Mating Dance (3 page)

Was it getting hot in here?
She
thought momentarily about the ovens in back, but the timers would
beep when the bread was done. There was no beeping, just the
pounding of her heart as she talked to this gorgeous hunk of man
who—
saints preserve us
—seemed to be keeping an open mind
where her colorful past was concerned. He was getting even more
attractive, by the moment.

“Besides,” he went on, blissfully unaware of
her perusal, “I know when people are lying to me. I’m also a really
good judge of character. So is just about everyone here. Especially
our mayor. You and your sisters are okay with Big John, so that
means you’re okay. End of story.”

“But that isn’t really the end of the story,
is it?” she countered, still uncomfortable that he knew her deep,
dark secret. “My sisters moved here, in part, to help me start
over. The press hounded me. You have no idea…” She ran a hand over
her hair, feeling the sorrow and frustration of those days all over
again. “It was awful.”

“I won’t tell anyone.” His voice was
reassuringly strong, though the deep tone created a sort of
intimacy that warmed her.

She looked up, meeting his gaze. “How can I
be sure, though? It would kill me to have to move again. I’d have
to leave my sisters behind now that Nell is marrying Brody, and
Tina’s so infatuated with all of you people and your
abilities…”

Tom actually chuckled, and Ash couldn’t
figure out why. She scowled at him until he held up one hand, palm
outward.

“Honey, that’s the reason I’m here. Big John
asked me to come talk to you and your sister, to make sure you
wouldn’t go telling the rest of the world about
us
.”

“Huh.” She sat back in her chair,
nonplussed. “So we both know something about the other we don’t
want getting out.” A dark thought occurred to her. “Were you going
to threaten me with exposure if I didn’t keep your secret? Because
if that’s your game—”

“Peace, Ashley,” Tom interrupted her, this
time raising both hands in a gesture of surrender. “That wasn’t my
angle. I was simply going to ask, but I couldn’t quite figure out
how to do it. I wanted to get to know you a little first, and see
what you were like. I should’ve come in when you first moved to
town, like everybody else did, to check you and your sisters out,
but…well…I didn’t. I’m sorry for that now.” He smiled at her, and
she was glad she was sitting down. His smile packed a wallop.
“Truce?”

How could she say no when the handsomest man
she’d ever met looked at her with those puppy-dog eyes and asked so
nicely? She couldn’t help herself. She caved.

“Okay. Truce.” She reached out to shake the
hand he offered. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

Something almost electric passed between
them as she touched his hand. He held hers for longer than strictly
necessary, and her breath hitched. Time seemed to spin out,
stretching as she looked deep into those stunning brown eyes of
his…

And then he let go. At least she had the
satisfaction of realizing that he seemed as shaken as she was by
the strange moment. His eyes gave him away. They held a trace of
the same confusion she was feeling, along with a sort of wonder
that made her breath catch again.

This man had the most amazing effect on
her.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

“I think your oven is calling.” Tom grinned
at her.

“What?” She shook her head to break the daze
she seemed to have fallen into. “Oh!” Ashley ran around the counter
and saved the bread, moving pans around while keeping one eye on
Tom, to make sure he wasn’t going to just leave without saying
goodbye.

She put the bread onto the cooling racks and
loaded the next batch, which she’d already prepared before he came
in. Task done, she wiped her hands as she went back up front. He
was still there. Just on the other side of the counter.

“That bread smells really amazing,” he
offered, looking over her head at the cooling racks that were just
visible behind her.

“Thanks. Want some?” She motioned with her
chin back toward the bread.

“Yeah, I could take some to go, I
guess.”

Oh. He had to leave.
Why did her
heart sink at the thought?

“There’s just one more thing.” He looked
kind of hesitant to speak, and that intrigued her.

Ashley’s heart went pitter-pat wondering
what the one-more-thing could be? Would it be something personal?
Would he ask her out? She felt…sort of…giddy. Yeah, that’s what it
was. Giddiness.

