Page 30 of One Small Spark (Love in Sunshine #4)

TWENTY-TWO

WREN

How soon is too soon to show up at someone’s house?

Let’s pretend you have a vague but blanket invitation that you’ve thoroughly abused already.

Do you go every night the way you want to and reveal just how ridiculously obsessed you are?

Or do you play it cool like a normal person and give it a day or two?

I opted to behave like a normal person. I’m really not suited for it.

I’ve spent the last couple of nights at home, fighting the urge to drive into the canyon like I’m going through withdrawals.

In theory, I have a solid distraction. Rosetta’s prediction came true—my e-book hold for the romance group came up yesterday.

I’ve read a little, but I don’t have much enthusiasm for it.

The book is fine, don’t get me wrong. I love a female character who knows what she wants and goes after it, and this one delivers. But apparently, I’m easily spoiled. I want Shepherd to read it to me.

My stomach tilts. I’m such a pathetic little ball of longing, I get all gooey inside just thinking about him. What happened to strong, independent Wren who never got mushy over a man ?

She melted like chocolate after a couple of smoldering kisses, that’s what.

It wasn’t just the kisses that turned me to goo, though. He’s genuinely a good guy behind his too-cool-for-school facade. One who’s steady but driven, serious but easily lightens heavy moods. He’s kind of dreamy in all the ways.

Ugh. I’m so gross.

If I’m being weird, nobody’s noticed yet.

Mom was too busy talking about how our new hires are doing while we baked this morning to question the hazy look on my face.

And Tess has a full schedule of custom orders this afternoon to keep her attention.

She’s at one of the front tables, meeting with a couple to come up with their perfect wedding cake.

Everyone’s distracted from what’s going on in my life, and that’s just the way I like it.

A shadow darkens Blackbird’s door and pushes through. Shepherd doesn’t look any different from normal. Longish dark hair he runs his fingers through as he crosses the room. Neatly trimmed beard that highlights his jaw and mouth. A dark green flannel layered over a gray t-shirt and jeans.

And yet, my body zings like a roman candle’s gone off inside me, sparking and fizzing all over the place. When his gaze hits mine, a dopey smile pops onto my face. Unbidden, but undeniable. His is more of a smirk but just as immediate.

He slips his hands into his jeans pocket when he reaches the counter in front of me. “Krause.”

For months, that word has dropped over me like an unspecified insult, an indistinct dig that never failed to get me to retaliate. So why does it feel like flirtation today?

Oh. Oh, wait. Has it always been flirtation? I might need to sit down for a minute.

“Callahan.” That came out way breathier than normal, but okay.

“What’s fresh today? ”

I roll my eyes. He’s asked me that question approximately one hundred times. I give the response I’ve doled out just as often. “It’s all fresh every day.”

He nods, his mouth twisting as he glances over the case before fixing his attention back on me. “How do you know which ones are fresh?”

It’s a ridiculous game. Made even more ridiculous by how long it took me to realize what prize he was after every time he asked.

“Mom and I did the baking this morning.” Which he must know, since my car was in our spot when he arrived. “She made the cranberry silk, pumpkin, chocolate-peanut butter, and French silk pies. I made the peach, pear, lemon meringue, and Dutch apple pies.”

He seems to ponder his options. I hold my breath the barest second.

“I’ll take a Dutch apple.”

My pride does a shameless victory dance in my chest. “Whole or a slice?”

“How about a hand pie?”

“Got it.” I slip one into a paper bag and pass it over the counter.

He peers into the bag and frowns as if that flaky, golden-brown goodness did him wrong. “It’s pretty small.”

I cross my arms and jut out a hip, ready to trust fall back into my usual snarky attitude. “That’s the same size our hand pies always are.”

He’s never complained before, but maybe now he’s finally comfortable enough to admit the truth.

“Then I should probably come in again later this week to get another one.”

I try to keep my stupid grin under control, but it’s reckless. It wants to spill across my face and make it obvious how this little change in our routine zips through me like a lightning bolt.

Behind him, Tess glances over at us, narrowing her eyes as if she’s making calculations.

Normally, I’m a whole lot louder when Shepherd shows up.

I probably look more annoyed, too. Smiles are out of the question.

But thankfully, she returns her focus to the couple at the table and goes back to talking about cake flavors and decorations. The snoop.

I shift my gaze to Shepherd.

“Are you sure you’ll be that hungry?” I aimed for skeptical but hit ‘bated breath’ instead.

“I’m always hungry, Krause.”

Just like that, I am a fireball soaring into the sky. He’s always been able to set me off, but now he’s achieving much more enjoyable results.

Before I can come back down to earth and offer up a sassy response, his sister walks through the door with Leo Dalesandro right behind her.

“Oh, hey.” Charlie doesn’t sound thrilled to see Shepherd here, but Leo slaps him on the shoulder in bro-greeting on his other side.

“Getting a sweet treat to help you through your day?” Leo asks him.

Shepherd’s gaze locks on mine. “It’s the only thing that keeps me going.”

Unfair of him to do that when I’m still smoldering.

“What are you two doing here?” he asks.

“ I came to place a special order.” Charlie jabs her thumb Leo’s way. “ He insisted on tagging along.”

