Aiden wanted to give Cait an attagirl, but he bit his tongue. He’d had no idea that Cait was helping her financially, and by the look in Abby’s eyes, she might not have known, either.
“Cool,” Wells said with a nod. “Good luck. I wish you the best, Abby, and if it gets to be too much, you know where to find me.”
“It won’t,” Abby said lightly, her effervescent smile returning. “But thank you.”
“Guess I won’t see you at the Best of the Island competition this year. Maybe next year, after you’ve gotten this place spiffed up,” Wells said.
“You’re entering?” Aiden asked.
Wells inhaled deeply, his chest expanding like he had something to prove, and he said, “You’re looking at the reigning king for the past three years.”
“How about that? Sounds like your competition has been too light.” Aiden couldn’t help pushing the guy’s buttons.
“The competition is good. But we’re better,” Wells said arrogantly. “Like I said, come by anytime and see for yourself. Dinner’s on me. I’m going to take off, but it was nice meeting you, Aiden.” He flashed what he probably thought was a coy grin at Cait and said, “Hope to see more of you, Cait,” and headed out the door.
“We need to get you into that contest, Abs.”
“Why?” Abby asked.
“To beat that guy.”
“Aiden’s right—that guy needs to be brought down a notch,” Cait said. “I’ve been thinking about it, and I want you to keep my share of the money we inherited to help with the restaurant. After everything you said last night, I agree with Deirdra. You’ve had enough of your dreams stolen from you. We all have. I’d like to help this one come true. Even though you don’t want to do the competition, I still want to see this place—and you—succeed, and that takes money, so . . .”
“Oh, Cait, you don’t have to do that,” Abby said. “I have some savings, and mine and Deirdra’s inheritance. You must have dreams of your own you want to follow.”
“I don’t. My dream was to find out who my birth parents were, and now I know who my mother was. That’s all I needed. This is new for both of us, and I’ll understand if you don’t want me to be involved, but these last two days are the only time in my life that I’ve felt connected to something or someone outside of Tank and his family. I was going to ask if you’d mind if I continued coming here a few days each week to help you fix up the restaurant.”
“Really?” Abby exclaimed. “I would love that. I’m so glad that you feel good about being here. You belong here. This is so exciting! We’re all partners now. You, me, and Deirdra. Deirdra’s a silent partner, obviously, and you can be as involved or as silent as you’d like. I know you have another job and a life on the Cape, so don’t worry, I won’t put any pressure on you. I’m thankful for whatever time you want to spend here, and with me. It makes the Bistro feel even more like a family restaurant. And you know what? Wells and his deep pockets can kiss our butts.”
“Damn right.” Aiden couldn’t help saying, “I can’t believe you dated him.”
“It was brief and we were teenagers. He’s a little full of himself, but he’s a good guy,” Abby said. “We may not have a lot of money, but we’re determined, and trust me, I know how to squeeze pennies out of a shoestring budget. We’re going to make this restaurant the place to be!” She hugged Cait and said, “This calls for a celebration! What are you doing tonight, Aiden?”
“Looks like I’m taking two beautiful women to dinner.”
“I have a better idea,” Abby said. “You’ve been helping for two days already. Let me repay both of you by cooking a special dinner, one of my dad’s recipes. You’ll love it. I promise.”
“Sounds like a plan, as long as you let me help.” Aiden slipped his arm around her waist again and said, “I make a pretty good sous-chef.”
“Deal. Cait?” Abby asked.
“I suck at cooking, but I like eating, and I can set a mean table.”
“Yay!” Abby rubbed her hands together and said, “I have to make a grocery list!”
Abby had a bounce in her step all afternoon. By the time Cait headed back to the house and Aiden walked Abby to her bike, he was beyond smitten with his fiercely determined and insanely sexy girl.
She took off his hat, which she’d worn all day, and squinted against the late-afternoon sun. “Thanks for letting me wear this.”
“I want you to have it. You look better in it than I ever could, and I like seeing you in something of mine.” He put his hat in the basket on her bike and gathered her in his arms. “Why don’t you give me that grocery list and I’ll bring everything over after I shower.”
“You don’t have to do that. I need to go to the grocery store and the organic shop in town.”
He eyed her bicycle with the white basket on the front and said, “I’m not sure you can fit everything in that pretty little basket, Bike Girl. And you might not realize it yet, but tomorrow your shoulders are probably going to be sore from all that wallpaper removing. Go home and pamper yourself. Let me do this for you.”
“You’ve done so much already,” she said sweetly.
“Not nearly as much as you’ve done for me these past couple of days, Abs.” He pressed his lips to hers in a tender kiss and said, “I’d like to do this for you.”
“What have I done for you besides make you work your butt off?”
“You reminded me what it’s like to enjoy life and do something other than think about finance.” He kissed her cheek and said, “And you’ve shown me what it’s like to get all worked up thinking about a beautiful”—he kissed her neck—“sexy”—he brushed his lips over hers—“incredibly adorable and contagiously happy woman.”
He framed her face with his hands and lowered his lips to hers, kissing her as thoroughly as he’d been dying to do all day. She went up on her toes, and he took the kiss deeper, getting lost in her taste, her already familiar scent, the slide of her tongue over his. One arm circled her, holding their bodies flush, and his other hand threaded into her hair. God, he loved her hair, so long and lustrous. He tugged gently, angling her mouth beneath his and intensifying his efforts. She moaned, her fingers pressing into the back of his neck as she melted against him, surrendering to their passion. That trust brought a heightened sense of arousal and affection. He wanted to sweep her into his arms and carry her up to his hotel suite, strip her bare, and love every inch of her beautiful body, showing her just how incredible he thought she was. But he would never ask her to miss time with Cait when her sister was there for only two more nights.
It took all of his resolve to deny them both the pleasure he knew they’d find. He drew away slowly, but he wasn’t ready to give her up and leaned in for more, quickly getting carried away, his hands moving down her back, clutching her gorgeous ass. Another tantalizing, needy sound escaped her lips. Fuuck.
“God, Abs,” came out craggy and lustful, but he couldn’t do it, couldn’t walk away. Like metal to magnet, their mouths crashed together in another sensual kiss, which seared through him like an inferno. Desire throbbed through his veins as she pressed against his arousal. He tore his mouth away, both of them panting. “You feel so good. I could kiss you all night.”