When was the last time Ashley Baker,
disgraced lawyer and therapeutic baker, had felt giddy? She
couldn’t even remember, and that struck her as kind of sad. Yet,
here was a man who made her feel things she hadn’t felt in a very
long time. Things were looking up—as long as he stuck around.

“What is it?” she asked, unwilling to wait
for him to get around to speaking again.

“It’s your sister.”

Hmm.
Her heart sank a little.

“Which one?”

His answer to that question was key. If he
was asking about Nell, no problem. Nell was happily engaged. But if
he was asking after pretty, younger, gets-all-the-boys Tina…

“Tina.”

There it went. Her hopeful, foolish heart
hit the dirt.

“What about her?” Ashley stood strong, not
letting her disappointment show. She hoped.

“Well, I don’t know her. How can I be sure
she won’t go blogging about
Grizzly Cove, Home of the Rare Bear
Shapeshifters
or something?” Tom diffused his tough words with
a charming grin that Ashley fought against. She refused to be
charmed by another guy who might just be using her to get to her
sister. “Can she be trusted?”

Wait. Was he asking Ashley’s opinion? Did he
not want an introduction to Tina to find out for himself?

“Tina’s always been trustworthy. She doesn’t
tell tales, and she doesn’t have a blog.” Ashley chuckled at the
thought. “My sisters have sort of rallied around me since I came
home with my tail tucked between my legs. They mostly stay off
social media and try to run under the radar for my sake. It’s old
news now, but every once in a while, when we were still in
Portland, some enterprising reporter would jump out at me from the
bushes, or try to get to me through my sisters on the internet.
Since then, they’ve pretty much closed ranks to protect me. I don’t
think Tina would seek attention from anyone in the media, lest it
somehow bounce back on me again. She wouldn’t do that to me. We
moved this far to get away from my past. Tina wouldn’t ruin that.
She likes it here.”

Ashley wouldn’t tell him how much Tina
enjoyed spying on the hunky guys who dropped trou in the woods and
turned into bears. It had become a bit of a sport for her to sit up
on the roof and try to spot them. That was about as exciting as
things got around here, after all.

Moving up here had been hardest on Tina, but
she never complained. She’d had an active social life back in
Portland, though no serious boyfriends. Not any that lasted longer
than a few months, at any rate.

“I trust your judgment, but I’d still like
to talk with her,” Tom said, depressing Ashley further.

Maybe he
was
interested in her
younger sister. Ashley wouldn’t be surprised. It had happened
before. Quite a few times, in fact.

“She works the night shift,” Ashley replied
in as bland a tone as she could manage.

“Yeah, I know, but…” He trailed off, and she
became intrigued despite her better judgment. “Will you be here
tonight too?”

Ashley dusted off the non-dusty counter with
her towel. “There’s no reason to fear Tina. She’s harmless. You’re
a big boy. You can introduce yourself.”

“Oh. Well, yeah,” he agreed quickly, seeming
somewhat surprised by her brusque answer. “But I was hoping to see
you
again. I mean, I’d like to talk to Tina, just to be
sure, but I was wondering if maybe you’d like to have dinner with
me.”

Chapter Four

For a lawyer, he wasn’t all that
eloquent.

And there went her heart again, going
pitter-pat. Had he really just asked her out?

“Since this is the only place to eat in
town, at the moment, I thought maybe I could meet you here, then
talk to your sister before we grab a bite and then maybe take a
walk on the beach after?” He seemed nervous, talking quickly when
she didn’t answer right away.

Damn. He really did just ask her out. Her.
Not Tina. Inside, Ashley raised a mental fist in victory.

“How about we meet here and you can talk to
Tina, but then, maybe instead of eating in here, could I offer you
the setting of our rooftop garden? It’s really pretty up there. We
strung white twinkle lights among the flower pots, and we sit up
there at night sometimes, and stargaze.”

Was she talking too much? It felt like maybe
she was. Ashley stuttered to a halt and waited to see what he’d
say.

He gave her one of those electrifying grins
that made her knees wobble. “I’d like that very much. What time is
good for you?”

She wanted to say right now, but it wasn’t
even eight o’clock in the morning. She’d have all day to prep and
worry and try to get ready.

