Sneak Peek at Crushing on Kate

Kate Hayes was content, but more than that, she was happy. It took her thirty-three years to get there, and maybe her life wasn’t exactly how she expected it to be, but she couldn’t deny the smile on her face, the warmth in her heart, and the giddy feeling she got as she stuck a metal rod into the fire surrounded by a curious audience.

She didn’t have a husband—hell, she didn’t even have a boyfriend—but she had glass blowing, her business, a large family who gave her more love and an even bigger headache than any man could, and that was all she needed.

The brisk days of winter in Red Maple Falls had melted into beautiful summer days, and she was able to hold her glass blowing demonstrations in the parking lot of her studio. She was limited to her supplies when she was outside, but she was able to do the basics. Most of all, she was able to draw a crowd, and that’s what really mattered to her.

A smile played at the edges of her lips as a little girl with braided pigtails pushed through to the front of the crowd to watch her more closely. She picked up a pair of tweezers and gave the little girl a big smile.

“Tweezers are a tool you can use to manipulate the glass,” she said as she pulled the glass like taffy. “Pretty cool, huh?”

The little girl nodded enthusiastically. Moments like these were what Kate lived for—putting smiles on people’s faces through her art, intriguing them, showing them how to create something from nothing… all little puzzle pieces that made up her happiness.

She continued the demonstration and finished with a round of applause from the people who stuck around till the end. Usually the small town was filled with familiar faces, but during the summer, tourists from all over visited Red Maple Falls for their picturesque hiking trails, beautiful rivers for kayaking, charming campgrounds, and a simple taste of small town life away from the city.

The summer was also the time when Kate made a majority of her sales. Most of the time, her summer sales could float her through the rest of the year so it was vital to intrigue the customers enough for them to make a purchase or sign up for one of her classes.

“Thank you so much. I teach classes twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If anyone is interested I have more information inside. Also, this piece and many more are available for purchase. I hope you all enjoy your time in Red Maple Falls.”

More applause followed as the crowd broke up. Happy with the turn out, she mentally patted herself on the back for a job well done. She turned to head inside when she smacked right into a hard chest. She glanced up to the man towering over her five feet eight inches and had to stop herself from gasping at the dark brown smoldering eyes staring down at her.

The man was the picture of perfection with a close shaven beard that bordered on the line of sexy stubble and pretty boy hair that defied gravity in the front with thick strands of chocolate brown. Kate wondered how soft it actually was, but restrained herself from molesting the stranger’s head.

“Hi. Can I help you?” Kate managed to say even though her throat was dry and that dark gaze of his made her forget her own name.

“Yeah you can help me,” he barked, “by getting these people out of my damn parking lot.”

The hot guy spell he had her under completely vanished. “Your parking lot? This is my parking lot. That’s my studio,” she said, pointing to the sign with the words Serenity Glass Blowing Studio written in bold letters.

“And that is my shop.” He pointed to the place next door that had been vacant after Mae from Mae’s toys broke a hip and had no choice but to shut down. Kate had been patiently waiting, along with the rest of the town, to see who would lease the space. There was even a town bet going around.

Last month they discovered the place would sell bicycles as hired help hung the wooden sign that said The Chain and Spoke bike shop. Kate had yet to meet the owner, despite her many attempts at stopping by. The man just never seemed to be around when she was… until now, and even though he was hot as sin, that didn’t negate his less than stellar people skills.

His eyebrows pulled together as he narrowed his gaze on her. “How do you know my name?”

“Welcome to Red Maple Falls where everybody knows your business.” She held out her hand and smiled. “I’m Kate.”

She let her hand fall back to her side with an unintentional roll of the eyes. “Clearly you’re not from around here.”

“No, I’m from Massachusetts. Not that it’s any of your business, or the town’s for that matter.”

“I suppose it’s not.” Kate had hoped she’d be able to turn the conversation around, but with his attitude that was not going to happen. If he wanted to play a hard ass then fine, she was done being neighborly. “What exactly can I do for you?”

