by L. A. Fiore
“Cookies. I just pulled some out.”
He then flashed me a grin, a panty-dropping grin. “I like cookies.”
I laughed, couldn’t help it, because what a clown-like thing to say especially coming from a man who looked as he did. Deciding I liked this friend of Rafe’s, I teased him.
“I don’t share my cookies with people I don’t know.”
He smiled again; this one was slower to form and was somehow even more spectacular than the last one. His hand reached for mine, his hold firm but gentle. “Lucien Black.”
“Avery Collins.”
“Delighted.”
“More with the smell of my cookies, but seeing as you have obvious taste, please come in.”
“You see right through me.” Lucien teased.
“Right now you’re about as transparent as glass, so not a great accomplishment.”
“Touché.”
“Hi, Rafe.” I couldn’t help the assessing stare I gave him, objectifying, absolutely, but the sight of him naked from the waist up, sweaty and sexy, was permanently burned on my brain, so much so that I was contemplating a new house rule. Some people had a no shoe policy; I think I was going to adopt the no shirt policy for sexy, hot men only. Sexist, sure, but it was my home. I was legally renting it, so I could be as sexist as I wanted. Glancing over at Lucien, yeah I think no shirts in this house were a must. I wondered if they’d be suspicious if I mentioned that policy now?
My gaze collided with Rafe’s when he asked, “You okay?”
“Me? Yeah. Why?”
“You look a little flushed.”
I probably had drool at the corner of my mouth too. Best to move the subject on, but Rafe beat me to it when he said, “I want whatever you just baked. It smells incredible.”
Entering the kitchen, Lucien asked, “Peanut butter?”
“With a secret ingredient. Try to guess what.”
Both Rafe and Lucien took a cookie, my eyes darting between the two for their reactions and seeing the look that moved over Rafe’s face, one I often experienced when tasting something so good words failed to do it justice, I felt almost giddy. And then he said, “These are incredible.”
“Understatement.” Lucien said and then added, “Curry.”
“That’s right. Peanuts can be both sweet and savory, so I thought adding a bit of savory to the sweetness of the cookie would add another dimension.”
“It’s fantastic.” This came from Rafe. “Is this a recipe for Clover?”
“No, patrons of Clover expect something more sophisticated than a cookie. I was just experimenting.”
“And you didn’t come find me?” He said that as his lips turned up on the one side. He was teasing me, I really liked that he was teasing me.
“I just pulled them from the oven. I’d have hunted you down.”
“What were you doing with the binoculars?” Lucien asked.
How the hell did I answer that? I was spying and drooling at you two, wishing I were the meat to your hot, messy sandwich. The lie slipped easily past my lips. “Bird watching, just watching those birds. There are some really rare species around here.”
Lucien leaned up against the counter, his arms crossing over his chest. I could not, for the life of me, discern his expression. “Are you into bird watching?”
No, I mean outside of an Ah when I see the brilliant red of a cardinal I wouldn’t know the various species of birds indigenous to the area let alone rare breeds. But I had already placed my foot in my mouth, so I had to tally on. “Yeah, a little. Just a way to pass the time.”
“What species have you seen?”
Narrowing my eyes at Lucien, he actually narrowed his in return. Son of a bitch knew I was talking out of my ass. I could have done the mature thing, fessed up and moved on. I, apparently, was not mature. Game on. “I saw an eagle just the other day. Big, ass bird.”
An arched brow from Lucien met that answer. Rafe sounded odd, maybe concerned for Loki when he asked, “An eagle, really?”
“It was probably just a hawk, I’m not used to seeing large birds of prey like that.”
Lucien shifted and now he was grinning. “Aren’t you from rural Pennsylvania?”
It was true that we had lots of hawks and turkey vultures back home, but how the hell would he know that? Rafe, seeming to have had enough of the conversation, changed the subject. Thank God. “Your first day is coming up. Are you ready?”
