Holding Out for a Hero (Baytown Heroes #9)

Chapter 23

23

“Tell me about the expansion.”

It was Sunday morning, and when Brad opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Bess's blue eyes. His gaze drank her in, and as she smiled, her beauty shone. She was just as pretty in the morning as she was before bed. They’d both gotten up to take care of business in the bathroom and then she’d pulled out some cinnamon rolls from her refrigerator and heated them in the microwave. They’d piled up against the pillows on her bed, ate the rolls, and drank some of her delicious coffee. Now, they were still lounging on her bed, but their dishes were on the nightstand, and she was reclining against him.

“You know how I said that I was always the one who ran headlong into something, and Belinda was the one who methodically thought out what needed to be done?”

He nodded, and she continued. “The one place in my life where I don’t do that is my bakery. I’m a very good, very careful businesswoman. I’ve only been open for a year, and maybe it’s too soon to consider expansion.”

“Okay, that’s careful, but what does the good businesswoman say?”

She chuckled, and he felt the puff of air and movement against his chest, sure that she must feel his heartbeat against her cheek.

“I have a line of customers almost out the door every morning, then again around lunchtime, and then again in the midafternoon right before we close at three p.m.”

“So, business is brisk. Can you keep up with that baking?”

“Now that I hired your sister? Yes. With her doing my paperwork… and to let you know, she was also interested in learning how to do my ordering for supplies and food. I would supervise that based on what I need, but I can handle the baking if she handles all the bookkeeping and managerial work. Plus, since that won’t take her whole time, I can have her help in the kitchen, too.”

“And the expansion?” He loved listening to her lay out her plans and not solely because they involved Carol. It was a rediscovery of what he’d learned last summer with their fleeting one night together—Bess was captivating, and he relished every moment spent just talking with her.

He’d never experienced pillow talk before, nor ever wanted to lounge around the morning after with anyone other than a few previous girlfriends from his early twenties. With Bess, it was different, and he encouraged her to keep sharing her plans.

“You know the downstairs pawnshop, two stores over from the bakery?” After he nodded, she continued. “Between my bakery and the pawn shop is a small shop where the former business sold consignment clothes. She moved to Baytown, and I’d heard the pawnshop was going to expand, taking over her space. At the time, I didn’t think anything about it. But recently, they’ve decided not to expand, so the space next to the bakery is still empty. If I rented it and had a doorway put between my shop and that one, I could fill it with more tables so that I’d have room for more people to sit.”

She shifted around, and he loved having her eyes on him as she spoke. They were clear and bright, and he could practically see the ideas flowing through her head.

“That sounds like a good plan.” He watched her nose scrunch and asked, “What’s holding you back?”

“My dad always taught me to look at pros and cons. The pros are that I’d be able to serve more customers without them having to either fight for one of the few tables I have or just get their orders to go. I probably lose some business during inclement weather because people don’t have any place to sit and have their coffee and pastries if all the tables are full. More available seating means more business. If people are sitting and not having to run straight out the door, then they might come back for a second pastry or another cup of coffee. I talked to Jillian Wilder from Baytown. She runs Jillian’s Coffee Shop and Galleria, and she agreed with my business assessment.”

“Know her shop well, and know her husband, too. He’s with the Baytown police.”

Bess scrunched her nose and narrowed her eyes. “You need to get used to visiting my shop, not hers!”

He laughed and hugged her tighter. “No worries there, babe. You’ve got the only… coffee I’m interested in.”

Her face softened as she chuckled, then settled her head back onto his chest. He continued to trace patterns over the petal-soft skin of her shoulder. “Would you have to hire more staff?”

She nodded slowly. “I’m not sure if that’s a con, but it would be if I don’t have more customers. But we’re not bringing the food to the tables, so I don’t need servers. I would need someone to walk through the space, greet the customers to continue making them feel welcome, and then ensure the refuse is cleaned up. And if I have more customers, I’d want to hire someone to help me with baking.”

She squeezed his waist and tilted her head up to him. “Carol’s going to help me with this. We’re looking at the numbers to see what we think about the extra rent. The shop space next to me has been sitting empty ever since I’ve been in business. So I’m hoping the owner will give me a good deal.”

“Anything else with the business?”

