Sweet Nothings Read Free

couldn’t help the grin that once again covered his face.
    Interesting. Maybe he would ask her out. Why not have a little fun while here?
    Joanie jumped into action and disappeared into the van behind the girl, taking her legs with her, and his heart gave a momentary protest but then settled down to function as it was supposed to. Slow and steady. A dependable life force. Not the raging bull it had been since she’d walked out the door.
    It gave him the chance to remind himself that whether she was cute or not, he was not in the market for a woman. Especially not someone like her. He preferred the more traditional. Not go-go boots, pink hair, and a cupcake van.
    He shook his head, hoping to clear the idea from his mind.
    His goal here was to further the connection with the brother he’d only recently learned about, and to hopefully find their still-missing third brother. He wanted to get to know them. They were his family now.
    Then he could use his company as a reason to come back to visit on a regular basis.
    And though he did enjoy a nice date with a fun woman, dating was not a priority. He had to remember that.
    The order window in front of him popped open and Joanie’s smiling face beamed down at him. Her hair bounced around, doing its own thing, and he had the vague thought that if he wasn’t careful, his priorities could easily be shot to hell.
    “What’ll you have?” she asked. Gone was her seeming fixation on him. She was now all about the cupcakes. She flipped out a menu of choices and it hung from a metal arm to the side of the open window. “Our special this week, to celebrate Valentine’s Day, is cherry chip. I’m calling it Cupid’s Love. You can get it with either pink…” one hand flicked the pink tips of her hair, “or red icing. We also have—”
    “Pink.” The word shot out as if it had been yanked from the back of his throat, and her eyes locked with his for a brief moment. “I want pink,” he reiterated.
    A slight smile danced across her lips and his blood inched up a degree.
    He took in the pink in her hair and the matching sweater hugging her body, and his heart once again lost its rhythm. Yes, he wanted pink. And what the hell was that about?
    He dated all the time, enjoyed going out with plenty of women. No one got him so flustered that he practically swallowed his tongue just from talking to her.
    “Then pink it shall be.” She plucked out a fat cupcake with icing piled high and tiny red hearts sprinkled on top, grabbed a couple napkins, and handed it all to him. “It’s on the house, big guy. Now tell me, what brings you back to town so soon?”
    He would have thought she’d heard from Lee Ann or Cody that he was coming.
    Before he could answer, music blared from the speakers above him, making him take an involuntary step back. When he did, he glanced at the top of the van, the sign now flashing in lights. Apparently the teenager was trying to tell him something. Move on. Quit ogling the owner.
    Joanie laughed with honest happiness, the sound warming him deep inside, and he decided that cupcakes were going to be one of his favorite things in the coming weeks.
    “I’ll come out and we can talk,” she said, before turning to the girl. “There are customers heading this way. Can you handle them?”
    “Sure thing, boss. Just take it outside.”
    Another light trill of laughter came from Joanie, and Nick caught himself doing that stupid grin thing again. He really had to stop that.
    She bounced out of the van as people trickled over from nearby stores to get their own dessert, and he followed until they stood a few feet to the side of the foot traffic.
    “The first day of a new venture is pretty exciting,” she said. Her exuberance was contagious.
    “So this is day one?” That must explain the outfit. She had to be freezing in that skirt.
    “First day for the van, yes. The store’s been open for two weeks, though we didn’t do a big grand-opening thing.” She motioned