Recipe for Kisses (16 page)

Ben rubbed a hand across his jaw. “The plan is still there. But Chloe . . .” He stopped at the flicker in his brother’s eyes. “The new owner has taken Abby under her wing, and she’s not Butterfield. Our gripe was with him.”

“My problems started with the store.” Cory let out a disgusted snort. “You’re fucking the new owner,” he all but spat. “Does it make you hot to bend her over the stuffed animals when you think of my life being royally screwed?”

“Shut up, Cory. You don’t know what you’re talking about. The kids have nothing to do with what happened to you, and neither does Chloe.”

“You promised me, Benny.” Cory’s voice cracked as he put his elbows on the table then covered his face with his hands. “I have nothing in here. My life is worth nothing.”

“That’s not true,” Ben argued automatically. “Zach and Abby need you to stay strong, Cory.”

“I’ve screwed up so many times, and all of my problems started with The Toy Chest. Everything went downhill from the moment you gave me the idea to go after Butterfield. I can still see him gloating when the cops came through the door.”

His brother glanced up at him then, his eyes shining with anger and regret. It hit Ben like a punch to the gut. When he’d impulsively suggested revenge on Stan Butterfield all those years ago, it had been an empty threat to placate Cory and assuage Ben’s own guilt. The promise he had made about the store was more for his own benefit than Cory’s. He’d been the one who needed a channel for his anger. Or so he’d thought.

“I’m going to take care of it,” he said quietly. His doubts about shutting down the store disappeared for the moment. He still understood that Chloe wasn’t responsible for what had happened to Cory, but it didn’t matter. He looked at his brother’s slumped shoulders and resolve coalesced inside him. Yes, he’d made a promise and he wasn’t going to renege on it, not when his brother was depending on him. He hadn’t been able to keep Cory safe as a boy, but he wasn’t going to let him or Abby and Zach down now.

Even if it ruined what he had with Chloe.

C
HAPTER TWELVE

“S
he’s a good kid.” Chloe joined Sam in peering around the curtain that separated the small classroom in the back of the building from the main store.

Abby sat in the big rocking chair in front of a group of eight toddlers and their parents for the weekend story-time hour that would be followed by crafting. Chloe had learned a lot of things about running a toy store, but she didn’t have a crafty bone in her body. Lucky for her, Sam did and often helped out with the projects Chloe coordinated for her customers.

Like many Saturdays when Sam was volunteering, there were more dads in attendance than normal. Sam’s career as a model had been short but prolific, and she’d graced not only a few swimsuit editions but appeared on the runway as one of the most popular lingerie models. The first time she’d come into the store, Chloe thought she was going to deal with a mutiny from some of the regular moms, but Sam was so unaffected by her own image it was hard to hate her, even if she was a ridiculously beautiful woman.

“She’s had great ideas for the website and is a natural with the kids.” Chloe flipped closed the curtain and held out her fingers for inspection. “I’ve got paper cuts all over my hands from boxing up merchandise and running it to the post office this week. I’ll be lucky to keep some of the toys in stock, the way they’re selling.”

“Is it enough to pay the back rent?” Sam asked, concern shining in her pale green eyes.

“I’m getting there.” Chloe tapped her fingers on the counter. “But Laura, one of my employees, needed some help.”

“Chloe, no.” Sam shook her head. “You promised Kendall and me no more expenses until the store is secure.”

“I know, but her son is thirteen and had an emergency appendectomy. She only has catastrophic coverage, and I’m afraid if she doesn’t get the support she needs now she’ll go back to her husband. This is important.”

“So is your future. You won’t have one if you lose The Toy Chest.”

Chloe turned and greeted a regular customer who passed by the register.

“Unless . . .” Sam leaned closer. “You’re ready to apply for your social work license.”

“Why would you suggest that?”

“Because ever since I’ve known you, your focus has been more on helping and counseling the women who work for you than on selling toys.”

“I sell lots of toys.”

“To pay for the rest of it.”

Chloe sniffed. “I’m not having this conversation. Stan Butterfield trusted me with his legacy. He loved this store, and he gave me hope at a time when I didn’t have any of my own. I don’t know why Ben is determined to shut this place down, but I won’t let him win.”

“You’re fighting for what you want,” Sam said with a smile.

“I’m working,” Chloe answered, nudging her friend out of the way when Zach brought a young boy and his grandma toward the register.

She rang up their purchases as Sam talked to Zach. As she bagged the purchase, her skin started to tingle and her breath caught in her chest. She knew without looking up that Ben had arrived to pick up his niece and nephew.

She took her time tying a ribbon around the handles of the brown bag then took a few extra minutes to speak to the customers about their plans for the rest of the day. As if more time would lessen her reaction to Ben. If anything, her body became more aware, and by the smug grin on his face when she glanced over, he knew it.

