“I don’t always speak the words but maybe show the actions.”

  “Like in your gaze?” he asked. Her eyes snapped back up to his and her face got red. He smirked at it. “It’s fine. Maybe I do the same thing.”

  He was just looking at her face though. Moving his eyes over her body wouldn’t be wise while they were working. No reason to put any pressure on her and he wouldn’t with anyone that worked for him.

  “Guess we have that in common then,” she said.

  He had no idea how they were going to get from here to somewhere else at this stage, but he wanted to get to the next step.

  “I need to go home and clean up and get to Duke’s for the night. Remember how I told you to take a stand before?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “If you see something you like and want to find out more, sometimes due to the circumstances, you might have to be the one to make that move.”

  They were staring at each other. He knew she was aware of what he was saying. “Understood. I’m not used to doing that or even know how to go about it.”

  “You’re off Tuesday, right?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “I don’t go into Duke’s until four. If you’ve got no plans, maybe we can go over some changes you said you wanted to make on the website?”

  “We can do that,” she said. “Where do you want to meet?”

  He was going to give her a few choices and see what she decided. That would tell him what he wanted to know. “We can meet here before anyone comes in. We can meet at a restaurant and get some food or something. Or we can meet at my place like we did last time. Whatever works for you will work for me.”

  “Your place,” she said without hesitation.

  “Good,” he said. “Text me tomorrow a time and I’ll be ready for you.”

  “Bye, Duke,” she said, finishing off her snack.

  “Bye, Hadley.”

  14

  Interested In Him

  Hadley was almost jumping out of her skin right now on her way to Duke’s house two days later.

  She knew what he was saying and doing.

  He was her boss. He couldn’t or wouldn’t ask her out. Not when he’d been asking if she was uncomfortable with Zeke flirting with her.

  She wanted Duke to know she wasn’t interested in Zeke. But she didn’t know how to let Duke know she was interested in him.

  He ended up making it easy for her. Like he’d been making a lot easy for her since they’d met.

  She wasn’t used to that and there was one part of her that didn’t know how she felt about it and the other that was thrilled.

  There was no pressure on either side. The ability to take time and think things through was what she needed.

  They were going to talk about the website. She knew. They had to. She wanted to let him know she had a wedding cake order too. She was so excited, but that meant that she couldn’t work on the day of the wedding. Or at least she had to go in late since the cake had to be delivered at one. But it was three weeks away and a small reception at someone’s home on the island.

  It wouldn’t take her long at all to make and decorate it. It was just delivering and setting up.

  It was her first order since she got her website up and running.

  She pulled into Duke’s driveway a little before noon. He’d said he’d make lunch for her. She wanted to say he didn’t need to but then got thinking maybe this was kind of like a date? And it was no different than going out to lunch. She’d rather eat his food anyway.

  Hadley got out of her car with her purse and her laptop again. For the first of June it was nice and sunny and mid-seventies out. She loved this weather and spent her time off walking down by the beach.

  She knocked on his front door and he opened it up in shorts and a T-shirt again. His hair was down. She hadn’t seen it down since the first time she met him. It was wet too and she wondered if he’d just gotten out of the shower.

  “Hey,” he said. “Come in.”

  “I could have come later,” she said.

  He laughed at her. “I was working out and lost track of time. No, you didn’t wake me up, but I did shower about ten minutes ago. My hair takes longer to dry.”

  “You don’t blow it dry?” she asked.

  He looked appalled by that statement. “No. I’ve got long hair and like it that way. It’s easier for me to tie it back when I’m working, but I don’t put product in it and style it, nor do I blow dry it.”

  She laughed. “Sorry. I can’t let my hair air-dry. It takes too long and then gets frizzy and knotted up.”

  “I don’t have that problem,” he said. “Though Kelsey says she does. Must be the difference between men’s and women’s hair?”

  “I highly doubt that,” she said. “But before we begin with work I’ve got to tell you something. I’m so excited.”

  “What’s that?” he asked.

  “I got a job.”

  His smile fell. “A full-time job?”

  “No,” she rushed out to say. “I haven’t even applied to anything yet because nothing is catching my eye and I kind of like what I’m doing. I mean a wedding cake job.”

  “Oh,” he said. “That’s wonderful. When is it?”

  “In three weeks. It’s on a Saturday. Just a small wedding, but I have to deliver it at one so I’ll need to come in late that day if I’m scheduled.”

  “Text me the date and I’ll make sure you get it off. You don’t have to work every Saturday. You haven’t said if you need time off and didn’t seem to mind working the weekends.”

  “I don’t mind,” she said. “It’s better tips and busier and I like staying busy. It’s not like I’ve got all that much going on in my life anyway.”

  “Okay,” he said.

  She started to almost dance in place. “Guess how they found out about me?”

  “How?” he asked.

