Abby licked blueberry off the edge of the Danish and took a bite. Pleasure rose in her eyes, stirring a wave of awareness within him, awakening Aiden the man. His mind took a turn down a different road, wanting to see a different type of pleasure in her eyes.
To distract himself from the lust simmering inside him, he said, “It sounds like your parents were wonderful together.”
“They were, and I know my father sounds intrusive. But he wasn’t.” Oblivious to the sinful thoughts she’d sparked, she ate another bite of her Danish and said, “Mm. So, so good.”
God, this woman . . .
“It’s hard to put into words what it was like to be around my father,” she said. “It was like he sprinkled magic everywhere he went. I thought all restauranteurs were like him. But I learned the truth years later, when I left the island, went to culinary school, and became a chef. After working in restaurants in New York City for a few years, I realized life in the kitchen was pretty bleak and stressful.”
“Then why keep the Bistro?”
Her gaze moved around them, as if she were making sure no one else would hear her answer, and said, “Because I’m convinced the restaurant still has a bit of my father’s magic in it, and I want to bring it back to life. I think this might be my destiny. After my mom died, I took a long, hard look at my life, and I realized I wasn’t happy. So I quit my job, even though I had absolutely no idea what my next move would be. I mean, I knew the restaurant would be ours, but I wasn’t completely sure I’d want to run it until yesterday, when I jogged over that hill and saw it. Then I knew it was meant to be.” She sighed and relaxed into the chair.
Abby was starry-eyed with her talk of magic and romanticizing her situation. While her dreaminess was appealing, Aiden had seen this a hundred times in business, and it almost always led to bad decisions that cost people everything they had. He heard the warnings in his head, but even though the businessman in him thought quitting her job without a plan was completely irresponsible, there was something so appealing about this woman who believed in herself enough to take that big a chance, he wanted to cheer her on.
“But yesterday we also found out that we have a half sister named Cait who lives on Cape Cod,” Abby said lightly. “And it turns out that our mother left the restaurant and the house to the three of us in equal shares.”
Aiden looked for hints of anger or resentment, but Abby’s eyes were clear, and there were no tension lines anywhere on her beautiful face. Surprised, he said, “It sounds like your situation is no longer as cut-and-dried as you’d thought. Shouldn’t you be running today? That sounds pretty stressful.”
“I know, right?” She took a big bite of her croissant, her smiling eyes watching him as she ate. “I should be super stressed, but when I met Cait, I didn’t feel freaked out. I don’t really know what I felt. Excited to have another sister and sad for having never known her, of course, and a bit worried because Deirdra and I are a lot to take in. What if she doesn’t like us? What if we don’t like her? Honestly, I know we’ll like her, or at least I will, because I already do. I mean, she’s our sister and that’s huge.”
“I can’t imagine anyone not liking you, but I have to ask a big question that’s none of my business. Have you verified this through DNA?”
“You sound like Deirdra. She was skeptical, too, but our mother provided documents that verify everything.”
“You should make sure it’s all valid.”
“Deirdra read through them last night, and it all appears to be in order. So now there’s Cait to think about. And believe me, she was just as shell-shocked yesterday as we were. But at least Deirdra and I have had time to adjust to our mother being gone. Cait has not only just learned who her birth mother was, that she has two sisters, and that she’s now the proud owner of one-third of this property and the house, but also that her mother is gone. She can never ask the questions I’m sure she has. I don’t know what Cait wants to do about any of this, but she’s meeting me here so we can get to know each other, and she’s got the next few days off so we can start to figure things out. And here I am, knowing you for less than an hour and airing all my dirty laundry. Way to go, Abby!” she cheered. “I’m sorry, Aiden. I guess I really needed to talk about all of this, and you’re the lucky recipient of my ramblings. Maybe you should have your running shoes on so you can take off and never look back.”
And there it was, the difference between Abby and most of the other women he came in contact with. The others worked hard to impress him, but Abby was just being herself, and he liked that a whole hell of a lot. She was also a talker. He’d never been into talkative women, but the sound of Abby’s voice was so much sweeter than the silence he usually craved.
“And miss the next episode of the Abigail-Deirdra-Cait Chronicles? No way. This is far more fun than anything I’ve done in a long time.” He held her gaze, heat and curiosity swirling in the space between them. He had the urge to cradle her face in his hands and press his lips to hers, to taste all that she was and all that she hoped to be.
But just as those thoughts stirred darker ones, a blush stained her cheeks, as if she were thinking them, too. She looked out at the water, breaking their connection, and said, “Boy, I’ve missed being here.” Her eyes flicked to his. “But it’s never quite been like this.”
They made small talk as they finished eating, and then she stood up in those sexy little shorts and said, “I should get to work. I’m sure you have a big day planned.”
“Huge,” he said with a grin. “I’m a regular sloth on vacation.”
“Do you want me to help you clean up or take any of this back to the person you stole it from?”
He chuckled. “I think I can handle it. It was nice sharing breakfast with you, Not So Much of a Runner Girl.”
She flashed that effervescent smile and said, “Right back at ya, Chair Guy.”
Abby’s heart was going ten types of crazy as she unlocked the restaurant door. Did she really just have breakfast with that great guy? That great gorgeous guy? What alternative world had she woken up in? Her life was never this exciting. She stole one last glance at the man who had completely disarmed her from the moment she’d sat down. He was stacking their breakfast dishes. He looked up and winked, sending the butterflies in her belly into a wild flurry.
“Thanks again,” she said, and walked inside wondering if she’d ever see him again. She breathed deeply, trying to calm her nerves as she flicked on the lights. The musty scent and the sight of chairs stacked on tables brought her mind back to the enormous task before her. She’d stocked up on cleaning supplies and had dropped them off last night. She picked up one of the buckets, and as she wove around tables, heading for the kitchen, her thoughts trickled back to Aiden and the intense way he’d listened to her rambling on about her family. He probably thought she was nuts, wanting to keep the Bistro and spilling her guts to a stranger. Although, for some reason, he didn’t feel like a stranger.
Just outside the kitchen, she passed the cracked and weathered counter where her father used to keep the cash register and could practically hear the faint ding of the drawer opening. She pushed through the double doors, taking in the familiar stainless-steel appliances as she set the bucket in the sink. If she tried hard enough, she could still hear the clanking of dishes, the sizzle of meats searing, and the kitchen staff calling out to each other over sounds of the Eagles, the Allman Brothers, and other classic bands playing from the only station her father’s old boom box could tune in to without static. Luckily, classic rock was his favorite, and it had become Abby’s, too. The songs were hallmarks of her youth, welcome reminders of how fun work could be.