Noble Love (The Nobles of Sweet Rapids #1) (2 page)

Two more miles...

T
essa Everett began running faster on her treadmill, huffing and puffing along the way.

She grabbed her water, inhaling it and appreciating the coolness filtering through her body as her legs continued to burn.

After Tessa finished her run, she did her morning stretches before showering and heading out to start her day. The sun was just beginning to rise as she pulled her car into the parking lot of Everetts’ Bakery.

Her family's bakery had been a staple in Sweet Rapids, Nevada for decades. Her grandparents had started the business, and then passed it down to her parents. They still worked at the bakery, but over the years they'd slowly begun to hand over the reigns to Tessa and her sister, Dana. Her father, Emmett, whose parents had started Everetts’ Bakery, had been ready to retire years ago, while Janet, her mother, wasn't quite ready to let go so easily...

Tessa slammed her car door shut and took a deep breath. She grinned and shook her head as she entered the bakery through the back door.

"Mama," she called out as she grabbed an apron. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think I'm doing here, Miss-I-
Have
-To-Run-Five-Miles-Before-Work?"

Tessa tied the back of her apron and kissed her mother on the cheek, before she said, "And yet I'm still here thirty minutes early."

"Hair net," Janet ordered, swatting Tessa away from her.

Tessa grabbed a hair net, covering her hair that she'd pulled into a large poof on the top of her head.

"The question of the day, though, is why are you up and here so early, Mama?"

She had to have been there a good two hours from the looks of things. There was already a large batch of cupcakes on cooling racks, and Tessa could smell the cinnamon rolls baking that they would put out for their morning clients.

She watched as her mother whipped a bowl of egg whites effortlessly by hand.

"You and your sister think you're so slick. You and Dana think you're keeping me in the dark. I know when my babies are sick."

Dana had come down with a nasty cold. Tessa decided to arrive at the bakery early to do Dana’s portion of the baking. It was also why she'd put in the extra miles on the treadmill.

Tessa could admit that she had her vices where food was concerned, and the pastries and desserts at her family's bakery were definitely vices.

Growing up, she'd been slightly overweight. But in college, rather than gaining the traditional "Freshman Fifteen", she'd joined a running club and had been hooked ever since. The weight loss hadn't been part of any plan, but it was definitely an added bonus. She'd lost thirty pounds and gained some curves that had some of the men, who hadn't noticed her in high school, visiting the bakery more often.

Her mother had already started a pot of coffee, so Tessa went and grabbed a mug and filled it up. Then she swiped one of the still piping hot cinnamon rolls off of the pan that her mother had just pulled out of the oven, garnering a head shake of reproach from Janet.

"Did Dana show you the new recipes she and I came up with?" Tessa asked before taking a bite of the cinnamon roll. She knew she'd be blowing her morning exercise out the water, but she didn't give a damn at the moment.

She instantly regretted asking her mother that question, when Janet let out a frustrated sigh.

"You and your sister always experimenting," Janet griped. "Why are you girls always trying to change things?"

"Mama," Tessa said, after she finished chewing another bite. "We're not trying to 'change' things. We're trying to expand things...to grow...didn't you ever think that Everetts could be so much more?"

"Tessa it is too early in the morning for this. I know where you're going with this spiel. Things are fine just the way they are. We don't need to think about changing a perfectly good menu that's worked over thirty years. And we definitely don't need to think about opening another bakery. When your grandparents," she spoke of her late in-laws, "God rest their souls, opened this place, it was about the community. Family. Turning Everetts’ Bakery in to a chain would diminish that."

"I don't believe that."

"Tessa, you're breaking my concentration," Janet fussed. "I've got things covered back here, so why don't you go to the office until it's time to open. I can handle the kitchen and my boring old recipes."

"Mama..."

Janet turned her head away from Tessa, effectively dismissing her. After another moment, Tessa yanked the hair net off of her head, snatched up her cinnamon roll and coffee and stormed off to the office.

