Best of My Love (Fool's Gold) (12 page)

“Are you listening to me?” Gladys asked.

“Huh? No. Sorry. You were saying?”

“Nancee makes cupcakes. Really good ones. You’re always trying new things in the bakery. That has to be hard on man power and equipment. You only have so much space back there, and so many employees. Having Nancee bake your cupcakes would free up space and time.”

The savvy business assessment coming from an old lady in a flowered dress was a little disconcerting. If Amber ever agreed to even half of Shelby’s ideas, they would be hard-pressed to make it all work in their current location. Which was only one of the reasons Shelby wanted to expand.

“It’s an interesting idea,” she said. “Let me know when Nancee’s going to be here. We can talk. I’ll have to run it all by Amber, as well.”

“That’s fine. I’ll let you know.” Gladys smiled. “You have a good day.”

The older woman turned to go. Shelby picked up the paper.

“Wait! Didn’t you want to say something about this?”

Gladys stared at her blankly.

Shelby sighed. “The announcement? About me and Aidan?”

“Oh, look. You got married. Congratulations. If you want a present, you need to have a reception. Or a party, although a reception’s better. And no, they’re not the same thing at all.”

Hardly the reaction Shelby had been looking for. “You’re not surprised? Shocked? Slightly stunned?”

“No. Why would anyone be surprised?”

With that, she left.

Shelby spent the rest of the morning having customers not mention a thing. It was as if no one cared at all. So much for a fun prank, she thought ruefully. A little before eleven, Madeline stomped into the store.

“I had an early wedding gown delivery,” her friend said, her expression tight. “So I had to sign for it, then iron and steam it.” Her mouth turned down. “How could you not tell me? I can’t believe you and Aidan eloped without saying anything.”

Shelby groaned. “We didn’t.”

“You had to. There’s no way you had a wedding here in town.” Tears filled Madeline’s eyes. “Was it a destination wedding and you didn’t invite me? I thought we were friends.”

Shelby hurried around the counter and touched Madeline’s arm. “There was no wedding. Aidan and I aren’t married.”

“But there’s the announcement.”

“It’s April Fool’s Day.”

Madeline wiped away a tear. “So?”

“It’s a joke. We did it to be funny.”

Her friend sniffed. “So you’re not married?”

“No.”

“There was no elopement or destination wedding?”

Shelby hugged her. “You’re my best friend. When I get engaged, you’ll be the first to know. I promise. It’s just Aidan and I are friends and everyone has been talking about us like we’re a couple and it’s frustrating so we thought this would be funny.”

Madeline hugged her back, then straightened. “I feel better. I couldn’t believe it when I saw that notice. I was really hurt. I should have trusted you.”

“No, it’s me. I should have said something. I never thought you’d believe it. You know Aidan and I aren’t a couple.”

Madeline looked like she was going to say something, then she shook her head. “You two are weird. You know that, right?”

“I’m beginning to think that might be the case. We’re okay?”

“We are. I have to get back to work. We’ll have lunch soon. Promise?”

“Absolutely.”

Her friend left. Seconds later Mayor Marsha walked in. “Shelby, I wanted to stop by and offer my congratulations. I had a feeling about you two. I’m glad I was right.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“I
T
WAS
TOTALLY
INSANE
,”
Shelby said, still sounding grumpy. “All of it. Mayor Marsha was the worst. Do you know how hard it was to explain to her that it was a joke? She was not amused.”

“I’m glad she came to see you and not me,” Aidan admitted.

“That makes you a complete wiener dog,” she grumbled.

He chuckled. “I can live with that.”

While he’d been startled by the lack of response to their ad, Shelby had taken it much harder. She’d been expecting shrieks and protestations. What she’d gotten instead had been silence or “I told you so’s.”

“I feel bad about Madeline,” she admitted. “I should have let her know what we were doing. But honestly, even she wasn’t totally surprised. She was upset because she thought I’d had a wedding without her being there. As if.”

He closed his eyes and let the words wash over him. He’d learned that when Shelby was upset about something, it was best to let her talk it out. There was no problem for him to fix, nothing for him to do. His job was to listen.

The first few times she’d gone on a tear, he’d been unable to keep his mouth shut. But he’d quickly realized that not only didn’t she appreciate his thoughtful advice, she actually found it annoying. She didn’t want an action plan, she wanted someone to hear her as she worked through the problem over and over again.

Now he was able to simply sink into the words, to respond with encouragement rather than suggestions.

She passed him a towel. “It’s all very strange,” she continued. “But I guess I need to let it go.”

“The retraction will be out Tuesday.”

“I doubt anyone will even notice or care. I thought it was a great joke. I hate being wrong about stuff like that.”

He lifted his left foot out of the hot water and dried it off, then did the same with his right.

The first time Shelby had suggested they give themselves pedicures, he’d about run screaming into the night. He’d explained that he was a man and real men didn’t do that kind of thing. She’d listened patiently, then had reminded him of their deal. Girl thing, boy thing. Pedicures were a girl thing.

So he’d suffered through the experience. After they’d soaked their feet, she’d given him a little kit with all kinds of strange, slightly frightening instruments. She’d taught him how to use them.

