ChapterSix
Harper looked up from the table she was wiping and glanced at the old clock hanging over the wide entry doors of Seven Dishes. Four o’clock. The afternoon had dragged. Sure, she’d kept busy. There were always customers. Thank God. And the management side of owning a café wasn’t light, either. But those blue eyes of Seth’s and the way they shone soft with his concern or glinted flint hard when he went all alpha badass had hijacked her thoughts.
Okay, thinking about Seth went against her wishes for him to stay away and keep whatever form of protection he planned at a distance. But that didn’t mean the touch of his lips on her forehead when he’d kissed her earlier wasn’t so imprinted in her memory that, swear to God, she could close her eyes and still feel the warm happiness that had swept over her body.
“Sweetness.”
Good grief, now she was hearing his voice.
She shook her head and finished wiping the table.
“Harper.” A hand gently gripped her shoulder and turned her around.
Seth, with Heath standing beside him, tugged on a lock of her hair. “Hey there.”
The good news was she wasn’t going nuts. The bad news was her knees kind of wobbled at the hair tugging, and not like she would when a five-year-old boy pulled her hair in kindergarten if the pleasure coiling through her was a guide.
“I thought...” Her words came out hoarse. She ignored Seth’s lip twitch and Heath’s smile and cleared her throat. “I thought I’d made it clear you were to do your protection thing from a distance.”
Seth nodded slowly. “You certainly said as much. Unfortunately for you, I have my own ideas.” He stepped closer and skimmed his hand over her body to rest it at the top of her hip. “And they include times when I keep you close, as in touching distance.”
She lifted her chin. “Since I’m a busy woman with a café to run, and you have your own dramas, I’m betting those times will be few and far between.”
Seth pressed his fingers into her hip as he pulled her closer so that her breasts were only inches from rubbing against his white shirt. “Neither of us work twenty-four-seven, luv.”
Honestly!
She stepped to the side and out of his hold. “Like I said before, waste whatever time you want. But if you’re going to hang around, you need to be a paying customer.”
“Absolutely.” Seth walked around her and sat at the freshly wiped table. Heath did the same. Seth grabbed the one-page menu sheet. “What do you recommend?”
“Arsenic on toast.”
Both men laughed, their unabashed humor drawing glances from her customers, not to mention her curious staff. Nitro was practically leaning over the counter to hear them better. Harper gritted her teeth.
Seth leaned back in his replica Chippendale seat, part of the odd couplings of furniture throughout the cafe. “That on the menu?”
“No, but for you I am prepared to break the rules and make a special order.”
“She cares, mate,” Heath observed through a chuckle.
Seth’s eyes shone with amusement. “Oh, she does. She just doesn’t know how to steer all that emotion yet. But we’ll work it out.”
Heath turned the robin’s egg blue cardstock menu from front to back. “You get anyone asking for something different than the seven offerings of mains?”
Harper shrugged. “Occasionally, but most people like the quirkiness. And once they try our dishes, they like the food and keep returning. There’s something about knowing your favorite meal will be on the menu unless there’s a special occasion. Besides, we have a general assortment of pastries and cakes at the counter. It’s the food made to order we restrict.”
“Chicken Tower Club, Skinny Ass Salad with the works, Lumberjack Hamburger, French Onion Soup, Leaning Tower of Veggie, Beef Stroganoff, and Rocky Road Sundae Extravaganza.” Seth lifted his gaze back to her. “That’s an eclectic offering.”
“All favorites and comfort food. Well, apart from the salad, but it comes with extras. People vote with their wallets. We serve what they like.”
“And your favorite?” Heath leaned back showing his broad shoulders were wider than the navy cushioned back of the chair.
“The stroganoff’s amazing.”
Seth glanced back toward the kitchen area. “I like to cook. Maybe you’ll share the recipe.”
“No way, handsome. Company secrets, like recipes, stay with me and my chef.” She knew she was playing with fire, but Seth needed to know she wasn’t about to be charmed easily.