“I go back and forth between absolutely ready and not even close.”
A smile was his only reply and if Lucien’s smile was panty dropping, Rafe’s was bone melting.
Rafe headed for the door, Lucien held back until Rafe was out of earshot. “You’re a terrible liar, but a hell of a baker.”
I was now as red as a cardinal.
“I have to give you credit though, you’re tenacious, digging yourself deeper and deeper but doing so with attitude.”
Did he just say that to me? “You are not acting in a manner that will garner you any more of my baked goods.”
“You’re right, I’ll behave.”
Lucien followed Rafe from the kitchen as I asked, “Are you this candid with everyone you meet?”
“No, only the ones I like.”
Reaching the door, I held it for Rafe and Lucien who said, “Nice to meet you, Avery. I look forward to the next time.”
“You and me both.”
“Later, Avery.” Rafe said before following after Lucien. Closing the door, I pressed my forehead up against it, but I was smiling one of Nat’s deranged smiles.
My phone rang pulling me from my ridiculousness. Seeing it was Jessica, I answered, “Hey you.”
“How does December 16-19 work for a visit?”
“Once I get my work schedule, I’ll try to get those dates off.”
“We’ll check out hotels close to you.”
“Sounds good. So get this, Rafe and his friend Lucien were just here and I have to say they make the people out here entirely too sexy.”
“What do you mean?”
For the next half an hour I told her about that over-eager fairy godmother.
Returning home the following day after taking Loki for a walk, I noticed the silver car parked in front of Rafe’s house and the two women and two little girls standing at the gate, one of which was Ember Montgomery. The woman with her was slightly taller with long black hair. Ember was holding Faith’s hand and the other woman held the hand of a little girl who looked very much like her. Both the women and the girls had their heads together, which gave the impression that they were up to something.
Envy stabbed me at the sight and had me missing Jessica and my sister.
When I was close enough to call to them and not sound like a raging nut, I said. “Hi, Ember, Faith.”
Four sets of eyes turned to me. The woman with the black hair had the brightest blue eyes, her daughter’s looked more green than blue.
“Avery. Hi. This is Darcy and Emily. We were just in the neighborhood.”
My brow rose at that obvious falsehood. “Really? How long did it take you to get into the neighborhood?”
“Busted. I told you she wouldn’t buy that.” That came from Darcy and it sounded so much like how Nat and I spoke to each other that it was clear Ember and Darcy were very close “Lucien mentioned he met you yesterday, we were curious.”
Lucien, yep Emily looked just like him. I shouldn’t be surprised; that overeager fairy godmother really should have her wand confiscated.
Ember hunched down next to Loki, who was standing just a little bit taller than he had been only minutes ago. Even he appreciated the overachieving godmother’s efforts. “Hey, buddy.” Ember’s gaze met mine. “The first time I met Rafe, he was walking Loki in the park. Well, Loki was actually running through the park without a care in the world. We had a head-on collision.”
Rafe had mentioned that Loki used to be way more active. “That’s interesting. He acts like an old man now.”
�
��Contentment, I guess. And seeing Rafe’s place, how could he not be?”
“True. So what brings you here?”
“Darcy wanted to get a look at you.”
“Ember!”
“Well you did. There’s no point in beating around the bush.”
“Ember wants you to feed her.”
If Darcy thought that tidbit would embarrass Ember, she’d be disappointed. “I do. Trace raves about you. Trace does not rave.”
Excitement had my heart fluttering like a hummingbird’s wings. “Really? He raves?”
“Yes and I know he invited you to Allegro this Friday, so we wanted to make sure you were still coming.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Darcy added, “Rafe’s coming too, so you can catch a ride with him.”
“I’ll likely drive in case Rafe wants to bring his girlfriend.” I didn’t miss the look that passed between the two and more curious than I was polite, I asked, “What am I missing?”
“Have you met the girlfriend?”
“Yeah.”
