Licked (L.A. Liaisons Book 1) (13 page)

We talked about his siblings…the fact that I was an only child…my grandparents’ ice cream shop where I’d spent my summers and developed “mad ice creamery skills,” as he called them, and before I knew it, three hours had flown by and we were passing the city of Palm Desert.

“Are you sure you’re going the right way?” I asked as he continued driving farther to what looked like a whole lot of Boonyville to me. We were surrounded by…well, nothing. We seemed to be going in the opposite direction of town.

“Patience is a virtue,” he said, easing the car onto a dirt road that seemed to have popped up out of nowhere.
 

I turned my body so that I was leaning against the door. “You’re taking me somewhere to chop me into tiny pieces, aren’t you?”

“It was supposed to be a surprise,” Hunter said, keeping a straight face.
 

“You could’ve at least let me pick out my best dress for the occasion.”

“You look grea—” He caught himself and shrugged. “You’ll do.”

Was he about to say that I looked great?
Whoa.
That shouldn’t have made me bite down on my lip to keep from smiling, but I did. Dammit.

Hunter turned left again, and as we drove up the dusty trail, the Garden of Eden came into view. At least that was what it looked like to me.

“Are you serious?” I said, scooting to the edge of my seat, my mouth falling open. “Is this where we’re going?”

“This is your final resting place, yes.”

“Wow.”
 

It was like a tropical rainforest had been dropped in the middle of the desert. Palm trees stood at attention overlooking the lush greenery surrounding the adobe property. Flowers of every color lined the pathway, as did the elaborate fountain and the antique swing off to the side in the middle of the garden. The mixture of new and old shouldn’t have made sense, but somehow it worked.
 

Yeah.
This was so up my alley.
 

When we got out of the car, a robust man in a Hawaiian shirt was coming down the front steps to greet us. His jet-black hair trailed down his back, glistening in the sun. It was enough to bring on a serious case of hair lust.
 

“About time you came back around,” he said to Hunter, pulling him in for a hug and clapping him on the back. “Been too long. Molly was beginning to think you were never coming back.”

“Molly? Forgetting your girlfriends already?” I asked Hunter.
 

As if on cue, a giant Great Dane loped down the stairs and made a beeline for Hunter, jumping on him so its paws were on his chest. Hunter laughed as his face was smothered in wet kisses. “I missed you too, girl.”

“Molly, get down,” the man said, before shaking his head. He gave me an apologetic smile. “Mitch,” he said, shaking my hand. “You must be Ryleigh. Hunter tells me you’ve got a great little ice creamery in the city.”

“Nice to meet you. And thank you. I’m a little biased, but I think it’s pretty nice.”
 

“Well, come on in, I know it’s a long drive—Molly, leave him alone.” When the dog dropped down on all fours, Mitch shook his head at Hunter. “What’d you do, bathe in Eau de Ribeye before you came?”

“He seems to have that effect on women,” I said.
 

“All women?” Hunter asked me, wiping his face off with his shirt. I tried to resist the temptation to look at his chiseled abs, but I failed. And I couldn’t even be upset about that, because
wow.

Jerking my face away before he could catch me looking, I shrugged and said, “The desperate ones,” before following Mitch into the building, leaving Hunter to trail behind me.
 

If I’d thought the outside was gorgeous, the inside was mind-blowing. It was one big open floor plan, an array of furniture and art everywhere you looked. In one corner were elaborate coffee tables. In another there were sculptures. Another section contained chairs of every make and model you could imagine. Huge handcrafted lighting fixtures hung from the ceiling.
 

“You did all this?” I asked, my eyes wide and taking in every inch.
 

“Guilty,” Mitch said.
 

“It’s incredible. More than worth the drive.”

“I appreciate that.” A phone rang from somewhere across the room. “Hunter, show her around. I’ll be back to check on you in a bit.”

“Wow,” I said when Mitch walked off. “How have I never heard about this place?”

“Feel free to say it again. ‘Hunter, I am so lucky I have you to show me the way.’”

“Oh my gosh, look at these barstools,” I said, making my way over to the corner with the seating displays. The seats were shaped like martini glasses, the straw and olive making up the seat back, and each chair was a different color. They were so unique, so funky…
so me.
Hunter had been right. There was no way I could get stuff like this anywhere else, and they were perfect for the new space. “These. I need these.”

“Would you rather they be martini-shaped like this, or would you like something closer to your theme? Maybe ice cream cones?”

I think my eyes bugged out of my head. “What? Are you serious? He could make ice cream cone barstools? Please don’t tease me.”

Hunter laughed. “I’m not teasing. I’ve never seen him do one, of course, but…I bet if you asked him nicely, he could find a way to do it.”

“Oh my God. I think I’m in love.”

“It’s a little too soon for me, but give me time.”
 

When he winked and walked over to the next section, I let out a groan. “You’re completely full of yourself, you know that? Biggest ladies’ man I ever met.”

Hunter stopped abruptly and turned around, his hands resting on the tables on both sides of me. “You assume a lot.”

Swallowing, I said, “Are you trying to tell me I’m wrong?”