“Is seven too late?” She picked a time she
knew Tina would be the least busy.

If needs be, Ash could take over for a few
minutes while Tom talked to Tina. Seven was right in between the
dinner crowd and the folks who strolled in for latte and
dessert.

Tom’s smile widened. “Seven is perfect. I’ll
look forward to seeing you then.”

“Me too.” Not a witty answer, but it was the
best she could do under the circumstances. Tom’s smiles made her
feel all warm inside, and they sort of melted a part of her
brain—the thinking part, no doubt.

She jumped, realizing he was probably
waiting for her to get the bread they’d talked about a minute ago.
She went back and quickly selected one of the best loaves,
packaging it in the special bags they’d had printed, that were both
long and wide enough for the special shapes Ashley liked to make.
She handed him the still-warm bread across the counter.

“This one’s on the house. Hope you like it.
It’s honey walnut.” She felt a little shy all of a sudden. Should
she have given him one of the plainer selections?

“Sounds delicious. You know, we bears love
honey. And I am particularly fond of walnuts.” He brushed her hand
with his as he took the loaf from her, and she swore she could feel
little sparks against her skin, like little zaps of static
electricity. “Thank you, Ashley.”

His warm, deep voice made a meal of her
name. She liked the way he said it.

He stood there for a moment, gazing at her
from across the counter, and then, he sort of shook himself and
headed for the door. It looked to her like maybe he was reluctant
to leave, which made her feel all tingly. Maybe he was as attracted
to her as she was to him? Could she be so lucky? Well, he had just
asked her out—sort of.

There wasn’t much night life in the cove, so
his suggestion about sharing a meal—even if it was in her family’s
establishment—pretty much made it a date. Ashley felt that
giddiness again. She hadn’t been on a date since all the trouble
started back in New York.

She watched him walk away, noticing again
what a fine backside he had. These shifters were built to last,
every single one of them, but Tom seemed to have that little extra
sex appeal that made her want to jump his bones. Not that good girl
Ashley had ever really gotten wild enough with a man to jump him.
Still, Tom made her think about it. Very seriously.

The bell above the door tinkled as he left,
and Ashley sighed, watching him walk down the street. The town
lawyer really had a great ass.

* * *

Tom was prompt, which was a good thing for
Ashley’s nerves. She’d frittered around the apartment upstairs all
day, cleaning, setting up the table in the rooftop garden, and
figuring out what to wear. As a result, her entire wardrobe was now
scattered all over her room, but the little garden had been weeded
and pruned until every leaf shone.

She’d been hanging around downstairs in the
bakery for the past half hour, chatting idly with Tina and helping
out here and there. The dinner rush—which only consisted of about a
half dozen people that night—had come and mostly gone. And then,
there he was. The man himself walked in the door.

He seemed only to glance at Tina before his
gaze met Ashley’s.

Tom saw Ashley standing there, and every
other thought went straight out of his head. His inner bear liked
what it saw, which was a first. Never before had his other half
weighed in this strongly about a female.

He walked straight up to her, but social
convention barred him from doing what he really wanted to do, so he
settled for smiling at her and saying hello. If they hadn’t been in
public, he might’ve given into his baser instincts and pulled her
into his arms, greeting her with a kiss…or more. Whatever she’d let
him get away with. As it was, he had to be polite and make
conversation, which wasn’t exactly his strong suit.

“You look great,” he said, knowing it wasn’t
polished, but at least it was true.

“Thanks.” Her smile lit his world, and he
was glad he’d opted to speak the first thoughts that jumped into
his head. “You too.” A throat cleared nearby, and Ashley jumped.
“Sorry. Tom, this is my sister, Tina. Tina, this is Tom.”

The younger sister stuck her hand over the
counter and gave Tom a speculative smile as she looked from him to
Ashley and back again. He shook Tina’s hand, but there was no
spark. Not like when he touched Ashley.

So it wasn’t a Baker sister thing. It was
just an Ashley thing. Good to know.

“You’re the town’s lawyer, right?” Tina
asked, letting go of his hand.