AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 1
Summerlyn
Summerlyn pulled out a tray of steaming hot pecan pie bars from her baking oven. They smelled so good every damn time. That nostalgic and oh-so-tasty aroma never got old no matter how many hours she spent working in that same kitchen. As an adult, she’d made the recipe countless times by herself. It was her specialty and a real crowd pleaser. As she inhaled, her granny’s presence enveloped her, drawing forth bittersweet memories of all those times they’d baked together in this very kitchen.
Ears catching the ring of the doorbell, she pushed aside her loneliness. The first customers for the day. She looked through the thin, bar-style window that sat between herself and the front counter that led out to the shop. It allowed her to see customers without people realizing she was watching.
She paused, eyeing the two men who’d just come into her bakery. They were worth paying some attention to as well. To say they were fine-looking specimens would have done them a disservice. And this was just from a glance as they walked by where she could see them. Too bad she was busy getting the pecan bars settled on the cooling rack and couldn’t pay them much mind at the moment.
“I’ll be right with y’all,” she called out.
“Oh, thank you,” one of them answered with a sort of gruff, warm voice. It had a dark chocolate tonal quality to it. Just the right kind of mix for something delicious in her kitchen.
Summer’s lips quirked. She couldn’t help but use baking metaphors in her daily thoughts. She got a lot of guys coming in from the Marine Corps base nearby, Camp Lejeune. She liked a working man, especially if he was fit and good with his hands. Too bad a lot of these guys came into her bakery looking to pick her up—smug assholes with big heads who thought they were God’s gift to women. Now, they weren’t all like that, of course. It was hard to find a decent man who wanted to take charge in the bedroom as much as day-to-day life.
Finishing up in the kitchen, Summer walked out into the front area. And there they were, two men leaning up against the counter. Not slouching. No, one had his elbow on it and was resting his chiselled chin against the palm of his hand like he had all the time in the world. Like he really didn’t mind just being there. He seemed to be enjoying the view now too, as his pale green eyes widened at the sight of Summer.
He was taller than her but not as tall as his friend. She was on the short side herself, so most guys seemed pretty big.
“Hey guys, how are you today?” she greeted cheerfully.
“Howdy,” said the man who was leaning on his hand at the counter. He had an easy charm that seemed to draw her in, and he knew it, but didn’t care. “My name’s Lucas. Nice to meet you.” He stood up straight and was shorter than his friend, but only because the second man was a giant. Lucas had light brown hair and a load of tattoos.
“Something smells amazing,” he gushed.
“You’ll have to excuse my friend for drooling. My name’s Chase, by the way.”
“And why would he be drooling?” she asked, expression as innocent as fresh baked sugar cookies. Both Lucas and Chase grinned a little and looked her up and down.
“You tell us,” drawled Chase. There was something about him that screamed ‘ladies man.’ He had presence, and that drew Summer to him, despite those brooding eyes.
“Uh, I suppose you must be smelling my granny’s pecan bars. They’re fresh out of the oven, just put ‘em on the cooling rack.”
“You read my mind,” Chase said.
He was layered in tattoos, tall, dark, and well-toned. Not the musculature of a guy who just pumped weights every day to get ridiculously big. No, this was a man who used his impressive physique doing physical labor. Summer felt her cheeks warming, thinking about what he could do between the sheets and whether he liked his brownies spiked with a dash of heat.
Lucas laughed and slapped his friend on the back. “Why don’t you tell her how you’ve been talking about those pecan bars since Tom at the barracks brought one out to eat as his dessert last night?”
“I wasn’t going on about anything,” Chase said defensively.
“Sure, you were.”
“Well, if you were, I’d be flattered,” Summer said. She met the taller man’s intense eyes and looked away briefly, shyly, as he returned her gaze. Her cheeks weren’t the only things getting hot.
Chapter 2
Lucas
This woman was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. Lucas couldn’t believe his luck to have stumbled upon her. He knew Chase was thinking the same thing. She was slim but rounded in just the right areas. A hard-working woman who was toned but had a breathtaking jiggle to her walk. Her blonde hair was wavy, silky looking. Lush pink lips had him staring.
Chase was better at hiding what he was thinking. That whole dark and mysterious thing was one of the guy’s biggest pulls as far as women were concerned. They made a great team. And they liked to team up with girls who were willing to take on two strapping Marines at once.
“Say, I didn’t catch your name. Such a rare beauty must have a fitting name, I imagine,” he said. Putting on the charm was all too easy for Lucas. Hell, he had to have a special draw card being best friends with the always impressive Chase. The ladies fawned over his friend, but that never left Lucas out of the game.
“Oh, how rude of me,” the willowy blonde behind the counter whispered, warm but reserved. It was clear she wasn’t looking to be hit on that morning. “My name’s Summer.”
Her southern accent had a nice mix of class and down-to-Earth. Lucas thought about what it would be like hearing her moan his name.
