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That was him. Her soul mate. Her man, her One Great Love Eternal, acronym OGLE.
Or at least he was her next hot fling.
“Chris here?” Her soul mate put the flowers on the counter, glancing at Eva before he addressed Jinx. She was used to making no impression on a guy like this. But that wouldn’t last long,
“Chris is not.” Jinx beckoned over another customer. Clearly he wasn’t a fan.
The perfect man yanked an iPhone from his pocket and poked at it.
“Hi.” Eva stepped forward, her hand out. “I’m Chris’s sister, Eva.”
“Uh-huh.” He continued to peer at his phone, reading intently.
“The woman you’re going to marry. We’ll have beautiful children. I’m thinking five or six. We should get started on that soon, since I’m already twenty-eight.”
He lifted his head suddenly. Their eyes locked. Well, hers locked. He kind of glanced at her, then did a double take, like, What are you looking at? “Sorry, what were you saying?”
“Nothing important.” She smiled sweetly, held out her hand again. Just concerning the rest of our lives together. Or, more likely, the rest of the month. “You were busy.”
He made a sound of frustration. “Sometimes I’m not sure if I own the phone or it owns me.”
“What’s your name?” She’d bet this was—
“Ames Cooke.”
Yup. The pain in Chris’s lucky ass. The entitled, arrogant rich boy, who Chris had neglected to mention was devastatingly sexy.
Was he cocky businessman through and through? He certainly looked the part, but there was that gold stud glinting in one ear, and his slightly spiked hair. She was already thinking maybe a tattoo in a hidden place.
A place she couldn’t wait to discover.
“You visiting?” Ames was looking around, undoubtedly still hoping Chris would emerge from the back of the shop.
“I’m taking over for Chris for a month.”
His attention zoomed back to her. “Chris? What’s wrong? Where is she?”
Look how nice of him to be concerned. A thoughtful guy. “She’s at my place in California. We switched lives for a month.”
“You switched—” Ames was clearly having trouble processing that one. But maybe the fact that his supposed beloved had left town without letting him know would help him understand that he and Chris were not destined to be together forever.
Whereas he and Eva...
At least for a month.
“Well, crap.” He stared forlornly at the flowers, a stunning and almost laughably huge bouquet of pink roses, burgundy and white alstroemeria, white tulips, freesia and God knew what else.
“You could take them back to the shop. Or leave them here.” Eva gestured around. “A little color and life wouldn’t hurt.”
“Oh.” He stared as if he’d forgotten her. “Yeah, okay.”
“Thank you.” She took the vase into her arms as if she were cradling a baby and beamed at him. “So what are you doing tonight, Ames?”
As she expected, he looked startled, glanced at his watch, face reddening slightly. “I’m due at... I’m... I have...”
“Wow. That sounds fabulous.”
He laughed in surprise.
“I just arrived today from California, so I’m going to take it easy tonight.” She put the vase on the counter over the pastry. “Maybe order takeout, because I hear you can get anything delivered in this city.”
“True.”
She threw him a flirty look over her shoulder. “Even you?”
“Even me what?”
“If I was home bored and wanted company, could I order you for delivery?”
“I don’t...” He took a step back. “That is...”
Eva waved dismissively and moved the vase farther down the counter. “Don’t worry, I was only flirting. Cup of coffee on the house?”
“Uh.” He laughed uncertainly. “Actually, I’m—”
“Jinx.” She inclined her head toward the barista. “Give this man whatever he wants.”
“Okay.” Jinx stared coolly at Ames. “What’ll it be?”
“Hmm?” Ames was lost in poking at his cell again. “Uh...a red eye. Room at the top. To go.”
Eva took half a step closer to him. “We call those hammerheads in California.”
“Really?”
“Really.” She grinned at him. He was so adorable and so innocently unaware of the nights of hot sex that lay in store for him over the next month—and possibly forever. “And in the upper Midwest, where I grew up, it’s called a depth charge.”
“Okay.”
Eva folded her arms across her chest. “So what do you do in this fabulous city, Ames?”
He muttered something, jabbing away at the little letters.
“Ames.” Eva put her hand on his arm and pushed gently down.
“Huh?” He looked up at her. “I’m sorry. Did you say something?”
“I asked what you do in New York.”
“I’m sales manager for Boyce Wines, a distributor based here in New York. We import from exclusive small family vineyards in Italy and France.”
