But would kissing her be worth risking their friendship, just to find out if she felt the same way he did?
No matter the risk, his hands trembled at the idea of kissing Emily Carmichael.
Her eyes squinted. “Why are you staring at me like I’m a puzzle?”
“Youarea puzzle. You’re a woman. All women are puzzles to men.”
She snorted. “No, we’re not. You guys just don’t pay enough attention.”
“Right...” He shook his head and turned over the engine.
She buckled her seat belt before patting his arm. “You leave your dad to me. I can convince him to give my idea a try. I have a good track record with him.”
“Don’t worry. I’m happy to leave that to you.” He backed out of the parking spot and motored toward the road while he contemplated when would be the perfect time to tell Emily that he cared about her—reallycared about her.
He couldn’t wait to find out if Emily would consider taking their relationship to the next level.
“We had a busy day, didn’t we, Diane?” Claire carried a platter of chicken enchiladas to the table.
Jake’s mom nodded while setting a bowl of rice beside the platter. “We sure did. We cooked and baked and took care of some cleaning.”
Claire’s smile was smug. “And it was so fun to catch up with you.”
Emily bit back a frown while adding five glasses of sweet tea to the table. An irritated expression flickered across Jake’s face so quickly, she was almost sure she’d imagined it. But when she did a double take, she saw the annoyance was still in his blue eyes.
Interesting. It seemed Claire got under his skin just as much as she got under Emily’s.
Claire brought a bowl of refried beans to the table before sitting beside Leon.“Bon appétit!”
Emily took the chair next to Jake, and they all started filling their plates with the food. She hated to admit it, but Claire’s enchiladas were actually pretty good. Because of course they were.
“We have freshly baked apple pie and vanilla ice cream for dessert,” Claire added before waving her fork through the air with a flourish. “And what did you two do today?” she asked, dividing a look between Emily and Jake.
Emily turned to Jake, hoping he’d answer the question.
He swallowed a bite of enchilada and wiped his mouth with a paper napkin. “We went to town to round up some vendors.”
“How’d it go?” Diane asked.
Jake nodded. “Pretty well. We have a band booked to help with entertainment, and we also secured two vendors, and we have three more interested.”
“Two vendors?” Dad asked. “Only two?” He closed his eyes before continuing at a much higher volume. “You spentthousandson that barn, Jake. Two vendors are not going to give us a return on that investment. I knew this was a bad idea.” His nostrils flared. “This is why I can’t let you take over the orchard. You’re just not ready. I knew you weren’t, and this just proves me right.”
Jake’s posture stiffened, and his countenance darkened.
Under the table Emily rested her hand on his leg to calm him down before he said something he’d regret. “We only have two vendors so far, Leon, but we plan to go back to town tomorrow to talk to more. It’s only our first try. We’ll have the barn filled in a matter of days. I just know it.”
Jake’s dad studied her and then returned his attention to his plate.
Claire began to cut up his enchiladas for him. “I hope it works out,” she said, and Emily could detect a thread of sarcasm in her voice.
“We stopped by Apple Haven on our way home,” Jake added. “And Emily had a good idea for another way to stay competitive.” He turned toward Emily. “I think it’ll really help us a lot.”
Okay. I guess we’re ripping the Band-Aid off right now.
Leon studied his son. “Well, what is it?”
Jake set his fork down. “Apple Haven’s prices are really competitive, and we can’t possibly lower our prices and also pay our seasonal workers.” He paused. “But what if we changed how we price our apples?”