“Get these damn people out of the parking lot. We barely have any spaces as it is without you taking up half of it with your arts and crafts hour.”

“Arts and crafts?” That was it. She sailed right by annoyed and landed straight into infuriated. “I’ll have you know, Mr. Cool Hair, that blowing glass is not just some after school arts and crafts; it’s a real art that requires a lot of training and dedication.”

“I don’t care what it is. All I care about is opening up these spaces for paying customers.”

“Too damn bad. I am out here every Saturday this summer. Mae never had a problem with it, and I suggest you find a way to get over it.”

He straightened his shoulders, making him appear even taller, but she didn’t let that intimidate her. She had three brothers and two spunky sisters; there was no way she’d let some pretty boy with sexy eyes and pouty lips scare her.

She laughed. She couldn’t help herself really. “Go ahead. I dare you. Better yet, I’ll do it for you. My brother is the Sheriff after all.” Matt would be pissed if he got called down there for a meaningless dispute, but he wouldn’t be pissed at her, which made the idea of calling him very tempting.

He stared at her with an intensity that made her knees weak, her mouth go dry, and caused her heart to pick up speed. She swallowed down the weird desire that gaze evoked inside of her and stood her ground. “Are we done here?”

His top lip curled in what she hoped was annoyance. “For now,” he spat before turning on his expensive looking boat shoes and storming off toward his shop.

“Asshole,” Kate muttered under her breath as she let her shoulders slump. Tension pulled tight across her back, and she knew she’d be having a glass of Chardonnay as soon as she got home tonight.

“Who’s an asshole?” she heard Shay, her best friend and Matt’s fiancée, ask. Shay owned Sweet Dreams Bakery only a few doors down and stopped by when she wasn’t overloaded with custom cupcake orders.

“Him.” Kate flung her finger over her shoulder toward The Chain and Spoke, but pretty boy was already gone. “The new tenant next door.”

“Arrogant, pig headed, mean-spirited. He has that pretty boy hair like Jake Ryan from Sixteen Candles. You know what I’m talking about? That puff in the front that is perfectly coifed, but he probably rolled out of bed like that.”

“He was until he opened his mouth. Figures, a cute guy I haven’t known since Kindergarten moves into town, and he turns out to be an asshole. Just my luck.”

“Maybe he’s having a bad day. Everyone is entitled to one of those every now and again.”

“Maybe, but he didn’t have to be such a jerk. Who just walks over to someone they’ve never met and starts demanding things?”

“How is Cruella?” Kate asked, using the nickname she gave Shay’s self-entitled, money-loving mother years ago.

“I’m proud of you,” Kate said, wanting her friend to know. Shay’s mother manipulated Shay for years until Shay finally stood up to her. It was a long time coming, and though Kate wished Shay would’ve told the woman to bug off years ago, she was happy she finally did.

“I know,” Shay said with a laugh. “She finally stopped calling, too. I think she finally got the hint.”

“Let’s just hope she doesn’t drive up here from New York and show up on your doorstep.”

Kate held her hands up in front of her. “I’m just saying I wouldn’t put it past the woman.”

Kate gathered her things together while she and Shay continued to talk. Brianne, a sweet girl home from her first semester at college was manning the register inside, so Kate had a little time to waste.

“I actually came over here for a reason,” Shay said as Kate placed all of her tools into a bin.

“Matt and I were wondering if you’d be free for dinner one day this week?”

“I’ll be there, and I’ll bring the wine. Unless you’re pregnant and that’s why you want me to come over?”

Shay closed her eyes and shook her head, a smile tugging at both corners of her mouth. “No, I’m not pregnant. Can you let me get married first?”

“She does.” Shay’s eyes shone bright with happiness. With a mother like hers she spent years of her life trying to become someone she wasn’t surrounded by people she didn’t even like. Other than her grandparents she didn’t have much of a family, but now the town and the people of the town were her family and she finally belonged. Kate loved seeing the sparkle in Shay’s eyes, the smile that was constantly on her lips, and the lightness in her step. She had always looked at Shay as another one of her sisters, and when she married Matt it would be official. Kate was more excited about their wedding than she was about ever having her own.

