Bad Taste in Men (Clover Park, Book 3) Contemporary Romance (The Clover Park Series) (9 page)

His blue eyes with gold flecks looked at her in concern. “You okay, Rach?”

She swallowed hard and wished for a cold splash of water to bring her back from this overheated place. Maybe she was even, embarrassingly enough, blushing. She almost never blushed. It was a point of pride for her. She’d been blushing way too much in front of Shane. It was like he’d contaminated her with his own bad habit.

“My blood sugar’s low,” she snapped. “It took you forever to get here.”

He raised a brow. She snatched a slice of pizza and took a bite.
Hot!
She spit the scalding cheese into her hand and immediately regretted it. “Ah!”

She dropped the scalding blob of cheese on the counter. Wasn’t she such a catch? Check out my spit-out food!

Shane pulled a napkin from the bag and handed it to her. “Slow down. That’s fresh from the oven.”

She hid the cheese in the napkin while she chugged the water, her eyes tearing from the pain of her poor scalded tongue. She swore she burned off half her taste buds with that idiot move.

Shane set out paper plates and napkins from the bag. “There was a long line for takeout. That’s why I was a little late.” He opened the box and pulled off a slice of pepperoni, leaving it to cool in the box. “Saturdays are busy for Joey’s Pizza just like for the rest of us.”

Unfortunately Saturday was not busy for Book It. They’d sold exactly three books today. People were too busy in the summer going to the beach and stopping for pizza and ice cream on the way home. No one wanted to hang out in her store, but now with a café, that would all change.

He joined her behind the counter and pulled up a cushioned stool. “How’s the ankle?”

“Better. The swelling’s gone.”

He smiled. “Good.”

She watched him pick up the slice and take a bite. He inclined his head for her to eat too. She picked up the slice from hell and took a careful bite. Cooler. Too bad she couldn’t taste it with her taste buds gone, but…whatever.

Business, Rachel. Keep your head in the game.

“Did you have a chance to read the business plan?” she asked. “I mean, I know you were busy with Janelle last night.”

Shut up! It’s none of your business.

He tilted his head to the side, studying her. “I squeezed it in. It looks great. You covered all the bases, except the product, but that’s why you have me.”

She smiled. She’d planned to ask him to help with the menu, but this was even better, having him on board as an equal partner. She loved his baking. Everything he made was sinfully delicious.

“Do you think we should have sandwiches and wraps or just baked stuff?” Rachel asked.

“To start, we should stay small. Sandwiches and wraps would take more staff, more inventory, and more refrigerated cases.”

“I do have a glass refrigerated case the previous owners left behind.”

“Good. We’ll keep snacks and desserts in it. Small impulse buys like apple tarts, blueberry scones, sweet breads that change with the seasons, brownies, cookies, mini-cupcakes, biscotti. Maybe some cheese danishes.”

She nodded and took another bite of pizza, suddenly starving with the idea of all that mouth-watering goodness. After she chewed, she said, “Do I get to sample the food before we decide what to sell?”

“Absolutely.”

He opened up a bottled water, and she watched his Adam’s apple go up and down.

She cleared her throat. Might as well deal with the elephant in her head. “Janelle said she had a good time at dinner last night.”

“Yeah, it was nice.”

“Nice,” she echoed. What did that mean? Nice as in, let’s hop in bed together, nice as in, it was okay once, but let’s not see each other again? Nice could mean anything!

Shane continued eating, unperturbed.

“Are you going to see her again?” she asked as she concentrated on folding her napkin into perfect squares.

“She said you invited her to the barbecue on Sunday, so I guess I’ll see her then.”

Rachel barely resisted smacking her forehead. She’d forgotten she’d invited Janelle to the O’Hare family barbeque before she’d pawned her off on Shane for a date. “Good, that’s good. Fantastic. So…yeah.”

She shoved more pizza in her mouth.
Shut up, Rachel. You sound like an idiot.

“I’ve got a good supplier for appliances,” Shane said. “I’ll bring my espresso machine, coffee brewer, and a couple of grinders from my shop, but I think we should have another coffee brewer and grinder for flavored coffees.”

