Chapter 1
CHAPTER 1
WILDES, DELAWARE | JANUARY, PRESENT DAY
T he first time he saw Clementine Kinney, she was bent over a table, tongue sticking out and frosting cupcakes.
It had been a pretty good December morning and Oakley had been on his way to a job interview. Frankie, his new neighbor, insisted that he grab dessert from Pretty Baked to convince them to give him the job. He walked into the bakery, adjusting his cap and froze when his eyes landed on her.
It was so rare for him to be rendered speechless, for his heart to stop and knees to wobble that way. But everything about the woman in a light yellow chef coat and a red bandana tied around her head had his attention. She probably didn’t even know the effect she had on people, because there was flour and a rainbow of icing on her neck, in her hair, and along the sleeve of her coat. He let his eyes trail over her curvaceous figure too—thick thighs and sturdy legs encased in black leggings, full breasts that were snug in her coat.
Then there was her face. Admiring people for their beauty was normal, everyone did it. The woman was so much more than attractive. With an oval face, high cheekbones and a perfectly curved jawline, she was alluring. She hadn’t paid him a second of attention as he stood there gawking, but he had noticed her dark brown eyes moving over the table as she counted the cupcakes.
He walked out with a dozen donuts—thanks to someone named Luna who smiled way more than most people did—and promised to come back soon. If not for the dessert, then to see the beautiful chef who had his complete attention.
The second time he saw Clementine Kinney, she was standing in front of a Christmas tree, a stoic expression on her face while someone animatedly told her a story.
He’d been in the small town of Wildes for all of three weeks, got himself the job at a tattoo shop and an apartment in a building that he was certain he could not afford long term, and he’d been invited to a Christmas party across the hall. Frankie and Milo were his new neighbors and outside of inviting a total stranger to their big holiday bash, they were also the most beautiful couple he’d ever seen.
So to see the chef that invaded his dreams there was a bit of a shock. He’d been introduced to the gang, then met a few people individually—Gavin poured him a club soda without follow-up questions, Everleigh admired the tattoo sleeve on his right arm and Lachlan basically told him to keep his hands off his girl, aka the aforementioned tattoo admirer, with a growl and a glare—but his attention kept drifting back to the curvy, dark haired beauty. It was only when they sat down to dinner that he knew her name. By then, he was addicted.
Unlike at her bakery, Clementine was polished and not a single color was where it didn’t need to be. Wearing a dark green dress that hugged her delicious body, she was the only person he’d been able to look at. Her dark brown hair fell in waves past her shoulders, light makeup was dusted across her beautiful features and a smile never graced her full pink lips. That didn’t take away from her beauty, though. If anything, the lack of a smile drew his attention to every other part of her. The effort it took to not stare, to not want to know everything about her was excruciating, but he focused on conversing with the rest of the gang.
The third time he saw Clementine Kinney was that morning, when he stopped by to grab donuts before heading into work.
Dressed in a lilac chef’s coat and bright yellow bandana, her head was tipped back as she laughed and it was the most beautiful sight in his entire life; and he’d surfed the waves in Hawaii. He’d seen the focused and impassive versions of her, but this one? It was probably his favorite. Clementine was absolutely captivating and her joy was infectious.
“You’re back!” Luna greeted him with a wide smile. He nodded and forced his eyes towards the young blonde. “More donuts?”
“They loved them and I did score the job, so I’m going to say yes.”
“Congratulations! I’m sure you deserve the job, but Chef Kinney’s creations will always win you extra points. ”
He chuckled, glancing at the chef in question and found her frowning at him. Gone was the joyous laugh and bright eyes, wrinkles creased her forehead and her eyes were narrowed. He raised a hand in an awkward wave and her frown deepened.
He cleared his throat and turned to Luna. “I’ll take a dozen of whatever you’ve got.”
With a smile, Luna grabbed a brown box from behind the counter and filled it with donuts. From the corner of his eyes, he could see a lilac form moving towards him. He held his breath and forced himself to look at anything else, but he was so aware of her.
