More Than Cookies (The Maple Leaf Series) (14 page)

“She obviously has kissed you senseless,” Adam added. “I’m guessing on more than one occasion too.”

Orion nodded. “I’m being stupid, but I can’t stop myself from wanting her.”

“Then don’t, man.” Adam put his hand on Orion’s shoulder. “And it’s not being stupid. If you like her, enjoy her. Don’t give another thought to the past. Look forward. It’s what we both need to learn to do.”

“True, but the past is powerful.” He grabbed wineglasses and brought them to the dining room while Adam stole a stash of napkins and started placing them by the plates Ian had already arranged.

“The past sucks and has a nasty way of creeping up on us, but it might be time for at least one of us to kick the past’s ass. I nominate you.”

“You may be right for once.” Orion went back to the kitchen to select a wine from the racks he’d made himself under a corner cabinet. Sage struck him as a deep, rich red wine gal, so that was what he selected.

“Hey, doesn’t Sage have a sister?” Adam asked.

“Yes. Hope.”

“Is she as hot as Sage?”

“No one is as hot as Sage,” Orion said.

“Hmm. I must inquire about this sister nonetheless.” Adam filled a pitcher with water and whistled as he went back to the dining room. “I need to get back into the game. You know, as soon as I can sleep through the night without dreaming of getting my ass blown up in Afghanistan.”

Orion was about to reply to his buddy when Ian came from the bathroom, a piece of gauze taped over the scratch on his forearm. He waved it in front of Orion who was standing at the sink, maybe looking out the window for Sage. Maybe.

“Wendie fixed me up,” Ian said. “I’m as good as new.”

“Wouldn’t that be nice,” Orion said under his breath, but his father would never be back to his old self completely. Glimpses came, especially when Myah was around, but they never lasted long.

Wendie came into the kitchen, winding an elastic around her forest of brown hair. “Okay, Ian, get yourself something to drink and go sit at the table.”

Ian hopped into action like an obedient child and disappeared to the dining room.

“Why couldn’t he have been like that thirty minutes ago at my place?” Wendie turned to Orion. “I’m so sorry I had to bring him back, but he was getting stressed by Frisco. I forgot that he hadn’t met the cat before. I only got him last week. He’s a sweetheart, but like Sage said, I think Ian freaked him out.”

“No problem. Maybe bring the cat over here when you come tomorrow and I can help Dad get properly acquainted with the critter.”

“About tomorrow…” Wendie studied her shoes.

“What’s up?”

“Well, there’s a nurses convention in New Hampshire that I signed up for. I completely forgot about it, but got an email reminder this morning. I already paid to go. It’s a few days long.”

“That’s fine. Go, but I’d actually like to talk to you about making your position here more permanent if you’re interested. You’ve been wonderful with him, and I think I just realized that having help with him might—”

“Allow you to get your own life?” Wendie finished.

“Well. Yeah.”

“About time. I’d be happy to become an official employee. We’ll talk about my fee later.” Wendie hugged him then peeked out the window. “Speaking of getting a life. Sage is back.” She patted his cheek and headed for the dining room.

Orion hurried to the back door, his hand on the knob, ready to rip the door open. Fortunately, he took a minute to realize how incredibly pathetic it would appear if he let Sage know exactly how eager he was to let her back into his house.

Play it cool, man.
As if he remembered how to be cool around women. Scratch that. He’d never been cool around women.

He backed up and busied himself with scanning the shelves in the refrigerator. He had no idea what he was looking for, but the cold air did wonders for his overheated, still aroused body. When a knock sounded on the back door, he closed the refrigerator and walked calmly to answer it.

Sage stood on the porch balancing a large cardboard box on her knee and trying to keep a loaf of Italian bread from falling off the top.

Orion stepped outside and took the box from her. “Planning on feeding an army?”

“I come from a long line of people who like to cook. We don’t know the meaning of just enough food. There has to be extra. Lots of extra.” She plucked the still endangered loaf of bread off the box and put it under her elbow as if it were a football. “Now get out of my way.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He pushed over and let her enter the house. After setting the box on the island, he asked, “What can I do to help?”

“Didn’t we go over this already when we started at my house?” She glanced down at his right leg. “I’m guessing that parading through the woods earlier wasn’t exactly good for that.”

