With Every Breath (15 page)

“Elevator sex, that’s hot,” Jaden said, and Cole nearly broke his neck to glance at her. His pulse raced at the idea of it except there were no elevators in River Bend—that was not okay.

“I’d like to have sex in an elevator,” Angie said, snuffing all sexy thoughts from his mind.

Cole grimaced and set his paintbrush down. “This conversation is getting weird.”

“Getting? I think it’s past that already,” Jaden laughed.

“You should take her for mountain oysters at the Watering Hole,” Betty said.

Cole cocked his head, studying Betty to make sure he heard her right. She was dead serious.

“That’s tonight,” Betty went on, squinting down at the plate she was painting. “Lots of people come to town for them fried balls.”

Jaden broke into laughter. “Um, I’m not sure I’m into... them fried balls.”

The sound of her laughter coated his insides, turning everything warm.

“It’s an acquired taste.” Angie said.

“You think I should take her for mountain oysters.” Cole’s lips twitched in an effort to tame the smile that threatened to erupt. “At the bar.”

Betty nodded. “Yeah. All you can eat for seven bucks.”

“They’re not my favorite, but better than liver and onions,” Angie offered.

“If you don’t think about what you’re eating, they’re fine.” Elaine snickered and picked up her tumbler. “Chewy.”

“I prefer gizzards,” Angie added.

Jaden cleared her throat. “I’m pretty sure I’m not a fan of mountain oysters; don’t think I want to try them to find out, either way.”

“That’s okay, dear. Not everyone has a taste for the balls. How about the fireman’s fundraiser?”

“I don’t think—” Jaden started, but Elaine cut her off.

“If the man’s going to feed you for free, you should let him.”

“I’m cooking burgers and have to be there at five,” Cole interjected, and all eyes swung his direction. He held his hands up. “It’s my duty. I’m a volunteer fireman.”

Betty pursed her lips to the side. “Hmm.”

“Cole and I are just friends.” Jaden smiled at him, her eyes twinkling with thoughts he was left to guess at. “He’s going to promise to behave.”

He winked at her. “Nope. I won’t.”

Angie patted his hand. “Good. Life’s too short to behave.”

“I’m thinking about writing my own book.” Betty squeezed the tube of paint in her hand, and the acrylic landed with a plop onto her palette. “I carry around a notebook to jot down ideas, so if you’d like to give me some material to work into my book, I really wouldn’t mind. I was never very exciting, you know.” Betty gave a despondent sigh. “But now that I think about it, I really wish I’d been friskier in my youth.”

“Oh, dear Lord,” Elaine said, and then she and Angie crossed themselves.

Jaden’s eyes danced with her laughter. When her eyes met his, her pink lips turned up into a teasing smile, and the air was knocked from his chest.

She leaned over to close the distance between their chairs, and whispered in his ear. “Aren’t you glad you came to ceramics today?”

She had no idea.

CHAPTER TEN

Pike’s Ridge Escape was as pleasant a surprise as the owner. Samantha Sesnick was much younger than Jaden had pictured. Before arriving, she had an image of a woman in her forties, maybe a jaded executive from the city retiring to the country, in need of an escape from greed and power. What she hadn’t expected to find was a twenty-five-year-old woman with an inviting smile and eyes swimming with dreams and optimistic possibilities.

“This place is truly amazing.” Jaden remarked as she strolled beside Samantha in the small yet tidy vegetable garden behind the home.

Samantha paused beside a wooden tiered herb garden. Fingering basil leaves, she smiled. “This place was never in my plans. I had every intention of staying in New York, maybe not forever, but for a while—dream job and everything.”

“I get it,” Jaden said with a chuckle. “Opportunity has a tendency to sneak up on the unsuspecting.”

“Doesn’t it, though?” She shook her head and gestured to the view of the Loup River winding through the valley below. “I’ve been here with my dad and brothers so many times in my life, but I never thought twice about living here until almost two years ago. I was visiting, thinking I’d be only a couple of days. Then I came out here with my dad to help with a fence that went down in a storm, and the view struck a chord in me that I couldn't ignore.”