“Cool job. So you know a ton about wine.”
“I guess.” He shrugged and put his cell in his pocket, staring at her curiously. “Do you?”
“Just coffee.” She took another step toward him, caught a whiff of his fresh masculine aftershave. “How did you get into that?”
“Dad owns a wine shop.”
“Yeah? Where?”
“New Jersey.” He edged toward the pickup area of the counter. “Are you this nosy with all your customers?”
“Nosy?” She sent him an odd look. “In California we call this conversation. They don’t do that here?”
“Sorry.” He had the grace to look embarrassed. “Been a tough day. So, California, huh?”
“Central Coast.” She tipped her head, smiling alluringly. “Good wine country.”
“Absolutely.”
“Red eye. Room at the top.” Jinx plunked the container on the counter.
“Sorry about your tough day.” Eva folded her arms. “Want to talk about it?”
“I’m sure you have business to do.” He reached for the cup.
“If I did, would I be offering to talk to you?”
“Ah.” Ames rolled his eyes, smiling. “You are Chris’s sister, after all. Or at least you have her sharp reflexes.”
“Thank you.” Eva frowned at the flowers, beautiful but oddly old-fashioned on the severe counter, as if the only flowers appropriate to the space would be square. “Have you ever meditated?”
“Uh. No. Listen, it was nice to—”
“It’s great on a stressful day. You should totally try it.”
“Mmm, not interested. Thanks.”
“Doesn’t hurt to try.” She touched a spot on his forehead just above his brows, where Buddhists believed the third eye existed. He froze in horror, staring up at her finger, which made him sort of cross-eyed, but still incredibly sexy. Eva willed him to look at her, which he did, proving they had a deep connection. Or that he felt like looking at her just then. Their eyes held—both sets that time—and the adrenaline thrill was so strong she could barely get herself to continue. “It’s amazing how calm and peaceful you can feel, while at the same time energized and clear. It’s so different from how we usually operate, rushing around coping with external stuff and worries, ignoring our instincts.”
He blinked. “Uh, yeah.”
“And...” She lowered her voice, drew her finger down the bridge of his very fine nose. “Meditating is also a very sensuous experience. You hear and see and feel and taste and touch the world in a whole new way when your mind is at peace.”
The very delicious Ames swallowed audibly, then took a sudden step back, glancing at his watch. “Listen, thanks for the coffee. I really need to go.”
“Sure, sure. You don’t want to be late for your whatever.” Somehow she kept her lips from twitching. “It was nice meeting you.”
“Yeah. Same here.” He turned and headed for the door.
“Ames!”
He turned reluctantly back, looking annoyed. “What?”
Eva pointed to the milk, sugar and stir station. “Room in your cup?”
“Oh. Right.” He strode over and splashed milk into his coffee, jammed on a lid and rushed out of the shop.
She watched him go, hugging her hoodie around herself, a smile playing on her lips. What an amazing day this had turned out to be. She’d met her next true love, Ames Cooke, who didn’t seem to realize they were meant to be.
The poor guy wasn’t going to know what hit him.
2
CHRIS WALKED DOWN the hill from Eva’s house, turned left onto La Playa Avenue and walked about fifty feet to Slow Pour. That was it! No trudging down windy cement sidewalks in the cold, with grit blowing into her eyes, no waiting for the subway in a pee-smelling tunnel, no swaying among sullen, silent strangers, then waiting in another tunnel for another train among more strangers...
In Carmia she could stroll to work in five minutes without a coat, and the smell was of ocean and earth. Not to mention Eva’s store opened at seven instead of six, so she got to sleep nearly two hours later than in New York.
This was so fabulous!
Grinning like a fool, she navigated the assortment of colorful mismatched tables, which Eva had salvaged and painted herself. Outdoor tables in October!
Still smiling, she pushed into the shop. The place was adorable, homey, crowded, slightly shabby and very personal. On the sunny yellow walls were rainforest murals over which Eva had hung pictures of young Eva and Chris at coffee plantations throughout the world, and paintings by local artists that she sold from the shop. On an orange side counter were organic soaps, jewelry and cellophane bags of handmade chocolates, also the work of Carmia residents. Rotating stands held postcards and Slow Pour tote bags, T-shirts and hats. Behind the main service counter Eva had mounted a blue surfboard on which she’d attached a whiteboard with the day’s specialties scrawled across it in colored inks. Where the glass case at Chris’s shop housed croissants, brioche, Japanese sweet buns, traditional English scones and Irish soda bread, Eva’s held banana bread, carrot muffins, house-made granola bars and whole-grain pecan spice rolls.
