Taste the Heat (4 page)

She turned her focus back to Jason. “We didn’t really get much of a chance to talk
yesterday,” she said. “
Un
officially, that is.”

“No, we didn’t,” Jason agreed. “You disappeared as soon as the competition was over.”

It hadn’t been as dramatic as that, but close. First, she’d gone off with Cane and
performed the obligatory round of chatting with local officials and potential customers.
Then she’d made her swift escape to her recently purchased, very pretty, but highly
unpredictable used car.

During the actual competition, Colby had been able to ignore the sad memories whispering
in her ear and focus on the task at hand, a feat she largely attributed to the man
holding her hand in his warm grasp now. But once the event was over and the crowd
had engulfed her with questions of where she’d been and how long she was staying,
she’d bolted as soon as humanly possible.

“I had a bit of a headache,” she admitted.

Compassion flooded his eyes, softening the color to melted caramel. “I’m sorry to
hear that.” He turned off the tap and flicked his hand in the water, testing the cool
temperature. “But, since I didn’t get the chance before, let me now
officially
say on behalf of the fire department and all those privileged to have witnessed your
gruesome flannel stage in the nineties, welcome back to Magnolia Springs.” He bowed
his head in mock reverence. When he lifted it again, he looked directly into her eyes.
“We’ve missed you.”

Warmth from the sincere sentiment and playful reminder of her unfortunate former fashion
sense flooded her. “I missed you, too.”

And she had. Maybe not Jason directly, but what he represented. Whenever Colby came
home after a particularly long day to an empty apartment and put her feet up on her
Pottery Barn coffee table, she would find herself getting homesick. For her brother,
for her sister, and for all the friends she had in Magnolia Springs. Her former unrequited
crush included. Just not so much that she wanted to move back permanently.

Jason smiled. The look he gave had her heartbeat thrumming in her throat. Rushing
to cover the sentimental moment, she took a step away and said, “Wow, an award-winning
chef, a fire captain, and now a member of the Magnolia Springs welcome committee?
Why, Mister Landry, you’ve grown up to be quite multi-talented.”

He laughed under his breath. “That I am,” he confirmed, his eyes lowering to her lips.
“And that’s only scratching the surface.”

The interior of the room instantly shot up at least ten degrees, despite the limb
immersed in cool water. Colby hadn’t intended the double meaning to her words—but
the added information was good to know.

Very
good to know.

Since she’d left the park, Colby had wondered if she had imagined his interest. Made
up a mutual flirtation where there had only been adolescent-like gawking on her part.
The young guy she’d known would’ve never looked twice at her. He’d been too focused
on his high school girlfriend Ashleigh to notice any other girl within a five-mile
radius—especially one with the last name of Robicheaux. But the way Jason was looking
at her now erased all of yesterday’s concerns.

Not that they’re true concerns anyway
, she reminded herself, since nothing could ever happen between them. Her heart was
officially and forever off the market. Still, it was nice to know that he found her
attractive.

“Is that right?” she asked, fighting a smile.

A snort erupted from across the bar. Colby’s eyes widened. She’d completely forgotten
about their audience.

Sherry paused in her task of wiping down the few tables around them and captured her
top lip between her teeth in a silent laugh. Her eyes shined, clearly saying that
she knew she’d been forgotten—and that she’d loved every minute of it. She flicked
the cloth onto the bar top. “Please,” she said, circling her right hand in the air,
“do tell us, Jason. What other areas are you talented in?”

The tips of his ears burned red, but that was the only indication he was embarrassed.
Colby, on the other hand, wanted to crawl under the cash register. Jason reached out
to yank one of her sister’s dyed-purple strands. “All I meant was that I also own
a gym,” he clarified with a good-humored grin before glancing back at Colby. “Northshore
Combatives, down at the corner of Main and Wisteria.”

“Wait, the old bridal shop?” she asked, surprised when he nodded. “Isn’t that space
large for a gym?”

Colby knew the place well. It was a bridal shop on steroids. The place was freaking
huge. When she was seven, her cousin Missy had forced her to try on every single flower
girl dress in the store, and when she was twelve, her second cousin Brooke had decided
the Pepto-Bismol taffeta number in the window was divine. In high school, she and
her friends had scoured the racks for the perfect homecoming and prom dresses to no
avail. It had really come as no shock when she’d learned of the store’s demise.

