by Jill Winters
"Really?" Melissa said, arching an eyebrow.
"Yeah," she said, wondering why Melissa looked skeptical. Was she doubting that Mark had long hours? Or that it was the reason Billy didn't see him enough?
Shaking her head, Melissa remarked, "I still can't get a feel for what Mark's type is."
"What do you mean?" Billy asked, leaning against the table and accidentally smudging the side edge of the sheet cake. "Oh, shoot," she said, turning back and bending to fix it with her frosting spatula.
"Hey, Billy," Katie called, ducking her head in, "there's someone here to see you."
"Huh?"
"About the jubilee."
"Oh! I totally forgot." Damn, she really wanted to finish this cake first. Gingerly Billy worked her hands under the cardboard tray, shimmied the cake off the table to balance in her hands, and carried it to the freezer. Melissa opened the door for her.
Then Billy wiped her hands on her apron, brushed back some loose strands of hair that had fallen away from her ponytail, and headed to the front.
Suddenly she stopped short. And in less than a second, the dull but comforting predictability of life abruptly turned on its axis.
"Billy?"
"Oh, my God," she said, coming closer, barely having enough time to process the handsome, achingly familiar man standing on the other side of the counter. No... it couldn't be!
Seth Lannigan? After all this time?
"I can't believe this," he said, smiling warmly, with a touch of wonder crossing his face.
"Um, what are you doing here?" Billy asked, feeling choked by shock, as her heart fluttered frantically in her chest.
"I'm here representing Churchill and the Jubilee Planning Committee. What, you work here?" Grinning self-deprecatingly, he plowed his hand into his hair and said, "Okay, obviously you do."
"Yeah," Billy said with a laugh that was mostly nerves. "My friend got me the job a couple months ago," she added, motioning toward Melissa on the other side of the counter. That was when she noticed Melissa, Katie, and Des all watching like they'd paid for seats. Abruptly, they averted their eyes and pretended to straighten things behind the counter.
Seth must've noticed, because his eyes dropped to the floor as his mouth curved into another grin. Then he looked back up at Billy. And she really took him in—the darkly golden hair, the navy sweater that covered his broad shoulders and strong chest, the fresh-looking softness of his skin—Wait. Seth was clean shaven now. Back in the day he'd exuded a scruffy kind of sexiness; his favorite outfit had been jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. Now he looked more clean-cut. Older, more filled out. The same, only better.
Swallowing hard, Billy tried to steady her nerves, which were still reeling. For the most part shock had worn off, and the reality of seeing Seth again had begun to sink in.
Automatically, her body and mind responded to his presence—especially the vivid deja vu rushing through her mind, reminding her of Seth's magnetism. His sexy grin, his hypnotic gaze, the rich sound of his laugh—it all just rattled her senses.
Wiping her palms on her apron, she stopped fiddling and snapped into focus. "I was working at Net Circle up till about six months ago. I've been working here until I find something else. What about you? Are you just home visiting?"
Seth explained about his mother's move to Dublin, and selling her house. Though it wasn't logical, the notion of Seth selling his family's beach house stung Billy a little. She supposed, in the corners of her mind, she was still touched by memories of holding Seth on the beach... of Seth kissing her softly, deeply, under Fourth of July tiki torches and moonlight.
"...so when Sally asked me to fill in for her today and meet with the caterer, I figured it was the least I could do."
Smiling, Billy continued to nod, feeling vaguely like a PEZ head.
Seth asked, "Should we sit, or...?"
"Oh, right, good idea," Billy said, moving past him, feeling some heat emanating off Seth's body as she passed. This reunion probably called for a hug, but the counter had been between them before, and now it felt like the moment was lost. She stopped short at a free table and turned quickly, accidentally brushing her shoulder against Seth's elbow, which sent a shiver rippling up her arm. She swallowed away the tightness in the back of her throat. "Okay, let's sit right here—except I forgot my—Oh!" She almost bumped into Seth as she whipped around. Now his eyes looked deeply into hers, and a rush of heat flooded Billy's chest. "I forgot the order book," she explained, smiling almost shyly. "I'll be right back."
