Worth The Wait

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She couldn’t wait to see how busy tomorrow, Friday, would be.

She loved the business; she really did, but clearly she needed to hire more help now. She also needed more picnic tables for outdoor seating. Some of the more regular customers had started bringing their own lawn chairs. Things were awesomely, wonderfully out of control.

All because of Hogan.

Her independent soul rebelled at the idea that he’d been so good for business.

So good for her.

But she wasn’t a woman who hid from the truth. Before Hogan, the business had steadily grown under her management.

With Hogan, it all but exploded.

If she hoped to maintain the current momentum—and she most definitely did—she needed him.

Blast the man—he’d even done a miraculous job with her bookkeeping.

Did he still want her? Was he as sexually frustrated as she was? Had he given up on her, or was he just biding his time?

God, she didn’t even know what she wanted, not where it pertained to an intimate relationship. When it came to business, she wasn’t nearly so indecisive.

Taking advantage of a fifteen-minute break, maybe the only one she’d get, Violet strolled around back to see Hogan. She paused just inside the prep area, making note of his organizational skills even here. He’d set up the area himself, taking it over without a qualm. An interior door kept the hot summer air from competing with the air-conditioning inside and allowed him to leave the exterior door open so that he could easily move inside and still keep an eye on the grills.

A man of many talents.

Something sweet but uncomfortable crowded Violet’s chest, making her heart ache in an odd way. The emotion was unfamiliar and, damn it, unwanted.

Giving herself a moment, she quietly stood there and watched Hogan, wondering what it was about him, specifically, that affected her in such a startling way.

Gorgeous, yes. No one could deny that. The Guthrie brothers had some amazing genes coasting through their bodies. But there were others in the area who were also very attractive, and Violet knew she’d never been even remotely tempted by any of them. Well, the idea of sex had tempted her, certainly. But not all the other stuff, not the confusing emotions that tried to take priority over her restaurant.

And sex, just for the sake of sex, had never really been her thing. Not in a small town like Clearbrook. Not with men she’d later have to regard as customers in her diner. The idea of sex had been nice but, in the end, just not worth it.

Now with Hogan, the complications would be tenfold, and still she couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Standing in front of one of three grills, an apron tied low on his hips, he turned a rack of ribs. The man had an organizational skill that blew her mind. He never looked frenzied or overwhelmed. Even now, under a broiling sun while tending multiple hot grills, he moved with efficiency.

At the table closest to him, his brother, Jason, and sister-in-law, Honor, sat with neighbors Sullivan and Lexie. Hogan laughed at something Lexie said, then shook his head.

Violet could remember a time when she’d thought something might’ve been going on between Lexie and Hogan. After all, Lexie was an extremely pretty woman with her short, pale blond curls and her very up-front sexuality.

Then Lexie had moved in with Sullivan, and Violet quit worrying about it. Talk about gorgeous—Sullivan, with his inky-dark hair and midnight eyes, killer instincts and ripped body, would keep any woman happy. He was very intense, mysterious and almost intimidating.

He was fantasy material, but not once had Violet been tempted to seek an involvement.

“So admit I was right,” Lexie said to Hogan while turning to Sullivan for backup. “He looks blissfully happy, doesn’t he?”

Sunlight glinted off Sullivan’s black hair as he pretended to survey Hogan. “You know, honey, I think you’re right. Hogan looks peaceful.”

“She’s absolutely right,” Honor chimed in, aligning herself with her best friend. “Seriously, Hogan, you do look somewhat blissful.”

“Peaceful? Blissful?” Jason hugged his wife and said, “I don’t want to be left out, so can I admit that it does seem to suit you, Hogan?”

“It’s a gift,” Lexie claimed. “A real talent. A man should never ignore the calling of a talent.”

Hogan laughed again. “You’re all nuts. Yeah, I enjoy it, okay? But it’s hardly a calling.”

“You’re wrong,” Lexie insisted. “You were meant to do this.”

“This?” Hogan waved his long metal tongs at the grills. “Come off it, Lexie. I can’t see myself working in a restaurant for the rest of my life.”

That smacked of an insult and Violet decided to announce herself. “Something wrong with working in a restaurant?” All eyes turned to her as she stepped out of the preparation area and into the side yard. “It’s not good enough for you?” Am I not good enough?

Hogan took in her frown. “I never said that.”

“Maybe it’s working for a woman that you find objectionable?”

“I work for a woman at the accounting firm, too.”

She hadn’t known that and it threw her, but only for a second. She squared her shoulders, ignored all the others and stared up into Hogan’s eyes. “I think it’s out of your hands. The demand now is too high. You’ve spoiled all the customers—”

Their own little audience cheered at that, sounding very spoiled.

“—and now no one is going to want to give up having your ribs whenever they want them.”

The grill hissed and spit, flames licking upward. Turning away, Hogan rearranged the meat and adjusted the heat.

When Violet glanced at the others, she saw they wore varying expressions of encouragement, amusement, agreement—and worry. The last was from Jason.

Did he expect his brother to bully her? Ha. Not likely.

In front of all those rapt faces, she demanded, “Well?”

