More Than Cookies (The Maple Leaf Series) (15 page)

And my, what a front it is.
His arms were strong around her. His chest was firm against her breasts. His lips were right there in line with hers. Her senses were overloaded.

“I may be too much of a distraction. I’d hate to keep you from your work.” She slid her hands up his chest and settled them at the back of his neck, her fingers playing with his hair.

He closed his eyes again and squeezed her a little tighter. “You’ll be a distraction whether you’re in my workshop or not, because you’ll be up here.” He tapped his forehead. “May as well be the real you diverting my attention rather than merely an imaginary one.”

“A good point. I’ll come by after my meeting. How does that sound?”

“Like it’s too far away.” He brushed his lips against hers now. A light contact, but enough to make the word
yippee
flash into her head.

“It’ll have to do.” She kissed him full on and instantly wanted his clothes to disappear. Hers too. Right away.

“How long is too long to watch your best friend make out with a woman?”

Sage and Orion jumped away from each other at the sound of Adam’s voice and Wendie’s laughter.

“You’re a prick,” Orion said.

“Sometimes, yes.” Adam grinned. “Wendie and I are leaving. There are too many adult themes here.”

“Ian’s in his room,” Wendie added. “He’s waiting for you to say goodnight, Orion.”

“Yeah, so as soon as you’re done sucking on her face, you should go tuck the old guy in.” Adam ducked when Orion threw a light punch at him. “Sage, your cooking was divine.” He tipped his baseball cap and walked toward the door.  

“Later, kids.” Wendie followed her brother and shut the door behind her.

“I should go.” Sage put her things back into the cardboard box.

“But you’ll come by tomorrow?”

“I’d love to watch you wield a chainsaw, so yes, I’ll come by.”

“Great. It’s going to be just me and my dad tomorrow.”

“To fathers and sons.” She dropped a kiss on his cheek and picked up her box. “See you tomorrow.”

She loaded her car but kept glancing back at the farmhouse. There wasn’t anything particularly fantastic about the house, but it was amazing how fantastic its contents were.

As she drove away, Sage could only think of returning tomorrow.

****

The kitchen was just a kitchen without Sage in it. Minutes ago, it had been this magical place, all soft and warm and sensual, but now it was just appliances, cupboards, a sink, and countertops. Totally lifeless.

Funny what a woman adds.

Not just any woman though, because Adriana hadn’t made the house anything close to soft and warm and sensual. She’d brought stress, hate, insults… things Orion never would have imagined when he’d first met her. She’d seemed like the perfect woman. Someone he could definitely start a family with and spend the rest of his life loving. He had no regrets about starting a family—Myah was the best gift he’d ever received—but he wished for a do-over in the mother of his child department. Adriana was vindictive, selfish, and in no way fit to raise a daughter.

He wanted someone more like… well, more like Sage. What he’d seen from her so far was spectacular. She certainly could cook. Ian was right about that. She also had a way of managing people, particularly his jumbled father. She had patience, and she was clever.

And sexy.
No way he could forget that part. Thinking of her right now was tightening parts of him. Definitely a cold shower on the schedule for tonight.

“Orion?” Ian called from his bedroom.

Snapping out of his mental review of all the ways Sage Stannard was flawless, Orion took out a glass and filled it with water. He walked down the hallway and stopped at Ian’s door.

“You rang, Father?”

Ian gave him a puzzled look. “I don’t have a bell.”

Orion chuckled. “I know, Dad. It’s an expression. Like you were ringing for a servant to bring you water.”

Ian considered this then said, “You’re not a servant.”

“Glad you think so.” Orion stepped into the room and handed the glass of water to Ian.

His father chugged the entire contents in under ten seconds then passed the glass back to Orion. “Thanks.”

“You got it. Anything else?” Orion opened the window a little more because it was stuffy in the room and Ian loved to listen to the crickets.

“Tonight was fun,” Ian said. “I like having people over.”

“Depends on the people.” Orion walked back to the door.

“Sage, Adam, and Wendie are good people. They’d never hurt us.” Ian leveled his blue eyes on Orion’s.

“Adam and Wendie would never hurt us. You’re right.”