  She shouldn’t have been moving in place like she was because the next thing she knew she was tripping over her own feet and stumbling and he was catching her.

  Their faces were close because he’d reached and bent over, his hands on her arms. Their eyes were locked and her ears were ringing.

  “Sorry,” she said softly.

  “Tell me no,” he said.

  He wasn’t letting go of her and their eyes weren’t moving from each other’s gaze. “What?”

  “Tell me no if you want me to let go.”

  “I don’t want to tell you no.”

  His mouth moved close to hers. “Tell me no to stop moving,” he said this time.

  Her lips stay sealed and the next thing she knew he was kissing her.

  Her arms tried to move up and over his shoulders, but they couldn’t with his grip still on her. He loosened it though with their kiss and she reached up and put them behind his neck.

  The next thing she knew her body was plastered to his and it felt more wonderful than any other kiss she’d had in her life.

  His tongue came out and nudged her mouth open and they were almost dancing around his foyer, but this time she knew she wasn’t going to trip. And if she did, he’d have her.

  She’d never felt like anyone would have her in her life before.

  When he finally lifted his head, she felt nothing but disappointment that the kiss ended.

  “Do I need to apologize?” he asked her.

  “Only if you tell me you regret that or won’t do it again.”

  His mouth moved down to cover hers again. “Is that answer enough?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “Come to the kitchen. I’m sure you are going to want to talk about this along with work, right?”

  She sighed. “We should, right? You’re my boss.”

  “We should,” he said. “But first tell me what you were going to say before you tripped.”

  “I’m so sorry. I didn’t do that on purpose or anything.”

  “I didn’t think you did,” he said.

  “I don’t want anyone to know that we just kissed. I mean it’s not anything more.”

  “You only wanted a kiss?” he asked her. He was smiling when he’d said it. They were moving to his kitchen again. This time she got to see more of his house entering this way than coming in through the garage last time.

  “Well, no,” she said. “I did give the impression that I wanted more.”

  “The question is, what are you looking for?”

  She hated these conversations. “I don’t know. It’s one kiss. I guess, the only thing to say is that I’m not the type to just sleep with someone. I hope you don’t think that.”

  He reached his hand out over the island. She’d taken a seat like she had last time she was here. He was standing there like he was going to cook. “I never thought that. I’d like to get to know you more. Wherever it leads it does. But know I don’t have a lot of free time.”

  “I know,” she said. “I work for you. I don’t see you much.”

  He grinned. “You do and you know that. We can try to figure out times. You go in early, I tend to go in late.”

  “I don’t work every day,” she said.

  “Nope, you don’t. Like today, I’m going in and you’re off. Tomorrow, I’m off.”

  “And I’m working but get out at four,” she said.

  “Then maybe we can plan on dinner tomorrow,” he said.

  “I’d like that.” This was easier than she thought it might be.

  “Good. Now that that is out of the way.”

  “I don’t want anyone to know at Southside,” she said. “Or any of your employees. At least right away.”

  “That’s fine,” he said. “I’m not in the habit of going in and kissing people during working hours. We’ll keep it professional.”

  “Thank you.” She cringed. “This is horrible. I guess I should think more before I do things. But...”

  “If things don’t work out, you’ve still got a job. I’d not be that much of an ass. And as you said, no one knows and you don’t see me much.”

  “Thanks for that,” she said.

  “Now tell me what got you so excited that you were tripping over your own feet.”

  “Oh,” she said. “This job I got for the wedding cake. It was the cousin of that family that was in a few weeks ago. You brought their dessert out to them and then said I was the one who made it. She’d come back in the following week and asked for my card and I had one on me. I didn’t think anything of it and then I got an email yesterday and that is how it came about.”

  “That’s great,” he said. “Did you get your social media pages up too?”

  “I did,” she said. “Not that I’ve got a lot of followers or anything.”

  “Latch onto Southside and Duke’s,” he said. “Cross-promote them.”

  “What?” she said. “No, I can’t do that. It wouldn’t be right. The staff knows I’m taking the pictures and posting.”

  No one knew anything else. They didn’t know she was running those accounts or that she was working on the websites. Just that Duke asked her to take pictures and post and she was doing it.

  “I won’t push it for now,” he said. “But you really should find a way to get people from my accounts over to yours.”

  “It can happen organically,” she said. “With time.”

  The fact he wasn’t trying to convince her he was right and she was wrong went a long way with her.

  “Then I guess that is what will happen.”

  Though any clients with those accounts could tag her and then where they found her too. She might consider asking them to do that. If she could work up the courage. Thoughts for another day.

  The two of them got down to work at that point and he started to cook her lunch. She’d told him to surprise her and he was with a lobster dish.

  They started to eat and talk. “Did you grow up on the island?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he said. “When we were younger we lived here and went to school here. When Kelsey and I started high school, my parents bought a house in Boston and we went there for four years.”

