A Faire in Paradise (3 page)

“Are these friends of yours?” A man asked. It was the first time Alexa even noticed the stranger standing next to her friend, Milla.

“Yes.” Milla said with a nod as she swiped her arm over her eyes. She most likely did it to hide the fact that there were tears in them.

“Perry’s going to shit a brick when he finds out you’re here.” Alexa hugged her again.

“I’m sure he already knows. You guys have been on my trail since I left. I’m sure it was no accident.” She turned to the man who stood next to her, so tall and strong.

Alexa hoped the man was the one with whom Milla could make a life. If not, the man sure did want to be the one, if the way he held himself so close to her like some sort of protector, was any indication.

“Maybe, he knows, maybe not.” If he did, he’d kept that information close to his chest. He never once let on that they were following Milla. Was her friend just paranoid, or was there some truth to what she thought? “It doesn’t make me any less glad to see you. In fact—“She pursed her lips as she looked the man up and down. He certainly was an easy man to look at, but nowhere near as handsome as the salon cowboy. “I have a few questions to ask,” she lowered her voice to a whisper. “I’ve been thinking about leaving the carnival myself.”

“It’s a freeing experience.”

Alexa couldn’t help herself, she reached out and pulled Milla into another long embrace before she stepped back and smiled. “Aren’t you going to introduce us to your new friend?”

“Oh!” Milla turned red. “I’m sorry. Alexa and Nadya, meet Jonas. He’s one of the first real gentlemen I’ve ever met.” She smiled. “Though there are a
lot
of real gentlemen in this town. I’ve only been here a short while and I’ve found that out already.”

“Ladies,” the man said as he touched the brim of his cowboy hat. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He glanced at Milla. “I don’t want to cut your reunion short. Would you like to stay here and have dessert while I go find Mel?”

“Mel? Who’s Mel?” Both Alexa and Nadya asked at the same time.

“He’s another friend,” Milla replied as they headed into the diner. “And you’re not going to believe who he looks like. You’re going to have to prepare yourselves for when you meet him.”

“Hello, ladies, can I get you something to eat?” A nice middle-aged woman wearing black slacks and a white blouse approached the table, holding a pad of paper in one hand and a pencil in the other. She turned to Milla. “Well, hello again, sugar. Did you decide to have some dessert after all?”

“Yes, Sarah.” Milla cleared her throat. “I’ll take a small piece of that chocolate cake I saw on the counter.”

Sarah leaned down to whisper, “The shortcake is better.” She smiled. “It’s to die for with ice cream.”

“Then I’ll take an order of that, but only after they’ve had their lunch. They have to be starving.”

Alexa studied the menu and asked, “How’s the spaghetti?” She loved spaghetti. Finding good spaghetti in a diner was difficult to do. Home cooked was always best, but one took what one could get.

“The spaghetti is wonderful.” Sarah smiled. “Is that what you’d like?”

“Yes please.” Alexa nodded.

“I’ll have the same.” Nadya closed her menu and, taking Alexa’s, handed them both to the waitress.

“It’ll be just a few minutes.” Sarah smiled and hurried away to the kitchen.

“She seems nice.” Nadya rested her chin on the heel of her hands and gave a dreamy look to two men who sat by the window.

“The whole town is nice. It’s almost too good to be true.” Milla sat back and crossed her arms. “I’m thinking about staying here. We can ask the town’s leader if you can stay, too.”

“We have to ask permission to stay?” Alexa stared at Milla. “What’s up with that?”

“Um…there are certain things that, uh, happen here and they want to make sure that the town has nothing but like-minded people here.”

“Like-minded? What
are
you talking about? You can’t stay here. It sounds like the carnival all over again.” Nadya’s voice was low.

“It’s not the same at all. I already know what their secret is.” Milla tilted her head and raised a brow. “Or have you forgotten what my gift is?”

“We haven’t forgotten. I’ll tell you, things have been really creepy since you left. Perry’s been sleeping with just about everyone, including some of the guys,” Nadya said with a frown. “And I didn’t think he swung that way.”

“Nadya thinks that I’m next on his conquest list.”

