HOOKED ON YOU (Paradise Cove) (2 page)

He gave her his double-dimpled grin and raised a brow. “We could eat in the kitchen—if you’d have me.”

Her jumpy stomach did a triple-barrel somersault.
Have him
? Why did that sound so enticing? Must be the fact she was hungry, because no way was she going to add her name to the ever-growing list of Colt’s girls.
Uh-uh
. One day, when she had time for dating and romance, she wanted to be special. Singled out. Maybe it was that middle child hang-up, but she was fed up with leftovers.

Having heard the conversation, Juanita busied herself slicing the orange pecan French toast, warm from the oven. Taylor knew Juanita hoped for a romance between her and Colt, but it was
not
going to happen. They were friends, and both liked it that way.

“It’s comfy in the kitchen, come around.” She waved him toward the swinging door. “I don’t have a table for three in here though. You could take a seat out back if you like.”

“No, thanks. The view is better right here.” He put his elbow along the bar and looked at her with a grin.

Her pulse raced. “You are such a big flirt, Colt Travis. Stop it and behave.”

“Yes, Mother,” he teased. Dressed in a white tee, with CT Charters circled on his left upper chest, sunglasses tucked into the front of his shirt, and baggy cargo shorts that rode low on his slim hips, he shouldn’t be so cute.

Taking a casual stance, he leaned against the doorframe, crossed his ankles and watched her pour his coffee. “Nobody showed up?” He gave her a solicitous look. “You upset?”

Hearing the sympathy in his voice made Taylor’s eyes water. She blinked rapidly before handing him his steaming cup of dark roast coffee. “Doesn’t matter. You’re here now, and soon there’ll be plenty of others.”

Juanita gave Colt a gentle push. “Go on now. There’s no room in the kitchen for everybody. Take a table. I will bring the food.”

Taylor knew better than to argue. She followed Colt and sat down across from him at the four-person square table she’d painted a glossy yellow. “She’s so bossy,” she whispered jokingly. “I feel like I have a second mother.”

“You’re lucky.” He slid into the chair, his shoulder to the wall. “I barely have one.”

Juanita carried cutlery and two plates loaded with Taylor’s orange pecan French toast to their table.

“Now this is looking mighty fine,” Colt said, unwrapping his silverware from the napkin. “I make French toast at home with Jamie. Great way to use up stale bread.” He cut into it, studying the fluffy layers of bread and nuts. “Got a feeling that yours is a little more special. Not straight out of a frying pan.”

Juanita brought out another plate for herself and set it on the table next to Taylor. “Who wants confectioner’s sugar or whipped cream?”

“Whipped cream for me,” Colt answered quickly.

Taylor sat back in her chair, relaxing for the first time. “This recipe is pretty simple but loaded with yummy stuff,” she told him. “It takes about an hour to make from scratch so the prep has to be done early, even the night before. Then it needs thirty minutes in the oven. I have another one partially made that will reheat in ten.” If they got more customers—no—
when
they got more customers.

Juanita arrived with the whipped cream and sat down. She smiled broadly, waiting for Colt to take a bite. “You like?” she asked, and cut a piece with her fork.

Taylor held her breath in anticipation.

“Incredible,” Colt mumbled around a mouthful.

“Okay, tell us the secret.” Juanita speared a piece and swirled it in the zesty sweet sauce.

“Well, first you pour a mixture of brown sugar, butter and corn syrup into the baking dish, then sprinkle pecans over it all. After that I used thick slices of French bread, baked yesterday, and laid it on top. The topping has to be made first and put over the bread to absorb. I did that part early this morning. Eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, orange juice and zest from the orange. Comes out a nice golden brown and then you can eat it plain or topped with anything you want.”

Even if nobody else came in, watching Juanita and Colt enjoy her food made her incredibly happy—so happy, she hadn’t had a bite for herself yet.

The door opened again and her older sister raced in.

Taylor lifted her hand. “Hey, Kayla! Come join us. Nobody’s here but Colt. My first and only customer.”

