“That you will. Good night, Fiona.”

  Whenever he said my name, it sent shivers chasing over my skin. His voice was low and a little gruff.

  “Good night, Blake.”

  I walked the few blocks home. Another bonus to this job was I didn’t need a car all the time, which was good because I shared one with my mother.

  I jogged up the steps to my apartment, which was on the upper floor of a small store. I felt like we’d scored the jackpot when we found this place because the rent was actually reasonable. I let myself in quietly and glanced over to find my mom sitting on the couch. She was watching some home sales show. She loved those.

  “Hey, Mom,” I said softly when she held her finger to her lips.

  I shrugged out of my jacket and kicked off my shoes. I padded over to the couch, then leaned down and kissed my mom’s cheek. “Is Lia asleep?”

  “Of course,” she whispered, giving me an absent-minded kiss on my cheek.

  “Be right back.”

  I walked quietly across the living room and down the short hallway. By some miracle, we had three bedrooms. Two were tiny, and the other was just a tad larger. The biggest bedroom was my mother’s. I wanted her to have more space. She’d tried to argue against it but finally caved, grumbling about how I was more stubborn than her.

  My daughter’s bedroom door was ajar, and I slipped into the room. She was sound asleep with her beloved stuffed dog hugged tightly in one arm. Rufus had been with her since she was a baby. He had spotted fur and floppy ears. His tail had gotten lost somewhere along the way in the six years since she’d had him. I brushed her hair away from her forehead, my lips curling in a smile. All of this was for her.

  When I walked back out to the living room, my mother smiled over at me. “Show’s over. How was work?”

  I plunked down on the couch beside her. “Busy but I like it that way. How was Lia tonight?”

  “You don’t need to ask. She’s always a good girl.”

  My mother always said that, but then my mother was patient and had a high tolerance for my eight-year-old daughter’s bouncy and energetic personality.

  “We’re okay,” my mother added softly when I met her gaze. She said that often.

  I took a shaky breath. “We are.”

  Chapter Four

  Blake

  “I like her.” David held my gaze with his firm tone, and I sensed he was almost daring me to question his judgment.

  I didn’t question his judgment. I liked Fiona as well, too much. She was a distraction, my delectable distraction.

  “We’re keeping her,” David added.

  “It’s your call, David.” I bit back a sigh.

  He eyed me, pressing his tongue in the side of his cheek, something he did whenever he was about to tell me something I didn’t want to hear.

  “What is it?” I prompted.

  “Do you like her?”

  “Fiona is a perfectly nice person, an excellent chef, and a good employee. Of course, I like her.”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about.” A sly, knowing glint entered his gaze as he held mine.

  I shrugged, annoyed with his perceptiveness. David had known me since I was a little boy and was a father figure to me in many ways. After my father passed, and our family had fallen into the misery of our abusive grandfather’s presence in our lives, David had been a source of support for me. When I first took over management of the production for the brewery and winery, we had clashed. Not in any way that we couldn’t have gotten past. But now, I recognized he had challenged me for a reason. He'd brought me up to scratch as a manager for this part of my family’s business.

  Honestly, I dreaded him ever choosing to retire from the restaurant fully. When he’d said he wanted to step back from the kitchen because his knees gave him trouble, I’d been beyond relieved when he’d insisted he keeps the reins of management for the restaurant. He was a fixture in my life and that of the rest of my family. We all loved him, and his steady, if bossy, presence was a salve to my emotional wounds.

  As he studied me, his gaze sobered. “It’s okay.”

  My throat felt tight. “What’s okay?”

  He gestured around my office. “Everyone here respects you. I loved your father, and I still love your mother. I hate that bullshit about a workplace being family because it usually means a toxic mess.” His laugh was dry, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. “It’s never been like that for me with you all. You’re my family. Because I was well-established here before your father passed away, your grandfather didn’t mess with me. You all treat your staff very well, which is part of why you’ve been able to clean things up here. If I ever retire, it’ll be okay.”

