Page 73 of Candy Hearts, Vol. 2

CHAPTER 9

SPENCER

“I’m just going to go home and change, and I’ll meet you at your place,” I said again, as Jake and I walked across the street from the hotel to the parking garage we’d both parked at.

“Are you sure? I mean we can use the help. But I don’t want you to start the new year by cleaning up my kitchen.” I stepped closer to him and even though we both were dressed in the clothes we wore yesterday, he still looked as hot as he had last night.

“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t sure. Now, let’s go. I don’t want you to have more damage to deal with than is already there.” He started to walk away before turning and rushing back to me. Taking my face in both his hands he kissed me. Our tongues swirled together and the heat between us built before we pulled away, panting.

“I will never get tired of that,” Jake murmured in the space between us.

“Me either and I fully expect more of it after we clean up the mess of your kitchen,” I said, as he laughed.

“Go home and change. I’ll meet you there,” he said.

A little over an hour later I was parking in the back of his restaurant right where he’d told me to. There were several other cars there and the door was wide open. Two panel trucks were there with the back opened and supplies already loaded into one.

“Put this in the other truck,” a woman said as I walked up to the door. “Oh hey, are you here to help?”

“Yes I’m?—”

“Spencer,” Jake said and rushed past the woman who folded her arms and smirked when he walked over to me. “Thank you. Oh, this is my sister Ruby. Ruby, this is Spencer,” Jake said.

“Nice to meet you,” I said and held out my hand to her. She glanced at it before narrowing her eyes.

“Where do you know Jake from?” she asked, and I tried to ignore Jake rolling his eyes right next to her.

“We met last night,” I said, making her smile and Jake groan. Her eyes widened as she stepped closer to me.

“At the mixer? I knew he’d meet someone there,” she said and looped her arm with mine. “So, Spencer, how do you feel about cleaning up a kitchen?”

“Don’t tease me with a good time,” I said as her eyes widened. I chuckled at her and grabbed Jake’s hand as she guided me by him. “That’s what I’m here for. I wanted to help Jake out.”

“Ignore her, I told you she’s a little bossy,” Jake said and after unlooping his sister from my arm he led me inside. “It isn’t really that much damage. Lucky for us it was the pipe that goes to the dishwasher, but it still made a big mess. We need to take as much as we can out and wipe it all down,” Jake said.

The kitchen was average sized, and very organized. The only things that were stored on the floor were items that the water wouldn’t damage. A few other people were picking up various items and walking back outside to put them in the truck. “Where do you want me to start?” I asked.

“Here, help me with this,” Jake said, and the two of us carried out a large metal table. The men that had been inside helped us put it in the back of the truck. We all worked together, and they made me feel welcome. Some of them were relatives of Jake while others were employees who cared enough to come in on their day off. We’d just gotten everything out that we could, and I was about to ask what was next when two men walked in from the back.

“Hey, Jake, looks like you’ve got it all handled,” one of them said. He looked like he was in his twenties while the other guy had to be close to fifty.

“Not quite, thanks again for coming out on such short notice.” Jake shook both their hands and turned to introduce me to them.

“This is Ed Smith and his son Eddie,” Jake said. “They’re the only plumbers we trust around here.”

I wiped my hand off on my jeans before shaking both of theirs. “Nice to meet you.”

“Pleasure,” Ed said before having Jake show him exactly what was wrong.

“So, did you two have fun last night?” Ruby asked once she knew Jake was busy.

“We did. I don’t know if I would have stayed if I hadn’t met Jake there.”

She leaned in close and whispered even though no one else was nearby. “I know for a fact if he hadn’t met you, he wouldn’t have stayed either. Good job.” She patted me on the back before walking over to where Jake was showing Ed the plumber where the broken pipe was.

Jake glanced over to me and grinned before focusing back on the pipe, and all I could think about was how much I wanted to spend more time with him. We’d been together almost constantly for close to twenty-four hours, but it wasn’t enough.