do that? Things seemed better already.
“Ben Noble looks like a young John Wayne, if you ask me.” Elsie sighed in the way of swooning southern belle.
Despite the lack of humor threatening her very near future, Paige laughed. Any remotely good-looking guy resembled John Wayne in Elsie’s world. She still had the tattered pinups of the man in her office.
Ruby leaned into the counter and propped her chin on a fist, staring off into a dreamy space. “Mmm hmmm. I bet he knows exactly what a woman needs, if you catch my meaning.”
She caught it. But those were the kinds of thoughts she was trying to ignore.
“Tsk.” Elsie’s frown reprimanded them both. “You girls. Always thinking about jumping right into bed with someone. In my day we thought about commitment. Marriage.”
Paige raised her brows. She couldn’t help herself. “You never thought about jumping into bed with John Wayne?”
Elsie’s cheeks flamed. She fanned her face, hiding a smile. “What is it you needed our help with, dear? Is your family giving you a hard time again?”
“No. Well. Yes.” That would never change unless she agreed to “do her part” and work at the café. “But that’s not why I’m here.” She snuck in another bite of cake and finished chewing. Might be best to start at the beginning and that could take a while. She set down her fork. “Bryce said customers have been complaining about me.”
“I find that hard to believe.” Ruby straightened and poured some cream in her coffee, then fished a spoon out of the drawer. “I know I haven’t been here long, but you’re the best guide out there.”
The compliment filled in some of the cracks that had started to spread in the foundation of her confidence. “I’m glad you think so. But Bryce told me I need to be nicer.”
“Psshaw.” Elsie poured her own mug of coffee. “Bryce doesn’t know what he’s talking about, dear. You mark my words. You’re perfect the way you are.” She squeezed her forearm as if willing her to believe it.
“He’s right, though. I’m not very nice sometimes.” She decided to spare them the Hal Funkleman story.
“Being nice is overrated,” Ruby said quietly, her fingernail chipping at a blotch of food that had been encrusted to the counter. For the hundredth time, Paige wondered about the woman’s past. She never mentioned it, but every so often, she’d notice a wounded look creeping into Ruby’s eyes.
“Whatever do you mean, ‘you’re not very nice’?” Elsie clucked her tongue. “That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard. You’re a gem, Paige. And phooey to anyone who ca
n’t see it.”
She winced. “I’m pretty sure Bryce doesn’t see it.” Apparently most of the customers didn’t, either.
Elsie threw up her hands. “He’s one to talk!”
That earned a laugh. “I guess it doesn’t matter as much for him. He doesn’t exactly hang out with the customers.”
“There’s a reason for that.” Ruby’s smirk hinted at her impression of Bryce.
Paige couldn’t hold back a smile. Maybe Ruby wasn’t all sweetness, either. Maybe no one was.
“Thanks for the support. But I have a meeting with Be—” She cleared her throat. “—Mr. Noble and his group in a few short hours and I need some pointers. I have to impress them.” And somehow keep things professional so his mother would give her a good evaluation, which meant no shoving that hundred-dollar bill back in his face. She’d donate it instead. Surely the local humane society could use some extra cash.
“Just be yourself,” Elsie insisted with a definitive nod of her head.
Yeah, that wasn’t working so well for her. She looked back and forth between Elsie and Ruby. “Should I straighten my hair? Wear khakis and a cardigan? Maybe take out my nose piercing?” Though it was only a simple stud. That shouldn’t get anyone riled up, should it?
“And look like a yuppie princess?” Ruby grinned. “No. That’s not you, Paige.”
It might not be her, but she had to spend the next few days with a crew of seasoned yuppies. “You don’t understand. This is huge. The campaign guy’ll be taking videos and pictures. The media’ll be around. I mean, he’s kind of famous.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that.” Ruby pulled out the stool across from her and sat. “Who cares what he thinks about you? You’re fun. You’re tenacious. In fact, I wish I was more like you.”
“No. Trust me. That would be bad.” She polished off the rest of her cake and licked the fork while she thought about all of the customers she’d pushed. Ruby didn’t know the half of it.
“You stand up for yourself. That’s something I never learned to do,” she murmured.
“Look at you two.” Shaking her head in a disappointed cadence, Elsie scurried over to the coffeepot and poured them each a refill. “So different, but exactly who you were made to be. Don’t wish that away, dears.”
She was about to tell Elsie that she would definitely wish away her prickly nature if she could, when the door opened. Bryce sauntered in, followed by his cousin Sawyer. And Ben.
The sight of him in those jeans started that flutter in her heart again. She instantly ducked her head and stared at the counter. What was he doing in here? In her safe place?
“Ladies.” Bryce approached them. “We were hoping to get some of those cookies I heard about.”
With her head still down, Paige strained her eyes to catch a glimpse of Ben.
He swaggered closer, like he had been in this exact spot hundreds of times—stopping a roomful of women dead in their tracks.
Ruby fiddled with her hair.
Elsie beamed. You would’ve thought John Wayne had just walked into the kitchen.
Well he didn’t impress her. No, sir. We beg to differ, certain regions of her body cried out, but she silenced them with a harrumph. He wasn’t all that great. To prove it, she focused on Sawyer. Out of the three men, he was the only one she wanted to talk to at the moment. Though he resembled Bryce with that dark hair and square jaw, Sawyer was actually nice. She reached over to pat his arm. “Good to see you, Sawyer.”
“You, too,” he said, but his gaze focused on Ruby. He shoved his hands into his pockets. “You wouldn’t mind sharing some of your famous cookies, would you?” he asked.
Without an answer, Ruby turned away and busied herself with a bowl of something on the counter.
