Kiss by Kiss (Riggins Brothers Book 3) Read online

  We’ve been slammed all morning, and I can’t seem to stop smiling. Aspen is in the small lobby wiping down the tables that are finally empty from this morning’s rush. “I’m going to run back and grab another pan of magic bars,” I tell her.

  “I can’t believe how busy we’ve been.” Her smile matches mine.

  “Right?” I chuckle, disappearing into the kitchen to grab another pan of bars. “This is the last of them,” I say, meeting her back behind the counter. She slides open the display case so that I can replace the full pan with the empty one.

  “Do you want me to make more?”

  “Nah, it’s just before eight. We have a full pan and plenty of other options.” Since we close at noon every day, it leaves the afternoon for catering jobs, which reminds me I need to hire a delivery driver. It’s too much for Aspen and me to keep up with. It takes both of us to run the bakery, and we’ve had a few deliveries requested for the morning hours.

  “Can you hold down the fort for a few minutes?” she asks. “I need to run to the restroom.”

  “Go, while you can.” I laugh.

  “That’s a good problem to have, sister.” She gives me a quick hug before disappearing into the kitchen to use the small staff restroom.

  The chime over the door rings out and I lift my head to greet my next customer. I open my mouth to say hello, but no words come out as I watch the most gorgeous man I’ve ever laid eyes on saunter into the bakery.

  “Morning.” He grins.

  I shake out of my fog and offer him a smile, feeling my face heat. “Good morning. Welcome to Warm Delights. What can I get you?”

  “It all looks delicious,” he says, but he’s not looking at the display case. No, he’s looking at me.

  Me!

  He has dark hair, cut short on the sides and a little longer on top. His eyes are a deep blue, and they’re mesmerizing. He’s wearing dress pants and a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, tattoos on display. It’s an unseasonably warm day for January, and it appears he’s taking full advantage of it. My mouth waters as I lick my lips. “To-Today’s special is magic bars.” I point to the display case.

  “Magic bars,” he repeats, his eyes still locked with mine. “Tell me more,” he says, leaning in a little closer.

  “Well, they have a buttery graham cracker crust, topped with layers of chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, chopped nuts, and finished with a blanket of sweetened condensed milk,” I rattle off the ingredients on autopilot.

  “I’ll take all you have left.” He smiles.

  “Um… that’s an entire tray.” I glance down at the tray I just slid into the display case.

  “That’s fine. I have four brothers who will be sure to steal these and two sisters-in-law, one of which is eating for two. I’ll take them all.” His eyes are still locked on mine, never once straying.

  “Don’t you want to try one first? You don’t even know if you like them.”

  “Did you make them?”

  “Yes,” I say. My cheeks grow hot, and I’m not sure if it’s embarrassment or this man's attention solely focused on me. It takes extreme effort to pull my gaze from his as I get to work packaging the entire pan of magic bars. I fight the slight tremble in my hands from his attention and pray to whoever is listening that he doesn’t see it. When I finally have his order packaged, I have to steel my resolve and face him again.

  “Can I get you anything else?” I ask.

  He nods, a slow smile tilting his lips. “As a matter of fact, there is one more thing I can’t leave here without,” he tells me.

  “Sure, what can I get you?”

  “Your number.”

  I pause, replaying his words over in my mind, knowing that I must have heard him wrong. “Of course.” I reach for a card on the counter by the register. “Our hours are listed on the back as well as our website.”

  “That’s great, thank you. However, that’s not the number I was referring to. I want your number. As in your personal number.”

  “You can reach me here.” I smile, trying to hide my unease. I have no idea what he wants with my number. Men who look like him don’t want chubby girls like me.

  “You close at noon. What happens if I want to get dinner and would like the pleasure of your company?”

  I turn to look over my shoulder to make sure I’m not getting punked. It’s at that moment, my sister, the thinner, prettier Steele sister, comes from the kitchen, stepping up beside me. Good. He’ll focus his attention on her.

  “Hi.” Aspen smiles.

  “Hi.” The handsome stranger pulls his eyes from me to glance at her. My shoulders relax. I’m used to Aspen getting all of the attention. “Can you help me with something?” he asks her.