  My chest was really tight. He was voicing all the worries that had been swirling through my mind for months. David was the touchstone in this place. The winery and brewery made us far more money than this restaurant, but he was the axis in the wheel of all of it.

  He was the first person I turned to when we tested something new. Gruff though he could be, he was kind underneath.

  I took a quick breath, nodding. “I hope you’re right.”

  “I am. With Fiona here, the restaurant will be just fine. She likes you too.” I stared at him. “Hypothetically speaking.” His lips quirked at the corners with that.

  “If I like Fiona that way, it’s a problem.”

  David shrugged. “Not really.”

  “What do you mean?” If I hadn’t known I was crazy about Fiona yet, the fact that I was entertaining this conversation blared out warning bells.

  “You manage the winery and brewery. The restaurant was a side project, to begin with. Maybe it’s not the best idea to have the hots for her, but I’m her boss. Not you.”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I muttered.

  “I just thought it might be useful for me to point that out.” His gaze sobered. “I don’t know how much you know about her, but she really needs to keep this job.”

  “What are you talking about? Most people want to keep their jobs. What’s different for her?”

  “She has a daughter, you know.”

  “I didn’t know that.” My curiosity was piqued.

  “I thought not. Fiona’s making some changes to the menu. I’m also going to make it clear to the staff that she’s in charge of the kitchen now. They can consider me her assistant.”

  My mouth dropped open as I stared at him. “What?”

  David cracked a rare wide smile. “I thought you’d like that. I can’t handle the full-time pace of being the lead chef. I can handle the management and helping her out in a pinch. Being on my feet less will be fucking fantastic.”

  David had started working for us when he was twenty years old, back when the restaurant was a side project.

  “I’m Fi’s boss—” He began.

  I cut in. “Since when does she go by Fi?” It shouldn’t have bothered me, but my brief interaction with her in that elevator elicited this sense of possessiveness around that nickname. I hadn’t heard anyone else call her that.

  David shrugged. “I don’t know. I call her that sometimes. Her mother does too.”

  “Her mom?”

  “Yeah. You don’t know much about her, do you? She rented an apartment from Fireweed Property Management, you know, your family’s company,” he said with a brow hitch. “It’s her, her mom, and her daughter. When she moved to town, I connected her with McKenna, like we do for any new staff who don’t have a place to live. She set Fiona up with the property management company.”

  “Hmm.” I tried to sound bland when what I wanted was to ask a few hundred more questions about Fiona.

  Blessedly, David left when he got a phone call. Restless, I stood from my desk and walked out. Whenever I was at loose ends, I usually did a loop through the whole place.

  I passed through the brewery area, checking on a few of the tanks and the status of our production. I made it through the kitchen, experiencing a shaft of disappointment when I didn’t see Fiona busy at the stove. Of course, I shouldn’t even be wondering where she specifically was, but I was. I was acutely aware of her presence, or lack thereof, whenever she was supposed to be here.

  The last place I checked was the staff break room. That was where I found her. Even though I told myself I wasn’t looking for her.

  She was on her phone, her shoulder resting against the wall beside the row of lockers. Her head was tucked down, and her brow furrowed with worry. “Okay, okay. I’ll try to get there as soon as I can.” She lowered the phone, staring down at it.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked as I approached her.

  Fiona’s head whipped up. I took the moment to study her as she stared back at me. Her beauty was quiet, it almost felt a little hidden. She always kept her glossy hair pulled back in a bun. Her eyes stood out, sapphire blue with thick lashes. Her skin was a subtle olive color, warm and inviting a touch. She always dressed modestly in blouses that buttoned all the way up and skirts that fell below her knees. She couldn’t hide her curves, but I sensed she tried.

  She blinked quickly, looking down at her phone. “My daughter is sick at school, and I need to pick her up. I don’t have my car. I need to call my mom and—”

  I cut in. “I can take you.”

  Her gaze whipped back to mine, her brows flying toward her hairline. “You would do that?” Her voice squeaked at the end.

