Tempting the Heart (Curiosity Bay Series Book 3)

Chapter One

Mae

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scents of cinnamon rolls and freshly ground coffee. There were mornings like these when I still couldn’t believe I owned a slice of heaven—my coffee shop on Marigold Island, the one place that always made me feel at home.

My dream took a little longer than anticipated to get everything just right before opening my café. Still, when the coffee shop officially opened, it was humming with fellow caffeine addicts. The cheerful green walls accented the rustic beams and brickwork left from the renovation of the old building. The shared wall and entrance between my family’s antique store next door and my café always ushered new customers in after a shopping trip. Things were just… perfect.

There wasn’t a speck of dust or a crumb left anywhere. This place was my pride and joy.

But I couldn’t push away the lingering feeling from this beautiful summer morning when the sun had barely lifted over the horizon and I pulled out my red cruiser to pedal to work. I hadn’t biked anywhere for ages, but something about this morning nudged me to dust off my bicycle and give her a whirl.

She was as ancient as they came, but I”d lovingly restored the bike and named her Olga. It was one of the many finds from working at our family’s antique store. Judging by her curves, I guessed Olga to be from the late 1970s.

It wasn’t until I hit the hill coming into town that I reconsidered my bright idea and had to stop at Pigeon Bay Park to catch my breath.

And that was when it hit me, a familiar spark flickering through my body when I spotted a man sitting on a park bench overlooking the glistening water. Broad shoulders stretched into lean, muscular arms as they spread across the back of the bench. He tapped the metal to a beat only he could hear, and I wondered…

There was no way it could be him.

My brother would have mentioned that his old friend was coming to town.

Right?

I shook my head and blinked myself back into reality in the middle of my coffee shop as I reached for a clean rag to wipe down the granite countertops.

There were many fit and muscular men in the world. Spotting one on the island didn’t mean Tyler Grant was back on Marigold. Last I’d heard, he had every intention of staying away. But he also always had a way of tapping his way out of worries or bobbing his knee up and down until he came to some conclusion no one knew but him. There was something… familiar about how that guy moved his hands along the bench.

I shook my head.

I certainly shouldn’t be daydreaming about the impossible. I had a job to do, coffee to serve, and smiles to dole out.

My coffee shop opened in five minutes, and I didn’t need to get wrapped up in some imaginary world where the boy I had a crush on appeared out of nowhere.

Delusional much?

Snickering to myself, I groaned, thankful that none of my sisters or my brother could read my mind, especially Audrey. She was a hopeless romantic who spent most free evenings in search of love in some form, either here or in Seattle. When she wasn’t busy hunting for herself, she enjoyed nothing more than trying to set me up.

I shivered at the thought.

Yeah. I’d definitely be doomed if Audrey could read my mind. I knew my siblings already thought it was ridiculous that I didn’t date much and was all tangled up in an old crush who never knew I existed, apart from being my brother’s sister.

I shoved the rag under the counter, straightened, and closed my eyes.

“Enough,” I muttered into the vacant coffee shop. “Get a grip.”

To be fair to my siblings, it was moments like these when even I worried about my own sanity.

Slightly.

I mean, let’s be honest. Why was I thinking about a man I never had and never would have as he’s quietly tucked away in his own part of the world, living his best life while I was living mine?

A life I”d built from my own dreams had come to fruition. I didn’t need to be bogged down by a relationship.

My fingers slid along my mayflower earrings, and I shook my head, thinking about my mom. Maybe we were all hopeless romantics.

After all, she was the one who gave us each a little something upon our births that she felt held some sort of mystic touch to guide our hearts. I dropped my fingers away from my ears and scowled. The earrings she’d bestowed on me hadn’t cut it so far, but it was a nice thought.

It was also one of the reasons I knew I had to leave the antiques business. Every family member seemed to think that those objects spoke to them and weaved fanciful stories about previous owners and their lives.

My sister Audrey might touch a gold ring, and suddenly, she’d be thrust back into the 1950s as a man kissed his new bride, or my sister Amelia would find a stack of letters and suddenly marry the man of her dreams.

No wonder I still fantasized about a man I couldn’t have. It was safer that way, and I didn’t have to worry about conjuring up some love match from some vintage bowl or something.

There.

I already felt better after the conversation with me, myself, and I.

Washing my hands, checking the fresh coffee, and slowly walking over to the door to unlock it put me right back where I needed to be.

In reality.

Soon, rush hour would liven up my little coffee shop as commuters waited to catch the ferry, and I’d happily roll into bed this evening exhausted.

I flipped the Open sign and unlocked the door just as a man outside reached to pull it open. Bringing my gaze up, my breath caught when I realized who was standing on the other side of the glass.

It couldn’t be.

My heart pounded like a gavel in a courtroom as I quickly looked around my safe haven to hide. I’d only been kidding myself to think that Tyler had been at the park this morning.

And now look at what I did.

It’s like I manifested the man right in front of me.

His ruffled dark hair and striking blue eyes.

The stunning smile with a hint of aloofness.

I dropped my gaze to his boots, realizing I hadn’t turned the lock completely.