When she walked behind the counter, she caught Melissa, Katie, and Des all huddled by the register, staring again. Rolling her eyes, she almost laughed. "Could you guys be more obvious?" she whispered as she passed by them and pushed on the door to the back.
Immediately Melissa and Katie followed. "Omigod, when he came in, I didn't realize he was Seth," Katie said approvingly.
"So that's Seth? The 'one that got away'?" Melissa asked, then whistled. "I swear, I don't know how you snag these guys."
"What do you mean?" Billy said, a little surprised by that comment.
"No, no, I just mean... he's a hottie."
Somehow that wasn't clarifying much, but right now Billy was too flustered to pursue it. Seth was out there, and there was catering business to be dealt with.
Oh, yeah, and she also had to remember how to breathe.
"What do you think—should I lose the apron?" she asked. On the one hand, Billy was tempted to keep it on to cover her recent weight gain, but on the other, her red sweater and blue jeans said "cazh," while the apron said "serving wench."
"I'd lose it," Katie said.
Melissa held out her hand for Billy to relinquish the apron.
Just then Des ducked his head in. "Hey, what's going on in here?" he asked. His shaggy locks were dipped over one eye, and his mouth was curved into a small frown.
"Des, you have to go back to the front," Melissa said. "You can't leave the register unattended." She refrained from adding, Duh, but it was loudly implied.
With a heavy sigh, he retreated.
"Well, go on," Melissa said to Billy. "You really don't want to leave Des out there with Seth. He'll start pontificating on the meaning of life, pretending, of course, that he has one."
A strangled laugh escaped Billy's throat—part nerves and part giddiness at the bright, unexpected turn her day had taken.
Sucking in a breath, she clutched the order book to her chest and headed to the front, her mind going blank of everything but the nervous excitement buzzing through her. She wasn't thinking clearly—or maybe at all—in fact, it was times like these she envied Des Aggerdeen's flair for conversation.
Chapter 4
God, to see Billy again! Seth thought, his surprise barely settling as he rapped his fingers anxiously on the tabletop. She looked the same as she had four years ago, except her hair was a dark red color now, and pulled back from her face, which was prettier than he'd remembered—prettier than that photograph depicted.
Rap, rap, rap.
He felt keyed up; seeing her again was the last thing he'd been expecting, and now all his senses were on alert; his pulse was pounding. In the months following his move to Seattle, Seth had been so busy with work that he'd put all speculation about her out of his mind. But now, his first day back, she appeared before him. Billy was right there—right here.
Damn, he still couldn't believe it.
"Okay," she said, returning to the table, balancing two cups of coffee and a thick binder. Immediately he stood to help her, but she shook her head. "I've got it," she said, leaning over to set everything down on the table, then pulling out the chair across from him. Her apron was gone, and abruptly he noticed her body. Back when they'd dated, she had been shapely—a hot little rocket—and Seth could see that nothing had changed except she was more voluptuous. Her curves seemed fuller, giving her a blatant kind of sex appeal. He noticed the arousing way her jeans hugged her body, and the mouthwatering arc of her breasts against her sweater.
A jolt of lust shot to his groin as an image reached his mind. He was thinking about her body without clothes. Her luscious ass, her soft, succulent breasts—
"You still take your coffee black, right?" she asked, breaking his lusty trance.
"Yeah. Thanks."
Flipping open the order book, she ran through the specifics for the jubilee. "Everything's on schedule. All the pastries will be made fresh that day. Our baker, Georgette, will be on hand to replenish items, as needed. And I'm almost finished decorating the sheet cakes for the night's finale."
"You changed your hair."
She seemed caught off guard by the nonsequitur, and ran her hand over her ponytail.
"It looks good," Seth added. He stopped himself from saying more—like how her dark red hair next to her pale blue eyes was like a sultry burst of color. Christ, how did she look so innocently pretty—with the light dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose—but at the same time, so erotically hot?
