CHAPTER 2

“Damn.”

Lexie Meyers, chef-owner of the LM Kitchen, didn’t even flinch as a huge tray of glassware slipped out of her teenage busboy’s hands and fell to the floor with a deafening crash. As nearby patrons gasped with shock, the culprit winced, looking utterly chagrined. Lexie just let out a deep sigh—and the strongest curse she could say in polite company—and signaled for Dennis to clean up the mess before bending down to help him.

It had been that kind of day already in Star Harbor, Massachusetts, and it was barely nine A.M. She’d needed to make a last-minute run to Martins’ Market because her supplier hadn’t delivered the vegetable shipment, which had put her at least half an hour behind schedule. Then both of her morning shift servers had called in sick, meaning that Lexie was the only one available to waitress. To top it all off, one of the gas lines to the stove had ruptured, making the unit completely inoperable.

Trying not to think that all of this was a little bit more than just bad luck—especially since she’d had the stove repaired just last week—Lexie scrambled to greet customers, make coffee, and take orders. It was frustrating to be short-staffed, particularly since it seemed like the whole town of Star Harbor had decided to have breakfast in her restaurant this morning. Not that she wasn’t thrilled about the business. But she would have loved a few minutes to breathe, especially since everything was just a bit off this morning.

Dennis’s broom scraped against the stone floor as he swept the smaller shards of glass into a plastic bin. Lexie had no time to worry about it. At least she’d had the time to get the bread and pastries baked before breakfast. Lexie did most of the baking herself, and the display case at the front of the restaurant was stuffed to bursting with freshly made almond croissants, cinnamon buns, morning rolls, and of course, her famous coconut cake. It wasn’t likely that anyone would order a piece of cake for breakfast, but it never hurt to showcase the treats. Besides, it might tempt people back for lunch.

Who was she kidding? She just wanted to show off her perfect coconut cake. The cake that put the Kitchen on the map. The cake that she hoped would one day make her a legend.

The bell on the front door jingled again. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cole Grayson, the new sheriff of Star Harbor, enter the restaurant. He was a good-looking guy—big hands, nice build—but she wasn’t into that whole man-in-uniform thing.

“Morning, Cole,” she said over her shoulder. “You on duty or do you want a table?”

“I’m not Cole,” the man responded in a low, deep voice.

Lexie quickly turned. The apology she’d been about to give caught in her throat. No, despite the strong resemblance, he wasn’t Cole. He wasn’t Cole at all. This man looked like he’d walked right out of one of her dirtiest fantasies.

He was tall, taller than Cole, which was saying something, since Cole stood well over six feet. Dressed all in black, he wore a leather jacket over a well-fitted T-shirt and slim jeans. He looked completely out of place in Star Harbor, a quintessential New England town where locals favored canvas barn jackets and waterproof boat shoes. Dominating the space around her, he simply stood there and let her stare. Lexie should have turned, should have stepped away, should have given herself some room to think, to breathe. But she couldn’t tear her gaze from him.

His hair was raven black, and though the thick mass was swept back, a long, wavy piece fell across his forehead. Refined, almost aristocratic features graced his face. He had a strong, elegant nose and a perfectly formed mouth with generously proportioned lips. Lips that were made for tasting. For devouring. Unconsciously, she leaned forward.

Despite the pull of those maddening lips, the most striking thing about him was his green eyes. The color of a stormy sea at dusk with flecks of glinting yellow, they made a fascinating contrast with his black hair and his light skin. His expression was both utterly masculine and devastatingly devilish.

Lexie blinked, trying to clear her mind. Though she knew she hadn’t met him before, he looked strangely familiar, and not just because he resembled Cole. She stared up at him, trying to place him. He stared back, those green eyes sizing her up. She could tell the moment his gaze morphed from one of curiosity into one of blatant interest. It was no less intense but infinitely more sensual. A tiny shiver of excitement crept up her spine.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked.

Lexie’s mouth went dry. Had they met before? Aside from in her dreams? Before she could even form a coherent thought, Cole Grayson walked through the door, followed by another similar-looking man.