  “That had to be hard to just pick up and move jobs for a short period of time for your parents.”

  He laughed at her. “No. My mother had the firm at that point on the island. Just a small branch. She had another branch in Boston that had more employees and she was splitting her time and staying in an apartment if need be. My father has business ventures all over the island, Plymouth, Boston and Cape Cod. Things that have been in the family for years or he’s done on his own.”

  “The Bond family,” she said. She knew he was from it and some of the history. It was hard not to.

  “That’s right. Growing up in Plymouth, I’m sure you know a bit about it. More so since your parents have a home here.”

  “I do,” she said. “I know the history of the five kids. What branches do what things for the most part. I didn’t follow it much, as I haven’t been in Massachusetts for years.”

  “I’m an open book for the most part. I’ve got a Masters from the Culinary Institute of America.”

  “A masters?” she asked.

  “I wanted it to be one,” he said. “I wanted to go to one of the best institutes that I could and it was still close enough to home. I’m close with my family.”

  “I am with my parents, but being an only child I think I wanted to go out on my own.”

  “Which takes a lot to do,” he said.

  “It does. Did you work in Boston before you opened your restaurant here? It’s only been about three years, right?”

  “I did,” he said. “I wanted as much experience as I could get and when I knew I was ready and had the perfect location I made the move. My cousins found me the property. At this point I was the only one living in Boston in my parents' home. They’ve still got it and they go there to stay now and again if they’ve got business to deal with.”

  “Does your mother still have a branch there?” she asked.

  “She does. She says she wants to sell it at some point, but Kelsey told her no. That it’s her legacy and she wasn’t giving it up. That my mother could manage them both and so can she. Since my father has enough business ventures and family there too, they come and go and split their time.”

  “That’s nice,” she said, digging into her lunch. “Good lord, I’m going to gain so much weight if I eat like this some more.”

  “You look good,” he said. “You’ve put some weight on in the past month.”

  “I have,” she said. “I lost some before I moved. I’m sure you want to know more about it.”

  “You’ll tell me if you want to,” he said.

  “Not a good relationship. I got in a lot of debt while there also due to that relationship. It was best to come home and start over.”

  “It can happen to the best of us,” he said.

  “I doubt that,” she said. She couldn’t see him being taken advantage of like she was, but she wasn’t saying any more. No reason to lay all the drama out this soon. It’s not who she was.

  After that though they did change the topic and talked more about the things they liked to do when they had time.

  They kissed some more. She didn’t want to leave but knew he had to go to work.

  When she got home, her father was on the deck and followed her to her place.

  “You’re smiling,” her father said.

  “I am. I just met with Duke to go over a few more things. Things are falling into place. I got a cake order for a wedding too. I don’t think I’ve been this happy or excited in a long time.”

  “That’s great to hear, Hadley. Your mother and I are so happy for you. You look good too. Not just happy overall, but you put some of your weight back on.”

  She wasn’t going to comment on him being the second person who said that to her today. She must have looked really bad for people to have noticed it before.

  Or maybe Duke had been paying more attention to her than she realized early on. She was doing the same to him.

  “I’m eating good,” she said. “It’s all of Mom’s cooking.”

  “Your mother likes to baby you too. I know that is part of why you left,” her father said. “You felt that at times we smothered you, right?”

  “No,” she said. “You didn’t. I am an only child and I just knew there was more to life out there than what I had growing up. I went to college and had fun. I liked the area and decided to stay. It was nothing more than that.”

  “Are you sure?” her father asked.

  “Positive. I’m okay being home. I am. Working for Duke has been great so far.”

  “I’m glad. Have you been sending out any resumes since you’ve been here?”

  “Nothing yet,” she said. “But right now with my tips and the baking and the marketing that I’m doing for Duke, I’m making more than I was. On top of that, I don’t have any expenses for the most part. I should be able to chip away at my credit card debt this way.”

  “We don’t normally talk to you about money. You clam up, but is he paying you appropriately?”

  “Yes, Dad,” she said. “Better than I expected.”

  She wasn’t going to say anything to her father about the kiss with Duke or the date tomorrow. No reason to. They would think it was too soon after Eddie, but they didn’t know she and Eddie weren’t even together for over a month before his death. Nor did they know anything she’d felt for him was long gone before he died.

  Sometimes it was just better to let things go. It’s not like she wanted any advice from anyone.

  “If you are happy, then we are happy.”

  “I am,” she said. “Trust me.”

  15

  More Womanly

  The next day, Hadley got out of work at four and ran home to shower. She was meeting Duke at his place tonight. They were going to have a picnic on the beach. She thought it was a great idea and he said he’d take care of the food.

  She didn’t know if he decided to do that so people wouldn’t see him out with her or that he didn’t like other people’s cooking as well as his own.