Kiss and Make Up (Bachelors of Buttermilk #3) (7 page)

Josh smiled from his position safely behind the door, watching Caitlin walk cautiously over to the counter and sit on the stool Abby offered her.

“What do I do?” Caitlin asked.

“That’s the easy part.” Emma winked and held the spoon up. “Tell me who would be your perfect soul mate.”

Caitlin looked around and leaned in. “You want a name.”

Josh’s heart raced.
Don’t say Adam. Please don’t say Adam.

“No, not a name,” Emma said, pushing the spoon through her batter. “Just tell me the qualities you would want in the perfect man.”

Josh held his breath waiting for her to answer.

“Someone who is kind, loves kids, really smart, and I don’t know . . . smells nice.”

The last quality she listed was followed by laughter and a couple of wise cracks.

“Shoosh,” Abby quieted the group. “I think those are great things a mate should have.” She raised her voice. “God knows some of the men in this town could use a cologne bath. Now shut your mouths and watch!” She added sweetly, “Please.”

Emma went to work on the batter. It had been a long time since Josh had seen his cousin perform the spell. When she closed her eyes, he knew she was chanting the words. He held his breath, waiting for the first blue letter to appear in the creamy beige mixture.

Within seconds, Emma’s eyelids flew open and she peered down into the bowl.

“Ladies, we have a
J
.”

Josh let out the breath he was holding. The spell was working—or not working—just like he planned.

“Um, Emma, . . .” Caitlin peered into the bowl. “I think that’s more like an
A
.”

Both Emma and Abby’s heads dropped to inspect the batter.

“Oh, God,” Abby said, glancing over toward the swinging door. “She’s right.”

Caitlin covered her mouth as Emma confirmed the next three letters. “Adam’s my soul mate?” she asked, and all the women began to talk at once.

Josh stepped back from the swinging door, body tense. What the hell?
Adam’s name appeared?

Abby came barreling into the kitchen. “What should I do?”

Break that mother f’ing spoon.
He nodded toward the women, knowing what his sister should do even if it thoroughly pissed him off. “Exactly what we talked about. It’s Caitlin’s night. Get everyone to congratulate her.”

Abby cast a doubtful look and headed back into the crowd. “Ladies, let’s give a round of applause and congratulate Caitlin on Adam being her soul mate.”

C
aitlin headed
down the sand and pebble path to the main entrance of the inn dressed in khaki shorts and her favorite long-sleeved, black V neck. The temperature had lowered to seasonal seventies, but she was going to wear shorts as long as she could.

Admiring the outside of the gray and yellow inn, it never seemed to surprise her just how much work Brandon had put into the three-story building that had a breathtaking view of Buttermilk Lake.

She waved to an older couple rowing by. It was a beautiful day to be out there.

“Hey, sunshine,” Brandon called out from the deck.

“Hello, yourself.” She stepped up to the inn’s entrance and greeted him with a peck on the cheek.

“What brings you by?” He nodded to the front door. “Or should I ask who brings you by?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Brandon Swift.” She flashed her most innocent smile. Back in the day, her dimples used to bring him to his knees. That was before he fell head over heels for Abby. A lot had changed in the year since she and Brandon were together, and she was happy that they came out on the other side friends.

Brandon grabbed a blue spray bottle from the nearby stand and coated the leaves of a hanging spider plant. “Abby will kill me if I don’t water her plants. Anyways, Josh is inside. I think he’s still sleeping.”

“Sleeping? You’ve got to be kidding. It’s nearly noon.”

“Did the triplets wear him out last night?” Brandon smirked. “Or was it you?”

“Very funny.” She pointed to the bottle. “May I borrow that?”

“Knock yourself out. He’s in the first room at the top of the stairs, to the right.” He reached into his pocket and waved what she assumed was a master key. “You’ll need this.” He winked. “Not sure if you’ve heard, but the walls are very thick.”

“Good to know,” she said coyly and took the key he offered.

Walking through the foyer and main room, she decided the water wasn’t cool enough so she headed into the kitchen to refill the bottle. An ice cold one was needed for this ambush.