Only one customer was inside, not surprising on such a beautiful day—a blond guy staring at the paper, which he abruptly put down when she walked in, and stared at her instead.
Rude.
She ignored him, walked to the counter, held out her hand to the petite blonde barista wearing an aqua tank top over the kind of light tan Chris was planning to acquire as soon as possible. This must be Summer. Her hair was wild and bleached by the sun, her eyes brown and friendly.
“Hey, there!” Her face broke into a warm smile, showing frighteningly white teeth. “Chris, am I right?”
“Yes, you are.” She felt pale and drab in her charcoal shorts and beige cotton sweater. “Hi, Summer.”
“I knew it.” Summer looked so happy Chris felt slightly uncomfortable. “It is so great to meet you! Welcome to California!”
“It’s great to be here. I’m just stopping by as a customer today, to say hello.”
“I’m so glad you did!” She gestured to the surfboard menu. “Melinda is on the register this afternoon, but she had a doctor appointment. Can I get you something? I’ll make it to go. You should totally go to the beach this afternoon.”
“I was going to ask to look at the schedule and your sales data for—”
“Nah, go to the beach!” The guy at the table had the nerve to butt in. “You can look at sales stuff tomorrow.”
Chris turned, incredulous at the interruption. “Uh, yeah, thanks.”
“He’s an everyday regular.” Summer spoke under her breath, giving the guy a stunning smile.
“Gotcha,” Chris murmured. She knew what that meant. No pissing off the good customer. She turned with a chilly smile. “I’m Chris. I’ll be managing the—”
“Eva’s sister.”
“Yes.” She had a sinking feeling this jerk was Zac, the guy Eva was planning to marry if nothing else worked out. Her sister’s taste in men...well, it was pretty bad. Chris hadn’t found Mr. Forever yet, either, but at least her relationships were counted in months and years, not days and weeks. And she never dived into one without looking or thinking, the way her sister always did.
“I’m Zac.” He looked her over in a way that set her teeth on edge. “Wow. For a twin, you are nothing like Eva.”
Was that a compliment or an insult? She didn’t want him to think she cared either way. “I hear that a lot.”
He stood and held out his hand, blue eyes crinkling in the corners, blond hair a few shades darker than Summer’s. He was taller than she expected, and hot, in a California surfer-dude kind of way. Totally not her type. “I hear you’re going to be around awhile.”
“Just a month.” She turned back to Summer. “I’ll have a red eye, or whatever you call them here—coffee with a shot of espresso. And those reports? If you want, you can tell me where they are and I can get them.”
“No, no, it’s no problem at all.” Summer stepped over to the espresso machine. “They’re easy to find.”
“You should get more sleep.”
Chris stiffened, unable to believe Zac had just said that to her. “What?”
“Red eyes are caffeine on top of caffeine. If you treat your body well, it will give you all the energy you need on a lot fewer artificial stimulants.”
“Yeah, okay, thanks, that’s good to know.” She groaned silently. This guy made Ames seem like a sweetheart. Too bad, because he looked like a more rugged version of Chris Hemsworth, aka Thor. But if he was a regular here, Chris would either have to learn how to handle him or tune him out—or have him abducted by aliens.
“Forget the sales reports.” Zac put his hands on his hips, covered by worn jeans, which fit pretty fabulously, if you were prone to noticing stuff like that. Over them he wore a Dive and Surf T-shirt with a picture of a shark carrying a surfboard that had a huge bite taken out of it. “You should nap on the beach. You’re probably jet-lagged and your body needs—”
“You know, I’m not really a nap-on-the-beach kind of girl.” She balanced the acid in her tone with a smile as genuine as she could make it and stepped closer to the counter. “But thanks, really. I appreciate your concern.”
“Sure.” He didn’t move. “Do you surf?”
“No!” She laughed. “Not a whole lot of that rolling in on Manhattan.”
“You want to learn?”
“No. No, thanks.” She tried to look politely regretful, but wanted to ask what he was smoking. Though this being mellow California, she might not want to know.