She blushed, and Seth wondered how red she'd turn if she knew the graphic ideas running through his mind right now.
He passed her the last-minute notes from Sally and the planning committee, and couldn't help zeroing in on the fringe of Billy's long, dark lashes as she scanned the list. When she glanced up, she caught him staring again. Quickly Seth softened his gaze, trying to tamp down his intense resurgence of sexual attraction before Billy read it all over his face.
After jubilee business was out of the way, Billy handed Seth the final invoice. He took it and slipped it into his back pocket, but made no move to go. "So how's your family?" he asked, resting his arms on the table. "Your parents? Corryn and Kane?" After she told him about her parents' recent cruise and her sister's success in real estate, she mentioned Corryn's divorce. "Oh, I'm sorry," Seth said.
"No, don't be. It's been two years; Corryn's doing great." Smiling, Billy added, "Well, except for the fixation about how all men are bastards."
"Sounds about right," Seth said, and Billy laughed. She still had a lilting kind of giggle—he used to love it, and apparently still did.
"What about you?" she asked. "How're your mom and brother?"
"Good, good," he said, and went on to give her updates.
While he was talking, Billy couldn't help but notice that Des was lingering around their table. Right now he was on about his tenth lap around with the mop, blatantly eavesdropping on their conversation. (The way his hair was combed behind his ears and his head cocked abnormally to the side each time he neared their table kind of tipped her off.) Not that she particularly cared; she and Seth were having a perfectly benign conversation on the surface, and Des was harmless anyway.
She thought about the way Seth had been looking at her a moment ago. Hungrily. No, that couldn't be right. She was the one who was hungry—starved—for some sexual satisfaction. (So what else was new?)
Just then everyone heard a loud bang. Des had accidentally walked into the pie case and sent his broom plummeting to the floor. "Oh..." he mumbled, leaning down to get it. "Whoops."
"Nice job!" Melissa called to him. Des ignored her and looked over at Billy, who smiled kindly at him before turning her attention back to Seth.
"So tell me about your life in Seattle," she said. Maybe for a moment her inner two-year-old wanted Seth to say that life was bleak. Dreary, loveless. Maybe the dark part of her wanted him to regret his decision to leave their burgeoning relationship behind.
But the feeling passed quickly. He'd always been a decent, caring person, and she hoped he'd done well for himself. And it definitely sounded like he had. According to Seth, he'd started his own consulting firm two years ago, and now it was thriving.
"Wow, that's so impressive," she said, smiling, and reached out to touch his arm. "I'm so proud of you!" Shrugging off the compliment, Seth dropped his eyes to Billy's hand, and she quickly withdrew it.
"Can I take that cup for you?" It was Des, who'd somehow sidled right up to the table. Billy nodded and thanked him as he grabbed her empty coffee cup and lingered for a few seconds before leaving.
"What about your job at Net Circle?" Seth asked, leaning forward. "How come you quit?"
"Wellll... I wouldn't exactly use the term 'quit,' " she replied, making quotation marks with her fingers. He gave her a quizzical look. "The company went under," she explained. "It came as a total shock to me, which was crazy, because I really should've seen the signs."
"What signs?"
"Well, a few days before I got the news, moving men came in and took some desks out of the office."
"Oh..."
"And then the phone company disconnected the fax machine."
"Ah..." he said with a nod.
"And, of course, there was the fact that when I tried to access the company homepage, it said: 'Error—Web site does not exist.' " Seth had to laugh at that, and Billy giggled, too. "I guess I was kind of in my own world."
"Listen, I still have a lot of business contacts here in Boston," Seth said, turning more serious. "I'd be happy to make a few calls—"
"No," she interrupted. "No, thanks, I'll find something." She refrained from adding that she really had no clue what she was going to do next, but whatever it was, she was fairly certain she could do it on her own.
Just then Des reappeared. "Billy, can I get you another cup of coffee or...?"
"No, I'm set, thanks," she said, wishing Des weren't being such a lurker today. Here she'd been talking to Seth for a while, and she still hadn't found out whether he was married. Pure idle curiosity, of course.