“Did you go back, then? Or you stayed?” They walked the grass path between the garden beds lined with orange flags marking the ground where Samantha planned to have a slate path laid. “I went back, just like the plan had always been. One day I was at a client’s house, preparing a meal for a dinner party, when—” she snapped her fingers, “—just like that, I had this vision of me up here, in my own gardens, cooking in my own kitchen, with guests enjoying this view.” She laughed and gazed around them. “I’ve been all over the world. I’ve trained at the most amazing institutes so I could work in any restaurant I wanted.” She shook her head, her smile softening with the memory. “I was going to open my own restaurant in Manhattan and make some kind of statement with my food. You know, be the next big culinary phenomenon.” Holding her hands out, she lifted her shoulders in amazement. “And here I am, back in Nebraska, fifteen miles from where I grew up.”

“I’d say your vision was a success. This is a million-dollar view, and the kind of place a person would love to escape to.” Jaden swung her gaze to the wide porch that wrapped around the house from the front all the way to the back along three sides. On the other side of the house, there would be flower gardens someday, Samantha had shared. At the moment it was lush grass and wide open space.

“That’s what I’m counting on. I’ve only been open for six months, and there’s so much work to do.” She gestured to the vegetable gardens. “You can see I’m nowhere near completion, but I have nothing but time.” With a grin, she shrugged. “I got a good deal on the property. It’s been in our family for generations and it sat empty for so long. The family’s just glad they don’t have to pitch in for repairs every year anymore.”

“I have to tell you, I’ve been to quite a few culinary retreats, and I’ve stayed in so many bed and breakfasts you’d think I’d seen it all. But, Pike’s Ridge Escape is something really special. The whole concept of farm-to-table you’ve got here—growing your own produce, meat from the family farm, honey from the bee farm down the road... I just can’t believe I’m seeing this right here in River Bend.” Jaden stepped up onto the porch with Samantha. There were tables set up for diners to enjoy the view with their meal. “I would love to come back and feature your place on The Road to Bliss. My producers will love it, I have no doubt.”

Samantha’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. “Seriously? Oh, my God, that would be amazing.”

Patting her camera bag hanging over her arm, Jaden nodded. “Definitely. If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to stick around, take some pictures of the property, even inside the house. The woodwork is simply breathtaking. I love that you kept the original. Not many people choose to restore over gutting everything.”

She wrinkled her nose. “And put in that cheap, fake crap? No way. Plus, my dad wouldn’t have allowed that.” She laughed, her eyes warm. “He’s a tough old man, farmer through and through, but this place has been in his family clear back to when his grandparents settled here. If I had come in here ripping the place to shreds, he would have cried like a baby, then had a heart attack.”

Jaden laughed and slipped the camera from the case. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t give him a heart attack. I bet he’s proud of all you’ve done here.”

“Oh, you bet he is. He’s borderline embarrassing to be with in public, flagging down anyone who will listen that his daughter’s the chef up on the ridge.” She pulled her phone out of her back pocket, and it buzzed in her hand, on silent mode. “And speaking of my dad, he’s calling now. He’s bringing me corn from the farm.”

“Don’t mind me; I’ll stay out of your hair. I can show myself around.”

“You’ll stay for supper. Mia specifically said you needed fed, and something tells me that woman doesn’t take no for an answer.”

Jaden looked up from the camera, laughing. “No, she doesn’t. At least not well. But don’t let her scare you. I can come back another night if your dining room is full.”

She winked and raised the phone to her ear. “I’ll make room. It’s a week night so it’s just the guests for dinner. I’ll come get you when dinner’s ready.” Turning to walk the porch toward the side of the house, Samantha said, “Hey, Dad. How’s it going? Yeah, I’m here.”

