One Sweet Taste (2 page)

Chapter Three

Linzee
sat her laptop down on the big butcher-block workspace and powered it up. The
kitchen in Price B&G was a dream ... and much bigger than the kitchen in
her little Chicago restaurant. A pang of sadness went through her as she
thought about her former restaurant. Her rat-bastard ex had called in the loan
he’d given her to open the place. He’d known it would bankrupt her. It had
almost killed her to close her doors when her name had just been starting to
get out there, but she hadn’t had a choice.

Her
ex was just lucky their daughter had stopped her from figuring out creative ways
to kill him and hide his body.

Linzee
moved around the kitchen, admiring the new stainless-steel appliances. She
hummed as she made a pot of coffee, trying to keep her mind from drifting to a
stranger with dark hair and blue eyes. And strong, smiling lips. And stubble
that would scrape along her chin to cause an erotic little bite of pain when he
kissed her. What would it be like to kiss those strong lips? He wouldn’t be
tentative. He’d be sure, firm. His mouth would easily probe hers open and his
tongue ... Mmmm, what would he taste like? Would he taste as good as he
smelled?

She
shook her head to clear it.
Snap out of
it, Linzee. What is wrong with you? It’s just been too damn long since you’ve
been with a man, that’s all.
When she got home tonight, she’d have to
unpack some more boxes and see if she could find her bullet vibrator that she’d
named Albert. Yep, Albert never let her down. If a vibrator could do dishes,
then he’d be the perfect man.

Taking
a sip of coffee, Linzee pulled up the recipes on her computer, scrolling
through the finger desserts to make note of the ones she’d picked out that
would be perfect for the festival.

While
she was highlighting ingredients she needed to order, she heard the bell jingle
over the front door. Ethan must be here. That was odd. He usually came in
through the back. After sliding off her stool, she refilled her coffee cup and
then pushed through the swinging door that led into the main dining area.

“Good
morning, boss. I was just making a list of—” she stopped and gasped at the man
in front of her who lowered the camera from his face to look at her. His eyes
widened in surprise.

Oh,
holy hell, what was he doing here? She tried to recover from her shock, but the
raven-haired man from earlier was already grinning at her. “Well, well, it’s my
little firecracker. Don’t tell me you’re Ethan’s new head chef.”

“I—yes,
I am.”
Stay firm, Linzee. He shouldn’t be
in here.
“Would you mind telling me what you’re doing in here taking
pictures? We’re not open yet, as you can see.”

“Yes,
I can see that.” But he made no move to put his camera away. In fact, he lifted
his camera and pointed it directly at her, clicking away.

“Are
you taking my picture?” Linzee asked, horrified. “Stop that!”

He
chuckled. “Why, sugar? You’re the prettiest thing in here.”
Click. Click.

“I
said stop!” Why couldn’t he just be gorgeous instead of gorgeous and
frustrating?

“You
shouldn’t be in here. If you don’t leave, I’m going to call the police.” She
crossed her arms, which was an awkward move with her full breasts, and raised
her chin in defiance.

The
man glanced down, and she realized that crossing her arms only managed to push
her breasts upward, making her cleavage visible over the V-neck of her sweater.
The man’s gaze latched right onto her breasts. When he stepped closer, she saw
that his ice-blue eyes held so much heat they practically scorched her. When he
dragged his eyes up to her face, she saw something there that made her knees
weak.

“Leave,
huh? Are you sure you want me to leave?” His voice had turned husky, making her
mouth go dry. She ran her tongue over her lips and could have sworn she heard him
let out a low groan as he focused on her mouth.

“Uh,
yes, you have to leave. You’re not supposed to be here.” She could have kicked
herself for sounding so breathy.

When
the man’s hand came out to twirl one red curl around a finger, Linzee felt
transfixed by his hypnotic stare.

“Actually,
I think I’m right where I’m supposed to be.”

As
if in slow motion, he lowered his head. She could have stopped him. Should have
stopped him. Should have pushed him away. But she didn’t.