Glancing down at the girls, Darcy whispered, “She’s a b-i-t-c-h. She never comes out with us.”
“She’s not a b-i-t-c-h, she’s just shy.” Ember was clearly the diplomat. And talk about sharing freely, and for some crazy reason I had no problem with voicing exactly how I felt about Melody to these two.
“I’m with Darcy on this.”
It was like I’d just screamed that Brad Pitt was across the street, I had their rapt attention. Ember asked, “Why?”
“She’s rude and crass and despite being exquisite, she’s ugly.”
Darcy’s smile held a bit of wickedness. “How many times has she been around?”
“She showed up the day I moved in, came a few days later and the last time Rafe was giving me the tour of his house, he introduced us.”
“And that was your takeaway, rude, crass and ugly?”
“Her first visit she had to know I was moving in and yet she made no attempt to meet me. The second time, she walked right past me and yet didn’t acknowledge me. The third time, I’m pretty sure she was the one who kept calling Rafe while he was giving me the tour. When he finally answered and she knew he was entertaining me, she arrived acting all surprised to be interrupting. She even went so far as to suggest I could watch Loki now so Rafe could spend nights at her place. So, yeah that was my takeaway, she is a b-i-t-c-h.”
Darcy threw her head back and laughed. “We are going to get along just fine.”
Glancing at my watch, it was half past ten. I was meeting Terry, Chef Moree’s sous chef, in an hour and half to discuss the menu for my first week at Clover, but there was time enough for a cup of coffee. “I have to be at Clover for a meeting, but I’ve time to offer you some coffee. And I have freshly baked apple cinnamon scones.”
“You are speaking our language.” Darcy said.
Once the girls were settled in the living room playing with toys that Rafe had in the closet, Ember, Darcy and I moved to the kitchen.
“Can the girls have a scone?”
“They would love that, but maybe they should eat in here.” Ember suggested.
“They’re having fun and it’s only crumbs.” Plating them each a scone, the wide eyes that greeted me when I placed their dishes before them was adorable.
“Yummy.” Faith said after her first bite.
Emily followed Faith’s movements exactly, her expression sweet. “Apples.”
“Yep.”
Rejoining their moms, I pulled the mugs from the rack and poured us coffee. I settled across from them, but both were too busy eating, their mouths full of scone. The amount of oh my and good God that came from the pair of them did wonderful things for my ego. When their plates were clean, practically licked of crumbs, Ember’s focus shifted to me. “That was amazing.”
“The secret, baking powder and cream of tartar, extra fine flour and the butter has got to be icy cold when you cut it in.”
“Delicious.” Darcy reached for her cup. “So tell us what you think of Rafe.”
I had just taken a sip of my coffee; the unexpected question had it going down the wrong pipe. After I coughed it clear, I managed to ask, “Excuse me?”
“Come on. All that hunky male beauty, you have got to have thoughts.”
Not only were they all ridiculously beautiful, they were the most outspoken people I’d ever met. “Do any of you come with a filter?”
Ember’s brown eyes widened in all innocence, but I saw the mischievousness lurking behind her expression. “Whatever do you mean?”
“When Lucien was here, he called me on a few things and not knowing me, it was a surprise.”
“What few things?” Ember asked.
Following the pattern in the quartz countertop with my finger, I muttered. “I may have been checking Rafe and Lucien out with my binoculars. He saw the binoculars and called me on it.”
“That was likely for Rafe’s benefit.” Darcy said.
Rafe’s benefit…what did she mean by that? “How so?”
“Lucien is also not a big fan of Melody’s. I knew I married a smart man.”
Ember’s head, that was nodding affirmatively, looked like a bobble head. “Yes, you did.” And then her gaze sliced back to me. “So, what do you think of Rafe?”
“He’s very nice. Extremely talented.”
“Come on, we already know that. Everyone knows that. What do you think of him?” Darcy was now leaning so far over the counter she was practically in my coffee mug.
