Bad Taste in Men (Clover Park, Book 3) Contemporary Romance (The Clover Park Series)

by Kylie Gilmore

  Chapter Nine

  Shane headed for the street-fair meeting in the Clover Park library conference room the next day, wondering how Rachel would react when they saw each other. After they’d kissed at the barbecue, she’d kept her distance, always keeping at least one person between them. But after a scorching kiss like that, he had no plans to pretend he was only interested in her as a friend.

  “Why, hello there, Shane,” Miss Smith said as he passed her librarian desk. “Haven’t seen you here in a while.”

  Shane couldn’t remember the last time he’d borrowed a book. Whenever he wanted a new cookbook or mystery, he bought it at Rachel’s store. He tried to keep Rachel in business. He didn’t even need the cookbooks since he created his own recipes.

  “Hi, Miss Smith. How are you?”

  She smiled a rare smile and patted her gray hair in its usual bun. “I’m just fine. You’re such a nice young man. If I were twenty years younger…”

  Twenty? More like forty. He felt himself blush anyway from the compliment. Old women loved him for some reason. If only he had that effect on the younger generation.

  “I’d better get to my meeting.”

  She shook her finger at him. “I want to see your face around here a lot more, Mr. O’Hare. Reading is still an important skill for all ages.”

  “I’ll be here every Monday night for the street-fair meeting.”

  He headed to the conference room. Only one person here so far, his friend, Gabe Reynolds, wearing what he thought of as a casual outfit: a preppy polo shirt and khakis. Gabe had moved back to Clover Park only a month ago, shedding his expensive suits along with his fast-track job at his dad’s law firm after his dad had died suddenly of a heart attack at age fifty-seven.

  “Gabe,” he said, pumping his hand, “they roped you into this, huh?”

  Gabe held up his palms. “I’m giving back to the community. It’s my new thing.”

  Shane laughed. Gabe had been like a shark with the sharp teeth of his law firm to back him up, so it was hard to picture him as a community volunteer. “What did Rachel promise you?”

  “Nothing,” Gabe said indignantly. “Can’t a guy just do his part?”

  Shane shook his head. “Well, I’m glad you’re here. There’s this new guy in charge of the street fair, Barry, from that fro-yo place, and I just know he’s going to try to pull some crazy stunt that makes the street fair a total—”

  “Hey, guys!” Barry Furnukle waved as he walked in wearing a loud, red Hawaiian shirt. “I brought coupons!”

  He handed them each a ten percent off frozen yogurt coupon to his shop The Dancing Cow.

  “Thanks,” Gabe said.

  Shane stared at it. He didn’t believe in coupons. Quality food was not about a bargain.

  Barry sat at the head of the table and rubbed his hands together. “Who else is coming?”

  “Rachel,” Shane said.

  “That’s it?” Barry asked.

  “Whoever else she managed to rope into it,” Gabe said.

  “I knew it,” Shane said under his breath.

  “I get free coffee for life,” Gabe whispered.

  Shane grinned. He’d let that one go. He just hoped Rachel hadn’t promised anyone else the same treatment or they’d never keep the café profitable. Gabe had always helped him with legal questions and paperwork and never charged him. They’d become fast friends after Shane had kicked the ass of that middle school bully. Turned out Gabe, a scrawny “late bloomer” as Gran liked to say, had been tortured by the kid too.

  “It’s a lot of work,” Shane said to Barry. “A lot of business owners are busy in the summer.”

  Barry pulled a pen from his front shirt pocket along with a Dancing Cow napkin and set them on the table, presumably to take notes. “The more hands, the lighter the work.”

  Just then Rachel walked in with Liz and Janelle.

  “I brought many hands,” Rachel declared.

  Shane went instantly hard. She wore a snug pink T-shirt that read Born to Read. Her black shorts showed lots of leg. He couldn’t wait to get her in his arms again. He tried to catch her eye, but she avoided looking at him and walked to the far side of the table with Liz. She needed a little convincing, a little reminder of their kiss. After the meeting.

  Liz waved. “Hi, everyone.”