“Not at all.” Jason lifted her hand from the water and gently placed a clean towel
from the basket onto her arm, blotting at the excess moisture. “Combatives isn’t just
a gym. You know the big space downstairs, where Dorothy had kept all the wedding stuff?”
Colby nodded. “I converted that into three sections, a separate weight room for men
and women, and a large studio with the cardio equipment and a rock-climbing wall.”
He removed the towel and grabbed a roll of sterile gauze from the tackle box. Wrapping
the bandage loosely around her hand he said, “And then upstairs, I teach tactical
ninjitsu twice a week, but there’s a variety of martial arts, aerobics, kids’ fitness—we
even have groups that train for MMA and Ninja Warrior.” He paused to take a breath
and grinned. “You should come check it out sometime.”

Colby couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm. “I will,” she said automatically,
although she doubted she ever would. She had nothing against his gym. It sounded impressive,
especially for their small town. But Colby had never been very coordinated. She was
the type of girl who was always picked last in P.E. And she looked like a convulsive
kangaroo whenever she attempted anything athletic.

But Jason’s warm, genuine smile almost had her rethinking her position. What harm
could come from giving it a whirl? She could figure out how to walk on a motorized
treadmill without falling on her ample backside, couldn’t she? Then she remembered
the damage she’d done just a few minutes ago in the kitchen, alone, sans exercise
balls or any other hazardous sports equipment. Yeah, it was probably safer to stay
at home.

“Good,” he said, obviously pleased. He secured the end of the gauze and then tapped
two aspirin into his open palm. “After this, you should be good to go.”

She accepted the pain relievers and downed them with a swig of Coke. “Thank you,”
she said as she wiped her mouth, genuinely touched at his concern. Over the years,
she’d gotten more burns in the kitchen than she could count and normally just put
pickle juice on them and kept on trucking. But this was sweet. She had a silly impulse
to swipe the bandage and put it in her memory box. Being around this man was obviously
harmful to her health. Sure, there was nothing wrong with a little harmless flirtation,
but she couldn’t let her inner-teen start spinning idealistic dreams for the future.

“I never did ask what brought you in here today. Do you want something from the kitchen?”
She waved her freshly bandaged hand in the air and for some reason, he took it again,
holding it gently between both of his. Her voice got breathless again as she said,
“Thanks to you, I’m as good as new. I’m still in the middle of prepping for the dinner
service, but I can whip you up anything you want.”

He grinned. “Anything, huh?”

Colby laughed. Apparently, adult Jason was incorrigible. Choosing to sidestep the
little landmine he’d presented, she inclined her head and confided, “I happen to be
known for my grilled cheese.” She lifted her shoulder in a shrug. “Just saying, word
on the street is it’s the bomb.”

Jason chuckled, low and deep. If a sexier sound existed, she was sure she hadn’t heard
it. “Thanks for the top-secret intel.” His eyes moved back to her lips, and the muscles
in his neck worked as he swallowed. “But I should probably get going.”

Until that moment, Colby hadn’t realized how much they had moved during their conversation.
Her butt was perched on the very edge of her stool. His body was angled toward her,
his muscular leg wedged between hers. Their heads—their
mouths
—were mere inches apart. It wouldn’t take much to close the remaining distance between
them and steal the kiss she’d thought about since the one they shared during that
game of Kiss and Catch—her
first
kiss.

But in all those childhood daydreams, her annoying sister had never been right there,
giddily watching from a few feet away.

And her overbearing, protective brother hadn’t just walked through the door, hard
eyes focused on their little tête-à-tête. Jason relinquished her hand as if it held
the Ebola virus.

“Hey man,” Jason said, shoving his hand through his dark hair and then into the pocket
of his pants as if he no longer knew what to do with it. “It’s been a while. Thought
I’d come by and see what’s going on.”

Cane didn’t react. He didn’t flinch or say a word. He just fixed his stare between
the two of them, and Jason glanced at the door beyond. “But you know, Mom mentioned
their new AC unit is being delivered today. I should probably run over and make sure
the old man doesn’t hurt himself installing it.” Jason pulled his keys out of the
pocket of his wind pants, the metal whispering against the fabric. “We’ll have to
grab a beer and catch up later in the week, okay?”

