Page 32 of Love Walks In


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Hunter pulled up Aria’s document on his laptop and added information about the bakery and her sisters.

Okay. He could work with this. Aria had roots and family here. That would partially explain her attachment to the old district. Most of the other Mariposa building owners also had a history here, but they’d been around for a lot longer and were ready to move on. They also recognized that he was offering them something much better than what they had.

“Oh my god.” The incredulous voice spilled into his veins like cherry syrup.

His heart kicked against his ribs. Slowly, he turned to find Aria standing at the wooden doors leading to the kitchen, her hands planted on her hips and her face darkened by a scowl that was a direct contrast to her flowy, rose-colored sundress.

“Are you stalking me?” she snapped.

Rory whipped her gaze toward Hunter, her features hardening. A few other customers glanced his way warily.

“Just having a coffee.”

Aria’s eyes flashed. She started toward him. Rory grabbed her arm and hissed something in a low tone. Aria whispered back, pulled her arm away, and strode to Hunter’s table.

He remained seated so he’d appear less physically intimidating, but the closer she got, the heavier his heart pounded. By the time she was standing in front of him, his pulse was racing.

Even though he’d just seen her close-up yesterday, her beauty hit him with renewed force. Again, she wore no makeup aside from a lip gloss that made her mouth even more kissable. Her hair was pulled back into a messy knot, leaving little strands dangling over her bare shoulders that looked as if they tasted like cream.

He shifted, trying to ignore the heat pooling in his groin.

“Not for one second do I think it’s a coincidence that you showed up at my mother’s bakery the day after trying to bully me into selling my café.” Aria folded her arms. The movement caused the bracelets on her wrists to clink together. “I heard you were looking into health code ordinances to see if I was violating any rules. Whatever other tactic you’re planning to use to try and get to me, it won’t work. In case you need me to repeat myself…”

She placed both hands on the table and leaned in close to him. His head filled with the scent of her, a thousand tropical summer aromas—coconuts, salt, oranges, sunshine.

“I. Am. Not. Selling. My. Café.” Aria spoke through gritted teeth.

For the life of him, Hunter couldn’t think of a retort. All he could do was think about how badly he wanted to slide his hand around her warm nape, pull her closer, and crush her pretty mouth with his again.

Hard, this time. More of the hot, open-mouthed kiss they’d shared on the sidewalk. He wanted to devour her, inhale her, eat her right up. Everything about her was so damned tempting.

“What’s going on here?” Callie marched up behind her sister, her spine ramrod straight and her glare sharp enough to cut through an iceberg.

“None of your business.” Aria whirled to frown at her sister. “I can handle it.”

“Is that why I heard you all the way in the kitchen?”

“Would you please go away and let me take care of this?” Aria snapped.

Hunter shot his gaze to Rory, who was tapping her fingers impatiently on the glass counter as if she were poised to leap over it and enter the fray.

“I’m Callie Prescott.” Callie stepped in front of Aria and extended her hand to him. “You appear to know my sister.”

Somehow, he found his voice. “We’ve met.”

“Mr. Armstrong is from Imperial Properties.” Aria moved into her sister’s space, her mouth compressing. “And Callie is a bossy professor who can’t stand not being in control of everyone else’s lives.”

“Someone has to try and stop you from making colossal mistakes.” Callie smiled thinly at Hunter. “I assume you’re here to discuss the contract.”

“Mr. Armstrong stopped by Meow and Then yesterday and attempted to intimidate…excuse me,convinceme to sell my building to him.” Aria grabbed Callie’s arm and dragged her a few feet away. They started arguing in low voices.

“All right, break it up.” Rory approached, pushing between her sparring sisters. “Back to your corners, both of you.”

Callie and Aria stepped away from each other, their eyes shooting sparks.

“Look.” Hunter rose to his feet. He loved a challenge, and he appreciated Aria’s fire—hell, he liked it a lot—but he also wanted…neededher to understand the facts. “In three weeks, I’ll have the votes of at least eighty, if not over ninety percent of the Mariposa Business Association owners. If you’re the only holdout, I’ll then be legally allowed to make you an offer as low as thirty percent of what you paid for the building. Do you really want to be forced to sell at that kind of a loss? Especially while knowing what kind of profit you refused?”

Callie started to speak. Rory pinched her arm.

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