What I ought to have done and what I did do were two very different things.

Rather than twist the lock all the way open, I spun around and kept him on the outside while I tried to regroup on the inside. I’d only gotten a quick glimpse of him to know the years had been kind to him.

Too good.

Meanwhile, today, of all days, I’d decided to skip a shower, pull my hair into a low bun, smack a bicycle helmet on my head, and call it good.

The story of my life.

No, I could not keep the man locked outside my coffee shop for the next hour, but I could buy myself a few more seconds of peace before opening the door and pretending I didn’t know who he was.

Because why would I know who Tyler was?

If I admitted I remembered him, I’d blow my cover.

After all, he was merely my brother’s best friend, whom I hadn’t seen since I was a kid, and he was… a kid.

Technically, I was sixteen and he was eighteen, on his way to college with a full-ride baseball scholarship.

But who needed the details?

I stared at the menu behind the counter, took a few deep breaths, and waited for him to knock.

Except that…

He didn’t.

At least a minute passed before I slowly spun around to see absolutely nobody at the door.

Had it been a figment of my imagination?

Was I hallucinating?

Could I be seeing ghosts?

I shook my head and pressed my forehead against the glass to get a better look down the sidewalk.

No sign of him.

Probably because I was losing my ever-loving mind.

I finished unlocking the door and slowly lifted the blinds from one window to the next.

A few regulars parked their cars out front and stared at their phones before entering my coffee shop for their morning java.

It was time to put my game face on and get over whatever I thought I’d seen but hadn’t.

Right when I pulled the last set of blinds up, I squealed. The sound erupted from nowhere.

In fact, I squealed loud enough for the man sitting at the outdoor patio table to look up and stare.

His eyes locked on mine, and it felt like I’d been thrust back to high school, crushing on my brother’s older best friend.

The familiar glint in his eyes caught mine and sent a surge of the familiar heat I’d felt so long ago.

The pool of warmth deep within my belly sloshed me into a woozy state. I’d been dreaming about the impossibility of this guy for so long that he’d become somewhat mystical, untouchable.

I never in a million years thought I’d see him again.

Yet, here I was on the other side of the window from him, unable to move, run, shoo him away, or call for help.

So, I did what any creepy person would do. I stared back.

The longer I looked at him, the longer he looked back.

My cheeks flushed.

My pulse ramped up.

But I couldn’t look away.

Even when a little curl of his lip slipped across his expression, the soft smirk he always tossed in my direction when I was a teen girl that drove me wild.

Every single thing I’d managed to fantasize about all these years came rushing in. Only the real version was even better.

His smile widened, and he dropped his beautiful gaze to the table, tapping his finger along the metal, and shook his head.

This was my moment to turn away and pretend I didn’t know who he was.

A regular customer walked into the café, and I bolted to the counter, relieved I had a reason to ignore Tyler Grant.

“Hey, Trudy.” My eyes focused on a woman nearing retirement, standing at the counter scanning the menu as if it had changed since yesterday. “Your usual?”

She brought her gaze to me and nodded, handing me her clean travel mug.

“Okay, one medium coffee, light sugar, extra cream.” I rang her order in. “And a croissant.”

“Can’t wait,” she hummed, squeezing her shoulders in. “Could you add a sugar cookie? I’ll eat it on the ferry ride home tonight.”

“Can do.”

She paid for her order, and I quickly filled her coffee mug and put her food in a bag while trying to pretend that a guy I’d been happily crushing on in my imagination hadn’t just walked into the coffee shop.

I brought in a deep breath as Trudy brushed past Tyler, and I prayed one of the other customers would come inside.

But they didn’t.

They just sat in their cars, distracted by their phones.

Reaching for a purple apron, I brushed my palms down my shirt and slid the ties over my head as Tyler walked toward the counter.

Instead of staring at the menu like most customers did…

He stared at me.

Every second that went by made my heartbeat a little faster, my tongue a little more tied, and my mouth a little drier.

When he finally reached the counter, he leaned against it. He spread his large hand against the granite, his fingers stretching as he propped himself up.

“If it isn’t my little Mayflower.” His eyes stayed locked on mine, and I couldn’t turn away.

He remembered me.

This totally foiled my plan.

He was supposed to mean so little to me that I didn’t even remember him.

But I did.

“Wow, Tyler Grant. I never expected to see you back on Marigold Island.”

He gave a slight nod, and his gaze hardened briefly.

“I never expected to be back.” The low timbre in his voice vibrated throughout me. Time had been so kind to this man.

“Well, it’s nice to have you back.”

“I won’t be staying long.” He didn’t offer anything else.

“Well, what can I get you?”

His eyes blinked at the menu, and I could finally take a deep breath.

“I’ll take a plain coffee. Large.”

“Cream or sugar?” I asked.

“Plain,” he repeated, and I chuckled.

“Right. I suppose that’s what plain means.”

His lips broke into a smile as his eyes stayed on mine. “Usually does, Mayflower.”

“Just Mae.” I reached for a cup to fill.

“You’ll always be Mayflower to me.”

“It’s on the house.” I brought my gaze to his. “But I’m surprised you remember me.”