“He makes me catch my breath, my brain disengages whenever he’s around which causes me to say the most ridiculous things and when I saw him coming from his barn with no tee, hot and sweaty, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.”
This earned me dropped jaws from both of them.
“What? You asked.”
Unlike her husband, Ember would be terrible at poker. Her thoughts were very transparent and right now she wanted to play matchmaker.
I tried to derail whatever she was plotting when I asked, “How did you all meet?”
Ember rested her head on her hand. “Let’s see. Lucien and Darcy met at an orphanage when they were younger. Trace too was there and so was Rafe. I met Trace a few years ago. I was at a bar, a drunk was being overly friendly, and Trace stepped in.”
I was beginning to better understand the dynamic between Rafe, Lucien and Trace. They were like brothers, not of blood but I’d guess just as strong. The idea that the boy Rafe had been had them to help him through what had to be a very difficult time made me happy. And it was the depth of that happy that gave me pause because it wasn’t at all in line with the fun, flirty banter I had convinced myself was all I felt for my landlord.
Rocked a bit by that revelation, I almost missed what Darcy said. “I applied for a job with Lucien a few years ago. He was the love of my life at fourteen, turns out he’s still the love of my life and luckily for me, I’m his.”
“A second chance love story, I love those.” And I did. I didn’t even have a first chance love story, but whatever.
“What about you? Are you seeing anyone?” Darcy asked.
“No.”
“Why not?” Ember asked.
“I’ve never had much luck dating and I’ve kind of been conditioned to not bother working on a relationship if it isn’t worth the effort.”
Darcy’s head cocked as she studied me. She was clearly intrigued. “Conditioned how?”
“My dad married a twenty-four-year old when I was eighteen. The lessons started in high school. There was a boy in my senior year I really liked and one day I brought him home and he met my stepmother. Now my stepmother is a total b-i-t-c-h. She didn’t like that I had a boyfriend and so she went out of her way to make it so I wasn’t comfortable bringing him home. I guess if it had been real I’d have fought harder, but the fact that I caved as easily as I did was a sign.”
“What did she do?” Ember asked.
“One time
she came out of the bathroom, soaking wet, wearing only a towel that did very little to cover her. She acted appropriately embarrassed and hurried back to her room, but it was intentional. The next time she strolled into the kitchen wearing her very sexy nightie and thin little robe. What teenage boy isn’t going to drool over a woman with a size four figure and double D cup? She wasn’t even subtle about her scheming because when I didn’t have a boy over she didn’t even acknowledge my existence let alone walk around barely clothed.”
“She is the b-word.” Ember said, chancing a glance at the girls as if they would somehow know the b-word really meant bitch.
“When I was at culinary school I was so focused on school that I didn’t make any serious commitments.”
“Are you a vir…” Darcy started to say; my bark of laughter cut her off.
“Seriously with the filter. But no, I had boyfriends I liked enough to explore s-e-x with.” Glancing at the clock I almost fell off my stool. “Holy crap, I’ve got to go.”
Immediately a chorus of, “Holy crap” came from the living room.
“Oops.”
Ember waved off my faux pas as she stood and started collecting the dishes. “I swear Faith can hear a bat belch three miles away. It’s unreal. Trace soundproofed our bedroom, hand to God. He didn’t want to traumatize Faith, but he wasn’t going to curb his appetites, if you know what I mean.”
I wanted to put my hands over my ears because talk about too much information. Jesus, now when I looked at Trace I was going to be thinking about the various appetites he didn’t want to curb. “That is too much info to know about my boss.”
Ember’s wicked grin was an indication that she didn’t agree.
Within a few minutes, my kitchen was spotless and the five of us were walking out the front door. “You hang here, Loki. I’ll text your daddy and let him know where you are.”
Since Loki made no attempt to move from the sofa, I knew he was very happy with this plan.
Both Ember and Darcy were staring at my car when I finished locking up.
“It’s a classic.” I said in way of explanation.