“I wasn’t
parading
,” he said. “I don’t parade.”

“Whatever.” She unloaded her box and went to the sink to fill her pot with water. Again. “You haven’t sat yet, have you?”

“No.”

“Then scoot.” She pushed him toward one of his kitchen stools. “Sit there and look pretty.”

Adam came in, barking out a laugh. “Him? Look pretty? Doubtful.”

“As if you’re any prettier,” Orion muttered.

Adam swiped off the baseball cap he wore and held his hands to either side of himself. “What do you think, Sage? I’m not grotesque, am I?”

Sage poured sauce into another pot and set it on the stove to heat. Then she wiped her hands on a dishtowel and gave Adam a thorough once-over.

Too thorough. Orion ground his teeth together in… in… jealousy?
Fuck.
Way too early to be jealous. Way too dangerous to care that much.

“Not grotesque. No,” Sage said. “Does the buzz cut mean you’re a military guy?”

Adam nodded. “Marines, until about three months ago, when I was discharged.”

Orion watched as Sage waited for him to say more about that, but he knew Adam wouldn’t.

Instead Adam said, “Besides, I don’t want to waste time fooling around with my hair like this guy does.” He waved a hand at Orion.

“I don’t fool around with my hair,” Orion said. “It naturally looks this good.”

“Yeah, right.” Adam rolled his hazel eyes. “But speaking of looking good, you have a sister, Sage?”

She stopped stirring the sauce with a wooden spoon and gave Adam a sideways glance. “I do.”

“What does she look like?”

“Like me, but with brown eyes. She’s a year younger, but people often mistake us for twins.”

Adam and Orion groaned in unison, making Sage laugh. “Ah, yes, the twin fantasy.” She shook her head. “Men are pigs.”

“I’ll admit to that,” Adam said, “but I just need the right woman to turn me from a frog to a prince, you know?”

“Well, Hope is taken at the moment by a med student, but he’s away at school. You actually could have a shot, Adam.” She turned to Orion. “Hope doesn’t have a problem with buzz cuts. Me, I like a good handful of hair to grab onto.”

At those words, Orion’s temperature shot right back up into the critical range. How fast could he clear everyone out of his house so he and Sage could resume their… playing?

“So maybe I could meet her then?” Adam asked. “I’m not above stealing another dude’s girl. I mean, if I can steal her, she wasn’t taken in the first place, was she?”

“Is he always this logical?” Sage asked.

“He has his moments,” Orion said. “All I know is that he’s always been a great buddy to me.”

“That should get me some points, right?” Adam looked hopefully at Sage.

“We can let Hope decide.” She turned her attention to Orion and just the power of her stare turned him on. “Why don’t we plan a little night out at Black Wolf Tavern? You and Adam. I’ll invite my sister, Rick and his wife. It’ll be fun.”

For some completely irrational reason, Orion found himself nodding and agreeing. The thought of spending another evening in Sage’s company excited him. It’d been a long time since anything had excited him.

“Sweet.” Adam high-fived Sage and pointed to Orion. “Remember when I told you in the hospital that my fees for helping you would be high? Well, forget it. We’re square.”

“What if Hope hates you?” Orion asked.

Adam’s shoulders fell.

“Why would she hate him?” Sage asked.

“Well…” Orion studied his friend. “He’s Adam.”

“Oh, stop. I can tell you guys respect each other. You’re probably more like brothers than just pals, right?” Sage added pasta to her boiling water and stirred.

Orion was impressed with her ability to maintain a conversation and cook at the same time. Clearly, she had many skills. Skills he wanted to experience on every level.

“I suppose I’d be upset if something tragic happened to him.” Orion shot Adam a look that brought them both back several months ago when Adam had almost kicked the bucket.

“Yeah, and if I didn’t have to watch out for this nut getting shot in the woods, I guess my life would be a little empty.” Adam punched Orion in the shoulder as he passed by and headed for the dining room with the basket of bread Sage had filled.

“Don’t mind him,” Orion said.

“I don’t mind him. He may be good for Hope. She’s been getting more and more frustrated with waiting for Sam. He’s a nice guy and all, but long distance relationships are always hard.” She turned off the burner and strained the pasta in the sink.

