Chapter Two
SWEAT POURED OFF Blue as he carried the wood he’d just torn out of the second-floor bedroom down the stairs and into the late-afternoon sun. It had been a mild fall so far on Cape Cod, and as thankful as he was for the moderate temperatures, working on the second floor of a cottage without air-conditioning had him wishing winter would peek its head over the sandy stretch of land. He tossed the old wood into the dumpster and wiped his brow with his forearm, gazing out over the property he’d purchased weeks earlier, the Bowers Bluff Lighthouse and its keeper’s cottage. Bowers Bluff was a mile-wide, eight-mile-long, dune-ridden peninsula on the north side of Cape Cod and the perfect location to one day raise a family.
Blue had fallen in love with it the first time he’d seen it two summers ago with his brother, Duke, a real estate investor. They had planned on jointly purchasing the property and renovating it to be used as a restaurant, but the more time Blue spent there, the more he became attached to it. Eventually he gave in to his love and told Duke of his desire to purchase the property himself. Duke, being the eldest of the six Ryder siblings, had been supportive and understanding, as always.
Blue had been working day and night renovating the cottage, until Lizzie Barber’s kitchen was damaged and he began splitting his time between the two properties. The renovations on both were coming along nicely. And as a bonus, he was able to see Lizzie almost every day, at least for a few minutes. Lizzie was a sweet bundle of seductive energy. Her personality lit up the room, and Blue had a feeling that if she’d ever give in and go out with him, they’d find out that the friendship they enjoyed was just the tip of the iceberg. But Lizzie had turned him down more often than the sun set. That, however, didn’t deter him. The more often she turned him away, the more he thought of her—and the more he wanted to make her his. Blue believed in following his gut, and his gut—and his heart—continually drew him to the petite, perky woman who could drive him crazy with a single smile.
He stood in the doorway of the cottage, admiring his hard work. He’d refinished the hardwood floors, renovated the kitchen, removed the old paneling, and installed drywall and decorative moldings on the first floor. With the first floor complete, the second floor seemed like a breeze. Everything about the old place already felt like home, despite the fact that he’d grown up just outside of New York City. Unlike most of his siblings, he had never felt drawn to city life. His family had visited the Cape when he was just a boy, and his love for it had stuck with him ever since.
He pulled out his cell phone to check the time. He was meeting Lizzie at seven to fix her oven, which he was sure was just a ruse, given that he was already renovating her kitchen and she had a brand-new oven. With any luck she’d finally come to her senses and would agree to go out with him. Every time he asked her out he was met with the same responses—she didn’t have time to date or she didn’t want to chance ruining their friendship. They did have an incredible friendship, but wasn’t that how people got to know each other before dating?
Before heading back inside he noticed he’d missed two texts. That wasn’t surprising. He was in the habit of giving his full focus to the quality of his work and letting everything else fall to the side.
The first text was from his younger brother, Cash, who was a New York City firefighter. I’m with Jeremy. He needs a headcount for the wedding. Are you bringing a guest?
Their cousin Jeremy, an attorney, was getting married next month to his fiancée, Susan, a fashion blogger. He’d love to take Lizzie to the wedding, but the wedding was in New York, and if she wouldn’t go out on a date at the Cape, she surely wouldn’t go away overnight with him. Normally, he’d take his best friend, Sky Lacroux, to the wedding, a little no-commitment arm candy to keep the single women at bay, but she’d recently gotten engaged, which meant Blue was on his own for the wedding. He’d never been a weekend hookup kind of guy, and his life was on the Cape. The last thing he wanted was to play the flirting game with women who meant nothing to him. Not when he’d had a certain feisty little brunette with a tight body and an effervescent personality on his mind every second of the day for the last year.
He returned Cash’s text—Flying solo. Thanks for checking—knowing he’d likely spend the wedding hanging out with his family while his brothers checked out every skirt that passed and their sister, Trish, made fun of them. Not that he was opposed to checking out women, but while some of his brothers enjoyed one-night stands, Blue hadn’t been into that for quite some time. He’d not only spent the last few years watching his closest friends fall in love and get married, and more recently, start families of their own, but he’d also been hurt by an ex-girlfriend who’d thought a one-night stand that had meant nothing to her wouldn’t cut him to the bone.
Sarah Jane had been Blue’s first love. They’d come together in the innocence of their youth, both just eighteen years old, and they’d stayed together for more than a year. She’d gotten a ride home from a coworker one night when Blue had been in an evening class, and when he’d shown up at her place and caught them having sex, Sarah Jane had tried to explain. It didn’t mean anything! She’d been so wrong that even now the memory of being hurt—and of his broken trust—still stung. He’d sworn he’d never be in that position again, and it was an easy promise to keep. No long-term girlfriend left no room for agony.