And Josh deserved it. Leaving her like he did last night. Up until their trip to the Sugar Spoon, their evening had been great—perfect even. At least, it had been for her. Maybe he hadn’t felt the same way.

But he should have at least told her he was leaving the bakery. She opened the refrigerator and grabbed a couple of ice cubes out of the freezer, adding them to the bottle.

Last night’s finale had been a stunner. No doubt about it. Adam Reed was not her soul mate. How could he be? They were only pretend-dating. The feelings she had for Adam were purely platonic.

And he felt the same way. When Adam had stopped by this morning, he’d pretty much laughed his ass off at the news, agreeing that they were definitely not meant to be together. Then he offered to help Penny with the kids so Caitlin could confront Josh about his ditching her last night.

He also encouraged her to take a chance and tell Josh how she felt about him.

She gave the bottle a quick test squirt over the sink. How did she feel about Josh? She’d hoped all these months he’d come around for the triplets, but she’d be lying if she said it was
only
for their kids. When she saw him in the Buttermilk Tavern, her heart had pounded against her chest. That had to mean something. Didn’t it?

Heading up the staircase, she didn’t know exactly what she was going to say. J
osh, I know I’ve been difficult since—well, since forever, but that’s simply because I had an enormous crush on you, and last summer’s hookup was the greatest night of my life.

Well, she didn’t remember all the details, but she was sure it was amazing. Although, he didn’t stick around the next morning for an encore.

She took a deep breath. Maybe she could start by telling him how much fun yesterday was and invite him to come over for lunch.
Good plan.
Don’t bring up their past but stick to the future.

But first, she needed to wake him up. She grinned down at the icy squirt bottle in her hand, wiping some of the condensation on her shorts.

Quietly unlocking the door, she crept in. His being asleep had been an understatement. He was sprawled out on his stomach, passed out cold. One hand dangling over the queen-size bed, with a crisp white sheet covering only his hips.

She took a second to admire his toned, tanned back before pointing the squirt bottle directly at her target.

Ready. Aim. Fire!

Josh shot up and turned. “What the fu—” His eyes focused and his lips curled up. “I didn’t know this place came with my own personal wake-up call.”

“Well, it does.” She took a seat on the bed and aimed the bottle directly at his bare chest, threatening a second round of squirts. “Especially for the jerk who stood me up last night and forced me to hitch a ride home with his cousin, without even making sure I got the drink and dessert he’d promised.”

“What an asshole.” He grinned and sat up, wiping the water off his arm. “You looked like you were having a good time. I didn’t want to take you away from all the fun.”

Caitlin released the bottle from her grip, setting it aside. “You know what happened, don’t you?”

“Yeah. Pretty cool to see magic for yourself, huh?”

She hadn’t even thought about that. She’d been so preoccupied with whose name appeared in the batter and not the paranormal way that it happened. “You know, that was really amazing. I guess I now know why Batter Up night is so popular for the guys.”

He smiled but didn’t say a word. It gutted her that Adam’s name had appeared. Why couldn’t it have been Josh’s? “Does it bother you that Adam’s name was in the batter?” She held her breath, hoping beyond hope that the answer was an emphatic “yes.”

Josh hopped out of bed and headed into the adjoining bathroom. He popped his head out seconds later, pushing his toothbrush into his mouth. “Not at all,” he said in between brushes. “Adam’s a great guy.”

Yeah, he was, but so was the guy in front of her. Did she misread yesterday’s signals? Maybe he hadn’t been flirting with her, or maybe he decided that a drink at the inn was a bad idea. Either way, she was losing her touch. She squared her shoulders. Time to get it back.

Josh pulled on black sweat pants and searched his suitcase, pulling out a white T-shirt. “Although, who knows? Maybe it’s not my buddy. Maybe, it’s Adam Levine or Adam Sandler.”

“I wouldn’t mind being Mrs. Caitlin Levine.”
Or Caitlin Stevens.
She grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her chest, watching a shirtless Josh move around the bedroom and loving his muscular broad shoulders. The show was over far too soon as he pulled on the T-shirt and lay back down on the bed.

