Page 8 of Finding Love

CHAPTERTHREE

The last think Ryder expected was to see Brook standing behind the bright pink counter in an even brighter frilly apron.

Whatever his first impressions of the women had been, he just couldn’t imagine her wearing this much pink by choice. He’d gotten more of a worn jean’s surfer style or a Dr. Martens with leather pants kind of vibe from her. On closer examination, he could see that was what she was currently wearing under the lacey pink apron. The outfit was somehow still a major turn on to him.

“Hey.” He strolled up to the counter, his eyes zoned in on her.

“Hey.” She smiled back, something he hadn’t seen her do before. Damn, it knocked the breath out of his lungs almost as much as the waves had the night before.

“So, you work here?” he asked, glancing around the bakery for the first time.

Most of the inside was painted pink and red. Almost like a Valentine’s Day card blew up in it. Still, it was classy enough that it wasn’t obnoxious.

“Yup,” she said, then she glanced around. “Where’s Willy?”

He nodded behind him. “I tied him to a chair outside. He’s not allowed near this much sugar. I made that mistake once.” He shook his head as she laughed. “He goes nuts when he smells baked goods, and I didn’t want to be responsible for any losses when I couldn’t control him.”

He enjoyed the sound of her laugher and wished more than anything he could spend the entire day listening to it.

“Something tells me that ten-pound dog is the boss between the pair of you,” she said.

He chuckled. “You know it.”

She leaned on the counter and tilted her head. “What can I get you?”

Damn. The first thing that flashed to his mind was her lying underneath him, her legs wrapped around him as he…

Brook snapped her fingers in front of his face, a frown on her lips as her eyebrows arched up.

“Maybe that surfboard hit you harder than we thought?” she said, straightening.

He smiled. “Nope, just low on sugar.” He motioned to the eclairs. “Two of the chocolate ones and coffee. Black.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t trust anyone who drinks their coffee black.”

“No?” He leaned on the counter slightly. “Why is that?”

She shrugged and turned to get his order. “Call it an intuition after growing up working in a bakery.”

“You’ve worked here a long time then?” he asked as she put the eclairs in a bag.

“My entire life. My parents own this place.” She motioned around.

Just then, a woman came out of the back room carrying a massive white cake. Instantly, he could see the resemblance.

“Your mother?” He motioned as she started making his coffee.

Brook glanced over and then chuckled. “No, this is my aunt Becca.” The woman turned and gave him a smile as another woman stepped out from the back room holding another cake. “This is my mother, Sara,” Brook said. “This is Ryder, and his dog Willy is waiting outside.”

Both women ran their eyes over him and said hello.

Brook looked more like her aunt than her mother. Still, it was obvious the three women were related. He was surprised at how young the other two looked. They looked more like Brook’s sisters than her mother and aunt.

“Good morning,” he said casually.

“Are you new in town?” Brook’s mother asked.

“Just passing through. Your daughter helped us out last night during the storm,” he said easily as he took the mug of hot coffee from Brook and then handed her a twenty-dollar bill.