The second text message was from Hunter, one of Sky’s older brothers and Blue’s buddy. Bonfire tonight. You in?
A bonfire sounded great, and assuming Lizzie was just going to turn him down again, he’d need a good distraction. Definitely, he responded, then added, Fixing Lizzie’s oven. May get there late.
A few hours later he headed back to his cabin in the woods of Wellfleet, showered, and then drove over to Lizzie’s. Blue parked in front of her house, thinking about how much he loved the feel of her place. The quintessential Cape Cod cottage exuded simple elegance. Just like her. The split-rail fence was laced with pink Knock Out roses, and the front yard had several beautiful gardens. He followed the slate walkway as it snaked through the gardens and heard Lizzie talking through the open window. Her laughter filled the air, and Blue paused to drink it in. It wasn’t the feel of her house he adored; it was Lizzie. She was everywhere.
Lizzie answered the door with her cell phone pressed to her ear, holding up one finger as she mouthed, I’m sorry. One second, and moved to the side for him to come in.
“Listen, Maddy,” she said into the phone, “don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with, okay? Promise?” She held up a finger to Blue again, and even if he hadn’t heard Madison’s name, he’d know by the protective tone of Lizzie’s voice that she was talking with her younger sister.
He tried not to let his eyes wander, but heck if he could keep from taking in her slim hips and tanned legs, revealed by a pair of sexy white cutoffs, or her smooth, lean shoulder peeking out from beneath a cream-colored, boat-neck sweater with a picture of an elephant on the front. The way the elephant hugged her curves made him a little jealous. What he wouldn’t give to be that elephant.
He should’ve taken a cold shower before coming over.
LIZZIE ENDED THE call with her sister and slipped her cell phone into her pocket.
“I’m so sorry. That was Maddy, and she has a date tonight. She was a little nervous. I worry about her. I hope she doesn’t get into a bad situation. I’m worrying over nothing, right? Please tell me I am.” She blinked up at Blue, who was looking at her with amusement in his steel-blue eyes and a crooked grin that nearly made her heart stop. She always rambled when she was nervous. Better he thought she was nervous about Maddy than because of their close proximity.
“She’s nineteen, Lizzie. She’ll be fine.”
“Right. Thank you.” She exhaled loudly, trying to calm her racing pulse from the sight of him in his skintight T-shirt. He was truly beautiful, with a face that should grace the front of every magazine in the country and a smile that could melt butter.
“So, you have an oven that needs fixing?” He lifted his toolbox and cocked a brow, and she realized she was staring at him.
Great. Way to go, Lizzie.
“Yes. This way.” She motioned for him to follow her down to the basement.
“You’re going the wrong way.”
“I have an apartment down here.” She led him to the kitchen. Even though he was handling the renovations, she’d never given him a tour of the rest of the house.
She flipped on the lights, and her kitchen lit up too brightly. Perfect for her videos, not perfect for a basement kitchen.
“Wow, that’s bright,” he said.
“A properly lit kitchen is important. You know that.” She smiled at him, hoping he’d buy that excuse.
Blue set his toolbox on the floor and eyed her laptop sitting open on the counter.
Thank goodness for power saver mode. She snagged it off the counter.
“Do you rent this space out?”
“No.” She clutched the laptop to her chest, a shield between Blue and her secret.
“So…” He shifted his eyes to the oven and turned it on. “That oven looks older than you. You cook down here often?”
She laughed nervously, trying to think up something better than, Only when I’m selling my body for my sister’s tuition. “Sometimes. I like to mix things up.”
He leaned across the counter with a lazy smile. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you called me over just to see me, which I wouldn’t mind at all.”
She walked around the counter and stood beside him, staring accusingly at the oven. “The oven’s really broken, Blue. Besides, if I wanted to see you, I’m pretty sure you’d be okay with me asking you to come over just for that.”
He grinned, and her stomach fluttered. Stupid stomach.
“It really is broken.” She pulled open the oven door and warm air rushed out. Of course it did.
“It’s definitely heating up in here,” he said in a low voice that made all her best parts take notice.
She sensed his heat behind her. If she leaned back a fraction of an inch she’d be pressed against him. The man oozed sexuality in the very best of ways, and he was in full-flirtation mode, which made him even hotter and more difficult to resist. His scent was potent, earthy and heady and purely male, and it was doing strange things to her resolve to keep a safe distance between them. She gripped the counter to keep herself from leaning in to him.
“I swear it wasn’t working last night. It shut off all by itself.”
