Point of Contention (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (5 page)

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Louisa Neil

experience was awe-inducing the first time she’d been taken on a boat

ride. Seeing the lodge from the water gave her a different perspective.

And that was what Stuart had wanted to create, an escape for

adults. From Tuesday afternoon through Sunday afternoon, guests

were treated like royalty. In the last months, most of their bookings

had been groups looking for a specialized retreat. The corporate world

had found them and was snapping up weeks as bonuses for its

executives. Whatever Stuart had in mind to begin with, his dream

must be close to coming true, Kay decided. He’d seen his vision go

from dream to paper and from design to reality. So now he was an

innkeeper, and apparently a very good one at that, which led her right

back to him again. Stuart Drake would be trouble for her if she let

him. The bigger unknown was if he’d be interested in her.

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Chapter Four

The home improvement center was the last place Kay thought

she’d run into Stuart Drake on a Thursday night. Her cart, one wheel

deliberately going horizontal instead of vertical, was loaded with

starter plants. She had small herbs and several varieties of tomatoes

and cucumbers. She’d decided against trying to grow lettuce this first

year, but couldn’t resist the brightly colored petunias. There was also

a bag of gladioli bulbs as well as some tulip bulbs, which she hoped

would come up next spring. A sack of plant food was stashed under

the basket and several rolls of bunny wire were perilously balanced on

top of it. Folding her list and shoving it in her back pocket, she turned to see him watching her from across the aisle.

* * * *

Stuart stopped at the home center, hoping to gather some material

on kitchen cabinets. While his new home was basically set, the

drawings could still be changed at this stage. Deciding what the

kitchen would look like was a big decision. Beyond the money

involved, he wanted a working space that was efficient and

comfortable. In the back of his mind, he’d always longed for what

television had taught him was a normal family. Mom making a meal,

the kids running in and out while Dad sat at the table reading his

newspaper. Laughing to himself about the absurdity of his fantasy, he

looked up and thought he saw Kay cross the building. He followed

automatically, the all-important cabinets forgotten with just a glimpse

of her. Staying in the background, he watched her select the plants

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Louisa Neil

and assorted items for her garden.

He should have turned and walked away, but he didn’t. Guilt had

gotten to him right after the meeting Wednesday. While she was

simply asking to put in a small garden, he’d blown the situation into a

grudge match. Knowing he didn’t want the animosity between them,

it was a good enough excuse to approach her in the garden center.

Only now that she was this close to him, the words stuck in his throat.

Simple jeans and a sweater weren’t meant to look that good on

any woman. Her hair glinted in the fading daylight, red and gold

highlights dancing against the dark brown strands. Tonight she’d left

it down, falling around her shoulders. She was a large woman, he

knew. Having seen her standing beside Travis, he knew she was only

a few inches shorter. Her well-proportioned body intrigued him. She

had an hourglass figure, all curves and grace. Her large breasts

narrowed to a slim waist and smoothed to larger hips that melted into

long, strong legs that he dreamed of wrapped around him. Stuart liked

tall women, being six foot four inches himself—a smaller woman

seemed dwarfed beside him. A woman like Kadence could hold her

own standing next to him. His thoughts were exposed when he met

her look. Neither of them moved for a long time, Stuart finally forcing

his legs to work, bringing him beside her.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” she answered hesitantly. Holding his look for an intense

moment, he was the first to look away, not missing her hold back a

smile in his peripheral vision.

“You’ve got a good start here,” he began, feeling like he was

sixteen all over again.

“We’ll see…” She was coaxing him, and he decided to play.

His dark eyes flashed back to hers, and he let himself laugh out

loud. “I didn’t mean to turn your garden into a guilt project. It’s just that a lot of people start out strong and seem to fizzle halfway through a project.”

“And I seem like a fizzler to you?” she asked, her one eyebrow

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cocked, her words low and smooth. His fingers automatically moved

to his temples, massaging his head in times of stress. “What don’t you

like about me, Mr. Drake? Somehow I get the feeling I’ve annoyed

you already, though I’m not sure how or why. Maybe we could get a

cup of coffee and discuss it?”

He absorbed her words and knew she was right. He felt it, too—

the tension between them was thick. Whether he was going to admit

to it or not remained to be seen. He hadn’t decided how to handle her

yet.

“This is your day off. I don’t want to intrude.” Her outright laugh

at his refusal wasn’t what he expected. “And since we don’t really

know each other, you haven’t annoyed me…yet!”

“But you’re anticipating my being a thorn in your side. Why?”

Kay glanced around the crowded aisle of the garden center. Stuart

knew this wasn’t the place to taunt each other, especially new boss

and employee, but he was so close to her and didn’t want the time to

end. It had been a long time since he met someone to verbally spar

with.

“Let’s just say I hope you’ll prove me wrong.” His look caught

hers, testing to see if she’d push him or let him go.

“I hope so, too, but it would be a lot easier if I knew what I was

being measured against.”

“Not measured, Ms. Farrell. We just don’t know each other.”

“Yet…” He felt his cheeks heat at her one-upping him. He wasn’t

sure if she could see his erection and dropped his hand holding the

pamphlets to block her view. Kay laughed at him openly for the

second time that night. “Why, Mr. Drake, you do blush so coyly.”

“And you, Ms. Farrell, should know I don’t tread on another

man’s territory.” His harsh words matched his tone, and he turned to

walk away. Only her hand on his upper arm kept him from making his

escape.