“Morning,” Cole said with a slight smile. “I see you’ve met my brother, Seb.”

Cole’s easy tone snapped her out of her stupor. “Ah, yes,” Lexie managed to stammer, eyes still on Cole’s brother. “I just did. Welcome back to Star Harbor.”

“Thanks,” Seb said, never lifting his gaze from her. “It’s good to be back. Very good.” He smiled, displaying a beautiful set of straight, white teeth.

Lexie swallowed, desperately trying to get some moisture onto her tongue.

“And this is Theo,” Cole interjected, oblivious to the undercurrent running between her and Seb. Turning her gaze to the other men, her mouth opened in surprise. Cole’s brothers were twins. Theo was just as tall, dark, and handsome as his brother, but there were a few critical differences. He parted his hair on the left instead of on the right, and he wore a pair of wire-rimmed glasses. There was a slight crookedness to his nose, while Seb’s was still straight. Perhaps the biggest difference, though, was in their expressions—Theo looked polite, sedate even, while Seb was dark and brooding.

“Glad you’re finally getting to meet the rest of my brothers,” Cole said. “I think you missed them the last time they were in town. And you’re usually in the kitchen. What’s going on?”

She returned her attention to Cole. Leave it to the cop to notice that something had gone wrong. “You have no idea. But come on in, gentlemen,” she said, with an ease that belied the fluttering in her stomach. “Grab a booth, if you can find one. I’ll come around in a minute to tell you about the specials.”

“Thanks,” Cole said, ushering his brothers toward an open table. As soon as Seb moved away, Lexie could breathe again. She busied herself with a coffeepot for a moment, more to collect herself than anything else.

The last time she’d been so affected by a mere look it had gotten her into a whole lot of trouble. Trouble she wasn’t keen to rehash. She’d left Frank—fled from Frank, actually—leaving California far behind. Three thousand miles of distance had barely been enough for her to keep her head together and her body in check. She’d fallen for Frank hard. Too bad he’d turned out to be crazy. Literally. He’d made it nearly impossible to leave him, but she’d eventually skipped out, started a new life, and sworn off men. Especially men who had the ability to make her temperature rise with just a smile.

Steeling herself, she grabbed the coffeepot off its trivet. When she reached Cole’s table, she noticed that Val Grayson had joined them. Lexie had met Val within a month of moving to town. Like all the Grayson men, Val was large and powerful, but his sinewy strength was disguised by his loose garb. Lexie knew exactly how strong Val was because she’d once seen him catch in midair a seventy-pound flat of turnips that had fallen off the back of her delivery truck. He hadn’t even broken a sweat—he’d simply returned the flat to the truck’s bed like it was no big deal. Since then she’d made sure to serve him a bit more food on his plate every time he showed up at the LMK.

Val and Cole were absentmindedly thumbing through their menus—like many locals, they knew it by heart—but Theo and Seb were examining theirs more thoroughly.

Lexie swallowed hard. “Coffee?” she offered briskly, hoping they couldn’t hear the quaver in her voice.

“Yes please,” Cole said, flipping his cup over and pushing it toward her. Val followed suit, and Theo threw her a brief smile as he did, too. Seb was silent as he turned his cup over and shoved it to the edge of the table.

Lexie filled the four cups, her hand shaking a bit as she reached over the table. Then she began to rattle off the morning’s specials. “We have banana caramel French toast, which I highly recommend. Our omelet of the day is the Star Harbor special, with crabmeat, red peppers, and Swiss cheese. If you’re in the mood for pancakes, we have—”

“I’ll have a piece of the coconut cake,” Seb broke in.

“Sorry?” Lexie asked, once again lost in those amazing eyes.

“Coconut cake. I saw some in the display case. It looked incredible. It’s for sale, right?”

