He smirked and coughed behind his hand while looking around, perhaps to see if we were being watched or listened to. “Isa, I’m not playing at anything. I don’t feel bad that you’re new in town and am not jumping in like a boy scout to be chivalrous. I’m asking a gorgeous woman out on a date. A date between a man and a woman. A date that I hope ends in a knockout kiss that sweeps you off your feet so I can ask you out on another one.”
“I wha, um, you, uhhh,” I blurted, not being able to form a coherent sentence to save my life.
“And I see I’ve rendered you unable to speak.” He chuckled.
“Holy shit. You are more forward than Jasper!” I accused with a smile.
He shrugged. “If it gets me what I want, I’m fine with that. Did it work?”
I furrowed my brows in question. “Did what work?”
“Are you going to go out on a date with me?”
I nodded before I could say the words.
“Let me see your phone.” He held out his hand.
“Okay.” I reached around to my back pocket and pulled it out.
He engaged it, typed in it for a bit and then I heard another phone ring. He pulled his out of his back pocket, hit a button and then put it back. “I’ll call you later to confirm. I’ve got a few jobs this week that will tie me up, so this weekend or maybe early next week after work? I try to get off by four most days since I work so early.”
I bit into my lip and watched his eyes dilate. He shook his head. “Very nice to meet you, Isabeau.”
“Same to you, Kyson,” I breathed like a lovesick teenager who’d just been asked out by her year-long crush.
He reached for my hand and then squeezed it before letting it go. “I’m outta here, brown eyes,” he called over his shoulder.
“Later, gator! Thanks for fixing the lights!” Suda Kaye hollered from the display stand where Evie and Jasper stared at me with wide eyes. The three of them were huddled conspiratorially.
“Call you soon,” Kyson promised as he moved around me.
“I look forward to that.” I smiled and watched his tight buns move in those faded jeans.
The door shut and a plethora of squeals, cackles and catcalls from three different voices entered my dreamy brain, breaking me out of my hot-guy stupor.
Did that just happen?
“Get over here right now and tell us everything,” Jasper demanded on a gush of air.
I had a bit more sway to my hips as I went over to tell my siblings about Kyson asking me out on a date.
* * *
“Mine’s burnt. Man, this sucks.” Suda Kaye pouted while evaluating her crispy marshmallow. Not only had the thing caught fire, it turned totally black, too. “I’m terrible at roasting marshmallows. I always forget to keep an eye on them.”
I giggled at her super-sad face.
“Aw, sweets, take mine. I like ’em the color of tar and coated with black ash,” Camden lied and kissed the side of her face. One of his arms was already wrapped around his wife, and a sweet smile licked at his lips.
Her entire face lit up like a little kid sitting in front of her birthday cake with ten candles glowing. “I love you so much right now,” she announced, handing him the obliterated marshmallow and stealing his perfectly browned one. She immediately plucked at the top layer of crispy goop with her fingers and plopped a blob into her mouth.
His eyes focused on her mouth and I felt the heat from his gaze even more than the bonfire before us. When she moaned and opened her eyes, he swooped in for a rather indecent kiss. So much so I looked away and focused on Evie and Milo. The two were cuddled up, Evie sitting on the ground on a blanket, her back to Milo’s front, his back against a large log. The two of them seemed content to just stare at the fire and soak in the four of us spending time with them.
We’d had a blast today at Suda Kaye’s store. I ended up leaving with at least three outfits and a hoard of new jewelry. None of which she let me pay for. She said it was because she missed all of my birthdays, she felt like she had a lot of presents to make up for, and my new duds and the accessories were nothing compared to what she wanted to bestow on me. She also finagled me into posing in the outfits that Jasper put together so she could use them on her website to promote the store and its inventory. This was when Evie announced the entire lot was a business tax write-off in the advertising category. Whatever that meant. I didn’t know anything about tax write-offs and business expense buckets and the like. That was not something I remembered my culinary school spending much time on. Though if I were to open a store with Jasper, I imagined we’d need to figure these things out. Maybe take some classes or speak to a tax person to see how detailed it all was.
“Such a sucker for a pretty face,” Jasper announced jovially.
“Guilty.” Camden laughed and ran his hand through his chin-length sandy-blond hair. It fell perfectly in wavy locks around his beard-and-mustache combo. The man had it going on. Even sitting on a log in a pair of slacks with his dress shirt unbuttoned at the neck and collar, tie removed and sleeves rolled up his muscular tanned forearms, he looked incredibly sexy and not even a little out of place next to his bohemian wife. Maxi skirt that jingled when she walked due to the little gold discs dangling from a layer close to the hem. A tank top and an oversize blousy shirt that she’d tied in a knot at her hip, one shoulder falling off to expose a tasteful amount of her toasted brown skin. She was the belly-dancing flower child to his business mogul GQ appeal.
“Hey, Cam, we actually wanted to discuss some business ideas with you. When you get a chance, of course. Maybe Jas and me can set up a time to meet with you or your foundation?” I asked out loud.
“Are you looking to go the route Suda Kaye did with the foundation helping to bankroll your business startup?”
I shook my head. “No. Uh, you know that I got the big inheritance from their dad, and Jasper and I discussed it a little bit with Evie and Milo. We are interested in starting up our own bakery. Either in Pueblo or Colorado Springs depending on the price and the place.”
Suda Kaye’s eyes widened, and she stood abruptly. “Holy moly! The old candy store next to Gypsy Soul is empty. It will need to be completely gutted and redone, but you totally have the capital now.” She bounced on her feet and her skirt jingled prettily. “And guess what else! It comes with the apartment on top of the store.”
“What apartment?” I looked at Jas and then back to Suda Kaye.
“Gypsy Soul has one, too. I had mine renovated, but it actually didn’t need much. I know the old gal that used to own the candy shop lived there, so it can’t be in too bad of shape. Then you’ll also have a place to live. And one of you could totally live in my old apartment above Gypsy Soul!”