Chapter 21
Mina
“Is it extra busy in here this morning, or is it just me?”
I glanced over my shoulder at the sound of Claire’s voice, then turned back to the cup in my hands and finished filling it before responding. “It’s a little crazy, yeah.” I snapped a lid on the cup, then slid a sleeve on before handing it to the customer.
“I’m not sure what’s going on.” I tore the next ticket off the stream that dangled from the order printer.
Claire edged to the side as a family squeezed past her on their way out the door. “I’m glad I ordered ahead today.”
“It was a good idea, yeah. Did you talk to Ozzie?”
Nose wrinkling, she nodded. “He wasn’t too happy with me.” A smug smile slipped over her face. “Well, not a first, anyway. I persuaded him later not to be angry.”
I chuckled. “I just bet you did.”
She laughed and smoothed her hair.
“So, what did he say?”
“Well, he wasn’t thrilled, obviously, but he listened and took all the information I gathered to verify it. He also wants to stop by later to talk to Luke about what he overheard at the diner, just a heads-up.”
“I’ll tell him, so he’s not blindsided. Any other news to impart?”
“Nope. I think I’ve dug up about all I can for now. At least until Ozzie lets something slip I can look into.” She grinned over the rim of her cup, making me laugh.
“It’s a good thing he loves you.”
“Oh, totally.” Backing away from the counter, Claire waved. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye.” My hands full, I gave her a sunny smile, and then she was gone.
I eyed the line. Hopefully, Ozzie would wait to talk to Luke until I could pop next door and let him know.
Forty-two minutes later, I finally made my escape.
A saw whined from the front of the building as I stepped through the back door. One of the crew nodded at me in greeting as I passed. Through the stripped-down walls, I saw Luke swinging a hammer as he nailed a two-by-four into place.
Watching him work was its own kind of distraction, and I let myself enjoy the sight for a moment. A white hard hat covered his dark blond hair, and muscles rippled below the sleeves of his gray t-shirt as he pounded in another nail.
Memories of those sinewy arms holding his weight above me last night as he licked chocolate off the tips of my breasts sent a bolt of liquid fire through me. I would never look at an ice cream sundae the same way again.
The clang of a tool hitting the wood floor brought me out of my lust haze, and I jumped. Inhaling a steadying breath through my nose, I wandered through the doorway from the back room and called his name.
He turned, a happy smile spreading over his face. “Hey, babe. Taking a break?”
“Sort of,” I said, returning his smile.
Tipping his head, he pecked my cheek.
“Claire stopped—” The loud whine of a circular saw rose over my voice.
Luke jerked his head toward the front of the store. “Let’s go outside,” he yelled over the sound.
With a nod, I followed him out.
“That’s better,” he said, coming to a halt in front of the papered-over windows. “What were you saying?”
“Claire stopped in a little while ago. She told Ozzie about her finds. She also told him about your encounter at the diner. I guess he’s going to stop by and talk to you sometime today.”
“Oh. Okay. There’s not much I can tell him, but sure. Whatever he needs.”
“Hopefully, you won’t get the third degree. Claire’s the one who—”
Once more, I got cut off, but not by power tools this time. A female voice drowned me out.
“Luke? Oh my god, it is you!”
My head whipped around to see a young woman—probably not more than twenty-two or twenty-three—heading across the street toward us on four-inch heels.
Her long legs, visible beneath her short white skirt, were toned and sleek.
Long, glossy black hair hung around her shoulders, dusting the tops of perky boobs, which showed above the neckline of her tight lavender sleeveless top.
Tucked under one arm, she held a white blazer and a small black purse.
Luke froze for half a second before a polite, but welcoming, smile came over his face. “Taylor.”
“I was driving through, on my way up to the family cabin, when I saw you step out of the building. What are you doing swinging a hammer?” She gestured to the tool still gripped in his hand. “I thought you hung up your hard hat for a T-square.”
I narrowed my eyes. Who was this woman, and how did she know so much about Luke?
“I did, but Dad’s had some health issues. I’m filling in.”
The woman’s perfect eyebrows drew together. “Oh? I hope he’s okay.”
“He’s fine. Just recuperating yet.”
“Good. I always liked your dad.”
Still eyeing the woman, I shifted slightly.
Luke glanced at me, a slight deer-in-headlights look on his face. “Taylor, this is Mina, my—” his brows tweaked, and a beat of silence passed before he continued. “She owns this building, and the coffeeshop next door.”
What had he been about to say before he so abruptly changed it? That I was his what? Lover? Girlfriend? Cougar toy?
I fought an eye roll. While we’d certainly enjoyed our playtime last night, I wasn’t old enough yet to truly be considered a cougar, even if I was older than Luke.
“Mina, this is Taylor Bray. I did some work for her family. Well, Dad’s company did. I was on the crew.”
With a bright, toothy smile, Taylor held out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
My smile was tighter, but still polite as I shook her hand. “You too.”
Letting go of my hand, she tuned me out and focused on Luke once more. “You should come by the cabin sometime. We’ve made a few upgrades since you were there last.” A heated look entered her eyes. “Like a hot tub. I’ll be there all weekend.”
“Oh.” Luke reached a hand up and rubbed the back of his neck. “Um, thanks, but I”—he cast a quick look at me—“I’m busy.”
For the first time, Taylor truly noticed me. Her eyes narrowed, then roved over me from head to toe before she smirked. “I see you still have a thing for jobsite romances.”
My eyes widened. Before I could unstick my tongue from the roof of my mouth and hit her with some tart comeback, she was waggling her fingers and turning to cross the street.
“My invitation still stands, Luke.” Spinning on her pointy heel, she looked both ways, then crossed the street to a shiny silver BMW SUV.
One of my eyebrows winged upward at the extra sashay she put in her hips. An inelegant snort left me. This time I didn’t hold back the eye roll. “I need to get back to work.”
I was sure my abrupt spin didn’t look nearly as elegant as Taylor’s, thanks to my slip-on canvas shoes, but I did my best to keep my spine straight and make as smooth of a turn as possible.
“Mina.” Luke grabbed my arm, halting my retreat.
I froze, then turned slowly to stare at the strong, tanned fingers encircling my arm.
“She was just a fling. Years ago,” he said, gentling his touch, but not letting go. “We went out a few times, but it was nothing serious.”
When I raised my gaze to his, an apology shone back from the depths of his gray eyes.
It didn’t stop the edge from entering my voice, though. “I didn’t ask.” I didn’t want details. Thinking about him with another woman—especially one who looked like that—wasn’t something I was keen to do.
Luke studied me. “You don’t need to be jealous, Mina. I’ve never cheated on a woman, and I don’t plan to start now. Taylor’s my past, and she can stay there.”
While my heart skipped in delight that he didn’t want to go running back to that brunette bombshell, I couldn’t help but compare myself to her.
“I’m not jealous,” I denied, hoping I put enough conviction in my voice to make him believe me, because it certainly wasn’t the truth.
One sandy eyebrow quirked.
“I’m not.” The words were firm, but I couldn’t hold his gaze.
Instead, I glanced back at the coffeeshop.
“I need to get back to work.” Twisting my arm, gently, I backed out of his grasp.
My heart wanted to believe him, but my mind couldn’t help but wonder what a man like him, who could have a woman like Taylor Bray, would want with someone like me.
I was no slouch in the looks department, but I was a far cry from the young, highly polished woman who just drove away.
“Mina.” He reached for me again, but I was already too far away. The call of his name from within the café building stopped him from moving forward. He glanced toward the door.
“You better go see what they need.” I nodded toward the windows. “I’ll see you later.” Not waiting for a reply, I spun around and hurried away.