Page 10 of Fierce Mountain Man

“I’m home.” He stopped just inside the doorway. “You went to the store? I was going to offer to take you to dinner.”

I paused, a carton of milk in my left hand, and looked back at him. He was covered in dust but still hot as hell. I’d forgotten just how hot he was in the nine hours I’d been away from him.

“I figured I’d treat you tonight,” I said. “I hope you like chicken. I bought a few other groceries too.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

I shook my head. “It’s for me as much as you. I bought some sodas and cereal for breakfast. But I also got ingredients to make cinnamon rolls.”

He was going to love my cinnamon rolls. They were one of my specialties. I planned to make them a big part of my bakery—if I could ever get the funding for it. That was looking more unlikely than ever.

“I’m going to take a quick shower,” he said. “I don’t want to come to the table dirty.”

With that he headed toward his bathroom, leaving me fighting to shut out thoughts of him standing naked in his shower, water flowing over that perfect body in streams. Last night I’d wondered if he’d thought that about me at the mention of a shower. Turned out, I was the one who had her mind in the gutter.

But if I focused on it too much, it would throw off my cooking game. I needed to focus—to make this the best piece of chicken he’d ever put in his mouth.

I was moving between the chicken and the Potatoes O’Brien when Tobias entered the kitchen. I didn’t even hear him, but I felt his presence. He just filled up whatever space he was in.

He breezed around me and opened the fridge, grabbing a bottle of beer. But he froze, bottle in hand, and stared at the fridge interior.

“You weren’t kidding,” he said. “You bought all this today?”

I nodded. “I thought I’d make a cheesecake after dinner. I would have made it earlier this afternoon, but I was running around all day, lining things up.”

“How did that go?”

“There are no apartments available on a quick turnaround in Adairsville, and the bank said I wouldn’t qualify for a loan. I tried to track down the people handling The Shoppes at Brighton Village. Did you know they don’t even have an office here?”

“I just passed the guys doing construction earlier today,” he said. “I’ll stop and talk to the foreman tomorrow.”

He closed the fridge door and leaned against it, propping himself on his right shoulder. Gratitude rushed through me. He’d really do that for me?

I had to remind myself not to look for an ulterior motive. I’d been trained over the course of my life to assume if someone offered to do something for me, they wanted something in return.

“Did they give a reason for not giving you a loan?” he asked.

“My credit score isn’t all that strong yet.” I sighed. “Plus, it’s a new, unproven business. I should’ve figured. They suggested I get a business partner or come up with some collateral. I don’t have a house, and my old car isn’t worth enough to make a difference.”

This was bringing the evening down. I wanted to have a fun, relaxing night, not rehash all my problems.

“Anyway, I’ll figure something out,” I said. “Maybe I’ll talk to some of the other bakers and see if anyone else is interested in opening something here.”

I’d pretty much shot myself in the foot with that. I’d been nothing short of antisocial throughout the competition, and I couldn’t explain why. I just saw everyone else creeping up and felt more comfortable staying on the outskirts of the crowd.

“I have good credit,” he said. “I could co-sign.”

I nearly dropped the spatula at his offer. That would have been bad too, because an entire chicken breast covered in cheese, mushrooms, and cream sauce rested on top of it.

“No way could I take you up on that.” I shook my head and carefully settled the chicken breast onto one of the two plates next to the stove. “It’s very generous of you, though.”

“I wouldn’t mind,” he said. “I’d stand to gain as much as you do.”

I frowned and glanced over at him, moving the spatula back to the pan to grab the other chicken breast. “How’s that?”

“I’d have a place to go for pastries every morning,” he said. “Although you could just stick around here and make me pastries. I may never let you move out.”

I shook my head. “I’m going to find a place. No way am I imposing on you more than necessary.”

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