His
lips brushed across hers, sending a shiver down her spine. She told herself not
to kiss him back, but his lips were insistent. When she felt the tip of his
tongue trace the seam of her lips, Linzee couldn’t help the little whimper that
escaped.

That
was all the invitation he needed. His tongue slid forward, caressing hers as
his hand slid to her hair, angling her head the way he wanted it so she was
closer. He claimed her mouth again, his tongue probing deeper, dancing and
exploring.

Linzee
felt drunk. She couldn’t seem to think straight. Part of her said push him
away, but when she lifted her hands to his chest to do just that, her hands
fisted instead, grasping his sweater. She pulled him closer. His free arm
snaked around her waist pulling her to him, gathering her body against his, and
there was no mistaking the rigid line of his erection pressing against her
stomach.

When
a door in the back slammed open, Linzee’s senses came rushing back at lightning
speed. Her eyes flew open and she shoved the man away from her. What the hell
was she doing?

The
kitchen door swung open and her boss stepped through. She was about to tell him
this stranger had been taking pictures of the restaurant, but then she noticed
it: the strong resemblance between the two men. Her stomach sank. Oh no.

“Oh
good, you’re here.” Ethan smiled at her. “Linzee, I’d like you to meet my
brother, Foster Price.”

His
brother. Oh dear lord, what had she done?

Chapter Four

For
a moment, Foster wished he could take the kiss back. Linzee looked mortified.
He should never ever have come on that strong. What had possessed him to grab
her and kiss her when he hadn’t even told her his name? He ran a hand through
his hair. Great. He’d sexually harassed his brother’s new employee. This should
go over well.

He
watched as Ethan took a long look at the redhead before he turned, his eyes
narrowing at Foster. Uh-oh. Foster knew his brother well enough to have a
conversation without having to say a word.

Ethan’s
look said,
What did you do to her? If you
fuck around and make me lose my head chef, I swear to God, I will rip your dick
off.

Foster
rolled his eyes. Even though he liked to flirt, he didn’t date nearly as many
women as his siblings seemed to think he did. But he was a guy. If his brothers
wanted to believe he had a different woman in his bed every week, he wasn’t
going to argue. He certainly wasn’t going to admit the truth, which was that it
had been nearly a year since he’d been interested enough to go after anyone.

Say something, Foster. They’re both
looking at you.

“Uh,
I just got here. I didn’t even have a chance to get your name.” He looked at
the redhead. “Linzee, is it?”

She
nodded and held out a hand. It really fucking pleased him that her hand was
shaking. When he looked into her face, he had to bite back a groan. Her cheeks
were flushed, and her lips were a little swollen from his kiss. Fuck, he wanted
her.

“Yes,”
she finally said. “Linzee Felton. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Price.”

She
tried to quickly remove her hand from his, but Foster held onto it in his snug
grip, waiting until she raised her eyes to meet his before he let her go. The
look in her eyes wasn’t what he wanted to see. There was still a hint of desire,
but it was overcome by confusion and wariness. Dammit, that wasn’t what he
wanted at all.

“I
apologize, Ms. Felton.” He turned to Ethan. “I came in and started taking
pictures without checking to see if anyone was here. Ms. Felton was about ready
to call the police and have me arrested for trespassing, and I wouldn’t blame
her.” He gave Linzee a long look. “I was out of line, and I’m sorry.”

Her
blush deepened. She obviously knew exactly what he was talking about. “That’s
okay. I, uh, I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.”

Ethan
looked back and forth between the two of them, confusion etched in his features
as he tried to grasp the awkward situation. Before he could say anything, the front
door opened again, and their brother Luke entered, followed by two men from his
construction crew.

Luke
had taken over their family’s construction business when their dad died a few
years back, and he was leading the charge in getting Ethan’s bar ready in time
for the Valentine’s Day opening.

“Hey,
Linz, come meet my brother.” Ethan put a hand on Linzee’s back and led her away
as she shot a final glance at Foster.

“Uh,
how many siblings do you have exactly?” she asked.