  It was almost like a high school reunion. Shane had graduated with Liz, Rachel, and Gabe. He relaxed. This wouldn’t be too bad.

  Janelle slipped into the seat next to Shane and stuck her lip out. “I haven’t heard from you.”

  Were they supposed to do something? He shifted closer to the table to hide his massive interest in Rachel.

  “I, uh, just saw you yesterday,” Shane said.

  She put her hand on his arm and whispered in his ear, “Let’s grab some drinks on Friday. That was fun.”

  “I’ll let you know,” he said noncommittally. He really needed to have that talk with her. He’d gotten distracted with Rachel yesterday. He’d never had to reject a woman before. He’d wait until they were alone and explain that he was interested in someone else.

  Janelle smiled at him. She pulled a notebook and pen out of her purse. “Rachel wanted me to take notes,” she announced. “I’ll email you all each week with the minutes so we don’t forget what we agreed on.”

  “And here I thought the napkin would cover it,” Barry said, waving it in the air.

  Liz giggled and quickly slapped a hand over her mouth.

  Rachel spoke up. “Barry, I just wanted to let you know what we’ve done in previous years. The street fair is always on Labor Day, and we close Main Street to cars. The sidewalks have sales from all the stores, and in the street we set up games for the kids like bean bag toss, fishing in a kiddy pool, sand art, and face painting. Last year we all went in on an inflatable bounce house.”

  “And of course, food,” Shane chimed in. “We have a tent set up with burgers and hot dogs grilled by Garner’s.” He inclined his head toward Liz. She smiled. “And I have a small freezer set up for ice cream with more flavors offered in my shop.”

  “Ooh, this year we could offer iced coffee and iced tea from our café,” Rachel said, meeting his eyes for the first time. Their gazes locked. It felt like an invisible thread drew them together even across a table in a room filled with people. This attraction was real and growing with every look, every touch. He wished they were alone right now. He couldn’t wait for the meeting to be over. Her cheeks turned a pretty pink.

  “Great idea,” he said, but he meant I want you so bad.

  Rachel quickly looked away and twirled the end of her braid. Was she really that freaked out by the idea of the two of them? They were good together. Friendship was a great foundation for a relationship, not a reason to avoid one.

  Barry scribbled something on his napkin. “So the entire street fair’s on Main Street?”

  “That’s where most of the businesses are in town,” Rachel said.

  “I’d like the fair to extend to the front of my shop too,” Barry said.

  “You’re a mile away from downtown,” Rachel said, her voice amping up a degree in irritation.

  “And well worth the walk,” Barry said cheerfully. “People will love cooling off in my spacious air-conditioned shop. And the kids will love seeing the dancing cow giving out wacky glasses.”

  “Don’t forget how healthy the frozen yogurt is,” Shane said, looking to get Rachel smiling with their favorite joke.

  Barry nodded vigorously. “That too.”

  Rachel tipped her head and gave Shane a sideways look. “Why is that again?”

  “Because of the pro-bee-otics, of course,” Barry replied.

  Shane and Rachel stifled a laugh.

  “I should put that right on the sign out front so people will remember,” Barry said. “You and Shane are always forgetting about the most important ingredient.”

  “You don’t need a sign,” Shane said, working hard not to crack up. “Just remind them.
Much more effective that way.”

  He exchanged another amused look with Rachel across the table. She smiled, biting her lip. Her shoulders shook with suppressed laughter.

  “You know it’s actually pronounced—” Gabe started. He jolted as Shane kicked him under the table.

  Rachel got herself back under control. “Barry, it’s really too far of a walk. It doesn’t make sense when you’re the only one in the chamber of commerce out there.”

  “Don’t forget Derek from Flying Leap Fitness,” Barry said.

  “Yes, but what are people going to do at his shop?” Rachel asked.

  Barry made a nonexistent muscle. “Get fit.”

  “That’s not the point of the street fair,” Rachel said.

  “Okay, let’s just table this issue,” Barry said, tapping the table. “Let’s move on to the important stuff. Coupons.”

  Shane frowned.

  “Coupons,” Rachel repeated, looking like she wanted to throttle Barry. Shane would be happy to watch.

