Autumn Bliss (13 page)

When they exited the hardware store, she spotted Nash across the parking lot and waved. Seeing him reminded her of the previous morning, and while Levi swung the paint cans over the side of the bed of his truck, she asked, “Do you mind stopping at Josie’s Bakery Box? It’s on the way.”

“I know where it is.” Two minutes later, he pulled into a parking spot a half-block away from the bakery.

He moved ahead to open the shop door, and his hand touched the small of her back when he stepped aside for her to go first. Even just that light touch kick-started her pulse as the chime overhead announced their entrance. She happened to snag his gaze on the way past and swore she saw a flare of awareness in the depths of his eyes that were mostly brown this morning.

Mallory forced herself to keep moving and drew in a deep breath of heavenly decadence. God, she loved how it smelled in here, as if the oxygen itself was loaded with calories. She savored the sweet scents mixed with the aroma of fresh brewed coffee, thankful that wasn’t actually the case.

They were the only two customers at the moment, and her friend glanced up from behind the display cases.

“Hey, stranger.” Josie tossed her a smile as she set a bag of frosting next to the square cake she’d been decorating with impressive flair. She scooped up a towel to wipe her hands as she added, “I miss seeing you in the mornings.”

The greeting was for Mallory, but the redhead’s gaze flicked toward Levi with open curiosity.

“I know.” It’d only been a week, but she missed their quick morning chats, too. “That just means we need to plan a girls night out.”

The two-way kitchen door swung open, and Tessa carried out a tray of cinnamon rolls, her strawberry blond ponytail swinging with each step. “Girls night out? I’m in—especially if there’s karaoke.”

Mallory laughed at the younger Sullivan’s enthusiasm. “No. No more karaoke.”

“You had fun and you know it,” Josie teased.

“I did—what I can remember of it.” But she didn’t really want to get into that in front of Levi, so she turned toward him before one of her friends could embarrass her. “I don’t know if you’ve all met…Josie and Tessa Sullivan, this is Levi Jenkins. He and I work together at Whispering Pines.”

They exchanged greetings as Tessa switched the almost empty tray from the bakery case for the full one. “Josie owns the place, obviously,” she said. “I just help out the mornings I don’t have classes so she can catch up on orders.”

Josie’s gaze shifted back to Mallory. “So, what brings you by?”

The curiosity was back full-force, and Mallory knew she’d be getting a phone call later. “Breakfast.”

“You could’ve grabbed something from the shop at the lodge.”

“Yeah, but we were in town to pick up paint, so I thought I’d say hi.”

“Ah, ha. In that case, you picked the perfect morning.”

“Why’s that?”

“Uh-oh,” Tessa warned under her breath. “Run.”

“Shut up.” Josie gave her a light smack on the arm. Turning back to Mallory and Levi, she said, “I whipped up some mini-quiches that I want to add to the menu, and you guys can be my taste-testers. Give me one minute.”

She hurried into the back and Tessa grinned. “I was kidding. It’ll be fine.”

Mallory realized she was talking to Levi, who looked doubtful about what was to come. “It will be fine,” she assured him as the overhead door chime announced incoming customers. “Josie’s a genius in the kitchen.”

Her friend returned a moment later with two plates, forks, and napkins, then directed them to one of the mismatched coffee-table sets positioned near the windows. She waited for them to sit before placing the plates down.

Each dish contained 3 mini-pastries, and she took a moment to point and explain the first trio. “Quiche Lorraine with ham. Smoked gouda and portabella mushroom. Spinach and tomato.”

Mallory snuck a glance through her lashes at Levi. She bit back a grin at the wary look on his face. The names were a bit off-putting, but she had no doubt they’d be great.

“I need honest opinions here, so don’t worry about hurting my feelings,” Josie advised in a stern tone. “Once you’ve tasted the first three, I’ll tell you the next three. Go ahead and get started while I grab my notebook.”

She started toward the back, then swung around. “Oh, and coffee or milk?”

They both requested coffee, then Levi watched her leave while Mallory picked up her fork. She cut off a piece from the spinach and tomato quiche and gave it a try. Levi returned his gaze to her as she chewed.

“Mm, it’s good.”