Shay gave Kate a wave as she headed back to the bakery. Kate glanced over her shoulder at The Chain and Spoke, images of the cranky owner immediately flooding her mind.

“Too bad Mr. Cool Hair. We could’ve had beautiful babies,” she said to herself as she gathered the rest of her supplies and headed into her studio.

Caleb stormed through the door of his bike shop, tension pulling tight across his neck and right into his skull. The damn headache he’d been dealing with for months pulsed to life. He’d done damn near everything to make it stop, short of cutting it off his own shoulders. The doctor said it was stress, and Caleb needed to find ways to minimize and cope. Easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one who had his life shit all over him in the matter of months, upending everything and making him question every decision he ever made.

Though, he did heed the doctor’s advice which was why he was in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. Red Maple Falls was a blip on the map, a miniscule town nestled in the White Mountains. Caleb thought moving to the middle of nowhere was a move in the right direction, until he realized that small towns were more of a nuisance than anything. He couldn’t go to the damn grocery store to pick up a loaf of bread without half the town starting a conversation with him. Was it too much to ask to be left alone?

Just as the thought came into his mind, the bell above the door rang out. He cursed under his breath, pledging to have that obnoxious noise removed as soon as he remembered where he left his tools.

He didn’t feel much like smiling, but he needed the business. He had more than enough money to keep it afloat for a long time, but he’d prefer not to post in the red every quarter. He forced a smile on his face and looked up to the potential customer. His smile immediately warped into a scowl when he spotted the strawberry blonde he just had it out with in the parking lot.

Her eyes scanned around the space, wide with what looked like wonderment. “Definitely not Mae’s Toys anymore,” she said, running her finger along the repurposed wood wall he’d paid a fortune for.

“Do you always have an attitude?” she asked as she moved closer to him, her hips swaying with each step. She was tall, and being six-four himself, it was a trait he liked in a girl. She wasn’t model thin either like he was used to; she had curves for days that he could imagine sinking his fingers into while—

Women were nothing but stress in sexy packages, manipulating and self-involved. They were the root of all evil, and the number one stress factor in his life. He’d gone months without as much as glancing in a woman’s direction, and while he wasn’t completely stress-free, he had noticed a difference. Taking away the worry of someone else lessened the burden on his shoulders, and he didn’t plan to add it back any time soon.

“Why are you here?” he asked, deciding to skip the small talk and get right to the point.

She moved closer—too close—surrounding him in what he imagined sunlight would smell like—sweet with a touch of citrus. “I thought we could start over.”

“Because I don’t want earlier to be your first impression of me.” Her blue-green eyes pinned him in place. She had that innocent glow about her, friendly and inviting, but it was a glow he’d fallen for before only to find out he’d been duped, and he’d be damned if he fell for it again.

“I’m trying to be nice here, but obviously, you don’t understand the sentiment.”

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and popped them back open. “Look this is a small town. We’re neighbors and neither of us is going anywhere anytime soon, so why don’t we forget about everything before this moment and agree to be civil.” Her eyelashes fluttered which he’d guess she threw in there for good measure.

Women were calculated creatures, and everything they did had a motive behind it. He wasn’t stupid—at least not anymore—and there was no way in hell he was going to be made a fool again. He wasn’t going to fall for the girl next door act because beneath the baggy t-shirt and rolled up jeans, he could guarantee she was far from innocent.

“What do you say?” She flashed a smile, showing straight white teeth.. She was trying hard, he’d give her that.

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter. “Are you going to stop taking up my parking spots?”

She let out an annoyed breath, her hands landing firmly on her ample hips. “I have been in that parking lot every season since I opened. I’ve become a staple to this town. My demonstrations attract customers, and I am not going to let some pretty boy jerk take that away.”

She harrumphed with fury, and he had to bite back the laugh that tried to surface.