“There
are five of us,” Luke answered, holding out a hand to shake hers. “And I’m the
oldest and wisest.”

Foster
snorted as he walked over to Luke. “And the most humble.”

Luke
shot him the finger on instinct before drawing his hand into a fist, his face
growing red. “Uh, sorry, ma’am.”

Ethan
leaned over and smacked his oldest brother on the shoulder. “Christ, between
the two of you, she’s going to walk out on her first week in town.”

Linzee
smiled and let out a little laugh. And damned if her laugh didn’t sound like
music.

“Come
on, let’s go in the kitchen, and you can show me what you have planned for
finger food.” Ethan shot both his brothers annoyed glares as he led Linzee out
of the room.

When
Foster turned back to Luke, his oldest brother held his hands up, feigning
innocence. “What? I did nothing. This has to be on you.”

When
Foster scowled, Luke grinned, his dark eyes lighting with mirth. “Well, I’ll be
damned. She’s been in town what? A day?”

“Screw
you, Luke.”

“What,
I’m not judging. She’s cute.” Luke’s eyes trailed to the kitchen where Linzee
and Ethan had gone. “She’s really cute.”

Foster’s
eyes shot to his brother’s face. “Hands off,” he snapped before thinking.

Luke
winked at him. “Yep, that’s what I thought.”

Bastard.

Foster
sighed, turning away from his brother as Luke went to help his crew carry in
equipment. He began snapping pictures and told himself that it would be a bad
idea to go after his brother’s employee. A very bad idea.

Chapter Five

Two
days later, Linzee walked into Price B&G and marveled at the difference in
the place in just the last two days. The new oak bar was the centerpiece of the
room. The ornate carving on the edges of the bar was breathtaking. Luke really
had done an amazing job. She set a box on top of the counter and trailed her
fingers along the bar, marveling at the detail of the work.

“Hey,
Linz,” Becca said, walking out of the kitchen with Ethan’s girlfriend, Tori. “Just
the woman we were looking for.”

Linzee
had pegged both women to be in their mid-twenties even though Tori seemed
insanely mature for her age. Becca on the other hand was very obviously the
baby of the Price family. Even though Becca seemed a bit spoiled at times, it
was hard to hold it against her when she was one of the sweetest people Linzee
had ever met.

“Me?”
Linzee shrugged out of her coat. “Why were you looking for me?” She noticed
Becca was holding something behind her back, but couldn’t tell what it was.

“I
remembered you said you were looking for something to hang on the wall over
your couch.” Becca held up the large monogram wall hanging. The loopy L seemed
to be made of an ornate metal entwined with floral vines.

“Wow,”
she breathed, reaching out to run her fingers lightly over the metal carving.
“Becca, this is beautiful.”

“You
like it?” The brunette seemed to bounce with enthusiasm. “I ordered some of
these for the boutique, and I just thought they were stunning.”
 
She handed it to Linzee.

“You
have to let me pay you for this,” she said, still wondering over the beautiful
decoration. Not only was it beautiful, but Linzee was overcome with emotion at
the fact that the younger woman had thought of her.

Becca
gave her a dramatic eye-roll. “Whatever. You’re not paying me. It’s a gift.”

Setting
the wall hanging on the bar, she turned to give Becca a hug. “Thank you.”

“Yeah,
Becca can be pretty sweet when she wants to be.” Tori smiled as Becca
disengaged herself from Linzee and stuck her tongue out at her friend.

“Linz,
we’re having a big girls’s night Friday night over at Becca’s,” Tori began.

“You
have to come!” Becca gave a little bounce. “It will be so fun. And it will give
you a chance to meet some more people in town.”

“I’ll
try,” Linzee said with a smile. “I really will. We’ve been so busy getting the
place ready—” she gestured around at the restaurant, “—but I’ll try to come.”

Tori
looked around. “I can’t believe how far the place has come so quickly. Luke’s
done such an amazing job on the new construction.”

“It
really does look amazing, doesn’t it?” she asked, spinning around in a slow
circle.

“Yeah,”
Tori answered. “Those Price boys are pretty darn talented,” she said with a wink.

