Maybe We Will (Silver Harbor) Page 11

  “I can help, too, if you’d like,” Cait offered. “I help Tank with the website, marketing, and social media for Wicked Ink. I can also design the logo if you’d like.”

  “That would be fantastic,” Abby said.

  Aiden couldn’t shake the feeling that she should enter the competition, but he realized he didn’t even know when she was planning to open the restaurant. “Have you thought about a launch date?”

  “I was hoping you would be my launch date,” she said playfully.

  “I’d be honored.” He leaned in for a kiss and said, “Since I’m leaving the weekend before Memorial Day, does that mean you changed your mind and want to try to get this place open before the competition? In time for the summer rush?”

  “No way. Not for the competition. It’s too soon.” Her brow furrowed, but her eyes filled with endless hope again. “But am I crazy to think we can be up and running by the middle of June? That’s only”—she looked at the ceiling, bobbing her head as she silently calculated time, lips moving—“seven weeks away.”

  God she was cute. “Not at all. If you had to, you could clean it up and have a soft opening, then hold a grand reopening when you’re ready.”

  Abby shook her head. “I have a hard time doing things halfway. For my own sanity, I’d need to have it ready for the big shebang.”

  “I like the way you think. I’ve got nothing but time right now and very capable hands.” Hands that hadn’t done manual labor in so long and suddenly craved it. He’d forgotten how it felt to use his body to make things happen instead of his mind, just as he’d forgotten what it felt like to truly crave a woman’s touch, the kiss of her lips, and that look Abby was giving him right now. “We’ve got this, Abs. Right, Cait?”

  Cait looked at Abby and said, “I’ve only known you a few days, and I already know there’s nothing you can’t do if you set your mind to it.”

  Abby looked thrilled. “Okay, then! We’ve got seven weeks to get this place open. Oh my gosh, you guys! Seven weeks! We need to work fast.” Her smile suddenly faded. “Wait. Aiden, you won’t be here to celebrate our grand opening.”

  “I just said I’d be your date, and I always keep my word. But you could toss in some added incentive and promise me a moonlight walk on the beach after the grand opening.”

  She beamed at him. “You’ve got it.”

  Her gaze shifted to the entrance of the restaurant, and Aiden’s followed as a clean-cut guy strutted in like he owned the place. His wily eyes surveyed the room, landing on Abby. An amused smirk crawled into place. Aiden stepped forward just as the guy threw his arms out to his sides and said, “There’s the hottest cook around. How’s it going, sweet lips?” With an arrogant wink, he added, “Still kiss as good as you cook?”

  Abby’s smile conveyed a twist of annoyance, making Aiden’s protective instincts surge. He wanted to step between them, but this guy obviously knew Abby well, and he fought the urge, giving her space to handle him.

  “Wells Silver, to what do I owe this pleasure?” She set down the scraper and wiped her hands on her shorts as she walked toward him.

  Aiden remembered Fitz mentioning his brothers and sisters. He wondered if Fitz, who had come across as laid-back and professional, was as cocky as Wells when he wasn’t at the resort.

  “I heard you were back in town, and I thought I’d come by and say hello,” Wells said, eyeing Cait. “Well, hello to you, too.”

  Cait narrowed her eyes and straightened her spine, staring him down.

  Good girl. Don’t let this douchebag intimidate you.

  Abby rolled her eyes. “Get your eyes off Cait and give me a hug.”

  Aiden gritted his teeth. He didn’t want that guy’s hands anywhere near Abby. Wells made an mm-mm sound as he embraced her, but Abby pushed him away, still smiling as she said, “Same old Wells. You never change.”

  “Take another look, babe.” Wells motioned to his athletic body, his biceps straining the fabric of his tight T-shirt. “I’ve been working out harder since the last time I saw you.”

  “You’re a goof. Let me introduce you to my sister, Cait.”

  “Hi,” Cait said a little coldly, her eyes never leaving his.

  “Sister?” Wells looked puzzled.

  “Yes. We just found out that we’re sisters. Isn’t that great?” Abby’s unyielding positivity tugged at Aiden.