"Hey, I don't know what you're up to later," Des said, leaning his weight on the pole of the mop, literally making it his crutch, "but my band's having a jam session at the old abandoned warehouse. You should stop by."
Hmm... could that sound more unappealing?
"Oh, that sounds fun," Billy lied, "but I'm meeting my sister for drinks." Actually, that last part was true; after work they were having raspberry crushes at the Rack.
"Are you sure? Because I was gonna show you the new manifesto I've been working on. I'm thinking of putting it to music and just turning it into a song. You know, so I can reach more people. It'd be so cool to have your creative input."
Okay, Des was a sweet guy, but please—not another manifesto of logical fallacies and convoluted calls to some muddled kind of action. "Sorry—maybe another time," she said.
He nodded and retreated to help a flock of incoming customers, and once he was gone Seth looked at his watch. "You know, I should probably let you get back to work. I don't want you to get in trouble."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Billy said as they both stood up. "What time is it anyway?"
When he told her the time, she couldn't believe it. An hour and a half had flown by! And her coworkers hadn't even called her away. Jeez, she'd taken shameless advantage of the situation... yet she still wasn't ready to say good-bye.
"By the way..." Billy said, careful to keep her tone casual, "are you going to be at the Dessert Jubilee on Saturday?"
Seth paused, then curved his mouth into a grin. "It's a possibility," was all he said. And then a silence stretched between them; Billy suddenly felt shy, and didn't know exactly how to end the conversation. Standing next to Seth she became acutely aware of his height, and of her neck arching to look up at him. Her eyes zeroed in on a small spot along Seth's jaw that he must've missed with his razor. If she let herself remember, she'd recall exactly how those sandy whiskers felt rubbing along her cheek, brushing against her lips, and burrowing between her breasts. (It was a good thing she wasn't letting herself remember.)
"Well, take care," she said finally.
"You, too," Seth replied, then leaned in for a hug.
As he closed the space between them, Billy's heart kicked up, and suddenly all the nervous energy she'd tamped down came skittering back. Her stomach clenched into a tight, almost painful ball of tension as her breathing became ragged, almost shaky. A combination of apprehension and lust
that she prayed Seth couldn't detect.
What's come over me?
She was so damn nervous and terrified... but exhilarated, too, as Seth tightened his embrace—pulling her closer, wrapping his heat around her, and trapping her inside. Sliding her eyes closed, Billy stood on tiptoe, cupped Seth's shoulders, and concentrated on the feel of him. Broad, solid... sexy. God, he was strong—she could feel it in the restrained way he held her. He'd filled out over the past four years, probably worked out a lot. That makes one of us. Oh God, this is so surreal...
Her mouth ran dry as Seth's muscle and heat enveloped her, and some thick, invisible energy rose off his body like steam off hot pavement. She felt that steam seeping into her skin; to make matters worse, with his face pressed against her hair, hot arousing puffs of his breath tickled the rim of her ear.
Stifling the urge to moan, Billy struggled to understand the chemistry crackling between them—struggled not to enjoy the warm throb that pulsed between her legs now that she was touching him. Or not to enjoy it too much. She wondered if he felt something, too.
Just then Seth rubbed his cheek gently against her hair, almost as if acknowledging the sensuousness of the moment. But that probably wasn't it. Who, besides her, was sex-starved enough to get turned on by a simple hug?
"Billy?" he said softly.
Swallowing hard, she savored the gravelly thickness in his voice that took her back—reminding her of the intimate way he used to speak to her. Holding her by the ocean, whispering in her ear about the future, sliding his hand gently over her breast, groaning, and whispering, "This is mine." In return, she'd run her hand between his legs, a little less gently, feeling the worn denim and the swollen bulge in the front, and say, " This is mine." And he would bury his face in her hair and murmur, "You're right."
"Billy?" he said again, and she snapped into the present. That was good, because reveries were silly; every relationship was passionate and full of possibilities after only a few months. Suddenly she realized that Seth was trying to pull back from the hug... and that she was still clinging to him... and with abandon.