“I know you too well to be fooled by the ‘I’m not doing anything’ look.”
Placing her hand over her heart, she shook her head sorrowfully. “I’m so misunderstood.” Missy laughed but made no motion to leave, and Candy knew she wouldn’t budge until she knew what was going on. “Okay.” She leaned back in her own chair. “There’s a party this afternoon, by invitation only, to celebrate the fact that the new location of Coffee Breaks will be ready to open its doors next week.”
“And you know this because…” Missy’s voice trailed off.
“Katie just happened to send me an invitation.” She felt a large smile spread across her face. “And Mr. Elusive has to be at his own party, right? All I have to do is corner him and keep at him until he agrees to give me a few hours of promotion time.”
“Very sneaky. I like that about you.” Missy glanced at her watch, sighed and stood. “I’ve got to get back to work, but take it easy at the party. Maybe he’s got a reason for avoiding you. Maybe he’s just shy.”
Candy nodded. “Maybe.” In fact, she had a picture of the man in her head. She knew he was in his early forties and she figured he was short and probably balding. He also spent most of his time in a kitchen, so he was probably portly as well. She could relate to that as she was no lightweight herself, perpetually trying to shed that last ten pounds that would never go away and sat right on her hips and belly.
“I’ll call you tonight for the scoop on the success or failure of your party crashing.” Missy wiggled her fingers goodbye as she strolled out the door.
Turning back to her desk, Candy dug through the pile in her in-box. She was sure she’d tossed the invitation in there when she’d gotten it. Ah ha! She plucked the creamcolored envelope out from between two magazines and waved it in the air. Today, she would meet the infamous Lucas Squires. He’d soon find that he could run, but he couldn’t hide from her.
Lucas stood in the shadows of the far corner and stared around the room. Pleasure filled him. He couldn’t believe how much the building had changed since he had purchased it. Even though it had been rundown and in need of major repairs, it had still cost him a pretty penny. But it was worth every cent, he thought as he took in the changes that weeks of hard work and sweat had wrought.
The main area of the coffee shop was warm and inviting. Hardwood floors gleamed underfoot— a pleasant surprise that they’d found when they’d ripped up the old linoleum. Wainscoting adorned the bottom half of the wall, while a rich French vanilla cream color topped the upper half. Wood tables and chairs were scattered strategically around the room, while five cozy booths lined the far wall. The sinking February sun was shining in through the series of small windows that ran across the front of the shop. All in all, Lucas was pleased with the work that had been done and in such a short time.
Right now the space was filled with people, many of them long-time customers or suppliers, as well as a smattering of friends and neighbors who’d all come today to celebrate the finish of the renovations. Chatter filled the air as people drifted from group to group, talking and laughing and eating. He’d already replenished the buffet table twice and this crowd showed no signs of letting up. Good thing he’d made plenty.
“So, what do you think?”
Lucas recognized the arm that slipped around his waist and he automatically draped his arm across her shoulders as he looked down at the woman standing beside him. Until recently, there had only been two people on the face of the planet that Lucas considered family, and Katie Wallace, former employee and the sister of his heart, was one of them. Not related by blood, they had long ago decided they were family. But in the past year, that small circle had expanded to three and now included her new husband as well.
“Lucas?” She was frowning at him now, so he gave her a quick squeeze of reassurance.
“It looks good.”
She laughed, the sweet sound filling the room. “Honestly, could you tone down your enthusiasm?”
The corner of his mouth kicked up slightly as he glowered at her in mock anger. “All right,” he conceded. “I love it.” He gazed around the room again and his voice lowered. “I really love it.”
It was the first home he’d ever owned. And that’s what it was, really. He’d taken the main floor for the new shop, but the top floor of the modest three-story building belonged to him, and he was slowly renovating it to suit his own tastes and needs. The second floor had been gutted but still needed to be remodeled. He had plans to rent the entire floor either as office space or as two apartments. He hadn’t quite decided yet.
“I’m glad. You deserve to be happy.” She went up on her toes and kissed his cheek.
“Making time with my wife, Squires?” a male voice growled. Cain Benjamin was a huge man who stood well over six-and-a-half-feet tall. With a black patch covering his left eye and his long black hair flowing to his shoulders, he looked more like a pirate than a multimillionaire businessman.
Lucas just cocked his eyebrow at the large man who’d strolled over to stand beside them. “You treating her right?”
Katie laughed again and gave him another quick kiss before going over to slide into her husband’s arms. “Honestly, anybody listening to you two would think you couldn’t stand each other.”
Lucas was glad that Katie had found a man who loved her as much as Cain obviously did. Their relationship hadn’t been an easy one from the very beginning and for a while it didn’t look like they’d make it. They’d had more than their share of problems to sort through, but the big guy had finally come to his senses, and not a moment too soon as far as Lucas was concerned. Now the two of them were happy together and Lucas had found himself with an unexpected friend.
The ironic part of the situation was that it was Cain’s company that had bought the original building that had housed Coffee Breaks and had forced Lucas to look for another location. That had also caused problems for Cain and Katie when it had finally come out.
Lucas had thought about leaving Chicago altogether, but after much soul-searching he had decided to stay. After all, it was home. It had all ended for the best as far as Lucas was concerned. In fact, it was Cain who’d suggested this building to him.
“Congratulations, Lucas.” Cain extended his hand and Lucas reached out and shook it. The two of them were friends now. Katie had been the reason they’d met, but they had forged their own bond of friendship over the last year.
“Thanks.” The other man had helped him with much more than just finding the building. “For everything.” Lucas meant to continue, but his mind suddenly went blank, all thoughts forgotten, as the woman from his dreams walked in through the front door of his shop.
He blinked, certain he was dreaming. But she was still there, chewing on her bottom lip as she peered around the room, obviously searching for someone. As she opened her coat, slid it off and handed it to the person in charge of the coat-check he’d set up for the evening, his cock stirred and every male instinct he possessed began screaming at him to claim her before another man did.
Her cheeks were flushed from the cold outside and her lips were rosy. He couldn’t tell if the color of her lips was due to her lipstick or the fact that she was chewing nervously on them. Her hair was thick and curly, falling to just past her shoulders, and when she walked past the window, the fading sunlight made it glint. It was the color of a cinnamon stick. She was wearing a nondescript beige suit, which, in his opinion, was about two sizes too big for her. It hid her shape. But Lucas had always been a keen observer and this woman had some serious curves under that outfit. He’d bet on it.