“So . . .” she started. “Do you want to know what happened afterwards?”

He folded his arms underneath his head. “Let me guess. You all went back to Rachel’s place for a slumber party that involved martinis, facials, and pillow fights.”

“Not quite. But there was a lot of shrieking and congratu—”

“Stop. I’m fantasizing.” He smirked, closing his eyes. “White feathers everywhere.”

She smacked him with the pillow she’d been holding. “You’re such a jerk. I was going to tell you that everyone congratulated me—well, everyone except Rachel, she stormed out.”

“For obvious reasons.” He closed his eyes. “I’ll stick to my fantasy. Oh, yeah . . .”

Caitlin stood and tossed another pillow at him. “I think I’ll go spend time with our more mature triplets.” She headed for the door when water immediately soaked through the back of her top.

“You’re
squirting
me?” She turned and was hit by even more cold water. Lunging for the bottle, she tried to grab it from his hands, but Josh was too quick, taking her into his arms.

Before she knew what was happening, she was flat on her back, his strong hands pinning her down. “Truce,” she offered, batting her eye lashes up at him.

“Have those words ever come from Caitlin Reynolds’s lips?” he asked, releasing his grip but still hovering over her, his delicious scent of mint, musk, and man filling her lungs. With his finger, he gently dried a water drop from her cheek. “Tell me the truth.”

She pulled herself up, giving him a wicked smile before biting her lip. It was wrong to be in this compromising position—in his bed, no less. Still, at this moment, there was no place in Buttermilk Falls she’d rather be. “Truth.” She lifted her head, her lips brushing his.

“Caitlin . . .” His mouth touched hers for only seconds before he moved away. “We shouldn’t do this.”

“Because of Adam?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re right.” She sighed and sat up. It’d be so easy to admit everything. That there was no her and Adam and that they’d made it all up. What would he think of her, though, if he knew she’d lied?

He glanced around. “What time is it?”

“Almost noon.”

“Really? Shit.” He jumped off the bed. “I’ve got to get a move on it.”

“Hot date?” God, she hoped he was done taking strolls around town with Rachel.

“More like flight home in two hours.”

“You’re leaving?” Of course he was. Buttermilk Falls wasn’t home. In and out, that was more his style. She should know that by now.

“I have to get back to work.” He pulled open his suitcase, but stopped. “Caitlin, yesterday was terrific. I want to spend more time here.”

“You do?” she asked, not caring that her hopeful voice cracked.

“Yes.” He grinned. “I don’t want to be a dad who sees his kids once or twice a year. I’d also love for Penny to bring Jacob, Cassie, and Lily to New York City. Could give you and your soul mate some alone time.”

“Alone time,” she repeated. She stood, suddenly needing some air. “I’m sure we can work something out.” She tried to mask her disappointment that he was leaving and her embarrassment for throwing herself at him only moments ago. “Um . . . I should be going. Lots of work to do. Have a safe flight, Joshua.”

“Caitlin . . .”

She grabbed the water bottle off the bed. “I told Penny I’d only be gone an hour.”

“I’ll call you this evening.” He smiled. “Maybe we can arrange to video chat with the kids later this week.”

“Video chat, right. Sounds good. You take care, Josh. It was good to see you.” She turned and bolted out of his room, closing the door behind her.

Crushed and humiliated, Caitlin rushed down the stairs. At the bottom, she glanced up, her heart heavy from the apparent answer she had to her earlier question.

Josh didn’t feel the same way about her.

C
aitlin scooped
up a heap of whipped cream with her fork and coated her golden pancake, the last in the stack. It had been nearly two weeks since Josh had left, why was she still sulking?

And why didn’t drenching her pancakes in syrup and whipped cream make her feel any better? It did when she was eight.

True to his word, Josh had called her when he arrived home to say he’d gotten there safely and thanked her for inviting him to spend time with the kids. He’d said twice that it had meant a lot to him and that he hoped to return soon. That conversation had given her a tiny sliver of hope that there would be more phone time between them—and maybe news of when he’d visit again, but she hadn’t heard from him since.