“I know you.”
Spinning to face her, he grinned despite the stern expression on Clementine’s face. “We met at Frankie’s party.”
“Their neighbor. With tattoos.”
Well, that’s one way to remember me.
He nodded and pushed up the sleeve of his Henley, smiling as he put his tattoos on display. She glanced at them briefly and nodded before focusing on his face.
“Brinkley?”
“ Oak ley,” he corrected, still smiling because this wasn’t the first time someone decided his name was something else. “Clementine, right?” Definitely play it cool, like you haven’t been wondering how to get her attention this whole time.
She nodded. “You’ve been here before?”
“Yup. Luna was kind enough to pack a box of donuts before I went in for a job interview.”
“Did you get the job?”
He nodded, puffing his chest out. “Apparently your baked goods have magical properties.”
Her forehead crinkled. “Or maybe you’re just good at what you do. Which is…what?”
“Jack of all trades, some would say,” he joked, smile widening at the knitting of her brows. Fucking hell, she was delightful. “These days I’m more of a tattoo artist.”
Pointing at his arm, she arched an eyebrow. “Did you do those yourself?”
“Nope. Got a friend to do it for me back home.”
“Where is home?”
He was tempted to ask her if she’d like to sit down and talk some more, but he could tell that she wasn’t looking to make this a thing. She was attempting to be polite, or at least it came across that way.
“California.”
“What are you doing all the way here?”
“A change of scenery?”
Truth was, Oakley had no good reason for settling down there. It didn’t even show up on most maps, but he’d been driving around for weeks and when he passed through Wildes, he’d fallen in love. It was bigger than a town, but too small to be a city and the signboard claimed they had at least twenty thousand residents, which was perfect. Sure, he was someone who loved warm weather and walking around in board shorts, surfing every morning and drinking cold coffee as he got through his day, but there was just something about Wildes that called to him.
“Uh huh,” she mumbled, eyes narrowed like she was trying to figure him out.
He smiled and dropped his eyes to his booted feet. He didn’t have secrets, he was just a heartbroken and lonely man looking for somewhere to belong. Didn’t everyone have trauma and tragedy in their lives that they were trying to run from?
“Here you go,” Luna interrupted his silent non-conversation with the scowly chef.
He smiled as the box was passed over the counter and after a quick swipe of his card, he scooped it up and started backing away. “Thanks, Luna. It was great to see you again, Clementine.”
“Sure,” was all she said, one hand on her cocked hip as she watched him walk away. He glanced over as he climbed into his Jeep and found her still watching him, which only made him smile even wider.
He had her intrigued and that was the first step to winning someone over.
“About time you showed up. I need my sugar fix!” Auburn called out as he walked through the doors of A Fine Needle. He’d barely set the box down before it was being attacked by everyone, like hungry animals.
“You’re all a little on edge today.”
Fox, the only other male identifying member on staff, shot him a warning look. Oakley backed away from the counter and headed for his station to ready for the day. Through the curtain over his doorway, he could hear the rest of the staff moaning and groaning over the donuts. He chuckled and did a quick inventory of his equipment as his mind wandered to how much his life had changed in the last month alone.
He’d been traveling all over the country, looking for a purpose. Looking for himself. Oakley had driven up and down the West Coast, staying for short periods of time in motels that didn’t have issues with his dog or living out of his Jeep if necessary. California, and San Clemente in particular, had become stifling since he lost his family. Getting away from the memories, the pain and guilt meant that he could slowly come to terms with his life.
But he never stayed . He never put money into renting a place or finding a job.
Until Wildes.
Like he told his therapist, Kristof, he didn’t know what made him stop. He’d driven through Wildes and found a motel in the neighboring town for two nights. During the day, he and Gracie went for long walks and wandered around the town, exploring what it had to offer. By the end of that visit, he needed more.
So he extended his stay.
Then chose not to leave.