  “Sure,” she says brightly, but I can hear the confusion in her voice at the same time. I take a step back to let her finish up, but his words stop me.

  “You see, I’m trying to get this beauty to give me her number, and it would help if I knew her name.”

  Aspen, the traitor, giggles. “Aurora,” she tells him. “I’m Aspen, her sister.”

  “Nice to meet you, Aurora,” the sexy stranger says. It takes every ounce of effort I can conjure up not to swoon at the sound of my name rolling off his lips.

  I stand here, my mouth hanging open, staring at him. It’s not until I feel my sister's elbow dig into my side that I startle, and my hand shoots out in front of me. “Nice to meet you too….” I let my reply linger, waiting to see if he’ll offer me his name.

  “Grant. Grant Riggins.”

  “Oh, Riggins Enterprises,” I say, nodding. “I met Layla.”

  “Layla is my brother’s fiancée, and she’s expecting the first Riggins grandchild. She’s going to love these.” He points to the box of magic bars. “Pregnancy has strengthened her sweet tooth. Something that she and I have in common.” He winks.

  “Do they know what they’re having?” I ask him. I begin to relax a little. I remember Layla. She was nice and friendly, and laughed when she ordered a box of all the same thing. She said if I knew her brothers-in-law, I would understand. Now I get it.

  “A little boy.”

  I nod and open the display case. Reaching in, I grab one of the baby boy sugar cookies that Aspen decorated this morning. “Here. Give her this.” I put it in a small bag and hand it to him. “On the house.”

  “Thanks, beautiful. Now, about that number?”

  “I’m sorry, I—” I start to decline when Aspen grabs a business card and scribbles my name and number on it, handing it to him.

  “Here you go.” She grins like a kid on Christmas morning.

  “Thanks.” He makes a show of taking a picture of it with his phone, then pulling out his wallet and placing it inside. “Just in case I lose it. It’s too important.” His eyes sparkle as he smiles.

  “How much do I owe you?” he asks.

  Aspen again elbows me, and I jump into action, ringing up his order and swiping his credit card. “Thank you,” I tell him, handing him the receipt.

  “The pleasure is all mine. I’ll be seeing you, Aurora,” he says. Is it just me or does his voice sound deeper? Sexier? Aspen clears her throat. “You too, Aspen. You ladies have a nice day.”

  “Enjoy the magic,” Aspen calls after him.

  He stops and turns to face us. It looks like he mouths “the magic” before nodding. “It’s always about the magic.” He grins, turns on his heel, and exits the same way he arrived, holding my attention.

  “Holy freaking hotness.” Aspen fans her face with her hand. “That man is fine, and that look on his face…. It’s as if he wanted to eat you alive.”

  “Come on. He’s just flirting. I’ll never hear from him.” As I say the words, my phone vibrates in my pocket. Grabbing it, I see a text from an unknown number.

  Unknown: This is Grant. Save my number. Have a great day, beautiful.

  “It’s him, isn’t it? I can tell by the blush on your cheeks. Told you so,”
my little sister gloats.

  “Stop. It’s not going to happen.”

  “You need a good man in your life. After what that dick Elijah did to you.”

  Before I can reply, the door chimes and in walks a group of older ladies. I give Aspen a look that tells her to drop it before greeting our customers. Grant might be the sexiest man I’ve ever laid eyes on, but that’s where this ends. I’m not looking for a man in my life. The last one just about destroyed me.

  Chapter 3

  Grant

  I’ve checked my phone a million times today. Okay, maybe a million is a stretch, but it sure feels like it. Hell, even my battery that’s flashing 25 percent is tired of me checking. I sent Aurora a text before I even pulled away from the bakery this morning, and nothing. I can see that she read the message, but it’s been nothing but silence.

  “What did that phone do to you?” Sawyer asks from the doorway of my office.

  “Nothing.” I toss it onto my desk. “What’s up, sis?”

  She steps into my office and takes a seat across from me. “Not buying the ‘nothing,’ Grant Riggins. What’s going on?” There is nothing but love and concern in her voice.

