Walker barely mumbled a hello to Jaylyn the next morning as she handed him a warm thermos filled with coffee and a muffin for the road. He would be at the restaurant most of the morning, training the new staff and praying for that phone call saying he finally had the kitchen crew he needed to open. He was all nerves as he drove to the restaurant, but when he pulled into the lot, the manager he’d hired was there to greet him, a wide smile on his face.

“Clarence, you appear in a right good mood,” Walker said as he reached him.

“As you will be when you join me inside.”

Walker frowned but followed the manager inside and was greeted by a man in a white chef’s coat and six others standing behind him. He held out his hand and Walker shook it. “I’m sorry, who are you?”

“Name’s John, and I heard you’re in need of a new cook,” he said. “We’re looking for a new kitchen to stretch our legs in.”

“You are very welcome to work here,” Walker said. “Have you seen the kitchen yet?”

He spent the rest of the morning showing the man and his crew around and getting them set up. John said he knew the menu well, knowing Jaylyn and her father, but told Walker if he wanted to update or change anything now was the time.

“I’ll leave that to your expertise. I think you’d know what the Wilsons would want for a good summer menu.”

“That I do,” he agreed.

“Then if you’re all set, I think I’ll take care of some other business. Clarence? Call me if you need anything.”

“Where are you rushing off to?”

“Paperwork for here and the lodge, and designs for signs and logos, need to be approved. My office for all of that is at home,” he said with a smile, knowing who else was at his home right now. “See you tomorrow!”

Normally, he would’ve brought all his paperwork there and worked from the restaurant, but now that he had a full kitchen crew, his stress level halved and he decided that spending the day working from the comfort of his office would be a nice change of pace. Jaylyn being at the house was a bonus. When he pulled up to the house, he saw her in her truck, slamming her hands against the steering wheel. He parked his car on the drive and strolled to her driver’s side, knocking on the window.

“Why are you home?” she asked as she rolled down the manual window, a testament to the age of the truck.

“I thought I would work from here today because, thanks to you, I finally have a fully staffed kitchen. Thank you, really.”

“You’re welcome. Who is it?”

“John.”

“Perfect. He’s a good guy and I trust him not to let the food go to shit.”

“Yes, I got that vibe as well.” He glanced at her forced smile and her purse on the passenger seat. “Are you having problems with your truck?”

She shrugged. “If you mean will the old thing not start, then yes, I’m having some issues.”

“Where are you headed? I’ll take you.”

“I have to go to the market, but you have work to do. It’s fine, I’ll get her to work.”

“Seriously, I can drive you.”

“No, Walker. When I said the market, I meant the farmer’s market that’s an hour and a half away,” she argued, but he was already walking away. “Walker!”

“If it’s that far, then I suggest we hurry so we can get back in time for dinner.”

“Walker!”

He ignored her and climbed into his truck, waiting for her to join him. She gave up and opened the passenger door of his truck. “You’ll have to give me directions.”

“You’re impossible, you know that?” She took his phone and typed in the address of the market, handing it back with a huff of annoyance. “If you don’t get your work done today, you can’t blame me.”

“Can’t I want to spend a nice day outside instead of trapped in my stuffy office?” He grinned as he started the truck, but when their eyes met, a curiosity flickered to life in her gaze and he wanted to lean across the console and taste those lips he bet still had coffee on them, or maybe whatever sweet thing she cooked for breakfast.

“We won’t get very far if you don’t drive,” she told him, her voice rough.

“Right, driving. Let’s go to the farmer’s market.”

“Have you ever been to one?”

“I can’t say that I have. I’m a farmer’s market virgin.”

She smirked and settled back in the passenger seat for the long drive.

* * *

Jaylyn expected the car ride to be boring, but as with every conversation with Walker, it was comfortable. They talked about the new cook and what she expected from him. Then talk moved to the lodge and how it was coming along until they shared stories from their school days and learned more and more about the other. When she’d taken this job, she’d been so bitter and ready to hate this man on principle, but the more time she spent with him, the harder it was to think badly about Walker. He was nothing like his dad, and for that, she was grateful.

“Wow,” he said as they pulled into the lot and he parked. “Is it always this crazy?”

“This is the first week it’s open,” she explained and climbed out. “They’re open every morning during the first week and then it’s only on Saturdays.”

He followed her into the large lot filled with booths and tents for the local farmers selling their produce and other goods. He was like a kid in a toy store for the first time. She even had to grab him and drag him to different booths.

“I have a budget to stay within,” she reminded him when he stopped at a booth with incredible cuts of meats.