Orion stood and added sauce to the pasta in a large bowl while Sage unwrapped a heaping bowl of salad she’d brought. He peered into her cardboard box of goodies and saw one more item in there.

“Is that blueberry pie?” Oh, God, she could be his soulmate based on her answer to this question.

“Yes. Made it early this morning. I had this weird craving for it. Like I couldn’t get blueberry pie off my mind.”

Like he couldn’t get her off his mind.        

Chapter Twelve

A warmth settled in Sage’s chest as she swept her gaze around Orion’s dining room table. She finally understood why her mother made such a big deal when Sage, Hope, Rick, and now Lily came over for a dinner she had prepared. It had always been just dinner to Sage, but she got it now. Watching Ian shovel mounds of pasta into his mouth and make yummy noises pleased her to no end. Listening to Wendie and Adam bust each other’s balls made her feel as if she’d known them forever.

And Orion, sitting next to her, filled her with something she couldn’t quite put a name to. She had a feeling she knew what it was, but her brain cautioned her not to label it that yet. This was all still too new. They had many things to find out about each other first, and tons of things could go wrong. She’d been in this blissful place before. This pre-sex place where everything was still possible and no one had been let down yet. She hoped no one would be let down this time.

But my history with men suggests I will be.
She couldn’t ignore her years of bad judgment and settling for less than what she wanted.
 

Orion was different though. Sure, he was still a gruff Vermont male, but he also had this tender side. She saw it every time he interacted with Ian, every time he talked about Myah, and she felt it when he’d touched her. He had a solid heart that was maybe capable of being everything she needed.

“Can I have some more, please?” Ian held his empty plate up. “This is so delicious, Sage. Orion doesn’t cook like this. Neither does Wendie.”

“We’ve been tossed to the curb, Orion,” Wendie said, but she smiled along the rim of her wineglass before taking a sip.

“I still need you, Wendie.” Ian showed her his bandaged arm. “You’re good with scratches.”

“Nice to be needed.” She patted his shoulder.

“What about me?” Orion asked. “Do you still require my services, Dad?”

Ian put his plate down after Sage had refilled it and looked at Orion. “A father always needs his son.” He raised his glass of cranberry juice and saluted.

For a minute, no one spoke, and Sage knew she had witnessed a genuine Ian moment. Next to her, Orion cleared his throat then raised his glass to Ian’s.

“To fathers and sons then,” he said.

The rest of the dinner passed with good conversation, lots of laughing, and yummy noises from everyone when the pie was served. Sage took dishes to the sink with Orion right behind her. Outside, a Vermont summer night had begun, complete with cricket song and fireflies.

“I didn’t realize it was so late.” She rinsed dishes and put them in the dishwasher Orion had opened.

“Time flies and all that,” he said.

They finished tidying while Wendie and Adam helped Ian get ready for bed. Alone with him in the kitchen, Sage felt the buildup of energy between them again each time they got close.

“What are your plans for tomorrow?” Orion asked.

“I have a nine o’clock meeting about a catering job in St. Jamesbury, but the rest of my day is wide open.” She turned to face him straight on when she said those last two words. “You?”

“I’ve got three bears that need carving. So far, I’ve only managed to start one of them and time is running out.” He leaned against the island, the heels of his palms resting on the edge.

“Can you get an extension considering you were shot and all? That’s a valid reason for being a little behind, don’t you think?” Now she stepped toward him and loved how he automatically moved his hands to rest on her hips.

“Christmas at Rockefeller Center waits for no one, bullet wound or not.”

“Rockefeller Center? Really?” She ran a finger along his bottom lip causing him to close his eyes. “Aren’t we a super important chainsaw artist?”

He took her finger into his mouth, letting his tongue glide along its length, and Sage nearly forgot how to breathe. The movement sent a shockwave through her entire being.

“Why do they want the bears so early?” she managed to ask.

He released her finger but kept a firm grasp on her hips. “They’re building a display around them for Christmas and want plenty of time to do that. I promised the bears for next week.”

“You’d better get cracking then.”

“I think I’d work better if you dropped by and checked up on me.” He pulled her closer so her front pressed against his front.