Beautifully Decadent (Beautifully Damaged Book 3) (7 page)

“Mom!” But she knew I would.

“Love you, Avery.”

“Love you, Mom.”

Calling Jessica, I heard little Aidan in the background as soon as she picked up the line.

“Is Aidan okay?”

“Yeah, just tired. So, you’re in.”

“Yep.”

“Send pictures.”

“I will. If I had been given the okay to decorate this place, I would have done it very similarly. And to think one time this structure stored the carriages. What he’s done is amazing.”

“I can’t wait to see it.”

“And the backyard, it’s like a secret garden, secluded and magical. I know he has neighbors; I passed them when I drove here and yet you can’t see anyone. It’s like entering a secret world.”

“And your landlord? What’s he like?”

“My landlord looks like he just stepped out of the pages of GQ, carpenter edition.”

“No way.”

“He’s gorgeous: long black hair, bright green eyes.”

“Get his picture.”

“Mom said the same thing.”

“Your mom is very smart. Do you see yourself making a move on your hot new landlord?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“He’s my landlord.”

“So. Did you get goosebumps when you met him?”

“Lost my breath, but it doesn’t matter. He is with someone.”

“Married?”

“I don’t know. He wasn’t wearing a ring, but he also works with his hands.”

“Find out. If he isn’t married, he’s fair game. You’ve never lost your breath for a man, ever. You should make a move. With him being your landlord, there are so many options available to you: you can’t open a window, or the refrigerator is making a strange sound or, better yet, the water stopped working when you were in the middle of a shower.”

“You’re as deranged as Nat.”

Jess laughed and Aidan cried louder. “I need to get this boy down.”

A reprieve. I’d have to sneak the kid an extra cookie for unknowingly getting his mom off my landlord’s scent.

Jess added, “Pictures. Oh, I can’t wait to visit.”

“Speaking of which, maybe we could do Christmas in the city.”

“December, that should work. I’ll check with Kit and get back to you.”

“Kiss Aidan for me.”

“Will do. Talk soon.”

Hanging up, I dropped my phone on the table, sat back and just soaked it all in. I was the pastry chef for Clover. I’d done it. I was living the dream.

I needed more peanut butter. Scraping the sides of the jar, I realized a man in his thirties eating his dinner from a jar was downright sad. I’d gotten a lot done today. Not as much as I’d planned, but I lost a few hours with my tenant moving in and Melody’s surprise visit. Dropping the spoon in the sink, I couldn’t help the thread of anger when I thought about Melody’s stunt from earlier. She never came here, preferred meeting me when we went out. I knew she was curious about my tenant; she’d reacted oddly when I mentioned I had taken one on. For her to show up here, she was falling into a pattern that was becoming far too predictable.

We’d met a few months back at Sapphire. Sexy and beautiful, she’d also been fun. It wasn’t as much fun anymore because there was a vein of jealousy that ran through her that annoyed the hell out of me. She was even jealous of my friends’ wives. On the rare occasion she joined us, she acted like a bitch, which put me in the position of making excuses for her. I was growing really fucking tired of the whole scene.

And my tenant…I hadn’t known what I expected when Trace mentioned his pastry chef. No, that wasn’t true. I had pictured a grandmotherly-type: older, gray hair, wide from eating her creations. I hadn’t expected Avery. Kneeling next to my dog rubbing him down like he was a long-lost friend. She got serious points for that, my own damn girlfriend kept a wide-berth from Loki. And how refreshing, a beautiful woman who was comfortable enough in her own skin that she didn’t need to hide behind makeup and designer clothes. Not that she needed them, her ass in those sweats…fucking fine. I can’t remember a time my blood stirred as much as it had stepping out of the barn and seeing her. She was a fucking knockout, but she was like a jacked-up fairy—happy and bubbly while spewing bullshit like that nonsense about her car with its good lock and key. She was a nut, but a sexy one.

Turning toward the trash can, a movement outside the window grabbed my attention. It was Avery and she was pacing in front of the carriage house. Had she locked herself out already? In the next minute, she stopped pacing and stared down at Loki, apparently talking to him. Loki’s head tilted to the side as he had a tendency of doing, studying her probably a lot like how I was. What the hell was she doing? And then she started pacing again, but this time she was talking to herself. I could see her lips moving. I wondered if Trace ran a background check on her. Her words popped into my head about how I wouldn’t know she was there, I had a sneaking suspicion that wasn’t going to be the case.

Walking out back, I called to her. “Are you okay?”

Her head snapped up and she looked both surprised and embarrassed if her cheeks turning pink were any indication.

“Sorry, I was just thinking.”

“Were you just talking to Loki?”

