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“I’ll be back.” He wags his finger to tell me to move closer. Unable to resist the pull, I lean over the counter slightly, and then he leans in. He cups the back of my head, and his mouth is on mine in the briefest kiss. In a low whisper against my cheek, he says, “Don’t say yes to anyone, or I’ll have to break their legs. See you later, my beautiful little pervert.” Can you come from words and just a peck?
He leaves without another word. Bethany pulls me into the back room. “Give us a minute.”
As soon as we enter the kitchen, she says, “Girl, what just happened?”
“I don’t know.”
“I think you just got claimed.”
“Maybe he really liked the cookies,” I say.
“Holiday, dear. Those aren’t the cookies he wants,” Glen says.
“Glen, you’re a dirty old man.”
“I’ve been married a long time. That man wants your cookie served up to him to eat, and he’s single, wealthy, and your neighbor. Go for it.”
“I don’t know.”
“Girl, you know. Stop lying,” Bethany says.
“He’s probably just trying to get back at me for seeing him in his towel.”
“Honey, that man was jealous of Miles. He hasn’t even seen Heath.”
“Oh, shit. Yes. Our hot, young delivery driver,” Glen adds. “He has eyes for you.”
“I know, but I’ve made it clear that I’m not interested.”
“Hey, so what’s going on?” Heath says, coming up to us. “We have a lot of people waiting for service.”
“Holiday’s got a boyfriend now, so we need to keep all the other guys away because he’s not the kind of guy that likes men flirting with his woman.”
“You have a man?” he asks.
“Um… It’s new.”
“Well, I have a few deliveries to run and then I’m done for the day.”
He leaves Bethany and Glen standing there with their mouths open. “He took that better than I thought,” I say.
“Girl, that man didn’t take it well.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s not happy.”
“Nope. I’m worried he’s going to snap. I’ll check on him.” Glen leaves us.
“Let’s deal with the crowd.” We head back out to the storefront to a massive line, and it takes us all afternoon to get it down. All the while, I can’t stop thinking about James and his beautiful eyes and strong mouth on me.
It’s nearly evening, and my nerves are on edge. Heath disappeared after his last delivery, saying he couldn’t hang around because he had a hot date. Glen gave me a knowing look, and the guilt inside my chest only grows. It’s Christmas, and I hurt my friend. Even if I don’t want to be with him and he knows it, I still feel terrible.
Maybe that’s why I never dated. There were so many guys in town asking me out, and I didn’t want to say yes to one and not the other, but James just demanded I make time for him. Hell, we weren’t even dating either. Frankly, he just kissed me and said he’d be here; that’s it. Perhaps I’m making a bigger deal out of it than it is.
I get to work prepping for tomorrow’s baking while Bethany stares at me.
“What?”
