Her Maine Attraction: A Small Town Romance (Pine Cove Book 1) Page 4

  “Used to?”

  “I haven’t painted in a few years.” I shrug.

  “Why did you stop?”

  My eyes flash up to his. “Just life, I guess.”

  “I heard you in there. Everything you said about artists feeling deeper than others.”

  “And?”

  “I just thought there had to be more of a reason then.”

  “You don’t know me, Jake,” I say, my voice sounding harsher than I meant it to.

  “No, I don’t. I’m trying to figure you out, though,” he states, a frustrated look on his face.

  When we get to my car, he puts everything in gently so nothing gets damaged.

  “Why?”

  “Because I want to.”

  “Okay, good luck with that, mountain man,” I say through a laugh. “I don’t usually go around sharing my personal life with people.”

  “We’ll see,” he says, looking down at me with a strange look in his eyes. A few seconds pass as we stare at each other before he abruptly turns and walks back down the street.

  What just happened?

  I need coffee. Or a shot. But since it’s only ten in the morning, I guess I’ll have to settle for a cup of very strong coffee.

  I take a short walk over to The Blueberry Café and Bakery, and a bell jingles above my head when I open the door. The aroma of coffee hits me immediately, and I breathe it in.

  Ah, the scent of my soul.

  Black and white tiles checker the floor, with ten or so tables and chairs on the right side of the café, and the left holding large display cases full of assorted cookies, pastries, and baked goods. Behind the counter, a really beautiful woman who looks to be around my age stands talking to a younger employee.

  I smile at them when I reach the counter. “Hi, I’d like a coffee please.”

  “Sure, anything else?” the woman asks. She has medium length honey blonde hair, bright hazel eyes, and high cheekbones.

  “Yes, actually,” I start, scanning the cases, “I’ll have a piece of blueberry crumb cake, please.”

  “Good choice. That’s my favorite.” Smiling, she pores my coffee and hands it to me. “There’s milk, cream and sugar at the end there, and I’ll bring the crumb cake over to you.”

  “Thank you so much. I’m actually new here. I just moved into Dottie’s place, if you know her?”

  She laughs lightly. “Yes, of course I know Dottie, everyone does.”

  “That’s what she told me. I’m Ally, by the way.”

  “I’m Courtney, I own the place. And this is Dara,” she says, pointing to the girl next to her. “She works here and goes to the university nearby.”

  Dara is a cute girl with curly brown hair and warm brown eyes that sparkle when she shakes my hand. “Hi, Ally, it’s so great to meet you.”

  “You too.” I add a little cream to my coffee and then take a sip, letting the liquid gold soothe my frayed nerves caused by the mysterious Jake.

  This coffee is heaven. Pure heaven.

  “Courtney, this is amazing.”

  “Thanks. I sampled a lot of varieties before choosing that one. I’m glad it’s appreciated.” Her smile is so genuine and full of pride.

  “It most definitely is.” I take another sip and sigh. “I know this is kind of forward of me, but are you hiring?”

  “You love my coffee that much?” She laughs.

  “Yes, I do love it that much,” I say, taking another sip. “Which would make me an excellent person to sell it.”

  “Actually, I am looking to hire someone. My other girl just quit on me, so if you’d like the job, it’s yours.”

  “Do you need me to fill anything out? References?”

  “No, nothing formal like that. I know on instinct with people. You have the job if you’d like it.”

  “I would, thank you so much.” I beam. “I didn’t think I’d find anything so soon.”

  “Well, if you’re looking to start right away, you can come back tomorrow at 9am and I can show you everything.”

  “That sounds great, thanks.” Courtney walks with me to a table and places the blueberry crumb cake down in front of me. And after the first bite, I devour the rest in just three more. Holy hell, this is amazing. “I’m definitely going to love working here,” I mumble around a full mouth, making both of them laugh.

  Chapter 5

  The next morning, I wake up around seven so I can be ready early for my first day of work at the café, and drink my coffee out on the back porch, breathing in the salty air.

  I can definitely get used to this.

  Relaxing, I take in the view for a few minutes, and then head back inside to get ready.

