Return to Glebe Point

by Patricia Paris

  Wrapping her hands around the mug, she roamed out to the front room, pleased when she noticed it still felt bright even though it was beginning to get dark outside. She studied the area where she planned to have a few small tables for customers who might just want to get a cupcake or two to enjoy with a cup of coffee in the store. She’d found the perfect ones online, and they were due to be delivered the following Monday.

  What if nobody comes? She wrapped one of her arms around her waist and took a sip of coffee. She wasn’t sure what she’d do if it were a total flop.

  Even without the immediate burden of having to pay a mortgage or rent, and all she’d be saving on appliances and kitchen equipment, she’d still be putting out almost five thousand for everything else, just to get started.

  If she was able to earn enough to restock supplies and have enough left over to live on until the business could become profitable, though, she might not have to touch the remainder of her savings. She could leave it in the bank as an emergency fund. It wouldn’t be a lot, but it would give her a small cushion in case she needed it.

  Right now she had to trust that everything would work out, that she’d been meant to come back to Glebe Point, meant to take this unexpected detour in her life, meant to meet Cooper Barone.

  What!? No, she hadn’t meant to include him in that list. He’d wiggled his way in there uninvited. Yes, without her permission, the same way he’d kissed her this afternoon without her permission.

  What had prompted him to do such a thing? A man didn’t just kiss a woman out of nowhere like that. And a woman didn’t just let him, not if she had a choice, which she had…but she had—let him. Worse, she’d debated about stepping away before she actually had.

  She hadn’t expected the kiss. It would have been one of the last things she might have, from him of all people, but when he’d brushed his lips over hers, something had stirred, something she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Desire.

  The problem with that, of course, was that now she was the curious one, and she was afraid she was going to be spending a fair amount of time wondering what it would be like if they shared a real kiss instead of that little nibble he stole in the doorway.

  She blew out a sigh and walked back into the kitchen and put her cup in the sink. It was getting late, time to call it a day. Maybe she’d stop at Speckles and pick up one of their roasted chickens to take home for dinner. Since it was just her, there would be enough left over she could get a few meals out of it. They tasted good and they were cheap, both of which worked for her.

  As she gathered her belongings to leave, Charlie thought she heard a knock. She walked back out to the front of the building to check. Whoever it was knocked again just as she reached the front door, and she looked out the window to see Cooper Barone standing on the other side.

  She considered ducking behind the door, pretending no one was there. Maybe he’d think she was in the kitchen and hadn’t heard him knocking. Before she could act on that plan he stepped away from the door, and when he started to turn he saw her.

  “I noticed the lights in the back room were still on,” he said when she opened the door.

  “I was just getting ready to leave. Did you need something?” She stood in the opening, not inviting him inside.

  “I just wanted to talk to you for a minute…about earlier.” He dipped his head and looked at her. Sexy, ebony eyes he had. Heat slithered through her, and with just that one look, she tasted desire in the back of her throat.

  Charlie cleared her throat. “I’m not sure what you’re referring to, but whatever it is, can it wait until another time?”

  He stepped around her, wiggling his way into the store, the way he’d been wiggling into everything that day. She turned and put her hands on her hips, stared up at him. He reached over her shoulder and pushed the door shut.

  “The kiss.” His eyes searched hers and he arched his brows.

  Oh yeah—the kiss—because it had like totally slipped her mind, duh. Of course he’d been talking about the kiss. Point was, she didn’t want to talk about it. She wanted to forget it.

  “Nothing to talk about, Barone,” she said, as if using his last name would make it seem less personal, like it hadn’t had any impact on her, and she’d already put it out of her mind. Liar.

  He dragged his fingers over his hair, pushing back the hair that fell across his forehead, black silk, shiny and straight. It dropped right back into place, a mind of its own, just like him. And why she found that so sexy she didn’t have a clue. Romeo, she thought, and no doubt he was one.