Penny, on the other hand, had gotten a call from Josh while Caitlin was working at the theater earlier this week, and her nanny set up an impromptu FaceTime session with the triplets in the nursery. Caitlin was happy that it had happened, but more than a little sad that she missed out on seeing Josh’s handsome face, hearing his deep voice.

She’d been trying hard to push any thoughts of Josh out of her mind and concentrate on the theater. There was so much to do and her list filled a blue notebook that she now carried around with her everywhere she went. With each day, she was realizing just how much work it would take to accomplish all of the renovations she wanted to.

It didn’t help that the rumor mill was running full speed after the news had gotten out that she’d purchased the theater. Word on the street was she made an impulsive buy, and she wouldn’t have a clue how to run it, let alone turn a profit.

She heard the whispering and caught the sideways glances every time she walked into the grocery store, Star Lite, nail salon . . . really, anywhere.

“Hey, you.” Bridget slid into the other side of the Star Lite booth, pushing up her pale blue sunglasses that matched her yoga top. “Okay, why is my beautiful cousin stuffing her face with pancakes? I thought we were running today.”

Caitlin took a drink of her apple juice. She highly doubted her cousin would object to skipping the run. Most days she complained before, during, and after. “What’s the point in getting in shape? When, ultimately, you’re going to throw yourself at the father of your kids, make a complete ass of yourself, and then he takes the next flight out of town to get as far away from you as he can.” She angled her knife and cut into the last half of her pancake. “Hypothetically speaking, of course.”

“Of course.” Bridget eyed the nearly finished plate. “I don’t think it happened exactly like that.”

“You weren’t there,” Caitlin said in between bites. “I practically threw myself at him, and . . .” She blinked.

“And . . . What happened?”

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He let me kiss him for a brief second then moved away.” She sighed and set down her utensils, not wanting to relive the mortifying moment Josh had rejected her. “I asked if it was because of Adam, and he said yes.”

Bridget leaned forward. “About that. You two aren’t still pretending, are you?”

Caitlin turned her head, staring out the window. It wasn’t like she and Adam were broadcasting it in the
Buttermilk Advocate
, but they were, no doubt, fueling the gossip every time they took the kids to the park or enjoyed the lake on Adam’s boat. It didn’t help that his name had appeared in her batter.

“Caitlin.”

Her head snapped back. “What?”

“You two need to stop pretending you’re a couple. Goodness, it’s all my co-workers at the library are talking about. I’m sick of dodging their questions.”

“What are they asking?” Caitlin took another sip.

“Oh, I don’t know . . . Is your cousin going to marry your brother-in-law?”

That was never going to happen. Emma’s prediction was wrong. Good friends, yes. Soul mates, never. “I know it’s wrong, and I’m sorry for putting you in the middle, but it’s driving Rachel insane.”

“Well, you need to put that poor girl out of her misery.”

Caitlin snapped her fingers. “I know what we’ll do. I’ll stage a breakup this month and then Adam will get back together with the woman he’s crazy about. That’ll work, and trust me, Adam will end up happily in love.” She put her hand to her chest. “And they’ll both be thanking me. Why, Rachel will probably ask me to be a bridesmaid.”

That got a sarcastic laugh out of Bridget. “I’d love to see
that
happen.”

“Hi, ladies.” Marilyn Jenkins came up to the table just as Betty dropped off Caitlin’s check. Marilyn ran a formal dress boutique on Main Street. Bridget’s wedding gown and Caitlin’s maid of honor dress had both come from the boutique, not to mention their prom dresses back in the day.

“Hi, Mrs. Jenkins,” Bridget said, while Caitlin opened her wallet and pulled out her credit card, handing it to Betty.

“Caitlin, I’ve been meaning to stop by the theater.”

“What can I do for you?”

“Some of the town’s business owners are meeting at the Elks Lodge this afternoon to discuss summer tourism.”