  I stare blankly at my closet, though, wondering what I’m supposed to wear. I don’t remember seeing a uniform of some sort on them yesterday, so I decide to play it safe with black jeans and a flowy white blouse. I style my hair in a low pony, curling it to give it bounce, and then I put on the same light makeup as yesterday. I have another round of first impressions today and I want to make sure I look good.

  I’ve always been a curvy girl – big hips, thighs, and ass – and over the years, I’ve learned how to love who I am. Fashion played a big part in that. I taught myself how to dress for my body so I can feel confident. It’s the armor I wear against the world.

  Taking one last look in the mirror, I give myself a big smile, and then head out.

  I get to The Blueberry Café at nine sharp, and see Courtney behind the counter setting trays of donuts in place. “Hi, Courtney.”

  “Hey, Ally. Come on around and I’ll show you everything we sell. You can make a cup of coffee for yourself if you’d like. You can have as many as you’d like, too, since I have to keep it fresh.”

  “Sounds like the best deal to me.” I smile, walking behind the counter and putting my purse away. I pour myself a hot cup of liquid gold and add a little cream before turning back to Courtney for the run down.

  “Alright, so this side holds our pies.” She points to the case in front of her. “Today we have blueberry, peach, and apple, and sometimes I’ll throw in a specialty one if I’m up for it. But I’ll always do custom pies upon request, too. The next case holds our cakes and cupcakes. Coffee cakes and squares are on the bottom there, and our other cakes are kept basic unless special ordered. There’s chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, chocolate with vanilla, vanilla with chocolate, and vanilla with vanilla. Cupcakes are the same way, but we do have a weekly cupcake special, and this week’s is red velvet with a cream cheese frosting.”

  Oh, my, I want to sample it all.

  “The next case has the pastries and donuts,” she continues. “There are blueberry fritters, blueberry muffins, Danishes, scones, and cinnamon rolls. For donuts, we have glazed, Boston cream, jelly, powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, crullers, and then strawberry, vanilla, or chocolate frosted with sprinkles. We also run a weekly specialty donut, and this week is Nutella filled with a Nutella and peanut butter frosting on top.”

  “Oh my god,” I breathe, and she smiles.

  “This last case holds our cookies. We have chocolate chip, salted caramel, white chocolate macadamia, oatmeal raisin, sugar, and peanut butter. And our fresh breads and croissants are over on the rack on the wall. You got that?”

  “That’s a lot of deliciousness in one place.”

  “Yes, it is.” She laughs. “And very tempting to be around every day.” Turning around, she points at the chalk boards on the wall. “Then we have all of our coffee and tea drinks. Do you have experience making the fancy stuff?”

  “I just need to be shown once, and then I’ll be good. I’m a quick learner.”

  “Perfect. We pretty much get the basic orders here for coffee, espresso, and cappuccino. But when the tourists roll in during the summer months, they bring the more complicated orders with them.” She smiles, rolling her eyes. “Our tables aren’t numbered or anything, just bring the order to the customer if they’re not getting it to-go. And I think
that’s it! I’ll be here with you for all of your shifts in the beginning, and then you’ll be working with Dara, too.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Over the next few hours, I meet a bunch of Pine Cove residents, and they’re all so welcoming and friendly. Each of them told me to let them know if I needed anything, and they’d be happy to help. It’s so different from what I’m used to, and I can tell they genuinely mean it.

  Talking with Courtney between customers, I learn she’s only four years older than me and married to a fireman in town. I may have swooned at that. Surprisingly, she didn’t grow up here. She only moved to Pine Cove a few years ago when she bought the café from an elderly couple who were retiring. She said she found her fresh start here, and never looked back.

  “So, Ally, did you leave behind a man in New Jersey? Or maybe you’re running from one?”

  “No, there’s no man back there. Never really was, actually.”

  “Hmm, interesting.”

  “I just needed a new start somewhere.”

  “So, you’re not looking for a man then?”

  I let out a short laugh. “Not really. I haven’t dated since college.”

  “What?! Wasn’t that like ten years ago?!” she exclaims.

