He wouldn’t have felt good leaving Somme alone, even though he didn’t want to cancel his date with Laken. Working together all week wasn’t the same as getting some time alone where there were no emails to be dealt with, meetings to attend, or deadlines to meet. Isley was ready for some alone time with Laken.
There were no instructions to follow this week, so Isley didn’t dither the same and was waiting outside for Laken’s arrival. The man was prompt, and Isley had the door open before he’d come to a full stop in his eagerness to see where they were going.
“You look lovely.” Laken didn’t give him a chance to reply, swooping in to claim a kiss that, on the Richter scale, would have been a solid eight the way it made everything shift and move. He blinked several times to clear the lust haze. In that time, Laken had strapped him in and was pulling into the traffic.
“You could win competitions with those kisses,” he announced breathlessly, his whole body alight with sexual tension.
Laken’s cheeks were decidedly pink above his trimmed beard as he shook his head.
“Give over.” He threw an incendiary glance at Isley. “Only person I’m kissing is you.”
“Right answer.” Isley glanced out the window, not seeing anything that gave him a clue to where they were going. “What are we doing today?”
“Chocolate making,” Laken answered absently, like discussing the weather, as he shifted forward to check the traffic before pulling out.
“We are?” Isley bounced in his seat, not at all concerned by how he’d screeched, making Laken wince. No, he was too excited to hold back.
“How fun! Not that I know much about it, but chocolate? You can’t go wrong with that.”
He kept up a running commentary as they parked at the back of a building. There were a few parking places available. “What time does it start?”
“Not for another half an hour. I thought we could have a wander through their shop, they sell scented candles and diffusers. The ones with the sticks that Popi likes. I thought I might pick something up for him while I was here.”
Isley’s heart fluttered right out of his chest at the adorableness that was Laken right then. “Great idea. With Christmas a month away, I might look to get some gifts.” His mind was racing. “Do they sell chocolate, too? I could get some for Kari and Bowie.”
“Not sure.” Out of the car, Laken interlinked their fingers, and the fluttering turned to a wild flapping. “Why give them chocolate?”
“Their mating. Kari was with Bowie last night.” Isley glanced up at Laken when he stopped suddenly.
“Kari is mated to Bowie?”
Isley frowned, getting a feeling he’d just put his foot in something he shouldn’t have. “You didn’t know, did you?”
Laken shook his head, brows merging. “It explains why Kari brought Bowie to the house this morning.”
“Don’t you approve?” Isley questioned hesitantly.
“He hasn’t announced it officially to his brothers.”
They walked hand in hand into the diving smelling shop. The scents didn’t compete with each other, more they worked together to harmonize each other, giving Isley good vibes about their date. Glass shelves held a selection of different sized candles, each with a price and marked with its scent on the wall in front of them. To the left and up in the corner was a counter in a dark cherry wood which was currently unmanned, and the glass shelves on the other wall held the diffusers.
Isley wasn’t sure what to say so was grateful for the distraction of the woman coming towards them from a different part of the shop.
“Hello, are you here for the chocolate workshop?”
Isley observed the young woman in her twenties, with bright auburn hair up in a top knot and inquisitive green eyes. She offered a friendly smile as she came to a stop in front of them.
Four people mingled, all women, down in the other part of the shop, and the way they interacted gave Isley the impression they all knew each other.
“We are,” Laken answered, offering a polite smile, “but I was hoping to browse in your shop first.”
“We encourage browsing.” She pointed in the direction she came. “We have a selection of teas and coffee, along with water. There are cookies, too. Please help yourself. We are just waiting for two more people to show up, so you have time to browse now, but you can also wait until after we’ve finished.”
“Do you sell chocolate?” Laken, who had let go of Isley’s hand to drift over to the candles, stopped and turned back to them, wearing a look of amusement. His dark eyes sparkling like the sea with the sun shining on it. In lieu of jeans, he wore navy slacks matched to a powder blue wool sweater that was visible under the navy-blue padded jacket. His hair was wind swept and his skin glowed from the cold.
“We do, but only one kind so far, though it’s not stored in the shop as it’s a fairly new venture for us. I can give you a sample to try.”
Isley wasn’t blind to how the woman gave Laken an appreciative look before he went off towards the candles. Isley didn’t blame her, he was so damn attractive.