  “Just waiting on a reply.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Her interest is piqued.

  “It’s been hours,” I say, frustrated as I run my fingers through my hair.

  “Lady friend troubles.” She nods, sitting back into the chair, obviously settling in for this conversation.

  “Does she count as a lady friend if I just met her?”

  “Yes.”

  She doesn’t say anything else, and I’m thankful, but I know what she’s doing. Sawyer is waiting me out. She’s so damn easy to talk to. It’s one of the reasons why she hit it off with my family and me immediately. Royce was a little slow to admit she made him feel something after years of self-isolation and throwing himself into his work. Sawyer, she waited patiently, and he eventually came around.

  I’ve learned a lot watching my two oldest brothers fall in love, and when I find her—my own woman—I’m not holding back. I understand why Royce kept pushing Sawyer away, but he was an idiot and wasted so much time with her. Owen, on the other hand, he knew what he wanted, and he wasn’t giving up until Layla was his.

  “Oh, I meant to tell you those bars or whatever they are, were delicious. Thank you.”

  “Magic bars.”

  “What?” Sawyer tilts her head to the side, studying me.

  “Aurora called them magic bars.”

  “Aurora?”

  “The woman at the bakery.”

  “Ah.” She grins. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

  “What do you mean, ah?”

  “Let me guess? You gave her your number, and you’ve been waiting on her to call?”

  It’s eerie how close she is. “Not exactly.”

  “Enlighten me.” Her grin grows wider.

  “Why are you monopolizing all my wife’s time?” Royce asks, waltzing into my office.

  “She came to me.” I smirk. He ignores me and goes straight to her. He’s used to my two younger brothers and me doing what we can to rile him up when it comes to his wife.

  He doesn’t stop until he reaches Sawyer. His hand slides behind her neck as he bends to press his lips to hers. “Love you,” he says, not bothering to lower his voice. My big brother is unapologetically in love with his wife. I can’t stop the smile that pulls at my lips, seeing him this happy. He went through hell to get here, but he’s finally found his other half. “What’s going on?” he asks, standing behind Sawyer with his hands on her shoulders.

  “Nothing.” Sawyer is quick to reply, offering me a wink. “I just came to thank Grant for the magic bars.”

  “Is that what those things were? I had two of them.”

  “Yeah, I had to stop by and check it out after the muffins yesterday.” Sawyer gives me a look that tells me she knows I was checking out more than just the bakery. My phone vibrates on my desk, and I lurch to grab it and fumble to look at the screen. Finally, after hours of waiting, I see the name I’ve been waiting for.

  Aurora.

  Aurora: You too.

  That’s it. You too, but I’ll take it. She replied, which tells me she’s interested. Glancing at the clock, I see it’s after three. I’ve been waiting all day for a tiny morsel from her, and I finally have it.

  “What’s with the shit-eating grin? Who is that?” Royce inquires.

  “Aurora.”

  “Aurora? What did I miss?”

  Lifting my head from my phone, I smile at my brother and his wife. “She was working at the bakery this morning.”

  “Ah.” Royce nods as if those eight words explain it all. In a way, I guess they do. “Thank fuck I’m not in the dating scene anymore.”

  “You weren’t in it when you found me,” Sawyer reminds him. Royce leans over her and presses his lips to hers to keep her quiet. I must admit his method works.

  “I need to get back to work. Why don’t you two love birds take that”—I wave my hand at them—“somewhere else.”

  “My pleasure,” Royce says, his voice growing deeper.

  “Go.” I laugh. Sawyer waves before allowing Royce to lead her out of my office. I don’t even know why she was in here in the first place. I guess if it’s important, she’ll let me know. I wait a total of maybe fifteen seconds before unlocking my phone screen and firing off another message.

  Me: How has your day been?

  I wait, my eyes glued to the screen to see if she’s going to reply. It took her hours for the first response, so when I see the little bubbles pop up telling me that she’s typing, I’m pleasantly surprised.

  Aurora: Good. Yours?

  Me: Great, actually. I met someone I’d like to get to know better.