  “Seven,” I correct, hating that I even admitted that.

  “Girl, you need to get back out there, and I’m going to help. Jack has some hotties working with him at the firehouse. But don’t tell him I said that.” She laughs. “He already doesn’t like me being around them because he knows I have a weakness for men in a uniform.”

  “Who doesn’t?” I laugh.

  A throat clears behind us, and Courtney and I both jump and turn to face them, not realizing a customer had come in.

  Well, fuck. My chest tightens the moment our eyes meet.

  “Ally.” He nods, and I feel my face heat.

  “Jake.”

  Seconds pass before Courtney breaks the tension. “Do you two know each other?” I can hear the curiosity in her voice.

  Jake just looks at me, waiting to see what I’ll say. “Um, not really. He just helped me on my first night with a rogue bear at my door.”

  “Yes, she needed rescuing,” he says, a hint of a smile on his lips.

  “Okay, not really. I just didn’t know what to do.” I don’t want him thinking I’m some damsel in distress.

  “You work here now?” he asks, letting me have that one. He knows damn well I needed rescuing based on my crazed phone call.

  “Yes,” I answer, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear that escaped my ponytail.

  Following the movement with his eyes, Jake looks back at me, and then Courtney. “I’ll have my usual.”

  “Sure,” she says, looking between the two of us before she pours him a coffee. Grabbing a blueberry fritter from the case, she places it in a paper bag, and hands both to him. “Here you go.”

  “Thanks.” He nods, his eyes on mine. “See you tomorrow.”

  “Okay,” I answer automatically. But, wait, what? Tomorrow?

  As soon as he leaves, Courtney grabs my arm and makes me look at her. “Holy shit, Ally! What the hell?! Jake Taylor is so into you! I can’t believe you’re going to be the one to get him. Women all over town will be so jealous.”

  “What? What do you mean? I don’t have him. He just helped me because of Dottie.”

  “I saw that man staring at you like he wanted to strip you naked and lay you out. You need to tell me everything.”

  My cheeks heat. He wasn’t looking at me like. Was he?

  Starting at the beginning, I tell her everything that happened that night and in the morning. And by the end, her mouth is hanging open.

  “Okay, listen close. Jake Taylor doesn’t do that. Ever. He barely leaves his workshop. And when he does, he comes here, the hardware store, and the grocery store.”

  “Why?”

  She shrugs. “I don’t know. He works a lot at his house, and just doesn’t bother to come into town. He’s still sexy as hell though,” she says, fanning her face. “I love when he comes in.”

  “You’re married, keep it in your pants.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know.” She waves dismissively. “There are four Taylor boys, you know. All equally hot.”

  “There are four of them that look like that? I think that’d be too much to take in at once. Jake makes me nervous enough.”

  “Mhmm. I bet he does.” She winks.

  Looking away, I try and busy myself cleaning the counter.

  “You know, you could always break something at the house to make him come over again to help you.”

  “Courtney, that’s pathetic. I can’t do that.”

  “Why not?” She shrugs. “Before I started dating Jack, I told him I smelled gas leaking from the stove so he’d come over and ‘fix’ it. Then I spent the next hour watching him bent over trying to figure it out. It was great.”

  “Seriously?” I laugh, thinking about the idea of watching Jake’s fine ass bent over in my kitchen. I’d have free rein to stare all I wanted. “Okay, maybe. I’ll think about it.”

  And think about it I did. When I get home from work, I look around for something to break that wouldn’t be super obvious that I did it on purpose. This is so dumb, but her idea is stuck in my head. So, the next day at work, I decide to give in and ask Courtney for her help in devising a plan.

  “He’s going to see right through it!” I yell.

  “Good! Then he’ll know you want him. And I want a full report after. Like, a full report,” she says, waggling her eye brows at me.

  “Yeah, I definitely will,” I say sarcastically. “When I can pick myself up off the floor from passing out when this all goes terribly wrong, I’ll make sure to call you straight away.”

  “Good. Thank you,” she says, ignoring my sarcasm. “And it’s going to work. Trust me. I got Jack, and you’ll get Jake.”