He’d spotted A Fine Needle during one of his walks. Even though it looked like the kind of place that would be perfect for him, Oakley gave himself two more trips to the neighborhood before he applied for a job. Then he found himself an apartment that was perfect and expensive, but worth it. Plus, they didn’t have issues with him having a dog. Which was crucial.
Three days after he’d settled into his apartment, Auburn Kimball from A Fine Needle called and set up an interview.
He wasn’t a tattoo artist by training or profession, he’d stumbled into it by accident. Honestly, a lot of things in his life had happened by accident. Except surfing. He didn’t like thinking about that time in his life, because it had cost him everything. Tattooing, though? It was something he had discovered in the last five years, putting his ability to sketch and draw to good use by bringing other people’s art to life on their skin.
During his interview, he stumbled over the personal questions and hesitated with a lot of the answers. Auburn, and her partner Kacey, had been kind in not pressing for more. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell them, but talking about his past took a lot out of him. Then they’d asked him to demonstrate his skills, show them what kind of style and art he worked with. By the end of the four hour conversation, Oakley knew he’d gotten the job.
Owned by Auburn and Kacey, A Fine Needle was the only tattoo shop in Wildes and probably for miles. It was also one of two queer tattoo establishments in the state. Thanks to the box of donuts on his first day, he’d met everyone on staff, including a guest artist that came by every few months, and felt like he’d found the place he belonged.
As someone who’d come out as bisexual when he was fourteen, he’d never worked in an environment that was so openly queer. A Fine Needle felt like it would become his safe space forever and Oakley was excited about that. He’d never hidden his bisexuality and had always been proud of his queerness, but to work in a place where being queer was celebrated every day: dream come true.
Even though he was permanently added to their employee roster, Oakley had been told that the first few months he’d be working on smaller pieces and assisting with the other tattooists. Back home, he’d worked with a friend on big tattoos that took multiple sittings, but he liked the idea of being able to learn from someone new. Every single person he’d assisted in the month he’d been there—Fox and Carin, in particular—had been incredibly generous with their guidance.
In fact, Wildes was the first place he’d felt more like himself in a really long time. Including his ridiculous crush on a grumpy chef.
“You went to see her again, didn’t you?”
He grunted at Fox’s question and looked up from his notebook. “I went to get donuts, she happens to be there.”
“Keep telling yourself that.”
“I keep telling you that, but you don’t believe me.”
“Kid, I’ve crushed on many people in my lifetime and I know what that looks like. You’re allowed to enjoy it, you know?”
“Crush is such a weird term.”
Fox rolled his eyes. “Infatuation, then.”
“Fascination, maybe.”
“Did you finally talk to her?”
He nodded, sitting up straighter. “I’m not sure I’d call it talking, more like her interrogating me. But we communicated and I think that’s a start.”
“I really need to meet this woman, see what the big deal is.”
“Besides the fact that she baked the donut you inhaled in one bite?”
“Do not judge me for my love for donuts.”
Chuckling, he grabbed a tissue from the box by his chair and handed it to Fox. “Got some icing around your mouth, donut lover.”
“Look,” Fox said between wiping his mouth, “you like this woman, so you should ask her out. As someone who was fascinated by a person for years and then watched them marry somebody else before I could even tell them how I felt, my advice is don’t wait too long.”
“I don’t feel that way about her, man.”
“Not yet. But you might. If you keep going to her bakery for donuts, this fascination will turn into something else and then…it might be too late.”
He stared as his friend smiled and walked out of the room. His eyes stayed fixed on the curtain as it closed and Oakley let out a heavy sigh. Crushes were for school kids; infatuations and fascinations were not something that adults felt. He didn’t have feelings as much as he had an undeniable attraction to the woman. Even though his therapist insisted that ‘getting out there’ would be good for him, he was nervous. The last time he’d allowed himself to be out there, strange things happened that he couldn’t remember. Besides, relationships and romance had to take a backseat until he was really sure he could handle all of it.
He could admire her from a distance and that would be enough. Right?
Except…what was it about Clementine Kinney that made him want to throw caution to the wind?