“You forgot Sage. She wouldn’t hurt us either.” Ian pulled the sheet up to his waist and put his hands behind his head.

“How can you be so sure?” Orion paused, wanting some proof, some evidence from the old man.

“Anyone who makes blueberry pie like hers is pure goodness. Like our Myah. My panda bear.” Ian beamed a smile at Orion. “When can we see Myah? I miss snuggling with her. She’s the best snuggler.”

This was true. No one snuggled like Myah.

“Soon, buddy. We’ll see Myah soon.” Orion hoped that to be true with every fiber of his being. He wanted his daughter and his dog, dammit.

And if he were making a list, he wanted Sage too. Why couldn’t he have it all? Why?

“Good night, Orion. Sleep well.” Ian rolled to his side giving his back to Orion who slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him.

In the living room, he checked the wall clock. 11:00 p.m. Still an entire night and a morning to get through before seeing Sage again. He had that cold shower on the agenda, but that was pretty much it. He’d love to go into the shop and get cracking on those bears, but chainsaws buzzing after dark never made anyone happy. Least of all a sleeping Ian.

Not sure what else to do, Orion flopped onto the couch and turned on the television. Maybe some useless channel surfing would make him sleepy, because right now he was anything but sleepy. Not with thoughts of Sage running wild in his mind. Not with Ian reminding him how good a snuggler Myah was. Not with remembering watching television with Ranger sprawled across his lap, licking his fingers and wagging his tail. Not with his thigh aching.

As he settled on watching Conan O’Brien, his cell phone chimed on the coffee table, indicating he had a voice message. He’d totally forgotten about his phone through dinner, but the only calls he cared about nowadays were from people wanting him to carve something. Myah wasn’t allowed to call him and when she’d snuck a call, Adriana had gone off the deep end. He’d advised Myah to be patient. That they wouldn’t be apart forever. That someday she wouldn’t have to try to call him because she’d be with him.

He almost believed it now. Because of Sage’s help.

Picking up the phone, he played the message. From Adriana.

You son of a bitch. Modification to the custody agreement? We’ll see about that. I don’t care who your hot-shot California lawyer is, you are NOT getting Myah. Or your fucking dog for that matter. They belong to me. You need to move the hell on. Myah doesn’t need you. She doesn’t want you. Nobody wants you. You have nothing to offer anybody, Orion.

You never did.

He pulled the phone from his ear and stared at it in his hand. He wasn’t supposed to give a fuck what she said. Her words weren’t supposed to bother him anymore. She wasn’t supposed to be able to push his buttons. Problem was, he did give a fuck, he was bothered by her words, she absolutely did push his buttons. Every goddamn one of them.     

And now she was pissed. More than usual.

Should not have poked the beast.

Without poking her though, he’d never get Myah and Ranger back. He’d never be able to move on with his life. He’d never be able to see if he could actually have a functioning relationship with another woman. He’d never have anything to offer a woman like Sage.

Tossing the phone back onto the coffee table, Orion focused on Conan and tried to find his interview with Kate Hudson interesting.

It is Kate Hudson after all.

But even her smiling face, lilting laugh, and magnificent body couldn’t get him out of this funk. A shame too, because as Ian had said, tonight had been fun. He’d seen Sage off with a pleasant tingle in his chest and a fresh excitement to see her again tomorrow.

Now everything was back to sucking wind again. Amazing how Adriana still had the power to do that to him. To make him feel like absolute shit.

Grumbling, he shut off the television even though Kate Hudson had volunteered to show Conan some Latin dance moves from her latest movie. He hauled himself off the couch and headed for the bathroom and that cold shower.

Don’t need a cold shower now.

Nope. A cold ex-wife had done the trick. His penis was cowering in fear, all thoughts of standing at attention, ready for performance, gone. Completely.

Sorry, buddy. We’re not ready anyway.

Would they ever be ready?

Chapter Thirteen

Sage glanced at the grandfather clock in her client’s dining room. Already noon and they still hadn’t finalized the menu. How hard could it be to decide on a cake flavor for a seventieth birthday party for one’s father? Sage didn’t have a father anymore, but she was certain if she did, she’d know his favorite cake flavor. Come to think of it, she wondered what her father’s favorite had been. She’d have to ask her mother.

