had faith in Holly, but that was okay because she didn’t deserve it since she’d never done anything to earn that faith? “The water thing was an accident,” she muttered.
“How about the gas leak? Killing people is bad for business.”
“Yes, I realize that.” Holly turned her back to Riley. “Trust me, everything is going to be fine.”
“I’m not going to trust you,” her mother said, shocked at the very idea. “How can I? You’ve held more jobs than this entire family put together. You’ve never in your life remained with one project for more than it took you to lose interest in it.”
Well, that hurt.
It shouldn’t, Holly reminded herself, not when it was true. But dammit, she was trying to change. “I realize I’ve never given you a reason to trust me before, but things are different now. I-I really wanted to make you proud of me on this one. I think I still can.”
How embarrassing was this? She was practically begging for her mother’s attention.
Even worse, Riley had come close, his big, tall body right behind hers. He cocked his head so his ear was close to hers, next to the receiver. She tried to move away but he slid his hands real soft and gentle around her waist.
She couldn’t resist soft and gentle. She’d never felt it before, not like this.
“Holly, this isn’t the time to resolve your issues with your family,” her mother said. “Just don’t make me look bad, I promised the-”
While her mother droned on, Riley switched tactics. He shifted to her other side, to her free ear, and whispered, “Hang up.”
“I can’t,” she mouthed, pushing him away.
Riley refused to be budged.
“-we’re trying to sell that place,” her mother continued, on a roll. “It has to look good when potential buyers come through. I should see if I can get your brother or sisters, or someone, out there, I-”
“I can do this,” Holly said, and dammit, her voice wavered. “I just need some more time.” She might have even groveled, because this project had come to mean so much more than she could have ever imagined.
But Riley was right there, listening to every word, watching her with an intensity that made her want to squirm, and she refused to show him her weaknesses.
“I just want you to admit you’re in over your head,” her mother said.
Over her dead body. “Mother, I-”
Static burst in her ear, only it wasn’t the phone. It was Riley, doing a great imitation of a bad connection.
He winked at her and went on making the obnoxious noise.
She grinned back, suddenly feeling…light. “Gotta run, Mother. Bad connection.”
“Holly! Don’t you dare-”
Riley pushed his finger onto the base, effectively cutting her off.
“Nice timing,” she murmured.
“Yeah.” He shifted her in his arms, turning her to face him. “Now…where were we?”
“Oh, no, you don’t.” With an uneasy laugh, she backed out of his arms. On the counter was an open container of flour, salt and the various makings of bread, which she was about to give a shot, compliments of one of Maria’s recipes. To keep both her mind and her hands busy, she dipped into the flour and began measuring.
“Why don’t you just admit it,” he asked quietly. “We seem to have an attraction problem.”
“We don’t have any such thing.”
“Uh-huh.” Now he was close again, too close, his body pressed hard against the back of hers, his mouth doing things to her neck that made her eyes cross with lust.
She immediately lost count of how many cups she’d measured and stared stupidly into the bowl.
“Tell me you’re not turned on,” he said huskily, rocking his hips slowly against her bottom, allowing her to feel the fact that he was exactly that. “Tell me.” His hands, oh, those very talented hands, slid from her hips over her ribs and dallied there, outlining each and every one with slow precision.
She ached. “There is a room full of people out front,” she managed to reply, just barely stopping herself from melting to the floor in a boneless heap.
“Tell me to stop, and I will.” The tips of his fingers stroked the very bottom curve of her breasts now and she nearly moaned out loud.
Tell him to stop? She couldn’t even breathe. “I don’t want this,” she told him, twisting in his arms and flinging hers around him, taking his mouth hard.
“You may not
“Ahem.”
Holly gasped, then shoved away from Riley to face a broadly grinning Jud.
“Sorry,” he said, looking anything but. “I heard some banging around in here and just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”
“Everything is okay,” Riley said, sounding pressed for air.
“Hmm. Sure?”
“Sure,” Riley said tightly. “We’ve got everything under control.”
Jud didn’t move. “Can’t be too sure, you know.”
“Jud.”
“Yes, boss?”
“Do you like your job?”
“Very much.”
“Good. Get out and you can keep it.”
Jud nodded thoughtfully. “Okay, you don’t need to tell me twice. But you might want to wipe those handprints away.”
“What handprints?”
“The ones made of flour that are all over your butt.”
Holly just groaned.
8
BY MONDAY, Holly was ready for business. Really ready this time.
“It’ll be great,” Dora told her. She was popping her wild-raspberry bubble gum as she prepared for their first family-style dinner. “I’ve got the lasagna nearly set, you handled the bread-excellently I might add-and we’ve actually got help out front.”
“Assuming we get customers.” Holly paced the kitchen in an unusual fit of nerves. “I hope Steve can take the pressure.” She was referring to Dora’s younger brother, who was going to wait tables in the afternoons after school. “The people here are brutal.”
Dora laughed as she stopped in front of the steel refrigerator to check out her reflection. “They are not. They were only brutal to you because you asked for it.”
“I did no such thing.”
“Oh, really?” Dora smiled, then straightened, lifted her nose in the air and strutted across the kitchen as if she owned the place. “You didn’t walk like this? You didn’t maybe, just a little, think you were too good for this backcountry, out-of-the-way little hole-in-the-wall?”
Holly had to laugh at the imitation, which granted, probably wasn’t that far off the mark. “If I thought I was too good, you people showed me otherwise in less than thirty seconds.”
“No one meant to hurt your feelings. We just have an inherent mistrust of ‘them city folk,”’ Dora said, drawling out the last two words.
“Well, maybe I deserved to be taken down a peg or two. I guess I thought I was better than this place.” It was humbling. “Though I’ve learned the opposite is true.”
