Luke touched down lightly, cherishing the sensation of her lips, velvet and pliant. Abigail. Her breath hitched and her cheeks warmed beneath his fingers. Slowly he increased the pressure. A shiver of recognition ran through him, as if he’d found the key to a treasure he’d secretly longed for yet never expected to find.

Gently he parted her lips with the tip of his tongue. He tasted a sweetness, a promise of delights he’d only glimpsed in dreams, a richness to be savored, celebrated.

She moaned softly as he shifted the angle, taking his time, drawing out the pleasure. Slowly. Gently. The perfection, the absolute rightness stunned him. He paused, heart racing, and drew back to gaze at her flushed face, her moist lips.

Her lashes lay still, then fluttered upward to reveal eyes filled with wonder. Her gaze was so open, so vulnerable.

He tried to speak. Couldn’t. Cleared his throat. “That was...” He shook his head. “I didn’t expect…

“I know.” She sounded breathless.

His heart continued to pound. Every word, every gesture, was critical, as if he’d been given a package marked Handle with Care. “I don’t want to mess this up.”

“Me, either.”

Slowly he released her. “Then maybe we should—“

“Take a break?”

He nodded. “But I want to see you again. Soon.”

“Absolutely.” She started to get up.

He stood and helped her to her feet. “How’s Sunday?” His brain might resemble a jar of Mexican jumping beans but he was determined to have a plan before she left.

“I’ll need to do some baking in the afternoon, but my morning’s free.”

“Do you ride?”

“If I have a gentle horse. I haven’t been on one for a while, though, so I might be rusty.”

“We won’t push it, and Wild Creek Ranch is chockablock with gentle horses. Kendra and I were going out Sunday morning. Will you come with us?”

“I’d love to.”

“Great. We were planning to leave about ten if that works for you. But maybe you like to sleep in on your day off.”

She smiled. “Oh, I sleep in. I don’t get up until five on Sundays.”

“That late, huh? Lazybones.”

“In any case, I can be at the ranch by ten.”

“Then it’s a plan.” He fetched her parka from the coat closet near the door and held it while she slipped her arms into the sleeves.

Her warmth called to him. He longed to pull her close, but caution lights flashed in his brain. If he rushed this, he could ruin it.

Delilah roused herself and trotted over to the door, tail wagging.

Abigail crouched down and stroked the dog’s thick fur. “See you later, girl.” She glanced up at him. “Will you bring her on Sunday?”

“Definitely. She loves it.”

“I’m sure I will, too.” She stood, zipped her parka and put up the hood. “See you both Sunday morning. Thank you for dinner and—”

“The tour?” He smiled.

“Right.” Her attention lingered on his mouth and her breathing quickened. “And…everything. ’Bye, Luke.”

“’Bye, Abigail.”

But as she reached for the knob, Delilah blocked the door. “Omigod, that’s so sweet! She doesn’t want me to go.”

The dog must be channeling him. “Delilah, come.”

She surveyed them both before walking slowly to his side.

“See you soon,” Abigail murmured as she slipped through the opening and closed the door behind her.

The second she was gone, he missed her like the devil.

Delilah whined and gave him a sad-eyed look that said he’d screwed up. Now she had to make do with only one human instead of two.

“Yeah, well, you slept through the significant part of the evening, pup, so I can’t expect you to understand.” Outside, an engine started, revved up. Then the rumble gradually faded as Abigail drove away.

He took a deep breath. “And I have a call to make.” Carrying the tray of bowls and glasses into the kitchen, he located his phone and called Kendra.

She answered right away. “Hey, Luke! What’s up?”

“Not much. I didn’t know if I’d catch you on a Friday night.”

“You can catch me most nights unless the Whine and Cheese Club has called a meeting. What’s your excuse? You should be kicking up your heels at the GG right now.”

“Not tonight. Hey, I have a request regarding our ride Sunday morning.”