His dark eyes were piercing, his face so close I could feel his breath on my lips. We didn’t move, just stood there, eyes locked as I waited for what he would say. My eyes flicked down to his mouth.
Or do.
And suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to press my lips against his, to wrap my arms around his neck and feel him against me.
 

My breath hitched as he moved infinitesimally closer. There was no indecision, no warring of my brain, just the begging of
do it.
But just as the thought crossed my mind, he backed away, his eyes still on mine as Mitch’s voice rang out.
 

“Sorry about that,” the man said. “See anything you like?”

Yeah. Yeah, I do.
Looking away from Hunter, I gave Mitch a smile. “I’m a bit overwhelmed. You’ve got so much great stuff.”

“Thank you. We can start narrowing it down if you’ll tell me what you need.”

I took a deep breath and said, “Do you have some paper? You might wanna write this down.”

Four hours later I had designs for my bar, all tables and chairs, lighting, accessories, and—the best part—the ice cream stools. I was squealing inside like a fangirl at a boy band concert over that. Not to mention Mitch had fed us delicious fish tacos, complete with freshly squeezed lemonade. I was in heaven. There was just one teensy tiny little thing left to cover.

“All right,” I said, setting down my empty glass. “This is all amazing, and I want it all and more, but let’s talk numbers.”

Mitch nodded and took a small notepad and pencil out of the front pocket of his shirt. He scribbled down a figure, and when he flashed it my way, my eyes practically fell out of their sockets. There was no way I could afford that. Mitch chuckled and then wrote on the pad again. This time when he showed me, there was a substantial discount, cutting the fee by more than half.
 

I must’ve looked confused, because he said, “There’s only two people who get that discount, and the other one’s my mom.”

“You charge your mom?” I said incredulously.

“Nah, she usually ends up paying in meals anyway.” He closed the pad and tucked it back into his shirt. “So whaddya say?”

I was pretty sure that question was redundant, because there was no person in their right mind that would’ve turned an offer like that down. Pulling out my wallet, I said, “I’d say can you start yesterday?”

BY THE TIME we left Mitch’s store, it was early evening. I was able to go ahead and take a couple of tall planters, and I was thankful then that I’d relented and let Hunter drive his truck, because there was no way those items would’ve fit in my Mini’s trunk.
 

I had my seat reclined, my eyes closed, and my hand was out the window, letting the wind roll across my fingertips. With the weight of finding interior pieces for the bar off my shoulders, I felt more relaxed than I had in a while. And they were
great
fucking finds.
 

“You look happy,” Hunter said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.
 

“I’m ecstatic. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It’s beyond what I dared to hope for.”

“Good.”

“Mitch is a talented guy. How’d you meet him, anyhow?” I asked. When Hunter didn’t respond right away, I opened my eyes and saw him rubbing his jaw.
 

“A mutual friend,” he said.

“A mutual friend? That’s pretty vague.” When he didn’t have a response to that, I pushed for more. “Okay, let me guess. You met him through a Craigslist ad and ended up roommates, but he fell in love with the girl you followed here. Then after she caught sight of his glorious hair, it was no contest and you conceded defeat.”

He snorted and shook his head.
 

“What? Am I close?” I asked.

“I’d say you’ve got a pretty great imagination.”

“That’s a non-answer.”

“Yes, it was.”

I got the feeling I shouldn’t push for information, though I wanted to. “You don’t like to talk about yourself, do you?”

“A keen observation.”

“How are you supposed to let people in if you don’t tell them anything?”

He raised an eyebrow at me. “Are you wanting to be let in?”

My face felt sunburned from the heat rushing to it. “I wasn’t… I mean, I didn’t mean me.”

“Maybe I do hold some things close to the vest, but you don’t have to know everything about a person’s past to really know them.”

“But past experiences make up who you are.”

“So you’re telling me if I asked about your former relationships and all the bad shit you might’ve gone through when you were younger, that would tell me about the person you are now?” he asked.

“I think it could help explain why some people are the way they are. Take you, for instance. Everything about you screams gorgeous player with a cocky attitude who, other than heartbreaker girl, probably leaves a trail of broken hearts of his own all across the 5 freeway. But then I see the way you run your business, and this responsible, take-no-shit side. And then when you avoid my questions, like now, it shows me another. Something almost vulnerable. You told me I assume things about you, but I think you’re more than what you show. I wonder what happened in your life to make you the way you are.”

He was silent for a moment, his eyes focused on the road, my words rolling over him. I expected him to say something profound, to open up a little after my speech. Instead, he glanced at me and said, “Gorgeous, huh?”

Cocky. Ass.
 

“Oh, shut up.”

“I CAN GET it,” I said, reaching for one of the planters in the bed of the truck. But Hunter lifted it with ease before my hands wrapped around it.
 

“I don’t think so,” he said. “Maybe you could unlock your door, though, if you want to keep these upstairs until construction is done.”

The thought of Hunter entering my apartment had my stomach doing flips, but what choice did I have? The planters
were
super heavy, and I’d probably drop it or fall down the stairs if I made an attempt.
 

I tried to remember how I’d left it looking this morning. Were there bras and panties lying around? Did I wash the bowl of oatmeal before I’d left, or would it be sitting on the counter all dried and crusted just waiting for me? His place had been immaculate both times I’d been over there. Oh, what the hell did I care what he thought anyway?