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“Her astrological sign is Cancer. And her spirit animal is the cat.” She pursed her lips, nodded sagely and stepped into her store. “Live in the light, honey.”
The door closed. Hunter shook his head, a humorless laugh erupting from his throat.
Astrology and spirit animals.No coincidences.
As if new-age crap would give him any further insight into Aria. He’d bet the cat spirits didn’t know she wore pink flowered underwear.
* * *
After returning to the inn to shower, Hunter pulled on jeans and a T-shirt. Taking his laptop and car keys, he headed out again to the Sugar Joy Bakery on Dandelion Street.
“Morning. What can I get for you?” The young woman behind the counter straightened from sliding a basket of cookies into the glass display case.
One look at her face clinched Hunter’s belief that this was still a family-run bakery. The woman was wearing a Grateful Dead T-shirt and bright red lipstick, and with her pale skin and long dark hair, she was the opposite of honey-like, summery Aria. However, her fine-boned features and thick-lashed eyes left no doubt that they were related.
“Chocolate-chip cookies are fresh out of the oven,” she added.
“No, thanks.” Hunter scanned the baked goods. “I’ll have a blueberry muffin and a black coffee, please.”
He dug into his pocket for his wallet and paid for the food.
“Have a seat, and I’ll bring your food out to you.” Aria’s sister nodded toward the round tables.
He took a table by the window. If he were the kind of man who liked cafés that served coffee in oversized earthenware mugs and had a shelf full of board games for customers, he’d have appreciated the homey atmosphere. Green plants flourished in colorful pots, people sat reading or talking in comfortable chairs, and bright paintings decorated the walls.
Nice for a small-town bakery, but he’d never understood how people could spend hours at a place like this. Didn’t they get bored?
He opened a browser on his laptop. Though it was stupid, he typed “Astrological sign Cancer” into a search engine and studied the results.
Strongly connected to family and home. Ruled by the moon. Led by her emotions and heart. Guarded at first, but if you earn her trust, she’ll be a lifelong loyal companion. Deeply erotic. Bonds passionately with one person.
Strengths: tenacious, imaginative, loyal, emotional.
Weaknesses: Moody, suspicious, insecure.
Yeah, well, he could have figured all that out on his own. Not to mention, most people exhibited those traits at one point or another. They weren’t exclusive to Aria.
Deeply erotic.
Based on her responsiveness to his kiss, he already knew that.
“Here you go.” The counter girl’s voice sliced through his thoughts.
Hunter moved his laptop aside. She placed the muffin and coffee in front of him.
“Thanks.” He took a swallow of the coffee. “I understand this place is a town institution.”
“We’ve been here for twenty-five years, at least.” She tucked her hands into her apron pockets. “My mother opened it when my sisters and I were kids.”
“Hey, Rory, can you pack up two dozen cupcakes for me?” A woman in her early thirties dressed in a beige skirt and white blouse hurried through the front doors. “Some of my students are getting together for a study group, and I want to bring them a treat.”
“Careful. You don’t want to get a reputation for actually being nice.” The dark-haired woman—Rory—returned to the counter and took a box from a shelf.
“I’m only doing it because they took the initiative to plan it on their own.” The other woman, whom Hunter guessed was Aria’s other sister Callie, started toward the wooden doors leading to the kitchen. “Is Mom here? I need to ask her about the roofing estimates she was supposed to get.”
“She’s doing payroll in the office.” Rory began placing cupcakes in the box. “I’m sure she can handle the roofing estimates on her own.”
“I just want to look them over.” Callie disappeared into the kitchen, not catching Rory’s eye-roll and heavy sigh.