“Wait, please.” He hesitantly turned back to her, scanning the

crowded area. “Why did you hire me if you thought I was

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romantically involved with Travis? That wouldn’t be a wise business

decision.”

“Travis does a great job of running the kitchens. If having you

work beside him will keep him happy, it’s fine by me. Only, don’t

presume to play with us both.” When he turned from her a second

time, she let him go.

* * * *

His words spun through her mind for long minutes after he’d left

her, her cart all but forgotten. The image swam before her eyes, her

body sandwiched between this stoic man and his motorcycle-riding

friend. She got a chill of anticipation and enjoyed the heat it created deep inside her pussy. Only when she was asked to move aside did

she snap out of her self-imposed stupor. All the way home she

debated his words. Obviously he thought she was sleeping with

Travis. Now she had to find out whether it was because of something

Travis had said or intimated or if it was Stuart’s idea. Either way, it had to be dealt with as soon as possible.

* * * *

Two days later, she got a message from Lisa that Stuart wanted to

see her when she had time. While she initially thought to corner him

and have it out about her nonsexual relationship with Travis, she

decided to wait and see how he handled her.

When the evening meal was well under way and her work

completed, she slipped out of her white coat and glossed her lips. Last

night, she’d gone back to the kitchen after supper and had a beer with

Travis. She told him about her faux pas in the grocery store the night

before, asking where the kosher aisle was for matzos. He’d laughed

heartily over her northern assumption and then told her the names of

several stores in Wilmington where she could find specialty items. It

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had broken the ice, and she’d asked him straight out if he’d told Stuart they were an item. His response seemed genuine that he hadn’t,

although he did add that something was odd with Stuart’s behavior

since she’d arrived.

Travis had gone on to insinuate that maybe the gruff bachelor had

taken one look at her and finally fallen head over heels in love, with

her. They’d both laughed at the idea, but secretly Kay wondered what

it might be like to be loved by him. She’d excused herself for the

night with too much on her mind.

So here she stood, just outside his private office after receiving his

summons. Somehow she felt like a child being called to the

principal’s office. Standing to her full height, which was now two

inches taller in the clogs she used as work shoes, she knocked with a

loud thump on his wooden door. A muffled “In” was all she got, so

she opened the door to his inner sanctuary. It was the first time she’d

seen the space, and she wasn’t surprised to find old Harley sprawled

out on the leather sofa under the window. Stuart nodded to her and

then to the empty chairs in front of his desk while he ended his

telephone call.

* * * *

As soon as her head peeked around the door, he knew he’d lost all

concentration. Watching her enter, size up his space, and walk to the

dog wasn’t what he expected. Most people would take the chair

across from him and try to act like they weren’t listening to his

conversation. Kay moved past him and sat on the floor beside the

sofa, Harley’s large head under her hand. He watched the two of them

for a second then finally hung up the phone. With her back to him, he

openly surveyed her with his dog, who now rolled onto his back in a

compete act of submission and was enjoying the rewards of his trust,

a two-handed belly rub that had the dog’s eyes rolling back in his

head. His left hind leg started to move with her motion, and she was

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Louisa Neil

laughing openly at the dog, talking to him as if he were a person who

could understand. The worst part was that Stuart often spoke to the

dog in much the same way, using him as a sounding board to work

through a problem or an idea. Never before had he wished he was his

dog, but today, with Kay’s hands rubbing him, he would have

gratefully switched places. The idea made him shake his head, and he

laughed aloud.

“What are you laughing at, Mr. Drake?” she asked, not moving

from her place. With her back to him still, he watched, her hair still

braided down her back.

“I was wondering what Harley was thinking right now.” Knowing

damn well he couldn’t tell her his real thoughts, it was as close as he

could get to the truth.

“And are you jealous of him, too?” He felt Kay had gone too far,

but it was too late to pull back her snap comment. He decided she was

right but blunt, something most of his employees refrained from. He’d

been hoping to clear the air between them but assumed he’d control

the conversation. Stuart shuffled papers on his desk, the movement an

apparent stall for time and focus.

“Not jealous of Harley, Ms. Farrell, but definitely careful of my

friends’ feelings.”

“Do you really think I took this job to be close to Travis, because

it was a sexual thing as opposed to a work thing?”

“I think it was one option.” There was no other explanation he

could come up with. Why would a pastry chef from Manhattan

choose to hide away in a small lodge in coastal Carolina? She was

either running to something, Travis, or running away from something.

Somehow she didn’t seem the type to cut and run.

“And you don’t mess with your best friend’s girl, is that it?”

“Yes. All those unspoken rules we men live by.” Holding back a

groan, he realized this was one of those times his morals were being

tested beyond his limits.

“I see.” Finally, she moved slowly from the floor, her action not

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appreciated by Harley, who flopped back onto his belly and let out a

yawn. She laughed at the dog and tousled his ears one last time before

taking the chair across from Stuart’s desk. “Lisa said you wanted to

see me.” She was all business before him now. The change in her

persona was overwhelming.

“I’d like to apologize if I seemed hard on you about the garden.

I’ve learned good intentions don’t always work out and I was just

trying to be…prepared.”

“In case I didn’t follow through, or in case you decided I didn’t

work out as expected and you let me go?”

“Both and neither.” He let a smile slip and closed his eyes against