“I get it and you don’t have to worry about me stepping over the line. I’m your friend, Bella. I can settle for that. Now, I’d better get back to the station before Ben sends out a search party.” He lifted a hand. “See you around sometime.”
Back at the station house, he talked out his frustration with Ben. “I don’t get it. The only woman that’s unavailable and she’s the one that stirs something up in me.” He threw himself into his chair and spun around away from his desk.
“You don’t get to choose who you fall in love with, Jake. It just happens.”
“I’m not in love with her. Heck, we’re only getting to know each other but it feels as though there’s something there. And it’s all wrong for both of us.” He groaned in frustration.
“What can I say, man? Roll with it and see what happens. One of you might change priorities if things work out. Who knows?”
“I’m not looking for a relationship and neither is Bella. She has to go back to her show at the end of her stay and I have Cory to think about.”
“Women have thrown away much more for love, Jake.”
He pushed himself out of his chair. “It’s not love. It’s probably more like lust if anything.” Jake looked out the office door to the shiny firetruck. “I don’t think she’s that type of girl either and I wouldn’t dream of treating her like that. For me, it’s all or nothing.”
Chapter Nine
“Don’t hurt him, Bella. He’s one of the good guys.”
Bella looked up. “Why would I hurt him? I like him, probably too much.” She flicked through the recipes in an attempt to avoid looking at her sister. “I didn’t plan on getting feelings like this, it just happened. I never should have told you. He thinks we’re just friends and I don’t like to impose my feelings on him because we agreed that was for the best.”
“We share, as you well know, and that means I get to tell you my opinion too. Enjoy yourself but don’t get in too deep, okay. Make sure he knows you’re going back to your normal life.”
“He knows. We’re just friends as I said.” Saying the words didn’t make it so but it did make her analyze every word they’d said to each other. She’d never overthought a friendship like this before.
Later that day, Bella pulled a batch of pistachio and caraway seed shortbread out of the oven and slid them onto a cooling rack. The color was right, the smell – buttery and sweet with a hint of toasted nuts. Perfect. The ultimate test would be the crispness, the crumbs when they cooled. If they turned out the way she expected, they would go in the book too.
“Hey, Bella. How’s it going?” Cory burst through the doors, his bag over his shoulder. He slung it on the floor and strode over to the work counter, leaned down and sniffed at the cookies. “They look interesting with those green bits. What are they?”
“Pistachio shortbread. I need something nice and simple for the sweets part of the book.” She poked at one, deemed it cool enough to hand over. “Try this and tell me what you think?”
Cory took the cookie, nibbled off a test bite. He chewed and then swallowed, face set in concentration.
“Well?”
He jammed the rest of it in his mouth, doing nothing to hide the grin.
“I take it you approve then?”
His answer was to take another one from the rack, tossing it between his fingers to cool down.
“What are you doing to my son?” Jake strolled in, his fireman’s uniform hugging his tall frame, taking her breath away. His dark, skintight T-shirt did little to hide the broad chest and Bella sighed.
“She’s feeding me. You should try one of these, Dad. They taste pretty good.”
“So far everything has. I wouldn’t expect anything different.” Jake hugged his son, smiled at her, and Bella’s heart melted.
“I’m going to go practice with the team for a bit. See you at home, Dad. Thanks for the cookies, Bella.”
“Anytime, Cory.” She handed him another couple of cookies and he grabbed his bag and scampered out the door with a wave.
“You’re very good to him. I think he’s more than a little bit in love with you.” Jake reached for another cookie and popped it into his mouth.
Bella looked away, the swallowing action of his throat too much to deal with right now while her emotions were so muddled. “The feeling is mutual. You’ve done a great job with him, Jake.”
“I like to think so. He makes it pretty easy though. He’s a great kid.”
“Yes, he is.” She plated a few of the cookies and pushed them across the counter with a coffee. “Mari said I should talk to you about potential sites for photo sessions for the new book.”
He picked up another cookie and devoured it. Guess the texture isn’t that much of a problem then.
“I want to do some here in the hotel but I’d like your opinion on some outdoor venues. Greenery always looks good in food photos. A pretty garden helps too. Kind of like a picnic shot, if you know what I mean, but I want earthy too.”
“Okay, let me think.” He sipped the coffee, tipped his head sideways, and pursed his lips in thought. “Well, there’s your cottage that probably has the best garden in the lane. Dad would get a kick out of you using that. The greenery there is still pretty fabulous even if there aren’t many flowers out yet. That will come in the next month or so, though, but we could get frost right up to June which tends to slow things
