Spark Read online

  Spark

  Ella Goode

  Contents

  Blurb

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Epilogue

  Also by Ella Goode

  Connect with me!

  SPARK

  When the coffee shop owned by Bailey Blakely’s found family is threatened by a new corporate coffee house, Bailey immediately makes her protest signs and starts marching in front of the building. She charms the construction workers, the project manager, and, without knowing, the owner of the franchise—Jackson “Jax” Roberts.

  Jax is so successful in his coffee kingdom that he’s bored. He’s assembled a team of professionals that scout new locations, train new owners, and launch new ventures. He doesn’t have to do a thing. Then one day he gets a call that there’s a problem with one of their latest acquisitions. All it takes is watching one video of Bailey marching around in front of his construction site with her handmade protest sign and he’s smitten.

  To Jax, Bailey’s a hot mess of baking products, marker and glitter, but he’s never seen anyone sexier in his life. He’ll do anything for her to move her picketing from outside his building to inside his bedroom…even if it includes a little blackmail.

  1

  Bailey

  “BB?” I jerk to a sitting position, startled at hearing my own name. I blink a few times, wondering what time it is. My alarm hasn't gone off. “BB?” Millie says my name again, reminding me where I am. This time the lights flick on in my small studio apartment. I close my eyes, fighting the painful sudden blast of light. It could be early morning but normally she isn’t up here waking me. I tend to sleep in since I stay up late cooking. I crash around two in the morning by the time I’m done getting the baked goods ready for that morning rush. I snooze away while the rest of the world enjoys my yummy treats.

  “I haven't heard from you all day.” I slowly peek one eye open. I am sitting at my small eat-in kitchen nook. I must have passed out here. I stretch, trying to wiggle my bottom, which is throbbing. I let out a small yelp when a pain shoots through my spine.

  “I’m too young for back pains,” I half scream, cringing as I do it.

  “Anyone that falls asleep in a hard-ass chair is going to wake up hurting,” Millie tosses back at me. She’s got that mom look on her face. It’s the same one she gives her little boys when they are being naughty. I had fallen asleep in the hard wooden chair. My bottom will be paying the price for the rest of the day. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in making my treats for everyone that I lose track of time and most of the time I don’t make it to my bed before passing out.

  “What time is it?” I stand and stretch my body out. The ache quickly begins to fade. I let out a giant yawn. I have no idea how long I was asleep.

  “I just closed.” She motions to my front door. The coffee shop below my feet closes at four every afternoon. I live over the shop Millie and her husband own. They took me in a few years ago. I’ve stuck to them and haven't let go since. They might not be my real family but they feel damn close. As close as I’ve ever had, at least. Millie is about ten years older than me but she walks a line of being like a mom and, more often than anything else, a best friend.

  “You didn't come down for your afternoon fix so I got worried.” I am usually out of bed before noon at least, slipping downstairs to see how my treats sold and to snag a coffee for myself. If they are crazy busy I’ll lend a hand. That’s rare. Oh, they are often busy, but I am the worst at making coffee. I don’t know why I can’t get it right but the machines overwhelm me. There are so many different names for coffee these days. Cappuccino, Latte, Macchiato, Americano, and all of the other ones that I can’t remember. I usually wing it when someone asks me for anything other than a brewed coffee. Which is the reason why I’m usually not asked to help out. I work better with a simple oven. I like to stick with what I know.

  “I stayed up late,” I admit. After I was done baking last night I started a little project. I couldn't get my mind to stop racing after Millie told me the news yesterday. I know it was crushing to her but she always has a smile, even in the face of something terrifying. Her face when she told me she may have to go out of business was heartbreaking. I think I was in a little bit of shock once the words left her mouth. So many things raced through my mind in that moment. The thought of everything changing is something that I can’t even comprehend. I am so happy living above the shop and thinking that all of this may be taken away shook me to my core.

  “I see that.” She walks over to where I was sleeping. “What are you doing?”

  I glance down at the small area I was working in. I actually got further than I thought I had before I passed out. There is glitter everywhere. I might have gone a touch too far with it. I am never going to get this all cleaned up.

  “I’m not going to stand by and let someone else take us down.” I fold my hands over my chest ready for battle with my glittered-out sign. I’m not sure how to fight something like this. It may not even be possible but I plan to go down fighting.

  “You can’t protest.” She picks up my sign, which reads I'm so angry I made a sign.

  “I didn't know what else to put on there.” I shrug. It took me forever to decide what to write on the sign. The saying wasn't mean but it was forceful. Millie begins to laugh. Her laughter brings a smile to my face. Even if I don’t use this to protest, it was worth making it just to see that smile.

  “God, I love you.” She puts the sign back down. “Come downstairs and let me get some coffee in you. We’ll talk.” She walks over to me, giving me a kiss on the cheek and a hug. “No protest.”

  “I make no promises.”