He’d had to admit—although only to himself, never to anyone else, even under threat of torture—the experience hadn’t been horrible. It was now something they did together every three weeks. Although he did draw the line at buffing his nails. No way that was manly.

When they’d each completed the trimming and filing, he pulled on socks while she grabbed her fuchsia toe separators. He looked over the polish choices she’d put out and held up a bottle of bright red polish.

“You don’t think it’s too much?” she asked.

“After what happened, you need something cheerful.”

“Good point.”

Aidan shifted so he could rest her right foot on his thigh, then carefully applied a base coat. He ignored the light pressure on his leg, the fact that she was in shorts and a T-shirt and that they were alone. Nope, he was not going there. He wasn’t going to notice how the T-shirt was cut low enough for her him to see the tops of her breasts. He wasn’t going to stare at her mouth as she concentrated on filing her fingernails. He was going to pay attention to the job he was doing. Later, he would take cold shower number 967 and count down the days left until their deal was over and he could finally get laid.

* * *

S
HELBY
INSPECTED
THE
trays of frosted cookies. They’d had a flood of orders, so she’d called in her teen assistants. The girls had done a great job with the flowers and hearts. Nothing said spring so much as a bridal shower.

She counted a second time to make sure they had plenty for the special orders, plus enough for the walk-in sales for the weekend, then noted her inventory sheets. She walked back to her office only to find Amber sitting in the visitor’s chair.

Her business partner looked up from her tablet. “There you are. I was hoping to catch you before you started making bread. I figured you’d have to come back here first. Which is why I waited.”

Amber was talking too quickly and her gaze seemed to skitter all over the room. Shelby got an uneasy feeling in her stomach. Something was wrong.

She crossed to her desk and sat down. In those three seconds, a million thoughts occurred to her before she realized that she’d created the problem herself. Of course. The newspaper ad. Amber was probably wondering why Shelby hadn’t mentioned the wedding to her.

“We have to talk,” Amber told her.

“I know. I should have said something.”

Her business partner frowned. “Why would you have said anything? It’s really up to me. And how did you know?”

Okay, they were obviously not talking about the same thing. Shelby rested her hands on the table.

“You go ahead. What did you want to tell me?”

Amber ducked her head, then looked at Shelby. Her eyes were bright with an excitement Shelby couldn’t define.

“I’m pregnant.”

Shelby felt her mouth drop open. “I wasn’t expecting that,” she admitted, then laughed. “Seriously? That’s wonderful.”

Amber smiled. “I know. It’s totally insane. I’ve wanted to tell you for a few weeks, but I waited. We wanted to be sure that I would get through the first trimester. I’m in my forties. Tom and I never thought this would happen, but it did. I’m thrilled and scared.” She leaned forward. “I’m also four months along.”

Shelby did the math. “So when you were feeling strange, it was because you were pregnant?”

“Uh-huh. I went to the doctor and that’s when we figured it out. Like I said, I waited to tell you because I was so afraid I’d miscarry. But everything is going well. Tom is over the moon with happiness. I am, too.”

She practically glowed with joy. Shelby got up, circled the desk, then hugged her.

“I’m thrilled for you. This is fantastic.” She sat on the edge of the desk. “Wow.”

“I know.” Amber sighed. “It’s terrifying and wonderful. I’m considered high risk, because of my age. So I’m going to do everything I can to make things go smoothly.”

Shelby held up her hand. “You don’t even have to ask. I’ll work more hours and take on anything you want me to. Pretend you don’t even own a bakery.”

“Thanks. I was hoping you’d be okay with me taking it easy. There’s a lot to worry about and at the same time, I’m not supposed to worry.” She touched her tummy. “I’m so happy.”

“I’m happy for you.”

Amber stood. “We’ll talk soon, okay? Oh, and if you could not say anything for a few days. I’m telling close friends and family first. My dad is beyond excited, of course. Threatening to buy one of every children’s book ever published.”

Shelby smiled, imagining Morgan’s happiness at finally being a grandfather. “I won’t mention it until I hear it from another source.”

Amber grinned. “Of course you can tell Aidan.” She covered her mouth. “Oh, no. I can’t believe it. I’m sorry. Here I was going on and on about the baby, when you have other things on your mind. Congratulations on the marriage. That’s so great.”

Shelby thought about pounding her head against the desk. “We’re not married.”

“What? You’re divorced already?”

“No. We were never married. The ad was a joke because we...” She waved her hand. “It’s not important. Pretend you never saw that announcement.”

“Okay. Well, for what it’s worth, I think you two make a cute couple.”

“Thanks.”

* * *

T
HE
RETRACTION
IN
the paper got about as much reaction as the ad. Aidan watched Shelby pace the length of his office before she turned around and went the other way.

“It’s just so strange,” she said as she walked back and forth. “Everything is changing. With Amber pregnant, I’ll have more responsibility at the bakery, which I like. But she won’t be around as much, which will make it harder to change things.” She looked at him. “I’m not comfortable just doing what I want without talking to her first and if she’s not there, she won’t be available to discuss anything.”

