Love on the Sweet Side, page 5
Tempting smells of coffee, bacon, and eggs led her down the hall into the small kitchen. He was there, whistling a silly tune as he shoveled scrambled eggs onto a plate. His back was to her, so she took advantage of his position to look her fill.
The years had been very kind to Colton Denning. Working on the family ranch his whole life had made him toned and fit. The man had a six-pack you could do laundry on.
Remembering her first glimpse of it last night caused her body temperature to rise and her nipples to peak under the borrowed robe. She pulled the material tighter around herself, thankful it was thick enough not to give her away. Just another thing he would tease her about, she was sure.
He was currently wearing a dark blue sweater and a pair of faded blue jeans that hugged his perfect, scrumptious ass. Oh, he was fine all right, and he knew it, too. That was the problem.
Maggie stepped fully into the kitchen. She was trying to think of what to say when his deep voice surprised her.
“I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to wake up.” He didn’t turn around, just kept shoveling food onto the plates. “I didn’t want the breakfast to get cold.”
He turned then, gracing her with a smile that made many a woman in Peak Town swoon. Herself included. Not that she would ever admit that to anyone.
Colton picked up the plates and set them on the small table. Two cups of steaming coffee were already placed in front of two chairs. He sat in one and motioned her to the other. When she hesitated, his smile faltered.
“You okay, sweetheart? You’re not still cold are you?”
The real worry in his voice went straight to her damn, stupid heart. She didn’t need his concern; she did not want his concern.
Mentally putting her guards up, she marched over to the table, pulled out the chair across from him and sat. “I’m fine,” she said, adding tersely, “and for the last time, I am not your sweetheart.”
Sinfully sexy lips chuckled into his coffee mug before taking a deep sip of the hot, dark liquid. “Oh yeah, you’re fine.”
They ate in silence. The eggs were delicious, the bacon crispy, and the coffee hit the spot just right. After all the effort he put into making her such a delicious breakfast, she felt a little bad about her tiny temper tantrum.
“Thank you, Colt,” she finally said, taking a sip of her coffee.
“For breakfast? No problem, Magpie.”
Frowning, she set her mug on the table a little harder than necessary. “I’m not sure what I dislike more, ‘Magpie’ or ‘sweetheart.’ And yes for breakfast, but also…thanks for last night.”
A devilish smile lit his eyes. She realized how he might have interpreted her thanks, remembering that parts of last night included him and her almost naked, under blankets, skin to skin. Her nipples hardened even more.
Stupid body.
“I meant for getting me out of the snow and getting me warm.”
His eyebrows bobbed suggestively. Well crap, she had just referenced their nudity once more. That wasn’t how she meant it, dammit.
“Oh, never mind!”
Rising from the table, she threw down her napkin, turned, and headed out of the kitchen in a huff. She made it about three feet before Colton’s hand grabbed her. He pulled her to a stop, forcing her to turn back to him.
“I’m sorry, Maggie.” His eyes no longer held that teasing light. “I didn’t mean to make you feel embarrassed. I was just teasing.”
That was the problem, he was always just teasing.
“I want you to know that I was strictly business last night. I would never take advantage of anyone, especially someone who was injured.”
Those mesmerizing blue eyes were sincere as he stared down at her. She knew he would never take advantage of anyone. He was a good man. An incredibly sexy, flirtatious, hound dog, but a good man nonetheless. He’d saved her last night and even cooked her breakfast this morning, and she was acting like a bitch just because he was being his ornery, playful self.
“I know and I’m sorry. I guess I’m still just stressed out. Almost freezing to death really messes with your nerves.”
She meant it to come out as a joke, but he didn’t laugh. His brows drew together in a scowl as he pulled her into his arms. She resisted at first, but when he didn’t let go, she relaxed into his strong embrace and allowed him to comfort her.
“Damn, you scared the crap out of me. I thought you were dead.”
