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It was friendly. Nothing more. But its warmth spread through him, and he wanted more.
Fucking temptation.
“He was a groomsman, and he brought me out here. And I thought, Why not try to sell all this inventory? It won’t make a dent in what I owe, but it’ssomething.”
Rosie handed off her tart to the child standing beside her, reached out, and drew Grace in for a hug. “You’ve had a rough go of it.”
Tears shone in Grace’s eyes. He watched this brave, kind, spirited woman lean into a stranger and hated himself for being so cold. For being so consumed with his attraction to her that he didn’t bother seeing her as a woman who’d gone through a trauma.
“It’s all right. You’re here now.” Rosie held her close. “We’ve got you.”
Grace pulled back, wiping under her eyes. “Look at me. I’ve kept myself so busy I haven’t let myself feel anything. I just…want to pay my parents back, you know?”
“How much?” Brodie asked.
“Brodie.” His wife nudged him.
“No, it’s okay.” Grace turned to sell another Napoleon. Pocketing the money, she said, “I don’t mind. Um, I need seven grand for the wedding. The rest, what my ex stole…that’ll take a lot longer. My whole family works in our bakery, so there’s only so much money to go around. I figured I could get a head start selling what I made.”
“You want to run a food truck?” Brodie asked.
“What?” Distracted by another sale, Grace pocketed the money and then turned back to Brodie. “A food truck? Oh, I can’t do that. I have to get home. I only planned to take a week off.”
“My family and I have a place called Owl Hoot here in Calamity,” Brodie said. “Every summer, we run a music festival in an outdoor amphitheater, and we’ve got all kinds of food trucks around the perimeter. Only two of them sell dessert, and one of the guys just bailed because he broke his arm. Last year, he made fourteen grand selling churros and doughnuts, and this year, our ticket sales have more than doubled, so I can pretty much guarantee you’ll earn enough to pay your parents back.”
“Are you serious? And I can sell whatever I want?” The prettiest pink suffused her features, and her whole spirit seemed to blossom.
“No. You’d have to stick to what he sells, but you can sing your heart out.”
“I thought you said it was a music festival?”
Brodie chuckled. “Yeah. So maybe don’t sing when there’s a band on the stage, but the rest of the time…go for it. We’ll bill you as the Singing Baker.”
Jaime wanted to tell her to take the offer. That if she had the chance to pay her parents back from a summer’s worth of work doing the thing she loved, she should absolutely do it.
But he wouldn’t say that because he didn’t want her staying on his ranch.
Not when he’d have to see her perfect ass and that happy smile.
Hell, no.
“But wait, she can still make these desserts, too, right?” Rosie asked.
“I don’t see why not,” Brodie said. “You’d be making the fried stuff right there in the truck, so anything you bring in from home, you can sell for yourself.”
“Am I sharing the profits with him?” Grace asked.
“No. He could use the income, so we’ll lease the truck from him—and I’m paying for that since I need more dessert options. So, yeah. You’ll keep one hundred percent of the profits. You should make more than enough to pay back your parents and pocket some change for yourself. Deal?”
“I have a million questions like where I’ll stay and what my family will do without me, but I’m smart enough to say, ‘Yes, please,’ and ‘thank you,’ and figure out the rest on my own.”
A clash of emotions rocked him.
A weird kind of elation that she was staying, along with a fear that he wouldn’t be able to resist her.
And a fierce desire to see this woman succeed.
But he could manage the situation. Between him and the Bowies, they’d find a cheap place for her to rent.