“Ew!”
Rebecca said. “You better not be referring to your sex life.” She reached up to
cover her ears as Tori laughed.

“Bec,
drag your mind out of the gutter. And you used to beg me to tell you about my
sex life before I was dating your brother.”

“Exactly,”
Becca exclaimed. “My brother! That is a big-time
ew
, right, Linzee?” she asked, turning to Linzee for agreement.

She
laughed. “Hey, I’m an only child, so I can’t comment on the gross-out factor of
siblings.”

“Speaking
of siblings, Ethan mentioned that you met Foster the other day.” Tori raised a
strawberry-blonde eyebrow as Becca leaned to peer in the box Linzee had set on
the bar.
 
 

“I
did.” She tried to sound nonchalant as she reached in to grab one of the containers
she’d brought. Opening it, she held it out to Tori and Becca. “Candied
cherries. I’m going to see how they taste on the shortbread.”

Becca
popped one in her mouth, her eyes widening. “Mmmm,” she said, reaching for two
more.

“So,”
Tori said, drawing it out, “what did you think of Foster?” She reached for a
cherry. Dang it, she just wasn’t going to let it go.

Linzee
tried to think of an appropriate response. “He seemed...” Gorgeous. Sexy.
Mouth-watering. “Nice.”

“Nice,
huh?” said a male voice from behind her.

A
short gasp escaped her as she spun around. Aw hell, she hadn’t noticed Foster
behind her. He must have been in the kitchen. Before she could respond, the
phone in her pocket chirped. Thank goodness. Saved by the bell.

“Excuse
me,” she said, glancing at the display. “It’s my daughter.”

She
handed the bowl of cherries to Becca and shuffled past Foster, trying not to
notice the heat radiating off of him, or the smell of his aftershave that
somehow combined with his own personal scent to create the intoxicating drug of
piney, woodsy, sinewy god of a man.

When
she entered the kitchen, she hit the answer button. “Georgia, baby, where are
you? You shouldn’t be calling from the road.”

Her
daughter was planning to spend Christmas with her, and Linzee was excited to
show Georgia around Oakville. She knew her daughter would truly love the art
scene.

“Mom,
I’m not on the road. Haven’t you seen the weather? We got five inches of snow
dumped on us in two hours.”

Linzee’s
heart sank.

“As
soon as it lets up, I’m totally heading out,” said Georgia.

“No!
Baby, you are not driving down here in the snow.” As much as she wanted to be
with her only child on Christmas, it wasn’t worth the risk.

There
was a pause on the other end, and Linzee heard a sniffle. “But Mom, I’ve never
been away from you on Christmas. I
have
to get down there. Besides, I’ve been saving my calories for the Christmas
cookies we always make.”

Every
year on Christmas Eve, Linzee and her daughter had a cookie party and made a
variety of cookies. Linzee had already bought the ingredients and was planning
to test some new recipes.

But
the cookies weren’t her biggest concern right now. No, right now, her heart
ached in her chest at the thought of not being with her daughter on Christmas.

“Georgia,
it will be okay. Classes don’t start back up until mid-January. You’ll come in
a few days when the roads are clear, and we’ll have plenty of time together.”

“But
Mom, it’s not the same,” her daughter whined.

“Now,
Georgia Grace, you listen to me. You’re not going to put your safety at risk.
Do you understand? We will be together next week. We’ll celebrate Christmas
then. It doesn’t have to be on the exact day.”

When
her daughter didn’t say anything, Linzee continued. “And if you get in that car
during a snowstorm, I will take you over my knee and beat your ass. Don’t think
you’re too old for that.”

A
bubble of laughter erupted over the line, and Linzee smiled.

She
and Georgia ended the call with plans to check in the next day. Linzee sank
down onto a stool near the butcher-block island. She didn’t want her daughter
on the road, but the thought of being alone on Christmas was not a pleasant
one. Tears blurred her vision, and she made a miserable attempt to swipe at
them. Dammit.

Covering
her face with her hands, she let herself cry.