  “In that case, sis”—Wells raised his brows at Cait and said—“if you want someone to show you around the island, I’m your guy.”

  “Ugh. Give her a break, Wells,” Abby chided him. “She knows you two-timed me and Leni in high school.”

  You dated this guy?

  “There was enough of me to go around, and you were both hot,” Wells said.

  “Dream on.” Abby turned to introduce Aiden, but before she could get a word out, he slid his arm around her waist, showing the guy how far Abby had come, and offered his other hand to Wells. “I’m Aiden. Nice to meet you.”

  “Good to meet you, too.” Wells shook his hand, curious eyes moving between Aiden and Abby. “You’re not from around here.”

  Aiden held his gaze. “That’s right, but I’m sticking around for a while.”

  “Cool.” Wells pushed a hand through his thick hair and said, “Stop by the Rock Bottom Bar and Grill sometime and I’ll buy you a drink. It’s down by Rock Harbor Marina.”

  “You a bartender there?” Aiden asked.

  Wells chuckled. “I own the place. I was actually coming by to offer my condolences again. Did you get the flowers I sent you after your mom passed, Abby?”

  “I did, thank you. That was sweet of you.”

  Maybe he isn’t a total douchebag.

  “Yeah, I remember things weren’t always easy, but still. I can’t imagine losing my mom.” Wells sounded genuinely compassionate. “I also wanted to see if you were interested in selling the restaurant. I know your mom was having a hard time of it the last few years, and I thought I’d take the place off your hands. At a fair price, of course. Save you the time of having to clean it up before putting it on the market.”

  There was no way in hell Aiden was going to let this guy take Abby’s dream away. “Abby’s keeping it,” he said firmly, then immediately chastised himself for stepping in and taking over. He softened his tone and said, “Right, Abs? That’s your plan?”

  “Yes, that’s my plan. I appreciate the offer, Wells, but I’m excited about digging my heels in and bringing the restaurant back to life.”

  Wells looked around with a skeptical expression. “It’s going to take quite a bit of cash to bring this restaurant around.”

  “Sweat equity goes a long way,” Abby said.

  “And she has money,” Cait said. “Deirdra and I are helping her.”

  Aiden wanted to give Cait an attagirl, but he bit his tongue. He’d had no idea that Cait was helping her financially, and by the look in Abby’s eyes, she might not have known, either.

  “Cool,” Wells said with a nod. “Good luck. I wish you the best, Abby, and if it gets to be too much, you know where to find me.”

  “It won’t,” Abby said lightly, her effervescent smile returning. “But thank you.”

  “Guess I won’t see you at the Best of the Island competition this year. Maybe next year, after you’ve gotten this place spiffed up,” Wells said.

  “You’re entering?” Aiden asked.

  Wells inhaled deeply, his chest expanding like he had something to prove, and he said, “You’re looking at the reigning king for the past three years.”

  “How about that? Sounds like your competition has been too light.” Aiden couldn’t help pushing the guy’s buttons.

  “The competition is good. But we’re better,” Wells said arrogantly. “Like I said, come by anytime and see for yourself. Dinner’s on me. I’m going to take off, but it was nice meeting you, Aiden.” He flashed what he probably thought was a coy grin at Cait and said, “Hope to see more of you, Cait,” and headed out the door.

/>   “We need to get you into that contest, Abs.”

  “Why?” Abby asked.

  “To beat that guy.”

  “Aiden’s right—that guy needs to be brought down a notch,” Cait said. “I’ve been thinking about it, and I want you to keep my share of the money we inherited to help with the restaurant. After everything you said last night, I agree with Deirdra. You’ve had enough of your dreams stolen from you. We all have. I’d like to help this one come true. Even though you don’t want to do the competition, I still want to see this place—and you—succeed, and that takes money, so . . .”

  “Oh, Cait, you don’t have to do that,” Abby said. “I have some savings, and mine and Deirdra’s inheritance. You must have dreams of your own you want to follow.”