That was a good savings right there, using the machines that Shane already had. “Do we have to have flavored stuff? It would be great to keep our expenses super low.”

“Believe me, you’ll want the flavored stuff. A lot of people asked for it at my shop, but I just didn’t have the space for another machine. Now we can go big. Do it right.”

“I defer to your beverage wisdom.”

He grinned. “Have you checked the electrical and plumbing in the space?”

“I wouldn’t even know what I was looking at. I did sign the lease yesterday. We’ve got ninety days rent-free to get us going.”

“That’s great!”

“It’s only because the realtor was desperate to get someone into that space. I was the only interest they had in the four months it was on the market. And they know I always pay my rent on time.”

“You got the keys?”

“I do.”

“Let’s check it out when we’re done eating.”

“Okay.”

He lifted his bottled water in a toast and gave her a dazzling smile. “To tasty adventures to come.”

Tasty! And did he put special emphasis on come? She squirmed in her seat. It definitely sounded dirty. She met his eyes dancing with laughter, and for the first time ever with Shane, felt a little off-center and out of her depth. He didn’t feel like her rock; right now he felt like a buzzing light and she was the moth. But, if she got too close, zap! Game over.

Moth, really, Rach?
The literary symbolism was not lost on her. Metamorphosis, transformation, yada, yada, yada. She still wasn’t going to sleep with him no matter how hot he’d recently become. Hmm…maybe he was the one transformed. Maybe Shane was the moth. Augh!

She hastily lifted her water bottle and bumped it with his. “To tasty adventures,” she blustered.

He drank and watched her over his bottled water.

She went back to her pizza, ignoring the unsettling feeling of being watched. He was interested in Janelle. Building a business together would only work with solid, rock-hard, um, boundaries. With that thought firmly in mind, she launched into a long, detailed description of projected income and expenses for the café that would’ve made most people’s eyes glaze over, but Shane kept up surprisingly well. He even added expenses she hadn’t thought about, like flooring that wouldn’t stain, tables that were easy to clean, and lighting that was both decorative and inviting.

They finished eating and walked next door to the abandoned deli that would soon be their café. She unlocked the door and flipped on the lights. Not much to look at, but it was a start. A long counter with a deli case, a cooler for drinks, six small square wood tables with wood chairs.

Shane walked behind the counter and looked around. “We need more voltage to run the machines. I’ll call an electrician.” He squatted down and opened up some cabinets. “Gonna need a plumber. I want in-line water for a direct feed to the brewing machines.” He opened the rest of the cabinets. “We need a water softener too. We’ve got hard water around here, and it makes a big difference in the flavor of the coffee. Plus you don’t want mineral deposits clogging the espresso machine.”

Dollar signs tallied in Rachel’s mind. She wasn’t going to argue. Shane knew what he was doing, and she didn’t want to be penny wise, dollar foolish. They had to invest in the beginning for it to pay off in the long run.

Shane continued. “I want a good flow for the customers and the staff working behind the counter. We’ll extend the counter and wrap all the way around to here.” He gestured where he wanted the L-shaped counter.

More dollar signs.

“That seems unnecessary,” she said. “We already have a perfectly good counter. It worked for the deli.”

“No, it didn’t work for them. They went out of business. It’ll look better if we just add an all-new counter. Laminate is best so it doesn’t absorb stains. Or maybe granite. And we need part of it to be lower to accommodate the disabled.”

“A granite counter!” she exclaimed.

He ignored this. “We’re also going to need two sinks behind the counter. One against the wall for hand-washing and the other up front for a quick rinse or anything else we might need.”

“More expensive plumbing,” she muttered.

He planted his hands on his hips. “We’ll need more cabinets, more shelf space. All this stuff matters. You have to be organized in the prep area to keep inventory fresh and your staff efficient. The more efficient the staff, the more people you can get through here ordering food and drinks.”

She blinked. Bossy Shane was making a reappearance. So, okay, food was his domain, but they were equal partners, and she didn’t want to spend unnecessarily. She went behind the counter and took in all the cabinets. “We’ve got plenty of cabinet space. We don’t need more.”

“We do need more.” He opened a few cabinets. “Look at this. Just one big space. No shelves at all. We need shelves. And more cabinets. I know what will work and what won’t. And this won’t.”