  “I love coupons!” Janelle declared. She looked around. “Who doesn’t love a good bargain?”

  “Yes, but there’s the paper and printing and distributing,” Rachel said. “Not to mention cleaning up all the coupons that kids lose or throw on the ground.”

  Barry stood and walked around to Rachel’s seat. He whipped a coupon out of his shirt pocket. How much did he manage to fit in that pocket? “I present to you ten percent off a frozen yogurt. Come into my shop, try it, and then tell me how you feel about coupons.”

  Rachel gingerly took the coupon. “Uh, okay.”

  Barry nodded and gamely returned to his seat. “What else? Someone to make balloon animals? Pony rides? Maybe a carousel?”

  “There’s not that much room on Main Street,” Gabe said.

  “There is if we push it all the way out to my shop,” Barry said. “I’ll host the pony rides in my parking lot.”

  Liz looked at Rachel. “That does sound like fun.”

  “It sounds expensive,” Rachel said. “And we’re not stretching the fair that far because there’s nothing between downtown and your shop but houses.” She threw her hands up. “It makes no sense!”

  Shane intervened. “We should vote on it.”

  Rachel shot him a grateful look. No one would vote this in Barry’s favor. He was the new guy, and he just didn’t get how things worked around here.

  “How many in favor of extending the fair out to The Dancing Cow?” Gabe asked.

  Barry’s hand shot up in the air. Everyone else sat hands down. Barry slowly put his hand down.

  “The people have spoken.” Barry frowned. “Guess I’ll have to cancel the ponies,” he muttered under his breath.

  “Maybe for another occasion,” Liz said. “It sounds like fun.”

  Barry had lots of ideas and lots of friends in the kiddie “entertainment” industry. The group decided to let him make some phone calls to get an idea of costs and then meet again the following Monday.

  The meeting adjourned, and everyone stood and gathered their things. Shane waited outside the room for Rachel. He wanted to walk her back to her place, clear the air between them, and kiss her until she was soft and willing again.

  Barry got to her first.

  “Allow me,” Barry said, holding out an arm to Rachel.

  “I can walk,” Rachel said. “I know I’ve got this ankle thing, but I’m managing fine.”

  “You’d be doing me a favor,” Barry said with a smile. “I haven’t had a beautiful woman on my arm since, well, I can’t remember when.” He looked at her sheepishly, with an aren’t-I-so-adorable look that made Shane want to puke.

  Rachel fell for it. “When you put it that way.”

  She took his arm, and they walked out together. Barry was telling her all about frozen yogurt and its many flavors and healthful benefits.

  A rare temper flared in Shane as they walked right by him. What was Rachel doing? They liked to make fun of this guy. She looked genuinely interested in what he was saying.

  Liz placed a hand on his arm. “Why don’t we all get some ice cream at your shop?”

  “Sure,” he said, knowing she was just trying to distract him from Rachel leaving with the fro-yo guy.

  “Sounds great!” Janelle chirped.

  “You got any of that salted caramel left?” Gabe asked.

  “Yup, let’s go.” Shane left with Janelle talking his ear off, Liz and Gabe trailing behind.

  When they got outside, he saw Rachel getting into Barry’s Honda Accord. Shane stopped right there on the sidewalk to watch. The bright blue car had a huge Dancing Cow magnet on both sides. There was a loudspeaker mounted on top that actually mooed. They always made fun of that stupid car, and now Rachel was driving around in the thing?

  Janelle pulled at his arm. “Come on. I’m hungry.”

  He stayed rooted to the sidewalk. The cowmobile drove past Book It and continued down Main Street. Was Rachel taking Barry up on his offer? Was she choosing fro-yo over the far superior ice cream he offered? Really? Fucking Barry the dancing cow?

  Shane marched across the street to his shop. Janelle hurried to keep up with him. He gestured to the group. “Tell Mike what you want. On the house.”

  Then without another word, he went straight out the back door and went for a drive.

  ~ ~ ~

  Rachel didn’t know what made her agree to go to Barry’s shop. Maybe it was the compliment he gave her. Maybe it was the jealous stab of watching Janelle sitting so close to Shane.

