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“What are you doing? Fishing for a compliment, Nicholas?” Jasper barked from his seated position. He glared at Noah as if he wanted to fight him. Noah had the distinct impression Jasper didn’t like him, although he wasn’t quite sure why. It wasn’t as if he’d done a single thing to alienate the man.
“His name is Noah,” Hazel corrected.
Noah had never met anyone quite like the mayor of Love. Although everyone here in town seemed to adore the feisty gentleman, so far Noah hadn’t really seen anything other than a cantankerous old man with a sharp tongue.
Hazel rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. She shook her head. “Don’t mind him, Noah. He’s just a tad jealous of good-looking younger men,” she said in a loud whisper.
“Jealous!” Jasper sputtered. “I’ve never been jealous a day in my life.”
“Ha! That’s a laugh!” Hazel slapped her knee with her hand. “You had a conniption fit when Zachariah asked me to dance at the spring festival.”
As Hazel and Jasper began to go back and forth, Noah raised his eyebrows in Sophie’s direction. Did they always argue like this? he wondered. Sophie didn’t seem fazed by it.
“I—I have to go check on my customer,” she blurted, then raced toward a table by the window.
Noah had the distinct impression that his playful question had caused her to take off like a jackrabbit. He had just been teasing her. He prayed his words hadn’t made her feel uncomfortable, especially since they were coworkers. As the owner of his own company, he knew that employees had to be careful not to step across any inappropriate lines.
Noah tried to stuff down the smidgen of disappointment he felt about Sophie running off. Talking to her meant discovering new things about her. And in order to keep Sussex apprised about the goings-on in Sophie’s life, Noah needed to have a relationship with her.
Noah made his way back to the kitchen, chastising himself for his attempt at flirting with Sophie. Even though he knew it wasn’t a wise thing to do, he hadn’t been able to resist. He liked the way her creamy skin flushed and the way her lashes flickered as she tried to hide her embarrassment.
Hmm. So far, there really wasn’t much he didn’t like about Sophie. Except for the fact that she was the woman who’d caused his client a world of hurt and pain. Why did he always have a tendency to forget that brutal fact? It wasn’t wise for him to push certain details to the side. Doing that once before had caused him to be blindsided in the worst way possible. Noah was determined not to let that happen again.
Yes, indeed. He let out a low whistle. Things were quickly becoming complicated.
This woman was dangerous to his equilibrium. Sure, she was beautiful. He’d known it before he had stepped foot in this one-of-a-kind Alaskan village. But he hadn’t expected to feel such a powerful attraction to the gorgeous redhead. And her Southern accent was downright adorable. Strange how Sussex had neglected to mention her Georgia roots. He’d led Noah to believe that Sophie was a New Yorker through and through.
Nothing in his experience could ever have prepared him for her.
Noah let out a beleaguered sigh. With every smile and cutesy anecdote, she made him forget the sole reason he had ventured to Love, Alaska. She made him believe that she was an apple-pie-eating, butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-her-mouth, sweet girl next door.
According to his client, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Sussex had depicted her as thoughtless and cruel, self-absorbed and ditzy.
In Noah’s humble opinion, Sophie didn’t seem like any of those things. But you barely know her, he reminded himself. First impressions aren’t always correct. Sometimes you have to peel back a person’s layers to really and truly see them. Hadn’t Kara shown him that in no uncertain terms?
Cameron’s voice broke into his reverie. He had sneaked up on him in the kitchen when he’d been daydreaming. “Hey, Noah. I keep forgetting to tell you about our Taste of Love event. It’s happening in a few days. Has anyone mentioned it to you?”
“Can’t say that anyone has,” Noah answered, eager to hear about it. It was a funny thing to admit, even to himself, but this town was growing on him by leaps and bounds. He was beginning to feel a part of this tight-knit community. Faces were becoming more familiar to him and people were calling out to him in the street when they crossed paths. He’d been invited to bake sales, church services, birthday celebrations and a Dr. Seuss party at the library.
“It’s a town event we’ve been having for the last few years to help support local businesses. For instance, the bookstore might give out bookmarks and have authors do book signings, while the candy store might give out small bags of jelly beans.”
“Great way to market your products,” Noah said with an approving nod.
“Business has been booming here, but we still have some growing to do,” Cameron said. “The event will be good for us.”
“So what’s on the agenda for the Moose Café?” Noah asked.
“Actually, I was hoping we could brainstorm a bit, since you’re the one who’s in charge of the grub. I want to do some mini coffee drinks and put Sophie in charge of that. I’ll give you free rein to come up with an appetizer or two to feature at the event.”
“So would Sophie and I be working together?” Noah asked. He wasn’t so sure it would be a good idea to be working side by side with her. As far as he was concerned, it might be too close for comfort.
“Yes. Is there a problem with that?” Cameron asked, his brows knitting together.
As Noah struggled to honestly answer the question, a child’s voice cried out, “Daddy!”
A little girl, who appeared to be around tw
o years old, came running toward them with outstretched arms. Cameron’s face lit up as he bent and lifted the little charmer into his arms. With her dark hair and chubby cheeks, she was a miniature version of Noah’s boss.