“Oh, no. Sorry to hear that. I rushed like crazy to get here, but the florist called this morning and I had to go see her about the satin ribbon. They ran out of the kind I ordered, and can’t get more in. So, I just picked one that was close enough.” She made a face. “One thing after another.”

Kayla and Sean were getting married in a month. They’d had to postpone their wedding twice. Now, come hell or high water, the marriage would take place. Especially now that Kayla might be pregnant. Again. Hopefully this time she could carry to full term.

“No problem. As you can see, nobody showed up.” Taylor patted her hand. “How’s the house coming along?”

The past year had brought many changes to her sister’s life. Dr. Sean Flannigan had left Boston for good and taken a job at Mount Sinai, and then Kayla moved out of the cottages to live with him in a rented apartment. A few months later, Kayla had been over the moon excited to find out she was pregnant. At eight weeks, she lost the baby. To take her mind off her loss, Sean bought an older home on the Intracoastal Waterway near Key Largo. One that had good bones but needed a complete remodel. It was a two-story place with four bedrooms—room for the children they hoped to have one day.

“Don’t get me going on the house,” Kayla murmured. “It’s a disaster.” She smiled. “But it will be very beautiful. Eventually. We had the kitchen torn out and a wall removed to create a great room, instead of the smaller family room that had been there before. We have a huge deck out back now, and well, one thing leads to another.”

“I know it’s a lot of work. I’m surprised you’re here as much as you are.” Taylor was happy that Kayla had the house as a distraction after losing her baby. It had all but broken her heart.

“Yes, I love the cottages as much as you all do.” She sighed and pushed her hair off her shoulders. “After the wedding, hopefully our home will be ready for us to show it off.”

She bent to kiss Taylor’s and Juanita’s cheeks, and pat Colt on the shoulder. “Enough about me and my problems. How’s it going? Where’s Jamie?” she asked Colt.

“Baseball camp with Raul. Just until noon. Then maybe I’ll take the boys fishing.”

“Sounds like the perfect summer plan. When does school start?”

“Few more weeks. He’s excited about it, but learning comes easy for him.” Colt gave Kayla a self-deprecating grin and swallowed some coffee. “Smart like his mom.”

“And he gets his good looks from you,” Kayla answered back. “Jamie’s a lucky kid.” She was the oldest of the three girls, thirty-two, and tall like they all were, with the same olive skin, dark hair and hazel eyes. “What are you guys eating? Sure looks good.”

Juanita stood up. “I’ll get you a plate. There’s plenty more warming in the oven.”

“Sit and finish. I can help myself.” Kayla headed toward the kitchen and returned a minute later, digging eagerly into the French toast.

Suddenly Taylor’s disappointing morning didn’t seem so bad. She had her family and friends and what could possibly be better than that?

She felt Colt’s eyes on her, and met his steady gaze. She smiled and his dimples flashed. A warm flush spread from the tips of her toes to the roots of her dark hair, and she wondered if he affected every female this way. Considering how many girls had come and gone in the past six months? Probably.
Definitely
.

Taylor congratulated herself on giving Colt a pass. Lusting after a guy like him would not only be a waste of good time, it would never be enough. Not for her. When—and if—she was ready for a relationship, she’d not only want to be special, but she’d be looking for someone with the same hopes and dreams. Money didn’t drive her, but being successful did. She wanted the resort and her cafe to do well enough to support them all. Colt was sweet, but he was the most laid-back man she knew. Fishing and his son were all he cared about.
And a cute gal in his bed
.

Kayla kept up a lively conversation with Colt and Juanita, and Taylor sat back to enjoy the moment and drink it all in. It had only been six months ago that Kayla had to face the disappointment of a miscarriage and cancel her wedding plans. Now she was optimistic that she might be pregnant once again. Although it was too soon to tell everyone the good news, her sisters and her mother were in on the secret.

Colt pushed his empty plate away and wiped some of the whipped cream from his upper lip. His sky-blue eyes looked directly into hers. “You outdid yourself.”

