Free Liam's Bride: BBW Werebear Romance (Clan Conroy Brides Book 1) by Emma Alisyn Page B

being several notches better than their… food. He supposed he should do something about that just to be professional, but they made enough money during the evenings and weekends he figured there was no reason to buck the system.
    Tamar came to him a minute later. "You rang?"
    That's why he liked the woman. She was the perfect employee- showed up in a low cut blouse, smiled, worked hard and didn’t give the customers flack. And she seemed to read his mind. Interesting, with a human. They were usually as deaf as his socks when it came to reading body language. But he supposed having grown up together accounted for some, if not most, of the familiarity. Which made the fact she was the perfect employee- except for the constant lip- even more astonishing.
    "You're friends with Meredith Tyler, right?"
    Rich russet eyes slid away from his. "Yeeaahhh."
    "You sound like you aren’t sure."
    He watched her run a tongue around her teeth. "I’m sure."
    Interesting. So Tamar knew, and also knew better than to rat her friend out.
    "Tell me about her. What’s her angle?"
    "Angle?" Tamar’s full lips turned down. "Meredith is one of the kindest people I know. She didn’t deserve that rat of a-"
    "Don't stop on my account."
    "I think my order is up," she said, voice flat. Alphonso watched her go- and watched her avoid his gaze- but let her go.
    Man, Liam would be pissed when he realized he was the last one to know his woman was the daughter of the man who had murdered his father. Talk about some Romeo and Juliet fucked up shit. That's why he was never mating.
    But his gaze rested on Tamar again, and he wasn't sure why it was always so hard to look away.
     
     
     
    “It’s good.”
    Meredith turned, straightening from her crouch where she’d been carefully packing the few remaining jars of salsa and preserves. Liam stood at the table, a sample spoon in his mouth.
    “The teenagers make it every Friday evening,” she said, keeping her voice even. She couldn’t help how her heart spiked from the sight of him, how her core dampened, clamoring to take him behind one of the old brick buildings and… show him her vegetables.
    His nostrils flared, eyes paling to a warm amber. “How many jars can they produce a week?”
    She struggled to think. “We do twenty of each flavor. There’s three flavors of salsa and three jams- one of them being a savory jam.”
    “I might be interested in carrying a line in the restaurant.”
    Her eyes widened, and she grinned. Brick bounded over, back from her trip with another student to the rented U-Haul.
    “’Sup, Mr. Conroy,” the girl greeted. She glanced at the jar in his hand. “Good, huh? You should serve it with chips in your restaurant on like a southwestern night or something. Instead of bread, you know?”
    Liam looked at Brick thoughtfully. “I was discussing something similar with your teacher,” he replied. “That isn’t a bad idea.” He looked at Meredith, lifting the jar. “I’ll take whatever you have leftover.”
    She licked her lips. “No charge. Consider it samples. For a future order.”
    He titled his head, studying her with glowing were eyes. What was he feeling, thinking, that made his shifter nature so… evident… at the moment?
    “Hmm. That wouldn’t be fair. I’ll take one of each flavor as a sample, and the rest I’ll pay retail for.”
    “Take one of each as a sample,” she countered, “and the rest at wholesale. You should pass out samples to your customers, see if they like it before you place an order.”
    She folded her arms.
    He smiled at her, a slow, masculine expression filled with a heat that struck a chord deep in her body. Ringing bells.
    “Tell you what. We’ll do it your way- but there’s a price.”
    She watched him warily. “A price.”
    “A kiss.”
    Meredith tensed. His kisses weren’t nearly as benign as he made them sound. One kiss would leave her achy with need the rest of the damn day. And all night, until she was one thought