She loved her mother, but sometimes Janet Everett drove her completely mad. Everyone was on board with coming up with new desserts and treats recipes and expanding the business. Except for Janet. Tessa's grandparents had passed the bakery down to both Emmett and Janet, so as long as Janet kept her stubborn foot down, there was no progress being made.

Their father thought Tessa and Dana's ideas were great, but their mother had him wrapped around her finger. Emmett Everett was the head of the family, without a doubt, but Janet was the neck who controlled the head. And that neck was constantly making the head shake with the answer of no.

Tessa understood her mother's reservations, she truly did. Janet had worked for Everetts’ Bakery as a teenager, where she met and fell in love with the owner's son, Emmett. Emmett's parents had taken Janet in and loved her like the daughter they never had. His mother had made their wedding cake. Janet didn't want their legacy tainted.

But that was the last thing Tessa and Dana wanted to do. She merely wanted to give their current customers delicious, new options; and maybe, some time in the future, she wanted their legacy made known to a broader range of customers.

Sweet Rapids was a small town in Northwest Nevada, around the halfway point between Reno and Lake Tahoe. They were known for being the headquarters for Noble Naturals, one of the largest natural hair care lines around the world. And one of the best. Tessa was obsessed with their products.

Besides being known for their amazing products and philanthropy work around the globe, they were well known for being family owned. True, the Noble Quads, as they were known around Sweet Rapids, hadn't returned home to take over the business yet; but everyone knew that Isaac and Irene Noble were still successfully running it and it was only a matter of time before the Quads stepped into their rightful places to take over.

Just like Tessa and Dana would for Everetts’ Bakery. And when they did, not only did Tessa and Dana want to add their own contributions to the menu that customers would be craving for, they also wanted people beyond the city limits of Sweet Rapids to know about their amazing baked goods. She wanted them to be as well-known as the small town in Texas who made some of the best ice cream in the country. Even with the recall, because of a health scare that had caused a nationwide scandal because they shut down production for months, customers were still waiting with bated breath for the product to return to store shelves.

Everetts’ Bakery had never had any kind of trouble of the sort, and they were all determined to keep it that way, but the city of Sweet Rapids had the same kind of loyalty to their bakery. Even now, Tessa knew once they opened, there would be a line of hungry customers outside the door waiting for the breakfast treats, and they would return later for their famous cupcakes, cookies, and slices of cake or pie.

Tessa flopped down in her seat and picked up her phone. She scrolled through until she got to the number she was looking for.

She took another bite of the cinnamon roll, angrily chewing as the phone rang.

"Why the hell are you calling me this early?" a stuffy nosed Dana growled.

"
Your
mother was at the bakery when I got here this morning," Tessa growled back.

"Oh no..." Dana said. "What happened?"

"I brought up the new recipes and she started moaning and groaning about how everything is fine the way it is."

"You should have waited," Dana said, before sneezing.

"Bless you."

"Thank you...anyway, I thought we agreed the next time we brought the menu expansion idea up, we'd tag team her."

"I simply brought up the recipes," Tessa repeated. "She's the one who went off on a tangent."

"You can't be surprised...it's Mom."

Tessa sat back against the office chair licking her fingers...and her wounds.

"I'm sorry," Tessa said. "I shouldn't have called you this early. How are you feeling?"

"Like shit," her younger sister said.

"I'm sorry," Tessa said again. "Look, get some rest. I'm going to go and start filling the display cases since we'll be opening in a few more hours. I'll swing by your place tonight to check on you and bring some soup and meds."

"You're the best, Tess. Love you."

"Love you, too."

Tessa hung up the phone and looked around. She now had time to kill since her mother had taken it upon herself to come in early and get a jump on the baking. So she powered up the office computer and decided to work on the business side of baking for a while.

But looking at all those numbers just reminded her of the expansion ideas again. Everetts’ Bakery was doing fine. But they could be doing better, even with just adding a few new recipes.