  “Well, I was thinking about it after I left.”

  “Really, I’d forgotten about it.”

  He tilted his head and studied her through hooded eyes. “I thought maybe you’d be upset.”

  Charlie waved a dismissive hand in the air. “Like I said, I forgot about it. I suggest you do the same.”

  “So you really just forgot about it? It was a forgettable kiss?”

  She thrummed her fingers against her thigh. “I just said so. Are we done now, because I was just getting ready to go when you knocked, and—”

  He took a step toward her, closed the distance. She wondered if maybe she shouldn’t have called it forgettable, just that she’d been busy and hadn’t thought about it. He had a look in his eye, like maybe she’d thrown down the gauntlet.

  She started to back away, thought it wise, but he stopped her—a hand on her lower back, another on her chin. She could have stopped him, should have, but didn’t.

  He lifted it, tilting her head back to face his. Their eyes locked, black on gold—then he captured her lips—then he scattered her brain cells.

  Charlie wanted to lean into the kiss, lean into him, all that warm solid male with his magical mouth. She must be insane, or just really horny, because she did exactly that, leaned into both.

  Cooper angled his mouth over hers, deepened the kiss, pulled her in, and she felt the heat, the passion rushing through his blood and burning into her through his lips.

  A car horn blared out on the street, interrupting the moment, reminding her where they were, that anyone could walk past the window and see them.

  She broke away, slipped out of his hold. When she looked at him, she rolled her shoulders and tried to steady her nerves. “So what was that? You were still curious?” She reached up and gathered her hair to one side, didn’t know what to do with her hands.

  “Apparently.” He was watching her intently, and she wished she could see into his mind, know what he was thinking.

  Charlie hiked her chin. “Satisfied now?”

  He started to back away, toward the door, and then shook his head.

  “I don’t think so,” he murmured, and then turned and walked out into the night, leaving her standing there to stare after him and wonder what they’d just started.

  Cooper rolled his pen between his fingers, tuning out the ongoing debate over Sunday store hours. It had been going on since he’d joined the Chamber of Commerce three years ago and would probably continue for several more. He thought it should be left up to individual business owners whether they wanted to open or not, but not all their members felt the same, so the discussion would remain an old business item that they would continue to waste fifteen to twenty minutes arguing about every meeting before agreeing to table it under old business again until the next meeting.

  Justin, who was one of the newer board members along with Cooper, stepped in to do just that. “As for new business,” he interjected, “we have a new store that will be opening in a couple of weeks where Smithy’s Deli used to be. I’m sure most of you have noticed work going on in the building. My brother Blake and I bought the building and our cousin Charlie, who most of you may remember, is going to be opening a cupcake shop. It should be a good addition to town.”

  “Is she just going to be selling cupcakes?”

  “Primarily, and drinks, coffee, tea, juices, that sort of thing. They’ll be gourmet cupcakes, though, an
d in addition she’ll be doing some catering out of the shop as well as holding some classes and doing birthday parties for kids.”

  “Is she planning on offering free samples? Smithy used to let people have a sample of lunchmeat to see if it was what they wanted.”

  Justin glanced down the table at the owner of the hardware store, a man he’d known since he was a kid. “I don’t know, Carl, that’ll be up to her, but if you’re suggesting we should all be giving out samples, I’ll stop in to see you next week about trying out some different sized nuts and bolts for a project I’m working on at home.”

  Talk of samples died a quick death and the group moved on to the next agenda item, planning for the annual Halloween parade.

  Samples, Cooper mused, the good thing about them was that if you liked what you got, you wanted more of it. For a business like Charlie’s, that could increase sales. The bad thing was that if you liked what you got, you wanted more of it. He frowned. Like the kiss he’d sampled with her. It had definitely left him wanting more.