“Ye-es—” Lexie started slowly, trying not to sound like an idiot, “but our steak and eggs breakfast is great, and it comes with—”

“Coconut cake. That’s what I’m having. Theo,” he gestured to his twin without breaking eye contact with Lexie, “will take forever to order, so why don’t you just get me the cake now.”

He paused, then let his gaze drop from her face, run down her body in a leisurely fashion, and rise back up again.

As Lexie felt her cheeks warming, Sebastian gave her an utterly disarming half-smile. She simply stared at him, not sure whether she was more surprised that he’d zeroed in on the coconut cake, her pride and joy, or the fact that he’d blatantly scoped her out in front of his brothers. And at breakfast, no less.

Cole, Theo, and Val were all giving him dirty looks.

“Sebastian, don’t be an ass,” his twin hissed.

“What?” Seb said. “I’m not being an ass. I know what I want and you don’t, so she might as well bring me my cake while you all make up your minds.”

“I might have my mind made up if you’d let us hear the rest of the specials,” Theo muttered.

And as Lexie stared at him, it hit her. She knew exactly why the man looked so familiar. He was Sebastian Grayson, chef-owner of Helena in New York City. She remembered seeing a photograph of him in a Boston paper.

Lexie wanted to slap her forehead, knowing that she should have put two and two together. Of course he was related to Val and Cole. They had the same last name, the same looks. Close to the same voice, even. That low male rumble would have been ridiculous on a smaller man, but on this one, it fit.

As she mentally cursed Cole and Val for failing to mention that their brother was the Sebastian Grayson, Lexie wracked her brain for every shred of information she knew about him. Knowledge was power. If she was armed with information, maybe she could prevent herself from melting into a puddle of goo every time he looked at her.

The brothers’ voices broke into her thoughts.

“… and I say you’re being ridiculous, Seb. I want to hear the specials, and if you can’t be patient enough for all of us to order then you can go back to the boat and fix your own food in the galley.”

Lexie was rooted to the spot. She had to move, had to say something, had to do something.

“You know who I am now, right?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow at her and leaning back in the booth. Challenging her. Daring her.

A few long seconds passed before Lexie could will herself to speak. “Oh, I know who you are,” she said smartly, blinking away his gaze. “Sebastian Grayson. Born in Star Harbor. Nationally renowned chef. No formal training. Dropped out of college at age twenty-one to apprentice with Bobby Flay in New York City. Later apprenticed with Guy Martin at Grand Véfour in Paris. Returned to New York to open your own restaurant, Helena, named after your mother. Focus is on American food with a heavy French influence. You favor seafood entrées. Last year, you won the James Beard Foundation’s award for ‘Rising Star Chef of the Year.’ Recently got signed with the Cooking Channel for your own show.” Lexie ticked off the facts with precision. “Oh, and I’d like to add an additional credential to your already impressive résumé,” she said. “Unbelievably presumptuous.” When she was done, she placed her free hand on her hip. Knowledge was power.

Seb’s mouth dropped open. Deliberately, she stared him down, her cheeks burning. “I think the real question, Chef Grayson, isn’t whether I know who you are. It’s whether you know who I am!” And with that, she turned on her heel and briskly walked away, her apron strings swishing behind her skirt.

* * *

Dumbstruck, Seb could barely drag his eyes away from her tiny, curvy body. Her magnificent chocolate eyes, bright with anger, had been utterly mesmerizing against her creamy skin. And that beautiful little rosebud mouth, spouting off his culinary résumé like a television announcer? Fascinating. As far as a wake-up call went, she was better than coffee, any day of the week. His brothers burst out into huge guffaws.

“Oh, man,” Theo said, laughing as he pushed up his glasses. “You just got schooled.”

“And you deserved it,” Cole said. “You’d better go apologize.”

“What? What did I do?” He was remembering the loose curl that had come free from her twist, framing her face in a chestnut chin-length wave. “Why should I apologize?” Was this about the cake? He lived in New York City, for God’s sake. When you ordered in a restaurant, whether it was a five-star restaurant or a corner diner, you got what you wanted right away. He was just being decisive.

