Off the Hook (21 page)

“Idiot,” she muttered. “If you want to kill yourself, could you at least wait until the work’s done?”

“I’m fine, really.” He smirked. “Thanks for your concern.”

They were halfway to the lobby when Jess looked back over her shoulder at him.

“You okay?”

“Now she asks,” he laughed. “Nice.”

“Not that,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You’ve been making yourself scarce lately. Is something wrong?”

“You mean besides the fact we open in three weeks and most of our reservations pages are empty? Or how about the fact we don’t have a single staff member lined up yet?”

“Yes, we do!” Her burst of excitement lasted almost a full second before it faded. “Well, we almost do. I just got off the phone with Olivia; we set up a time for her to come over and—”

“Hold on,” he said, stopping at the bottom of the stairs. “Who’s Olivia?”

“You know—Olivia! Kate’s friend who built the website for us.”

“She’s done already?”

“Yeah,” Jessie said, shrugging guiltily. “I offered her a bonus if she got it done fast, but before you get mad, it’s the best money we’ll spend, because in today’s world we can’t do anything without a website.”

“Okay,” he exhaled. “So why’s she coming over? And who’s paying for that?”

“We are.” She held her hand up to stop the veto he had ready on his tongue. “Yes, we are, because it turns out in her day job she’s a chef. Well, I guess it’s her night job, but you know what I mean.”

“A chef,” he repeated slowly. “Like a real chef or a fry-cook-at-McDonald’s kind of chef?”

That made Jessie smile one of her “gotcha” smiles. “Like five-star, bring-your-platinum-card, and make-reservations-weeks-in-advance kind of chef.”

Liam waited a couple of seconds, thinking maybe, just maybe, she’d punked him.

“Seriously?” he asked. “You’re not shittin’ me?”

“Not shittin’ you.” Jessie’s grin grew brighter, wider. “She’s not actually the head chef, she’s the…what d’you call it?”

“The understudy?”

“No,” she sneered. “Not the understudy. Like the first assistant chef person…you know…the sous! She’s the sous-chef, that’s what she is. She’s been at the same restaurant for a long time now and she wants a change; she wants to be in charge of her own kitchen, so—”

“So she’s coming here.” He didn’t mean to sound doubtful, but if this Olivia was such a great chef, surely she’d have offers up the ying-yang.

“Well, she’s coming tomorrow so we can all meet her. She’ll whip up some things for us to try, and if we’re all on board, then we’ll have to figure out how the hell we’re going to pay her.”

There it was. For a second, Liam almost got excited about having a chef again, but once Olivia found out that the pay scale was next to nothing, they wouldn’t see her for dust. And then what would they do? They couldn’t expect their guests to pay good money for the types of meals Liam could make.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Jessie said, slowly walking backward toward the office. “We’ll figure it out.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I’m always right.”

“I don’t know about that,” he chuckled. “But it sure seems like you’re getting your wish for more estrogen around here.”

“ ’Bout damn time.”

—

Kate wasn’t even a little bit surprised when, three bites into the meal, Liam and Finn were practically begging Olivia to take the job. But when they started to talk details, Kate excused herself, went down to her cabin, and curled up in one of the tub chairs with a blanket and her notepad.

Olivia had overseen the catering on enough of Kate’s work projects that they’d become friendly, but they certainly weren’t close friends by any stretch. Still, it was enough for Kate to feel conflicted over whether or not she should warn Liv that the Buoys couldn’t possibly afford her and that she could be making a huge mistake giving up her job at La Joie de Vivre.

If she were Liv, she’d want to know, and yet the idea of sharing that information with her made Kate’s stomach ache. It would feel disloyal somehow, which was ridiculous, because she didn’t owe the Buoys any more than it owed her, and yet…

Ugh!

Everything inside her screamed for her to do whatever she could to protect Liam and the Buoys. With Liv working her culinary miracles in the kitchen, the menu at the Buoys would be second to none, that was for damn sure, and that might help attract more guests, which in turn would increase their income, which just might get them through the tax deadline.

Maybe.

If it didn’t…Kate sighed heavily. If Paul took over, Kate might be able to convince him to keep Liv on, so that was something. Or was it? The longer Kate was at the Buoys, the harder it was to picture herself anywhere else, but would it be the same if Liam wasn’t there?