“Budget? What budget?” His eyes widened. “No, you’re not paying for this out of pocket! Why didn’t you tell me to work out a shopping allowance for you?”

“It’s not that big a deal,” she tried to tell him, but he shook his head.

“Nope, everything is on me from now on, so whatever you want to get, buy it. And no arguing.”

She was about to do just that, but if he wanted to buy all the food for her and the house in general, there was nothing she could do to stop him. They stopped at almost every booth then, buying ingredients she had only dreamed of working with, along with specialty cheeses, wines, a good bottle of whiskey, and several pounds of bacon and steaks. When they couldn’t carry any more, they found a booth towards the end near the parking lot where tables were set up for people to sit down and eat the hot pretzels and cheese, all made fresh.

“I think you should bring me here every weekend,” he said, sitting across from her at their tiny table and watching the other people enjoying the market.

“I didn’t think you’d have so much fun here.”

“What’s not fun about this? The people, the food.”

“Yeah, you’re going to be my guinea pig from now on.”

“I think I can live with that,” he replied, smiling as he took another huge bite of his pretzel.

They ate in comfortable silence, but Jaylyn could tell from the way he kept fidgeting he wanted to ask her something. She could’ve been nice and helped him, but she honestly had no idea what would come out of his mouth.

Instead, she asked her own question. “How many times have you hidden in the pantry from your dates?”

He swallowed his food and picked at the rest of his pretzel. “More than I should have, honestly.”

“If you don’t like them, why not simply tell your dad?”

“I tried that when we first started this arrangement,” he told her, “but he ignored my complaints and said I needed to grow up and accept my responsibilities.”

“For what? Being unhappy for the rest of your life?”

He shrugged, nodding his head. “You might not be able to tell, but once upon a time, my father was happy. He actually smiled and laughed, but he changed. No matter what I do, I can never get the old Leo Allard back.”

Jaylyn almost couldn’t believe that man had ever been anything more than an ass. “What happened?”

“My mum had cancer and died,” he said with a sad smile. “Everything changed after that. I was young when it happened, and I didn’t know what to do, but my father…he shut down.”

After meeting Leo briefly that one time, she expected to hate him for what he’d done. But learning how he lost his wife, that he went through the same thing her parents were going through at this very moment, made her sympathetic towards his behavior. Slightly. She wasn’t about to give him a hug the next time she saw the man, but part of his behavior could be explained now.

“I’m sorry you lost your mom, but losing his wife doesn’t give him the right to make you marry someone because it’ll better the family name or whatever.”

“No, but if it makes him happy knowing his son has a secure future, I can at least give him that peace of mind.” He rapped his knuckles on the table and opened his mouth, shut it again, and shook his head.

“What? I know you want to ask something.”

He picked at the plastic edge of the table nervously, avoiding her gaze. “I want to make sure you’re happy with your job and living at the house.”

“It’s only been two days,” she reminded him.

“I know, but being happy is important.”

He wanted to say more, she saw it plain as day on his face, but he left it at that. “Yes, I’m happy.”

“Good. That’s good to hear.”

She checked her cell and frowned at the time. “We’ll be late for dinner if we don’t leave now. You have another date tonight—Helena, right?”

“Yeah. Helena.”

They packed up the purchased items in the truck. The car ride back to the house was tenser than the ride there, but Jaylyn couldn’t think of anything to say to break it. She knew what she hoped was bothering him, but she wasn’t going to get close to that potential complication. Walker was a hard man not to like, and lately, she found herself waking from very vivid dreams of her and him together. As the house came into view, she tucked those dreams away again and focused on her job and nothing more.

Douglas greeted them when they arrived at the house, and Jaylyn busied herself with putting away the groceries and figuring out dinner while Walker headed upstairs to change.

All evening, she told herself to stop thinking their relationship could be more than what it was—employer and employee. He was meant to marry a woman his father chose, not her. She would never be good enough, not a chance. All she wanted from Walker was her restaurant. If she could get that, she would be able to move out and leave him and this mess behind her for good.

But as she hid in the kitchen during his date that night, hearing his fake laughter with a woman who didn’t deserve him, a sharp spike of jealousy made her sick to her stomach. She should be the one out there enjoying herself and having a good time. At least with her, he would laugh for real.

She was cleaning the dishes, mocking Helena’s annoying voice under her breath, when her cell vibrated in her pocket. The time was past nine, but when her phone dinged with a missed call followed by a voicemail from nearly twenty minutes ago from her mom, she dropped the pot in the sink, splashing water everywhere, and hurried to open the message. She listened to the message and tears pricked her eyes. Her dad was supposed to be getting treatment the whole week, but according to the doctors, there were no changes and he was getting worse.