“If I grow and take on a few catering events, having a van to carry things in would be nice. I just need something old that will run.”

A memory jolted into his mind. “Fuck, I can’t believe I forgot to talk to you?—”

“What?” she asked, her eyes wide in concern.

“My new partner, Mark, and I are working on the stolen cars in the area. So far, we’re coming up with a big nothing, but I’ve been going to almost every auto shop. We talked to Artie Williams, who is out on?—”

“I know him. He works on my car. My dad and grandfathers used to go to him.”

“Well, just be careful. In fact, let me go with you the next time you need his services. I don’t like the looks of the young guys he’s hired to do his work.”

“I met a couple of them. They gave me the willies.”

“The willies?”

“You know—that feeling you get when your stomach is quiggly.”

“Quiggly?”

“Brad, are we speaking the same language?”

“I was just going to ask the same thing.” He shifted around to search her face. “What happened? Did one of them?—”

“Calm down, Mr. Detective. They just openly stared, making me feel like I needed to come home and take a shower. The older one got a little close, but I hung out with Artie, so it was okay.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” he growled, deciding to take another look at who Artie had working for him.

“Oh, Mr. Protector. I kind of like this side of you.”

“Don’t go there by yourself. If you need anything, let me know, and I’ll arrange to go with you.”

She nodded, then leaned back to place her head on his shoulder. “I’ll be careful, I promise. Now forget them and think of something nicer.”

It took several minutes, but his mind returned to the woman in his arms. His fingers drifted over the soft skin of her shoulder, up and down her back. “I want to thank you for hiring Carol. You’re all she can talk about.”

“I really like her.”

“You’re unique,” he said with a sigh.

“If you’re saying that I’m unique because of the past women you dated who weren’t accepting of Carol, then you jumped into the wrong end of the dating pool, mister, and I’m not surprised you almost drowned!”

He blinked, and his body jolted at her words. “Dating pool? What the fuck is that?”

“You know…” She looked up at him again. “The group of people you’re around that allows you to meet someone? Whether it’s friends, or bars, or work, or neighborhoods, or church, or organizations?—”

“Got it. I just never heard it called a dating pool before.”

“If you’ve dated women who weren’t the kind of people to accept all of Carol’s wonderfulness, then you haven’t looked in the right place.” She giggled, and he felt her body shake against his. “Okay, Brad, you have to tell me in what dating pool you found the woman from the wedding— Angeline .”

“Damn, I’d hoped you’d forgotten about her. I certainly have.”

“Sorry, but even the night’s trauma with Belinda getting shot couldn’t erase the image of Miss Boobsie Attitude.”

A bark of laughter erupted from him, joining her continued giggle. He loved hearing the way their laughter connected, filling something deep inside. “Boobsie Attitude?”

“Well, her first name goes without saying since they were on display for everyone to see, admire, dream about… whatever. But she gave off a major attitude when you came to get me. She didn’t seem overly upset that there had been a shooting or someone was hurt. I can’t imagine trying to introduce Carol to her.”

“God, no! That was never a possibility! I met her in Virginia Beach, and we went on one date. I asked her to be my plus-one to the wedding for some stupid reason when I should have just gone alone.”

“So… she was just a one-time hookup that turned into a hookup-wedding guest?”

“Not even a hookup.”

Her body jerked slightly, and she twisted her head to stare at him, her eyes narrowed in disbelief. “Seriously?”

“Our one date included meeting across the bay for dinner, and I had no intention of asking her out again. It was obvious we had nothing in common. Then it seemed like everyone I knew had a date for the wedding, so, like an idiot, I asked her.”

She snorted as she lay her head back on his chest. “I’m not judging. God knows I’ve dated from the wrong end of the dating pool before!”

“Tell me.”

“Ugh.”

“Come on,” he urged. “You know about Boobsie Attitude. What have you got?”

She held up one hand, palm facing her, and, with the other hand, ticked off her forefinger. “Besides my high school boyfriend, who was a sweetie but left the county for college and is God knows where now, my first real adult boyfriend was when I was twenty. He was a fisherman in the area and had a temper. He never took it out on me, but he made every date miserable because he’d get pissed off about something, and I had to listen to him rage. But I stayed with him for a year because he said he loved me. By the way, Belinda hated him. It wasn’t until one day when he said he didn’t like my sister that I gave him the push out the door.”