Jaden turned to the porch steps. While touring the property with Samantha, she made a mental note of the places she wanted to photograph before leaving. Crossing the yard, she wandered to a huge oak tree that towered over a stretch of lush grass. The size of the trunk was astounding; the tree had probably been there over a hundred years. Generations of Samantha’s ancestors had carved their names into the trunk. She snapped a picture of the names that scarred the bark, then turned to find the best angle to capture the wide wooden seat of the swing tied up with thick woven rope.

Jaden raised the camera to her eye and swept her gaze across the lonely swing and out to the baby blue sky caressing the river valley in the distance. “Beautiful,” she whispered, and snapped the photo.

“I’d say.”

A rush of tingles shot up her spine at the familiar voice, and she spun around, knocking her camera into Cole’s shoulder. Narrowing her eyes, she smacked his other shoulder on instinct. “Are you trying to scare the life out of me?”

He laughed and rubbed at his shoulder. “I guess I should have called your name with a bullhorn from the other side of the lawn, huh?”

She realized how close she was standing in his space and took a step back. Cocking her head, she propped a hand on her hip, her dress shifting under her hand. “What are you doing here?”

His grin widened and he raised his brows. “Mia sent me.”

“So what’s her excuse this time for sending you out here instead of coming herself?” It was clear—Mia had made it her mission to push Jaden and Cole together for the next seven days of her vacation. Her tiny person was out of control.

“I didn’t ask this time because I didn’t care.” His eyes dropped to her mouth, and before she could stop herself, her tongue darted out to moisten her bottom lip. Such a simple thing, but his eyes darkened as if she’d dropped her clothes to the floor. He took a step, backing her up against the pillar beside the steps leading down to the yard. “You’re not really disappointed, but it’s hot as hell watching you deny this.”

With him so near, it was hard to breathe. His lips hovered so close, all she had to do was raise on her toes a fraction and his mouth would be hot on hers. On a shaky breath, she whispered, “I’m totally denying it.”

“I can’t imagine why.” He brushed his thumb across her cheek, then down her neck. It sent gooseflesh up her arms despite the summer warmth.

“Because.” She wracked her brain for a reason. Any reason. “Because I’m actually seeing someone.”

He eased his head back just enough to quirk his brows. The smile flirting with his lips told her he wasn’t buying it. “Oh?”

“Well, it’s not serious.” In fact, it was so not serious, it wasn’t real at all.

“Hmm.” He leaned in closer, and when he dipped his head to press a kiss against her neck, just under her ear, she froze. “Does he kiss you here?”

“He... probably will.”

“Mmm,” was his answer before he brushed another whisper soft kiss to her skin, this one near her collarbone.

She forced herself to breathe so she wouldn’t pass out. That would be embarrassing, and then he’d really know the intense effect he had. It’s just physical. And even so, she didn’t care to admit even that much. Something told her giving in would be a bad idea. Dipping a hand in the candy jar, even for just one little morsel, would add up like bad calories and eventually go straight to her ass. She didn’t need a bigger ass; it was hard enough to maintain as it was.

“What I’m trying to say is that I didn’t come back here for a fling.” What the hell was wrong with her mouth? And why didn’t she put any conviction behind her words? She sounded more like a panting porn star than a woman who didn’t want sex. Lots and lots of hot, sweaty sex. She did a mental groan and pressed her legs together. Her woman parts weren’t on the same page as her cautious, rational brain.

“Why not? I hear those are fun.”

That snapped her out of the sexed-up trance she’d fallen under. She wedged her hands up between them and nudged him away. “There’s no way in hell you’re sweet-talking me out of my pants on this vacation, Cole Brooks.”

“Is that a challenge?” His smile was lazy, and sexy as hell. She forced her gaze away to his ear. “I like challenges.”

She crossed her arms, uninviting him from coming any closer. “No, that’s a fact.”

“Are you sure about that? Because the other night in the lake, when you were making all those moaning—”

She hit him in the arm, and he laughed.

“Geesh, okay. Okay. No sex. Got it.”

She relaxed, even as an annoying voice in her mind said, Why not? The kissing was fine, why not more? Just a little more?