  “I don’t. My dream was to find out who my birth parents were, and now I know who my mother was. That’s all I needed. This is new for both of us, and I’ll understand if you don’t want me to be involved, but these last two days are the only time in my life that I’ve felt connected to something or someone outside of Tank and his family. I was going to ask if you’d mind if I continued coming here a few days each week to help you fix up the restaurant.”

  “Really?” Abby exclaimed. “I would love that. I’m so glad that you feel good about being here. You belong here. This is so exciting! We’re all partners now. You, me, and Deirdra. Deirdra’s a silent partner, obviously, and you can be as involved or as silent as you’d like. I know you have another job and a life on the Cape, so don’t worry, I won’t put any pressure on you. I’m thankful for whatever time you want to spend here, and with me. It makes the Bistro feel even more like a family restaurant. And you know what? Wells and his deep pockets can kiss our butts.”

  “Damn right.” Aiden couldn’t help saying, “I can’t believe you dated him.”

  “It was brief and we were teenagers. He’s a little full of himself, but he’s a good guy,” Abby said. “We may not have a lot of money, but we’re determined, and trust me, I know how to squeeze pennies out of a shoestring budget. We’re going to make this restaurant the place to be!” She hugged Cait and said, “This calls for a celebration! What are you doing tonight, Aiden?”

  “Looks like I’m taking two beautiful women to dinner.”

  “I have a better idea,” Abby said. “You’ve been helping for two days already. Let me repay both of you by cooking a special dinner, one of my dad’s recipes. You’ll love it. I promise.”

  “Sounds like a plan, as long as you let me help.” Aiden slipped his arm around her waist again and said, “I make a pretty good sous-chef.”

  “Deal. Cait?” Abby asked.

  “I suck at cooking, but I like eating, and I can set a mean table.”

  “Yay!” Abby rubbed her hands together and said, “I have to make a grocery list!”

  Abby had a bounce in her step all afternoon. By the time Cait headed back to the house and Aiden walked Abby to her bike, he was beyond smitten with his fiercely determined and insanely sexy girl.

  She took off his hat, which she’d worn all day, and squinted against the late-afternoon sun. “Thanks for letting me wear this.”

  “I want you to have it. You look better in it than I ever could, and I like seeing you in something of mine.” He put his hat in the basket on her bike and gathered her in his arms. “Why don’t you give me that grocery list and I’ll bring everything over after I shower.”

  “You don’t have to do that. I need to go to the grocery store and the organic shop in town.”

  He eyed her bicycle with the white basket on the front and said, “I’m not sure you can fit everything in that pretty little basket, Bike Girl. And you might not realize it yet, but tomorrow your shoulders are probably going to be sore from all that wallpaper removing. Go home and pamper yourself. Let me do this for you.”

  “You’ve done so much already,” she said sweetly.

  “Not nearly as much as you’ve done for me these past couple of days, Abs.” He pressed his lips to hers in a tender kiss and said, “I’d like to do this for you.”

  “What have I done for you besides make you work your butt off?”

  “You reminded me what it’s like to enjoy life and do something other than think about finance.” He kissed her cheek and said, “And you’ve shown me what it’s like to get all worked up thinking about a beautiful”—he kissed her neck—“sexy”—he brushed his lips over hers—“incredibly adorable and contagiously happy woman.”

  He framed her face with his hands and lowered his lips to hers, kissing her as thoroughly as he’d been dying to do all day. She went up on her toes, and he took the kiss deeper, getting lost in her taste, her already familiar scent, the slide of her tongue over his. One arm circled her, holding their bodies flush, and his other hand threaded into her hair. God, he loved her hair, so long and lustrous. He tugged gently, angling her mouth beneath his and intensifying his efforts. She moaned, her fingers pressing into the back of his neck as she melted against him, surrendering to their passion. That trust brought a heightened sense of arousal and affection. He wanted to sweep her into his arms and carry her up to his hotel suite, strip her bare, and love every inch of her beautiful body, showing her just how incredible he thought she was. But he would never ask her to miss time with Cait when her sister was there for only two more nights.

