Page 26 of The Bear's Mail Order Mate

It had been a long, long day. Cassia leaned back against the barn door and stared out at the view before her.

Despite the ache in her back, and her arms, and her legs…she had used muscles she never knew she had as she worked alongside Kris, clearing out the barn…she felt invigorated. The progress they had made today was visible and satisfying. So very satisfying.

So yes, it had been a long day, but it had been a good one. A very good one.

And it wasn’t just the barn where they had made progress. Leanne had also dug out some of the Thornberg family recipe books and cooked up some sample recipes for lunch.

The spread had been incredible—a savory mushroom ragout with fresh pasta that Cassia suspected had been made that morning, a rustic bread with a perfect crust that crackled when torn, and a salad bursting with vegetables freshly picked from the small kitchen garden Leanne hoped to expand.

As they ate, the recipe books had been passed around, and Cassia had found new inspiration in the handwritten notes scrawled in the margins. Generations of Thornbergs had added their personal touches—a bit more rosemary here, a touch less sugar there. The books themselves were a living history of the family, stained with splashes of sauce and marked with thumbprints of flour from decades past.

She’d been left with a head full of so many ideas. It was a little overwhelming.

But then they’d headed back to the barn and the sight of Kris working had cleared her head of all thoughts, except one. How ridiculously attractive he was.

The pictures of him in the magazine article she’d read did not do him justice, and it was hard to imagine how a man like him had remained single.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Kris’s deep voice startled her from her reverie. He approached with two glasses in one hand and a bottle in the other.

“Just admiring the view,” she said as he drew closer. And she was not just talking about the vineyard. “It’s beautiful here.”

“It is,” he replied, leaning against the barn beside her, their shoulders nearly touching. And the way his gaze caressed her left her unsure whether he was talking about just the view. But then he turned and gazed out at the vines and the mountains beyond. “Some days I take it for granted, and then there are moments like this...”

“I don’t think I will ever take it for granted,” she murmured.

“Neither will I. Not anymore.” He turned and looked at her and something unspoken passed between them as their eyes locked. Then he cracked a smile and held up a bottle of chilled wine, the condensation beading on its emerald surface. “A little reward for all our hard work today. It’s one of our whites from two seasons ago. It’s crisp, with notes of pear and honeysuckle.”

“You had me at ‘reward,’” Cassia laughed, accepting the glass he poured for her.

The wine was indeed crisp and refreshing, cooling her throat as she swallowed. Perfect after the physical labor of the day. She closed her eyes briefly, savoring the complex flavors that unfolded on her palate. When she opened them again, Kris was watching her with an intensity that made her stomach clench with longing.

“What do you think?” he murmured.

“It’s exquisite,” she answered honestly. “Elegant but approachable. The kind of wine that makes you want to linger.”

Something flickered in his eyes at her words. “That’s exactly what we aim for.” He took a sip from his own glass, his gaze never leaving hers. And how she wanted to drown in those deep brown eyes.

“You have an incredible talent,” she said as she took another sip and forced herself to break eye contact.

“And so do you. My mom is inspired.” Kris chuckled as he drank. “She’s rustling up another old family recipe as we speak. And asked me to invite you to stay.”

A surge of delight threatened to overwhelm Cassia. Dinner with the Thornbergs. She was beginning to feel as if she were one of them.

For a second, she actually pictured all of them around a large wooden table, passing bowls of home-cooked food and sharing laughter. Her heart yearned for it, ached, even. But it also triggered her guard:You are not part of this family. You are an employee. Keep it professional.

She gave a small smile. “That’s really sweet. But I—I should probably get back.” She gestured vaguely, as though more tasks awaited her at the guest house. “I have a lot of notes to organize, maybe refine the menu suggestions, and send out some inquiries to local farmers. I want to stay ahead of the curve.”

Kris’s face fell, and Cassia’s stomach twisted with guilt. But he simply nodded, a flicker of disappointment passing across his eyes. “Of course, you’ve probably had enough of us for one day.”

Never,said the voice in her head.

“No.” Cassia swallowed the lump in her throat. “You’ve all been so kind and welcoming. I promise I’ll be back tomorrow. Early, even. We still have more wines to sample, more specifics to iron out, right?”

“We do,” Kris replied, with a smile that robbed her of breath. There was a sadness to it as if he truly wanted her to stay.

And goodness knows, she truly wanted to say yes. But she couldn’t. Not tonight. She needed to step back and needed some space to breathe and think clearly. Being around Kris muddled her thoughts, and made her forget all the reasons why getting emotionally entangled with her employer was a terrible idea.

“Rain check?” she offered.

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