Falling for Owen (9 page)

“Do you think she’s pretty?”

“No.” He kept a straight face, took a sip of his coffee, pretended to think on the matter. “I think she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

“Took you long enough to notice. How many times have you taken the girls to her shop?”

“I noticed. She didn’t seem interested in more than serving me tea and cookies.” He remembered his conversation with her last night. “Actually, she thought I was married or at least involved with Rain and that the girls were mine. I set her straight on that score.”

“I’m sure you did.”

He bet Janine gave up the fight not to laugh at him any second. “Do you know her?”

“As well as anyone in town knows her. She keeps to herself. We’ve exchanged small talk at her shop while she puts my order together. She’s smart and kind. She loves children. You can see it in the way she talks to them and plays, the way she’s set up the store to include them. While she sells some pretty knickknacks, nothing is ever hands-off for the little ones. If something breaks, she brushes it off like it’s nothing.

“She’s worked hard to get her shop up and running. She does a good business, though I think many of the men steer clear because they think it’s all tea parties and ladies clubs. For the most part it is, but she makes some wonderful lunch specials. Her pastries and desserts are to die for.”

“You got that right. I love her brownies.”

“You should take your clients there for meetings. It’s quiet and there’s a private table in the back of the book section. It overlooks a small garden she planted out back to make the perfect sitting area.”

“Really? I guess I never paid much attention.”

“Well, two little girls can be very distracting.”

“That’s for sure.”

“Next time you go in, take a look around. Everything in the shop is observed, down to the tiniest detail. As a whole, you don’t notice all the little things about the shop, but look closer and there are surprises here and there. It’s a treasure trove of things you don’t know you need or want until you see them.

“I’ve been in the store a few times and discovered one gift or another that was just perfect for a friend’s birthday, wedding, or a get-well present. At Christmas it’s not uncommon to see ladies sipping tea and filling out their Christmas cards from the lovely selection of cards and handmade paper she sells.”

“It isn’t just one shop, it’s several little ones tucked inside that building. She gives people a place to gather, talk, read, write a letter, buy a gift, and share a meal.” Owen summed up Janine’s observations and thought he understood Claire a bit better. She may have kept to herself over the last year, but she’d made a place for people to come and gather around her.

“Ask me, she’s looking for friends. She keeps herself apart while drawing people to her. She still doesn’t feel quite a part of this community, but she’s getting there. Meeting you, being a part of your life and the vast number of people you know in this town will anchor her here even more, if that is what you want.”

“She hasn’t decided to stay. That’s why she’s quiet and distant. She’s afraid people won’t accept her.”

“This town is growing, but it still has a small-town mentality. They don’t know her people back to her great-greats. Word will spread about what happened last night and that you brought her home from the hospital. People will talk. If you start seeing her, they’ll talk more.”

“I dropped her off at work. You’d think I walked her down the aisle.”

Janine laughed. “Small towns.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“Ask Brody. He’s got a couple of little girls. I’m sure he can fill you in on the mechanics.”

She said it with a straight face, which only made it all the more funny. He busted up laughing, realizing she’d done it on purpose to make him relax and stop being so serious. After the night he had, the lost hours of sleep, he needed the levity.

“Watch it, or I may just have to show you my moves to prove to you I know exactly what I’m doing.”

“Not before I sue your ass for sexual harassment. I’ve seen the way you look at me,” she teased.

“You’d lose. I’ve seen the way you stare at my ass every time I walk past your desk.”

“You’ve got a great ass.”

Unable to help himself, he laughed again. “I have work to do.”

“I checked in with the sheriff’s office. They still have no leads on Dale’s whereabouts.”

“He’s probably holed up in some dive motel outside of town with a bottle and a prostitute.”

“What Shannon ever saw in him.”

“People aren’t always who we think they are when we first meet them. Sometimes they change over time. Or maybe it’s they can’t hide who they truly are forever.”

He thought of Claire’s asshole ex.

“Let’s hope Shannon has wised up.”

“Keep checking in with the cops about Dale.”

“I will. I’ll check on Claire at lunch.”

“Thanks. Do you have the number for Madeira’s?”

She clicked a few keys on her keyboard and wrote the number on a sticky note. She held it up to him, but didn’t let him take it. “Hot date.”

“First date of many.”

She handed him the slip of paper. “Good answer.”

Chapter Eleven

C
LAIRE WIPED THE
counter down. Her last customer left ten minutes ago. The store hadn’t been this busy since last Christmas. Gayle stayed an extra hour to help her with folks who came in for a light dinner or dessert and coffee. Many bought books. Others bought some of the new collectibles she’d ordered and stocked on the shelves this afternoon. Pleased with the day, she didn’t see Owen on the other side of the glass door until she was about to lock him out. She smiled and laughed when he gave her a mocking frown.

“Trying to get rid of me already?”

“Not at all. I’m starving and you’re buying.”

“Ouch.”

She laughed and put her hand on his jacket lapel. “Sorry. I’m happy to see you. I’ve been looking forward to a quiet dinner.”

“With me.”

“That’s why I was looking forward to it,” she admitted, trying not to squirm under his intense blue gaze. She snatched her hand back and grabbed hold of a lock of her hair, hanging over her shoulder. “Um, I need just a minute.”

“Take your time.”

