Page 1 of One Sweet Taste (Love with a Price)

Chapter One

Walking down Main Street from her apartment, Linzee Felton took in the Christmas decorations. Garland and red bows lined the quirky little shops, and the lampposts along the street were adorned with large decorative snowflakes.

She was thrilled to have scored the job of head chef at Price Bar & Grill, the much-anticipated new Ethan Price restaurant, but she’d been a little wary about moving from Chicago to the small town of Oakville.

Stopping for a moment despite the cold, Linzee gazed through the window of a shoe store as she absently ran her finger along the sturdy brick building. The shopping possibilities were just one reason Linzee was pleasantly surprised to find she loved the quaint little town.

Before moving to Oakville, she’d had no idea it was a haven for artists. The eclectic culture of the little town made moving a few hours away from her daughter a little more bearable. Not that her daughter Georgia needed her mom now that she was a sophomore at Northwestern.

The wind picked up a bit, bringing Linzee’s attention to the chill in the air. She wrapped her coat a little tighter around herself with her free hand and clutched her heavy coffee mug with the other. Since she lived so close to work, carrying her giant coffee mug down the street had seemed reasonable. Well, it had in her early-morning, pre-caffeinated brain fog.

A middle-aged woman passed her, and offered a large smile as she said good morning. Linzee smiled back. Everyone was so friendly here. She was enjoying being able to take a breath since she didn’t have to worry about running into her douchebag ex-husband every time she turned a corner in Oakville.

A light flurry of snow swirled around her as she started back down the street. Cupping both hands around her mug for warmth, she stopped to gaze at the beautiful pictures in the front window of a photography studio. Christmas was in less than two weeks, and the studio featured a display of holiday photographs including one of the Kansas City Plaza Lights, as well as a photo of a little girl hanging an ornament on a small tree.

That was the photo that struck her. The photographer captured the child’s beauty, innocence, and wonder. The name in the corner said F. Price. Price, hmm.Was the photographer related to her new boss?

“Ahem.” The deep voice startled Linzee, causing her to spin around so fast that she stumbled backwards. Strong arms reached out to steady her. The feel of hard muscle and the scent of woodsy aftershave combined with virile man gave Linzee an immediate warm feeling. She looked up ... and up ... into sparkling blue eyes.

The warm feeling immediately gave way to a swarm of butterflies as she took in the man in front of her. Dark hair peeked out beneath a blue knit cap, and a five o’clock shadow adorned his strong jaw even though it was only nine in the morning. When he smiled, revealing perfect white teeth, Linzee felt as if she were looking into the sun. My God, it should be illegal for a man to be that freaking gorgeous. He left her breathless.

“Are you okay, sugar?”

His sexy rumble of a voice was like a cherry on top of six feet of perfection. Reluctantly, Linzee pushed away from the stranger, feeling every day of her forty years. This man was obviously much younger than she was. And the last thing she wanted was to be known as the new town cougar ogling hot young guys.

“I’m fine. You just startled me is all.” Crap, did she really sound that breathless? She tucked a red curl behind her ear and really wished she’d done a better job that morning of taming her frizz.

“You sure? You sound a little ... out of breath.” His eyes lit with amusement, and Linzee felt her teeth grit. He was laughing at her. If it’s one thing she couldn’t handle, it was a man making fun of her. She’d had to deal with that enough when she was married.

“I said I’m fine.” With one hard shove, she backed away, startling the man in front of her as the coffee in her cup sloshed all over his navy coat.

“Crap.” She sighed. This was not starting out to be a good morning.

“You’re lucky it’s thirty degrees outside. If that coffee had been steaming hot, I might’ve sued you.”

“Sue me? It was an accident. Are you ...” He was teasing her.Calm the fuck down, Linzee. He’s just teasing.She took a deep breath. “Look, I’m sorry. I’d be happy to pay to have your coat cleaned.” Her humiliation growing by the second, Linzee was afraid to look up into the man’s eyes. Instead she was mentally crossing her fingers for the sidewalk to just open up and swallow her whole.

A strong hand reached out and cupped her face, tilting her head up. How could his hands be so warm when it was so cold outside? The man looked into her eyes, his amusement gone. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll forget about the cleaning bill if you tell me your name and agree to have dinner with me tonight.”

Her brows rose in surprise. Dinner? This man was obviously out of her league. His full lips curled into a flirty little smile, and his eyes—those blue eyes that could draw you in and never let you go—held an emotion she couldn’t quite recognize. Desire?

Oh God. Realization hit Linzee. Of course. This was a man who snapped his fingers and had women falling at his feet. If he wanted a woman in his bed, it probably didn’t take him two seconds. Turn on the charm, and women would be lining up to take their pants off for him. Well, not her. If he thought she was some sort of charity case—a chubby older woman who would just give him a quick lay—he was wrong.

Never mind that her mouth watered at the thought of feeling those strong lips on hers. Never mind that the thought of wrapping her legs around him made her insides go all melty.

She backed away, out of his reach, and hoped her voice sounded firmer than she felt. “Are you serious right now? I do not pick up strange men!”

That damn smile was back. “Well, maybe you should try it, Miss...?”

“Miss None of Your Damn Business. I have to go. I’m late for work.” With that, she turned around and stalked off down the street.Don’t look back, Linzee. Don’t look back.

Chapter Two

Foster Price grinned wider as he watched the redhead stalk down the street, admiring the way her round ass swayed in her jeans. He’d love to get his hands on that ass. Well, more than his hands. He’d cup those beautiful round cheeks and pull her close as he sank into that sweet pussy. He’d been close enough to her to know she smelled like strawberries. Did she taste like strawberries, too? Damn, he’d bet that pussy was sweet. And so fucking hot.

He wanted to hear the sounds she made when he had his mouth on her. She sure was a little firecracker. She’d do more than whimper. Foster would bet anything he could make her scream.

And she was so cute. More than cute. She was fucking beautiful. She had to be new in town. He certainly would have remembered seeing her walk down Main Street with all those curves that made a man forget his own name. Her creamy skin, rosy lips, and fiery green eyes stirred his insides in a way he didn’t quite recognize. When he’d seen the curvy woman standing in front of his studio, he’d stopped to admire her for several moments before he’d finally said something. She was enough to brighten his moody morning.

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