  “I never said I wanted to ‘get’ him.” A man like Jake screams heartbreak.

  “Oh, please, you want him. Just stop thinking so much and do it.”

  Chapter 6

  I can do this. It’s no big deal.

  Walking over to the oven, I open it and try and find whatever the hell I’m looking for. I Googled how to do this, so I stick my head in and locate the heating component plugs. When I see them, I grip them hard and pull them out.

  Okay, first part done.

  I grab my phone next, and take a deep breath before dialing his number. After three rings, Jake picks up. “Hello?” Holy mother of Jesus he’s out of breath. Is he working out? Building a boat? Oh no, was he having sex with someone? Wait, no, I hope he doesn’t answer the phone during sex. “Hello?” he asks again.

  “Hi,” I manage to squeak out, despite all the images of his sweaty body flashing through my mind. “It’s Ally.”

  I hear him let out a low, throaty chuckle. “You need rescuing again, darlin’?”

  Darlin’? He has a little drawl in his voice when he says it, and I sway on my feet, gripping the counter for support.

  “Not exactly. It seems my oven is broken?”

  “Are you asking me if it is?”

  “No. I’m sure. It’s broken.” Smooth, Ally, real smooth. “Do you know how to fix ovens?”

  “I do.”

  “Well, um, do you mind coming over? If you’re free?”

  “I’m just finishing up with something, and then I’ll come.” His sweaty body flashes in my head again, my mind thinking of all sorts of dirty things.

  “Thanks,” I choke out, hanging up right away.

  I quickly send Courtney a text to update her, and then I run to the bathroom to make sure my hair and makeup are still good. I will not be greeting him with pajamas and bed head this time.

  I'm a nervous wreck waiting for him to come over. He said he had to finish something, so that could mean a half hour? An hour? More?

  Pacing the living room isn’t helping, and I can’t sit still, so I decide to start unpackin
g my boxes of chachkies, pictures, and books to distract myself.

  A half an hour later, I’m singing along to the song playing on my phone, when knocking at the door scares me, and I drop the books I was holding. I didn’t even hear Jake’s truck coming down the driveway.

  My palms get instantly sweaty just knowing he’s here, and I wipe them on my jeans before opening the door. And he’s there – all tall, dark, and ruggedly handsome. He looks like the Brawny paper towel man in his work boots, worn-in jeans, and a red and black plaid button down over a white t-shirt.

  I will forever be turned on whenever I buy paper towels now.

  “Hi,” I breathe out, my voice soft.

  His heated eyes meet mine, and then rake down my body and back up. Thank God I’m holding onto the door or I would be melting to the ground with how he’s looking at me.

  “Hi,” he says, clearing his throat. “You rang?”

  I smile, regaining myself. “Yes, mountain man, I did. And you dressed for the part, I see.” I brazenly rake my eyes up and down his body, and when I meet his again, they’ve turned molten.

  Stepping aside, he brushes past me, keeping his heated gaze on me as long as he can before walking towards the kitchen. Following behind him, I enjoy the view the entire way.

  The second I step into the kitchen with him, the air around us starts to swirl with an electric current that has my heart racing.

  “I don’t know what happened to the oven. I went to make something, but it wouldn’t get hot.” What is getting hot, though, is me in this freaking kitchen with him. I need to distract myself. “Do you want anything? Water? Tea? Coffee? Whisky?”

  That last one gets him to turn and look at me. “Water is fine.”

  Grabbing a bottle from the fridge, I hand it to him, and watch as he unscrews the cap and takes a big swig, his throat moving as he swallows. Everything he does is sexy.

  He clears his throat, and I look away quickly. Damn it, he caught me staring. Lowering my head, I go and sit on one of kitchen chairs and open a magazine, desperately trying to look nonchalant even though I’m freaking out on the inside.

  Jake gets to work immediately. He kneels on the floor and sticks his head in the oven. Oh, sweet Jesus, what a view. I’ve never been one to be into guys’ asses, but hot damn, his is nice. And now I get to look at it without him knowing.