AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Summer? No wonder you warmed my heart the moment you stepped into the room,” Chase said. It was cheesy as hell. He knew it. And was fully aware that she knew it. Had that ever stopped it from working? Very rarely.
“Oh, thanks?” An inflection at the end displayed her discomfort. She was playing it cool maybe. “My name’s actually Summerlyn but my friends call me Summer. So, you can call me Summerlyn, I guess.” Her face was dead serious and it was enough of a letdown to make Chase’s heart drop.
“Now, you’ll have to excuse my friend,” Lucas chimed in, shaking his head and smirking. “He’s a collector of lame pickup lines, but he’s mostly harmless. Now, about those pecan bars?” Chase had a serious penchant for pastries and he hadn’t stopped talking about those damn things since their fellow Marine had let him try a bite last night.
It irked Lucas that his friend didn’t care about pursuing beautiful women the way he did sweets. He didn’t have to work for it as much. But with their powers combined? They just might be able to work some team magic.
“So, are you two looking to order something?” Summer asked, full lips quirking. She didn’t seem to be wearing anything on them apart from maybe some lip gloss or just balm. It could get awfully dry working in a hot kitchen, especially out in a place like Jacksonville. The troops over at Camp Lejeune knew that from all the chores that were a part of their daily routine.
“I was hoping to wait until I could get my hands on one of those world-famous pecan bars,” Chase said with a gleam in his eye that rarely showed up for anything but pastries and women. “What’d you say, Lucas, you want one, too?”
“Sure, if you’re buying. I’ll have one, and a cup of black coffee, please.”
Summer seemed almost surprised by his manners. His casual attitude and that unfortunately timed pickup line obviously hadn’t given her the best of impressions. But he would make up for that, oh yes. While his friend had his mind set on those homestyle goodies from the bakery’s kitchen, Lucas was intent on something much more exciting for his dessert later.
“Well, may I have five of your granny’s pecan bars?” Chase asked with his trademark boyish politeness. They were taught respect in the military, and showing good manners to a lovely woman was definitely part of that.
“You absolutely can,” she said. “Are you planning on sharing them with more potential customers?”
“Oh ... not exactly,” Chase said a little sheepishly.
“He wants four of them for himself,” Lucas said dryly. “And I doubt they’ll make it out of here by the time we’re done with our coffee, Summer.”
Chase shrugged, unrepentant, and ordered himself a coffee with full cream that would no doubt be piled up with sugar too once they were seated at a table.
Chapter 3
Chase
He couldn’t believe his taste buds. The fact that this place had been sitting right here not far from their base all this time — it was damn near criminal.
“I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to discover you,” he said to Summer.
She’d given them the five pecan bars; one for Lucas, and four for himself. He ignored Lucas’ ribbing—he was a big guy and worked hard. He had more than enough calories to spare for the day. This would all be converted into fuel for getting shit done. Where was the harm in enjoying something sweet and delicious if you needed the energy anyway?
Summer had poured their coffee while they took a seat by the window, not too far from the counter. Lucas had of course taken the side of the table that faced the counter. He hadn’t taken his eyes off the poor girl since first seeing her. It was understandable. She was gorgeous. Chase wanted her badly, too. He was just better at hiding it, rather than appearing like he wanted to devour her whole like Lucas.
“These are amazing!” groaned Lucas as he took another bite of his bar.
He ate it carefully, nice and slow, making a suggestive show out of consuming the rich treat.
Chase rolled his eyes and finished one, then turned his sights on number two. Summer approached and his shoulders hunched protectively over the mostly devoured bars. It was only good manners to enjoy someone’s cooking, right? Her hair was pinned up and covered in a dainty pink net cap. He envisioned it flowing down to her full, bare breasts, and inhaled—then choked. She was incredibly distracting and seemed just as sweet as the treats he was enjoying.
Summer stopped, eyeing him quizzically.
He cleared his throat once the coughing fit died down. “These are hands down the best pecan bars I’ve ever tried,” he muttered.
“Thanks, Summer,” Lucas said as she set their coffee on the table.
“Yeah, thanks,” Chase echoed.
Her perfume teased his nostrils, or maybe that lovely aroma was just a combination of her natural scent and all the delicious goodies she’d been whipping up in the kitchen. The thought was almost too much for his sweet tooth, and his libido, to handle.
“You’re darn right they’re the best you’ve ever tried. My granny handed down that recipe to me, bless her. Gave me this bakery, too.” She had a faraway look in her eye, memories evidently assailing her.
He met her gaze. “I’m sorry to hear that she’s no longer with us,” he said quietly. Only an ass could ignore the sorrow in her tone. And he wasn’t an ass.
“Oh, you didn’t have nothing to do with it, hon,” She sniffed, her smile wan.
