Wilde Forever (Wilde Women Book 1) (37 page)

“I was too rough with you,” he finally muttered.

Stepping into the tub with her he pulled the shower curtain and immediately set about washing her body. He had her place her hands on the front wall of the shower so the water cascaded down her back while he quickly and efficiently rubbed a shower pouf that he squirted a huge glob of her bodywash into all over her from neck to toes. The whole time he pretty much muttered out loud about the small shower and how he couldn’t wait to give her a fancy en suite that they could share together. When he finished with her body he had her lean against him so he could wash her hair, which he did with such somber reverence that the simple act felt almost scared.

Helping her out of the tub he told her to get dressed while he showered but before she moved away, Brynn stepped close and kissed him sweetly.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“You were rough, yeah. But I loved every second of it. Don’t pussy out on me
sir
over a couple of bruises.”

“Get dressed woman before I pull you back in this shower and find out if we can both survive some acrobatics that this crappy old tub won’t make easy.”

They walked the path to the bakery as the sun was making its way into the horizon. It was so early that dew sparkled on the grass and the chirping of the birds could be heard but nothing else. He held her hand and reveled in the simple sweet gesture of possessiveness.

“Did I tell you,” she asked. “I’ve taken on a couple of folks from the college. It’s a mentor thing.”

He was more than a little surprised to learn this. Maybe she was ready to start living and not just work. The thought warmed him.

“They start today. I’m nervous,” she admitted with an adorable self-conscious shrug. “I came by this naturally, the bakery thing I mean. Nobody ever taught me the ropes. I’ve pretty much been making it all up as I go along. Hope I don’t disappoint them.”

“Hell, babe. You’ll be fine. They’re lucky to have you. Does this mean once you’ve got them in the rhythm of how you do things that you won’t have to work so hard?”

“That’s the plan,” she said as she squeezed his hand. “Will get my dad off my back too.”

When they stepped on to the flagstone patio behind the bakery, Jax grabbed her, fisted his hand in her still damp locks pulling her body flush with his and kissed her madly. When he finally let her go he noticed her lips were puffy and had the look of a woman who’d been…well, doing what she’d been doing.

He smirked at her knowingly when she swiped her thumb on some saliva at the corners of her mouth and stuck her tongue out at him.

“Think that’ll hold you all day or do I have to come down here at lunchtime?”

She laughed as she unlocked the back door and turned on the lights that illuminated the gleaming kitchen. “Depends on what you have planned for lunchtime,” she told him silkily as her dimples made a cameo. Fuck. He liked when she lightened up and teased him.

“Well, babe. I’ll be hungry and you definitely have something I’d like to eat so, there’s that.”

She barked a laugh. “You’ll be losing your
sir
privileges with any more comments like that.”

He gave her an innocent butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-his-mouth leer and said, “What? You cutting me off already from those sinful buns? That’s hardly fair.”

“Sinful buns my ass,” she giggled. “Go make yourself useful and turn on one of the tearoom coffee pots while I start preheating and see what needs to be done.”

Before he left her to whatever the hell it was that she did every day, Jax couldn’t help but tease her one last time. “I suppose you’ll be texting your sister at some point?”

Brynn seemed surprised by the question but nodded and said, “Probably. Why?”

This time he didn’t bother with the innocent look going straight for a full-on lecherous smirk. “Make sure to let her know you got your wish and gave the Butt Whacker a memorable blow job that will keep him hard and aching for you the rest of the day.”

He laughed like bloody hell at the dumbfounded expression on her face. “Babe,” he growled. “Your thumb is quite the eloquent drunk texter. Next time, read that shit when you sober up—
before
you hit delete!”

B
RYNN WAS SO BUSY THROUGHOUT the day she hardly had any time to stop and think. Terry and Sue had been fast learners, quickly picking up on her foibles and how she wanted things done. Even Amy had been on her game, immediately bringing Brynn up to speed with the goings on in the tearoom on Monday.

Technically, the bakery didn’t operate that day, but Amy ran things in the tearoom with an eye to offering special group times for everything from a ladies quilting circle to a magic club and once a month for the vets to come and hang out. Giving back to the community was a huge part of Brynn’s personal philosophy and was reflected in her overall business plan. She also donated items coming up on their sell by date to the county food bank and a local church that had an active homeless outreach program.

Working straight through the day, a moment of calm finally appeared, long enough to go and relax in the Baron’s Tea Room, brew a
proper
cup of tea, and collapse in her favorite chair—the one that faced the fireplace and offered an unobstructed view of the outdoor garden. Besides the kitchen, it was one of what she liked to call her situational Zen spots.

Of course, true to form, finding time to relax and actually emptying her brain long enough to do just that were two separate things. No matter how tired she got, being busy and engaged was the only way Brynn knew how to function. She really didn’t do well with downtime. Never had. Being driven was her modus operandi. She also most certainly didn’t have a Pinterest board full of fantasy vacation destinations though she did have a special soft spot for the beauty of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. She and her sisters were forever plotting ways for them to all vacation there together, but so far, it had never happened. It occurred to Brynn that with Rhiann showing signs of city burn-out and now that she had found some help for the bakery, maybe it was time to force the issue. Only thing that would make it perfect would be if Charlie would come back from Italy.