  I see the bubbles pop up and then disappear. This happens three more times before they disappear altogether. I know that the bakery is closed. They’re open from six in the morning until noon. I’ve already familiarized myself with their website. I wasn’t able to gain any personal knowledge. There is nothing listed about the staff. The only thing I learned was there are so many more items I want to try, and the hours of which I can stop in to do just that. I can only hope that Aurora is there the next time I stop in.

  For the second day in a row, I find myself entering the doors of Warm Delights. The name fits this place perfectly as the smells of sugary sweetness warm my senses. I take my time making my way to the counter, seeing that Aurora and her sister, Aspen, are both standing behind the counter. I hold back, waiting for them to finish with the customers they are with, before stepping up to the counter.

  “Morning, ladies.” I make brief eye contact with Aspen, but then my eyes lock on Aurora, and I can’t look away. Today, her brown hair is braided, and her gorgeous hazel eyes show her surprise, but the smile never leaves her face.

  “Good morning, Grant,” she replies.

  The way my name rolls off of her tongue, it causes me to have to shift my stance. “Aurora,” I reply huskily.

  “What brings you back today?” Aspen asks.

  “Two things actually. One, I’m addicted to sweets, and two, I was checking on our girl here.” I nod toward Aurora.

  “W-What?” she stutters.

  “You didn’t text me back yesterday. I wanted to make sure you were okay.” It’s not a complete lie. I had a feeling she was fine but avoiding me. I’m not going to let her do that. Not until I have a chance to explore why my heart races as soon as I lay eyes on her or why she’s consumed my thoughts over the last twenty-four hours.

  “I-I’m fine. I was busy.” Her eyes glance over at her sister before darting back to me.

  “You didn’t tell me he texted you,” Aspen says to her sister, who is suddenly very fascinated with wiping down the counter.

  “How about I buy you a coffee?” I offer.

  “You want to buy me coffee in my bakery?” she asks.

  I can’t stop the smile from that little s
lice of information pie she just gave me. “Didn’t know you were the owner,” I confess.

  “Go, have a cup of coffee. I’ve got this,” Aspen assures her.

  The bell over the door chimes, and I know Aurora is going to use that as an excuse to turn me down. She opens her mouth. I’m sure to do just that, but I speak before she does. “You close at noon, how about lunch?” I offer before she can.

  “I have a lot of work to do to prepare for tomorrow.”

  “You have to eat.”

  “Thank you for the offer, but I just have too much to do.”

  “I can handle things here. As the man said, you have to eat.”

  “Aspen,” Aurora hisses. She then looks around me. “Welcome to Warm Delights. How may I help you?” she asks, stepping to the side to greet her new customers.

  “What’s her favorite?” I ask Aspen. My eyes are tracking Aurora’s every move. I can’t seem to stop looking at her.

  “What’s her favorite or what does she eat?” Aspen asks.

  “Isn’t that the same thing?”

  “No.” She shakes her head. “She doesn’t allow herself to eat her favorites.”

  “Why the hell not?” I ask, finally turning my gaze to Aspen.

  “That’s a story she’s going to have to tell. Her weakness is pizza and pasta. But she usually eats a salad or a wrap for lunch.”

  “Thanks.” I nod, my mind already going through the local options and my schedule. I didn’t even think about what I had going on today when I asked her to lunch. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I scan my calendar, and there is nothing keeping me from leaving the office. I fire off a text to both Layla and Sawyer, letting them know not to schedule me for anything for the rest of the day.

  I stand back, waiting for Aurora to finish waiting on her customers, before walking to where she stands at the end of the counter. “I’ll see you around noon for lunch.”

  “I told you I’ve got too much to do to leave,” she counters.

  I give her my smile, the one that my brothers and I are known for. The same one that my momma says melts her heart. “That’s why I’m bringing lunch to you. See you in a few hours, sweetness.” With those parting words, I turn on my heel and exit the bakery. It’s not until I’m in the elevator headed to the top floor of the Riggins Enterprises building do I realize I left empty-handed. That’s fine. I got a lunch date, which is even sweeter.