Chapter 27

27

STERLING

S neaking out of the same guest house where I used to get up to no good with Eric and Jake, but after spending the night there with Daphne, was a mindfuck. It was the place where we'd shared our first beer, and when we'd realized we'd gotten away with it, we kept going back there to hang out.

We'd snuck girls back there and spent hours making out with them, learning all sorts of tricks of the trade that we'd shared and discussed after. Over a few more drinks. Those had been good times, but last night had been so much better.

I hadn't even slept with her, but she'd still blown my mind. Getting to touch her and kiss her in all those ways I never thought I would have felt like traveling to the edge of heaven.

As I crept along the side wall and let myself out through the garden gate, I stayed close to the house, hoping it would mean that Marty and Janet wouldn't see me even if they were standing by one of the windows.

When I reached the driveway, I thought I was in the clear, but as soon as I turned around the corner of the house to make my way back to the school, Janet was there. Doing some gardening out front, she was bundled up in a coat and bright yellow gloves, wielding a tiny rake.

My stomach dropped and my heart started pounding. I was busted. She sat on her knees on the lawn, facing me, and as soon as she looked up, her eyes landed right on mine—and she didn't look at all surprised to see me.

If I didn't know any better, I would have said it looked like she knew exactly what had happened last night. A smile spread on her lips. "Good morning, honey. Would you like some breakfast?"

"Thanks, but I have to go," I said, returning her smile with my heart still hammering against my ribs. "Have a nice day, Janet."

"You too, sweetheart." She waved at me and went back to her gardening as if absolutely nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

As I returned her wave and set off, I wondered what she was thinking. Here I was, in the suit I'd borrowed from Eric last night, emerging from her property when her son didn't live here anymore. I'd spent many, many nights here but never without Eric.

Obviously, she knew I'd been with Daphne. I rolled my lips into my mouth, exhaling a harsh breath through my nostrils. Running into her had definitely complicated things. The amount of people who now knew where I'd slept last night had risen to three, and I was willing to bet Janet was going to tell Marty about seeing me, which put us at four.

What are the odds it stays at that?

I slid my hands into my pockets as I walked down the street, keeping my head down just in case someone else around here recognized me. The last thing I needed was to get the rumor mill churning, speculating about whether Daphne and I were together.

Where I was going right then, I didn't know yet, but the thrill of last night and almost getting caught by Eric mingled together and I just knew I needed to leave. Besides, while things hadn't been awkward with Daphne this morning, they definitely would be if she walked in to find me having breakfast with her parents .

All the way to the school, and as I climbed into Eric's old truck and headed out of town, memories of last night kept playing through my head. I couldn't shake them. Every time I blinked, I saw images of her lying on her bed in only her underwear, her curves finally exposed for me to feast on.

The sight of her like that, with her nipples peaked under the soft cotton of her bra, her lips parted, her eyelids heavy as she watched me, was going to haunt me forever. I'd never be able to look at her again without seeing the storm of desire in those deep blue depths. Never forget that her skin was as soft as a baby's bottom or that kissing her had made it feel like time was standing still.

Just thinking about it was turning me on all over again and I groaned, scrubbing a palm over my face in the hopes of dislodging the memories, but it didn't work. At all.

Even when I wasn't seeing those flashes of images, I could still hear her quiet moans echoing in my ears. The sound of her whispering my name as she came was the sexiest thing I'd ever heard, and combined with those moans?

For as long as I lived, I would be getting off to those memories. I wasn't sure I wanted to hear anyone else in the throes of ecstasy ever again, which was a problem, but Daphne's noises of pleasure had been intoxicating.

She hadn't screamed until my ears rang and she hadn't been obnoxious about it. Lately, I'd been finding that those performances turned me off, but she hadn't pretended or exaggerated. Every moan and whimper had been raw and real, simple little sounds that I'd been able to hear had just escaped.

By the time I reached the farm, I was rock hard and contemplating giving her a call to find out what she was doing later, but since I knew she was with Eric, I refrained. Instead, I found myself driving to the bakery, needing to do something to get closer to her but without actually being close to her.

This place meant something to her now too and I knew it. In the time I'd been gone, June Gracen had been keeping the bakery going and she'd taken Daphne under her wing. As hard as it was for me to face, the Northfield Farms Bakery was no longer only my mother's domain.

Thankfully, this line of thinking obliterated my libido, and when I pulled up in front of the building to find Jake's crew hard at work, there was no more tent in my pants. I hopped out of the truck, bracing myself for walking in and seeing the damage.

Other than dropping off the pumpkins, I hadn't been here until the day of the fire and I hadn't been planning on it, but it was unavoidable now, which meant I had to brace myself not only for the damage, but also for the memories that would come flooding back when I crossed the threshold.

Adrenaline, urgency, and the danger had softened them that day, but with no fire threatening to raze the place to the ground today, I knew I wouldn't be so lucky. I paused at the door, inhaling a deep breath before I pushed it open.

Five of Jake's guys were inside, plastic sheeting on the floor and open cans of paint beside them. They had rollers and brushes, their banter easy as they worked. The scent of smoke, fresh paint, glue, and all sorts of other chemicals hung in the air, but I was grateful for it.

There wasn't so much as a hint of baking bread or pastry when I inhaled, and it was a blessing. Jake turned as I walked into the kitchen, smiling when he saw me.

"Hey, bro," he said, extending his hand to shake mine. He wore a tool belt around his waist. Another one of his guys was on his haunches in front of the outlets where the blaze had started. "I've got some good news for you."

"I can use some of that," I said as we shook. "What's going on?"

"We should have this place ready to open for the start of the festival." He grinned. "It wouldn't be the same if the bakery wasn't operational. And the damage wasn't as extensive as it looked. You got to it in time with that extinguisher, man. The fire department says another ten minutes and it would've taken at least the roof."

"Shit." I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply and sending a silent thanks out into the universe that I'd walked out of the house when I had that morning.

Another ten minutes and we might've had to rebuild, which would've meant that all the last traces of my mom would've been lost. When I opened my eyes again, Jake's features had softened with understanding.

He raked a hand through his blond hair, then inclined his head at the guy working on the outlet. "That's Dan. He's my electrician. When he's done, the ovens shouldn't give you any more trouble."

I nodded and looked past Jake at Dan. "Thanks for your hard work, man."

The guy grunted, face scrunched up in concentration as he did whatever it was he was doing. As something sparked, he grinned at me over his shoulder. "I love this place, so you're welcome, but we're trying to get this done for the benefit of the whole town."

"Fair enough," I said before turning back to Jake. "Outside?"

"We're getting some paint up on the walls to hide the smoke stains. The murals are safe. I'm having one of my best guys restore the parts that need to be, but you won't be able to tell the new from the old by the time he gets through with it."

"Thank you," I said genuinely, then frowned when he started striding to the door. "You're leaving?"

He smiled as he waved for me to join him. "I have a project two towns over I need to finish today before it rains, but I'll be back tomorrow. You're in good hands with my guys."

"Of course." I followed him out, leaving his crew to work in peace when he took off.

I climbed back into Eric's truck, aimless until I decided to go help my dad with the pumpkin patch. We hadn't really spoken since the fire, but I wasn't giving up on him. I knew he wasn't going to make it easy on me, but we'd just seen—again—how much things could change in the space of even just an hour.

I wasn't expecting him to do a complete one eighty and forgive me for all my perceived sins overnight, but I also wasn't leaving things the way they were. The old man would just have to learn to deal with it.