“I bet I can change your mind.”
“Huh.” She had to bite her cheek to keep from shouting at him. “Actually, it would be great if you didn’t.”
“I’ll get those reports.” Summer thumped Chris’s red eye on the counter and disappeared into the back of the store, practically at a run.
“So you got sick of the big city, huh?”
Did he ever shut up? Chris turned back, arms folded. “What makes you think that?”
“Eva told me. I promised I’d help with your transition.”
“Oh. Thanks, that is so nice.” She wrinkled her nose. “But I’m an independent type. I’d rather find my own way around.”
“Message received.” He held up his hands, took a few steps back. “Not a problem.”
Whew. He did have an off button. She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks anyway.”
“Here you go.” Summer handed the reports across the counter. “Everything should be there.”
“Thanks, Summer.” She left the store and stopped outside, face turned up to the sun, enjoying its warmth. Eva would have to fill her in on the best way to handle Zac. In the meantime, one of these tables out here was calling her name.
Ten seconds after she’d settled and opened the sales report, a Zac-shaped shadow fell over her table. “Chris. Do me a favor.”
Her stomach sank. The guy was a serious pest. “What’s that?”
“Follow me. If you don’t like what I’m going to show you, you can come back here.”
Her stomach twisted with irritation. “I’m fine. Really.”
“Look here.” He held his cell out in front of her nose. When she managed to focus, she saw a text. From her sister.
Zac is awesome. Go with him. Trust me.
“How did you—” Chris looked up in bewilderment, into his very blue eyes that were watching her with amusement, which made her want to growl again. “I thought you two had decided not to be in touch this month.”
“This was an emergency.”
Chris shut the report, praying for patience, and stood, radiating hostility she couldn’t help. “Okay, show me. But so help me, if this spot isn’t paradise on earth, I’ll—”
“It is.” He ambled across the sidewalk, not looking to see if she’d follow.
She did, but not willingly. In fact, during the walk she was wondering if there was anything she could put in his coffee that would keep him in bed for oh, say, exactly a month.
Down La Playa they moseyed toward the Pacific. Could he not move any faster? Chris had to shorten her steps so she didn’t pass him, and her legs were shorter than his. What was he waiting for? Did he think she couldn’t keep up? That she was some dainty flower? Forget that, she did triathlons every summer.
When she was just about ready to put a hand to his broad back and shove to make him go faster, they reached the end of the line of buildings and turned toward the beach.
Okay, okay, it was beautiful. Really beautiful. A peaceful expanse of sand flattened smooth by waves. On either side, rocky cliffs topped with sparse green growth and low trees. Zac led her on a short stroll across the sand, then up a steep path to the top of the cliff on the north side.
She followed him to a spot between two scrubby bushes, where a table and bench had been set up so the occupants would be sheltered while still being able to take in the Pacific, the cliffs and the mountains behind.
“Wow.” Chris put her hands on her hips, shaking her head in defeat. “You were right. It’s perfect.”
Zac shrugged his broad shoulders. “Seemed to me you can’t improve on much when you’re reading sales reports, but this might do it.”
“It’s beautiful. Thanks for showing me. I’ll appreciate the quiet and privacy.” She brightened her voice and put the report on the table with her coffee, praying he’d get the hint and leave her alone.
“Just you and the beautiful Central Coast.” He lifted his hand for a high five. “Be at peace.”
Chris slapped his palm. Whatever. He was going. “Thanks.”
“See ya around.”
She managed a noncommittal “Mmm.” The second he was out of earshot, she furiously dialed her sister.
“Eva! What did you let me in for?”
“What do you mean?”
“This Zac person. He’s horrible.”
“Zac? Horrible?”
Chris rolled her eyes. She adored her sister, but sometimes she was much too...tolerant. Especially of guys. “He practically jumped down my throat. Told me I shouldn’t drink red eyes, that I shouldn’t read sales reports, shouldn’t sit at the Slow Pour...”
“Oh, but isn’t it gorgeous there where he took you? The cliff seat above Aura Beach, right? I told him he should.”
Chris wrinkled her nose, gazing around her at the wide, endless ocean. “Well...yes, it’s gorgeous.”
“He wanted you to be happy.”
“That’s not the point. I was perfectly happy sitting outside at Slow Pour.”
“Aren’t you happier now?”
