Lost and Found (books 1-3): Small-Town Romantic Comedy

by Elizabeth Lynx

  They were seated next to each other on the black-and pink-flowered couch.

  Bea waved at the large, overstuffed leather recliner my father splurged on right before he passed. “Please take a seat, Mr. Angrov. I think you might want to hear what I have to say.”

  She was acting as if this was her house . . . telling me where to sit in my own home.

  Chloe’s eyes bounced from her to me and back again.

  “No.”

  I folded my arms and waited. For what, I had no idea. There was something about this woman, though. She was frustrating, beautiful, but frustrating. And so damn confident in that cocky sort of way. Like she knew she was sexy and smart and how I wanted to run my fingers through her soft hair.

  Ugh. It had obviously been too long since I’ve been with a woman. That’s all this was. My cock needed some action and it was taking over my brain in revenge.

  “Mica. She is our guest—”

  “No, she’s your guest. I was busy caring for our niece while you were out having fun chatting up women.”

  The look Chloe gave me was my first and only warning. I knew what each expression meant. What she was flashing me right now told me that I had better act right or I might find my clothes laced with itching powder . . . again.

  I shook my head and growled, “Fine, but you have exactly two minutes to give me whatever sales pitch you have, and then you can leave.” My sister opened her mouth and I held up a hand. “Or I will leave, it’s your choice.”

  Bea placed her hand on Chloe’s shoulder and gave her one of those grins that only women gave to each other.

  “I understand. It’s your home, and you have to get back to helping your niece. Who’s adorable, by the way. What age is she? One?”

  “Two. She’s two,” I said and noticed Chloe frown.

  She wasn’t going to be happy with what the doctor told me. But that was for later. Right now, I had to pretend I cared about a flashy sales pitch and then kick a pretty lady out of my home.

  “Well, she’s super cute.”

  Bea wore a slick looking navy suit, a silk blouse that matched the color of her skin like coffee with too much milk, and heels that made her appear to be walking on her tiptoes.

  Everything about her was expensive. I suspected she hadn’t been in a room with a baby or small child in a long time. She didn’t care about Shelby, and I was sure her idea of cute and my idea of cute were two very different things.

  She wanted something from us, and she was about to use her expensive logic to manipulate us to get it.

  I wasn’t a man who was easily won over with shiny promises. Maybe in the past I would have been duped, but I was thirty-one now. I had learned from my mistakes and those of others.

  As I sat back in my dad’s chair, I pondered what he’d do in this situation. And that’s when a smile broke out on my face for the first time all day. I knew what my father would have said, and Ms. Bea Love was about to learn how the Angrov family conducted business.

  “I’m listening. What is it you want with us, Ms. Love?”

  She grinned, not like before, not as if she was about to pounce. This time it was glowing, radiant, as if the speech she was about to bestow upon us was all that she worked for.

  And perhaps it was. Perhaps I was about to crush her everything. As much as I cared for and only wished to protect my family, I never wanted to be the person who ruined dreams.

  “While drinking your wonderful coffee at Fire and Ice Diner, I discovered that you two are the creators of that tasty beverage.”

  “Actually, my brother roasts the beans; I just run the business aspect of it. You know, like the accounting and dealing with the clients, that sort of thing. So, if you like the flavor, thank Mica.” My sister smiled and turned her gaze toward me.

  “Then thank you, Mica. I have to admit that until last year I had no idea coffee could be this good. But then my sister ran away from her wedding and shacked up with a sheep farmer. One thing led to another, and I got a taste of your coffee. And I’ve been hooked ever since.”

  Sheep farmer? Runaway bride? What was this woman going on about?

  “Okay.” I didn’t know whether to say thanks or ask her if she knew what century she was in and how many fingers I was holding up.

  “What I’m saying is, everyone who tastes your coffee loves it. I have tasted coffee from the finest coffee houses in the world, and nothing comes close to the quality of your brand.”

  “Really?” Chloe tilted her head, easily suckered into Bea’s speech.