He didn’t look convinced. “I’m more of a bacon and eggs guy.”

“Seriously?” She rolled her eyes when he didn’t pick up his fork. Cutting another piece, she lifted it and leaned across the table to offer it to him. “You used to handle bombs that could explode in your hands. Try it.”

Her direct order made his gaze narrow on hers. She wondered if she’d pushed too far, but after his attention flicked past her shoulder for a second, he leaned forward to accept the bite. The color of his eyes had taken on a greener hue and she couldn’t look away until Josie thankfully returned to the table with two cups of coffee, cream, and sugar.

“Well?” she demanded as she dragged a chair over from an adjoining table.

Mallory raised her eyebrows for Levi to go first.

“Not bad,” he allowed.

“I think it’s really good,” Mallory told her friend as she reached to try the second one.

They worked their way through the first three, then four through six. She didn’t have to feed any more bites to Levi—which would’ve been awkward in front of Josie. He tried each one without any more hesitation, and even went back to finish off the Lorraine, and the bacon and broccoli option. Of the six, they picked out three definitelys, one maybe, and a probably not.

Tessa had been taking care of the steady stream of customers that came in, but when the line built up near the register, Josie excused herself to help. A few minutes later, Mallory noticed the younger Sullivan was helping the last person in line and Josie had disappeared into the back.

Seizing her chance, she lifted her coffee cup and said to Levi, “I’m going to get a refill. Would you like one, too?”

He shook his head as he sat back. “I’m good, thanks.”

She slipped behind the serving area to pour the coffee just as Josie came back out of the kitchen. Her friend sidled up beside her.

“You sneak,” she accused in a low, teasing voice. “When did you start dating him?”

Mallory quelled the urge to look over at Levi and kept her own voice soft. “We’re not dating.”

“Right.”

“I’m serious.”

“If you’re not, you should be.” When Mallory shot her a look, she shrugged. “What? It’s been six months since Doug, Mal. Have some fun.”

Wouldn’t she love to do just that. Except with Levi, instinct told her fun wouldn’t be enough. “It’s more complicated than that.”

“Why?”

“My plans to leave Pulaski haven’t changed. I can’t just fool around with him and then go.”

“Then stay.”

It sounded so simple.
Stay
. She wasn’t sure if the resulting jerk of her pulse was due to hope or fear, and
that
scared her.

Stirring in the sugar she’d added to her cup, she shook her head. “Forget about me right now, I want to talk about you.” She glanced up, made sure Tessa was still occupied, then pushed past her hesitation. “Did you know Nash is in town?”

Josie’s blue eyes widened at the same time her face paled.

Mallory’s chest constricted in sympathy for her friend’s dismay. “Sorry, but I thought you’d want to know.”

“For how long?”

She reached out and put her hand over Josie’s where it rested on the counter. Giving a squeeze, she said, “He’s moving home, Jose. For good.”

Color flooded her friend’s face. Her eyes grew shimmery, but she quickly turned away. “Great. You’re gonna leave and he’s coming back.”

Mallory reached out to touch her shoulder. “What happened? Can’t you tell me after all these years?”

Josie shook her head as she reached up with a hand to wipe first one cheek, then the other. She wiped her hand on her apron, blew out a fortifying breath, and spun around with a determined glint in her eye. “You know what? It’ll be fine. I’ll deal with it. As busy as I am here, I probably won’t see him much anyway.”

Mallory pulled her into a hug, and Josie’s tight grip belied her bluster. Tessa cast her a questioning glance from over by the register, but she gave a small shake of her head as she whispered, “Let me know if you need to talk.”

“I will.” Josie eased back to offer a tremulous smile. “In the meantime, think about what I said about Mr. Sexy over there.”

Her hand closed around her cup as she eyed Levi across the bakery. His old, worn, paint-splattered jeans fit his bottom half as well as his snug T-shirt covered the top. And again, with the unbuttoned flannel and rolled up sleeves. Why’d she have to find his muscled forearms so damn hot?

She sighed. Didn’t matter how much she thought about Josie’s suggestion, nothing would change the fact she had to leave.