“Because she owns the place, idiot. And since I live in town now, I’d like to be able to come back here.” Cole crossed his arms under his chest and gave Seb a pointed look. “She’s the best chef in town.”

“Crap, she’s the owner?” Seb swore. “I thought she was just a waitress.” Not that it would have mattered.

“ ‘Just a waitress’? Will you listen to yourself?” Theo said angrily. “You’ve been working in Manhattan for too long.”

Seb looked back and forth between his brothers. The cop and the novelist. True to form, Cole was staring him dead in the eyes, as he typically did when he was angry. Theo, on the other hand, refused to meet his gaze. He wasn’t getting any quarter from either of them. He looked to Val for the final say. His brother’s cool, disapproving look spoke volumes.

Seb sighed. “Sorry. You knew what I meant. And it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a woman who’s put together like that.”

Theo rolled his eyes. “You really are an ass.”

“Don’t apologize to us. Apologize to Lexie,” Cole said.

Seb groaned. “Why didn’t you tell me she was the owner?” When Val’s lips formed a hard line, Seb knew there was no point in arguing. “All right, all right, I’m going. Think she’ll throw hot coffee in my face?”

“Only one way to find out,” Cole responded.

Seb began to slide out of the booth, but before he’d even reached the edge, Lexie was back at the table. Though she was still in high color, the spots on her cheeks had faded to a rosy pink and she’d swept the wayward curl back into her twist. She looked professional and composed, her chocolate-colored eyes evenly meeting his gaze.

“One slice of coconut cake,” she said, placing the plate carefully in front of him. When he didn’t immediately take a bite, she frowned.

“Well?” she asked, tapping her foot on the floor.

“Well, what?”

“Aren’t you going to try some?”

“Oh, yes. Yes, I am.” He was being granted a reprieve of sorts. He picked up his fork with his left hand and dug it into the cake. He placed a large bite into his mouth and chewed it thoughtfully. It was ambrosial—easily the best cake he’d tasted in months. Maybe longer. The crumb was moist with a deep coconut flavor that was enhanced with another flavor he couldn’t quite place. The coconut cream-cheese frosting was whipped to perfection, and it perfectly complemented the cake. “Mmm … delicious,” he said solemnly. Then he gave her a smile. “Really delicious.”

Lexie looked at him with an air of incredulity and raised one eyebrow.

“I swear I’m not lying to you.” Seb placed his right hand on his heart. “This is one amazing cake.” Then he took another large forkful.

Pursing her lips, Lexie addressed the other men. “Now, let’s try this again. What can I get you gentlemen for breakfast?” she asked.

Before his brothers could order, Seb spoke. “Lexie … I’d like to—”

“Apology accepted,” she said briskly, holding up a hand to signal that he should stop talking. “Cole?”

Cole took Lexie’s cue, giving her a small smile for having so effectively put Seb in his place. “I’ll have the Star Harbor special with hash browns and wheat toast, please. And some more coffee, when you get a chance.”

Lexie nodded and turned to Theo. “I’ll take the short stack. And could you please substitute fruit for the bacon?”

“No problem,” she responded. “And Val? You want your usual?” Val nodded. “Great. I’ll put your order in now. It’ll be a few minutes.”

After she left, Seb’s brothers all turned to look at him. “She’s gonna make you work for it, bro,” Cole warned.

Seb didn’t reply. He simply ate.

* * *

From across the room, Lexie studied Sebastian. Slowly, deliberately, he ate her coconut cake. Ignoring his brothers, he would take a bite, close his eyes, and chew, as if he were trying to make the experience last as long as possible. Lexie stared at the strong line of his jaw as it moved up and down. When he finished one bite, he took another, seemingly lost in pleasure. He looked blatantly sensual, as if he might devour more than just the cake. As if he were devouring a lover with those perfect, wicked lips. She tried to imagine the low moans of appreciation he might be making.

Her mouth grew dry again.

With difficulty, she dragged her gaze away and shook her head.