  Bea nodded. “Oh, yes. You must understand that any hotel or coffee house would pay top dollar for your product. When you told me that you only sold your coffee locally, I was shocked that you haven’t had company after company beating down your door to offer you to sell with them.”

  “We’ve had a few, but . . .” Chloe shifted in her seat.

  “What my sister is trying to say is, we’ve had a few that tried to rip us off.” I waved around the room. “We don’t have much, Ms. Love, as you can tell. I’m sure you’re used to the finer things, but we’re not. Nor are we hoping some dazzling offer will come riding in on three-inch heels to solve all our problems.”

  “I didn’t mean—” Bea tried her best to backtrack, but I wasn’t done.

  “You didn’t mean to what? Flatter us? Come in and rave about our brand and tell us how you can sell our coffee all over the country for lots of money.” I smirked as Bea’s eyes grew wide.

  “No, of course, you didn’t mean to do that. You only wanted to help us. Some poor family that you never would have cared about if we didn’t make coffee you liked. That’s the only reason you’re here, isn’t it? Just to help a family that only an hour ago, you didn’t even know existed.” I stood, nodded to my sister, and marched out of the room.

  Did she really believe I’d be that naïve? Of course, she did. People like her always took one look at people like me and instantly thought we’d be easily duped.

  My feet pounded the wood floor a little louder than usual as I made my way through the hall to the kitchen and straight out the broken door. I still had my brown parka on from taking Shelby to the doctor’s as I marched toward the barn. The large red building popped in contrast to the muddy snow on the ground and pine trees behind it.

  Sliding open the barn door, I didn’t bother to close it. I was too flustered to care about the chill it would let into the room.

  There it was, the cause for all this concern. My coffee roaster. It was big, metal, with a giant funnel on top and it put me at ease just laying my eyes on it.

  “There you are. She thought she could fool us, but she can’t.” I patted the side of the machine as if it were a horse.

  “What’s her name?”

  My eyes widened at the sound of Bea’s voice. I spun around a little too quickly and tripped. What was wrong with me? It’s like my body became a rag doll in her presence.

  For a brief moment, I thought I had caught myself, but no. It was too late. The gods of misfortune and clumsiness were using me for sport today. I did a full body fall right at her feet—the same feet that wore those female weapons. One step and she could sever my spinal cord.

  Don’t look up at her. Don’t look up at her.

  I tried to stop myself, but for some reason, I wasn’t listening. I knew how my sister would react in that situation. She’d have concern in her eyes and scramble to help me up. But in the minuscule amount of time I had spent in Bea’s presence, I knew she’d react the exact opposite.

  With that understanding, I did the opposite of what any sane person would do. I lifted my head until I was gazing into those wickedly smirking hazel eyes.

  “Falling at my feet already? But I hadn’t even told you how much I was willing to get for your coffee.”

  It was at that moment that I knew Bea Love was a woman who never took no for an answer.

  FIVE

  Bea

  “Wow. You went all out, Carter. Is this a new pine table or
did you put on a fresh coat of varnish?” I teased my sister’s fiancé.

  He grunted and ignored me as he went about tending to the bacon he was cooking. Glancing around their small cabin, I was grateful my sister had made improvements since she moved in last year. One of which was the electric stove she had put in, and I noticed the bathroom now had a showerhead.

  And the décor was less hermit-style and more rustic-chic.

  “Actually, I found it in a store over in Hooksville.” Olivia smiled, placing plaid placemats in front of the chairs around the table.

  “It looks great. It seems you fit right in here, Olivia. The perfect place to raise a family. Don’t you think, Carter?”

  I ignored my sister’s gasp and kept my eyes glued to my soon-to-be brother-in-law. Based on the shock that radiated from Olivia, I suspected she had yet to tell Carter about her pregnancy.

  While I hated seeing my sister worried that her true love would walk away from her new motherly state, I also reveled in pushing her buttons. It’s what siblings do. I wouldn’t be a good sister if I didn’t torture her any chance I got.