Chapter 15

Levi stood as Mallory scooped up her to-go cup and headed back to the customer side of the counter. The petite, redheaded baker was smiling, but she had a bleak look in her eye that he was all too familiar with. And he hadn’t missed the tears she’d brushed away. For all her bravado, whatever her and Mallory had talked about left her shook up.

“I suppose we better get going and get to work,” Mallory said to her friend. “Thanks for breakfast, and if I don’t see you before, I’ll see you at the festival, right?”

“Yes. I’ve already got twenty entries for the pie baking contest. Twelve for apple, and eight for pumpkin. Everyone who enters has to bring three pies. One for judging, and two to slice up and sell for the lodge.”

“Awesome.”

Josie turned her attention to him. “It was nice to meet you, Levi. I appreciate you two being my guinea pigs.”

He nodded to both sisters, and thanked Josie for the food before moving ahead of Mallory to get the door. Pitching his voice low, he asked, “Everything okay?”

She shrugged and glanced back one last time before exiting onto the sidewalk. “She and Nash Riley have a past, but she’s never told me what actually happened between the two of them. She didn’t know he was moving back.”

“I imagine that makes it hard to help if you don’t know how.”

“Yeah. All I can do is let her know I’m here for her if she needs me.”

Levi contemplated her last comment on another quiet drive back to the lodge. He didn’t talk about what had happened to him during his last tour because he didn’t want anyone’s pity. But maybe they hadn’t been looking to feel sorry for him when they offered to talk. Maybe they were doing what Mallory did for her friend—letting him know there were there should he need them.

She’d done the same for him last night when she’d taken his hand and not asked outright what had happened. For the first time since coming home, he felt like there may come a time where he might actually want to open up.

He parked the truck outside her cabin, then got out and reached into the back to gather the buckets of supplies he’d loaded at his cabin earlier that morning. She met him on his side and grabbed the two cans of paint while he brought the buckets with the rollers, brushes, tape, and drop cloths. He made a second trip out for the step ladder and paint pans, and carried them into the larger of the two bedrooms.

Squatting down, he began unpacking one of the buckets.

“I can do this myself, you know.”

After a quick glance to find her watching him from the doorway, he set aside a package of rollers to dig for the edging tape. “I know.”

“I mean, you don’t have to feel like you
have
to stay.”

“I don’t.”

“Or that it’s your job,” she continued. “If you’ve got other things to do, feel free to go.”

With one hand gripping the top edge of the bucket, he braced his other forearm on his knee and turned his head to look at her. “Do you want me to leave?”

Indecision made her brown eyes look very dark, even with the sunlight pouring in through the window. Then she stuffed her hands into her back pockets and shrugged. “It’s just…it’s been weird this morning.”

Because he’d spent half the night staring at the ceiling trying to figure out what the hell he was doing. First chance she got, she’d be gone. Even now, the thought of it put an ache in his chest, especially after the connection he’d felt during their walk. He feared allowing himself to get too close because he’d never be able to ask her to stay, not after what she’d told him about her mother.

So, where did that leave him?

Dry-mouthed and tongue-tied. And then she’d given him that
really
chipper
good morning
, as if something was wrong but she had to pretend everything was just fine.

He used the bucket to push to his feet. “I’m sorry. I haven’t done this—” He motioned back and forth between the two of them. “—in a long time. I’m a little rusty.”

“What exactly is
this
?”

He swallowed hard. “Getting to know someone.
Wanting
to get to know someone.” He glanced sideways at the painting supplies, then raised his gaze to hers. “But if you want me to go, I’ll go.”

His honesty didn’t appear to have eased her mind. If anything, she looked ready to bolt the other direction.

Good. Run away.

“No. If you really don’t mind, I appreciate the help.”

The tension in his shoulders eased a bit. “Then I’ll stay.”

“Okay. I’m going to change into some work clothes.” She gave him a quick smile, then left the room.

Her smile was as confusing as his see-sawing thoughts. He frowned at the empty doorway in consternation before turning back to setting up.

“You want something to drink?” she called from the kitchen.

“Maybe later.”

When she returned, he glanced over, paused, angled in her direction, and did a covert double take. She’d pulled her dark hair back into a couple messy pig-tails and covered it all with a purple bandana tied at the nape of her neck. How was it possible she could look so cute and yet unbearably sexy at the same time?