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Chapter Two
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The bell above the door of the bakery jingled. Drew stepped through and looked around. Tables adorned the side wall and sat along the front window. All but two were full. People munching on cookies, cake, even donuts. Sipping coffee and talking.
The scent of vanilla filled his senses. He breathed it in. Baylee. She’d smelled like vanilla the other night at the wedding reception when they danced. It made sense, seeing as how she owned a bakery. But like her name, it fit. Sweet. Tempting. Made him want more.
That was the best Drew could come up with as to why he was standing in her shop a mere few days after dancing with her at his sister’s wedding. He’d done nothing but mope around his mother’s house and work with his trainer since arriving in Silver Bay, and yet, that morning, he’d gone for a run, showered, thought about shaving but let that go, then wandered downtown and into Baylee’s Bakery.
A young woman moved around behind the main counter but, to his disappointment, it wasn’t Baylee. She looked to be a college aged student, her dark hair wrapped up in one of those messy buns on top of her head.
It was a cozy place. Bright. White walls were adorned with pictures of pastries. A large, ornate shelving system made up the wall behind the main counter. Decorative teapots, as well as cake plates and boxed baking sets sat on each shelf. A glass case attached to the counter that held a cash register was full of baked goods in various sizes, shapes, and colors. Drew’s stomach rumbled.
He searched the cases and decided on a large sugar cookie and a cup of coffee. He paid and took his items to an empty table. As he looked around he noticed a few couples, a small child with his mother and grandmother, and recognized how odd he must appear. A grow man by himself sitting in a bakery eating a cookie. Fantastic. He’d resorted to looking like a stalker over a woman he’d danced with once.
He shook his head and took a sip of coffee. He considered leaving, but man, that cookie looked good. Eat the cookie and get going. That was a good plan. If only Baylee saw him now. Wouldn’t that be the strikeout moment of the day? Hopefully she was in the back baking with no intention of coming out front, or taking the day off. That would be even better.
“Drew?”
Her voice was smooth as honey and just as sweet. He set down his coffee mug and swallowed. The hot liquid burned his throat and made his eyes water. This was really not turning out to be his day. What the hell was he thinking?
She stood next to the table, wiping her hands on a yellow apron with the bakery logo on it. Her blonde curls were held back from her face by a large, cloth headband and flour dotted her nose and cheeks. He blinked. Man, she was beautiful. Sure, she was something at the wedding, but now? In her own element? He zoned in on her green eyes and couldn’t look away. Or speak.
“Are you okay?”
Her smile was like a ray of sunshine. For a moment he forgot everything. All the crud, the pain, the fear. He saw only her.
She sat in the chair across from him and put her hand on his that was resting on the table. Warmth flooded his system and brought him back to earth.
He pulled his hand away, not because he didn’t want to touch her, but because he was afraid of what would happen if he continued to do so. No woman had ever rattled him like this. Sure, he’d danced with her, knew how great that felt, but this? This was something else.
“Yeah. Yeah. I’m fine.” His attempt at a smile fell flat. “Sorry.” He shook his head a little, if only to knock his brain back into place.
“Don’t be sorry.” She placed her hands in her lap, unaffected by him pulling away. “It’s nice to see you.”
Her smile lit up the room.
Who was this woman?
“I’ll let you in on a little secret though.” She leaned toward him, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “That cookie you chose is not my best work.”
“Oh, it’s not?”
She shook her head. “Nope. The batch of coffee cake I made this morning is by far your best bet today. The cupcakes are a close second, but you’ve already tried those.”
The words coffee cake and cupcakes resonated in his mind and yet all he could think was how much he wanted to hold her close and kiss the flour from her cheeks. Her rosy, plump lips were even more tempting.
“You stay right here. I’ll go get you a slice.” She touched his hand and was gone, leaving him to stare like a fool after her jean-clad backside, complete with a flour hand print on the left cheek, which only added to the adorable and sexy package that was Baylee. Man, he didn’t even know her last name and he was already drooling over her.
Psssh, he was more than drooling over her. He hardly ever ate sweets, especially while in training for baseball, and yet, here he sat in a bakery about to down coffee cake and a cookie. He’d eat the whole damn case if it meant Baylee would sit with him some more.
But of course, he wasn’t in training. Not now anyway. He should be. He should be getting ready for Spring Training. The sense of dread that had hung over him like a cloud for months appeared again. Drew took another sip of coffee, the bitterness of it matched his mood.
But before he could get comfortable under his cloud of doom, it vanished as Baylee set a plate in front of him and resumed her seat across the table.
“There you go. I warmed it up for you too.”
Man, her emerald eyes could bring a man to his knees. Combined with the smile and he was done for.