Colby had to scoot back on the stool for him to maneuver out from behind the bar;
that’s how close she had come to straddling the man’s thigh. Good gracious, no wonder
Sherry had been practically beaming. What it didn’t explain was her brother’s reaction.
Why was he glaring like they’d just had sex on his beloved, gleaming bar top?

Jason edged around Cane, making sure to give her big brother a wide berth. “I’ll call
you about that beer.” At the door, he placed his hand against the glass inset and
turned to nod. “Good seeing you, ladies. Try not to break too many hearts until I
see you two again.”

He gave Colby a soft parting smile and then walked out.

The second the door closed behind Jason’s perfect backside, Cane shook his head. “Don’t
even think about it, Colby.”

Chapter Four

When did her love life, or lack thereof, become her brother’s concern? Colby watched
Cane march to the back office after eliciting his tidbit of unsolicited advice—or
had that been an order?—and shook her head, her mind a jumbled mess.

Had all of that really just happened?

She looked to her sister for confirmation. Sherry grinned as if reading her thoughts,
then asked in a voice dripping with sweetness, “Tell me,
Coley
, did the desert heat completely fry your brain?”

Colby blinked rapidly, not sure where
that
came from, only knowing that whenever Sherry evoked her nickname, she was up to something.
“Excuse me?”

“Oh, don’t give me that,” Sherry said, giving her a pointed look. “Correct me if I’m
wrong, but wasn’t that the guy who had a starring role in your childhood diary?” When
Colby’s mouth fell open at the admission, Sherry shrugged. “Yep, I read every word,
thank you very much, and I’m not afraid to admit it. Nancy Drew had nothing on your
teenage drama.”

She didn’t know why she bothered to be surprised. Sure, she’d hidden the blasted thing
and practically had to leave herself a map to find it, but Sherry had always been
a determined sleuth. Colby shook her head. Besides making it that much harder to squelch
the lovey-dovey ideas floating in her baby sister’s head, it wasn’t that big a deal
that Sherry had read her private thoughts. Just embarrassing. But as for terminating
those ideas… “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Please,” Sherry said. “That man was flirting his ass off, and you didn’t jump on
that! Are you crazy?” She resumed wiping down the four-top table. “Personally, I think
of Jason as nothing more than an honorary annoying brother. But if that man ever looked
at
me
with that level of intensity, I would take him in the back and invent a new use for
the spatula.”

Colby wrinkled her nose. “What in the heck can you do with a spatula?”

Her sister slid her a cheeky grin. “I don’t know. But it would be fun to find out.”
She looked over the polished tables, nodded, and then slid her bottom onto a barstool
with a sigh. “Seriously, Colby, the heat coming from the pair of you could’ve set
off the fire detectors. I kinda felt like a Peeping Tom, to be honest, but there was
no way on earth I was missing
that
show.” She poked Colby in the arm. “And you, dear sister, are avoiding the question.”

Colby shook her head. She grabbed the roll of gauze and bottle of aspirin and returned
them to the first-aid kit. “That was just harmless fun.” Sherry snorted.

Sliding the tackle box back under the bar, she grabbed her sister’s discarded dusting
cloth and began rubbing the already gleaming surface. Sherry’s distorted reflection
appeared beside her on the reddish-brown wood.

“It seems to me like the real fun is still to come,” she said in a sort of sing-song
voice. Grabbing the clipboard holding the inventory checklist, she skimmed her hand
over the bottles of Jim, Jack, and Old Granddad, a playful smile twitching her lips.
“You’ve been given a gift here, Colby. A chance to have a fling with a hot firefighter—what
woman wouldn’t want that? It’s your duty, on behalf of single women everywhere, to
pursue this opportunity.”

“On behalf of women everywhere?” Colby asked sardonically. “Laying it on kinda thick
there, don’t you think?”

Sherry huffed and slid her a look of exasperation. “Okay then, do it for me. Your
poor sister who hasn’t gone out with a halfway decent guy in months, and who hasn’t
gotten any
good
late-night action since Simon was still judging
American Idol
.” At Colby’s pursed lips of skepticism, she clarified. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve
gotten some. Just nothing that great. Listen, Colby, I know you’ve sworn off men and
everything”—Sherry rolled her eyes at the crazy notion—“but you didn’t swear off
fun
, did you?”

No
, Colby thought, her resolve crumpling. She hadn’t. And the last time
she’d
gotten any good late night loving, the country had had a different president.