No. Not even close.

With halting motions, she dragged her pencil across the page, adding Liv’s name next to Jessie’s as possible employees. She’d been putting off sending Jessie’s name to Paul, though he’d emailed several times asking if Kate had thoughts on whom they might hire once he took over.

God, she hated this. Maybe she should come clean with Paul and tell him about Liam. No, not only about Liam but about how much Kate hated the idea of the Buoys losing what it was. Maybe she could convince him to invest in it instead of buying it.

No, that wasn’t how the Foster Group did business. They recruited investors for properties they owned; they never invested in something they wouldn’t have a majority control over.

The knock on the door jolted her upright, and even though she was pretty sure she knew who it was, she hesitated before opening the door.

Liam.

He’d put his rain gear back on, which meant he still had work to do outside. Maybe he needed her help?

“You did it,” he said, his slow, warm smile sending a flood of chaos through her.

“What did I do?”

“You gave us Olivia, who’s not only put us on the Web but whose cooking is going to put this place on the map. I don’t think there’s another lodge anywhere on the coast that’ll be able to compete with our menu now.”

“Oh.” It was crazy how she could be so happy about that but feel so bad about it at the same time. “That’s great.”

Stepping back, she tossed her notebook on the little table next to the red Foster Group binder, then pulled the blanket off her chair and wrapped it tightly around her shoulders.

“What’s the matter?”

He didn’t wait to be invited, just stepped inside and closed the door, making it almost impossible for Kate to think clearly. God, she could barely breathe.

“Nothing,” she said. “That’s great. Is she still here? I should go see her before she leaves.”

“The Helijet picked her up a couple minutes ago, so stop stalling and tell me what’s wrong.”

Maybe if she put a bit more distance between them, maybe that would help. Easier said than done when the room was eight feet squared and the only other places she could go were the bathroom or the bedroom.

That wasn’t going to happen.

Clearing her throat, she moved in behind the tub chair and forced herself to look at him.

“Okay, it’s just that Liv has a really good job right now, and coming here is…well, I’m sorry to say it, but let’s call a spade a spade, it’s uncertain at best. And I know it’s none of my business, but how are you—”

“How are we going to pay her?” he finished. “Is that why you didn’t stay up there, because you didn’t know if we’d be up front with her or not?”

“Well, yeah,” she muttered. “I mean, crap, Liam, I really like Liv, but I’m…I mean, I’m stuck here not knowing what the hell I’m supposed to do. Do I warn her that there’s no money to pay her and that she’d be crazy to give up her six-figure salary? Or do I keep my mouth shut because we need her here? She’s like an ace up our sleeve.”

Liam’s smile grew wider, warmer. Hotter.

“This isn’t funny! It’s her career and her life we’re talking about.”

“You said, ‘we.’ ”

“What?” Hold on, why was he moving closer? Didn’t he realize there was only so much room?

“You said ‘we’ need her and that she was an ace up ‘our’ sleeve.”

“Y-yeah,” Kate stammered. “So? I didn’t…that wasn’t…Damn it, I meant—”

“Come on, Kate, face it. You like it here. You’re becoming one of us.”

“No, I’m—” He needed to stop moving, because she was trapped and her only way out was to run right through him. “Would you stop? Just stop for a second.”

He did. Immediately.

“What? Are you saying you don’t like it here?” His smile was but a memory now as a new look—a mix of uncertainty, worry, and desperation—crept into his eyes.

“No,” she said, sighing quietly. “God no, I love it here. It’s getting a little confusing for me, is all.”

“Okay, well, let me clear one thing up for you.” He took one more step, then wrapped his hands around the back of the chair and leaned against it. “We explained the whole situation to Olivia, gave her every opportunity to say no.”

“You did?” she asked tentatively. “Really?”

“Really.” He nodded, the corner of his mouth starting to curl up again. “Apparently it’s more than wanting her own kitchen. Sounds like her personal life has taken a nosedive and she wants to walk away from all of it for a while. And it’s not like she’s never going to get paid, it’s just going to take us awhile to sort it out, that’s all.”

“Oh, thank God.” The words whooshed out of Kate in a single breath.