  “Of course.” I glanced at my watch. “Will you need to take the rest of the day off?”

  She shook her head quickly. “My mom is home. She’ll take care of her.”

  “Get your things. I’ll go let the line cooks know.”

  I didn’t wait for her reply and spun around, striding briskly out of the break room and toward the kitchen. My eyes landed on Tommy, one of the line cooks. “Fiona has to run out to pick up her daughter from school. She’ll be back in thirty minutes.”

  Tommy nodded, calling, “Got it!”

  She’d probably be back sooner, but I figured that gave her a cushion. Only moments later, we were driving toward the elementary school.

  I slid my eyes sideways. Fiona sat quietly, her gaze angled slightly toward the window and her hands laced together in her lap. Her nose turned up at the end, and her cheekbones were angled high on her face, setting off her mouth. Her bottom lip was so kissable. Even now, just riding in the truck, I wanted to lean over and turn her face toward me and kiss her, all so I could feel her plump lips.

  “You said the elementary school.” I forced myself to look ahead. “What grade is your daughter in?”

  “First grade.” Fiona glanced at me quickly, and our eyes collided before we both looked ahead again.

  “What’s her name?”

  “Lia. She’s named after my mother, Natalie. She goes by Lia.”

  “Pretty name.” Our eyes met again, and it felt like flint striking stone with sparks leaping in the air between us.

  “David told me he’s happy with how you’re doing,” I offered, trying to find something to talk about. “It’s good for him to shift solely to focus on management. He’s had some knee issues.”

  She was quiet for a beat. “He’s never mentioned it, but I can tell it’s hard for him to be on his feet. I mean, you’re on your feet a lot, but—”

  I interjected. “I’m certainly not on my feet as much as anybody is in the kitchen. As far as I can tell from the time you arrive until the time you leave, you’re on the move in there,” I pointed out dryly.

  Fiona laughed, and I tried to remember if I’d heard her laugh yet. Her low and throaty laughter sent fire sizzling through my veins.

  “I suppose so.”

  “I’m glad you and David get along.”

  “He intimidated me at first, but he’s a softy. I figured that out,” she said.

  My heart tumbled in my chest when I glanced her way and collided with the twinkle in her eyes.

  Fuck me. It wasn’t just the chemistry with Fiona. There was something else there, something I didn’t usually feel. Honestly, something I’d never felt. I wanted to know this woman, to unravel the layers she kept wrapped tightly around her.

  I forced my attention to the conversation. “David is a softy. Sometimes it takes a while to see it.”

  Just then, I saw the sign for the elementary school and slowed to turn onto the road. A moment later, I pulled up in front. “Where should I park?”

  She gestured toward the circle that curved in front of the main entrance. “Just wait there. I already texted to let them know I was on my way.”

  Once I came to a complete stop, Fiona slipped out and jogged into the school. A few moments later, she returned with a little girl walking at her side. They held hands, and her daughter was looking up and saying something.

  Fiona opened the back door, gesturing inside. “Hop in.”

  Her daughter climbed in, immediately buckling her seat belt.

  “I’m supposed to be in a booster,” she announced.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t have a booster,” I said.

  “That’s what Mama said.” Her eyes held mine. “I’m Lia.”

  “Very nice to meet you, Lia. I’m Blake.”

  “That’s my last name!”

  Fiona cast me a quick smile. She glanced back at her daughter. “Blake can be a first name and a last name.”

  Fiona quickly explained that Lia had felt sick after lunch but was feeling better now. “My guess is she ate too much,” she added.

  Lia chimed in, “I had too much milk.”

  Fiona asked Lia a few questions about school while I marveled at how startlingly alike they looked, both with glossy hair and warm olive skin with a rosy hue.

  “How are you feeling now?” Fiona asked just as I slowed to turn into where she directed me.

  Lia let out a little sigh. “My tummy still feels funny, but I don’t want to throw up anymore.”