She didn’t think of her father often. She’d been so young when he died along with her aunt and uncle, Rick’s parents, in a plane crash. Her father was usually a fuzzy memory except for that time they’d gone hiking, just the two of them. That memory was always high-def clear. Every so often she’d gaze at the photo of her father and Rick’s father on display at Rick’s storefront and book swap. Only open after sugaring season was over and closed as soon as summer began, the shop offered customers maple syrup and other goodies made with the sweet stuff. It also offered Sage the chance to look at her father and wonder what kind of relationship they’d have if he were still around today.

Would he have been the overbearing type? A father who questioned her every decision and was ultra-protective? Or would he have been the type to believe in his daughter and congratulate her every accomplishment?

Too bad she’d never have the answers to those questions.

While her client flipped back and forth through Sage’s portfolio, still slaving over cake decisions, Sage’s mind wandered to Myah. She’d only met the girl once, but that had been enough to see her spark. The kid was beautiful with all those black curls and those bluer than blue eyes. Clearly, Myah had gotten all of Orion’s wonderful physical attributes. Also evident was her love for her father. Sage didn’t know many kids, but she did know the way Myah had reacted to Orion was something special.

No doubt because Orion is something special.

After leaving him last night, she’d returned to her empty house and, though she had a million things she could have done on the Moving In list, she dialed Hope instead. She’d spent the next thirty minutes gushing about Orion and the evening she’d shared with his father and friends.

“You don’t normally gush,” Hope had said. “This is new.”

“I’ve never felt the need to gush,” she’d said, “but Orion is… gush-worthy.”

“I want to meet him.”

“You’ve met him.”

“Yeah, when he was bleeding and nearly unconscious. I need to check him out more fully if you’re going to get involved with him.”

“Well, good. Okay. He’s got this buddy, Ada—”

“Stop right there,” Hope had interrupted. “I have a man. Remember?”

“Miles and miles away, Hope. Besides, Adam is cute and funny.”

By the end of the conversation, Sage had gotten Hope to agree to a dinner party where she’d subtly raise her sister’s interest in the ex-military hunk. She toyed with the idea of getting Rick to check Orion out to be on the safe side. It was entirely possible that her own internal douchebag radar was thrown off course by Orion’s uber-sexiness.

Not that my internal douchebag radar ever worked.

More like a douchebag magnet. They never seemed like douchebags initially. It was always a hidden talent that sprouted after she’d gotten physical and had invested—wasted—time in the relationship. A doomed relationship it always seemed.

No, she wanted this thing with Orion thoroughly investigated before she made an ass of herself.  
 

“Let’s go with the yellow cake with the strawberry filling.”

Sage focused on her client, almost forgetting what she was in the middle of as Orion filled her brain.

“Excellent choice.” She wrote down the cake flavor and reviewed the entire menu one more time.

“That sounds great,” the client said. “You need a deposit today, right?”

“Yes. Fifteen percent today and the rest after the catering job is complete.” She tapped on her tablet as she filled in the invoice. Showing it to her client, she said, “Verify here. I can take cash, check, or credit card.”

The client touched the tablet screen. “I’ll be right back with my credit card.” She left and returned with her wallet. “Here you go.”

Sage completed the transaction, thanked her client, and hurried to her car. Her next stop was Orion’s, and she couldn’t wait to get there.

Unfortunately, someone was leaning against her car in the client’s driveway.

“Scott.” She rubbed her forehead. Why did this dude keep popping up? It was bordering on creepy now.

“Hey.” He pushed off her car as she approached. “I was sitting at my desk.” He pointed up the street where the old brick police department building loomed over the smaller buildings around it. “And I saw your orange car.”

Damn. Should have gone with the incognito black.

“Well, I’ve got to run.” She tried to skirt around him to get into her car, but he blocked her way.

“What are you doing later today? I’m only working for another hour. Not a ton of crime in St. Jamesbury.” He laughed and Sage was amazed at how un-sexy his awkward chuckle was compared to Orion’s low, raspy laugh.