“Well, if you’re sure,” she said.
“I’m sure. It’s a perfect solution for both of us,” he said, his mouth full of cinnamon roll.
Scarlet wasn’t completely convinced. Fixing up the apartment would be a lot of work, but just then a young man came through the front door, and seeing Scarlet headed directly for her. “Did you miss me?” he asked, coming behind the counter and giving her a hug.
“Clarence, I heard you were in town. How long are you going to stay?” she asked, handing him a cinnamon roll.
“For as long as you keep giving me these,” he said, taking a big bite and moaning with pleasure. “No one makes cinnamon rolls like you do. But seriously, I’m thinking of staying the whole summer here. I’m getting tired of moving around, and I love Miner’s Ridge,” the young man said, then noticed Marc standing protectively behind Scarlet.
“This is Marc Terrell. He’s going to fix the apartment up while he’s living there. He’s new to town and trying to get his handyman business going.”
Marc held out his hand and shook the young man’s, who said, “I’m Clarence. I’ve been coming to town and working for Scarlet since my freshman year. I’ll be graduating next year, so I think I’ll stay the whole summer here. If you ever need some extra help, let me know.”
Scarlet could see that Marc was a little confused so she explained, “There a group of college students who travel around the west every summer, picking up jobs here and there to fund their travels, unlike Carry who works to pay her tuition. I always hire a few of the drifters; they’ll work for a few weeks and move on, replaced by another one. It works for all of us.”
“It sure does, I always like working here best because the food is so good.” Clarence said, wiping the crumbs off his shirt.
“Well, then you’re in luck because I need a full-time dishwasher for the summer,” Scarlet said, handing him another roll.
“You’re kidding,” he said through his full mouth.
“Nope. You want the job?” she asked, knowing the answer.
“Are you kidding? I’ll get right to work,” he said over his shoulder on his way to the kitchen.
Scarlet laughed, pleased with the way the morning had gone. “Well, that was way easier than I thought it would be. Clarence doesn’t usually hang around all summer. I have to wonder if Carry has something to do with it. She’s the one who told me he was in town,” Scarlet said, laughing again when Carry came out from the kitchen with a big grin on her face.
“Hmm, I’d say you’re right,” Marc said, joining in the laughter. “But like Clarence, I’d better get to work. I need to look at the apartment again, see exactly what I’m getting into.”
“I should probably show you how to close the door to the kitchen. It’s the only way to get in and out right now. There’s another entrance back in the kitchen, but I had the stairs torn down last year, they got damaged in a snow storm,” Scarlet said, leading the way through the kitchen to the stairs for the apartment.
When they got to the base of the stairs, she pulled a wooden door closed, then pulled on another door which slid out with a screech. The door was solid steel and must have weighted a ton, but Marc could see that it was built into a track that let it slide. “That’s quite a door. Why is it here?” he asked, examining it. “It’s really old.”
“This used to be the jail in the old days. The cells were upstairs. The door would keep anyone out who they didn’t want to get in. I’ve heard rumors that in the early days, they hid out up there from an Indian attack. I don’t know if it’s true, but it’s a great story,” she said, climbing up the stairs.
Once in the apartment, she led him into the kitchen where there was a door he hadn’t noticed the night before. “This door was added after it was turned into an apartment, but it hasn’t been used in a while.”
“I’ll leave it for last, if that’s okay with you,” he said, wandering back into the living room.
“That’s fine. You can use the other door until you’re ready. Just keep it closed if you’re making a lot of noise.”
“No one will hear a thing with that steel door closed,” he said, laughing, then crossing the room and taking her into his arms.
“Marc, someone could come up those stairs any minute and...” But her words were cut off when his mouth found hers.
Marc had just wanted to give her a quick kiss, but their desire took over and the kiss turned passionate quickly. Scarlet’s worries that they might be interrupted were quickly forgotten when Marc’s tongue found hers, desire racing through her body like a punch in the stomach taking the breath from her body. She clung to him, knowing that her legs wouldn’t hold her, the intimate feeling of his tongue in her mouth only making her want more.
Scarlet was smashed up against him, her breasts pressed against his hard chest, when he pulled back and slid his hand up her side to cup one breast in his hand. She felt the heat spread though her body. It had been so long since a man had touched her that she was overwhelmed with pleasure from only his touch. She wanted more, wanted him to touch her like she’d never wanted a man to before, but a crash from the kitchen brought her out of the haze of passion that had enveloped them.
They broke apart, both panting, then laughed. “I guess I better go see what’s going on down there,” she said, not wanting to leave the comfort of his arms.
“I probably should get to work,” he said, kissing her once more before releasing her.
Scarlet managed to make it down the stairs on wobbly legs, then took a second to gather herself and calm the desire raging through her. In the future, she’d have to avoid situations like that; it wasn’t a good idea to be this distracted when she was supposed to be working. But if she wasn’t working then that was a different story, she thought, smiling to herself as she walked into the kitchen.
Kevin saw the grin on her face and said, “How’s Marc this morning?” with a wicked smile on his face.
“He’s fine,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him and stomping out to the dining room to help Carry with the breakfast rush.