  It took all of his resolve to deny them both the pleasure he knew they’d find. He drew away slowly, but he wasn’t ready to give her up and leaned in for more, quickly getting carried away, his hands moving down her back, clutching her gorgeous ass. Another tantalizing, needy sound escaped her lips. Fuuck.

  “God, Abs,” came out craggy and lustful, but he couldn’t do it, couldn’t walk away. Like metal to magnet, their mouths crashed together in another sensual kiss, which seared through him like an inferno. Desire throbbed through his veins as she pressed against his arousal. He tore his mouth away, both of them panting. “You feel so good. I could kiss you all night.”

  She clung to him like she never wanted to let go, her eyes pleading for more. “Me too.”

  The desire in her voice nearly did him in. He was a man who dealt in hard facts and tangible reasonings. He had no idea of the whys or hows they were so swept up in each other so fast, and he didn’t care, because nothing in his life other than taking care of Remi, which was in a whole different realm, had ever felt so right.

  He kissed her again, slow and sweet, full of unspoken promises to go along with the one she heard when he said, “Soon.”

  Abby wasn’t good at pampering herself, and she didn’t want Aiden to see the mess her mother had left behind, so when she got home, she skipped the pampering, threw open the windows, and went to work cleaning up the living room. Cait pitched in, despite Abby telling her she’d already done enough and should relax. They picked through their mother’s records, choosing some of their favorites from the seventies, and played them while they cleaned. Abby enjoyed working with Cait and talking about their mother without Deirdra rolling her eyes or disparaging her. Cait soaked in every word, the good and the hard to hear. She was loosening up, and they worked well together.

  When they were done cleaning, Cait showered while Abby made the pastry dough for dessert and put it in the fridge to chill. She showered quickly, but choosing an outfit proved time-consuming. She went through several options, wanting to look good for Aiden but not like she’d tried too hard. She’d turned into some sort of teenage girl, popping into Cait’s room to show off each one. Does this look okay? Is this too much? Does this color make my butt look too big? At first Cait wasn’t sure how to respond and told her everything looked good. But once Abby clarified that this was what sisters did and she needed to be blatantly honest because sisters trusted each other, Cait let loose. She nixed the outfits that were too bright, said one made her look too thick in the waist, and others definitely looked like she was trying too hard.

  After the fifth or sixth outfit, Cait threw up her hands and stalked
into Abby’s closet, searching through her clothes, and put together an outfit Abby never would have come up with herself—dark blue textured leggings, a comfy short-sleeve gray shirt with a wide V-neck that showed a hint of the swell of her breasts, and a gray and white flannel shirt. Flannel. She’d forgotten that shirt was even in there. Abby rolled up the sleeves while Cait ran into their mother’s bedroom, returning with several of their mother’s bracelets and a long gold and blue dreamcatcher necklace, all of which Cait and Deirdra had found yesterday while Abby had been out with Aiden. They’d paired the outfit with Abby’s tan ankle boots, and based on the lascivious looks Aiden had been giving her since he’d arrived and they’d begun cooking, she looked as fantastic as she felt.

  Thank you, big sis.

  Music filled the air, giving their evening a festive feel. As promised, Aiden had gotten everything on Abby’s shopping list. They were making beet salad with pine nuts and one of her father’s favorite classic French dishes, Poulet Vallée d’Auge—chicken cooked in apple cider, flambéed with Calvados brandy, and topped with sautéed buttered apples and a rich cream sauce. For dessert, she’d decided on something simple: a banana tarte tatin, a puff pastry with caramelized bananas and a dollop of cream spiced with her father’s favorite rum.

  Aiden was a great help, chopping and stirring, while Cait opted to set the table and take notes as they talked about the things they still needed to do at the restaurant. Abby couldn’t believe Aiden wanted to help them get the Bistro ready for the grand opening any more than she could believe how attentive he was while they cooked, brushing kisses on her temple or touching her back. He somehow managed to lavish her with those intimate, special touches without crossing any inappropriate lines that might make Cait uncomfortable. She loved how he included Cait in their conversations, too, making sure she didn’t feel like a third wheel. It was as if he’d been schooled in how to be a perfect gentleman, another thing she definitely wasn’t used to but really enjoyed.