“Shoot.”

“Is it okay if Abigail goes along?”

“Of course. How experienced is she?”

“She’s ridden, but not recently. She’d need someone gentle, but all yours are well-trained. Any would work.”

“True, but Strawberry’s her best bet. I’ll make sure he’s available for Sunday morning. Same time?”

“Same time.” He hesitated. “How much do you know about her background?”

“Not much. Why?”

“Well, because both of her parents are gone and I—”

“Gone? You mean they died?”

“Yes, about five years ago. And she’s an only child. She used her inheritance to open the bakery.”

“I had no idea her parents weren’t alive! She’s so young to be on her own. What about grandparents, aunts, uncles?”

“She didn’t mention any. Not everyone has extended family who can step in.”

Kendra took a deep breath. “So true. I didn’t.”

“I know.”

“I didn’t realize we had that in common. I’m glad you told me.”

“She seems resilient, though. Like you.”

“You have to be. Either that or give in to victim mentality. I don’t see her that way, either. Listen, why don’t you guys stay for lunch? It’ll give me a chance to get to know her better.”

“Are you sure you have time?”

“I’ll make time, assuming she’s available.”

“Then I’ll ask and let you know. Lunch would be nice.”

“Everything going okay?”

He took a breath. “I think so.”

“I’m glad you’re bringing her on the ride. You have good instincts, Luke. Just follow them and you’ll be fine.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. See you Sunday.”

* * *

So much had happened since arriving at Luke’s house that Abigail was surprised it was only seven-thirty when she got home. Normally she went to bed by eight, but she was too wired tonight.

After hanging up her coat, she texted Roxanne and discovered she was giving Ingrid a foot massage. Roxanne told her to come on down.

She walked over to Roxanne’s, tapped on her door and went in. None of them locked up because the door at the foot of the stairs was all that counted. It had a steel core and a deadbolt. That was enough security for Eagles Nest.

Roxanne had pulled her mass of dark hair into a ponytail. She’d brought a kitchen chair in and positioned herself in front of Ingrid, who sat on the couch, her foot in Roxanne’s lap. She glanced over at Abigail. “Hey, girlfriend. Where’ve you been?”

“How do you know I was gone?” She pulled over a bean bag chair and settled into it.

“We checked.” Ingrid put down her mug on the side table. “Want some herbal tea? I bought some today and it’s very soothing.”

“No, thanks.”

“Then get Roxanne to massage your feet. She’s studied reflexology and she’s good at it.”

“I’ll bet she is, but I’m heading off to bed soon.”

Ingrid yawned. “Me, too. After this I’ll sleep like a baby. Did you go out to dinner?”

“Luke wanted to show me his house. We ate there.”

“Aha!” Roxanne switched to Ingrid’s other foot. “That sounds like it could have turned into something.”

Only the most incredible first kiss she’d ever encountered. Her mouth still tingled. He’d taken his time, as if he’d been granted a great privilege, as if he cherished every moment his lips were touching hers, as if nothing was more important than pleasing—

“Abigail?”

“What?” She blinked.

Ingrid was peering at her. “You left us for a while, there, girlfriend. Did something happen?”

“He kissed me.”

Roxanne rolled her eyes and sighed. “And it was awful. Sorry. Nobody that cute should be a bad kisser.”

“I don’t think he is bad, Rox. She was all dreamy and smiling when she took that little mental vacay.”

“Then I’m totally confused.” Roxanne studied her. “You were at his house and evidently he delivered on the first kiss. And that’s it? End of story?”

“We’re not rushing things.” It was too special to rush. She sighed. “I kind of wish he didn’t have to dig into my finances, though. There’s nothing romantic about that.”

“Does he have to dig into them?” Roxanne paused to pour a fragrant oil into the palm of her hand. “Couldn’t he just give you some marketing advice and let it go at that?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Abigail gazed at her friends. “It’s time I told you the whole story.” She stood. “But first I’ll fix some of that soothing tea.” This wouldn’t be easy, but Ingrid deserved to know. She was smart. She might already suspect.