“No, I’m completely exasperated with him. And you!”
Eva giggled, making Chris smile. “He’s a good guy, I promise.”
“So what’s he going to do, come in every day and tell me how to live my life?”
“Probably,” Eva said cheerfully.
“Great.” Chris rolled her eyes. “Out of Ames’s frying pan and into Zac’s fire.”
“Ooh, into Zac’s fire. Sounds like a sexy title. And speaking of sexy, you forgot to mention that Ames is a total hottie.”
“Yeah...” Chris lifted her chin, letting the sun have at her face again. “He is kind of hot.”
“Mmm.” Eva sighed.
“Do not get any ideas. The guy’s a narcissist. Not your type at all.” It immediately occurred to her that Ames was Eva’s type, since she invariably went for guys who were wrong for her. But that didn’t mean she had to do it again.
“No? We’ll see. Now sit down and enjoy the ocean for an hour or two.”
“An hour or two? Staring at waves?” She snorted. “Not me. But it is a beautiful place to work.”
“Chris, you just arrived! Enjoy the place!”
“I am enjoying it. It’s stunning up here. Now leave me alone while I study your sales reports.”
“You are hopeless.”
“I know.” She ended the call reminding her sister of a couple of restaurant suggestions in her neighborhood on Eighty-Seventh Street, and settled back with her report.
Hmm. Sales okay, fairly steady, but not really taking off. Looked a lot like her own track record in New York, except most of Eva’s traffic occurred midmorning and midafternoon, NYEspresso’s dead times. In a place like—
“Whoa, sorry, man. Didn’t realize someone was here.”
Chris looked up, startled. She hadn’t heard anyone com—
Oh, my God.
Dark windblown hair. Blue eyes. Shorts and T-shirt revealing a gorgeous body. Warm, white-toothed smile. The hottest guy she’d ever seen.
Her heart launched into triple time. She was unable to speak or return his smile, just sat there staring in a flood of hormones.
When was the last time a guy had affected her like this? Not John, not Rob, not even Steve, her most serious boyfriend. This crazy, overwhelming reaction was a first. What did it mean?
Something really good.
She took a deep breath and indicated the other half of the table. “Have a seat. There’s plenty of room.”
3
“GUY CHAUMONT PINOT Noir. Three cases? Four? Like last time. Okay, glad you enjoyed it.” Ames scribbled on his notepad. “He’s got an excellent Chardonnay, too. Twenty-ten, a classic dry Burgundy, with apple and melon notes, great with vegetarian and vegan dishes. Want me to bring a bottle when I see you Thursday? Okay, good. And the Chateau Moulin Bordeaux, too? Excellent. Nice talking with you and I’ll see you Thursday at two. Right. Bye.”
Ames tossed his pen onto the desk in the office he’d set up in one of his condo’s extra bedrooms. Working from home was one of the greatest perks of his job and also one of its greatest challenges. Days like today, when he was restless and irritated, there was no one else around to bring him out of it except Jean, his Tuesdays-and-Thursdays cleaning woman, cook and sometimes assistant, who was convinced he couldn’t live without her. She might be right. But her way of bringing him out of a funk was to tell him exactly how he was living his life wrong.
Didn’t seem to help.
Finding out that Chris Meyer had left New York and flown about as far away over land as possible without telling him hurt more than Ames had expected. He’d been settling in for a slow and steady campaign to win her, and had thought he might be making some progress. To put it mildly, this didn’t look good.
He pulled his laptop closer and brought up the file on Manhattan Vine, one of the biggest chains of liquor stores in the city, an account he’d singlehandedly landed for Boyce Wines, a coup that had been instrumental in getting him promoted in the venerable company. He’d spent the morning visiting retailers to check signage and point-of-purchase placement and probing managers for their openness to hosting wine-tasting events. He was thinking some of Manhattan Vine’s east-side stores might be a good place to push Boyce’s higher-priced wines now that the midlevel bottles had done pretty well.
Funny, the second he’d laid eyes on Chris he’d felt a pull, as if she was familiar somehow, as if he already knew her and it was only a matter of getting through the formalities of preliminary dates before they’d be together in a way Ames felt certain would be significant. He’d felt that way only once before about a woman and had ended up dating Sarah for four years before they came to a mutual realization that it was time to commit or break up, and they’d both chosen the latter.