Read Online The Second Chance Café (Hope Springs, #1) by Alison Kent - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Alison Kent
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“Kaylie’s looking for someone for her café.” And why was she telling him that when she wanted the job for Mitch? Unless what Will had said was already at work on her subconscious, making up her mind for her, keeping trouble at bay.
But he shook his head. “Gotta see through this construction gig. And I don’t think I’d like cooking on a large scale. It’s just something I enjoy for fun. And with friends.”
She looked at him, wondering if he’d served time for something as petty as aggravating someone, or not answering questions. “Is that a yes or a no, then? To coffee. Or dinner.”
“It’s my way of asking if you’d let me cook for you.”
“It really is easier if you just come out and say what’s on your mind.”
That laugh again, intimate and melodic. “I may not be good with invitations, but I definitely know not to speak my mind.”
That was novel. Most men had no trouble coming on to her. And that incongruity allowed her a boldness she didn’t often give into. “Do you have a cell?”
“I do,” he said, and gave her his number as she pulled hers from her pocket and typed out a text.
She hit send and his phone beeped seconds later. His eyes on hers, he reached for it, finally dropping his gaze to the screen.
“Saturday would be good for me, too,” he said, looking up as he did. “And now that I have your number, I’ll be in touch.”
“I look forward to it.”
“And maybe you can text and let me know what you decide. About putting your friend in touch with his kid. Because I could be way off base. It’s been known to happen.”
In the past, perhaps, but she had a feeling whatever mistakes in judgment he’d once made were ones he’d remember before making more. “I could text you. Or I could tell you about it while watching you cook. Unless having someone watch makes you nervous.”
“I’ve had someone, many someones, watching my every move the last three years. There’s very little that makes me nervous.” He took her in slowly, his gaze moving from her chin to her nose to her forehead. “Then again, none of them had eyes like yours.”
That made her blush. She’d always thought herself too worldly to blush. She gestured toward her car. “I need to get going.”
“And I need to get to work.”
“Thank you for the advice, boy who was raised by wolves.”
“Thank you for letting me cook for you, moon girl.”
Moon girl. So strange to hear someone besides Mitch use the term of endearment, though considering the origin of her name, it wasn’t surprising Will had gone there. “Until Saturday, then,” she said, reaching to open her door.
He beat her to it, lifting the handle, so tall beside her, so unlike the men in her life and others she’d known. None of them had been the wolf this one was. None of them had made her want to share all the things she kept close. None, save for another who could never be hers because of the things she hadn’t been brave enough to tell him.
Will stood in the road behind her as she drove away, his black jeans and black shirt and black hair filling her rearview mirror, and leaving her wishing she’d had a night free before Saturday. She wanted to see him sooner, to talk to him in greater depth. She thought he might have a lot of interesting things to say—though she needed to decide what to do about Mitch and Kaylie before she spent time getting to know a wolf.
CHAPTER NINE
B y Wednesday, Ten had submitted paperwork for all the building permits needed for Kaylie’s renovations. Hope Springs had very little in the way of bureaucratic red tape, but enough to foul up his mood. Kaylie had settled on the commercial flooring, but that was it. There were fixtures and cabinets and countertops to decide on, not to mention appliances. And that only took care of the kitchen.
But since that room would take his crew of two the longest to rewire and replumb, it was the room he wanted to tackle first. And with Kaylie’s mind set on
But he shook his head. “Gotta see through this construction gig. And I don’t think I’d like cooking on a large scale. It’s just something I enjoy for fun. And with friends.”
She looked at him, wondering if he’d served time for something as petty as aggravating someone, or not answering questions. “Is that a yes or a no, then? To coffee. Or dinner.”
“It’s my way of asking if you’d let me cook for you.”
“It really is easier if you just come out and say what’s on your mind.”
That laugh again, intimate and melodic. “I may not be good with invitations, but I definitely know not to speak my mind.”
That was novel. Most men had no trouble coming on to her. And that incongruity allowed her a boldness she didn’t often give into. “Do you have a cell?”
“I do,” he said, and gave her his number as she pulled hers from her pocket and typed out a text.
She hit send and his phone beeped seconds later. His eyes on hers, he reached for it, finally dropping his gaze to the screen.
“Saturday would be good for me, too,” he said, looking up as he did. “And now that I have your number, I’ll be in touch.”
“I look forward to it.”
“And maybe you can text and let me know what you decide. About putting your friend in touch with his kid. Because I could be way off base. It’s been known to happen.”
In the past, perhaps, but she had a feeling whatever mistakes in judgment he’d once made were ones he’d remember before making more. “I could text you. Or I could tell you about it while watching you cook. Unless having someone watch makes you nervous.”
“I’ve had someone, many someones, watching my every move the last three years. There’s very little that makes me nervous.” He took her in slowly, his gaze moving from her chin to her nose to her forehead. “Then again, none of them had eyes like yours.”
That made her blush. She’d always thought herself too worldly to blush. She gestured toward her car. “I need to get going.”
“And I need to get to work.”
“Thank you for the advice, boy who was raised by wolves.”
“Thank you for letting me cook for you, moon girl.”
Moon girl. So strange to hear someone besides Mitch use the term of endearment, though considering the origin of her name, it wasn’t surprising Will had gone there. “Until Saturday, then,” she said, reaching to open her door.
He beat her to it, lifting the handle, so tall beside her, so unlike the men in her life and others she’d known. None of them had been the wolf this one was. None of them had made her want to share all the things she kept close. None, save for another who could never be hers because of the things she hadn’t been brave enough to tell him.
Will stood in the road behind her as she drove away, his black jeans and black shirt and black hair filling her rearview mirror, and leaving her wishing she’d had a night free before Saturday. She wanted to see him sooner, to talk to him in greater depth. She thought he might have a lot of interesting things to say—though she needed to decide what to do about Mitch and Kaylie before she spent time getting to know a wolf.
CHAPTER NINE
B y Wednesday, Ten had submitted paperwork for all the building permits needed for Kaylie’s renovations. Hope Springs had very little in the way of bureaucratic red tape, but enough to foul up his mood. Kaylie had settled on the commercial flooring, but that was it. There were fixtures and cabinets and countertops to decide on, not to mention appliances. And that only took care of the kitchen.
But since that room would take his crew of two the longest to rewire and replumb, it was the room he wanted to tackle first. And with Kaylie’s mind set on
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