Chapter 3
Willa
I WAS SWEATING by the time I got back to the bakery.
Not just because of the hot concrete jungle of the city, but the sexy winery owner had my entire body on fire.
I stopped in front of the bakery just to catch my breath.
Holy hell.
I'd never actually been to a winery and had no idea what to expect, but I didn't expect an urban oasis owned by a guy with killer blue eyes and tattoos peeking out of the sleeves of his button-down shirt. It was like he jumped right out of some hipster fantasy that I didn't even know I had. But I knew that I had to get the thoughts of him out of my head.
He was a client of my new boss, the first person to actually help me out in this new city. I couldn't screw that up by fawning over a client like some teen girl with a crush.
What would Kurt Remington do?
He'd probably ignore all the feelings.
That's right. He'd probably channel all the pent up sexual frustration into one hell of a thriller, so that's what I'd do.
I took a deep breath and wheeled the bike to the back, gated area, locking it on one of the racks before walking up to the second floor.
I unlocked the door and inhaled the sweet scent of berries.
But it wasn't just the smell that had my eyes widening, the entire room had transformed!
Instead of the bare yellow walls and an old dusty couch, there was now a full room of furniture. A large full-size bed sat along the wall with a beautiful Moroccan inspired comforter over it. The dusty couch was replaced by a plush, red love seat that faced a brown stand made of reclaimed pallets that held a TV.
The walls were covered in different eclectic pictures from places around Brooklyn, but that wasn't the best part.
Facing the window was an oak secretary desk, stacked with a few composition notebooks and various pens.
It was like my dream place came to life. Even better than my failed Craigslist ad.
"You're back!"
I whirled around to see Leanna, holding a crate of mason jars with a broad smile on her face.
"Did you do all of this?"
She nodded, setting the crate down on a small rack near the kitchen, which I now noticed was full of different baking supplies.
"Well, Natacha helped too. My boyfriend has a large family, so I asked if they had some extra furniture and Natacha's husband has a penchant for photography. I thought you needed a place that felt like home if you were going to be working and living out of here. I can't expect you to make jam in a place that you hate."
I didn't know if I was breaking some kind of business code but I wrapped my arms around Leanna and she let me, hugging me back. "Thank you, so much. For everything. This is amazing."
She smiled, looking at me as I let go of her. "It's no problem! I couldn't imagine living out here and not knowing anyone! I just wanted you to feel comfortable before I put you to work on jam making!"
I peered around the corner to the kitchen where a stock pot was on the stove along with various other utensils I wasn't familiar with.
"You want to start cooking tonight?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Leanna tossed her long brown hair over her should. "I thought we would. Don't tell me that you already made other plans in the few hours you've lived in the city?"
I looked down, tracing the lines of the wood floor with my foot. "Well, the winery owner kind of invited me to the event at his place tonight. I don't have to go, though. That's probably totally unprofessional."
Leanna grabbed my arm. I was forced to look up to meet her bright brown eyes and smiling face. "Oh my god, Willa! That's awesome! And Justin is such a cutie! You have to go!"
I felt the heat rise to my face. The man was more than cute, he was a bonafide sexpot. There were things I wanted to do that involved him wearing nothing but that bowtie.
Not that I was much in the romance or men department. My luck with boyfriends was about as good as my luck with finding apartments. I'd think they were great until we actually started going somewhere. Then I would see that what seemed like a great thing was a joke and I'd go back home, alone.
Leanna shook my arm. "Oh my gosh! You're totally blushing! You have a crush!"
I pulled my arm away and frowned like a pouty kid. "I do not."
"You do too!" she teased.
I sighed. "Okay, maybe I think he's a little attractive, and sweet and..."
She laughed. "I knew it! Screw jam! We need to get you looking hot tonight!"
I blinked. "But what about work? What about you teaching me to make jam?"
She shook her head. "We can do that tomorrow when you're telling me all the details about your date, but for now we need to find you the perfect thing to wear. Justin isn't going to know what hit him!"
***
Leanna practically had a second closet in her van. Albeit, she was in the middle of moving to the Cape for the summer, but I had a feeling that with her carefree attitude, this was just part of the norm.
She pulled out a light blue dress with a low neckline that looked almost tie-dyed. It looked like Leanna.
"This. This is the dress you should wear tonight." She held it up.
We stood outside of the bakery, rifling through her van.
I shook my head. "I don't think I could pull that off."
I was short like Leanna, but while she was petite with curves in all the right places, I was more like the Skipper to her Barbie with pale skin to her tan and mosquito bites for boobs.
She smiled before digging through the back of the van and emerging with a very padded white bra. "Then you wear this!"
My eyes widened. "Why the hell would you need a padded bra?"
She laughed. "It was a white elephant gift at one of my boyfriend's family Christmas parties. They're really a hoot. You're going to have to meet them sometime. You'll love them!"
"Oh. Yeah. I guess I will someday." I forced a smile. I didn't know a single person who loved their significant other's family that much. They had to really be something special.
"Okay, now let's get you ready. It's your big New York debut!" She linked my arm through hers as we headed up the stairs.
I smiled, even though I was nervous and had no idea what to expect, but somehow I knew it was going to be a good night.