Page 9 of Can't Take Moore

He rolled his eyes, as though the answer was obvious. “She's a huge social influencer. Like one of the biggest names out there. Which is why I told Baxter that he should pick someone else if he wants to fix one of you guys up. I couldn’t picture Vienna Frost living in Mooreville, but that was before I figured out that she was the one who had that bussin rink put into the pole barn. Vienna Frost can be as bougie as she wants with all the bread she makes, but she could practice at the local rink if she was going to bounce. No way would she go to all that trouble if she wasn’t planning to get a lot of use out of her home rink.”

Talking to Simon made me feel older than my thirty-six years sometimes, but at least I’d gotten familiar enough with his slang to follow what he said. “You need to stop double-naming Vienna. It’s weird.”

Simon shrugged. “Sorry, that’s just how I’ve always thought of her because it’s her handle.”

“So she’s an influencer?” I knew there was good money to be made on social media if you had a big enough platform, but I had no idea it was at the level that Vienna earned judging by the deposits I’d seen on her bank account statements.

“Yeah, but she’s also an Olympic gold medalist.”

My eyes widened. “That’s a hell of an accomplishment for someone her age. Or any age, really.”

“How don’t you know all this already?” Simon’s head tilted to the side as he rolled the bakery bag shut. “I get that you’re not into social media except for how it can help your business, but don’t you watch the Olympics?”

“Sometimes,” I muttered, thinking about how I’d caught a few hockey games and a couple of the downhill skiing races when they were on television several months ago.

“She’s one of the best speed skaters in the world.”

“Damn, she’s nice, pretty, successful, and talented?” Baxter quirked a brow. “You should go check up on her.”

The last thing I needed was for my cousin to try to push Vienna and me together. Sure, I’d done the same with him and Skylar. But the situations were totally different since we’d met because she was my client.

Okay, maybe they were more similar than I cared to admit. Baxter had become Skylar’s landlord for the shop not too long after they met. But just because he’d mixed business and pleasure didn’t mean I should. No matter how attracted I was to Vienna. “Vienna is moving into her house today. She probably wouldn’t like any unexpected visitors with how busy she’s bound to be.”

“Or she might appreciate seeing someone she knows,” Skylar suggested with a grin.

I parted my lips, intending to remind her about how I didn’t really know Vienna when Baxter said, “It would be nice of you to make sure everything’s going okay with the house since you sold it to her and she’s new to town. Put those manners Aunt Beth drilled into your head growing up to good use.”

“Excellent point. We should do something to help welcome Vienna into town.” Skylar’s smile widened as she turned toward her son. “Please box up some extra blueberry muffins so Dean can take them with for his visit. We wouldn’t want him to show up empty-handed.”

“Great idea, baby.” Baxter brushed a kiss against her cheek before moving over to the stack of to-go cups. “I’ll make another tea for Vienna.”

Simon had a mischievous gleam in his eyes when he pointed out, “How cool is it that you guys already have something in common since she ordered your favorites?”

“Too bad Vienna said she’s not in a position to start a relationship.”

My head jerked back as I stared at my cousin, irritated by the verbal bomb he’d just dropped. As much as I’d convinced myself that I shouldn’t try to start something with Vienna, I didn’t like the fact that she wasn’t interested in dating right now. Not even a little bit.

“Neither was I, but look at me now.” Skylar rubbed her rounded belly with a happy little sigh. “You Moore men can be awfully persuasive when you want to be.”

“I guess the question is”—Baxter placed the tea he’d just made into a cup carrier and nudged it toward me—“are you going to man up and go after the girl before some other lucky guy in Mooreville realizes what a catch she is and you lose your chance?”

Simon dropped a box of baked goods onto the counter. “Dean’s cool and all, but I’m not sure how much of a chance he has with Vienna. She’s way out of his league.”

I knew they were messing with me to push my buttons, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t effective.

“He’ll never know unless he tries,” Skylar insisted.

Her son didn’t seem convinced, but he nodded anyway and said, “I guess you miss all the shots you never take.”

“Exactly.” She beamed a smile at him right as my phone dinged with a notification.

Pulling the device out of my pocket, my lips curved into a grin when I saw who the message was from. My gorgeous client’s ears must have been ringing.

Vienna:How difficult would it be to put up a swing on the porch?

Skylar leaned forwardin an attempt to see the screen of my phone—not that it did her much good with her belly in the way. “Is that her?”

“Yup,” I murmured distractedly, pondering the best way to respond.

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