Mariah asked if she could come and stay at the new apartment for a night. Darien had asked to see his daughter. She tried calling, but her mom didn’t answer so she left a message saying she’d be there as soon as she could.

“Douglas,” she said, poking her head out of the kitchen door not leading to the dining room. “Douglas!” she hissed louder and he appeared around the corner.

“What’s wrong?”

“I received a message about my dad. Can you let Walker know I had to duck out tonight but I’ll be back tomorrow?”

“Of course. Do you need a ride? He said your truck wasn’t working.”

“Shit,” she muttered, forgetting all about it. Douglas held out the keys to his sporty little coupe. “I can’t.”

“Yes, you can. I’ll stay here for the night. Go see your dad.”

She hugged him, kissed his cheek, and rushed out the back door to Douglas’ car parked beside hers. She slipped behind the wheel and had to force herself not to floor it all the way back to her parents’ tiny apartment in Woodstock. She hated to knock and texted her mom to let her know she was outside. The door opened a second later and Mariah pulled her daughter inside and straight into a hug. She’d been crying, and her eyes were red and puffy.

“Mom? How bad is it?” she asked quietly.

“I’m awake,” Darien’s voice came from the small living room. “And it’s not that bad. Your mother is overreacting.”

Mariah glowered at the back of Darien’s head. “I am not. You should’ve shown some signs of improvement, but you haven’t.”

“These things take time.”

Jaylyn joined her dad on the couch and hugged him. “You look pretty pale, Dad. Are you sure they’re doing everything they can for you?”

“Yes, they are, so stop acting like your mother. I wanted to talk to you and see how things were going,” he explained brightly. “Not have you lecture me more than she does on keeping my hopes up and praying I’ll get better.”

Jaylyn flinched. “Are you saying you don’t want to get better?” she whispered, confused.

He patted her hand with a tired sigh. “I’m saying I don’t want whatever days I have left spent feeling like shit and trapped in a bed because I’m too weak or tired to move. I want to spend my days with your mom and you. Can’t I have that?”

Jaylyn wiped at the tears in her eyes and nodded. “You can have whatever you need, Dad.” She hugged him and Mariah joined them on the couch, snuggling close as they used to do. He asked about Walker, and she told them how good the job was going and that the staff had made it to the restaurant. John would be a good fit until Jaylyn could get back in the kitchen, hopefully with Darien running things again. She said it, but her dad didn’t agree. He merely nodded and changed topics.

“That Walker, I’ve heard he’s quite a looker,” Darien teased.

“Where did you hear that?”

“Just around. You and he don’t have anything else going on, do you?”

Her cheeks grew hot and she turned away from her parents. “No, nothing’s going on. He’s currently my boss and soon to be my partner in a business. I’m not putting all that on the line because he’s a really great guy and funny, and extremely good looking…” She trailed off when she felt their intense gazes, both grinning madly at her. “What?”

“I guess this is why she never dated,” Mariah mused, leaning into Darien.

“Yeah, she was waiting for the son of our enemy to come along,” Darien teased. “Fancy that.”

“No, wait, what? No, I said I’m not into him. He’s got this weird thing that he has to marry another woman, anyway,” she argued, hurrying to get a glass of water from the kitchen. “We couldn’t—I mean, I couldn’t… it wouldn’t work,” she finished lamely.

“Some advice from your old man?” Darien grunted as he made it to his feet and joined her by the sink. “Don’t fight whatever feelings you have, because you never know what might happen.”

She nursed her glass, watching the ice swirl around as she remembered how much fun they had at the market, and in general. The sound of his laughter and how his smile lit his eyes. How cute he looked in the morning when he wore his glasses and those snug t-shirts…

“You’re drooling, just a bit,” Darien whispered, and Jaylyn quickly wiped her mouth then shook her head as he laughed. “What’s to say you’re not the one he’s meant to be with?”

“I’m not rich and can’t bring anything to his company, that’s why.”

“According to his dad, right? Not him.”

“It’s not like anything’s happened yet,” she reminded him before her hopes rose too high. “He’s merely a really good friend.”

“Yes, a friend who pays you a handsome amount of money and let you move into his mansion.”

“Can we talk about something else? Please, I’m begging you here. Mom? a little help?”

“Nah, I’m enjoying this. It’d be nice to see you with someone for a change. I hate to say,” she said as she joined them in the kitchen, “but maybe the restaurant being bought out was a good thing for you.”

She tossed her head back. “This is not funny, not at all.”