“Stay off the list,” Milla said as she grabbed Alexa’s hand. “Whatever you do, don’t sleep with the man. I don’t know how he did it, but he got his claws into me good after I broke down and slept with him.”

“Just, eew!” Alexa scowled at Milla. “As if I would sleep with one of your exes. It’s not as though I think there’s anything wrong with
you
, but friends don’t date their friend’s ex-boyfriends. If that’s not already some sort of best friend rule, it should be.” She shuddered. “Eew!”

Milla laughed. “I’m glad to hear it. The man is poison.”

Sarah brought their food and they continued to catch up while they ate. Other carnival members found their way into the diner and their conversation turned to other things that wouldn’t interest the new ears around them.

“So we’ll talk about petitioning the leader after we leave here, then?” Alexa asked then took a sip of her cola. “I’d really love to get an answer as soon as possible.”

“Me, too. I’ll talk to Jonas and Mel and ask them what they think. Meanwhile…” Milla leaned close and dropped her voice to a whisper. “Act normal, set up your rigs like you usually do and I’ll get back to you. Okay?”

Alexa nodded. She turned toward Nadya as she did the same. The door opened and a tall man with shoulders broad enough to touch the doorframe on either side entered the diner. It wasn’t until he took his hat off his head that Alexa recognized the man and gasped.

After searching the town of Mason for the scent of his mystery woman, Wade got in his beat up old truck and headed back to Paradise. He wasn’t ready to make a choice on a new vehicle when all he could think about was one beautiful woman who smelled of peaches and honey.

He didn’t know what gave her that scent, and frankly, he didn’t care. He only knew that he loved the way she smelled of Sarah Browning’s peach cobbler.

In fact, she’d made him crave the stuff. He imagined he smelled that cobbler all the way to Paradise and here he was, standing in the door of the
Beat The Clock Diner
, his mouth watering for a bite of the delicious dessert.

Standing in the doorway, he waited until his eyes adjusted to the dimmer interior of the diner. It took that long to realize that all of the tables were filled with the carnival folk looking for a good meal. Well, they wouldn’t walk away from this diner hungry. If they did, it was their fault.

It wasn’t until he’d picked his way through the tables, heading to the counter at the back where he saw a few empty stools that Wade noticed the lovely peach cobbler smell wasn’t coming from the counter, but from one of the tables.

Wade closed his eyes and groaned. Someone already had the last of it. He turned to give the lucky diner a scowl when he realized that it wasn’t Sarah’s cobbler he smelled, but the mystery woman he thought he’d lost forever.

The sight of her hit him like a punch in the gut. Slowly, as though nothing in the world was wrong, he made his way to the counter.

“Why hello, Wade.”

“Hello, Sarah. You look as though you have your hands full.”

“I’m doing fine. I like it busy.” She smiled. “Besides, I’ll have help in a few minutes. I called in reinforcements. Can I get you something?”

“I’ll just have a cup of coffee and the check for the three women over at that table.” He gestured to his right.

“Which one is she, sugar?” Sarah gave him a knowing grin.

“The brunette.”

“She seems nice enough. Try not to scare her off now.” She glanced toward the table. “Have you told Ryker?”

“Not about finding her here.” He continued at Sarah’s inquiring expression. “I saw her in Mason a few hours ago. I thought I’d lost her there. Her scent was everywhere and nowhere. I decided to come on home because…” he paused with a smile. “She smells just like your peach cobbler.”

“Well that’s some kind of sign, now, isn’t it?” Sarah asked with a laugh. “You or Ryker haven’t kept your love for that sweet a secret, have you?”

“No, ma’am, we haven’t.” Wade grinned as she set an empty cup in front of him and filled it with coffee strong enough to wake his cat and make him scream. Picking it up, he took a sip and sighed. “Just the way I like it.”

An hour later, Wade still sat at the counter nursing his fourth cup of coffee.

“Who paid for our lunch?”

Wade turned, ready to wave and smile at the women when two men in a booth next to one of the front windows stood up and said, “We did.” The taller of the two stepped forward. “We’d like to welcome you to Paradise.”