  “I guess. I never much thought of having kids,” Carter said in his usual you-never-know-what-I’m-really-thinking-because-I’m-anti-social sort of way.

  Abandoning the rustic-mountain theme she was creating on the table, my sister sat with a frown. I reached across from my seat, pushed a small basket of pine branches out of the way, and placed my hand on hers.

  That wasn’t the answer I had expected from Carter. I gave him grief, but only because I liked him. He was serious, a hard-worker, and protective of the people he cared about. My sister deserved someone who appreciated and loved her, and Carter was that someone.

  The way he treated her, his dog, and those sheep, I thought for sure he would dream of the day when he could have children running around the side of the mountain like mini lumberjacks. I pictured them with little beards, even the girls, taking after their father in flannel.

  Maybe my sister was right. Did Carter even want children?

  There was a knock on the door. I jumped up and gave a small clap.

  “They’re here. Now everyone, remember to gush about the coffee. Tell them, especially Mica, if the coffee were human, you’d want to get it between the sheets. Or in your case, Carter, between the sheeps.” I winked as he turned from the frying pan and frowned.

  “It’s sheep,” he said.

  “What?”

  “The plural for sheep, is sheep.”

  I wondered if that man even knew how to laugh.

  Ignoring his lack of humor, I tugged at my navy sweater and hoped I didn’t appear too gauche. My sister let me borrow her clothes. She promised people here appreciated and responded better to simpler clothing. The idea of less was more, which I understood.

  Simple. Refined. At ease. That was what I would ooze tonight. Mica didn’t respond well to my flattery two days ago. When I left the Angrov’s place, I visited my sister at the veterinarian’s office where she worked and told her what had happened. She concluded it must have been my clothing. She knew when she first met Carter, he didn’t want anything to do with money.

  It must have been my clothes. The suit was straight from Anneli Chatel’s fall collection. Mica must have known, and it made him uncomfortable. I felt like an idiot for not realizing it to begin with.

  I went to town the next day and found some simple stationery at the Town Grocery. I wrote the Angrov’s a note, inviting them to dinner at Carter and Olivia’s tonight. I left my phone number and received a text this morning that they would attend.

  I would prove to Mica that I was as down-to-earth as anyone else in this town.

  Perhaps my compliments would be more to Mica’s liking with my plain attire and a local who I was almost related to at the dinner table.

  Instead of hiding my grin behind a mask of detachment as my mother always taught me to portray when greeting someone, I decided to display my excitement.

  Things were different in Fire Lake. It was time I tried to fit in, especially if it meant winning over a client.

  I yanked the door open, and the cool gust of air nipped at my skin.

  Mica stood there with a little girl in his arms. His milk-chocolate eyes were wide with either surprise or worry, or maybe a little bit of both.

  The man was gorgeous. I would be insane and blind not to notice how working those coffee beans in that contraption he had in his barn made his arms look meaty enough to suck on.

  But a black, puffy coat and a squirming child hid those arms. I would have to make do with ogling his square jaw and kissable lips instead.

  He wasn’t the usual type of guy my body vibrated for. Most of the men I had been with were wealthy playboys who liked having fun as much as I did. Mica was vastly different. Whereas most men gave me a sly grin upon meeting me, he grimaced and wished me to leave.

  The strange part was that it seemed to turn me on even more.

  Another oddity was the kid. That would usually erect an invisible wall between men and my vagina. It’s not that I hated children . . . I just didn’t completely understand them. If a person couldn’t hold down a job or legally buy me some champagne, then what was their purpose?

  In Shelby’s case, I supposed it was to look adorable and have something to cuddle. But was that enough to spend so much time taking care of a small human? I noticed the tiredness in both Mica and Chloe’s eyes the other day. I knew children, especially when they’re young, were exhausting.

  My mother was smart to hire a nanny to do the tiring work of raising us. I felt bad for Mica and Chloe. They didn’t have help.

