A California Christmas (Silver Springs #7) - Brenda Novak Page 0,52
bell sounded over the door.
“Shit,” she muttered, and put the cookie down before walking back out front. She was expecting another customer or set of customers, but it was Dallas with a white bag in one hand. His brothers were probably waiting in the van or looking at something else because they hadn’t come back with him.
“Turkey and Swiss,” he announced, handing the sack to her over the main ice cream freezer. “We can’t have you getting hangry on your first day of work.”
His grin was the sexiest she’d ever seen. Or maybe she only thought it was sexy because she’d so recently been naked with him.
She cleared her throat. “Thank you.” She was trying not to concentrate on how great that night had been, or how much more handsome he seemed to her—and she’d already found him handsome before. “I really appreciate this. Here, let me pay you for it.” She started to get her purse, but he spoke up to stop her.
“No, don’t worry about it. It’s only a sandwich. Besides, you paid for the Mexican food we had in LA, remember?”
How could she forget? Every detail of that night seemed to be indelibly imprinted on her brain. “Because you helped me with the Tommy situation. I owed you dinner.”
“You didn’t owe me anything. What’s happening with Tommy, by the way?” he asked. “Have you heard from him?”
“No. I called yesterday and left a message, but so far...no response.”
“Hopefully he’ll get back to you soon.”
“That would be nice. According to an email from my attorney, Ethan wasn’t served yesterday so he will likely be served on Monday. I hope to hear from Tommy before Ethan finds out I’m suing him and starts raising hell. But I’m afraid Tommy doesn’t want to get involved, or I would’ve heard from him by now. To be honest, I wouldn’t blame him. This isn’t his problem. He had nothing to do with it.”
“If Ethan’s slinging lies about him, he might care enough to try to clear it up.”
“We’ll see.”
He started to leave but turned back at the last second. “I just want to make sure...” He gave her that sexy grin again while scratching his shoulder. “You’re okay with...you know, what happened Thursday night on the beach, aren’t you?”
She was surprised he would bring it up. She’d been planning to pretend it never happened, thought that might be the easiest approach for both of them. “Of course.”
“Good. I’m glad. I’d hate for that to turn out to be a problem.”
“Thanks for caring,” she said, and meant it. She doubted many guys would bother to follow up. She and Dallas weren’t likely to have much contact once the month was over and they both went back to their regular lives. It wasn’t as if he had to worry about how she felt.
He winked before walking out.
She stared after him for several seconds once the door closed, but hunger eventually drove her to take the sandwich he’d bought her into the back. At last, she could eat.
She’d just finished when someone else came in. Quickly wiping her mouth and throwing the napkin and the sandwich wrappings in the trash, she hurried out front. A tall man with bottle green eyes and tattoos covering both arms stood there.
“Susan around?” he asked.
“Not right now.”
“I’m Tobias.” He held out his hand. “Susan’s daughter is married to my brother, Maddox.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said. “I recognize your name. When she hired me, Susan mentioned she wouldn’t have been able to get by without your help.”
“You might have noticed her health isn’t the best, so I try to pitch in now and then—when I can.”
“She appreciates it. She told me you’re a good man.”
His eyes widened. “Are you sure she was talking about me?”
“Is there another Tobias in this small town?”
“Not that I know of,” he said, a slight smile curving his lips. “She told me she’d hired someone, but I wasn’t sure when you were starting, so I thought I’d stop by and make sure she was okay for today. Saturdays are usually busy, and what with the holidays...”
“It was crazy in here earlier, even with the rain. But she went home to rest. As a matter of fact, since you know her so well, you might drive over and check on—” She fell silent when she heard the back door. “Never mind. That’s probably her now.”
Sure enough, Susan rushed around the corner without even putting down her purse. “Emery, I’m so sorry! I meant to be