“He still in the area?” Brad asked, surprised at the anger he felt rising.

“Somewhere in Accawmacke, I think. Married with a couple of kids, according to social media.” She ticked off the next finger. “The next boyfriend turned out to be a total jerk. Threatening, jealous, he never hit me, but he’d grab me by the arm. I wasn’t about to put up with that, so that relationship lasted a very short time. And before you ask, no, he’s not in the area. I think he got arrested for getting into a bar fight. I’m fairly sure someone said he moved to Tennessee. After that, I was kind of turned off by men for a while.”

She ticked off a third finger. “Next up was the total opposite. He was a church-going, Bible-thumping man devoted to his mother and loved my cooking until I went to school to learn how to open my own business. He dropped me like a hot potato after I explained that there was no way I was going to become a carbon copy of his mother. He’s the one who said I wouldn’t get into heaven if I continued with my desire to run a business to make money.”

“Jesus—”

“Yes, well, I’m sure Jesus told him to dump me, but then I was going to dump him anyway.”

He settled his arm around her tighter. “Okay, who’s next?”

She ticked another finger and grinned. “The last one was a couple of years ago. He was nice, but he was from North Carolina and traveled here often. One weekend, he didn’t come when expected, and I tried to call him. His wife answered his phone. The lying, cheating snake was married! It turned out he had two phones, got them confused, and left his second phone at home when he was on his way to see me. His wife and I had a nice chat, and I assured her that he would be sent packing the moment I saw him.”

She sighed heavily. “After that, it’s just been me and my vibrator until you came along.”

“And you thought I was jerking you around, too.”

“Yeah… glad to find out I was wrong about you and that you’re one of the good guys. And I like your sister.”

He slid down so that they were eye to eye and curled his body over her. “Yeah? Any other members of the Stowe family on your likable list?”

“Hmm, let’s see. I like your mom but haven’t met your dad yet.”

He pressed his body along the length of her. “Anyone else?”

“Well, Carol talks about her brother, Brad, but I don’t know—augh!” She laughed as his fingers dug into her side.

“Come on, Bess. Tell the truth,” he said while grinning.

Their gazes locked, and she reached up to cup his face. “Okay, okay, you’ve got me. No more tickling. Yes, you are among the Stowe family members I like.”

“Good,” he said just before his lips descended upon hers.

An hour later, after another amazing, body-tingling orgasm while Brad leaned over her while she was on all fours before they collapsed in a completely sated tangle, Bess stood in her kitchen. She sliced tomatoes and toasted bread while keeping an eye on the bacon sizzling in the frying pan. Wearing nothing more than his shirt and panties, she started building the BLTs they would have for lunch. Brad was in the bedroom, and she shouted, “Lunch is almost ready!“

“Coming,” the reply came back.

A knock on the door had her glance behind her, and she darted around the counter, already hearing the key in the lock. Shit! Her hand reached the doorknob just as it began to turn, and she pulled it open, not surprised to see Belinda standing just outside since she was the only person with a key to her apartment. She opened her mouth to say it wasn’t a good time, but Belinda was already speaking.

“I know it’s your day off, and we won’t stay but a moment. I just wanted to check in on you since we were out and about this afternoon. Goodness, gracious! Do you not feel well? It looks like you just crawled out of bed?—”

Belinda’s voice suddenly stopped as her eyes lifted beyond Bess’s shoulder. Bess twisted her neck and looked behind to see Brad walking from the bedroom with his jeans on, but the top button was unbuttoned. His bare feet stuck out from the bottom, which was more sexy than Bess wanted to analyze at the moment. And with a towel draped around his shoulder, he scrubbed his hair with one end of the fluffy material.

“Lunch sounds good, babe?—”

His words halted as he looked up to see Bess’s bug-eyed, deer-in-the-headlights expression, and his gaze shifted to Belinda and Aaron standing in the doorway. “Oh…”

For once, Bess couldn’t figure out what to say or do. She felt like the girl whose hand was caught in the cookie jar. But then, her eyes filled with all the goodness that was Brad standing shirtless with his torso on display, along with the top button of his pants undone that led to what she knew was a definite happy place, and his long, bare feet that almost made her think that image was as sexy as his blue eyes twinkling back.

