Deep Autumn Heat (10 page)

“They were something else entirely.”

“As I recall, they were kind enough to allow all of us to spend the night with them.”

Val sighed, obviously remembering that evening. “You’re right,” he said. “That was a lot of fun.” He looked at Seb, eyes narrowing slightly. “Speaking of women, what’s going on between you and Lexie Meyers?”

Seb sidestepped the question. “What do you know about her?”

“What do you want to know?”

“Anything. Everything.”

Val nodded. “She works hard, but she’s kind and fair. She’s got a sharp tongue and she’ll tell you off if you cross her. She doesn’t press me to talk like everyone else in this damn town. Lexie’s a good woman and you’ve been dogging her ever since that morning at the LMK. I wouldn’t want to see her get hurt,” he said meaningfully. “So what’s going on between you two?”

Seb paused. “Nothing.”
Yet
.

“Haven’t you made up your mind?” Val asked.

Seb shot him a look. Val held up a hand in supplication. “I have eyes, Seb. I saw the way you were looking at her on the Green. And from the way she was looking back, she didn’t seem much opposed.”

“Hah. She hates me.”
Especially after last night
.

“Since when have you stepped away from a challenge?”

Seb tried to throw Val off the scent. “I like my women to be a bit more worldly. And a lot more willing.”

“Oh, she’s willing all right. She’s just wary.”

“Yeah,” Seb said softly, remembering her haunted look.

Val shook his head. “There’s a vulnerability about her. It’s obvious that someone—probably that Frank guy—hurt her. Badly. You can see it in her eyes if you look close enough. She’s not ready for what you want to give. Or for what you want to take.”

“What do you mean?” Seb asked, his voice cold.

Val stared him straight in the eye. “What do you think I mean?”

Seb didn’t flinch, but he could tell that Val knew just how bad he had it for Lexie. His eldest brother had a knack for reading people, so it wasn’t a surprise that he’d figured him out. What
was
a surprise was that in his quiet, unassuming way, Val was warning him off.

Val had known about Seb’s escapades for years and had never said a word against him. Seb didn’t have a reputation for being emotionally sensitive and thoughtful—his affairs were routinely concluded inside a month. Short and sweet was the name of the game.

Now, under Val’s cool look, his exploits seemed tawdry. Cheap. He actually felt a little embarrassed, knowing that Val was afraid of what would happen to Lexie if Seb remained true to form. He
knew
she was special, and the fact that his brothers—Val especially—were reacting like this made him more than a little angry. He lashed out in the only way he could.

“You sound like you know Lexie a little too well. You interested in her?” Seb demanded,
his fist clenching at his side.

“Even if I were, she wouldn’t have me,” Val said mildly. “You’re the one she’s drawn to, even though it’s against her best interests.”

“So you’re saying that I’m bad for her?”

“All I’m saying is that she’s a good woman. If you can’t or won’t recognize that, steer clear.”

“Oh, I recognize it all right,” Seb said mirthlessly, unclenching his fist. “I just can’t seem to steer clear.”

Val nodded, as if he understood Seb’s predicament. “What are you going to do about it?”

“I don’t know yet. All I know is that I’m going to go insane if I can’t have her.”

“You want her, you gotta play by the rules this time. I’m actually proud of you, though. For the first time I can remember, you’re thinking with your brain instead of your—”

Seb cut him off. “You sound just like Cole.” He turned away from Val and studied his fishing pole intently.

Val chuckled. “More like he sounds like me.”

“I don’t think it’s funny, your Star Harbor ‘protect the womenfolk’ mentality.”

“Ah,” Val pounced, as if waiting for this moment their entire conversation, “so you admit you’re not really a local, after all.”

Seb opened his mouth and shut it without saying a word. Although it pained him to admit it, even to himself, he knew in his heart that it was true. Funny that he cared more about it than Theo did. Yet despite his nonresident status, Seb was still inescapably bound to Star Harbor.

He missed the little town, especially at this time of year. There was nothing like fall in Massachusetts. Autumn just felt different in New York City. Trapped between skyscrapers and taxicabs, Seb had to inhale the quick gusts of chilly wind when he could, knowing it was the closest he was going to get to crisp autumn air. Even the leaves falling in Central Park felt more like a slice of the season than the whole autumn experience.

