Love, Chocolate, and Beer (Cactus Creek #1)(95)

Shrugging, she answered truthfully. “Honestly, I just wanted to make it for you; I didn’t really think about why.”

“You hopeless romantic.”

She rolled her eyes then grinned mischievously as she reached for the piece of chocolate in question. When she turned back to him, she put on the best puppy-dog expression she could muster without giggling. “You’re not going to deprive me of seeing you taste it, are you Luke? I worked so hard on it.” Blinking, she held up the dirt-covered chocolate to him expectantly.

He looked from the chocolate to her devil-angel expression and then snapped the chocolate up in his mouth, her fingers and all.

“Stop!” she yelped, not letting go of the chocolate. “Spit it out! It has dirt and who knows what else all over it from the ground. Stop! I was kidding!”

He held on stubbornly with lips and teeth, eyes dancing in that Icalled-your-bluff way.

“Fine, fine! I’ll make you a new one!”

His eyebrows lowered, silently demanding she up the ante.

She narrowed her eyes and harrumphed. When his tongue licked at her fingers to rush her along, she groused. “I. Am. Sorry.” Her voice melted. “I shouldn’t have just thrown this chocolate away. I will make you a hundred more.” She settled against him much more snugly, enjoyment chiming in her voice when he lit like a fuse. “And I will serve them to you naked, each one after a marathon sex session where I satisfy your every carnal fantasy and then fan you with a palm leaf while whispering the glories of your astounding—”

His mouth let go of the dirt-coated chocolate and sought her lips instead.

After a few hungry kisses, he sighed. “You always manage to turn my win into your own.” He tried to sound put-out, but failed, his smile caressing her ear amusedly.

“Lock that door and I could be persuaded to let you win one for a change.”

He almost knocked her down as he lunged for the door lock.

She screeched out in laughter and pounced on his back to stop him. But he was quicker, stronger, and clearly hornier.

The loud click of the lock echoed in the room, and with one arm, he reached back and flipped her around in a wide arc until he caught her against his chest and held her against him. He lowered his lips to start collecting his just rewards right away.

Dani closed her eyes to bask in the kiss, in the feel of Luke gently loving her.

Beyond just today or tomorrow.



*



“QUINN, HOLD ON. Slow down. What’s wrong?” Luke gripped his phone as he listened to Quinn’s devastated voice on the line. “You’re freaking me out. Please. Stop crying, and tell me what’s the matter. Where are you?”

Cooper’s doctor’s office.

Luke felt angry, terrified frustration when he heard the news.

Another surgery.

Little Coop needed yet another surgery.

Luke listened to the details with growing anger at the injustice of it all. Various areas of scar tissue from the respiratory complications and resulting half dozen surgeries Cooper had endured as a newborn were now blocking a large portion of his airway and hindering his ability to breathe even in normal day-to-day function. Luke almost crushed his cell phone in his hand when he heard that part. Quinn cried even harder as she explained how Cooper now needed an entire airway reconstruction surgery—a complex procedure that would be multiply invasive, require months of difficult recovery, and of course, cost thousands even after insurance.

Damn it, hadn’t the universe been hard enough on that boy? On Quinn? Luke tried desperately to console Quinn even though he himself was silently raging inside.

There was no doubt in his mind anymore. Quinn and Cooper were more important to him than his shop. He wouldn’t draw out this decision any longer. The kind of money Quinn needed to pay out of pocket for the surgery was enough to bankrupt her as is, and that was on top of the thousands she already owed in medical loans. His hands fisted in emotion.

He knew what he had to do.

One by one, he began slowly cutting every emotional tie he had to everything he’s worked for over the years as he searched for Noah’s phone number.

Simply giving up the shop wasn’t going to be enough.

He had to give up his five best chocolate recipes too.



*



“JAMESON.”

“Hi, Noah. It’s Dani. Please just keep an open mind over what I’m about to propose.”

Aside from a small tired sigh, an acquiescing silence echoed back at her.

“I know you said you need to go through with either the lease increase or the sale of the building to one of those big wineries, but what if you had a third option?” Noah hadn’t interrupted or hung up on her. So far so good. “Derek and I share equal ownership of Ocotillos; I’m willing to sign over half of my half in exchange for fifty-one percent of the Desert Confections building. Just the building.”

“Dani—”

“It’s more than fair and you know it.” She couldn’t bear to hear him say no. “The twenty-five percent of Ocotillos I’d be giving you would be of the brewpub and the brewery buildings, as well as my apartment, and the lot itself, which is easily five times the size of yours, and worth ten times as much. And all that is on top of the twenty-five percent share of the active business itself.”