She looked at his mouth and had a ridiculous urge to lick away the whipped cream. Would he taste sweet, soft, or hot and sexy? Did his kiss drive all the young women wild? Her ex-boyfriends’ kisses had been nice, but hadn’t set off any explosions. She could barely remember them.

“Taylor?” Colt tapped the table between them with his tanned forefinger.

“Hmm?” She blinked and looked away. What had made her mind go there? With Colt? He was a buddy. She liked him. He liked her. They were
not
into each other. He gave her fresh fish if he had extra from a charter. She gave him free food during Paradise Cove’s happy hour. Not exactly a recipe for romance.

“You were looking at me strange.” He tilted his head.

“No, I wasn’t.” No way. Not her. Of course her gaze dropped to his mouth.

“You have whipped cream on your lip,” Kayla told him, glancing at Taylor’s flushed cheeks. “That probably distracted Taylor.” She gave her a sly wink.

“Why should it?” she answered hotly.

“Ask yourself,” Kayla said. “How should I know why you’re staring at Colt’s mouth?”

Taylor shrugged and scooted back in her chair. “This is ridiculous. Where is everybody? Why won’t they come in? I made some super breakfast selections and the only one enjoying it is us. Pathetic.”

Juanita got up to remove the plates, and Kayla followed. “Why don’t you two go outside and round up some more people?” Her lilting voice matched the teasing light in her eye.

Colt stood and offered his hand. “Come on, Tay. Let’s do it. One look at you and the cars will come to a sliding stop.”

She laughed, looking down at her sleeveless coral blouse and floral print skirt. Wash and wear, with a slight nod to fashion. “You are such an idiot.”

“And you should take a good look at yourself once in awhile.” He nodded at her matching Sketchers. “Some guy’s going to be a lucky man.”

Her heart pounded at his intense perusal but she stayed with the jokes. “He better not show up today. I’m too busy!”

The two-lane highway had a steady stream of traffic, and she held her breath as Colt valiantly jumped onto the road. He put one hand out to stop traffic, and with his other arm outstretched he pointed at her standing next to the sign that read Taylor’s Cafe.

She lifted her hand and waved at people who honked their horns and then carefully made their way around the mad man standing in the middle of the road—to continue toward their destination.

After a few minutes, he loped back to her with a silly grin. “Well, you can’t say I didn’t try.”

“You are something else. I’ll give you that.” Sweet, gorgeous and so not for her. She put a hand on her hip. “Why don’t you bring Jamie around for happy hour? I’ll make him his favorite personal pepperoni pizza.”

“He’ll love it and so will I. Later, babe.” He went around the café to the back area that connected to Paradise Cove.

She watched him go and gritted her teeth, hating when he called her that. Taylor could guarantee that she’d never be one of his “babes”.

CHAPTER TWO

Colt walked through the Paradise Cove cottages on his way to the marina. He could have gone around on the main road, but he liked to say hello to Anna and knew she’d have the chubby-faced Merica with her. The baby was in love with him, and he had a soft spot for her as well. He’d put a few fresh strawberries from the breakfast plates into a napkin, knowing she couldn’t resist the sweet treat.

The office was set well back from the highway, down a dusty dirt road overgrown with bushes and shrubs, and straggly pines. The twelve guest cottages—all freshly painted—were built around the pool area and nearer the beach, but separated by environmentally protected mangroves. Unfortunately the mangroves were directly blocking the beach and so judicious trimming was a necessary evil.

“Good morning, Anna!” He called, poking his head into the open office door. “You got any company?”

A tiny hand gripped his knee. He glanced down at the wobbling one-year-old, dressed in denim rompers. “Me!” She pulled at the hem of his shorts.

Merica Hernandez had dark curly hair, sparkling eyes, and a pink binkie in her rosy mouth. He reached down and swept her up into his arms, giving her plump cheeks a big smack. “Hey, Meri. How’s my baby this morning? I brought you some strawberries.”

She pulled the binkie out of her mouth and smiled. “Sawberry.” She reached for his hand. He opened the napkin and she popped one in her mouth. Making a grab for the others, two fell to the floor. She let out a cry, flailing madly in his arms.