Jake and Drew had hung around for a while afterward, which honestly surprised me. I thought for sure he’d find a reason to leave as soon as his brother interrupted our moment, but he hadn’t. Drew hung out in the living room, coloring with Addie. The sight of the two of them, heads bent over their illustrations, was enough to make me melt, but then hearing Drew ask Addie questions about her drawings and solicit suggestions for his own made my mama-bear heart take a few extra beats. I didn’t know Jake and Drew’s parents, but clearly they did something right.
Jake stayed in the kitchen with me, and we made pizza. Not going to lie, that was almost better than the kiss. We’d talked. There wasn’t our typical dance of what I’d now begun to recognize as flirting, then teasing, then flirting, then a bit of infuriating conversation, then flirting. He hadn’t teased me once but instead asked questions about the bookstore, what I had done to get it off the ground, et cetera.
I’d shared more about the formal proposal I’d been sent about the purchase of the bookstore. It was a good offer, I knew. But something was keeping me from going all in on it. I told Jake I had a few weeks to decide, and he agreed that was a good call, to sleep on it some more. He also offered to look over my books with me, saying that maybe fresh eyes would help me see if I was missing anything.
While grateful for his offer of help, I felt like again I was taking from him. He’d watched my daughter this week, and now he wanted to help me figure out my business? Part of me wanted to say no, I could do this on my own.
Instead, I reminded myself that I was being stubborn and switched topics to this Reds of Christmas event. Jake had said there wasn’t a ton left to do, but I wanted to contribute in some way. We’d talked about using social media to our advantage, something we both did in our own businesses but something that hadn’t been capitalized on for events like this one coming up for the chamber.
Thinking over the night, once I got past my own issues, I wasn’t sure what I liked more: having someone to cook with, someone to bounce business ideas off of, or someone who helped me unwind from my day. As much as my independent streak hated to admit it, it was pretty damn nice not to feel alone. The fact that I wanted to climb Jake, wrap my legs around him, and kiss him into tomorrow was simply an added bonus.
All too soon, the big boys had gone home. Addie and I completed our nighttime routine, including two stories from the Elephant & Piggie series. She dropped off quickly, and I— Well, let’s just say my fantasies about one Jake Spencer were none too shabby last night.
But today? Today I couldn’t focus worth a damn. I mean, darn. If the shop had been busy, maybe I would’ve been able to get my mind off the package that was Jake Spencer. As it was, we had a trickle of business throughout the day but not enough to keep my wandering and lustful mind occupied. The lack of customers made me stress and wonder if the increase in sales I’d seen since summer was leveling off. It was a gorgeous fall day. Maybe people had decided to spend time outside? Couldn’t say I’d blamed them. I hoped business would pick up after lunch.
The bell over the door signaled that I’d finally have a customer. Thank goodness. Glancing over, I saw a tall woman with dark hair and glasses come in.
“Welcome,” I called. “Please let me know if I can help you find something.”
Her eyes found mine, and they crinkled at the corners with what appeared to be amusement as her mouth turned up. She headed straight for me. “Oh, I’m willing to bet you can help me.”
“Oh?”I looked her over, sure I hadn’t met her before, but she did seem somewhat familiar.
“Yes.” She paused on the other side of my counter. “Let me introduce myself. I’m Steph, Steph Nolan. But I think you know my brothers better, Jake and Drew.” She held out her hand.
I ignored the offered hand and moved around the counter. “Of course I know them. Are you a hugger? I tend to be, but that’s a bit much for some people.”
Steph grabbed me, pulling me in for a tight squeeze. Yep, she was a good hugger.
I pulled back. “I didn’t know you’d be down so early today. I thought Jake said you all were coming in this evening.” I mentally revisited the conversation from last night while also trying not to freak out about meeting another family member of Jake’s while still having no idea why our lips had fallen on each other or how I could sign up to have it happen again.
“I crashed the bro time last night as a bit of a surprise instead of waiting until today. Drew and I wanted to toast Jake with a small sibling celebration, so I came down early. My husband decided to stay up north with our girls because they had some stuff scheduled. Also”—she looked at me expectantly—“I couldn’t help but get my ass down here when Drew sent me a smokin’-hot pic of you and Jake in what I assume is your kitchen yesterday afternoon.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Damn, girl.”
Ahhhhhhh. Was my face on fire? It felt like it was. I wanted to run from the bookstore in mortification. It was embarrassing to be caught making out like a teenager. To be caught on camera and have said picture be the way that Steph was introduced to me? Holy hell. “Um, I can explain?”
She raised a brow and gave me a wide smile. “Really? I can’t wait to hear this.”
Explain, explain, could I explain? If so, I’d need to start by explaining it to me. I looked at Steph and thought about Drew and Jake. The three of them were super close, it seemed. They also didn’t seem to hold anything back. With that in mind, I decided to lay it all out. “Honestly, I have no idea what’s going on with your brother. We annoy each other beyond what’s rational, then he is the sweetest man alive and absolutely wonderful with my daughter, then we get near each other yesterday and… Bam! Kissing.”I throw my hands up in the air.
“Bam?” Steph raised her eyebrows. I nodded. She looked over at the stool I had set to the side for Maggie. “May I?” she asked, gesturing toward it.
“Be my guest.”
She pulled it over and sat down a bit gingerly.
I belatedly realized she was in exercise clothes. Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, “Are you okay?”
Her eyes widened. I’m guessing that wasn’t what she thought I was going to say. “Yeah, I just got finished running at Highland Woods with Drew and Jake. I’m the stubborn older sister, have to keep up with those two, you know? But my typical distance is two miles on my treadmill, not seven through the trails.” She shook her head. “Completely my fault, and they’ll be pissed if I limp around them, so a fast recovery is needed.” She gave me a mischievous grin. “They headed toward the brewery while I said I was going home to shower before joining them.”
I smiled while beating back a twinge or two of jealousy. I wished I had the relationship she did with her siblings. Hell, I wish I had a sibling. Shaking my head to clear out the pointless thoughts, I addressed her comment. “So, I’m just a quick detour?”
“An absolutely necessary detour,” she clarified. “As well as a moment to recover away from those two.”
I smiled and nodded my understanding. “One, I’m happy to be a recovery spot for you. Two, how do you feel about essential oils? I think I have some ginger and orange oils that I massage on my muscles the rare times that I run. It feels like it helps for me, so you’re welcome to them if you’d like.”
“Hell yeah, I’ll take anything you’ve got.” Steph paused, seeming to gather her thoughts. “So you’re cool that I came here to check you out?”
I’d ducked down to rummage through the oils I kept on hand at the store, grabbing a rollerball to fill up for Steph. Standing up to face her, I had to laugh. She seemed so serious, a bit unsure, which didn’t seem to fit the woman sitting across from me. “Of course it is. Vetting is required of anyone sucking the face of your sibling, especially one you’re clearly close to.”
