Page 324 of Not Over You

He blushed and damn if it didn’t look good on him.

“Well, if I waited for Cicely to make the introductions, I’d be old and gray.”

Cicely elbowed him in the side and pulled her arm back with a wince. “Ow. Are you made of rock?”

Caroline laughed. “Careful, people are going to think you’re flirting.”

Rolling her eyes, Cicely sighed. “With him? Nope. Everyone knows I’ve got my guy.” She turned her eyes on Caroline. “But what about you. You said you wanted produce.” Cicely reached over to the display and picked up an avocado.

“Hand,” she ordered Joel and he dutifully held out a hand. Placing her pick in his hand, she turned to Caroline. “See, you said you needed produce, and this produce comes with a man.”

Caroline’s shoulders shook with laughter. “I’m sorry for my friend, Joel. She’s a little over the top sometimes.”

“Oh, I know that,” he grinned, “we grew up together. But really, Miss Franzen, if you’re in need of either produce,” he licked his lips and pulled his eyes away from hers, “or a man… I’m willing to help. Very willing.”

“You know who she is?” Cicely sounded impressed.

“If you’re in food and don’t know Caroline Franzen, then you don’t know your stuff.”

Caroline felt her cheeks begin to heat. “That’s sweet.”

He shook his head. “Not sweet. Just the honest truth. When we heard you’d moved here, we hoped you were planning to open a new restaurant here in St. Raphael.”

“We?” Caroline was a little confused.

“Sorry,” the heartfelt apology stumbled over his lips, “I belong to a group of farmers. We operate smaller farms than the larger, commercial operations, but we also offer some of the most unique produce available for hundreds of miles. If you are planning something new, we would love the opportunity to show you what we can offer in the way of locally sourced produce.”

Caroline grinned. “You know me well.”

“Well, I’ve read about your work and your philosophy on sustainable foods.” Joel flushed again. “I would also love to know you better.”

Caroline reached into her back pocket and pulled out a card. She held it out to the younger man. “I don’t have any concrete plans for a restaurant just yet, but I would love to see what your group has to offer.”

Joel reached into his apron pocket and handed her a card. “This has the website for the collective and my cellphone number.”

Over his shoulder, Cicely was giving her a pointed look.

Caroline could read her friend’s look easily. Yes, if she wanted something, then Joel would be a great choice. Handsome, sure. He was also in agriculture.

She’d told him a bit of a lie.

She wanted to open a new place, one completely different from her first St. Raphael endeavor. She just didn’t know exactly what or exactly where yet and dating a man she might end up using as a supplier?

That was muddying the waters a bit.

Still-

“I can hold your produce at my stall until you’re ready to leave.” He gestured at the tent ahead of them. “You can call me when you’re done and I’ll be happy to drop everything off at your car.”

Cecily was looking like she was about to swoon behind his back. “That’s a sweet offer, Joel. Here, I’ll help you.”

Before Caroline could stop her friend or strangle her, Cecily and Joel had basically taken almost everything from her arms, leaving her with just her purse.

Caroline stretched out her arms and rolled her shoulders. It had been a long time since she’d carried so much on her own. It wasn’t like the gastropub she’d built in Los Angeles or the restaurant she’d started and sold in St. Raphael.

She had staff. She could put off the shopping to others. But truthfully, she’d missed it.

Turning around, she saw Cecily and Joel picking over a whole slew of boxes containing mushrooms.

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