She stuck her tongue out at me. “Once you taste my cream you’ll never want to go back to the cheap bought variety again.”
“Baby, I don’t have to pay for it.” I grinned. “But I have no doubt your cream tastes better than all the rest.”
Her jaw dropped and her cheeks flamed. “You’ll never know!”
Never was a long time and I was a patient man. “I love messing with you, you make it too easy.” I moved in behind her at the counter, watching over her shoulder as she broke eggs into the mixing bowl, stirred in milk and added sugar and cinnamon. Damn. She smelled even better than the sugar and cinnamon. A subtle flowery fragrance that was messing with my mind.
She looked at me over her shoulder, licking her glossy lips. “What are you doing?”
Her silky brunette hair fell in soft waves, partially covering her full breasts, and it was taking everything in me not to slide my fingers through it. “Watching the master at work. You always tease me about my lack-luster skills in the kitchen. How am I supposed to learn if I don’t watch?”
She hip-checked me before making her way to the pantry. “Watch my videos online like everyone else.”
Gia had become something of a local celebrity, fielding invites to every restaurant opening, festival, and book store for miles around. Yes, my girl had also written a book that hit the bestsellers lists at major retailers. She was a woman ofmanytalents. That’s why I’d been itching to lock her down ever since I got back to town.
I never intended to return to my hometown after college graduation. I made a small fortune in the stock market, and when I got bored trading stocks, I became an angel investor and watched from afar as other people built their dreams. But plans changed when my old man was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I wanted to come home and help him out, but he was a stubborn old goat and wouldn’t hear of it. So, when he died, I inherited my family’s farm. Lock, stock, and cows.
I could have sold it, but since my mom died my senior year of high school and I was an only child, this farm was the only thing that still tied me to my folks. Farming wasn’t really my thing, but I couldn’t stand the thought of selling my family history to a stranger so I was trying to make it work without going stir-crazy. Even though I’d grown up in the country, rural life wasn’t really for me anymore.
“These berries,” she said, holding up a pint I’d harvested the day before, “are the best. I’m telling you, we could host farm to table dinners here and make a fortune, Joel.”
“And I told you, I already have a fortune and don’t need strangers traipsing all over my property, thank you very much.”
Her green eyes dimmed and I knew I was stealing her thunder. She had so many big plans for this place, but I had no interest in making the old Wheeler farm a money-making machine. Like my dad, and grandad, I was content to be a steward of the land. Maybe pass it on to the next generation, if I ever found a woman who was looking for more than a good time and deep pockets.
“You’re being short-sighted. If you’re going to stay here anyways, why not make the most of it? Let other people enjoy this as much as you do. You know city dwellers need a place to de-compress too and your farm would be perfect. Think about it, we could renovate the old barn in the east field. It’s not being used anyways, and it would be perfect for weddings and events.”
I snagged a berry, popping it into my mouth as I watched her work. I had no doubt Gia could turn this place into a multi-million-dollar enterprise but I wanted no part of it. “I want this to be a family home someday. You know, have a bunch of kids running around playing—”
She paled and I knew I’d hit a nerve.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She dipped sliced bread into her egg mixture before carefully placing them in the sizzling skillet and adjusting the heat on the gas burners. “It’s just that, um, you’ve never really talked about having kids before.”
I shrugged. “I may not have talked about it, but I want them someday. Don’t you?”
She rolled her eyes. “I can’t even find a decent guy to date, let alone father my children.”
I wanted to volunteer but I knew she’d think I was joking. We’d grown up together, with her family living just down the road from mine. We’d travelled on the school bus together since sixth grade, went to the same high school and only lost touch when we went off to college.
I hadn’t seen or spoken to her until I returned home last year. But we’d followed each other on social media and messaged each other to check in now and then. I always wondered if she might have been the girl who got away. Turns out she was. Only now I was getting a second chance and didn’t know how the hell to make the most of it. No girl had ever made me work for it before so I was clueless in the fine art of pursuit.
“You’ve been looking in all the wrong places.”
“Oh yeah?” she asked, flipping the bread with a spatula when it was perfectly browned. “Where would you suggest I look?”
Try looking right in front of you.“Forget about looking. When the time is right, the right guy will find you.”He already has.
“If you say so.”
I wanted to hear more about her proposal, but didn’t want to seem too anxious, so I watched her work and made small talk instead. “Can you believe Dee is pregnant?” Our friend and hair stylist had made the big announcement at her recent wedding, during her vows, no less.
“I loved the way she told Jake he was going to be a daddy.”
“Yeah, if my girl sprung that on me during our wedding ceremony, I’d be stoked too. Talk about making it memorable. She outdid herself.”
“It was a beautiful wedding.” She sighed. “And I couldn’t be happier for them. Nobody deserves it more.”
