Jill always found factory tours interesting. She loved the order and ingenuity that went into production lines. But as Mr. Dunn showed them around the Elysian Ice Cream factory, or creamery as he called it, she had a harder time paying attention than usual. Her eyes were constantly drawn to the tall, somber faced man beside her. If someone had wired her up to get a constant read of her heartbeat, they would have assumed she had a terrible condition. Being near him had that effect on her and she couldn’t control it. In fact, just thinking about him was nearly as bad—as she had discovered the evening before as she lay in her bed remembering the moment when she had almost kissed him in the hot tub last.
She realized she was again playing it over in her mind when Blake happened to turn and look at her. He caught her staring, and she turned quickly before he saw her blush. This was so stupid. Such a stupid, stupid crush. Nothing else. And who wouldn’t have this reaction to him. His rugged good looks, powerful charisma, and oddly compassionate perception were a dangerous combination.
“Are you ready to go to the sample room?” Mr. Dunn asked.
“Huh?” Jill asked automatically when his words didn’t compute.
Blake’s voice cleared the fog away. “Time to go taste ice cream.”
“Oh. Great. Lead the way, Mr. Dunn.”
A short walk later, they entered a bare but pristine room with gleaming counter tops, bar stools, and industrial freezers with windows revealing rows of ice cream cartons. A young woman wearing an apron emblazoned with Elysian’s logo smiled at them.
Mr. Dunn stepped around the counter with her and waved them all to seats. Jill sat down and swung her legs around, accidentally brushing her knees against Blake’s thigh as he sat down. “Sorry,” she whispered.
“No problem,” he murmured back.
His soft words should have relaxed her, but they did the opposite. The tone was intimate and held a hint of flirtation she hadn’t heard from him before.
Before long, Mr. Dunn and his assistant had scoops and little sample bowls and spoons before them. “Let’s start with the simplest and go from there. The first bowl we’re giving you is vanilla and the second is sweet cream.”
Jill and Blake reached for spoons at the same time and bumped hands. What was this? Junior high? She laughed nervously and dug into her ice cream. It was cold and sweet, but also much creamier and denser than any ice cream she’d had before.
“Wow,” Blake said. “I don’t usually like vanilla, but this is great.”
“Just wait,” Mr. Dunn said with a smile.
Thirty minutes later, they’d tried over twenty different flavors. Jill took a sip of her water, which she’d been using to cleanse her palette, then turned towards Blake. She knocked his knees again. This time she just laughed. “At first, I wanted bigger samples because they were so good, but I never would have survived.”
“Agreed, though I wouldn’t mind more of that hazelnut chocolate swirl.”
“Coming right up,” the woman with the apron said, turning to get the correct tub out of the freezer again. She scooped some into another bowl and slid it across the counter. Since this had been one of Jill’s favorites too, she grabbed a spoon, and pulled it towards her before he got a chance.
“Hey,” Blake said, grabbing it back.
As soon as he took a bite, Jill leaned across him, her arm and shoulders sliding across his, and scooped another bite out of his bowl. “Don’t be so stingy.”
But before she could put the spoon in her mouth, he caught her wrist in a firm but gentle grasp and turned her wrist as he leaned forward to eat the ice cream off her spoon. “Just ask for more instead of stealing mine.”
Jill reached for his bowl again but he held it away, and there was no way she could reach it without leaning against his chest. “But I don’t want a whole bowl, just a bite.”
Blake sighed and held his bowl over to her. He looked at Mr. Dunn. “Clearly, we like the ice cream.”
Mr. Dunn nodded and looked pleased. “It’s the quality ingredients. With no fillers, preservatives, or air to fluff it, there is a clear difference between our product and the regular market.”
“There’s also a clear difference in price,” Jill said.
Mr. Dunn nodded. “It is, but there is a growing market for premium food items. We are certified organic, whole foods, and no artificial ingredients. We are currently carried in many specialty food markets, but we hope that with your financial support, Mr. McDaniel, we’ll be able to reach a wider market as well.”
“I certainly hope that we can find the right market path for your incredible product. It’s a brand I can be proud of. Take my word for it, I will review Ms. Harris’s report very carefully.”
“Thank you, sir.”
While the men carried on the conversation, Jill realized that she’d gone completely moon-eyed when she found herself admiring the way Blake was treating Mr. Dunn. She knew all too well from the dozens of mergers she’d worked on that not all acquired companies were treated with such respect by the person who purchased them. She glanced down at the band on his wrist, seeing the word Truth engraved into the metal and thought that another word would have been just as fitting there—Respect.