When the customers walked away, Chloe took a calming breath and stepped around the counter. “Have you two met?” she asked, shifting her gaze between Ben and Sam and hating the fact that they looked like the perfect couple standing next to each other.

“Zach introduced us,” Ben answered.

Although his short-sleeve linen shirt and cargo shorts were as casual as Sam’s flowing sundress, they could have been heading out to a beach party in the Hamptons rather than crowded into her neighborhood toy store. Her mother’s delicate voice rang in her head: “You’re a six, Chloe. Don’t try for anything above a seven or eight.”

Both Ben and Sam were clearly past ten, and she waited to see some spark of awareness flicker between the two of them. Instead, Sam barely looked away from whatever Zach was explaining to her and Ben moved forward to trace his finger along the bone of Chloe’s wrist.

“Not here.” She jerked away even as a tremor of need rolled through her. She never thought she’d crave a man’s touch the way she did Ben’s.

“Everywhere,” he whispered but stuffed his hands into his front pockets.

The truth of that one word made a blush rise to her cheeks. Caught in his smoldering, blue-eyed gaze, Chloe brought her hands up to cover her flaming cheeks. Ben’s grin spread, then Zach tugged on his hand.

“Can I go to Bryce Hollow Camp next weekend?” He bounced up and down on his toes. “Chloe will be there. They have archery and a ropes course and canoes on the lake.” The more he talked, the more he bounced. “I’ve never been in the mountains for real.”

“What do you mean you haven’t been in the mountains?” Ben asked, his brows furrowing. “You were born in Colorado.”

“In
Den-ver
.” Zach drew out the word as if speaking to a toddler. “I see the mountains, but I’ve never been in them. I think it’s different.”

Sam chuckled at that. “It’s way different.”

“What’s Bryce Hollow?” Ben’s gaze flicked between Sam and Chloe.

“I run a summer camp for kids from the city whose backgrounds haven’t allowed them to spend time in nature. It’s about ten miles outside of Evergreen as you start into the foothills.”

“You went from modeling to summer camp?”

One of Sam’s perfectly arched brows lifted. “Is that a problem?”

Ben shook his head. “Tell me more.”

“We bring groups of kids up for a week at a time and they participate in all kinds of outdoor adventures. But more importantly, we work on self-confidence, teamwork, personal responsibility, and problem solving. The largest percentage comes from Denver, but we have a few who fly in from other cities. Most of them are like Zach. They’ve lived in the city all their lives. These are new experiences, new friends, and lifelong memories.”

“I’ll think about it,” Ben offered noncommittally. “Or I can take you and Abby up to Bachelor Gulch for a few days.”

As Sam groaned, Chloe stifled a chuckle at the mention of the swanky resort outside of Beaver Creek near Vail.

“Not exactly roughing it,” Sam said with an eye roll.

“Roughing it isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.”

“It is at my camp,” she shot back.

He turned to Chloe. “Why are you going?”

“I donate craft supplies each summer and head up when I can to help. This year our friend Kendall . . .” She paused, swallowed. “Well, we’re both going up.”

Sam leaned in closer. “Kendall is the anchor of a morning news show in Denver. She’s spotlighting the help Chloe gives to the camp as part of a feature on the toy store.” She gave Ben an exaggerated wink. “It’s extra PR to drum up business, if you know what I mean?”

Chloe saw his jaw tighten. “I know what you mean,” he answered.

“Abby can come too, right?” Zach switched his wide-eyed gaze to Chloe. “She can help teach and stuff.”

“Fine with me,” Sam said when Chloe’s gaze flicked to her. “Zach, would you grab one of those boomerangs from the front for me? I want to try using it as part of a teamwork exercise at camp.”

Zach nodded and zipped toward the front of the store. Sam nudged Ben in the ribs then poked at his stomach. “Oh, nice. Six-pack, right?” She asked the question to Chloe, who blushed again.

“How would I know?”

“You know,” Ben and Sam said at the same time.

“More like a twelve,” Chloe mumbled, which drew a sigh from Sam and a chuckle from Ben.

“So what do you think, Chef Hottie?” Sam asked. “From her interactions with kids in the store and how she takes care of her brother, Abby would make an excellent junior counselor. I’ve got a leaders-in-training program she could be a part of if she wants. She’ll learn to work with other teens, and it’s great for a college application.”

Chloe saw Ben pale slightly. “I don’t think they’ve gotten to the college-application stage,” she said to Sam then turned to Ben. “Next weekend is Father’s Day. It might be easier if the kids were away and busy.”

“We’ll give you a weekend off,” Sam added.

“I may not be their dad, but that doesn’t mean I want to ditch them when things get tough.” Ben directed the question to Sam but didn’t take his eyes off Chloe. “What if I don’t want a weekend off?”

“You don’t want to spend time at a kids’ summer camp,” Chloe told him.