“Tell me something,” he said slowly. “If we hadn’t told her, would you have?”

“I don’t know.”

All it took was a tip of his head and a tiny little sparkle in his eye for her to drop her head and groan.

“No,” she admitted. “I wouldn’t have, and that’s so wrong, but every time I think of this place I get so…I don’t even know anymore…because there’s Jessie, who’s like…God, I love her, and she’s so great at everything and…and there’s Finn…who I’d like to punch most of the time—”

Liam chuckled low in his throat.

“—and then there’s…” She paused, turned her head away, but then looked back and flicked her fingers his way. “All that.”

“Kate.”

“Whatever. It’s fine.”

As he closed the rest of the distance between them, she tried to scoot by him, but his hand caught hers and tugged her back. And, damn it all anyway, he didn’t even have to tug hard.

Hell, he didn’t have to do anything; she was the one who reached for him, who threw her arms around his neck and kissed him like it was the last damn thing on her bucket list. She loved the way everything about him put her on sensory overload.

He smelled like the ocean—clean, fresh, and wild; he tasted like passion, warm and sweet, with a hint of the Guinness he’d had with dinner; and everywhere she touched sent jolts of heat searing through her fingers.

The kiss was neither fast nor hard, but there was a trembling layer of frenzy to it that made her whimper when his mouth left hers to trail slow, soft kisses across her cheek and down her neck.

“This is a really bad idea,” she breathed, tipping her head so he could reach below her ear. His lips were like magic across her skin, lighting tiny fires with each touch. “Maybe…maybe we should…think about it for a second.”

“I’ve been thinking about this since the day I walked out of that damn hotel room in Vegas.” Feeling him smile against her throat sent an aching rush straight through Kate, forcing her to curl her fingers through his hair for balance.

“Good,” she said, laughing quietly. “I hope you suffered.”

She sucked in a disappointed sigh when Liam’s lips eased away from her skin, but her breath froze altogether when he brought his face up to hers, his blue eyes staring straight at her, his thumb smoothing her cheek.

“Like you can’t even imagine,” he said, his voice softly tortured as his gaze drifted down to her mouth. “When you came walking up that path with Jessie…”

The rumble started low in his throat and ended as a long, gravelly groan.

“Yeah?” she chuckled. “You got a thing for gum boots, do ya, Sporto?”

“Only when they’re on you.” He didn’t so much as crack a smile when he said it, and maybe that’s why she kissed him.

She savored his lips against hers, the way everything about them was both familiar and new. God, she’d missed this: the way he could, with the barest of touches, make her feel so much all at once. It was physical and emotional chaos rioting inside her—wanting to get physically closer to him yet knowing her body would take her heart with it, and that was going to be a problem.

Or was it? The first time they’d gotten together, she didn’t have a clue what she was doing, but this time her eyes were wide open. She already knew how it would end, so she’d be ready for it this time. But she still had her job to think about, and once this thing with Liam, with the Buoys, was over, her job would be the only thing left in her life.

She’d be stupid to risk that.

Easing away from him, she let her hands slide down until they rested flat against his chest. She felt him sigh deep inside, but somehow he managed to keep it from making any sound.

“Yeah,” he whispered, tucking her hair back behind her ear and smiling down at her, his eyes so blue, so troubled. “Whew. Maybe you’re right; maybe we are a bad idea.”

Wait, that’s not what she’d said, was it? Before she could sort it out, he’d already squeezed her hands, kissed her cheek with a tenderness she’d never experienced before, and was heading for the door.

It was going to take him about half a second to reach it, and then he’d be gone and this—whatever this was—would be over again.

“Wait.” In that moment, with him reaching for the doorknob and Kate standing there watching him, it felt like the pinball championships were going on inside her head. So many things bouncing off one another but never staying still long enough for her to focus, until—BAM!—of course.

“Kate, you don’t have to—”

“Just give me a second, will you?” She held her hands out like a couple of stop signs, nodding the whole time. “Just…just…
wait
. Right there. Don’t move.”

Oh God. What was she doing? This was crazy. This wasn’t something Smart Kate would do. No, it wasn’t, but Smart Kate had spent most of the last ten years alone, searching for the kind of feelings only one man had ever pulled out of her. And that man was standing eight feet away.