Her lip curled up in annoyance or disgust, he wasn’t really sure, either way it didn’t matter. All that mattered was he made his point.

“While I’d love to sit here and listen to you call me every name under the sun,” he said, “I have a business to tend to.”

“You’re going to run it right into the ground if you don’t take that stick out of your ass.”

Her eyes widened then narrowed before she spun on her heel, that gorgeous ass swaying as she put distance between them. He might not be able to touch, but he’d be a moron not to enjoy the view.

She reached for the door and stopped, spinning back toward him. “Call me sweet lips again, and I will smack that annoying smirk off your face.”

She slammed the door behind her, causing the bell to clatter and the walls to shake.

Chapter 2

Kate drove to the end of the dirt road where her brother’s log cabin sat amongst a forest of trees and a quaint private lake view. She was immediately greeted by Bubbles, a pit bull/husky mix with a white face and a band of brown that started right at the edge of his head and went right into his ears, making it look like he was wearing a headband.

Bubbles had been one of the dogs her sister, Hadley had fostered, but when the adopted family gave him back two weeks later, Matt instantly jumped in. He had taken a liking to Bubbles while he was with Hadley and now that Matt was settling down with Shay, he was ready to start building the life they’d always envisioned for themselves.

Kate barely had the door open before Bubbles stuck his head in and stared up at her with those crystal blue eyes. “Hey good boy,” she said as she scratched generously behind his ears. He thanked her by leaving a good amount of his hair on her thigh.

She swatted at her pants as she made her way to the house.

“I see Bubbles got you good,” Shay said from the deck, nodding toward Kate’s other leg.

Kate laughed as she gave another swat to her legs.

“I have a stockpile of lint rollers in the house. I may singlehandedly be keeping them in business.”

“But it’s totally worth it. Look at this face,” Kate said, grabbing hold of Bubbles and showering his snout with kisses.

“He is kind of cute,” Shay said with a laugh.

Matt came up behind Shay, kissing her on the cheek before resting his hands on her shoulders. “Who is kind of cute?”

Shay rolled her eyes. “Always so nosy.”

“Understatement of the year,” Kate said. Being the oldest of six, Matt had his nose in everyone’s business, and god forbid he wasn’t the first to know something; he’d lose his damn mind. Growing up it was annoying as all hell, but as they got older, Kate realized just how lucky she was to have a brother who cared so much. He was one of her best friends, and she knew, even if she didn’t want him to be, he’d be there for her no matter what.

“If my soon-to-be wife is talking about someone being cute, I think I have a right to know.”

Shay stood up on tip-toes to kiss Matt, but still came up short, so he bent his head to hers. “The only cute guy I care about is you.”

Kate made a gagging noise. “Do you guys ever stop?”

“Jealous?” her brother said with his signature smirk.

“Of you? Never.” Kate, like the true adult she was, stuck her tongue out at her brother as she handed Shay the bottle of wine she’d brought with her.

Shay disappeared into the house and came back with two glasses. She poured each of them a proper serving even though Kate would prefer a generous pour. But she had no intention of sleeping on the couch with Bubbles tonight, which would happen if Matt thought she had too much to drink. She would pass the finger on the nose test, walk in a straight line, and say her ABC’s backward, but it wouldn’t matter to him. Once his mind was made up, there was no changing it.

Matt collected the chicken off the barbeque and placed in on a plate while Kate helped Shay bring out a salad and roasted potatoes.

They sat down at the table overlooking the lake, the sounds of birds chirping happily above them. It was a gorgeous night, and Kate loved being outside, surrounded by nature. But she knew she wasn’t just there to eat Matt and Shay’s food and enjoy the night. There was motive in their invitation.

“So why am I here?” she asked, cutting through the serene sounds of nature that had been their evening music.

“We invited you for dinner,” Matt answered. “Why would you think there was anything else?”

“Because I have known you for thirty-three years and you”—she turned and pointed to Shay—“since I was eleven, and I can tell when you two have something on your mind, so out with it.”