  “Well, you’ll spend the afternoon with Gigi.”

  When I glanced toward Fiona, she added, “Gigi is my mom. Lia started calling her that when she was little, and the name stuck.”

  Once I parked, Fiona hopped out and helped her daughter out of the truck. Lia turned back, waving. “Bye!”

  “Bye!” I returned with a quick wave and a grin.

  I watched as they walked up the stairs to the upper floor. Questions tumbled through my thoughts. Where was Lia’s father? How did they end up here in Fireweed Harbor? And why?

  A moment later, Fiona hurried down the stairs. She was inside my truck in a flash. “Sorry if that took too long,” she said breathlessly.

  “You didn’t have to run. It’s no big deal.”

  She looked over at me. “You’re doing me a favor, and I’m supposed to be at work.”

  “It’s really no problem.”

  “Normally, we have a car, but it’s in the shop for an expensive repair. I have to budget before I can get it fixed.”

  “What is it?”

  “Brakes and tires. You know how Alaska doesn’t have inspections?”

  “Oh, I do. Not really the best plan, all things considered,” I offered dryly.

  “The mechanic told me I could skate by with my tires, but he recommended replacing them. He was worried enough about my brakes that he didn’t even want me to take it from the shop.”

  As I was backing out, I spoke before considering it. “I can fix your brakes. And if you get the tires, I’ll put them on for you.”

  Fiona whipped her gaze toward mine as I began to drive forward. “What?”

  “I love working on cars. Just something I do on the side. We have a garage on-site for our property management company. During the winter, we maintain the parking lots and so on. It’s more affordable to take care of vehicle maintenance ourselves.”

  I stopped before turning onto the road. She studied me, her eyes narrowing. “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely. You need a car.”

  Fiona’s cheeks flushed pink. “I bet you think it’s ridiculous that I have to budget for this.”

  “Not at all. It’s called life. After you’re done at work today, I’ll drive you down to the shop, and you can pick up your car and get the tires. You can throw them in the back of my truck.” I thumbed over my shoulder. “I’ll take care of it over the weekend.”

  “Wow. Thank you.”

  “Anytime.”

  When we got back to the winery, I walked beside her and held the door open at the employee entrance. She slipped by me quickly. My eyes were drawn to watch the subtle swing of her hips. My body tightened.

  She wasn’t the only employee I’d ever offered to help with their car. But I knew maybe it wasn’t the best plan. Spending time with Fiona outside of work was risky.

  Chapter Five

  Fiona

  I was relieved the afternoon was busy at work. I always preferred to be busy so I didn’t track the clock. In this case, I didn’t want to dwell on Blake. His offer to help with my car was incredibly kind and very needed. Between the brakes and the tires, it was going to be almost two months before I could save up the money. This way, I could just put the tires on my credit card and pay it off.

  I didn’t need to dwell on the hot, sexy Blake. And just because he offered to help with my car didn’t mean he was actually nice.

  Blake hasn’t done anything to lead you to think he’s a jerk.

  Maybe not, but you didn’t exactly notice what Johnny was doing before it was too late.

  As soon as I thought about my ex, my cheeks heated. The embarrassment I still felt whenever I thought about the mess of my life and just how bad it could’ve gotten clung to me like gum on the bottom of a shoe.

  Johnny wasn’t all bad.

  No, but he left you a mess to clean up.

  I kept waiting for the day when I could give myself some grace for my adolescent regrets. I had fallen in love with Johnny Kingston.

  He’d had a sly sense of humor and an underlying sweetness that had seemed irresistible when I was sixteen. I hadn’t known he was also the primary dealer of stimulants in our high school in Seattle. By the time I was pregnant, he was dealing more than that, and I didn’t even know. When I found out, we broke up. When Lia was four, he’d died of an overdose in a bar. I didn’t know who to trust and was mortified to tell my parents what had happened. I’d also been broke and barely getting by. Johnny had always helped with money, and I hadn’t even known how tainted it was.