“Maybe we should leave it on for a while and see if it turns off.” He leaned against the counter, his eyes skirting over the white, builder-grade cabinets, dating back to the early eighties, and the Formica countertops.
Lizzie closed the oven door and crossed her arms to keep her greedy fingers from touching him. “What would make it turn off like that?”
He held her gaze as he answered. “I can’t imagine anything turning off around you.” Smiling with the flirtation, he added, “Probably the heating element.”
How did he make that sound seductive? “Can we fix it?”
“Sure, we can fix it. It’s an old oven, and if it’s turning on and off, at some point you should probably consider swapping it out for a new one.”
“You treat your women like you treat your ovens? When they start to break down you just swap them out?” Yikes, where did that come from?
His lips curved up in a wicked grin, and his eyes darkened. “I’d never swap you, Lizzie.”
“I…” Great, he’d completely scrambled her brain. If he could do that with five words, what could he do with those capable hands and that sexy mouth of his? She had to stop. This was why she left before he arrived most mornings. This was why she turned down his invitations to go out. Blue was utterly irresistible.
“I’ll tell you what. Hunter’s having a bonfire tonight, and the hardware store closes in half an hour. Why don’t we go to the hardware store and pick up the heating element, and then we can hit the bonfire for a little while? Afterward, we can come back and fix the oven.”
Lizzie rolled that around for a minute in her head. She loved hearing we slide off his tongue full of innuendo, probably loved it too much, considering that she was still mulling over the idea rather than nixing it. She could tell him she had work to do, which was true. She still needed to edit her webcast, but she needed the oven fixed before she had to tape the next show, too. She couldn’t do the Naked Baker webcast in her upstairs kitchen. On the off chance that anyone who knew her watched the webcast, they’d recognize her bright orange kitchen in a heartbeat. But if she tried to beg off this time, after hours, wasn’t that rude? She was asking him to work on her oven late at night.
“Okay,” she finally said.
Blue’s brows lifted with surprise. “Okay?” He pushed from the counter and grinned.
“Yes, okay. I’ll go to the bonfire. But it’s not a date, so get that look off your face.”
He turned off the oven. “Why do you always turn me down? I don’t get it.”
Neither do I.
She hated continually turning him down. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to go out with Blue, but the truth was, if she were to go on a real date with Blue, hold his hand, and kiss those full, delicious-looking lips of his, she knew she’d like it too much to walk away. She already knew that he treated her, and everyone else she’d ever seen him interact with, like gold. And right now Maddy was counting on her. She didn’t need to get involved with a nice, gorgeous guy like Blue and then be forced to hide part of her life from him, or worry that someone he knew might watch the webcast and somehow figure out that she was the Naked Baker. Despite the income she gained from the show, she wasn’t proud of prancing around nearly naked for money.
She finally met his gaze. “I just have so much going on right now. I barely have time to breathe.”
He stepped closer and brought a heat wave with him. “Everyone has a little breathing room.”
You just stole mine. “I’m running the flower shop, and…”
“And?” Blue looked around the kitchen. “Breaking ovens?”
“It’s nothing personal.”
He touched her arm, sending shivers of heat through her. She was sure he could see inside her to the part of her that was cuddled up in the corner, praying he didn’t spot the Naked Baker.
“How can it not be personal? I’ve asked you out at least a dozen times and you always turn me down. A guy could get a complex.” He slid his hand up her forearm and gently cupped her elbow.
How could such a benign touch make her whole body simmer? She knew she’d love the way it felt to have his hands on her, taking her to heights she couldn’t reach by mere thoughts of him.
Great. Now she couldn’t even respond. She was lucky she could walk after that voice slithered over her skin and his eyes held her prisoner. How on earth had her friend Sky spent time with him day after day without ever being more than friends with him? Lizzie forced herself to take a step back. Surely if Sky could do it, she could, too. Then again, Sky said she was never attracted to Blue in that way.
Therein lay the difference. From the moment Lizzie had seen Blue at the wedding, she’d been attracted to him. And the more she got to know him as a friend, the more she liked him and the more she fantasized about him.
She realized he was watching her, waiting for a response, and went with a tease to try to distract herself from her sexy thoughts. “We’re friends, and I like our friendship. Besides, you’re too good-looking to get a complex. And if we don’t go soon, I might change my mind, but this isn’t a date.”
He grabbed his toolbox. “You’re feisty when you’re turning a guy down.”
Blue’s truck was so high off the ground Lizzie practically needed a stepladder to get in. As she gripped the cold metal doorframe, his hands landed on her hips from behind, and he lifted all five feet of her into the passenger seat.