“Isn’t it too late?” Caitlin asked. It was late September after all, and fall officially started in two days.

Marilyn chuckled and adjusted her wire-rimmed glasses. “I’m sorry, I meant next year’s tourism plans. It’s never too early to get a jump start, and we’ve been doing a lot of brainstorming and think we’ve come up with something really unique to bring lots of tourists to Buttermilk Falls. It’s more of a long-term strategy that we’ll kick off next summer and go straight through the fall, possibly into the winter. We’d love to have you join us if you’re free.”

“Really?” Caitlin smiled up at the dress shop owner. Maybe people were coming around to the notion of her owning the theater. This might be her big opportunity to prove she belonged among the business owners in this town and could contribute to important money-making decisions like tourism. “I mean, I’d love to. Thank you for the invitation.”

“Wonderful. We’ve been batting around some ideas given the recent news of you and Adam.” With a wink, she patted Caitlin on the shoulder. “One in particular that I think you’ll like.”

Caitlin’s cocked her head. What did that mean?

Marilyn turned to Bridget. “Bridget, you should come, too. We’d really like for the library to be involved with our plans this year.”

“I’ll be there.” Bridget smiled up at her.

“Great, see you two then.” Marilyn took off for the exit.

“Love being an afterthought,” Bridget mumbled.

“At least we were invited. This is just the opportunity I need to be taken seriously as a business owner. God must have heard my prayers.” Caitlin finished her juice, reaching for her purse. “What do you think they have up their sleeves that would involve Adam and me?”

“I guess we’ll find out soon.” Bridget stood. “Let’s stop by my house first so I can change out of these running clothes.”

“Great. Then I want to swing by the theater and pick up the renovation sketches that Adam and his dad did for me. Maybe they’ll let me say a few words about my remodeling plans. I could pass around the sketches.”

“Good idea,” Bridget said, leading the way out. “Although, I’m sure Rachel will be there representing her floral shop. Don’t rub the fact that Adam is helping you in her face.”

“I hired his dad’s company. It’s a business transaction, but I promise I will be the consummate professional.” Caitlin smoothed her hair, grateful she’d decided to put on a purple sweater and black skirt for today’s excursion. She’d rather not show up to the meeting in her usual black yoga pants and wrinkled shirt.

Outside, she glanced down the street in the direction of the Elks Lodge. While it was nice to be included, she had a sneaking suspicion she wasn’t going to like any ideas that involved her and Adam one bit.

J
osh removed
his white goggles and rested them on his head. Holding the tiny glass vial up to his face, he took a hopeful whiff, immediately scrunching his nose.

Dammit.
He was sure he’d nailed it this time. Since returning from Buttermilk Falls, he’d been working in the perfume lab nonstop but hadn’t made any inroads. This latest fragrance sucked as did the twenty-two others that came before it.

Sure, what he’d inhaled probably could work. No doubt with Kiss and Makeup’s enormous advertising and marketing dollars behind it, the fragrance would be a smashing success. However, he wasn’t willing to settle this time. The scent he wanted to create was within his grasp, he just needed to work harder.

His gaze darted over to the small bottles of essential oil stacked on shelves against the wall. He really thought mixing the exotic vanilla oil with the new strawberry one he had shipped in from London would have gotten him closer to capturing Caitlin’s scent. No dice.

It wasn’t even close, so he’d try again until the perfume was perfect. Just like the woman who’d always been his inspiration. No matter how long it took, he was determined to get it right.

Taking the bottle over to the sink, he turned it upside down and dumped it out. He’d start over tomorrow. Tonight, he’d pick up some takeout, head home, and spend the evening looking at all the new pictures of Caitlin and the kids that filled his Facebook timeline. It was a familiar pattern that he’d been doing for the last two weeks and the second best thing to being there in person.

He hadn’t been able to get Caitlin or their last encounter out of his mind. It would have been wrong to do what he wanted, which was to take her in his arms and kiss her silly. But she was with Adam and he wouldn’t do that to his buddy.

Although, the argument could be made that his friend did exactly that to him.