But opening up a new branch...

Tess shook her head; there was no point in even thinking about adding a new location when they couldn't even convince their mother to add a couple of recipes to the menu.

None of this was really about money, but staying relevant.

She would find a way to convince her mother that Everetts’ Bakery could be even more amazing than they already were.

T
he bell over the bakery door rang as Tessa was bent over the display case filling it with fresh breakfast pastries.

"I'm sorry," she said. "We're not quite open yet."

Though she'd already unlocked the front door, she had yet to turn the 'open' sign around.

"Hmmm...that’s a shame...I was hoping to get a taste of some of your...irresistible treats."

The deep, throaty rumble followed by the masculine voice filled with silk and sin, caused a tremble to race down Tessa's spine, landing right between her thighs with an out of this world throb.

She slowly rose up, before turning around to put a face to the voice that had her panties instantly wet, and bit back a groan.

Isaiah Noble stood in the center of her bakery, looking too damn fine so early in the morning.

She watched as his eyes shamelessly roamed her body, before meeting her face. Once there, he seemed to study her for several long moments, as if he were trying to figure out whether or not he recognized her.

She doubted it. They'd grown up in the same town of Sweet Rapids, but they'd never hung in the same circles, especially with he and his siblings graduating high school so early. Even if there was a slight chance that he did know of her back then, she figured he knew her as the chubby girl who worked at her parents' bakery eons ago.

She looked a bit different now. And it wasn't lost on Tessa that he liked what he was looking at.

One side of his lip tilted upward as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Any chance I can convince you to make an exception?"

She returned his flirtatious grin with one of her own as she sashayed her way behind the counter.

"Now see," she started. "If I make an exception for you, and the customers find out about it, then they're going to start wanting me to make exceptions for them as well."

She watched as Isaiah sauntered toward the counter. "It would be our little secret," he said.

She smiled and shook her head. "That's very tempting, but I'm not quite convinced."

He tapped his chin before asking, "Would it change your mind if I said I was doing a pick up for my mother?"

Tessa's smile grew wider. "Oh, so you're a name dropper huh?"

"But I haven't even said her name yet."

"Everyone knows your mother is Irene Noble," Tessa said as she slipped her hand in a plastic glove. She opened the display case, grabbed a few bear claws and dropped them into one of their signature dessert boxes.

As she closed the display case, he leaned over the counter. "Do you know who
I
am?"

She leaned toward him, and inhaled his intoxicating sandalwood and leather scent, clenching her thighs behind the counter. Their faces were so close, that their noses nearly touched.

"You're Isaiah," she answered, hoping she didn't sound too breathless.

His lips spread into a full smile, revealing a perfect set of teeth.

"You said that with such confidence, what makes you so sure I'm not Ian?"

"Your clothes," she said with a shrug before she stood again. "Not many music producers are seen rocking suits all of the time. Plus, the last time I saw Ian on that cooking competition show, his beard was fuller and longer than yours.”

Isaiah was currently sporting a neatly trimmed, close-cropped beard that Tessa found extremely attractive.

"Plus," Tessa added, "Ian's got that whole...bad boy thing going on with him. You don't give off that kind of vibe."

"And what kind of vibe do I give off?" Isaiah asked.

The kind of vibe that makes me wish I could jump your bones right here in the middle of the bakery.

She smiled, shook her head and pushed the box in Isaiah's direction.

"That'll be five dollars, Mr. Noble."

"I didn't even order."

"But I know for a fact these are Miss Irene's favorite for breakfast."

Isaiah stood there staring at her for several moments again before he reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out his wallet.

He pulled out a crisp five dollar bill and handed it to Tessa. His fingers brushed hers in the exchange and the electricity of his touch raced through her body.

"Stop by again soon," she said, pushing her lips up into a smile.

He picked up the box as he said, "Oh, I will."

She couldn't stop herself from admiring the confident swagger in his walk as he headed for the door.