She tensed, not liking the way Shane was taking over with all his opinions that would cost them serious money. It killed her not to have the upper hand, being inexperienced in the food business. This whole thing would be a huge adjustment for her, being partners, being indebted to him. She was used to doing everything herself and paying her own way. She couldn’t wait to pay him back for her half of the partnership. But he’d signed the papers. They
were
partners. He wasn’t the boss. She was done with bosses.

He regarded her steadily. She took a deep breath and nodded once, letting him have this one.

She walked out from behind the counter and looked around the space. The walls had tan wallpaper, the floors a dinged-up linoleum. She imagined a literary theme. Some book cover posters on the walls. The walls would be a deep red with floating shelves featuring first editions and the classics. Some golden sconces and a pair of cushioned leather reading chairs thrown in with the existing square tables. Maybe some comfortable cushioned chairs to go with the tables instead of those hard, wood chairs.

Shane joined her in the center of their would-be café. “I’m thinking a deep red paint on the walls.”

She turned, eyes wide. “Me too.”

He smiled and threw an arm over her shoulders. “All right, partner.”

She caught herself smiling, all cozy with his arm around her. She shifted away. “My ankle’s bugging me. I’d better sit down.”

She sat down at a table, and he joined her.

“I’m torn between a laminate wood floor or black and white ceramic tiles,” he said. “What do you think?”

“Ooh, a dark laminate floor. That would be nice. And some framed posters of book covers of all the great classics.”

He smiled. “I like it.”

“And hanging lights with pretty sconces.”

“Maybe some gold tones.”

“Yes!”

They smiled at each other. Their eyes locked, and she found herself unable to look away.

Shane stopped smiling. “Rach?”

She swallowed hard. “Yeah?”

He leaned forward and lowered his voice, though they were alone. His large, warm hand covered hers, and heat rushed through her. “If you don’t want me to see Janelle again, I won’t.”

She pulled her hand away and quickly removed her glasses, cleaning them on the bottom of her shirt. “Don’t be silly. You can see whoever you want. Janelle likes you. Go for it.”

He leaned back and crossed his arms. His newly muscular, sculpted arms. They were a little out of focus, but they were there, right in front of her, taunting her.

“If that’s what you want,” he drawled.

She shoved her glasses back on. “I have nothing to do with it. That’s between you and Janelle.”

He shook his head. “You are so damn…” His mouth clamped shut.

Her eyes widened. He actually sounded mad at her. Shane hardly ever got mad. “So damn what?”

“Difficult.” His chair scraped back as he stood. “I’m going to check out the back storage area.”

“Okay.” Rachel stayed right where she was. “I’m not trying to be difficult,” she called after him.

She heard something slam in the back. He
was
mad.

Geez. She wasn’t the one going out with Janelle. He could’ve said no. She traced a circle on the tabletop, and the image of petite, blond Janelle being carried in Shane’s arms, smiling and laughing, came to her unwarranted. She stood abruptly, knocking over her chair.

“You okay?” Shane called.

“Everything’s fine!” she hollered.

He stepped out to see for himself, glowered, and went back to the storage area.

Everything was fine. If Shane wanted to carry Janelle around, even though Janelle didn’t even have a sprained ankle or any valid reason like that, Rachel certainly had no right to complain about it, now did she?

Chapter Eight

Shane was sweating, down by ten points in basketball against Ry, and wishing Trav was back from his honeymoon so he could take his place. Shane glanced at the patio, where Rachel, Liz, and Janelle were sitting under a patio umbrella talking to Gran at their Sunday family barbecue at Ry’s place. Yup, Rachel sitting there was the only reason he’d even attempted the game. He sucked at ball sports, something that always made him feel separate from the other boys as a kid, especially when his older brothers were such athletes. When word got out in town that he was the one baking all the delicious food at church events, he’d taken a lot of teasing from the boys at school. And when he said nothing in return, the teasing escalated to punching by one particularly nasty bully and his two mindless friends until one day Shane felt forced to fight back. Luckily, he was big enough to defend himself and Ry had taught him how. He hated fighting, but no one messed with him after he’d kicked the ass of the ringleader.