  She laughs more as she leaves my place, heading down the stairs. I walk into my bathroom to the sink. I turn the water on and begin to wash my face. Once I’m done I brush my teeth and look at myself in the mirror. I can’t help but laugh at my own antics when it came to my sign. I’ve got marker and glitter all over my cheeks. It’s all in my hair too. The colors easily show up in my blond-white hair. I pull it into a messy bun because I’m not fighting the glitter battle right now. Maybe I should have thought out the supplies I used a little better. All of this sparkly stuff may not have been the best idea but I needed the sign to draw attention. I know shiny things always get my attention.

  I wash it off the best I can but some lingers. I throw in the towel before finding some bright pink yoga pants and a shirt. I slip on my sneakers and head down the stairs. I can get fully dressed later, I tell myself. Coffee first. It is much needed right now. I pass through the kitchen, going straight for Millie’s small office. I drop down onto the love seat she has in there. I truly love this place. It’s home to me. It’s the nicest place I’ve ever lived in. I make myself comfortable as Millie pours me a cup of coffee.

  I let out a long sigh as I take my first sip. “Hit the spot?” Millie laughs. She does a few clicks on her computer before closing out whatever it is she is doing.

  “Yep. Thanks.” I take another big gulp. I close my eyes and enjoy the taste of the coffee. Millie makes the best cup of coffee in the state. I would bet my life on it. She takes pride in making it and she’s well versed in everything coffee. She uses the best small batch coffee roasters in the area to bring each patron a cup of deliciousness.

  “Good, then I won’t have to hit you.” Even as she says it she smacks my thigh. I scream louder than I should, knowing that
it doesn’t actually hurt.

  “You’re not protesting the new coffee shop.” She points her finger at me.

  “There any muffins left?” I ask, changing the subject because no matter what she says I can’t lie back and do nothing as she and Mike lose everything that they’ve worked so hard for.

  “No, there are never any left.” Damn it. It’s bittersweet that they sold out. Yay for the sales but boo because now there is nothing left for me to eat. I’ll try and make more next time. I am pretty much at my limit though. I can only bake so much with the small kitchen the coffee shop has. It wasn't meant to even serve baked goods but then I showed up looking for a job. I have to be very creative in my use of space but I make it work.

  Millie took me in and that’s when we all learned I was the world's worst coffee maker. She really didn't want to fire me. I felt a bond with them rather quickly. So much so that they let me crash at their place when they found out I was staying at a motel. I decided I could cook for them. It was the least I could do to help with their little boys.

  There have been two things I’ve always been good at: baking sweet treats and handling little munchkins. If life was a little different maybe I could have gone to school for one of them. Life doesn’t always go as planned and I’ve learned to not go down without a fight even when the odds are against you. Fighting can sometimes give you a little more time and that’s all you can hope for.

  “It will be fine.” Millie tries to talk me down. She and her husband put everything into this shop. They’ve made it into something and have talked about opening a second location. Now with Brewed Awakening moving in next door who knows what will happen? They could easily run us out of business. It doesn’t help that Millie made an offer on the space next door so she could expand. Not only did she not get it, but now the new tenant could bring everything tumbling to the ground. “Mike and I didn't come this far to be taken out so easily. Between our coffee and your breakfast goodies we aren't going anywhere.” She sounds so confident. I wish I had a little of that. She gives me a bright smile.

  “How’s your ass?” she teases me. Now she’s the one trying to change the subject. I let her lighten the mood.

  “If I don’t stop eating the products around here it’s not going to be good.”

  She laughs. “I meant from the chair.” She shakes her head at me. “That sign was terrible.”

  She says was like I’m not going to use it. She’s in for a shock because she might be playing nice with our soon-to-be new neighbors but I’m not.

  2

  Jax

  “Get your feet off my desk.” My sister Andrea pushes them off as she walks by me in one of her manly power suits. She is only older than me by two minutes but she will never let me live that down. We might be twins but we don’t look much alike. Our matching blue eyes is as far as our similarities go. She has a mass of red hair where mine is as black as the coffee I crafted into an empire.

  I let my feet fall, having only put them up there to annoy her to begin with. I’ve been sitting in her office for over twenty minutes. “Don’t you have an empire to run?” She sits down behind her giant glass desk. Everything is perfectly in its place. Her assistant Marco appears a moment later with her coffee. He sets one down for me too. I give him a nod of thanks as he darts back out of the room. I’m sure he has a pile of crap to do. Andrea is always going a mile a minute. I used to be that way.

  “It runs itself,” I say absently with a shrug. I have an impeccable team. I was like my sister when I first started my business. It was all work all the time. I’ve built a good team around myself and now it really does take care of itself. I merely sign off on things these days and check in. I look back down at the tablet in my hand, studying the reports that are on display.

  “Your stocks?” she says, picking up her coffee and taking a drink.

