Come To Me (Dare With Me #3) - J.H. Croix Page 0,33

I said when I opened my eyes. “They’re just rolls, but they are incredible.”

Gemma laughed softly, leaning her elbows on the counter. “They are. So, your sister. Where is she?”

I glanced at the clock above the stove. “She went into town with Nora earlier, but Nora’s back, so I expect Harley to show up any minute.”

“Do I need to worry?”

“Not at all. I have four sisters, and they all have opinions about my life. Lately, Harley has been on a kick trying to set me up and get me married off.”

Gemma’s cheeks went pink. “She wants to marry you off?”

I shrugged. “Yes.”

“Is your family kind of old-fashioned?” she asked in between bites.

Tucker appeared at that moment, hearing the tail end of Gemma’s question. “If by old-fashioned, you mean they expect everyone to settle down and be madly in love forever, yes, that would be Diego’s family.” He clapped me on the shoulder as he snagged one of my rolls and passed by with a wink.

I rolled my eyes as he retreated. “You owe me one,” I called.

Tucker turned back, resting his elbow on the back of one of the barstools by the counter. “What do I owe you?”

“A roll. They’re amazing.”

Just then, Daphne bustled by, immediately hurrying over to the stove and pulling out another tray of the very rolls under discussion. Without a word, she stopped beside me and added two to my plate, casting a sly smile in Tucker’s direction.

“Thank you, Daphne,” I called. Daphne was always on the move and was hurrying off already.

“Seems like she does a great job of managing the kitchen and all of you along with it,” Gemma commented.

“She runs a tight ship. She takes care of three meals a day. She seriously loves to cook. Cat helps out a lot, and I do when I have time.”

“You do?” Gemma’s eyes widened as she looked back at me.

“Of course, he does.” My sister’s voice came from behind my shoulder. She stopped beside us. “Diego is a really good cook,” Harley said with a lift of her chin, as if somehow Gemma was doubtful of my cooking abilities.

“This is my sister, Harley,” I said, gesturing to her. “Harley, this is Gemma. She’s going to be teaching a yoga class here every week. Or, so I hear, right?” I looked back at Gemma.

Gemma set her now empty plate down on the counter and nodded. “For starters, it’s nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Harley replied, although her smile wasn’t the warmest. My freaking sister. On the one hand, she wanted to marry me off. On the other, she wanted to be in charge of whoever I dated. I couldn’t win, so I mostly ignored her.

“As to classes, I’ll start this coming week here. Just one evening. We’ll see how it goes. Daphne wants me to host two. One for staff and one for guests. We’ll have to see if enough guests sign up to make it worthwhile.”

Harley’s green eyes narrowed as she assessed Gemma. “If the classes are good, I would think so.”

Gemma regarded her quietly. “I like to think my classes are good. I wasn’t sure if that many guests would be interested. I suppose it depends on why they’re here on vacation.”

Harley nodded. “I suppose so.”

“How long are you visiting?” Gemma asked politely.

“I’ll be here for at least three weeks. Then, I’ll have to figure out what my next plan is. I dumped my boyfriend, and I need to regroup.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” Gemma replied, her brow creasing with concern.

“No need to be sorry. I walked in on him screwing my roommate,” Harley said dryly. “But that created two problems. I had to dump him and ditch my apartment. Fortunately, Diego offered the spare bedroom in the staff house here, so I have a place to stay while I figure out what I want to do next.”

“What do you do for work?”

“I do transcription and translation for medical companies. Sounds kind of dry, but it’s actually fun. I have a lot of flexibility and can make it work for my schedule.”

“That’s great,” Gemma replied. “So, you’ll be able to work while you’re here?”

Harley nodded firmly. “Absolutely. I have two deadlines to meet.”

Nora meandered over, stopping beside us. “Did Daphne give you the tour and discuss the schedule?” she asked Gemma.

“She did. We’ll plan on one evening a week and see how it goes. I like the idea of offering two classes at the same time. That makes it more worthwhile for me