“Nice shirt,” he said with a grin, his gaze back on her.

She glanced down to see that the buttoned shirt had her covered, but it didn’t hide the obvious fact that she was braless.

She focused on his eyes and realized he was hesitating, not because he was embarrassed, wished he was somewhere else, or upset because it was obvious they’d spent the night together. He was waiting for her. It was her reaction and her feelings that were important to him. In that second, she knew if she came up with the most bizarre reason for why he was there, he would go along with it. Instead, a smile curved her lips, and she turned to face her grinning sister and a smirking Aaron.

“We’re getting ready to have BLTs for lunch. I have plenty. Want to join us?”

Belinda hesitated, and Bess just smiled. She knew her sister would leave instantly if that’s what she wanted. But right now, all Bess wanted was a BLT with Brad, and if her sister and boyfriend were there with them, all the better.

Stepping back, Bess waved her hand, welcoming Belinda and Aaron into the apartment. She greeted her sister with a hug and then stood awkwardly, offering a hasty smile toward Aaron, considering she was still in nothing more than a huge shirt and panties. “Belinda, throw more bacon into the frying pan and make yourself at home. Let me run and get dressed.”

She started to dart past Brad, still standing in the middle of the living room, looking like a fitness model having a casual late breakfast after having had a night of fantastic sex. With that thought, the blush that seemed to be passing around the room hit her face. Before she could get past him, his arm snagged her around the waist, and he pulled her flush against his body. Her hands immediately flattened against his chest, and she tilted her head. Seeing him, she didn’t hesitate. It wasn’t long, but like every kiss she shared with Brad, it was toe-curling.

“I’ll be right there, Bess,” he mumbled against her lips. “And I didn’t get to tell you that you standing in the kitchen wearing my shirt was hot as hell.”

His words were only loud enough for her to hear, but her grin widened. After his arm released her, she hurried into the bedroom, where she grabbed her bra, a pair of leggings, and her own shirt.

Brad appeared, and she whipped off the shirt and handed it to him. “I feel bad that you’re having to put on yesterday's shirt!”

He slipped his arms through the sleeves and inhaled deeply as he buttoned the shirt. “It smells like you, Bess. My favorite scent.”

His words could seem like such a throwaway line from another man, but from him and the way he was staring at her, she knew they were true. His gaze then dropped to her chest, and she realized she was still standing with no bra. Waggling her finger, she shook her head. “Sorry, big boy. No playing right now.” She snapped her bra on quickly and pulled her shirt over her head.

“Covering up is the worst thing you could do, Bess. But that’s only if we’re alone. Since we’ve got company, cover it all up.” Then his gaze dropped to the writing on her shirt, and he laughed.

She glanced down. Your opinion isn’t part of my recipe . She joined in with his laughter as she slid on her leggings, then darted into the bathroom. She ran a brush through her hair, pulled it into a sloppy bun, and added a little blush and mascara. Emerging from the bathroom, she found him dressed but, like her, still barefoot.

Dragging her mind away from the thoughts of why his feet were so sexy, she started to hurry past him again. Once more, he snagged her around the waist, and they emerged together. She slid her arm around his middle, hooking her thumb in his belt loop.

Belinda looked up from the stove, her gaze moving between the two of them, then grinned while shaking her head.

With a kiss to the top of her head, Brad squeezed her lightly and then let go to move over to shake Aaron’s hand. “Sorry, I didn’t greet you properly when you first came in.”

“No worries, man.” Aaron laughed. Lowering his voice, he added, “I see things are progressing.”

Bess glanced over to see Brad's smile and realized she must have a goofy grin on her face when Belinda hip-bumped her and said, “Aaron’s right. It seems things are progressing.”

Turning back to Belinda, she was still smiling when she said, “ Yep, really, really progressing.”

Regardless of the men standing a few feet away, the sisters’ expressions held similar smiles as they hugged. They plated thick BLTs without skimping on the bacon, then Bess opened a bag of chips and grabbed four beer bottles.

The four sat at the small kitchen table, laughing and talking as they ate.