LEANNA HAD BEEN worried about how Carey would treat her after she’d turned down his advances, but he had acted no differently all day, and she was relieved. She’d brought her laptop with her and worked on creating product and ingredient lists when she had a few minutes without customers. It had been a productive day, and even Pepper had been better behaved, allowing her to walk him instead of taking off running as soon as he was untethered from the table.
As she climbed into her van at the end of the day, Carey came to the open window.
“Wanna hit the beach?” Carey asked.
“Thanks, but I can’t.”
He ran his hand through his hair and looked away, then drew his eyes back to Leanna. “So, it’s cool that you weren’t into me, but I’m wondering. Was it because you’re into the writer? I’d totally understand. I’m just curious.”
He looked so sincere, and for some reason, vulnerable. She hoped she hadn’t hurt his feelings. “I wasn’t dating him the night you and I went to the Beachcomber, but I’m seeing him now.”
Carey nodded. “That’s cool. He’s a nice guy. If you guys don’t work out and you want to hang, you know where I am.”
“Thanks, Carey. I really enjoyed the time we spent together, and you made the flea market a lot more fun.”
He smiled in that easy way of his. “So did you. Your dancing? Priceless.”
She watched him walk away and breathed a sigh of relief. Her stomach fluttered again as she drove toward Kurt’s cottage. It had been doing that a lot, fluttering, tightening. Her entire body reacted to Kurt—his touch, his voice, his facial expressions, his scent—in ways it hadn’t reacted to any other man. She was a little frightened by how fast she felt her heart becoming his, but at the same time, she’d never known anything to feel so right.
When she arrived, she didn’t bother going to the front door. Instead, she followed Pepper down the path to the back deck, where she found Kurt, shirtless again and typing a mile a minute.
“Hey, babe. I’m glad you’re here. I missed you.” He didn’t shift his eyes from the computer screen as his fingers sailed across the keyboard. Pepper lay down at his feet with a loud sigh. “I’ll be done in a few minutes. This has been an incredible day for my writing. How was your day?”
She kissed his shoulder as she walked by and sat at the table. “I missed you, too. My day was surprising. I had three people come by and place orders. Orders! I never saw that coming. One was for a bridal shower, and the other two were for families. They were customers who had bought from me earlier in the summer. You know what that means.”
He kept his eyes trained on the computer. “They loved it?”
“Yup. That’s got to be a good sign.”
“Mm-hm.” He saved his work, and in one swift move, he cupped the back of her head, then met her in a sensuous kiss. “I really missed you.”
“Me too.” She settled back in the chair and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. She was getting used to being there with him, and she took comfort in the familiarity that had settled in between them.
“I’m excited for you. That’s really good news.”
“Yeah. And you know what? I’ve never felt so excited about anything in my life.” Except you. “I have no idea what’s changed, but this feels like what I’ve been searching for. I can control who I work with and how many clients I take on. If I decide to work with only one grocer, or none, then that’s fine, as long as I can make rent or whatever, depending on where I end up living.”
Kurt pulled her onto his lap. “Talk to me. I know you’re not a planner, but where are you heading in your mind with all of this?”
I want the business and you. She didn’t want to put Kurt on the spot, so instead she swallowed her thoughts and shrugged.
“Are you thinking you’ll stay in your parents’ cottage for a while and plant your business roots here at the Cape?” He tucked her hair behind her ear.
“I’m not sure. I do love it here, but here on the lower Cape, everything is so expensive. I’m not sure I’d make enough money to be able to afford a bigger place in the first year or two, and I don’t want to use my great-grandfather’s money.”
“I don’t blame you, and I love that you feel that way.”
“So I have some thinking to do.”
“I want to show you something. I don’t know much about your business, but I was doing a little research today, and I found this drawing. Is this what you have in mind for your facility?” Kurt pulled up a picture of the interior of what looked like an enormous kitchen. There were four stainless-steel stoves against the west wall and a sink and counter space along the east wall. Large stainless-steel tables formed a U-shaped workspace in the center of the room. He clicked on another image that showed an open door. The walls beside the door were lined with stainless-steel shelves. He pulled up a third picture, which showed a large storage area with deep wooden shelves. There were plenty of windows and what looked like ceramic or tiled floors. Easy to clean. Even for her.
“I hadn’t really thought about it in detail, but that’s amazing. The only things that are missing are freezers and refrigerators. Other than that, that’s a dream workspace for any jam maker. Or baker, really.” She searched the images and realized they were individual photos, not a website. “Where is that place?”
He shrugged. “Found it online. I just thought I’d see if it was similar to what you had in mind.”
“Amazing, and way too expensive.” She closed the laptop. “Did you catch up on your writing?”
“Yeah, and then some. My muse was sitting on my shoulder, whispering in my ear.”
“Thank heavens. I was so worried that I was ruining your career. I thought for sure you’d want to break up with me when you realized I was not a quiet girlfriend but an annoyingly loud one.”
“Annoyingly loud?” He laughed.
“Yeah. Don’t you think so? I mean, I talk a lot. And I’m a little mouthy, and I question everything. And now I’m running down a career path I didn’t really see coming. I mean, I hoped, but…” And I’m in love with a man I didn’t see coming. “In a week I’ve turned your very organized and well-planned life upside down.”
“Upside down?”
“Yeah. Think about it. You dragged me from the sea, saved my dog, you’ve written less this week than you probably have any other week of your professional life, and—”
He covered her mouth with his, her words muffled against his tongue as he stroked her worry away. She closed her eyes and melted against him, and when he drew back, she was breathless.
“Wow.”
“I’ve written less, but I’ve never enjoyed my life more than I have this past week with you, Leanna. If this is what it feels like to live in an upside-down world, then I never want to be right-side up.”