Right before he left the bakery, he turned and smiled at her and his parting words had her mouth falling open in shock.

"You have a nice day, Tessa."

Holy shit!

"You..."

"Know who you are?" he said with a raise of his eyebrows. "Of course I know who you are. You're looking good, by the way."

And then he walked out the door, leaving Tessa stunned.

And ridiculously turned on.



Isaiah parked his car in the driveway, in front of the large home he'd grown up in on Noble Estates. He smiled to see his mother, Irene, sitting on the front porch enjoying her morning cup of coffee.

When she realized it was him in the rental car, her eyes grew wide and he could hear her squeal with delight, even though the car windows were rolled up. He chuckled as he reached over and picked up the box from Everetts’ Bakery...making his mind drift back to Tessa Everett.

She'd been surprised that he'd recognized her, but anyone who ever frequented Everetts’ Bakery was familiar with the Everetts and their two daughters; especially Tessa and her smile. That was what had jogged his memory. When she smiled at him, he suddenly remembered visiting the bakery with his siblings in their youth and seeing Tessa working behind the counter selling the best desserts he'd ever tasted, to this day.

Not even the fancy ass bakeries in L.A. could compete with the Everetts.

Tessa looked quite different now, in a delectable way, but he was still hooked on that smile of hers.

He was snapped out of his reverie when his mother rushed down the porch steps and came around to the driver's side of the car. He opened the door and stepped out.

"Why didn't you tell me you were back in town already?" Irene asked, throwing her arms around him.

He returned the warm embrace, lifting his mother off of her toes, causing a delightful peal of laughter to float from her mouth.

"Put me down!" she chortled. She pushed out of his arms and looked at the box in his hands.

"Is that from Everetts’?" she gasped with a grin.

"The one and only."

Irene grabbed the box from his hands and hurried back up the porch. Her foot hit the first step and then she stopped, turned and looked at Isaiah.

"They don't open for another..." Irene looked down at her watch. "Fifteen minutes or so."

"Let's just say I lucked up by finding the door unlocked and a willing server."

"Hmph, in other words, you flashed that Noble smile of yours, thinking you could get away with murder." Irene shook her head. "Which one of those sweet Everett girls did you con?"

Isaiah pressed his hand to his chest, feigning innocence. "Conned? Mother, I did no such thing."

Irene raised her eyebrow at him, and his face broke into a smile.

"Tessa," he answered.

Irene nodded her head, and climbed up the rest of the stairs and sat back down in her chair. She sat the box of bear claws on the small table and opened it as Isaiah sat down in the seat across from her.

"Tessa's gone through a bit of a transformation," Irene mumbled before delicately tearing off a piece of the breakfast pastry and popping it into her mouth.

"Hmmm," he murmured as he grabbed a bear claw for himself. It was at that moment, that he realized she had thrown in an extra one for him. He smiled as he took a bite.

"Doesn't she look amazing?" Irene asked. "Not that she looked bad before. Tessa has always been beautiful, in my opinion."

"Mmhmm," Isaiah replied, his mouth full of the delicious bear claw. He certainly agreed with his mother's assessment and had also let Tessa know his thoughts on how she looked.

"Did Dad already head into the office?" he asked, deciding to change the subject.

"You know he did," Irene said shaking her head. "Ever since Chic and Sleek came out with that new line, he's gone ape shit."

Isaiah nearly choked on a piece of bear claw before throwing his head back to laugh.

"Is it that bad?" he asked.

"He convinced you to come home, didn't he?" She was quiet for a moment before sighing. "The truth is...it
could
be a catastrophe, if we let it. But I know with you here, we will be able to figure something out to make sure we stay on top."

Isaiah reached over and squeezed his mother's hand. Isaac Noble had a way of blowing just about everything out of proportion, but Irene's calm, quiet spirit was always Isaac's balance. If Irene was concerned about the company, even a smidgen, Isaiah knew to be worried too.

"We will figure something out," Isaiah promised.

He just wished he knew what to do.