Minutes later, armed with her drink, she sat in the bean bag chair and confessed the state of her finances and the sorry condition of her records.

“Oh, dear.” Ingrid looked stricken. “There were times I wondered how you were keeping track, but I was hoping…anyway, it doesn’t matter. Take back that raise you gave me when I started baking. I’ll be fine with what you were paying me before.”

Abigail shook her head. “I’m not reducing what I pay you. You earn every penny and then some. We’ll keep your paycheck as is.”

“But—”

“You’re not going to suffer because of my failings. I’ll fix this because it’s my fault for not being better organized.”

Roxanne paused the massage long enough to glance over at Abigail. “Does Luke know your records aren’t in order?”

“I’m sure he suspects, but we haven’t come to that point in the process. He’s not going to like what he finds.” A knot of anxiety in her stomach tightened.

“Do you think he’ll judge you?”

“Maybe.”

Ingrid picked up her mug of tea. “Just so you know, I don’t. You’re an awesome baker and you’ve never owned a business before. I understand how this could happen.”

“That’s very generous of you. But like I said, I’m not going to let this sink us. Luke won’t, either. He came up with another idea to boost revenue. I’m not sure it will work, but I—”

Ingrid sat forward. “What is it?”

“Specialty coffee.”

Her eyes widened. “Yeah? Would you do that?”

“Maybe. But I’ll have to buy some equipment and one of us will need to learn how to be a barista. And fast. That could get tricky.”

Ingrid grinned. “Got that covered.”

“What do you mean?”

“I already know how.”

“You never told me that!”

“No reason to. If you’d had a typical job application for me to fill out, you’d already know it.”

Abigail waved a hand. “Hate those things. Hate filling them out and hate reading them. I prefer just chatting with someone.”

“Me, too, but it meant you didn’t find out about my past job experience.”

“And you were a barista?”

“Yes, ma’am. And I’m damn good at it, too.”

“Hallelujah.”

Roxanne reached for a pair of warm socks and put them on Ingrid’s feet. “You’re done.”

“Thanks, Rox.”

“You’re most welcome. But now you need to put on your barista hat and help find a coffee machine.” She got up and crossed to her computer.

“I can do that.”

Abigail climbed out of the bean bag chair. “Just to get an idea, right? Tomorrow after I close up I can drive to Bozeman and buy something.”

“Not efficient.” Roxanne woke up her computer and turned back to Abigail. “You’ll use time better spent organizing your space to accommodate this new offering.”

“Yes, but I have to wait for it to get here.”

“Not long these days. I’m the queen of online shopping and we have our barista here to advise us. Together we’ll find you a great deal on the best machine with free shipping and fast delivery. See if we don’t.”

Abigail laughed. “Clearly I haven’t been making use of the resources at my disposal. That sounds awesome.”

“It will be.” Ingrid headed over to the computer desk. “Go get your credit card while we start looking.”

“Yes, ma’am.” By the time she returned, they’d found the perfect deal at the perfect price.

“It’ll be here Tuesday!” Ingrid looked like a kid on Christmas morning. “I can’t wait to get my hands on it. I love making all that fun stuff.”

“But when will you have time?” Abigail saw pitfalls everywhere. “You’re an apprentice baker.”

“So I’ll be super busy at first.”

“You deserve another raise.”

“And I’ll ask for one once everything settles down. In the meantime, I’ll train all of you on the machine so everyone can use it. Don’t worry. We’ll figure a way to cover our bases.”

“It’s worth doing.” Roxanne exited the site. “That’s about the only thing I’ve missed living here. Eagles Nest is ready for this.” She brought up a new screen. “Let’s design your coffee menu.”

The knot in Abigail’s stomach began to loosen. “You know what? This is going to work.”