  “Here, let me take her from you. Come in and take off your coat.” I held out my arms out of curiosity. Maybe if I held Shelby, I’d understand. I wanted to know why this small being was worth so much trouble.

  Mica shook his head. “No. I got it.” He stepped past me, with Shelby, and brought in the scent of pine and coffee with him.

  “Where’s Chloe?”

  “She, uh . . . wasn’t feeling well. Chloe wanted me to tell you that she’s sorry she couldn’t make it.”

  My smile faltered for only a moment. Being raised by a mother who cared more about how you looked than your feelings meant I had plenty of training in how to handle disappointing surprises.

  I knew I had Chloe on my side. She was my ally in my attempt to win Mica over so I could sell his coffee. I guess I had to rely more on Olivia and Carter tonight.

  “Oh, isn’t she adorable. What’s her name?” Olivia said and raced forward.

  “Shelby. She’s my niece.”

  Carter stepped forward and took Mica’s coat as he easily handed off Shelby to my sister.

  Huh. He didn’t want me holding her. Yet the woman who got lost in the mountains on her wedding day was okay to hold his niece.

  I guess I had more of an uphill battle to get Mica to trust me than I thought.

  I introduced Carter and Olivia to Mica.

  “How old is she?” Olivia sat at the dining room table with Shelby in her lap. My sister didn’t want to let her go for some reason. Must be the pregnancy hormones.

  Mica sat next to Olivia and smiled. “She turned two last week.”

  That grin. Those lips curved into something mouthwatering. Had he ever considered modeling? Mica wouldn’t have to drudge away everyday roasting coffee. He could easily make lots of money showing the fashion photographers in New York his heart-stopping smile.

  And then there were his arms.

  I shook my head to focus on the conversation, taking a seat across from Mica.

  “Is she Chloe’s?” I asked and noticed him flinch once again.

  “No.”

  “But you said she’s your niece? Do you have other siblings?”

  “Bacon and hash browns are almost ready. I hope you like breakfast food, Mica. It’s what I know how to cook,” Carter piped up.

  I turned to find a stiff smile on his lips. That was weird. The man doesn’t ever
speak unless he has to. Maybe this was his attempt at helping me out, trying to be social.

  I nodded at Carter to thank him for trying.

  “Love it. If I could, I’d make bacon-flavored coffee.”

  “That sounds so good. So good,” Olivia whispered.

  I couldn’t help but notice Mica’s eyes were everywhere but on me. It was time to face facts. Mica hated me. He hated everything I represented. I had met people at various times in my life who resented people with money, no matter how that person acquired their money, whether they were born into it or came from nothing and worked their way up. It didn’t matter. Money to them meant all that was bad in the world.

  And who could blame them? I had met a lot of wealthy people who were easily corrupted by their growing bank accounts.

  Despite my upbringing or the clothes I wore, I didn’t give a rat’s ass about money. Now, that wasn’t to say that I wouldn’t care if I woke up tomorrow and there wasn’t anything in my bank account. I wouldn’t freak out.

  But it wasn’t what drove me. As I watched this perfect cabin in the woods scene play out before me, I knew I had to prove to Mica that I wasn’t a greedy person.

  “That’s an idea. Bacon coffee. Is there a way you can roast the beans to give it a smoky flavor?”

  Carter was placing plates filled with bacon and hash browns in front of us while I kept my eye on Mica. He reached for his plaid cloth napkin and draped it across his lap.

  I made note of his manners.

  “I could, but it’s not something I can do in large batches.” He finally decided I was in the room and gazed at me. And while I was glad he acknowledged my presence, he seemed to find my idea distasteful. Either that or he was lying about liking breakfast food as the plate was placed in front of him.

  Olivia waved off the food and stood, lifting Shelby in her arms and taking her over to the seating area near the window.

  The eating commenced once Carter sat. The men didn’t speak much, and when they did, it was about sheep or coffee. I tried my best to work in my idea of selling Fire Lake Coffee to the resort down in Virginia, but every time I brought it up, Mica mentioned he didn’t do business outside of town.