  “Boring.” I started playing with the stock market a few years ago. It too at one time had been fun—or at least entertaining. Now it doesn't hold the same appeal it once had. Nothing does. Same shit, different day. I close all the screens, dropping the tablet down onto the chair next to me before reaching for my coffee and taking a drink. I can’t help but to push the picture frame that I know is of the family over a few inches with my fingers. Andrea gives me a glare before moving it back to its place. I hide my smile behind my coffee.

  “You should start a new company. There are so many options. I mean, you own the biggest coffee shop franchise in the world. How about—” I hold my hand up, stopping her.

  “No thanks,” I cut her off. I am bored but not that bored. When I started out with Brewed Awakening it consumed every second of my life. Now since it’s off and running I don’t want to go down the same rabbit hole. I don't have to. I am more than well off at this point. My money isn’t only from what I’ve made on my own but the Roberts family is a name all on its own. My father and mother have one of the biggest grocery manufacturing companies. You can’t go into a store without seeing our name on something. It was handed down from their parents and so on. I ventured out on my own after college and made my own way.

  I got into the coffee world while my sister decided to get into the family business. She helped my father run the Roberts family empire. She carved a path for herself and has been trying to branch out even more with Roberts. She dabbles in things such as cosmetics. People joke that we are trying to have our hands in everything. Really we are just a driven bunch. It is in our blood but lately I haven't been feeling that pull for anything. There is no chase or thrill anymore. I even learned last week that Brewed Awakening has opened its ten thousandth store and I merely shrug at that too.

  “So you’re going to lie around being lazy with Bear.” Her eyes dart to Bear, who is lying at my feet. He lifts his head to look at her when she says his name. I know they are glaring at each other. They have a weird love-hate relationship. She watches Bear if I need to travel and he can’t go with me for some odd reason. When it’s the two of them they are all happy-go-lucky. Add in anything more and they are like frenemies. She complains about him shedding hair while he pretends she doesn't exist. Bear probably outweighs her. She might act annoyed with him but when she watches him she’s like a mother hen. Pretty sure she takes him to dog spas and so on. “When was his last check-up?” She starts clicking away on her computer. I know she’s checking her calendar to see when she last took Bear to the veterinarian.

  “He’s fine.” It’s probably good Andrea doesn't want children. At least that’s what she says now. She has helicopter mom written all over her. She keeps clicking away until she sees he went last week. I could have told her but she still would have looked herself. Andrea doesn’t half-ass anything. She likes things in place so she’ll sometimes double- and triple-check things.

  Bear lays his head down, going back to ignoring us all.

  “You need a hobby.”

  I stand and stretch my legs. “I really do,” I agree, walking over toward the windows to look out, scanning the skyline. I need to get out of the city for a while. I am in a funk and I don’t know how to break it. This restless feeling isn’t going away. I feel like I am looking for something but can’t pinpoint what it is. I have no clue even where I should begin looking for whatever it is. I feel as though there is a void inside of me lately and a small trip might do me some good.

  “Maybe you’re having a midlife crisis?” Andrea suggests. She doesn’t say it in a mocking manner but out of concern for my well-being. She knows me better than anyone else so if she’s bringing this up then I need to take it seriously.

  “Aren't I supposed to be married with a few kids in order to have one of those?” I’m in my early thirties. I’m not having any kind of crisis. I am a bored rich man. That is the reality of it. It is actually somewhat pathetic now that I’m thinking about it.

  “Gross.” I look back to my sister, whose face is scrunched in disgust. “Maybe you should work on getting some of those. You know Mom and Dad want grandbabies now that
they are retired.” Her face, which was twisted up a moment ago, brightens with a fake smile. She’s trying to sell me on the idea so they won't go poking her for grandbabies. I know exactly what she’s up to.

  “They are off enjoying retirement,” I remind her. They are traveling the world. The last I heard from Mom she was on some yacht in the middle of the Mediterranean. Our mom and dad have always been hopelessly in love. Andrea and I might get our drive from them but we haven't been big on the whole relationship thing. I think we’ve been too busy but now I don’t really have an excuse. To be honest, a relationship sounds messy.

  I’ve watched my lawyer friend Bennie burn through women lately. It is always one drama after another when it comes to women and him. He is great at being a lawyer but horrible at being a husband. I think it’s turned me off from getting serious with someone. Having watched them show up at his office in screaming fits was plenty of excitement for a lifetime. I don’t understand why he keeps getting married. I think he’s on his fourth wife. He’s always telling me to never do it but then he goes and does it again himself. I can’t make heads or tails of it.

  I look back out of the window to the city below. The feeling of missing something nags at me. I know that I’ll eventually figure this out.

  “Come on, Bear.” He jumps to his feet to come to my side. “We got shit to do,” I tell him. Andrea rolls her eyes. Neither of them believe me. “We can at least pop into the office and pretend we work,” I tell Bear. Andrea gives a small laugh. I walk over to her, kissing her on the cheek.