Chapter 6
When the first of June rolled around, Scarlet was as busy as she’d ever been in the diner, but she had a good staff in place finally and everything was going smoothly. Marc had gutted the apartment, but then forbidden her from going up again until he was finished. Sean loved his summer job at a local cattle ranch. She missed him, but he was having the time of his life, so she tried not to miss him too much.
It looked like it was going to be a great summer, both for business and her personal life. She knew that the gossips around town were discussing her relationship with Marc but didn’t really care; part of living in a small town was accepting that people knew all your business. Most people were merely curious, and when asked she was honest, explaining that he was working on the apartment, which was true, but not giving them any other information.
As the month progressed, she found that she was enjoying having Marc around. He worked long hours on the apartment, but he also managed to make his presence known in the diner. Whether it was jumping in and helping with the dishes or sneaking up behind her to kiss her, she was becoming accustomed to his presence. Not a day went by that they didn’t take a few minutes together to share a meal in the kitchen. They’d been careful not to get caught again, but anyone could see that there was something going on between them.
It was clear in the little touches and smiles that they exchanged, the way that they looked at each other when they thought no one was looking. But Scarlet was scared to take their relationship to the next level; that would necessitate sharing her secrets with Marc and she wasn’t sure she was ready to do that. She also didn’t know if she wanted to hear his secrets either. It represented a level of intimacy that she wasn’t sure she was ready for.
Deep down, she knew that all her resistance was more about the fact that she was falling in love with Marc and unsure about his feelings than anything else. Sh
e was rooted deeply in this community and planned to spend her life here; he was just coming out of some kind of life-changing event with his brother making her worry that eventually he was going to leave. Separating her feelings for Marc from the physical attraction was impossible; letting things go farther might only spell certain heartache down the road if he left.
But she knew that eventually she’d be unable to resist the strong pull that she always felt when Marc was near her. It was more than just a physical attraction. When she was with him, she felt protected like the outside world couldn’t touch her. But the physical attraction was almost overwhelming, her desire was constantly simmering under the surface, and she’d begun to believe that satisfying that need might be the only way to get Marc out of her system.
The only problem was that they were never alone, and she wasn’t the kind of woman to arrange a seduction. She’d just have to hope that Marc would read her signals and know that she was ready to move their relationship to the next level. Although they hadn’t shared their pasts yet, they had become close through gentle probing of their likes and dislikes. She found that they were quite a bit alike.
June was nearly over, the last weekend looming largely in Scarlet’s mind. She always planned a weekend away from the diner on that weekend, a treat before the loggers came flooding into town. Kevin would handle the restaurant with the help of Carry, but this year she wasn’t sure what to do with her weekend. Normally, she would have spent it with Sean, but he’d been home the weekend before and had to work this one, so she had two days on her hands and no plans.
Marc was well aware of Scarlet’s weekend off and had been working hard to get the apartment done before then. With the help of many phone calls to his brother, he’d just managed to get it done in time for Scarlet’s weekend off. She’d been hinting around that she had two days off and no plans, but he’d been making plans behind her back. After a romantic dinner in the fully renovated apartment, he planned to whisk her away to a cabin in the mountains where they could be alone.
By Friday night, Scarlet was completely disappointed, Marc hadn’t said a word about spending any time with her during her weekend off, which made her doubt some of the things he’d said to her. They’d talked about getting away from town for a weekend, but now that there was actually an opportunity to do so, he seemed to have forgotten that discussion, or he was sorry he’d made the suggestion. He was working really hard on the apartment, but it wasn’t like there was any deadline to get it finished. No matter how she looked at it, it wasn’t a good sign that he had ignored the opportunity.
As she was leaving the diner, she stopped at the door to the apartment and hollered up to him that she was leaving for the weekend. He came thundering down the stairs and peeked his head out of the door. “I’m right in the middle of something, I’ll call you later,” he said, then slammed the door in her face.
Scarlet was hurt and also very angry as she drove home. She should have known better; no man was as good as he seemed on the outside. Deciding that she wasn’t going to answer his call when he finally got around to calling her later, she stomped up her front walk thinking of how stupid she been to put her trust in another man. But her thoughts were interrupted by what she saw on her front porch; there someone had left a huge bouquet of red roses.
She unlocked the door and threw her purse onto the table by the door, then picked up the bouquet. It had been years since anyone had sent her flowers, let alone two dozen red roses. Setting the flowers down on the hall table, she pulled the card out and with trembling hands opened it, then a huge smile spread across her face. Marc had finished the apartment and wanted her to join him for dinner there. Relief mixed with anticipation sent her scrambling to her closet to look for something to wear.
Tonight, she wanted to show him that there was more to her than her usual jeans and western shirt, which was really more of a uniform than anything else. She had a closet full of clothes that she never got to wear, and tonight she was pulling out all the stops. Pulling open drawers and closets, she put together an outfit that would have Marc wanting to forget dinner. It was time to make sure he knew what she wanted. Although she was still a bit unsure if it was the right decision, she was going through with it.