“Don’t go there,” she muttered to herself in warning. The last thing she needed was to encourage him. She didn’t have time to get wrapped up with Sebastian Grayson this morning. Or ever.

Star Harbor residents considered Lexie to be no-nonsense. Spunky. She didn’t feel so spunky at the moment. Deep inside, she knew that if she challenged this man, she’d lose. The thought made her feel oddly drained. He was pushing her close to her limits, but she wasn’t going to crack. She’d have to shut this thing down before it even got started.

The kitchen bell brought her thoughts back in line—their order was up. After picking up the waiting food, Lexie placed the steaming plates in front of Seb’s brothers. He was still eating the cake, one agonizingly slow bite at a time, his eyes closed in pleasure.

She needed to get this man out of her restaurant. Fast.

She prepared their check and brought it over to their table as soon as they were finished eating. “You gentlemen can pay when you’re ready,” she said, sliding it across the table toward Cole. Despite herself, she snuck a look at Seb, only to realize that he was staring at her. She felt her skin grow hot beneath his gaze.

“I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot. I just thought you were …” he paused deliberately, “someone else.” Then, he gave her a dangerous smile, small brackets forming around that delicious mouth.

Before she could stop herself, she smiled at him in return. Then her face froze as she realized what she was doing. Caught off guard, she began to stammer. “Ah, n-no worries. We’re good,” she managed to get out.

“I’m glad to hear it,” he said. Then he pointed to his empty plate. “This coconut cake is amazing.”

“Thank you,” Lexie responded automatically, relieved to move on to a safer topic.

“Do I taste almond extract in here? Is that what gives the flavor that extra depth?”

The corner of her lip curled up. “It’s a secret,” she said.

“Is your pastry chef here? Can we talk?”

“Oh, she’s here. But I don’t think she’ll tell you,” Lexie paused. “In fact, I’m positive she won’t.”

“Well, I’d like to talk to her all the same,” Seb pressed.

“You are.”

Sebastian gave a start, and then he laughed, a deep, low rumble. “Lady, you are full of surprises.” He smiled sexily at her. “And I like surprises.”

Before Sebastian could say anything else, Cole pressed several bills into her hand, effectively ending their exchange.

“All right, everyone,” he said briskly as he got out of the booth. “Breakfast was great. Keep the change, Lexie. We’ll get out of your hair now.” Cole shot a warning look at Seb. “Come on, guys.”

Lexie pocketed the money, making a mental note to thank Cole later for trying to keep his brother in line. “Val and Cole, a pleasure as always. Theo, nice to meet you. Chef,” she said, “I’m glad you liked the coconut cake.”

“Oh, I’ll be back for more,” Sebastian said, giving her a wolfish grin as he slid out of the booth. “You can count on it.”

He’d taken off his leather jacket at some point and the tight T-shirt he had on underneath left little to the imagination. It was stretched taut over his muscular chest, and every nuanced line in his arms was visible. He plucked his jacket off the seat and swung it over his shoulder. Theo slid out of the booth behind him, but she barely even noticed.

Sebastian placed his free hand on her shoulder, cupping it. Heat seemed to emanate from his fingers. She froze where she stood, her whole body on alert, her entire being focused on the place where their bodies were touching. When his thumb brushed a sensitive area on the side of her neck, a jolt of electricity flowed through her. A feeling much like panic rose up inside. But it wasn’t quite panic. It was something else. Something both dangerous and exciting.

“I’ll see you later, Lexie Meyers,” he said, letting her name play on his lips. He removed his hand from her shoulder, letting his fingers trail down her arm. When she shivered involuntarily, he smiled. A slow, masculine smile that spoke of dark promises. As if he knew that she couldn’t take her eyes off of him, he turned and sauntered lazily toward the door.

“Sorry,” Val muttered before stalking after Seb and Cole, Theo trailing behind. She watched their broad backs as they left the restaurant. The jingle of the door echoed her shaken nerves. Lexie let out a deep breath she hadn’t been aware of holding.

For her own sake, she hoped he didn’t come back.