That’s why opening a Boston restaurant would be such a good move. It would be a return
to his roots and he’d be able to draw more on the cuisine of his childhood for inspiration.

He’d also be closer to Lexie.

He was desperate to crush her berry mouth to his, to press her soft, rounded breasts against his hard chest. He ached to burrow his face in her curly chestnut hair and to inhale her intoxicating scent of coconut and lavender. Burned to bury himself in her and ride them both to a glorious release.

Seb groaned. That settled it. He wanted her, consequences be damned. He’d figure out a way to deal with the aftermath later. Who knows? Maybe she’d be the one to call it off.

Thanks to his misplaced sense of honor last night, Seb now had an uphill battle ahead of him, and he needed to be ready for the challenge. She’d fought her attraction to him from the moment they’d met. Now, any desire she’d felt for him had likely been crushed.

Seb looked over at his brother, who was now sitting on the deck with a laptop balanced on his knees.

“Working?” Seb asked.

“Gotta get through these reports before tomorrow.”

Seb snorted.

“Don’t laugh,” Val said. “My job isn’t all fieldwork, you know.”

“So you’ve said many times. But you’re so good at it I don’t know why they don’t just keep you in the field the whole time.”

Val gave a slight shrug. “I’m good at this, too. And everything has to be meticulously planned before I leave my desk. Can’t just go charging into an operation without doing the legwork.”

Seb nodded, understanding his brother’s position. It was getting to be more like that for him, now. It used to be different when all he’d needed to worry about was creating incredible dishes. When he was making a new dish, of course he thought about ingredients conceptually, but only for a short while. What he really needed to do was to get into the kitchen to test, try, and taste. For him, it was the hands-on work that was the most exhilarating—and the most
productive. Not that he had much time to do that nowadays.

Speaking of hands-on work, he realized that he’d completely forgotten to take lovely Lexie up on that culinary throw-down. Mentally, he groaned. So much for thinking about his career. Now that his mind was on Lexie, he wouldn’t be satisfied until he’d gotten her to rise to his bait. But maybe there was a way to do both.…

Abruptly, he stood. “I have something to take care of.”

“Uh-huh,” responded Val, not bothering to look up from his computer.

Whether Val was on to him or not was of no consequence. He was going to see Lexie right now. Seb got up from the beach chair and put away his fishing pole. He hadn’t gotten a bite while fishing, but with luck, he might just hook a much bigger catch at the LMK.

Seb grabbed his black leather jacket from the deck and threw it over his shoulders. Keeping an eye on Val, he pulled on his black boots. When they were laced up, he placed one hand on the rail as leverage and swung his body over the side of the boat and onto the dock. Then he made a beeline for Lexie Meyers.

It took him all of five minutes to walk to the Kitchen, where he knew lunchtime service would just be beginning. On his way, he made a few phone calls. Everything was in place.

He burst through the front door of the restaurant, the door opening with a loud, satisfying smack. As the door chimes rang to signal his entry, all eyes turned toward him, including those of lovely Lexie, who was talking to a four-top of seniors. She was dressed in a short skirt and one of those frilly, feminine blouses she liked to wear. He took a long, slow look.

When she saw him, her brown eyes widened. She stood frozen as he stalked through the restaurant to where she was standing. Each table he passed was stunned into silence, followed by furtive whispers. He grinned, for once enjoying his bad-boy reputation. He was sixteen years old again, brash, cocky, and on top of the world—except this time he had the achievements and the power to back it up.

When he reached Lexie, he stopped right in front of her, deliberately forcing her to look up—way up—at him. Just let her try to talk her way out of this one with all of these witnesses.

“Lexie,” he said in a low rumble, “I’m back to make those arrangements we discussed a few nights ago.”

“Arrangements for what?” Lexie responded, pretending she didn’t know what he was talking about. Even as her voice remained steady, Seb could see her whole body was quivering. He couldn’t tell if it was from anger or nerves.

“You know what for,” he pressed. “As I recall, you told me you wanted satisfaction.”

One of the elderly ladies at the table gasped. Seb gave her one of his dirtiest grins. “That’s right,” he continued, turning back to Lexie. “Complete and utter satisfaction.”