There had been a time in her life when sex wasn’t that big of a deal. Men wanted it and she gave it to them, but after her divorce, she realized that she was part of the problem. Any man who was worth it would be willing to wait for something more than physical attraction. She felt like she had that with Marc, but they’d never really talked about it. Sleeping with him would change the relationship in her eyes, but she didn’t know if it meant the same to him, and she wouldn’t know until the time actually came. As much as she wanted Marc, she’d make herself stop if it didn’t feel right; no sex was better than sex that made her feel cheap afterward.
On the way back to the diner, she was so nervous it was difficult to drive the few blocks. Tonight would be a turning point in her life and she hated to think what might happen if things didn’t go well with Marc tonight. Pushing aside her negative thoughts, she remembered what it felt like to be in his arms, but that only made her more nervous. She parked behind the diner as he’d instructed and snuck in the back door.
The door to the apartment was finally open when she approached, so she started climbing the stairs. She noticed immediately that the stairwell had been repainted, giving it a fresh look and making her hopeful about what she might find at the top of the stairs. But nothing could have prepared her for what she found when she got to the top of the stairs; the apartment looked nothing like it had before.
Marc was waiting for her by the big bay window with a huge smile on his face, clearly proud of what he’d accomplished and he had reason to be proud. What had once been a nondescript apartment was now a charming space with the original brick exposed and pine wood floors. The room glowed as if charged from within. Scarlet stood stunned, looking around the room, hardly able to believe that this was the same place, then finally managed to find her voice.
“This is fantastic. How did you do it? It’s nothing like it used to be,” she stammered.
“Well, I just used what was already there and made a few changes,” he said, grinning from ear to ear, clearly pleased with her reaction.
Scarlet was thrilled with the apartment. In fact, she wouldn’t mind living there herself, it was nicer than her little house. “Go check out the kitchen,” Marc said, pointing behind her.
When she turned, she was stunned to see that he’d knocked out one of the walls and put in a breakfast bar. It not only opened the room up, but added much needed counter space to the kitchen. There was a cute little table for two against the wall opposite the breakfast bar, and it was set for a romantic dinner for two, complete with china and glassware as well as candles.
She could smell something wonderful cooking and turned to look at Marc, a surprised look on her face, “You can cook?” she asked, her stomach growling.
“It’s one of my secrets. I love to cook, especially Italian. We’re having lasagna tonight. I haven’t made it in a while, but it was the first thing I learned to cook,” he said, crossing the room to pull Scarlet into this arms.
He’d been resisting since she came up the stairs in her little black dress and a pair of silver heels. His heart nearly stopped beating when he saw her, all the blood rushing to his groin, but instead of giving in to his need, he let her wander around the apartment enjoying her pleasure at what he’d accomplished. She went into his arms willingly, purring a little in her throat when he wrapped her up in a hug, pressing her body against his suggestively.
She looked up at him. He too had made an effort tonight; his normally curly hair was slicked back and he’d dressed up in a sports jacket and black jeans. He smelled good too, a combination of freshly cut wood and something spicy that she couldn’t identify. Immediately filled with desire, she stretched up and kissed him quickly on the lips.
“Dinne
r smells wonderful and this place is incredible. You’re a pretty amazing man, Marc. Thank you,” she said, then sucked in a deep breath when she saw the look in his eyes.
Marc wanted more than anything else to skip dinner and take Scarlet right back to the bedroom, but he also wanted tonight to be special. So, resisting the urge to kiss her, he said, “Are you hungry? It should be ready.”
“I am kind of hungry and it smells really good,” she said, trying to calm her beating heart but unable to do anything about the tingling inside her belly.
Marc led her over to the table and sat her down, then served their dinner including a wine she had no idea how he’d managed to find in Miner’s Ridge. They didn’t say much through dinner, the tension between them palpable, even the smallest touch feeding the fire that was slowing igniting between them. As hungry as she was, Scarlet wasn’t able to eat very much, anticipation stealing her appetite even though Marc’s lasagna was the best she’d ever eaten.
When they’d finished eating, they took their glasses of wine over to the couch which Marc had put in front of the gas fireplace he’d built with the bricks from the wall he’d demolished. It was much too warm for a fire, but Scarlet could imagine sitting here in the deep of the winter, warm and cozy. Marc put his arms around her and scooted closer to her making her heart begin to race. There was really no avoiding it now. They were completely alone, the door at the bottom of the stairs locked. She couldn’t avoid it any longer and the truth was she didn’t want to.
“I thought that maybe tomorrow we could head up the mountain and stay in a cabin for a few days. I know you’re used to them, but I still haven’t gotten enough of them, but if you’d rather we could go someplace else,” Marc said, meeting her eyes.
Scarlet was thrilled, not only had he planned dinner tonight, but he’d made plans for them for the weekend. She’d been so afraid that he was like other men when he’d all but ignored her hints about her free weekend, but he had done the complete opposite. It was nice to have someone take control for once. It was hard being a single parent and running the diner, constantly being at someone’s beck and call exhausted her at times.
Hold Me Close: BWWM Romance (Brothers From Money Book 6) Page 6