Clara, with her antlers, had her back to me, and was frothing milk at the espresso machine. The mole next to her spine peeked out from the collar of her t-shirt beneath the ties of the Sugar Peaks apron strings.
I'd traced that mole a million times, and not just with my fingertips. My lips had kissed that soft skin at the base of her neck, my eyes had focused on that spot when she'd arched her back, moaning when I slipped in from behind…
Fuck. I blinked and forced my eyes back to the brochure in front of me. Rob was still talking, thank God.
That mole brought back thoughts I hadn't had for years. It had also awoken another part of me. Shifting in my seat, I sipped my coffee and tried to calm down the semi threatening to bust through the zipper in my jeans.
Charlotte returned to the table and settled into her seat. The front of her blouse was damp and clung to her chest. "The dish sprayer attacked me." She pulled the fabric away from her chest.
I handed her a napkin, and she dabbed at the water on her blouse.
"Does everyone deliver their dishes directly to the dish-pit here?" I laughed.
The three at the table cast each other a 'look.'
"I own the café with Megan. I’m sure you remember the coffee at the G-Spot. We needed something a little less potent in town."
That brought back another memory. "Does the lady who owns it, I can't remember her name, still put booze in the coffee?"
The laugh that spread through the group told me that she did.
"Now, Beck. How about you tell us all about your fancy new hockey team?" Mavis said.
"Hockey team?" Charlotte paused mid-dab.
"Yes." It was go-time. “My corporation is involved with developing small-town hockey teams. The Northern Professional League is expanding, and we need some smaller centers that can handle a new team."
Charlotte set down the napkin. "Mavis, does Logan know about this?"
That name I recognized. "Not yet," I interjected. "You're talking about Logan Brush, right?"
She nodded.
"I'm sure he will be on board. I'm going to ensure that his Bobcats will be able to use the new rink."
"New rink?" Charlotte crossed her arms. "Mavis, this is a big deal."
My chest puffed. It was a big deal, one that would leave me with a pocket full of the biggest commission I'd ever made, and this little town with a facility way too nice for it. I pulled out the brochures and handed them to everyone at the table. "I'm going to make a presentation at the next council meeting, but I wanted to discuss it with everyone here first and hopefully iron out some of the land issues."
Charlotte took a pair of thick-rimmed glasses from her purse and flipped through the glossy folder. "What's the catch?"
"This looks perfect for the town.” Tom didn’t even bother opening the brochure. “Mr. Shepherd sent me the numbers in advance, and it's going to bring a lot of business here.”
"How exactly?" Charlotte closed the brochure and folded her hands on top of it. Her giant diamond and matching band sparkled, casting rainbow prisms on the walls around us.
This was where I was either going to win or lose the deal.
"Would you like more coffee?" Megan was back with a carafe in her hand.
"Yes." Mavis held up her mug. "Me too." Rob nudged his mug to the edge of the table.
Megan filled Mavis' cup but ran out of coffee before topping up Rob's. "Whoops. I'll be right back."
Charlotte's eyes hadn't left me. "Mr. Shepherd, how is a corporation, a numbered corporation at that, going to profit from a small-town hockey league and build a facility like this one?"
"We can discuss the details in the council report." Rob patted the closed the brochure. "Charlotte, you're here to help us locate parcels owned by the city, ones we can sell to Mr. King with a rebate."
"A rebate?" Charlotte's eyes narrowed. "I'm not following."
