Read Online California Girl by Sandra Edwards - Free Book Online Page A

cabinets and pulled out a teak serving tray and several more mugs.
    “Coffee smells good,” Gail said. “I’ll get the petit fours.”
    Gail took the plate of dainty cakes from the refrigerator and set them on the counter in front of Tom. “I’m the pastry chef. Mary Beth couldn’t bake her way out of a burning oven, but the girl sure can cook.”
    “Mary Beth always did everything well,” Tom said. “Her intelligence scared the hell out of me in school. So did her beauty.” His gaze, hot as a blue flame, locked with Mary Beth’s.
    Uncomfortable under his scrutiny, she looked away. “There will be four of us at the meeting, right?” Trying to get her mind off Tom and the heat that swirled between them, she set mugs and a carafe on the tray. Keeping busy would also distract her from the overwhelming sadness and frustration that the business she had struggled to conceive and build might owe its survival to the man who’d mortally wounded her young heart.
    She groaned inwardly. She was thinking like an over-dramatic teen again. Maybe Tom hadn’t mortally wounded her, but his betrayal had kept her from completely trusting any man despite the two serious relationships she’d had since him. No, she had to be honest—her father’s actions had peeled away her trust. Tom had merely pulverized what was left.
    “How long have you two been partners?” Tom asked in a cool voice. Mary Beth glanced at him. The rigid set of his chiseled features gave no hint of the longing that had softened them a minute ago.
    She let out her breath, convinced tension had her imagination working overtime. Tom didn’t care for her, had never cared for her.
    She poured coffee into the carafe, concentrating on the steady stream of hot liquid and trying to ignore the small drips of hurt that seemed to burn her heart.
    “To answer your question,” Gail said, “as my usually vocal partner seems to have lost her voice, we’ve been friends since college and attended the Culinary Institute together. Mary Beth opened the business two years ago and I bought in six months later.” She pushed the plate of pastries toward Tom. “Here, try one of these.”
    Tom popped a small cake into his mouth. The surprised pleasure on his face made the women exchange grins.
    “Wow!” He licked his lips.
    His tongue gliding over his full lips made Mary Beth’s knees wobble like half-set gelatin. She gripped the counter for support and stared at Tom’s mouth. What would it be like to kiss him again?
    Their eyes met. Awareness sizzled and crackled between them, charging the atmosphere liked downed power lines after a storm.
    “Cakes are good, huh?” Gail said.
    Mary Beth blinked, breaking the connection with Tom.
    Seeming oblivious to the charged interplay between Tom and Mary Beth, Gail rearranged the cakes on the plate and continued talking. “My husband, Pete, gained ten pounds the first couple of months after I bought into the business. He was our official taster. He gave up the job and joined the gym.”
    Bless Gail for rambling . Trying to get control over her emotions, Mary Beth fingered the gold chain at her neck, her last gift from her father, and her reminder to always guard her heart.
    “Can I apply for the position of official taster?” Tom’s words teased, but his voice was husky and his gaze lingered on Mary Beth.
    “We wouldn’t want you to ruin your manly physique,” Gail said.
    Mary Beth’s gaze seemed to have a will of its own, attaching itself to Tom’s broad shoulders. The designer cut of his expensive suit couldn’t disguise the width of his chest or the barely leashed power of his muscles under the finely woven wool jacket and brushed cotton shirt. She swallowed as if she could somehow dilute the attraction she felt for him.
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    “Well, that’s done.” Mary Beth put her feet on the oak coffee table in the reception area. With the pleated shades drawn, the only light came from the small lamp on the side table. The