  Satisfied? Not by a long shot. It had only made him more curious, and that was not, to his way of thinking, a good thing. She’d been just as curious, though. He’d tasted it in her response, and it had surprised him. If she hadn’t kissed him back the way she had, he might not have spent the better part of today wondering about all that smoldering heat she’d kept hidden so well.

  When the meeting ended, Cooper and Justin walked together out of the library where the Chamber met once a month.

  “Gabriella and I are having a crab feast Sunday. If you’re not busy, why don’t you come by?” Justin suggested. “There’ll be a good crowd, and we’ll be doing fireworks later, so it’ll be a full day.”

  “I should be able to make it. Thanks for the invite. What can I bring?”

  “There’s probably going to be so damn much food we’ll be asking everyone to take stuff home, so don’t worry about bringing anything, unless you want to bring a date.”

  Cooper’s first thought was of Charlie. Of course, she would already be on the guest list. He wondered how Justin and Blake would react if they knew he wanted to climb under the covers with their cousin. He’d only seen them together a couple of times, but it was obvious they were all close, more like siblings than cousins. It might be smart to keep his fantasies to himself. He’d just as soon do without a visit from the Morrison boys if nothing came of the attraction, and if it did, he’d deal with whatever warnings they wanted to lay on him then.

  No matter what he’d told himself about steering clear of Charlie Morrison, the urge to kiss her had overwhelmed him. Now he had a situation, one of his own making, one he should be more upset than curious over. He should be turning down Justin’s invitation; instead, he was wondering how Charlie would react when he showed up at the party.

  CHARLIE PUT another tin of cupcakes in the oven and set the timer. She turned around and looked over at the five trays already cooling on the counter: chocolate-bacon crumble, salted-caramel apple, two pans of vanilla-rhubarb with strawberry drizzle glaze, and one batch of pineapple crunch. Of course she would offer all the traditional flavors in the shop as well, but she would specialize in gourmet flavors, like the ones she’d been experimenting with that morning, unique recipes that were her own creations, as well as some she’d found in cookbooks or on the Internet.

  She’d been testing different recipes all week, whenever she wasn’t working at the store. Last night she’d been restless, confused about Cooper, what to do about him, what not to do about him. After tossing and turning for hours, she’d given up trying to sleep around two thirty and had been mixing, experimenting, and baking since then.

  When she’d returned to Glebe Point, she had told herself she needed time to heal, time to rebuild, to try to understand how Phillip had managed to fool her so completely before she would ever allow herself to get involved with another man.

  She didn’t want to risk making the same mistake again, to be taken in by a man who seemed to be so right—and then turned out to be so totally wrong.

  She was strong on her own now, getting stronger every day, but she’d been strong when she met Phillip—confident, smart—and look what happened. She’d told herself she needed time.

  How much time was enough, though? A couple of months? Years? Would two years be enough time to feel a hundred percent sure of a man? Ten?

  Is that what she needed, an irrevocable guarantee? How many things in life came with that? Granted, she couldn’t think of a single thing, but what did she know about Cooper Barone except what he chose to show her? Nothing. Well, she knew he could kiss, excelled at it, and that his kiss had made her want more. But as unrealistic as wanting a foolproof guarantee might be, shouldn’t she set her standards a little higher than must have magical lips?

  A knock on the door pulled Charlie from thoughts of Cooper and kissing. She glanced at the clock and frowned. Who would be coming around at ten on a Saturday morning?

  Wiping her hands on her new Monet’s Water Lilies apron, she went and opened the door and was surprised to see Delaney and Gabriella standing on her stoop.

  Delaney leaned in and gave Charlie a hug. “Good morning, cousin, mine. What are you doing today?”

  She returned the hug, gave one to Gabriella, and then stepped to the side of the entry so her two cousins could come inside. They walked into the cottage and back to the little kitchenette where Delaney got two cups out of the cupboard and started pouring coffee for herself and Gabriella.

  “Wow! Did you bake all these cupcakes this morning?” Delaney asked before Charlie could respond to her prior question.