She had scared herself, too. At first, she’d been so cold she felt like she was being sliced by thousands of tiny razors. Then the cold made her sleepy. She knew it was a bad sign, but she hadn’t had the energy to care at the time. Once Colton brought her inside and started warming her up, the bitter cold had grabbed hold of her again. Mostly, she just remembered thinking she was never going to be warm again. How she was going to freeze to death and become the ice queen her ex had so frequently called her.
But she hadn’t frozen. She hadn’t died. All thanks to the man holding her.
“Thank you for saving me,” she mumbled into his chest.
His arms tightened around her, but he didn’t say anything. They stayed that way for a minute or two, until Maggie realized she was in Colton’s arms, his strong arms, and then the relaxed embrace became uncomfortable and…heated. Quickly, she pulled away, keeping her head down as she resumed her seat at the table. Her coffee was almost gone, and she finished off the last sip.
“Another cup?” He held up the coffee pot.
Smiling, she nodded. A caffeine addict, she didn’t even feel semi-normal until she had at least two cups. Blame it on the early hours of the bakery. Customers wanted fresh baked goods, and since she opened her doors at nine, that meant getting up three hours earlier to ensure freshness. As much as she hated early mornings, she loved baking, so it was a sacrifice she was willing to make. Plus, with enough coffee, the early hours didn’t seem so bad.
Colton refilled her cup. She felt the need to fill the awkward silence, so she said the first thing that popped into her head. “So, what was wrong with the generator?”
Those tempting lips turned down with a frown. “Frayed wire. Luckily, I had a replacement in the shed.”
“You know that thing has needed replacing for a while now.”
He gave her a mock scowl and clutched at his chest. “Bite your tongue. Ol’ Bessie has gotten me through more blizzards than I can count. No way am I giving up on her.”
“Ol’ Bessie?” She snorted. “You named your generator?”
He sent her a pointed stare. “This coming from the woman who named each one of her mixing bowls?”
He’d caught her talking to them one day in her shop. Talk about embarrassing.
“Touché.” She tipped her mug to him.
With breakfast finished, she picked up her plate and mug and took them to the kitchen sink. She desperately wanted another cup of coffee, but just the fact she wanted to stay to enjoy more coffee, and more of Colton’s presence, was a sign she had to leave. Plus, she had to get back to town and open the shop. It was already…she looked at the clock hanging on the wall. Crap eight-thirty!
She’d just have to open late today.
“Well, thanks for breakfast and…last night.” She twisted the coffee mug in her hands. “I better go dig out my car, put the spare on, and head back into town.”
Colton chuckled as he took another drink from his cup.
She knew that chuckle. It was never a good thing. “What?”
“Oh nothing,” he said mildly. “You might want to take a peek out the window before you make any plans for today though.”
She had a really bad feeling as she walked over to the kitchen window and drew back the white curtain.
Oh, hell.
The curtain wasn’t white. It was sheer. The massive amount of snow piled high outside was white. There had to be at least three feet out there, and it was still coming down. Big, white, fluffy flakes fluttered to the ground in a beautiful dance that mocked her. There would be no going into town today. No opening her shop. No getting away from the tiny cabin that housed the one man who made her heart race and her body burn. Just her luck. Her crappy, stupid, horrible luck.
She sighed, dropping the drapery back down and returning to the sink. “Guess I’m not going anywhere for a while huh?”
“Nope,” the irritating cowboy said around a smug smile. “We’re stuck here for the duration, Magpie sweetheart.”
She wished very much at this moment that she had the power of pyro-kinesis and could burn him with her glare.
“What? I thought I’d see if you liked it better when I combine the two. I guess that’s a no?”
Grabbing a dishrag off the counter, she lobbed it at his head. He laughed, ducking the cloth with ease.
He brought his dishes over to the kitchen sink. She plugged the drain and filled it with warm water, squirting a bit of the lemon-scented dish soap into the basin. White, frothy bubbles soon began to form, causing her to think of the snow again.
