Cooking Up Romance

She looked Zackery Gardner in the eyes, feeling a powerful surge of something run through her that had nothing to do with getting a second chance, and pretended to be cool as a seasoned cucumber in rice vinegar. Cool was necessary around such a man. Especially since he was a family man.

“You betcha.”

Wednesday, when she pulled her rig onto the construction site, she couldn’t help but notice someone had set out a bunch of overturned wooden crates. Had Zack done it for the men to sit on? If so, that was progress and a sign of good faith. She sure hoped she could fill those makeshift seats today.

Out the door ran Emma from the office and, following behind, Zack.

“Hi!” Emma said, looking as if she was bursting to tell Lacy something.

“Thought setting up some places for the men to sit might bring more guys over,” Zack explained as he made the last few steps to her truck.

“I can sure use the help and it’s certainly worth a try. Thank you.”

“Probably should’ve done it for Monday, but I think you’ll have a much better turnout today.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Dad gave them a peck talk and said they should try your lunches.”

“Pep talk,” Zack corrected.

“You did?” Warmth started at Lacy’s neck and rose to her cheeks. He’d only do that if he wanted her to stick around.

He looked flustered and maybe a little irritated, thanks to Emma’s honesty. “Well, I have a bit of an ulterior motive.”

“Other than helping me sell food and keep this job?”

His appealing sun-tinged eyebrows tented, and his normally heavy lidded eyes narrowed the tiniest bit. “Well, yes.”

“Will you teach me to cook?”

Instead of snapping at Emma for letting the cat out of the bag, like some parents would, Zack tossed Lacy a hopeful look. “Emma really wants to learn how to cook, and…”

Who needed to think about such a sweet offer? “I’d love to.”

Emma clapped, then rushed to hug Lacy’s waist tight, just like the other day.

“Of course, I can’t exactly teach her how to cook here.” She used her hands to motion around the construction site and toward her truck under the trees.

“Right,” he said. “We were hoping you might be available Saturday afternoon?”

Saturday afternoon—wasn’t that a family kind of day? Where was his wife, and why wasn’t she teaching Emma to cook? Did he have one? A wife? No ring. Maybe for safety reasons, he left it off at work. But his daughter seemed starved for female attention. However, Saturday afternoon didn’t exactly fall into dating time zone, and any dates Lacy had ever gone on had not so far included a child, a mystery wife or cooking lessons. Still, she looked forward to getting to know both of the Gardners better. “Would you like to drop her off at my house?”

Those sexy, sleepy-looking eyes studied her carefully. “Would you consider coming to ours?”

Chapter Three (#ude629ff9-16a8-569d-a65e-d2a12aecf432)

Saturday afternoon, Lacy showed up at Zack’s house at the appointed time, three o’clock, with a single tote bag of groceries in hand. It was obvious the man was in construction, having taken a typical Little River Valley home and remodeled it into something amazing. A large porch wrapped around the entire house, promising a huge back patio. He’d painted the structure a trendy gray and highlighted it with beige-and-stone-colored river rock-posts. The double front cherrywood doors with added stained-glass sidelights covered nearly half of the front of the house and made quite an impression. Lacy stopped briefly in her tracks to take it all in. Wow. He knew what he was doing, and she’d hire him in a minute—if she could afford a renovation.

Emma must have been watching through the large add-on bay window, another feature Lacy loved, because the little girl opened the door before Lacy reached the top step.

“Hi!” Emma said, looking tiny in the travertine-tiled entry.

“Hey you. Are you guys ready for me?” Having admitted on the drive over to a boatload of nerves about seeing Zack Gardner off duty made Lacy try particularly hard for a cool and breezy greeting. She stepped through the threshold into a surprisingly modern looking step-down living room. The floor changed to hardwood or maybe an upscale laminate that looked like wood but could handle heavier traffic. Not that there’d be that much going on with a small family, but maybe the Gardners threw a lot of parties? That didn’t ring true, still she wondered. There was recessed lighting, and the open floor concept led right to the kitchen. Nice. Homey. Surprisingly so.

Zack appeared from down the hall, a warm smile on his face. “Hi. Welcome.”

He took her breath away just by showing up, immediately putting her on edge. “Thanks.” She tried her best to keep a calm facade. “Your house is gorgeous.”