Jan’s nostrils flared. Her chin went high, and she let out a loud breath. Before she could unleash, he set the pie down.
“How are you, Jan?” Chris reached out for her, placing both hands on her shoulders. His features rearranged themselves into a mask of concern. “I worry about you.”
The tick started in Jan’s right eye. She was so tired of hearing others say that about her. She was so tired of being looked at with pity. She was so tired of not being special enough for someone to choose her.
But someone had chosen her. Alex had flown across an ocean because he wanted Jan, and only Jan, to be his partner. Jan moved past Chris and placed a cover on the pie that would change her life. She reached in the display and brought out the very last shepherd’s pie, put it in a box, and presented it to him.
“I wish you wouldn’t worry about me,” she said. “I’m perfectly fine. In fact, I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my entire life.”
Chris nodded, his brows drawing closer, his mouth tightening into a thin, line. Clearly, he did not believe her.
“Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about. I have a new business venture.”
“Not another weird pie, Jan. We want to make a profit here. I’m doing this for your future.”
Little did he know, he would not be a part of her future. Jan wouldn’t have to avert her gaze from any more looks of pity. She wouldn’t need to plaster on a smile of faux cheer around people who were entertained by her misfortunes. Jan’s future was bright and filled with weird pies filled with colorful fruits, pungent spices, and toothsome meats.
At that moment, her future came up to the door. Alex walked into the pie shop as though he owned the place, as though he owned the world. Jan wished she had that kind of swagger. Maybe, hanging around with him more, she soon would.
“You don’t have to worry about my future,” she said to her past. “In fact, you can have this business and do with it whatever you want. You can make boring shepherd’s pies and uninspiring cream pies every day for all I care.”
“Look, Jan. I’m sorry I hurt you on our wedding day. But I had to follow my heart.”
“I get that. I’m about to follow mine now.” She patted his shoulders and then gave him the cold shoulder. “Starting with this.”
Jan picked up the pie just as Alex and his guests approached the counter. He was headed straight for her wearing the most dazzling smile on his face. For a moment, Jan forgot how to put one foot in front of the other, and she wobbled.
Alex caught the pie in one hand. Unlike Chris, Alex wrapped his other arm around Jan to steady her as well.
“Is this it?” Alex said by way of greeting. “It smells delicious. And you look delicious, my darling.”
He bent down and kissed the side of her mouth, just at the corner of her lips. Jan’s knees melted into the consistency of pie filling at the impact of his lips.
It was the second time he’d kissed her. The first time had been careless. This kiss was calculated.
In the calculation, Jan knew it wasn’t the full sum of what Alex could do. She knew she was only getting part of the equation. B
ut even this small fraction of affection that he pressed to her lips gave her more value than any kiss she’d ever received.
“Please don’t reach for another rolling pin,” he whispered in her ear. “I promise, I’ll explain.”
He straightened and turned, still keeping her in the crook of his arm.
“Ms. Morgan, gentlemen, may I present Ms. Jan Peppers. The most talented chef I’ve ever met, and my future partner, in more ways than one.”
Jan had no clue as to what Alex was up to. But just the look on Chris’s face, the customers in the seats gawking with envy and not pity, it was all enough for Jan to go willingly with whatever Alex had planned.
Chapter Nine
Just entering the pie shop heightened Alex’s senses. First, the cooling scent of sweet basil tickled the tip of his nose. Followed by the earthy essence of cumin touching down on his top lip. That was met with the floral perfume of lemongrass on his bottom lip. And finally, the bitter balm of thyme cleared his palate and opened him up for more.
Alex stepped deeper into the shop wanting more. As he approached Jan, that sweet smell of cherries mixed with the crisp aroma of baked dough nearly knocked him over. The bouquet of scents swirled up his nose. They curled up on his tongue. They clung to his teeth. But the mix of heady smells had nothing on the chaste kiss he stole from the pie maker.
Alex rarely stole kisses. He was more often turning away from unwanted advances. Women frequently tried to plunge their tongues into his mouth and invade his palate. For the first time in a long time, Alex had the urge to invade Jan’s mouth.
With just the slightest taste of Jan on his lower lip, he was eager to order up the main course. The amuse-bouche of the corner of her lips was a mix of salty sweetness and fiery herbs that threatened to drive him nuts. He wanted to slide his lips over hers, align their mouths, and plunge and investigate her palate.
Alex pulled himself a way. Jan was not on the menu. That kiss was a farce. It was a means to an end. One he had not yet cleared with her, and he wasn’t sure if she’d be on board. He couldn’t start his plea by pushing past a boundary he knew she didn’t want him to breach.