“You have to work while you’re there,” Sam answered, ignoring the glare Chloe shot her. “Everyone pitches in to help. Do you have any . . . skills you can offer?” Sam’s smile was challenging, and although Ben might be surprised, Chloe was used to her friend’s blunt manner and innuendo-filled comments.

Ben still watched Chloe, as if gauging her reaction to the conversation. “How about a class on cooking with whole foods instead of processed junk? If Zach and Abby are representative of your campers, some of them might not be familiar with food that doesn’t come from a box or bag.”

“Can you handle it without swear words?”

Ben switched his gaze to Sam. “I can handle anything you throw at me.”

Sam smacked Ben lightly on the arm like he was her older brother. “Nice comeback, chef. The class sounds great. We do a camp garden every year, although it’s too early in the season for harvesting much. But the class sounds perfect.” She turned to Chloe. “I’m going to check on Abby and talk to her about working at camp,” she said then disappeared behind the curtain.

“Are you really coming to camp?”

“Does it really bother you?”

She didn’t quite know how to answer since everything about him left her hot and bothered. “It’s a free country,” she said even as she cursed herself for sounding so lame.

Feeling her face color, she turned for the counter, but he tugged her close. His fingers splayed across the middle of her back, warm and gentle. She’d noticed that whenever they were together, he touched her. A hand on her elbow, the soft brush of his lips against her hair. It was like she was an unbroken pony and he was working to settle her, moment by moment. In a way that’s how she felt around him, skittish and wild but slowly growing accustomed to him. “I won’t go to camp if it’s a problem for you, Chloe. Your choice.”

And he had a way of slipping through her defenses with little moments of unexpected sweetness. “You should,” she said, nuzzling her nose into the crook of his neck. “But only because it would make Abby and Zach happy.”

He chuckled. “Only Abby and Zach?”

“Yep,” she whispered and lurched away when the curtain opened. Families spilled out along with Abby and Tamara, who was supervising the afternoon’s activity. Abby was excitedly talking with Sam, so Chloe knew the girl was thrilled at the opportunity to work at the camp. The change in the teen in the past couple of weeks was amazing, and if Chloe admitted the truth, it made her miss her career as a social worker.

A line formed at the cash register and she hurried over, pretending Ben wasn’t standing a few feet away as she rang up purchases. Or at least tried to. He was a difficult man to ignore, both because of his physical presence and his fame. Several of the women had their pictures taken with him, and, to Chloe’s surprise, he gamely smiled and posed, even giving the camera his trademark scowl when asked for it.

After a few minutes, Tamara stepped behind the counter with Chloe. “Between Ben and Sam, this place might have a second run as a singles’ spot. Word gets out we’ve got a former supermodel and a hottie celebrity chef hanging out here on a regular basis, we could charge a front-door cover.” She laughed as Ben hoisted a young girl onto his shoulder while her mom snapped photos.

“They’d make a cute couple,” Chloe murmured.

Tamara’s head snapped back. “Um . . . she’s about twenty years too young for him.”

Chloe shook her head. “I meant Sam, not the kid.”

“That man hasn’t been able to take his eyes off you since he walked in here.”

As if to prove Tamara’s point, Ben glanced over at Chloe and smiled. Abby came up to him, then, and he set down the girl, signed a few autographs and, with a quick wave to Chloe, followed his niece and nephew out of the store. Chloe continued to wait on her customers, mainly dodging questions about why “The Beast” was in her store. When things died down, Sam came up to the desk, holding the boomerang she’d asked Zach to find for her. “Would you put this on my account?” She handed the price sticker to Tamara. “I think it will work well with what I’m planning for the kids.”

The other woman disappeared into the back.

“Do you need a bag?” Chloe asked, not bothering to keep the snippiness out of her voice.

“What did I do now?” Sam made a face. “It was Zach’s idea that he come to camp, and it will be great for his sister.”

“It will,” Chloe agreed.

“Is this about The Beast?”

“He doesn’t like that nickname.” Chloe handed over the boomerang. “Why did you invite him?”

“Because he’s totally into you, and you like him, too.” Sam slipped the toy into the side pocket of her purse.

“No . . . I mean yes.” Chloe threw up her hands. “Whatever’s between us isn’t serious.”

“It’s serious when the man who built his career berating people on television volunteers to teach a bunch of kids how to cook. That’s called dedication.”

“To his niece and nephew.”

“Not only them.” Sam reached across the counter and gave Chloe a hug. “You and Kendall are leaving me behind. It’s not fair.”

“I’m not . . . it doesn’t mean anything.”

“Don’t bother to deny it. The chemistry between the two of you . . .” Sam fanned a hand in front of her face. “I’m happy for you, Chloe. Truly.”

“It can’t last,” she said with a sigh. “One of us has to lose.”

“Then let’s make sure it isn’t you.” Sam’s tone was uncharacteristically serious. “You’ve been through enough.”

“The problem is, so has he.”