As they said goodbye to Mr. Dunn, Blake got a call and walked ahead. The metal exterior door let in a stream of late afternoon sunshine as Blake opened the door, already listening to his call. Camden rushed forward and caught the door, holding it for her. Jill stepped through and had to hold her hand up to shield her eyes from the five o’clock glare.
“Were you able to gather all the data points we discussed?” she asked Camden. He’d spent most of the day in the office instead of touring the factory.
“Yes, ma’am. I was able to get all their data for the last fifteen years, and I added a few new macros to compile the reports the way you like them.”
“You’re amazing, Camden. Sure I can’t tempt you to stay on with me when I go to my next job?”
“What’s that?” Blake asked, coming up behind them, his voice as ominous as a storm on the horizon.
Jill wondered what had upset him. Something clearly had. “I was just joking with Camden about stealing him away from you. If you must know, I’m a bit lazy when it comes to reports and all the tech side. But I promise to let you keep him, don’t worry.”
She turned and walked to the car, which Rick already had running so that it was cool when they got in. Camden climbed into his usual spot in the front, and Blake got in beside her. They’d been riding this way for three days now, but there was a different atmosphere in the car now. After a few minutes of silence, Blake said, “I’m sorry if I sounded short. I thought you meant something else.”
“Like what?”
“I’d rather not say, but please, just forget it.”
All things considered, nothing had really happened except his tone of voice. “Gladly.”
Changing the conversation, Blake said, “Rick, can you turn on the radio? Where are we staying tonight?”
Jill grinned. “I don’t remember, but Camden has the info. Hopefully, it’s somewhere with a pool so I can see you in those atrocious swim trunks again.”
Camden looked back at them, clearly offended. “Hey, I’ll have you know my fiancée picked those out for me.”
“You’re engaged?” Blake asked, sounding disproportionately confounded.
“I proposed last week.” Camden picked up his phone and pulled up a picture of a smiling young woman with brilliant green eyes and strawberry blond hair. “I never would have found the courage without Jill. She practically forced me to do it.”
Jill smiled, remembering all the long conversations she’d had with Camden, building up his self-esteem so that he’d have the confidence to actually go through with it. “Once I thought of the beautiful red-headed babies you guys are going to have, I had to make sure it happened.”
Camden’s face turned redder than his hair, though a lot blotchier. But he couldn’t stop the grin on his face. “I wish you’d stop talking about babies.”
Jill grinned across at Blake. “Isn’t he adorable when he blushes. He’s like a baby himself.”
Something in Blake’s expression softened before he turned to look out the window, and pieces began to click together in Jill’s mind. She had said something to Camden about taking him with her. Was it possible Blake had been jealous? Butterflies erupted in her stomach. It was one thing to be attracted to him herself and quite another for him to return her feelings. But after experiencing a few heady moments of euphoria, she crashed back down again. What difference did it make? Hadn’t Hayden said Blake had promised her never to marry a career woman?
Marriage? What was she even thinking? A handsome man showed mild signs of being interested in her and her brain had already jumped to marriage. If he intended anything at all toward her, it was probably just a brief fling before she moved on to her next job. Really, it was the perfect situation. He wouldn’t have to commit in any way since he believed her to be focused on her career and ready to move on. And she was focused on her career.
With a sinking in her gut and a tightening in her throat, she remembered how her ambitions had ruined love for her once in her life. Putting her heart out there to be broken again would be foolish. Not to mention, marriage and children would be impossible to balance with the amount of traveling she did. Unless she was prepared to give up everything she had worked so hard for. Maybe there wasn’t a choice where she got everything she wanted.
“Are you okay over there?” Blake asked softly. “You’re really quiet.”
Jill looked to the front where Camden and Rick were having their own conversation. “Yes, fine. Just have a lot on my mind.” She turned back to look out the window, though she saw nothing of the passing landscape. He was watching her, she knew, but she was too much of a coward to face him just then. No doubt her emotions would be easily read.
“What do you want for dinner tonight? We’re going to watch for a place to stop.”
“I’m okay with anything.”
“The Roadkill cafe it is.”
His tone was dry but good humored, and it was too ridiculous. Laughter burst from her, annoying her that he could so easily manipulate her emotions. “There’s no such place.”
“Around these parts? I bet there is. If that’s not what you want, you’d better let me know.” He winked at her, and his barely noticeable twang deepened for a moment. “Grilled possum would about hit the spot right now. Or maybe some squirrel and dumplings.”
Jill elbowed him. “Stop messing with me.”
There was a sudden gleam in his eyes as he smiled, almost imperceptibly. “Impossible. I can’t seem to help it.”