He growled, the sound loud even in the noisy diner.
What in the hell are
those
two doing buying
my
mate a meal?
He glared at the two men. Luc Martin and Gabe Frey ran the general store in Paradise—or at least they would when it re-opened next month. Most of the townsfolk couldn’t wait. It meant fewer trips into Mason for groceries.

Both his cat and he settled down when he realized that the men weren’t looking at
his
mate, but one of the other two women at the table.

So this year’s faire has brought at least two mates to town.
Wade smiled. Things just kept getting better and better in Paradise.

They had new, viable mates now that they knew humans were just as compatible as their own kind. The old, corrupt council had almost convinced them that taking a human for a mate would dilute the gene pool. It took Adam and his men discovering the hidden archives below Alpha House to debunk that and other myths about their people.

At least he wouldn’t have to worry about their children not growing up with social skills. With all of the newly mated triads in town, there should be a lot of children on their way soon. He leaned back against the counter and watched as his woman stood, settled the strap of her purse over her shoulder, and thanked the men who paid for her lunch.

Yes, indeed. Things were definitely looking up in Paradise.

Alexa didn’t feel comfortable sitting at the table eating her decadent shortcake that must have a million calories in it when she knew that gorgeous man sat watching her as though she was
his
dessert.

Every cell in her body stood up and took notice the very second the man darkened the doorway. He didn’t notice her at first, she could tell. Then, as his gaze wandered over the people in the dining area, she felt his gaze like a touch when it landed on her.

Warmth stole through her, her stomach clenched and her nipples tightened to hard peaks. Since when did merely looking at a man turn her on so much?

She watched as he sauntered into the diner, sat at one of the stools at the counter and talked to the waitress. The woman brought him a coffee and he took a sip, closing his eyes as though the drink was ambrosia itself. Perhaps it was. It had surely taken her to heaven with the first sip. She’d been a tad disappointed when he hadn’t even looked her way after that.

Her insides quivered just at the sight of the man. It was a surprise that her entire body didn’t go into meltdown the way every part of her seemed to reach for the man as he sat at the counter sipping his cup of coffee.

After thirty-five minutes, she’d been ready to give in to the urge to approach the man. That was when her dessert arrived. Sarah, the waitress, was right. It was delicious. She’d never had such fresh-tasting shortcake and she’d eaten in restaurants and dives all over the country.

After another fifteen minutes, the urge was back. Her appetite for sweets taken care of, her other appetite came back with a vengeance. She had developed a need for Mr. Tall-Dark-And-Handsome that bordered on obsession and she didn’t even know the man.

What is wrong with you?

When the waitress announced that someone had paid for their meals, she’d been certain it had been him. He had said something to the server about them. She knew it. She wasn’t sure how she knew, she just did.

A strange fit of disappointment filled her when she found out that two other men were the ones who paid for their meal. She glanced their way to smile her thanks and almost laughed when she noticed that they both seemed to have eyes only for Nadya.

“Don’t look now, Nadya, but I think those two have the hots for you. Maybe you should take a good look and see which one attracts you.”

“What do you mean,
which one
?” Nadya asked with a chuckle. “Why can’t I have them both?” She grinned and took a sip of her ice water.

“There’s nothing saying you can’t have them both,” Milla said as she stood and pulled the strap of her purse over her shoulder. “As a matter of fact,
that
is one of this town’s secrets.” She shrugged. “Though, I suppose that it’s not really much of a secret when you see the townsfolk walking around.”

“What are you talking about?” Both Alexa and Nadya asked at the same time. They smacked each other on the arm. “Owe me a pop.”

“It’s a tie and besides, you both just had a drink.” Milla grinned as she led the way out of the diner. “This isn’t something I can tell you here, but follow me and we’ll find someplace private where I can let the cat out of the proverbial bag.”

Nadya turned to her and shrugged. “What do you think that was about?”

“I have no idea.” However, the truth was, she was dying to find out.

“Okay,” Milla said after they exited the restaurant. “This seems like a wonderful place to live. No single female ever pays for anything at the diner. The men pay for everything. In fact, this is like some throwback town. The men open doors and protect the women. Heck, you’d be hard pressed to find a woman who mows her own lawn around here. I’ve already found out that much and I’ve only been here a few hours.”