“Right. She also might feel so stressed about the baby that she doesn’t want to take on one more thing.”

“I know.” Shelby turned and walked back the other way. “I’m happy for her. Really happy, but the timing. I wish we’d been able to do more. Plus, after the baby’s born she’s going to be busy, so talking to her then will be hard.”

“Are you that unhappy with how things are?”

“No. It’s good. I love my work. But we could be bigger. The building next to us won’t be available forever.” She grimaced. “Not that it matters. Amber would never agree to the expansion now. She’s got the baby to deal with. There would be expenses and construction and stress. It’s just that I had all these plans.”

He stood and moved toward her. “It’s okay.”

She came to a stop in front of him. “It’s kind of not.”

“Okay—then how about me saying you’ll get through this. We’ll talk about it and you’ll come up with some solutions.”

She looked at him. Her bangs were too long. They were practically in her eyes. The look was adorable.

One corner of her mouth turned up. “What you really want is to tell me exactly what to do. I appreciate that you’re not.”

“I’m here to listen.”

She leaned against him. Her forehead rested on his chest and her hands settled at his waist. “Why does life always have to have a sense of humor?” she asked, her voice muffled against her chest. “I’m such a bad person.”

“You’re not. You’re happy for your friend, but frustrated because of what her news means for the business. Neither emotion is wrong.”

She raised her head. “You swear?”

She was close. So close he could feel the heat from her body. It would only take the lightest of touches to pull her up against him. Then they would be touching everywhere. While it wasn’t all that he wanted, it got him a good part of the way there.

“Aidan?”

He was sure it was his imagination, but it seemed to him that the word came out as a plea. A request. One he couldn’t resist. He lowered his head those last few inches and pressed his mouth against hers.

He was pretty sure he’d caught her off guard, so he half expected her to pull back. Only she didn’t. She stayed exactly where she was, her lips against his.

Her skin was warm and soft. Her hands moved from his waist to his shoulders. His slid around her body. He took a step forward—or she did?—then they were pressed against each other and it didn’t matter who had moved first.

Wanting struck him like lightning, burning hot and bright. His breath caught in his throat as the need grew. She fit him perfectly. Her breasts nestled against his chest. Her belly rubbed against his growing erection. And then there was the kiss.

Her mouth was everything he’d hoped for. Hot and sweet and willing. She parted her lips before he asked and he eagerly swept inside. Heat grew until it consumed him and all he could think was how much he wanted her.

His hands were in her hair, stroking her neck, her back. Everywhere he touched was perfection. This was Shelby, he thought hazily, deepening the kiss until they were both straining toward each other. The woman he liked as much as he desired. The woman whose laugh made him happy. His friend and his—

Friend
. The word was like a bucket of ice water. He drew back slightly, breaking the kiss and resting his forehead on hers. Their breath came in gasps. The rhythm matched the aching pulse in his groin. He was harder than he’d ever been, so ready to make love with her. He wanted her naked and writhing. He wanted to please her, then fill her until his release threw him to the other side of the universe.

The primal side of him told him she wanted it, too. That she was still touching him, still leaning into him. She had to feel his dick against her belly and she was okay with it. He nearly drowned in the images of them together. It was going to be so good.

But the rest of him—that damned sensible, civilized part of his brain, nearly starved for blood—reminded him that there was so much more on the line than what he wanted. Even if he was willing to ignore his own goals, what about hers? She needed to be healed so she could move on with her life. Sleeping with her now could totally screw up everything.

No pun intended.

“Dammit all to hell,” he muttered, his voice hoarse with passion. “I respect you. I like you. I want you to have everything you’re looking for. And it’s not this.”

Even though it was the most difficult thing he’d ever done, he took a step back.

Shelby stared at him. Her eyes were wide, her pupils dilated. She looked aroused and beautiful and it was all he could do to keep from reaching for her again.

“You should go,” he told her. “Just go.”

She started to speak, then shook her head before turning and walking away.

* * *

A
IDAN
HAD
KNOWN
for a while that his brother had a secret studio in the woods. He’d even visited Nick there on occasion. But he’d never explored it. Beyond looking at whatever piece Nick was working on, he hadn’t thought about what else might be stored there. Now he stood beside his brother and stared at the rows and rows of incredible creations.

There were wood carvings. Dozens of them. Some finished, others in various stages of completion. He could see the traditional bears and deer, a few raccoons. But there were also life-sized human figures. A dancer with one leg in the air. A woman holding a baby. They were so real, he half expected them to move.

Nick’s glasswork was just as extraordinary. Swirling shapes as big as a man. There was a glass tree, huge bowls, a slithering snake nearly six feet long.

“What’s that line from that old movie,
Jaws
?” Aidan asked. “We’re going to need a bigger boat.”

“I’ve always been an overachiever.”

That was one way of putting it. Aidan didn’t know where to begin. When Nick had asked for help, he’d jumped at the chance to get out of his head for a few hours. He hadn’t seen Shelby in a couple of days, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t with him. He couldn’t stop thinking about their kiss. Hard labor moving heavy pieces of wood and glass would go a long way to distracting him. Or so he hoped.