She sighed heavily, but the light in her eyes was slowly returning. “You really think I have a chance at winning? You haven’t even eaten at the other restaurants on the island, and you’ve only tasted my cooking once.”
“I’ve eaten at enough restaurants to know you can win.”
“Fine,” she relented. “Since you’ve already entered me, I’ll do it. But I’m paying you back every penny of that entry fee.”
He gathered her in his arms, relief pushing away the tension between them as he said, “I can think of plenty of creative ways for you to pay me back.” He kissed her lips. “Like that.” His hand slid down her back, and he squeezed her ass. “And that,” he said, earning a genuine smile.
“You’re so bad,” she said heatedly.
“You haven’t seen bad yet.” He lowered his lips to hers, taking her in a tender kiss, and said, “Am I forgiven?”
“Yes, but don’t step on my toes again. I need to be in control of my own business decisions.”
“I respect that, and again, I’m sorry I went behind your back.”
She stepped out of his arms and ran her hand along the back of a chair. “These really are perfect, aren’t they?” She turned the price tag over and cringed.
“Steep?”
“Yeah.” Her face pinched in concentration.
“I have lots of contacts. I bet I can get you a few sets at wholesale prices.”
Anguish rose in her eyes. “I appreciate that, but I was really hoping to buy local. Now that I’m going to be living here full-time, I want to support other small businesses. You know, I scratch their backs, they scratch mine.”
“That’s an admirable goal, Abs. I don’t know your financial situation, but I know about business, and overpaying is never wise. Especially at this stage of the game. You’re likely to incur a lot of other unanticipated costs, like the oven unit needing to be replaced.”
“I know. I’ve been thinking about that, and I think I can get away without replacing the oven right away. I have two, and that should be doable.”
“Not for maximum efficiency,” he said, immediately regretting it. The closer they became, the more difficult it was to bite his tongue.
She planted her hand on her hip, lifting her chin defiantly. “Sometimes you have to cut corners in the places customers don’t see in order to beef up the areas they do.”
“Abs, didn’t you just agree that it was a good idea to come up with a budget and then spend your money?”
“Yes, and I will. After I buy these chairs. This is my decision, remember?”
He held his hands up in surrender and said, “Yes. You’re right.”
“Thank you.”
While his unsolicited advice might have been out of line, he wasn’t going to let her bury her dreams before they even got started. “You can buy them right after I talk to the owner or salesman and negotiate a better price. Markups in these places are astronomical.”
“You are so . . .” She shook her head.
“Helpful?”
She rolled her eyes, a small smile tugging at her lips. “If this is what you did every time Remi made a decision, I can see why she pushed you to get your own life.”
“Ouch.” Aiden put his hands over his heart, although she wasn’t wrong.
“That’s not what I meant.” She reached for his hand, holding it as she said, “You talk about my big heart, but you can’t even bear the idea of letting me do something that you think might be a mistake.”
“That’s not my heart talking; it’s good business. I don’t mix business with pleasure.” At least I never used to.
Heat sparked in her eyes, and she said, “Your creative debt-repayment options say otherwise.”
Forty-five minutes later, Aiden had ordered a hammock, and Abby was the proud owner of six sets of bistro chairs with matching tables, which she’d scheduled to have delivered the week before the judging for the competition.
“I still can’t believe you got twenty-five percent off!” she said excitedly, putting the receipt in her purse. “You’re amazing, Aiden. I never would have thought to try to negotiate the price at a place like that.”
“Don’t forget, I threw in free dinner for him and his family once a month over the summer.”
“I got a great deal on the perfect chairs. I’ll feed him every day if I need to.”
“No, you won’t.” Her stern look made him realize his mistake, and he said, “I mean, you might want to rethink that after you work up your budget.”
“Maybe I will.” She smiled and said, “I know you don’t mix business with pleasure, and I can be stubborn, but would you mind helping me with the budget?” Before he could respond, she wrapped her arms around his waist, went up on her toes, and whispered, “I promise to pay only with pleasure.”
As he lowered his lips to hers, he said, “Exception made.”
CHAPTER NINE
ON THE WAY to Top of the Island Vineyard, Abby silently picked apart her conversation with Aiden about the chairs. She felt bad for getting upset when he’d only been looking out for her, even if he had overstepped by signing her up for the competition. He hadn’t done it maliciously or for his gain, even if she wished he’d talked to her about it first. It had been so long since anyone had supported her like that, she’d had a knee-jerk reaction. She couldn’t get over how vehemently he believed in her, and she worried she’d sounded ungrateful. A knot formed in her stomach as he parked in front of the cedar and brick winery.
He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. “You okay? You’re pretty quiet.”
“Mm-hm.”
He grabbed their sweaters from the back seat and came around to help her out of the car. “It’s gorgeous here,” he said, putting an arm around her.
The vineyard was located at one of the highest points on the island and gave way to miles of beautiful landscape, with roads snaking through cottage developments and cliffs that fell away to the deep blue sea. The late-afternoon sun illuminated the vineyards. The vines were bare but still beautiful. Abby wished he were going to be there later in the summer, when the vineyards would burgeon with bright green leaves and bundles of juicy grapes.
He turned a warm gaze to her, and his smile faded. “Aw, babe. What are those shadows in your eyes? You’re not okay, are you?”
“You really do see everything,” she said softly. “I feel horrible for the way I reacted at the store. I’m sorry I got so defensive. I’m used to doing everything on my own, making all of my own decisions—good or bad—and I guess I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder because of having to defend myself to Deirdra.”
“You don’t have to apologize. You were right, Abs. I overstepped. It’s a bad habit of mine. I have a hard time stepping back when it comes to business and the people I care about. I’ll try to keep my opinions to myself.”
“No, I don’t want that. It’s been a long time since anyone looked after me in the way you did by entering me in the competition and trying to get me to make a smarter financial decision and wait to buy the chairs. Deirdra is protective, but like a big sister—it’s a duty born of love, but a duty just the same. And Shelley watched after us, but more like an aunt making sure we didn’t starve. She was always careful not to step on our mom’s toes or interfere too much. I love that you believe in me, but I’m not used to having someone watch out for me because they want to, not because they feel like they have to.”