It’s May, dammit. May!
She reached out a hand for the plates.
Instead of handing them over, Colton held them close to his chest. “You don’t have to wash the dishes.”
“Look,” she huffed impatiently. “Gran would roll over in her grave if she knew I didn’t reciprocate hospitality by helping out with the chores, so shut up and hand over the dirty dishes.”
He smiled as he did as requested. “Ooooh, snippy this morning are we? Need more coffee, Magpie?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact I do. And I’m not snippy. I just had things to do today, and now it looks like I’ll be stuck here all day with—” She almost bit her tongue cutting off the last part of her reply.
“With me?” he finished for her.
Maggie winced. She hadn’t meant to be rude. As proven by the recent events, he wasn’t really a bad guy at all. It wasn’t his fault she’d always had an overwhelming attraction to him. An attraction she was absolutely, unequivocally never going to do anything about.
“I’m sorry, Colt. I didn’t mean it like that. I just had some very important things to do today. I need to find a new distributor and go through Gran’s recipes. The shop’s supposed to open in half an hour, and I can’t even call Jamie to tell her where I am because you can’t get any reception up in these stupid mountains.” She knew that because she had tried to call for a tow truck after her car got the flat last night. No bars. No service. No luck.
“I’ve got a sat phone you can use.”
A satellite phone? Why did he have a satellite phone?
“Cell service is always iffy up here, so anytime Dade or I come up we bring the sat phone. Now that you live here, you gotta start thinking more like a mountain girl and less like a Hollywood glamour girl.”
She snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure I look very glamorous this morning. My hair hasn’t seen a brush since yesterday, and I haven’t even showered yet.”
“You always look beautiful, Maggie.”
She froze. He sounded serious. Colton always gave compliments, especially to women. They were always kind and charming, but this—this had sounded sincere.
Risking a glance up, she noted his deep, clear blue eyes held no hint of his usual teasing in them. His face wasn’t exactly frowning, but he wasn’t smiling like he always did when he flirted. He looked…damn sexy.
“So, why do you need a new distributor?” he asked, breaking the tension of the moment.
“Oh, it’s nothing.” She scrubbed a plate with more force than necessary. Anything to distract her from that strange look he just had in his eyes.
“It’s not nothing if you’re planning on switching. I own a ranch, remember? When the people who help you run your business screw up, you gotta move on before they take you down. So, tell me, what did they do?”
She really didn’t want to discuss her problems with him. Though they were so close once, now they were more like acquaintances that traded small talk when their paths crossed. That was the way she liked it, too.
Okay, she didn’t really like it, but it was all she could handle. If they got close again and she had to witness another woman getting a part of Colton she so desperately wanted…she just couldn’t handle that again.
“It’s nothing, really. I’m handling it fine on my own.”
“I’m sure you are, but why not unload some troubles on me? Vent a little. That’s what friends are for, right?”
He just wouldn’t let it go. Men, they thought they could fix everything.
“Right, because we’re such good friends.” She unplugged the sink and watched the dingy water drain. “I told you, it’s fine. I don’t need your help, and I don’t need to vent. I’m not a child. I can handle my own problems.”
His eyes narrowed. Jaw clenched.
“My mistake.” He walked out of the small kitchen. Grabbing his coat off a hook by the door, he paused. “I need to go get more firewood.”
Crap. She’d hurt him. “Colt, wait—”
“Stay here where it’s warm. It’s still snowing and you’re not one-hundred percent yet.” With that, he stormed out the door, shutting it loudly behind him.
Maggie felt terrible. It hadn’t been her intention to hurt his feelings. She was just tired, stressed, and unbelievably sexually frustrated. And it wasn’t his fault he was the source of it.
Guilt began to gnaw a hole in her stomach, turning the delicious breakfast she had just eaten to a lump of cement.
There was only one thing that could work that lump out. She would apologize again with her secret weapon.