“Will you call for a straitjacket if I say yes?”

“Admitting you have a problem is half of the battle.”

A smile spread over her face, her eyes bright with suppressed laughter. Envy, sharp and raw, cut through me because I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt that kind of unbridled good humor. “I’m working out recipes and I think better when I pace.” I wasn’t really sure how to answer that. Before I could she added, “I know it’s weird and I probably look crazy, but I’ve always been that way. Ideas come to me when I’m using more than one sense.”

“Okay.”

“I’m harmless, really.”

The laugh that came from me in response took us both by surprise. “I’ll hold you to that, being harmless.”

She crossed her heart; fuck I hadn’t seen that since I was a kid. And then she held up her fingers. “Scout’s honor.”

“Were you ever a scout?”

Her smile was more a grin when she replied, “No.”

I chuckled, couldn’t help it, and damn but that felt good. “So you’re okay?”

“Yep. I’m fine.”

“Good night then.”

“Sweet dreams.”

That stopped me as I twisted my head to see that she had started pacing again. Sweet dreams. Practically unconsciously offered and yet for some reason that jarred me, not so much the words, but the casual nature in which they were delivered. My new tenant was odd, but I suspected I was going to like her brand of odd.

The light scent of the hibiscus extract combined with the rich vanilla fragrance of the pastry cream was divine. A vanilla bean sponge cake sat cooling on the counter. How to top the dessert? In my head, I could see the presentation: a delicate chunk of white chocolate, two slices of starfruit and a dusting of powdered sugar. Continuing to whip the cream, I moved to the oven to check on the almond crisps for the almond and sweet cream panna cotta I was concocting. I may have gone a bit overboard with testing my recipes. The counters in the kitchen were covered with dishes, some fully formed, others still in stages.

Setting the bowl of cream on the counter, I checked the crisps. The edges were slightly darker and the buttery aroma that wafted up to me was heavenly. Crisps were tricky because it took only seconds to go from perfect to burnt and burnt nuts were bitter, overpowering every other flavor. Pulling the crisps from the oven, I transferred them to the cooling rack so they wouldn’t continue baking on the hot pan. I had just started on the presentation of the vanilla bean and hibiscus cake when someone knocked at the door.

“Come in.”

I sliced the sponge cake in half; I preferred the foam method of preparing sponge cake, whipping the egg whites until they were the perfect consistency and the result was a firm cake that was light and airy, the nooks in the cake soaking up whatever filling was spread over them. And as I spread the pastry cream on the cake, I realized whoever had been at the door hadn’t entered. Walking to it, the sound of a little kid’s voice reached me as I stepped outside. The sight that greeted me was Loki playing with Trace’s daughter, Trace standing just behind her grinning. As soon as I stepped up next to him, his focus shifted to me.

“Hey, Avery. I wanted to stop by and see how you were settling in. Faith insisted on coming. She loves Loki.”

“Looks like the feeling is mutual.”

“You all settled?”

“I am. I was just working on some recipes.”

Faith’s head turned at that. “Cake?”

“Yes, and some other sweets. Maybe if it’s okay with daddy, you could sample some.”

Faith turned the cutest doe-eyes on her dad. “Please Daddy.”

I thought Trace’s quick response, reaching down and swooping his daughter up over his shoulder, was due to those doe-eyes but then he added, “Only if I get some too.”

Nervousness twisted in my belly. I was still working through the recipes and he was my boss, I wanted to impress him. On the other hand, getting his feedback would also be helpful. “There’s plenty to go around.”

Leading them inside, Faith let out the cutest gasp. “Look at all those yummy things, Daddy.”

Trace settled Faith at the kitchen counter, standing behind her so she wouldn’t fall, but his attention was on all the yummy things too. “Damn, you’ve been busy.”

In response, I grinned like a maniacal genius—a sight I knew well since my sister was one. “Okay, Faith. I have chocolate cake, vanilla cake, a berry pie…”

“What’s that?” She pointed to the vanilla sponge cake I’d been in the middle of working on.

“Vanilla cake, with a vanilla cream flavored with an edible flower.”

“I want that.” She said.

“Me too.” Trace added which for some reason brought a chuckle because looking at the man, he didn’t seem the type to want a cake flavored with flowers.

“I’m still working out the presentation, so bear with me.”

Using the spoon, I smeared some cream on the plate, sliced a wedge of the cake and placed it off-center on the cream. I’d already broken the white chocolate into the shapes I wanted, so I gently pushed the triangular hunk of white chocolate into the top of the cake, added the slices of starfruit and dusted it with powdered sugar. Wiping the excess from the plate with a towel, I presented it to Faith. Her eyes went wide.