Mariah hugged her close. “Oh, we’re just giving you a hard time, kid. We want to make sure you’re happy.”

Jaylyn hugged her back, and they spent the rest of the night talking and laughing, playing cards at the small kitchen table, and avoiding anything to do with Walker or her. When she finally left, Darien turning in for the night and Mariah joining him, she considered crashing on the couch but wasn’t tired. The drive back to the house was uneventful at nearly two in the morning. She opened the back door quietly, sucking in a breath when the door creaked and she heard the jingling of dog tags coming downstairs.

“Hey, boys,” she whispered in greeting as they surrounded her, wagging their tails and licking her hands and jumping up to reach her face. Strider ran to the back door and she let them out, walking out with them to bathe in the full moon’s light as it covered the patio and the lawn. She sat down on the swinging bench, remembering how cozy it had been when Walker sat beside her.

With a push of her foot, she set the bench to swinging, pondering about where her life had taken her. About her dad and him not wanting to spend his last days in treatment. He said he wasn’t giving up, but she saw the look in his eyes—the knowledge that his life was ending far quicker than he’d anticipated and there was nothing they could to do change that. She’d lost the restaurant, and though there was a chance of retrieving it, worry remained that it was false hope. Her dad was sick and dying, and she was stuck working for the first man in a long time she felt a connection with but couldn’t express. Not openly. She tugged her knees up to her chest and watched the dogs playing. They started to bark as they wrestled, but she let them be.

“Strider!” Walker yelled from the back door, sounding confused until Jaylyn turned, drawing his eyes to her movement. “I didn’t know you were back.”

“Sorry, the dogs wanted out.”

“No, it’s fine. I thought they’d managed to get the door open.” He stepped outside, and when he grew closer, his brow crinkled and he adjusted his glasses on his face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I wasn’t tired.”

“You’re crying,” he whispered and reached out to wipe the tears from her cheek. She hadn’t even realized it. He sat down beside her. “Douglas said it was your dad. Is he back in the hospital?”

Jaylyn opened her mouth to tell him he was fine, but it was as if her mouth wasn’t hers anymore and everything spilled out. About her dad and the restaurant, her worries about him not fighting to live or wanting to keep going. She stopped herself short of blurting out what she was slowly feeling for him and buried her face as she hugged her knees to her chest.

“That was terrible, I’m sorry,” she muttered, the sound muffled. “I don’t want to dump this stress on you. You’ve got enough shit to deal with.”

“It’s fine, really. I understand exactly how you feel.” He sighed and his arm draped around the back of the bench. “Mum reached a point when it was too much for her. The treatments and the hospital stays. She wanted to enjoy the time she had left. It pissed my dad off, but in some way, I understood.”

“I want him to hold on a little longer until I get the restaurant back.”

“Then tell him that.” His arm moved to her shoulder and he pulled her against his side, comforting her with his warm body and soft murmurings. Jaylyn breathed in deep, and the stress melted away.

She lifted her face to thank him, but the strange look of longing in his eyes made her pause. What was he doing? She’d been telling herself this would never happen, but he was staring at her as if he knew exactly what she was thinking, what she was feeling. His hand cupped her cheek, and her eyes closed as she felt the smoothness of his hand on her skin, wanting him to feel more of her. Her mind raced with one insane thought after another until his lips were on hers.

She gasped in surprise but didn’t pull away from the heat of his kiss or the gentleness with which his lips moved. The kiss was sweet and Jaylyn was lost in the moment. She moved closer, kissing him again as they clung to each other as the moon held vigil overhead.

Strider charged into their laps, wagging his tail and trying to lick their faces. They broke apart, and Jaylyn’s fingers touched her tingling lips.

“I…uh, I should get to bed,” she said, but her voice was rough and she had to clear her throat and repeat herself. “Early morning and all.”

“Yes, of course,” he agreed hoarsely. “Shall I walk you to your room?”

Jaylyn’s heart fluttered and she giggled nervously. “No…no, I think I can find my way. Thank you for…uh, for listening and everything. It means a lot.”

“Anytime.” She sat there for another long moment, watching him. “Jaylyn?”

“Right. Right, I was leaving,” she rambled and hopped off the bench, nearly sending it swinging so far back he slipped off, too. “Damn, sorry, I’m just out of sorts. So yeah, morning. See you then.” She made sure she was out of earshot before she berated herself for acting like a dewy-eyed school girl with a crush. “You can’t have this so don’t even try. Stop it before it goes any further.”

Too bad that as she lay in bed that night, all she could think about was finding a way to make it work.