Love At First Ink: A Woodbine Valley Romance (Tate Family Book 1) by Bridgid Gallagher

Author:Bridgid Gallagher [Gallagher, Bridgid]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-04-27T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 12

The next day, Elle left her room with a plan. She would stay away from Justin. Far away. She might invest in a chastity belt. Or a taser that would zap her whenever she looked at him and had impure thoughts.

Bottom line: he might look nice, smell nice, and make her insides tingle, but he was still a tattooed handyman who lived in a toolshed. As her mother would say, he wasn't marriage material.

Today, she wanted space to clear her mind. She wanted peace and quiet, and men—okay, one man—were not invited. Elle also had a deadline. Caroline had called to check in on Elle, and Lucy texted again about meeting up—Elle could only avoid them for a few more days because they still thought she was canoodling with Carter. Soon she’d have to figure out what to say. But not today.

Elle floated down the stairs in a sundress and a shawl, filled with purpose and focused on her goal. Instead of going to the breakfast room, she poked her head into the kitchen. A wall of warm air, thick with the scent of whatever creation Jess was in the midst of making filled the room.

Jess caught sight of Elle and waved her into the room. Elle checked to see if anyone else—so, Justin—was in the room before stepping inside. But Jess was alone.

"It smells divine in here," she said. "What's your secret?"

"Let's see," Jess said, pretending to think. She sliced through strawberries with quick, efficient movements. "Sugar, butter, and flour. That's about it. Fresh fruit. Real ingredients."

"You are a goddess," Elle said, eyeing a fresh tray of croissants cooling on a baking rack. She pointed to one. "May I?"

"Please do!" Jess said, beaming. She grabbed a linen napkin for Elle and tossed it to her. "There's coffee too," Jess added.

Croissant in hand, Elle began to fill a mug.

"Are you hiding out?" Jess asked while Elle was mid-pour.

"Er. Hiding? No. Of course not." She wiped up the coffee she'd spilled because of course she was hiding out.

"Hmm," Jess said with a knowing look. She went back to slicing fruit. "There's a great overlook of the mountains you might like. Just follow the trail through the cottages. It's a nice spot. Quiet. Good chairs for sitting and taking in the view, too."

"That sounds perfect," Elle said. "I hate to be rude, but would you mind if I—“ she gestured toward the door.

"On one condition."

Elle paused.

"I could use another opinion on the table spread," she said, wiping her hands on her apron. "That woman from you-know-which magazine is coming today, and I want everything to be perfect. You seem to have an eye for that sort of thing, and I'm not only saying that because you like my taste. Okay, yes I am, but only a little.“

Elle laughed. "I would love to help if I can,” she said. "I'm flattered you’d ask.“

"Good. It's settled. Come with me. It'll just be a minute, then you can run along to your hideout."

Elle put down the croissant with a longing glance.

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