Life in the restaurant business, especially in Las Vegas, was hectic. Colby was single-handedly
responsible for the management of the kitchen, keeping track of inventory, creating
dishes, and being the overall creative force behind the entire establishment. Most
days kept her so busy that when she did finally slip between the sheets, she was too
exhausted to complain that she was doing it alone. But then there were other nights.
Nights spent with a glass of red wine in hand and way too much unoccupied space left
in her king-sized bed. Nights when she got lonely.

Vowing off relationships didn’t mean Colby had taken a vow of chastity, after all.
Her sister was right; she was still a woman with needs. A woman who needed a little
no-strings-attached fun now and then.

And there was no doubt that a fling with Jason would be
fun.

Colby bit her lip, but her smile sprung free anyway. Beside her, Sherry began a happy
shimmy, already sensing victory. Colby laughed and gave her sister a one-armed hug.
“You know, sis, out of all your hare-brained, free-love notions, I have to say this
one is my favorite.”

Northshore Combatives was loud, hot, and full of sweaty men. The sight fanned the
flame of Colby’s already fiery libido, but there was only one sweaty man she hoped
to see tonight. The man she’d fantasized about all day. Fantasies she planned to make
a reality that night. Ever since Sherry put the crazy idea in her head, she couldn’t
stop imagining Jason in her bed. Between the sheets. Doing the horizontal tango.

It had really been a while.

The one dark cloud in her plan was Cane. He’d put his metaphorical motorcycle boot
down, and though she was a grown woman, she wasn’t looking to start a sibling feud
this summer. She was home for three short months. After being gone for twelve years,
she wanted to keep it light and drama free, which meant Cane could never know about
her fling with the fireman. But with little sister on big brother watch, keeping him
busy at the restaurant so her plan went without interruption, Colby was eager to get
a jump on it—excusing the suggestive pun—before she lost her nerve.

That night’s dinner service had to have been the longest ever recorded in history.
Colby had expected there to be a transition period when she’d taken over the kitchen
at Robicheaux’s
—
any change, much less one in a high-stress job, required a little grace. And after
a couple weeks of stumbles, she and her staff were finally starting to find their
rhythm. Colby had trained up the existing staff and hired Rhonda, who was proving
to be a more than competent sous-chef.

But after Jason’s visit earlier that day, Colby’s mind had been consumed with thoughts
of her childhood crush—and wondering how he’d react to her planned activities for
the night. Throughout the first dinner service, she had been twitchy, careless, and
snippy. And by seven o’clock, Rhonda had given her a good-natured shove out the door.
A half hour later, after a quick detour for a shower, Colby had been back on the road
headed to Jason’s gym. So she could proposition the owner.

What did one say when propositioning a man for a fling, anyway?

Hey hot stuff, wanna knock some boots?

Yeah, she didn’t think so, either.

As she looked around the semi-crowded building, Colby fiddled with the strap on her
top. She’d come dressed to impress, to seduce. But standing in the middle of a gym
filled with half-naked people, wearing her sexiest jeans and a new silk camisole,
made her feel like some sort of beacon, signaling she was there to get laid. She checked
her watch. Maybe she should just wait in the car.

She turned back in the direction she’d come, promising herself that this was not her
chickening out, and a flash of blond caught her eye. A young preteen with a high ponytail
and a mouthful of shiny braces was manning the front desk, winding the cord of an
ancient-style phone around her finger. Colby realized it was the girl from the park—the
one playing Kiss and Catch. The young girl slung her head back in a bark of laughter,
and the sound was so natural and spontaneous that Colby found herself hesitating by
the door, smiling.

“She did
not
say that!” The young girl pounded her fist against the textbook lying open on the
desktop. “Really? Omigod, that is hi
lar
ious. And then what did Brad say when—” The animated dialogue broke off as the girl
spotted Colby lingering, and her smile widened. “Omigod, I gotta go!” Slamming the
phone down in its cradle, she targeted her immense energy in Colby’s direction. “You’re
Colby Robicheaux.”

It was a statement, not a question. And taken aback, Colby nodded slowly. “I am.”

Since working her way up in her career, she had become accustomed to foodies in culinary
circles recognizing her. And since returning home, she’d gotten used to the older
locals stopping her on the road, remembering her from when she was a kid. But this
girl was just a kid herself.

