“But I have to be both parents,” she said, sniffling. “I have to make sure this is already started before I give birth.”
Seth felt like a jerk. He’d been arguing with her for days and all she was trying to do was ensure her baby was taken care of. “Okay. I’ll help. Hell, you’ve done an amazing job here. Not many people can say they own and run a successful business at the age of twenty-five. I trust your instinct to expand.”
Karlee pulled away. “You do?” she asked, her green eyes pleading with him to understand and agree.
“Yes.”
“What about Chris?”
He sighed. “I still think you should try his food first, but I might have been against you partnering with him for another reason,” he grudgingly admitted.
“Like what?” she asked, cocking her head and wiping at her tears.
He exhaled sharply and glanced at the shelves full of items he needed to inventory, then turned back to Karlee. “I worried my attraction to him was clouding my judgment, so to be sure I didn’t let that happen, I played devil’s advocate with myself, thinking he might be scamming you or something like that. I know it wasn’t fair. But as I said, I still think we need to at least try his food. What if he’sa terrible chef?”
“I already thought about that. He’s bringing a variety of his menu items today for us to taste.”
Of course she’d already thought to ask Chris for that, he chided himself.
“He should be here soon,” she added. “I’m starving, so I can’t wait to taste what he brings.”
Seth chuckled. “You’re always hungry.”
That earned him a pretty nasty glare. “Hey, I’m eating for two!”
* * * *
By the time Chris was supposed to arrive, Seth was almost hungry enough to eat for two as well. Stuck back in the storeroom, he’d about had it with inventorying the spices. As he moved on to the basil, his stomach growled, reminding him once again that he’d left his lunch on the kitchen counter at home. He was going to have to break down and run across the parking lot to get a sandwich from the deli. He couldn’t wait any longer for Chris.
Seth strode out front to let Karlee know where he was going, but his eyes fell on Gavin, the employee he’d hired a couple of weeks ago. So far he was doing an okay job. Not fantastic, but not bad. Seth doubted he would stick around too long—the kid had “fast-food worker” written all over him. But Sethhad needed someone, and until school was out for the summer, job candidates were few and far between. Inseveral weeks, they’d be bombarded with applications.
Gavin was dawdling by the front window, his attention glued to something in the parking lot.
Sighing, Seth made his way over. “Hey, I need you to sort the dish towels and refold them.” He thumbed over his shoulder toward the oak shelves holding a variety of linens. “Someone got into them and they’re a jumbled mess.”
Gavin pinked up at being caught staring out the window. “Sure,” he squeaked and scurried off.
Seth peeked out the window to see what had so enthralled Gavin and his breath hitched in his throat. Chris was walking toward the shop, his hands full of large tote bags. He moved with grace and a purpose, and he looked damn sexy. His customary leather jacket was absent, leaving just a pale green T-shirt stretched too tight to hide his muscles. Mint. The jeans were dark indigo, punctuated by rips across the thighs, and also looked tight, but worn and comfortable.
He turned to observe Chris entering the store. A dark eyebrow rose over a pale blue eye, and Seth realized he was staring.
“Hi,” Seth said, his voice cracking a little. Shit. I sound like I’m in high school.
“Hi back,” Chris told him, barely hiding his humor. “Where do you want all this?” he asked, holding up the bags.
A delicious mixture of scents wafted through the air and Seth’s mouth watered. What is in those bags? And good God, look at those muscles flex. Fuck.
He swiveled to find Karlee. Where the hell did she go? “P-probably in the back?” He was usually so sure of things, but whenever he was around Chris, he lost his mind. And apparently his ability to speak properly. He waved toward the storeroom and felt himself blush.
Chris winked and strode toward the back while Seth tried to remember how to walk and breathe at the same time. He heard a giggle and turned to find Gavin staring at him with wide eyes, his hand clapped over hismouth as he tried to rein in his laughter.