Matt and Shay looked at each other, and Kate could see the silent conversation being had between them. Shay lifted her wine glass to her lips and took a big sip.

“I know Shay’s not pregnant. That’s what I originally thought, but she told me I was wrong. Besides, she’s currently sucking that wine down like it’s a lifeline.”

Shay’s glass halted on her lips, and she slowly placed it back on the table.

“She took the fun out of it,” Shay said. “Just ask her.”

Kate’s eyebrow arched at Shay’s words. “Ask me what?”

Matt settled back in his chair, resting his hands on the table. “We picked a date.”

“Finally!” Kate exclaimed. Matt and Shay might’ve only recently got back together, but she and the rest of the world knew they should’ve married a long time ago and would have if Shay’s mother wasn’t such a wretched woman. “When?”

“Fourth of July weekend.”

“That’s next week!”

Shay shrugged. “We didn’t want to wait any longer. Everyone was expecting this big fancy wedding, but that’s not what either of us wants.”

“What do you want, then?” Kate asked ready to help them get whatever they wanted. If there were two people who deserved it, it was them.

“A small ceremony at the farm.”

“Mom and Dad would love that,” Kate said as she thought about the family farm. Basil Hill was where they grew up. “It’s perfect.”

“Where it all started,” Shay added.

“Which is where you come in,” Matt said, leaning forward on his elbows.

“Do you need me to decorate? Order chairs? Pick flowers?”

“Mom and Grandma have that all under control.”

“Then what?”

Matt looked at Shay again and Shay gave him a reassuring nod. “We want you to be the one to marry us.”

“Me?” Kate exclaimed. “Can I even do that?”

“You can get ordained on the internet,” Shay said.

“Why me?”

Shay reached out across the table and took Kate’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “Because you’ve been my best friend since I was twelve. You introduced us all those years ago. Who knew that moment would change my life forever, but it did, and I have you to thank.”

“It’s a small town. You two would have met eventually.”

“Can you just give us the moment?” Shay said with a roll of her eyes.

Kate held her hands up. “Sorry. I’m a little in disbelief.”

“Is that a yes?” Matt asked.

She looked at the two people she held nearest and dearest to her heart. A sudden rush of happiness filled her, and excitement stirred inside her. “Of course it is! I would be honored.” She jumped up and tossed her arms around her brother and Shay. “I can’t believe you two are finally getting married.”

“Seventeen years in the making,” Shay said with a smile.

Kate poured more wine into their glasses then handed Matt his beer. She held her hand up to toast. “To a future of happiness.”

They clanked their glasses together then each took a sip. As Kate lowered her glass, Matt smirked. “Guess you’ll be crashing on the couch tonight.”

“Huh?” Kate said as she looked down at the lack of wine staring back at her. “I’m fine.”

“Are you really going to argue with me?”

She let out an exaggerated sigh. “Dammit. Fine. I just better not hear any noises coming from upstairs.” She wasn’t a prude, but she’d rather not know about her brother’s sex life.

Matt smiled. “We took care of that before you got here.”

“I did not need to know that.”

“You walked right into that one,” Shay said with a laugh. “You’d think you would’ve learned by now.”

Bubbles wandered over to the table and rested his head on Kate’s leg. “Guess it’s me and you tonight, boy.”

“Better than your last few dates,” Matt said.

“Cuter too,” Kate added, and she gave Bubbles a pat on the head just as her mind drifted to the cranky pretty boy, Caleb.

She hadn’t spoken to him since that day he called her sweet lips, but for some reason his face popped in and out of her head at least a few times a day. Pickings were slim in Red Maple Falls, and it still annoyed her that the first good looking guy she’d seen in quite some time was a class-A jerk. Such a shame to waste a pretty face on someone whose personality was so ugly.

She sighed and grabbed for the bottle of wine. She was already stuck there for the night she might as well make the best of it. She poured the glass to the brim and relaxed into her chair, trying to drink away any thoughts of Caleb James.

***

“Your work is truly stunning,” a woman in her mid-to-late forties said to Kate as she handed over her credit card.