Lexie began to turn a dull shade of red. To her credit, she ignored the whispered insinuations that were now wending their way through the room. “I’m working right now. Come back later,” she managed to grind out through clenched teeth.

“I’ll be in Boston later. Let’s do this now.”

“No. You listen to me,” Lexie hissed. “Get out before I kick you out.”

He’d love to see her try. A sprite of a woman pushing a giant man out the door. The thought of her straining against him, even in anger, made his temperature rise. Of course she could always get Buster to assist. Somehow, the thought of taking on Buster didn’t appeal to him as much. He changed his tactics.

Seb made a tsking sound with his tongue as he gave her a disappointed look. “I never thought you’d be one to back down from a challenge.”

“I’m not backing down. I’m just working right now. See?” She gestured around the restaurant. The gesture drew all the more attention to their conversation. Now, even the customers who hadn’t been paying attention to them began to stare.

“You promised me a throw-down. Winner takes all.” There was a gleam in his eyes as he deliberately distorted the terms of their agreement.

“I promised no such thing,” she challenged back.

“You would deny me?” he asked, his voice husky.

The whispering began anew and Lexie’s cheeks turned a fresh shade of red. “You’re
making this worse,” she whispered. “Please just go.”

“Not until you agree to make arrangements with me,” he insisted.

“Fine,” she snapped. “If it’ll get you out of here. But I call the dish.”

This wasn’t part of his plan, but he gave her a little bow. “Your choice, my dear,” he said graciously. He fully expected her to choose something along the lines of her coconut cake. She paused only a second before she spoke.

“Crab cakes.”

“Crab cakes?” He was surprised. “Why those?”

Lexie didn’t bother giving him an explanation. “Crab cakes,” she repeated firmly. “You pick the date and time.”

Seb nodded. “Next week. Thursday evening. Nine o’clock, after your kitchen closes. The camera crew will be here at eight to set up.”

“Camera crew?” she squeaked.

He simply shrugged. The idea to make the challenge part of his upcoming show had been a stroke of genius. He’d already agreed to stick around Star Harbor for Jimmy’s wedding. If he was going to move things along with his TV show while he was here, Ivana would give him less grief. Plus, an appearance on the Cooking Channel could only help Lexie, too. “You could use the extra publicity for the LMK, right?” She nodded warily and he continued. “I’ve lined up two chefs from New York and Boston to judge.”

“I have someone I’d like to have judge, too,” she said, sounding remarkably composed given that he’d just sprung the taping on her.

“Who?” Seb asked. “Babs Kincaide.”

“Clam Shak owner Babs Kincaide?”

“You know another?” she retorted.

Seb had to hand it to Lexie. She was a shrewd woman. Not only would Babs be on her side, but she’d also represent the town. It didn’t hurt that Babs didn’t like him one bit—never
had—and made no attempt to hide it. “Fine,” he agreed.

“Fine then. Now go.” Lexie looked pointedly at the door.

He wouldn’t kiss her, not here. Not in front of all of these people. As if she could read his mind, she turned her gaze to his lips and blushed an even deeper shade of red. He rewarded her with a sensual smile. Lexie blinked, but she didn’t look away. She had a backbone of steel, this one. He liked that.

“I’ll see you next Thursday, Lexie. Be ready for me.” Smiling, he turned on his booted heel and walked away.

* * *

A chill wind blew outside the LMK that Saturday evening after closing time. Thankfully, it was still warm and cozy inside.

Lexie stood behind the counter, facing Emma Newbridge, who sat perched on a high cushioned stool. It was quiet save for the sound of Dennis methodically mopping the floor. Lexie waited as the small auburn-haired woman studied a list of the dishes Lexie intended to prepare for Emma and Jimmy’s wedding, which was rapidly approaching.

Lexie turned to look at the only table that was still occupied. Julie Kensington, the local doctor, and Cameron Stahl, the owner of The Front Street Boutique, sat opposite each other in the far booth, each immersed in a book. The two women were close friends and Lexie had become friendly with them over the past few years. They seemed content with their books and tea, so Lexie left them alone. She averted her gaze to the sidewalk bordering the restaurant. Early fall leaves raced across the ground, and she could almost hear the rustling sound they must be making. Autumn was really here, no doubt about it. She’d make pumpkin muffins tomorrow morning.