Maybe Josh had never actually admitted he’d had feelings for Caitlin to Adam, or anyone for that matter, but he’d like to think that his best friend would have some inclination how he felt about her.

He should have never asked Adam to keep an eye on Caitlin. From what he could tell, she was doing just fine.

He’d been so impressed that she’d bought the old theater. He had no doubt she’d accomplish everything she set out to do. And that list was long. While they were at the park, she’d proudly showed off her notebook filled with to-dos. The town’s people didn’t know it, but when that theater opened, they were in for something special.

He only wished he could be there for next month’s grand opening. He grabbed a clean vial tube off the shelf. If he succeeded with his perfume, maybe he could fly home for it.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. Josh headed over and punched in the six-digit code to unlock the secure lab. With competitors highly curious about the new perfume division of Kiss and Makeup, the lab had become like Fort Knox. No one was walking through the door without him letting them in.

His eyebrow raised at the sight of his assistant. She rarely came down here, preferring to use the intercom. “Hey, Beverly, I was just finishing up. Do you need me upstairs?”

“No.” She handed him his iPad. “This guy won’t stop calling even though I said you would be in the lab all day and not available to talk. Says he’s a friend of yours from back home. I told him I would bring down your iPad to see if you were available to Skype.”

Josh looked down to see Adam’s frazzled face staring back at him. Alarmed, he asked if the kids were okay.

“Hey, Josh. The kids are fine, but this mess is driving me crazy.”

“What mess? Things all right between you and Caitlin?” Josh looked over at his assistant whose wide grin was a dead giveaway that she was amused by the conversation. She knew very well Caitlin was the mother of his kids. Beverly had always been intrigued by his small town tales, including how Emma had fallen in love with her enemy who threatened to expose Batter Up night and how Abby had gotten tangled up with Brandon. “I think I’m good, Bev. Thank you.”

She gave him the mother of all smirks and exited the lab. No doubt she’d hound him for the gossip later.

“So, talk to me, Adam. Why were you harassing my assistant?”

“Because it’s urgent. I really need to talk to you about Emma’s batter.”

“I’m sure the news freaked you out.” It freaked Josh out, too. Still did. “Don’t put a lot of stock in what happened. For all we know, the spell could have been wrong. It wasn’t even Emma’s regular spoon.” He was grasping—he knew that—Emma had a perfect track record with the pink spoon. Magical logic would assume she’d have similar success with the damn enchanted blue one. God, he hated that spoon.

“I don’t know man . . . This just can’t happen.” If Adam’s head shook back and forth any faster, Josh was sure he’d give himself whiplash. “I’m not ready to get married let alone be a father to triplets.” He paused, tripping over his words. “Er . . . um . . . I mean you’re their father.”

Walking over to the counter, Josh pulled up a stool and propped his iPad on the table. “First, pal, you need to take a deep breath. Who said anything about marriage and you becoming their stepdad? You didn’t propose to Caitlin, did you?” If the answer was yes, Adam would be one lucky son-of-a-bitch that Josh couldn’t lunge into the iPad and ring his ever-freakin’ neck.

“No, of course not.” Adam pulled off his baseball cap and raked his hand through his hair.

Josh could tell he was outside but not sure exactly where. “Then why don’t you tell me what’s got you acting like a wound up Abby?”

“Look, there’s something I’ve got to tell you, but you’ve got to promise me that you won’t repeat it to anyone, and especially not Caitlin.”

“Okay . . .” Josh started.

“No, I mean it. If she finds out that you learned this news from me, I’m a dead man. She’ll push me into moving traffic, or shove me off my boat, or spike my sweet tea.”

Josh rolled his eyes. Moving traffic in Buttermilk Falls was usually five miles per hour; Adam was a great swimmer, having won numerous first-place trophies on the swim team; and as far as Josh knew, Adam hated tea—sweet or iced. When did his best friend become a drama queen? “I promise I won’t say a word. So, what are you hiding?”

“It’s more like what we’re hiding?”

Josh raised a brow. “You and me?” Whatever that was, it would be news to him.