“Thank you. That means a lot,” Kate answered as she swiped the card and tried to keep from smiling at the zeros that followed the total. Some days she had no sales at all while others she had decent, but then there were days like today when she made a killing.

This woman’s purchase alone would pay Kate’s rent for the next three months.

“I’m going to tell all my friends about you.”

“That’s very kind.” Kate made sure to slip the woman her business card as she walked her to the door. “We’ll have the order shipped out tomorrow.”

“Thank you for doing that. The thought of driving all the way back to Connecticut with so many pieces worried me.”

“It’s not a problem. We ship all over the country for that very reason.”

The woman thanked Kate again before saying goodbye and heading down Main Street. It had been a busy day—a good day, but busy. Kate hadn’t had a second to herself.

She flipped the sign on the door to CLOSED and headed over to her desk. Shay had emailed her earlier with the website that would make it legal for her to perform the ceremony. She sat down in the soft leather chair and shook her mouse to knock it out of sleep mode. The computer came to life, and she found the email from Shay. She clicked on the link and scanned the website.

It was a small fee and few short steps before she was officially able to marry her brother and her best friend. She still couldn’t believe they’d asked her. Of all the people they knew and loved, and they chose her. It made her feel special and beyond happy. Now she just needed to do a good job and not let them down.

She followed the directions on the site and was a step away from finishing when the lights flickered and her screen went black.

“What the…?” She looked around for a moment then shook her head. There was only one explanation. “Idiot.” Annoyance flared inside her as she waited for the cranky guy next door to fix what he broke.

The clock ticked, seconds turning into minutes, and still no power. She was about to get up when pretty boy himself walked in the door. He hooked his thumb over his shoulder a look of bewilderment on his face.

She didn’t wait for him to say anything. With an annoyed sigh, she got up and headed next door. He followed closely behind her, and she hated how good he smelled. Still, it didn’t detract from the fact that he was far from pleasant.

She pushed through the door and made her way to the breaker that they happened to share even though it was in his place. She flipped the switch back to where it belonged and turned, not expecting him to be so close. She inhaled a startled breath then swallowed down the rising lump in her throat. She squared her shoulders, refusing to fall under his spell, but god, with that dark smoldering gaze, it was hard to ignore. “Old electric panels,” she managed with a little too much bite in her words. “You plug too much juice into one socket you’ll blow a fuse. Don’t do that.”

His eyebrow arched, and she couldn’t deny how sexy that single movement was. “Do you want to get a newspaper and smack me on the snout?” He moved closer to her, surrounding her in his dominating presence.

She stepped backward, her back pressing against the wall. He might’ve been a jerk, but that didn’t stop her from staring at his lips and wondering how they’d feel against hers. If he’d taste as sinfully good as he looked and smelled, and if those big hands were as strong as she suspected.

“Tempting,” she said, her voice much breathier than she anticipated.

A slight smile tugged at the edge of his mouth, proving that he was just as surprised. “A few people came in today, said you told them to stop by.”

“I did.” She had remembered Judy and Martin Clark taking up mountain biking a few months back. They had been trying to fill their days since their daughter had left for college. They stopped by Kate’s to sign up for a class, and she directed them next door.

“Why?” he asked, his eyes narrowing as if he suspected an ulterior motive.

“Because that’s what we do in this town, whether you like it or not; we help one another. Support each other. The Clark’s are good people. I only hope you showed them more kindness than you’ve shown me.”

“They bought two bikes, so I’d say so.”

“Good. I’m glad. Now if you’ll excuse me, I was in the middle of something before you almost blew out the place.” She pushed by him, but he grabbed her arm, halting her to a stop. She stared down at the strong hand holding her in place then met his dark gaze.

He dropped his hold almost as quickly, letting his arm fall to his side. “I just wanted to say, thank you.”

“See, that wasn’t so hard now, was it?”

She casually walked to the door, hoping like hell he wouldn’t be able to see how much that single touch affected her.

~End of Excerpt~

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