  Maybe it was just to avoid Shane. She knew they had to keep things strictly business, but when she saw him again today sitting in that library conference room, she got another one of those ridiculous hot flashes. And the way he looked at her. Like he wanted to eat her for breakfast. That was way more than a hot flash, more like an inferno that would consume them both and spit out the cold, dead bones of their friendship.

  So here she was in the cowmobile. If Shane couldn’t reach her, she couldn’t cave. It was dumb and temporary, given that they had to get the café off the ground, but it was the best she could do the day after their make-out session in Liz’s kitchen. All day she’d been reliving that kiss.

  Her mind flashed to that incredible heat. The pull she’d felt, like she wanted to climb inside and somehow merge with him. She went damp at the memory of his hardness pressing between her legs. It couldn’t happen again. Kissing was a slippery slope to the end of their friendship. And she’d do anything to keep Shane as a friend. He was the only man she could ever truly count on. Boyfriends didn’t last. Friends were forever.

  A sudden moo startled her and snapped her attention back to Barry. He grinned as he pressed the button to make the loudspeaker on top of the car moo again. “The kids love it,” he told her.

  She sank further down into the seat. “I bet they do.”

  Barry told her all about his plans for making his fro-yo shop a hit, and she found she could relate. Here was an enthusiastic businessman willing to work hard and try new things to make his business a success. She wanted Book It and Something’s Brewing Café to succeed something fierce.

  They pulled into The Dancing Cow parking lot.

  “We’re here, my lady,” Barry said. And before she could say I’m not your lady, he’d leaped out of the car and run over to her side to open the door.

  “Thank you.”

  He offered his arm again and led her into his shop. She looked around, studying it carefully, very interested in the setup now that she was getting into the food business. The floor was white with black speckles—good for quick clean up—there were several lime green melamine tables with pink cushioned chairs plus a long counter with bright yellow stools. The walls were painted with farm scenes of rolling hills dotted by cows. Frozen yogurt machines lined one wall, boasting eight flavors of frozen yogurt that you could dispense yourself and pile on the toppings at the toppings bar. The whole thing was self-serve, so Barry only needed staff to keep things
neat and ring up the purchases.

  Several families were already here enjoying their healthy frozen yogurt covered in toppings. The gummi bears seemed especially popular.

  “Help yourself,” Barry said. “I’ll be behind the counter, waiting to check you out with your coupon.” He smiled and laugh lines formed around his eyes. He really was a nice guy. She knew Shane saw him as enemy number one on account of the frozen yogurt-ice cream competition, but maybe Shane could learn something from him.

  She smiled back. “Thanks.”

  She grabbed the smaller size paper bowl, which was still very large, and pulled the lever for a swirl of peach. Then she added piña colada and watermelon on top of that. Next the toppings bar. This was kinda fun doing it yourself. She had just reached for the bin of Nerds when the lights started flashing and a disco ball she hadn’t noticed before started spinning. She froze, wondering if this was the part with the dancing cow.

  Sure enough, a dancing cow appeared doing a little Irish jig in the center of the store. It was Barry. She couldn’t help but laugh. Maybe Shane couldn’t learn anything from Barry. The idea of Shane dancing a jig in front of customers made her laugh even harder. Barry produced several pairs of wacky glasses—black rimmed with big blue eyes on the lenses—and danced around the shop, giving them to delighted kids.

  “Have a moo-tastic day!” Barry said to one. The girl, five at the most, looked thrilled as she put the glasses on.

  “These are fresh from my udder!” Barry told a little boy.

  “What’s an udder?” the boy asked.

  “It’s where my udderly delicious fro-yo comes from!” Barry replied.

  Some parents groaned good-naturedly. The boy laughed.

  “Remember, fro-yo is healthy because of the pro-bee-otics!” Barry sang. He gave out more wacky glasses, patting kids on the head and dancing silly in front of them.

  He made his way over to her. “For my lady.” He tipped the glasses back and forth, showing her how the eyes blinked.

  “I’m not…” She trailed off as he slipped the glasses on over her own glasses. It was silly, but it was also kinda fun. Barry smiled before dancing away.