“Hey, we’re a team. It’s important for us to work together.” He winks at her as if they’re the only two people in the room.

Meanwhile, she fixes her attention on me as if he isn’t in the room. “You know all about our new wedding venue. We’re having a grand opening celebration in a few weeks. It’s a mix of showing off the space and a fundraiser for the children’s hospital.”

“That’s sweet to add that part.” I don’t follow Leo’s career closely, but I know he’s always doing fundraisers for kids. He’s got the right persona for it—loud and full of enthusiasm.

“We got the idea to have a dessert bar?—”

“My idea,” Leo says. “FYI. I’m the ideas man.”

Charlie takes a deep breath. “Leo got the idea to have a dessert bar?—”

“Thank you.” He gives a little bow.

Charlie looks like it’s taking all her patience not to dropkick the man. Considering he’s as tall as Shepherd and almost twice as wide, it’d be a Herculean feat. But the way steam’s practically rising off of her, I’d say she’s up to the task.

“So we need to order pies,” she continues. “The event’s the first weekend after Thanksgiving, and I know you guys get busy around the holidays so I wanted to get our order in early.”

“Friday or Saturday?” Shepherd asks.

“Friday.” Leo slings an arm around his shoulders. “Want to be my date? I’ve tried to find somebody to go with me, but I keep getting shot down.”

I’ve always marveled at just how different Charlie and Shepherd are in looks and personality. She’s petite, with red hair and a spirited attitude. He’s tall, dark, and broody. But right now, they’re wearing the exact same smirk.

“It’s hard to imagine somebody turning you down,” I say. Leo would probably have a line of women out the door if we just gave it a few minutes. There was brief talk about him starring in a reality dating show after retirement, and his fangirls lost their minds.

“Maybe you could be his date,” Charlie says.

“No,” both Shepherd and Leo answer simultaneously .

I don’t even care that the handsome, famous, and flirty Leo Dalesandro just rejected me so blatantly. Shepherd’s deep “no” turns my body up to a simmer.

“Then I guess you’re out of luck,” Charlie says. “Can we focus on the pies, please?”

Leo whacks Shepherd on the chest, one arm still around him. “Charlie told me the wedding venue was your idea. I didn’t know you had marriage on the brain.”

Shepherd watches me as if he’s completely unaffected by his friend’s teasing.

“It was her idea to turn the barn into a wedding space,” he says. “I just encouraged her to make it happen.”

“You reminded me of when I used to have weddings for my Barbies in the barn loft.” Charlie nudges Shepherd with her shoulder. “That sparked the whole thing.”

“I have good ideas, too.” Leo feigns a pout that doesn’t mesh well with his good-natured demeanor.

“A fifty-foot waterslide really isn’t wedding-appropriate, no matter how much lawn space we have.”

“I meant you being my date to the gala.”

Charlie stares at him for a minute. I guess Shepherd’s not the only one who blurts out his inside thoughts. I’m pretty sure she’s wishing Leo had stayed in Texas when he retired. She turns to Shepherd as if Leo isn’t there.

“You also deserve credit for helping me convince Mom and Dad.” She looks up at him with a dash of big brother-adoration in her eyes. “That was the hardest part of the entire process, and I owe a lot of it to you.”

“Your parents are not easy to win over,” Leo says. “Like a certain someone.”

Charlie sighs and moves closer as if she wants to climb over the counter and join me back here. “I would love to place that order, please. ”

“Sure.” I grab the store’s tablet from behind the counter and pass it to her. “You know how our special-order system works. How many pies are you thinking for that weekend?”

“Thirty.”

Leo raises his hand like he’s bidding on a cow at the county fair. “Fifty.”

She maintains intense eye contact with me. “I’m placing the order for a variety of thirty pies.”

“Always go bigger, Chuck.”

Her gaze darts sideways, her mouth pressed into a thin line. I don’t think she likes her nickname.

“You’re expecting a pretty large turnout then?” I ask to refocus her on me. They sometimes place special orders for guest events at the lodge, but those usually max out at ten pies.

“Several hundred at least. Between wedding vendors and couples, and Leo auctioning off a bunch of sports memorabilia, it should be a huge event.”

“A gala,” Leo says. “That’s what we call it in the biz.”

Charlie focuses on the tablet, scrolling through to mark down her pie selections. Leo releases Shepherd and sidles up next to her. He doesn’t throw his arm around her, but he flexes his fingers like he’s itching to.

“Maybe I should help you with that, teammate.”

“I should have just phoned it in,” Charlie mutters.

“Never phone it in.” Leo shakes his head at her. “Always give it one hundred and ten percent.”

“Have you ever been stabbed with a stylus?”

He grins at her, but I doubt she sees it. “Once.”

“Are you glad you don’t work at the lodge anymore?” I ask Shepherd.

“Very.”

“Are you going to the gala?” I’m not fishing for a date invitation. I’m not.

But…I would certainly consider going. If I happened to be invited.

“I doubt it.”

I’m cramming down unnecessary disappointment when my phone starts buzzing like mad in my pocket. I pull it out to check.

Shepherd’s does the same thing. We make eye contact over our phones.

“Menaces,” we both say at the same time.