Paige watched her friend carefully. She was definitely avoiding Sawyer. But why? What’d Sawyer ever do to Ruby?
“Of course we’ll share the cookies, Sawyer dear,” Elsie answered after an awkward silence.
“I’ll get them,” Paige offered, but before she could stand, Ben slipped right in front of her. “Hey, there Paige,” he said in the sexy, husky voice that’d worked so well on her last year at the gala. Good gravy. What did he do? Practice in front of the mirror?
Determined to ignore him, she squeaked past. While she retrieved the cookies, Elsie nestled herself right up against Ben’s shoulder like a puppy begging for an ear scratch. Paige resisted the urge to roll her eyes. That woman was such a sucker for charming men.
“Did you just get in, Ben?” she purred. “Why, you must be starving. Let me make you a nice big snack.”
Oh, please. Paige handed the container of cookies to Sawyer, then sat back down.
Eyes still focused firmly on her, Ben smiled. “A snack sounds perfect.” He pulled out the stool and plopped down across from her as easy and carefree as if they sat down across from each other every day. “I’ll take a slice of whatever she’s having.” He looked her over again, in a way that made her keenly aware of her wild hair. He was used to sitting across from women who’d probably spent half their life at the spa, and she hadn’t even found the time to brush her hair that morning.
Rising, Paige pushed away her plate. “Actually, I’m done. I have work to do before tonight.” She hugged Elsie and shot Ruby a desperate look that hopefully communicated follow me. She had to get herself ready for that meeting, ready to face Gracie Hunter Noble again. And it’d take a damn village to transform her into a likable yuppie traditionalist. She’d only worn eyeliner once in her life. “Thanks for the cake. And the coffee.” Avoiding Ben’s curious stare, she planted a kiss on Elsie’s cheek, then made a point to wave good-bye to Sawyer since he was the only man in the room who wasn’t making her life more difficult.
“Are you sure you have to go right this second, dear?” Elsie frowned. “Ben just got here.”
Exactly. He’d only just walked into the room and her heart had already sped into dizzying circles. Space. That was the only thing that would get her through the week. She had to wedge space between them whenever possible. “I have work to do before the meeting,” she insisted as she twirled toward the door, but her foot caught the leg of the stool and knocked her off balance.
Ben hopped up and caught her arm as she stumbled forward.
The bolt of electricity from his skin against hers nearly laid her out flat.
“You okay?” His breath tickled her neck.
She fought the rising pulse that had taken over her body. “I’m fine,” she squeaked.
In the corner of her vision, she saw Bryce swipe a hand down his face.
She forced out a laugh and yanked her arm out of Ben’s very firm, very manly grip. “My foot’s asleep, that’s all. It’ll be fine.” With another coded glance at Ruby, she headed for the door. “I’ll see you all later.”
“Can’t wait,” Ben called behind her.
With Ruby by her side, she escaped into the dining room. But they weren’t fast enough to outrun the sound of footsteps that echoed behind her. Heavy footsteps. Boots if she wasn’t mistaken.
She spun. Sure enough, Bryce stood three feet behind her.
“Um…I’ll wait over there…” Ruby indicated the other side of the dining room with a wave of her hand and meandered away.
“What happened at the café?” Bryce demanded.
“Nothing.” Darn squeak. Ahem. “His mom isn’t a very nice person, that’s all.” And that was putting it mildly.
He nodded like he knew exactly what she meant. “She won’t be the easiest customer. Will it be a problem?”
“No.”
“Because I’ll get someone else to lead this trip.”
“It’s fine.” She tried to smile, even with that hard knot of panic tightening under her ribs, cinching her breaths tighter. “No big deal. I’ll be on my best behavior. I swear.”
“We need this to be perfect,” he reminded her for the hundredth time. “There’ll be cameras everywhere.”
“You have
nothing to worry about. Okay? Please, Bryce. Trust me. I’ll make sure everything runs smoothly.”
“I trust you,” he finally said.
“Thank you.” Her chin lifted in confident defiance, even with the throb of Ben’s touch still beating through her.
If only she trusted herself.
Chapter Seven
Ben knew three things about Elsie Walker. One, she didn’t use recipes, but she could outcook Julia Child any day. Two, she’d lost Bryce’s daddy young, and even though she’d never remarried, the woman was a hopeless romantic. She’d had a big hand in bringing Bryce and Avery together after they’d met last year. Three, and most importantly, she’d known Paige her whole life, which meant he’d just won the gossip lottery being left alone in a room with her.
Yes, sir, and he intended to mine for every detail he could.
“Here you are, dear,” Miss Elsie sang as she slid a hunk of layered chocolate cake in front of him. A glob of fudgy frosting oozed down the sides and pooled on the flowered china he happened to know she only used for special company. He inhaled deeply, let the rich scent fill his senses. “Mmmm. Smells better than a rack of ribs on the smoker,” he gushed, feeding the woman’s pleased blush.
She clasped her hands in front of her. “Can I get you some coffee to go with it?”
“That’d be mighty nice, Miss Elsie.” He straddled the stool and reclaimed his place at the island, hovering over that slice of cake. “Black as crude oil, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind one bit.” She hustled over to the coffeepot near her desk and filled two mugs, then set one in front of him and pulled out a stool on the opposite side of the counter.
Ben savored a bite of the cake, letting it melt into ecstasy before chewing and swallowing. Then he turned up the wattage on his grin and aimed it right at her. When it came to figuring out how to get through to Paige, he wasn’t above usin’ what the good Lord had given him. He’d never met a woman who didn’t appreciate some good old-fashioned flirting. If he played his cards right, Miss Elsie could become an ally in his quest, unlike Bryce.
Something Like Love Page 6