“Wow. It is
such
an honor to meet you.” The girl scooted the rolling chair forward and leaned across
the desktop. “I Googled you yesterday, after the competition? Your restaurant in Vegas
looks amazing, with all those lights and windows— I’m kinda obsessed with restaurants.
And the Food Network. Pretty much anything that has to do with cooking. I wanna be
a chef, too, one day.”

Two red splotches appeared high on the girl’s cheeks as she paused to take a breath.
That endearing blush, combined with the look in her eyes, full of life and hope, totally
stole Colby’s heart. It reminded her of how she used to be at that age. But surprisingly,
the similarity wasn’t painful.

“Oh, I’m Emma, by the way.”

Colby smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Emma. And I have to tell you, I’m also
addicted to the Food Network.” She leaned in as if to impart a secret and the girl
put her elbows onto the counter and bent closer, too. “In fact, I have a total food
crush on Bobby Flay,” she shared with a grin. “And I actually met Giada a few times.”

“Shut up!” Emma threw back in the chair and Colby laughed, feeling lighter than she
had in a long time. Hanging around with kids tended to do that. “Gosh, that’s so awesome,”
Emma continued. “I can’t believe Uncle Cane never mentioned that to me before.”

And just like that, Colby’s laughter died in her throat.

Sure that she must have heard wrong, she asked, “I’m sorry, did you say
Uncle
Cane?”

Emma’s ponytail bounced as she nodded enthusiastically.

Knowing it was highly unlikely another man named after sugarcane had moved to their
small town in her absence, but needing to be sure, she added, “Cane Robicheaux? As
in my brother?”

“Yep! Well, he’s not my
real
uncle, as you’d know. But he’s my godfather. He and my dad have been friends for,
like, ever.”

A sinking sense of horror settled in Colby’s gut.

It couldn’t be possible…

“Your dad, huh?” she asked, hoping—
praying—
that she was wrong. Fate wouldn’t be so cruel. “Does he, ah, happen to own this gym?”

This elicited a beaming smile of pride from the preteen bag of bombshells—and confirmed
Colby’s worse nightmare. “Yep, that’s him. Jason Landry. He’s also the fire captain.”
Emma tilted her head to the side. “I guess if Uncle Cane’s your brother, then you
must’ve known my dad when you were younger, too, huh?”

“Oh, I knew him all right,” Colby agreed, her head spinning with confusion.
Just not nearly as well as I had thought.

Jason was married. It was as if her past was coming back to haunt her with a vengeance.
The man she thought she knew had flirted with her, had come to her place of work and
taken care of her injury with that damn sexy smile on his face, and then gone home
to his
family.

What kind of man did that?

Actually, Colby knew exactly what kind of man—her father. And to a lesser extent,
her college ex-boyfriend.
Faithfulness
was a pretty word, but one that she’d learned at a young age wasn’t real. Not in
her experience. It was after discovering their infidelities back-to-back that Colby
had sworn off relationships. And now, twelve years later, it was coming around full-circle.
Never would she have thought Jason would be like either of those men…or that one day,
she would come this close to becoming the other woman.

Colby rubbed her forehead, feeling a migraine coming on. She was going to kill her
baby sister.

“Miss Robicheaux, are you okay?”

How could Sherry have let her walk into this situation? The whole stupid fling idea
had been hers in the first place. Did she honestly not know Jason was married? And
how could Colby not notice a ring on his finger? After all the time she’d spent staring
at the man’s hands, you’d think she would’ve spotted a significant detail like that.
She mindlessly grabbed for her phone in her purse.

“Miss Robicheaux?” Emma asked again, concern creeping into her voice.

Colby took a breath and slowly let it out. She held a finger up as she autodialed
her sister’s number, sending Emma a thin-lipped smile. This wasn’t the girl’s fault;
if anything, she was the victim…or the almost victim.

On the other end, Sherry’s phone rang and rang before her perky voice picked up. “Hey,
it’s me, you know the drill.”
Beep.

“We have to talk,” Colby said through gritted teeth. She ended the call and put her
phone back in her purse, turning to give Emma a forced smile.

“I’m fine, sweetie,” she lied, taking in the young girl’s look of concern. “Just seem
to be getting a lot of headaches lately.”

“Ouch, those suck,” Emma said sympathetically. Then her tiny face lit up. “Hey, since
you grew up with Dad, does that mean you knew my mom, too?”