Owen stuffed his hands in his pockets and sauntered to one of the display cases by the book shelves, glancing at this and that. She wondered what he was looking for, but scurried behind the counter and boxed up the last of the pastries and brownies from the extra batches she made that day to meet the demand of her many new customers, thanks to the gossip spreading far and wide about Owen dropping her off this morning and why. She hoped at least half came back on a regular basis. She might even be able to buy a new refrigerator for her house.

She set the bakery box on the counter and dashed to the back bathroom to check her makeup in the mirror. With a little water on her hands, she finger-combed her wavy hair over one shoulder to hang down to her waist. She loved the effect. She swiped on some tinted lip balm to accentuate her mouth and not make her look so pale and washed out.

She stepped back into the main part of the shop and didn’t see Owen.

“Where are you?”

“Back here,” he called.

She walked past the seven-foot-tall bookcases and found him standing by the back seating area. She loved this alcove the best. Tall windows made the spot bright in the day. In the evening, especially when it got dark earlier in the fall and winter, she had two lamps on side tables that cast a soft glow over the round wood coffee table, leather love seat, and two leather club chairs. Sky-blue and cream-colored pillows offset the deep brown sofa and chairs. A potted fern sat in the center of the coffee table, giving the space a real at-home feel.

“What are you doing?” she asked, wondering why he stood staring at the alcove.

“You’re really smart.”

“You’re basing this on furniture?”

He laughed and turned to face her. “No. I’ve been in your shop little more than half a dozen times with the girls. I never really paid attention. They love it here.”

“I’m glad.”

“You’ve made a place for everything. Coffee with friends up front and outside. A quiet reading spot here to be alone or quiet with friends. Over on the other side, well away from this tucked-away corner, you’ve got an area for the children to sit and read, play games and dress-up that doesn’t disturb others.”

“Well, too much in a small store,” she added.

“Yes. Books of all types to please a variety of tastes, just like your selection of treats and lunch items, not to mention the variety of knickknacks and collectibles carefully chosen and displayed.”

“Um, thanks. This isn’t your kind of store, but your summation pretty much hits the mark.”

“All those things make this place unique and fun. It’s the way you’ve set up the shop that draws people in and gives them a sense of comfort. It’s why they keep coming back.”

“I’m glad you like it. Shall we go?”

“Yes, if we spend any more time alone, I’m going to have to find out.”

“Find out what?”

“What it’s like to kiss you.”

The anxious little butterflies in her stomach she’d been trying to tame all day thinking about their date tonight stirred into a whirlwind of flutters. She swallowed hard, staring up at him. Her gaze fell to his mouth and back to his smoldering eyes.

“Maybe if we get it out of the way, we can enjoy dinner without constantly thinking about it,” she boldly suggested.

“Have you been thinking about kissing me?”

She didn’t know what to say. Unable to look away, she stared up at him, mesmerized by his sky-blue eyes and the way he studied her.

“I’ve been thinking about you all day,” he admitted, his voice soft and husky. “You make it impossible to concentrate on anything when I’m worried about your safety.”

“So that’s all you thought about? My safety. As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”

“Yes, you are, except for your aching feet, your hip that makes you favor that leg, and the throbbing headache that makes you squint in the bright light up front.”

“Observant.”

“Yes. I am. While I thought of your safety often today, I also couldn’t help thinking about your beautiful green eyes and the arch of your upper lip and the fullness of the bottom one. I wondered if your eyes would fall closed when I kissed you and if your lips would fit to mine. I wondered how you’d taste and if after one kiss I’d be able to stop from sharing another.” He took a step to her. “And another.” One more step. “And another.”

He closed the distance, standing so close his jacket brushed against her blouse, but their bodies remained a mere inch apart, her head tilted back to look at him. He never took his hands out of his pockets.

“We need to find out,” he whispered, his head descending toward hers, his gaze dipped to her mouth.

She held her breath and their mouths met in a soft sweep of his lips to hers. Her eyes closed and she sighed. In that moment, his mouth settled over hers. She stood on tiptoe, meeting him with the same passion and tenderness.

Desperate to regain her balance and stop her spinning head, she ended the kiss, falling back onto her flat feet.

“I need to work on my imagination. That was far better than I thought,” he said, smiling down at her.

“We should go to dinner.”

“Okay.”

“You’re not moving,” she said, still standing close to him.

“You’re still holding on to me.”

She let her gaze fall from his broad chest to her hands fisted in his shirt at his sides. She’d pulled most of the material out of his waistband.

“You’re hands are still in your pockets,” she said, wondering why it bothered her, besides the fact she wanted him to want her as desperately as she wanted him.

“That’s because if I grab hold of you, the only place we’re going is to the floor.”

Her gaze flew up to meet his and she read the truth in his eyes. He did want her. Badly. It only took a second to realize as much as she’d like to give in to her desires, she’d done that with her ex and not seen who he really was. With Owen, she wanted to know the whole man, everything about him. The kiss proved they were compatible in one area, but she wanted more from him. She’d had a couple casual affairs in college based on nothing but lust and hot sex. While enjoyable—and she and Owen could certainly burn up the sheets—she wanted something real this time with a man who took the time to not only notice her, but the store she’d built and the heart and soul she’d put into it.

She spun on her heel, winced when she hurt one of the deeper-stitched cuts, and walked away from him to the front of the store. He chuckled behind her, but didn’t protest her exit.

She grabbed a light-blue-and-green crystal-and-gold necklace from one of the displays on a shelf, another gold circle necklace draped around the lamp shade near the front windows, and pulled the tags off both. She put them over her head and arranged her hair, the necklaces dressing up her otherwise business-casual outfit.