Opening the cupboards, she rooted around until she found everything she needed. Colton had saved her life. He deserved her thanks. He was going to get it, too. Maggie style.
Chapter Six
Colton stepped back into the cabin half an hour later. His mood had not improved. Ever since Maggie came back into town something had been off with them. He wasn’t stupid. It wasn’t like he expected them to go back to being best friends like when they were kids. Years had passed. But he always thought they were still the kind of friends that confided their problems to each other.
Guess I was wrong.
The snow was still coming down hard outside. He dropped the firewood in the bin by the door. A tarp covered the pile outside from the elements, but the walk to the front door resulted in the logs receiving a decent dusting of snow. They would dry soon enough. Hopefully, the house would stay warm until then. The old heater only did so much in a snowstorm.
Shrugging off his coat, he noticed the cabin was indeed warm, and it smelled delicious. What was that enticing aroma? Following the smell into the kitchen, he stopped in shock. It looked like a war zone. Dirty bowls, spoons, and measuring cup were stacked precariously in the sink. Various food items and spices lined the counter tops. A fine white powder covered almost every surface, and in the middle of all the madness…Maggie.
Singing, very off tune, she stood in the middle of the kitchen holding a large mixing bowl in one hand and stirring the contents with a wooden spoon in the other. She obviously found her clothes where he had set them out to dry, because she was dressed.
She hadn’t noticed him yet, so he watched as she sang, stirred, and shimmied around the kitchen. It was the sweetest thing he had ever seen. Then she swiveled her hips in a little booty shaking motion. Scratch that, it was the hottest thing he had ever seen.
“What in the world have you done to my kitchen?”
The sexy woman screamed, nearly dropping the bowl in her hands. She spun toward him, her expression going from shock to anger in an instant.
“Jeez, Colt. Don’t sneak up on me like that!”
He chuckled. “I didn’t sneak. You just didn’t hear me because you were too busy getting your groove on.”
She blushed. “I was making you a peace offering, but now I’m thinking I might just eat it all myself.”
Maggie was making him something?
“Oh come on, Magpie, don’t be like that. You have a…beautiful singing voice.”
She laughed. “Please, I’m tone deaf and I know it.”
“Yeah, but with moves like those no one’s going to pay attention to your voice.” He waggled his eyebrows.
Round, apple cheeks tinged pink. She had an adorable blush. It turned her whole face slightly rosy. Made a man wonder if the same coloring came out during the throes of passion.
Walking over to the counter where she was cooking, he leaned against it. “So, what are you making me?”
Her eyes narrowed, but she gave in. “Lemon tart cookies.”
“Really? Those are my favorite!”
She gave him a sheepish grin. “I know. I remember.”
She did, huh? Well, that was a good sign. So was the cookie apology. It meant she still cared about him on some level. He wondered, for the first time, just how deep that caring went. He always knew Maggie had a little crush on him, but he had discounted it as puppy love. A schoolgirl-crush. He’d seen her as a friend, a kid.
But she wasn’t a kid anymore, and the feelings he was beginning to have for her were much more than friendly.
“So, how long ’til they’re done?”
She turned to the counter and began scooping out small spoonfuls of batter onto a cookie sheet left by his mother the last time she visited.
“I’ve got a batch in the oven now,” she answered. “Should be done in about five minutes, but they’ll need to cool.”
“Sounds good. I’ll just go hop in the shower real quick.”
He started to go down the hall until a soft voice stopped him.
“Colt?”
“Yeah?” he said, turning back to face her.
“I…could I still use your sat phone real quick?”
“Oh, sure. Let me just grab it for you.”
That wasn’t what she was about to say, he was sure of it. He could always tell when Maggie was nervous as a kid. She would twist her hands together like she had just done in the kitchen. He walked back to the bedroom closet where he kept the phone.
The question was…what the hell did Maggie Evans have to be nervous about?