Occupied with the grill, Hogan asked, “Well what?”

“Sign on. Agree to work here for a full forty-hour week.” She gave that quick thought then amended, “Maybe a little more than forty given how crazy the weekend gets.”

He didn’t look at her when he said, “What makes you think you can afford me?”

He wasn’t saying an outright no? Hope blossomed. Hope and something else. “Let’s discuss it.” Thanks to Hogan, she not only had a better grasp of her own finances, but she was making more per week. She could give him a bump in pay, no problem.

Finally, he set aside those long sturdy tongs and faced her. “You want to negotiate right now? In front of them?” He nodded toward their friends.

His mood seemed off. The idea of trying to discuss this, alone, made her tingle. Could he keep to business?

Could she?

They hadn’t had any alone time in far too long now. And damn it, she missed him. She saw him every day, but not like she had while being sick.

Dumb as it seemed, she missed having him touch her.

She missed him holding her while she slept.

At her long internal debate, he gave her a mocking grin. “Having second thoughts?”

“Tonight.” Risky. Once she had him alone, or he had her alone—but this was too important. “After we close up.”

“Ohhh,” Lexie whispered, sotto voce, “to be a fly on the wall during that meeting.” Then she squeaked, thanks to Sullivan’s squeeze.

“All right,” Hogan said. He turned back to his grill. “If you see Colt, have him come out on his break, okay? I haven’t seen him yet today.”

Relief flooded through Violet until she almost felt light-headed. Hogan hadn’t flat out refused. “If I can pry him away from the girls, sure.” While Hogan might be great for her adult customers, Colt was equally great for the younger crowd. And that got her thinking. She needed to do something special for the school, something that would draw in even more young people during the less insane time between dinner and the cocktail hour.

Conversation did not resume.

Hogan busied himself filling a massive platter.

Since he wasn’t being totally disagreeable, Violet decided to push her luck. “I was also thinking, maybe you need an apprentice, a trainee of sorts who could learn what you do and how you do it so that if you ever—”

“No.”

The abrupt refusal irked her. She put her hands on her hips. “What do you mean no? You won’t even think about it?”

“Not right now, no.”

“Then when? After you get sick or hurt and I’m left in the lurch?” Only half teasing, she said, “Don’t be selfish, Hogan. If you don’t want to share your sauce with anyone else, maybe you could just share it with me.”

Jason choked and Sullivan snorted.

“Hey,” Violet protested. “I’m capable.”

Honor and Lexie, both grinning, rushed to agree.

With their backup, she decided to take another turn at Hogan. “You can trust me, you know. I wouldn’t share your secrets. But if you teach me, then at least—”

As if much put upon, Hogan sighed, straightened away from the grill and turned to her. They stared at each other, him impatient, her defiant.

Before she could guess his intent, he bent and put his mouth over hers in a firm, no-nonsense kiss that lingered a few seconds too long.

Violet heard the collective breath of the audience, but she couldn’t seem to pull away. In fact, she leaned into him. The cat’s out of the bag now.

Against her now-tingling lips, Hogan whispered, “You may be the boss, but no is still no.” And just like that, he gave his attention back to his grills.

Feeling all eyes on her, Violet fought off a blush, turned on her heel and headed back inside.

She heard Hogan say firmly, “Tonight, Violet.”

And suddenly laughter broke out. Wow.

So maybe she shouldn’t have pushed him after all.

* * *

After Sullivan and Lexie left, and Honor went inside to find Colt, Hogan decided it was now or never.

He could feel Jason watching him, though, and as soon as they were alone, he asked, “So you and Violet, huh?”

Since that was what Hogan wanted to talk about, he should have had a better answer, but all he said was “I don’t know.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means it’s complicated.” Hogan checked each grill, was satisfied and took a seat next to Jason. “I’ve been interested since the day I met her. No secret there.”

“Definitely not a secret,” Jason agreed.

“She’s always rejected me.”

“You’re not one to give up easily.”

“No.” Hogan looked out over the seating area. Neighbors, friends, people he’d met, people he liked, were all enjoying the day. And his food. He felt a sense of satisfaction over that. “Violet couldn’t be more different from Meg.”

“True.” Jason shooed away a bee. “That’s a problem?”

“I don’t know. I used to understand what I wanted, but that’s all gone now, and this—living in Clearbrook, being close to you, hell, even the sunrises and sunsets—they’re all nice.” Far nicer than he’d expected.

“I’m glad to hear it. Honor and I love having you and Colt next door. It would break her heart if you moved too far away. You know she never had real family until us, so she takes it very seriously now.”

Us. Yes, Honor definitely considered him and Colt a part of her family. “I know.” Meaning every word, he said, “Honor is special, not just to you, but to Colt and me, too.” He stood to slather more sauce on the ribs, then reseated himself, his legs stretched out in front of him, the sun hot on his back. “Violet is also unlike any of the ladies I’ve been with recently.”

“Amen to that.”

Hogan had to grin. “Your disapproval is showing through.”

“Not disapproval,” Jason protested. “It’s just that none of those ladies made you happy. Like you’ve said, you knew what you wanted and a string of meaningless hookups wasn’t it.”