“I’m glad my truck is so big,” he said as she tried not to think about how strong his grip was and how good his hands felt.
He turned on the radio and sang off-key on the way to the hardware store, which made Lizzie laugh and want to join in. He knew just how to put her at ease and just how to make her quiver. Another tantalizing and dangerous combination to contend with.
Inside the hardware store, despite a hand on her lower back that nearly burned her skin as they paid for the purchase, Blue didn’t flirt with her as he had at the house. Lizzie wasn’t sure if she was disappointed or relieved.
“Have you eaten dinner?” Blue asked as they drove toward the beach.
“No, but I’m okay.” She hadn’t eaten since that morning because the shop had been so busy, but she didn’t want to make Blue late to the bonfire—and she was aware of needing to get home and edit her webcast.
An easy smile spread across his face as he watched the road, and she realized that this was the first time she’d really been alone with Blue. They’d gone out with their friends as a group, and he’d fixed broken pipes and built a few cabinets for her at the flower shop, and of course she saw him at her house after work sometimes when he was working on her kitchen, but she’d never been alone with him in a social situation. Being with Blue was comfortable and fun—except for the undercurrent of heat simmering between them, which made it hard for her to concentrate.
“Let’s grab a quick bite before going to the bonfire.” He turned into the parking lot of PJ’s Restaurant, which had both a walk-up window and a dining room, and came around to help her from the truck. He reached his hands up and gripped her hips without saying a word.
The second his hands touched her, his eyes darkened. She liked the sensual look in his eyes and the feel of his hands on her hips way too much and forced herself to take a step away. She was so full of desire, she was sure he could taste it in the air between them.
The line for the dining room went out the door, and the picnic tables on the patio were full. With a hand at her back again, Blue led her to the walk-up windows. Lizzie wasn’t as surprised by the heat of his touch this time, but she was confused by how much she liked it and by the possessiveness of it, the way it seemed natural for him to do it.
“What’s your pleasure?” Blue asked.
“That’s a dangerous question for a guy like you to ask.”
He laughed. “A guy like me? What does that mean?”
“You ask me out, then you asked me what my pleasure is? What’s a girl supposed to think?” Lizzie hadn’t been out on a date in a very long time, and even though this wasn’t a date, it was a lot more fun than editing her webcast, doing inventory at the shop, or planning her next recipe for the Naked Baker.
“You’re supposed to think…Hm, which would I rather have? A lobster roll and fries or a hamburger?” He bumped her with his shoulder, and she keeled to the left.
“Whoa.” He caught her with an arm around her waist and a killer smile that made her want to forget about the Naked Baker altogether and start working on her Naughty-Love list—a list she’d started in college when she was still trying to repress her naughtier thoughts. She’d been so used to fighting her changing hormones in high school, trying to stick to her rigid upbringing, that by the time she got to college she was near ready to burst. Instead of acting on the thoughts that came to her, she’d started her Naughty-Love list—all the things she’d like to lick off of a man and have him lick off of her—and her Naughty-Places list—the list of all the places she wanted to make love to a man. Somehow, getting those lusty thoughts down on paper gave her hope that one day she’d meet the right person, and then it would be okay for her to act on those desires. But she’d never met any man she wanted to explore with. Blue was an insanely tempting option.
Oh great. Now I’m thinking about licking you.
“Sorry about that,” Blue said. “I forget how petite you are.”
“It’s okay.” She shoved her hands in her shorts to keep from hanging on to him.
“So, what’ll it be?” Blue asked.
Whipped cream and strawberries all over your abs. Holy cow. In a matter of minutes she’d turned into some sort of sexual deviant. She shook her head to clear the lust from her deranged brain.
“You choose,” she finally managed.
Blue ordered two lobster rolls and fries, and they took them back to his truck.
“Let’s eat at the beach,” he said as he helped her in again.
She wondered if she could just spend all night getting in and out of his truck, because it felt so good when he held her.
They drove down the narrow road toward Cahoon Hollow Beach with the bag of food sitting between them. It smelled like heaven, and when Lizzie’s stomach growled—roared—she wanted to curl up from embarrassment.
“Ah, you’re a normal person after all.” He smiled as he dug into the bag with one hand, withdrew a fry, and held it in front of her mouth. “Open up.”
“I can wait,” she lied, wanting to rip the delicious-smelling fry from his hand.
“How can you resist the smell of PJ’s fries?” He waved it under her nose, and when she reached for it, he pulled it away. “Uh-uh. Open your mouth.”
“Geez, you’re a pain.”
“The best kind of pain there is,” he teased as he fed her the fry.