  She looked at the tins lined up in perfect rows on top of the counter and shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d test a few more recipes.”

  “They look delicious, and smell a—maaaazing! Any chance you need some taste testers?” Gabriella took the cup Delaney handed her. “You could probably convince Delaney and me to help you out there while we have some coffee.”

  “Help yourselves.” Charlie refilled her own cup and then leaned against the counter, facing them. “Okay, what gives? I know you two didn’t just drop by for a cup of coffee.”

  “You’re right.” Gabriella gave her a mischievous grin. “We’ve come to lead you into temptation.” She picked up a chocolate-bacon cupcake and took a bite. “Oh God! These are so good they should probably be illegal.” She peeled back the paper to expose more of the cake. “Is there bacon in these?”

  Charlie nodded. “You really like it?”

  “Honey, if the rest of your cupcakes are half as good as this one, you’re going to have trouble keeping your shelves stocked.”

  Charlie caught her bottom lip between her teeth and grinned, flattered by the compliment.

  “What are these?” Delaney tilted one of the tins toward Charlie.

  “Vanilla-rhubarb with a strawberry glaze. I’ve never made them before, so they’re an experiment.”

  Delaney took one and pulled the paper off. She took a bite and chewed slowly, glancing up toward the ceiling as she did, considering. Charlie felt herself holding her breath as she waited for Delaney’s reaction.

  Her cousin looked at her, her green eyes sparkled, and a slow smile spread across her face. “Charlie, you’re a genius. These are a perfect blend of sweet and tart, and you couldn’t have chosen a better topping. I love them, and I agree with Gab, I think once word gets out you’re going to do a fabulous business.”

  “I’m so glad you both like them.” She turned toward Gab. “I thought I’d bring some to the party tomorrow and see how they go over. You know, use all of you as guinea pigs.”

  “I don’t think anyone’s going to be upset about being test subjects, and don’t be surprised if you end up getting some orders before you’re even open for business. We’re expecting a pretty big crowd.”

  “I wouldn’t mind getting a few. I can do the baking at the store while I’m taking care of all the final details.” Charlie took another
sip of coffee and then angled her cousins a curious glance. “Now tell me what you meant by leading me into temptation.”

  Delaney finished off her cupcake. “We’re going to St. Michaels, a ladies’ day out, check out the end of summer sales, get some lunch, and since the only chance we’ve had to visit with you has been when our husbands were around, we thought it would be fun if you could join us.”

  “Are you going to want me to dish on them?”

  “Of course we are, but mostly we just wanted to get some girl time with you that didn’t include feeding kids or changing diapers.”

  Charlie loved the idea of spending the day out with her new cousins. She hadn’t known them long but could already tell they were both easy women to love, and now they were family. She hadn’t had any close women friends in her life since leaving Glebe Point, and she hoped she could build the kind of special bond with them she’d been missing.

  “I’ve got a batch in the oven, but if you don’t mind waiting until it’s done, I’d love to join you.” She gave them a wicked grin. “I’m sure there were a lot of things Blake and Justin did that I don’t know about, but you might be able to persuade me into telling an interesting tale or two about the ones that I do.”

  “Lunch is on us,” Gabriella said, and gave Charlie a high five.

  Charlie chuckled. “Okay, that’s a good start.”

  A COUPLE of hours later the three of them were enjoying a delightful lunch on the outside patio of Ava’s, a restaurant and wine bar known for its gourmet pizzas and homemade potato chips.

  “To us,” Gabriella said, raising her wineglass in a toast.

  “To us,” Charlie and Delaney chimed in unison as the three chinked their glasses together.

  “I heard there’s a winery in town.” Delaney tasted the Italian Chianti they’d ordered to share with the chef’s special that day, a white pizza with prosciutto, arugula, and a balsamic reduction. “I wouldn’t mind checking it out and maybe picking up a couple of bottles to take home if we can find it.”