He was too much the gentleman to admit that he was avoiding Jennifer, but Bonnie had her suspicions. “You can bring things in from the kitchen, if you like,” she said.
Maybe he was just being polite, genuinely attempting to be helpful rather than trying to escape the attentions of an admittedly attractive woman. The awkward truth was, she hadn’t much liked seeing Jennifer flirting so blatantly with Paul, but maybe he’d liked it very much. It would certainly be unprofessional of her to flirt with him, at least while he was a participant in her class, she told herself primly.
And still she found herself smiling up at him through her lashes when he stopped close beside her in the kitchen. “You can carry one basket,” she said, motioning toward the two large picnic-style baskets on the counter. “I’ll get the other one.”
“I’d be happy to.” He reached for the closest handle. “I’m sorry again that I was so late,” he said as they carried the baskets into the dining room. “The twins needed a lift to a youth party at their church and their mom got hung up at work and everyone else was otherwise occupied, so she called me. I’d have still had plenty of time, but Jenna had to try on every pair of shoes in her closet before she decided she was ready to go. I have to admit I was pretty impatient with her by the time we finally got away, because I was really looking forward to this class.”
“You were exactly on time,” she reminded him, then asked, “Jenna is one of the twins, right?”
“Right. Jenna and Jackson.”
Setting her basket on the demo table, Bonnie glanced up at him, thinking not for the first time that he had a decidedly different relationship with his daughter’s other family. She couldn’t help wondering, though, why he’d never started a new family of his own. He seemed to enjoy fatherhood—even honorary “unclehood”—but she’d heard no evidence of a special woman in his life. Was he a commitment-phobe? Or—she couldn’t help frowning a little—was he still hung up on his remarkable ex after all these years, even though Holly had long since moved on? Not that it was any of her business, of course.
He stood back and watched as she unloaded the supplies onto the demo table. She unpacked six cute little glass jars with home-printed labels, arranging them next to a food processor. Paul picked up one of the jars and read the label. “You’re making pesto?”
“Yes. Everyone’s going home with a jar tonight and easy instructions for making it yourself.”
He chuckled and replaced the jar. “Now that would impress Cassie, if I served her pesto I made myself.”
Laughing softly, Bonnie patted his arm without thinking about it. “By the time you’ve finished this class, you can wow her with a whole meal you prepared yourself, from the salad course to dessert, all made with fresh, local produce.”
He rested his hand over hers before she could draw away and gave a little squeeze to her fingers. “She’ll think you’re a miracle worker.”
Though his gesture had been casual, teasing, as had her own, she reacted as she had before to his touch. Or rather, she overreacted with a surge of awareness and a wave of heat that were totally out of proportion to the situation. Quickly drawing her hand away on the pretext of setting out more supplies, she told herself that she really had neglected her social life for too long. Maybe she’d start working on that online dating profile this very evening, though she wondered if she would find anyone there as interesting and appealing as Paul.
Jennifer came back into the dining room, followed closely by the others. Jennifer made a beeline for Paul. “You missed a lovely walk in the garden,” she said. “It’s cooler now that the sun’s gone down a
bit, and the flowers are beautiful. And that fountain…well, it’s just perfect.”
“What he really missed was the look on Heather’s face when that big dog suddenly appeared beside the fountain,” Nora said with a giggle that was too deliberately girlish for her age. “That was priceless.”
Heather scowled. “Well, you have to admit he looked scary. I couldn’t help that little gasp. Thank goodness I saw almost immediately that he was being held by his owner.”
Bonnie swallowed a groan. “That’s my brother’s dog, Ninja. I know he looks intimidating, but he’s really very gentle. And Logan keeps him on a leash when they take their walks around the property.”
Logan had learned to keep the curious rottweiler-mix dog under close supervision because of Ninja’s uncanny knack for escaping all but the most secure enclosures. Ninja was completely harmless, rarely even barked, but his size alone was enough to frighten nervous guests, so he was not allowed to freely roam the grounds. When Logan was busy, Ninja was locked into the sizeable backyard of Logan’s cottage down the hill from the inn. The two could often be seen taking long walks around the property early in the mornings and late in the day, good exercise for both of them. Logan had bonded with the former stray in a way he rarely did with people, other than his two sisters.
“You said the dog’s owner is your brother?” Lydia asked a bit too casually. “He’s a nice-looking man, isn’t he?”
Smiling a little, Bonnie said, “Yes, I think so.”
“Single?”
“Very.”
“You Carmichael siblings,” Nora said with a teasing shake of her head. “All work, all the time. At least Kinley is in a romantic relationship now, but I’m beginning to wonder if you and Logan are married to this inn.”
“Let’s just say we’ve made the inn our top priority for the past few years,” Bonnie replied lightly. “We’ll get around to other things, eventually.”
She glanced at her watch and then motioned toward the tables. “We should get started again. Who would like to volunteer to be my assistant during this next segment?”
“I volunteer Paul.” Nora shot a mischievous grin at her only male classmate. “I think he’d look especially cute in an apron.”
If Nora had hoped to see him embarrassed, her teasing gambit failed. Paul accepted the challenge with alacrity. “I’d be happy to help,” he said, moving around the table to stand beside Bonnie.
Bonnie donned a red-and-white gingham, bib-style apron embroidered on the center pocket with the Bride Mountain Inn logo. She tied a loose bow behind her back, then smiled as she picked up a matching apron for Paul. “This will be a little short for you, but it will keep you from splashing oil or pesto on your clothes.”
While the rest of the class grinned appreciatively, he bent to allow her to slip the top loop over his head. His face was very close to hers as she did so, and she couldn’t resist looking at his mouth. He had such a nice mouth. His eyes met hers for a moment and the glint in them made her wonder uncomfortably if he had read her thoughts. But then he straightened and turned so she could secure the ties behind his back. His strong, straight back. With a firm, tight…