Whoa. Was she actually contemplating taking time off? What the hell was this? The Twilight Zone? Snorting good naturedly at the self-mocking comeback, Brynn had a moment to ponder how the events of a single week in a person’s life could so drastically alter everything; from routines to thoughts to dreams. Hell, her ‘men are more trouble than they’re worth’ mantra had been tossed to the floor so room could be made in her bed for one particular man who was changing the narrative just with his existence.

Jax. M
mmmm
. Sipping the tea, her mind wrapped around what was happening between them—or at least tried to. Truth was, she didn’t have enough experience in relationship dynamics to really understand much of anything where he was concerned. Add to that her issues that she had to admit were numerous enough to require an entire moving van to lug around and his difficult past and she was so far into unchartered waters that she was forgetting how to swim.

He hadn’t appeared to poke her and get her all riled up at lunchtime, which was definitely a good thing. She had to admit she liked sparring with him, but right now, she needed some space to get her mindful ducks in a row. Brynn rested her head on the high, overstuffed wing of the easy chair, crossed her legs, and with the warmth of the tea mug clutched in her hand, stared out the window.

“Is that my lovely granddaughter curled up like a kitten in a pool of sunlight?”

Brynn was all sixes and sevens as she spun toward the sound of the familiar voice, almost spilling her tea in the process. There, in all her Bohemian glory, looking like a chic cosmic beauty queen draped in deep purple and pink with her magnificent grey haired piled in carefully-styled haphazard disarray upon her head, stood the woman who was creating havoc in Brynn’s normally staid life.

“Nana?” Brynn wheezed, shocked and disoriented to find her grandmother approaching her in the tearoom.

Nana leaned over to kiss Brynn on the top of her head, murmuring quietly in that sotto voce way she had, “I love what you’ve done with this place sweetheart. Gramps would be tickled to see the transformation.”

With the flourish of an experienced grand dame, Brynn’s surprise visitor sank into the matching wing chair set close to her own, threw off her wrap, and dropped an attention getting Vuitton satchel on the wood floor with a thud.
Jesus, you’d think she was reliving her Broadway debut,
Brynn thought in a none-too-charitable way.

The alarm bells began clanging in Brynn’s head. There had to be a reason for this command performance and right that second, she was plotting all sorts of paybacks for anyone who knew her grandmother was planning on a face-to-face when Brynn least expected it.
Shit.

“What brings you to this neck of the woods, Nana?” She heard the waspish tone in her voice and inwardly cringed. The raised eyebrow and sardonic expression on her grandmother’s face instantly shamed her. No matter what was causing her ill temper, this was her father’s mother, a woman who had loved her and been deeply involved in her life and the lives of her sisters. Forgetting her manners was a blow to Brynn’s composure.

“Sorry,” she quickly muttered, coming to her feet and bending to give the old woman a dutiful kiss on the cheek. “You surprised me. May I get you something to drink? Would you like a piece of cake? I made a German chocolate sheet earlier. From your recipe,” she added with a small smile.

Brynn’s change of tone and deferential approach instantly brought a twinkle to the woman’s eyes. She hadn’t been a Broadway and West End bright light for no reason, something her granddaughters found endlessly fascinating when they were growing up. Nana Wilde was a lot of things and among them was an acclaimed actress who knew how to play to an audience.

“Coffee would be lovely, child. None of that watered down infusion of bark and twigs you like so much,” she added with a sly grin. “And yes, of course to a sliver of cake. Not too much now, you know I’m watching my figure.”

Brynn snorted a loving giggle at her choice of words, all the upset and tension between them forgotten, as she swiftly bent and gave Nana a hug. “Still making the other sex work for it, I suppose?”

“Of course!” Nana chuckled. “Next time you deem to visit the City of Brotherly Love, I’ll introduce you to Arthur Henry. If he behaves himself a bit longer I may even let him think he’s my beau.”

“Hold that thought,” Brynn drawled with a smirk before scurrying away to get them each a slice of cake. By the time she came back carrying a tray with elegant mismatched china dishes and two slices of her decadent chocolate masterpiece, she found Amy gushing over her grandmother who was no doubt regaling the assistant with one of her outrageous stories from her younger, carefree days when her star shone bright and all the world was at her feet. Amy was, in two words, a
huge fan
.

“Oh, Mrs. Wilde, thank you so much. I’d love to bring my little Belle down to the city. And to have tea with you? Swoon, for real!”

As Brynn approached, she saw that Amy had wisely moved a small table between the two chairs and even set up a coffee service. There would be no trudging back and forth from the coffee station with a big old mug. Nope, for Nana Wilde, only china cups and a beautiful vintage hand painted coffee pot would do.

“Brynn!” Amy chirped, excitedly. “Your grandmother has offered to show Belle and me the sights next time we venture into Philly. And not only that, she says we can go to the Mary Cassatt Tea Room. Won’t that be awesome? Belle will be thrilled.”

Brynn gave her grandmother a radiant smile. The woman knew how to work even an audience of one. “Every five-year-old’s dream,” she quipped. “Putting on a pretty dress and having high tea with Philadelphia society.”

“Well,” Amy deadpanned. “I’d rather that than a kiddie meal, a plastic toy, and a soda.”

“Hear, hear!” Nana chuckled. “Best to nourish an eager mind with wonder than dumb it down with pop culture.”

Having been exposed to Nana’s Auntie Mame-style philosophy all her life Brynn couldn’t help but shake her head and laugh when the older woman winked mischievously.