Page 6 of Sebastian

“I don’t pay rent. The building and everything inside it is mine. And I’m not interested in selling it.”

“Wow, Sprinkles, that’s really impressive. How’d you end up owning this place?”

“Not that it’s really any of your business, but I guess everyone in Bell Ridge already knows. I was working here as a waitress and the former owner decided it was time to retire. Mr. Sampson owned this space flat out, no bank, no lender, nothing. And he saw how badly I wanted a business of my own. That man let me work for him for a year, and then, one day, he had the paperwork drawn up, brought it to me, had me pay him a single dollar, and it was mine. I have no desire to sell it right now. And nothing you could say would make me want to.” She placed his coffee order in a to-go cup and slid it in front of him. “Now, please, take your fancy suits, your cortado to go, and scamper on back to your office.”

“That is quite a story.” Sebastian took a long sip off his cortado and smiled. “Delicious, as always. Well, if you ever change your mind, you obviously know where to find me. But here’s my info just in case.” He slid a business card across the counter. “Call any time. And I do mean any time, Sprinkles,” he winked at her and she cursed how her thighs tightened. “Thanks for the coffee and the flirting.”

“I wasn’t flirting!” she yelled back, her cheeks heating as several people turned to see what she was shouting about as Sebastian left.

Three

“Oh, thank you so much dear for dropping these off to me.” Mrs. Latham reached into her purse and handed over several bills to Emma.

“It’s no problem, I promise. I love getting to step out of the shop and get some fresh air every now and then. Besides, Melissa is there today, being an absolute angel.” Mrs. Latham had recommended the teen after a particularly frazzled day on Emma’s part. There may have been powdered sugar and strawberry coulis all over her as the sweet older woman mentioned Melissa was looking for a part-time job and had been baking treats for their church over the past few years.”

“That girl is as sweet as they come. I’m glad her helping is working out well for you. And I just know all the women at bridge this afternoon are going to go wild for your treats. I’ll tell Marge to put an order in with you for next week’s game, too.”

“You are too good to me, Mrs. Latham. I’m looking forward to hearing how much you win this week.” Emma smiled and waved goodbye to the sweet woman who was Bell Ridge’s only seamstress.

Although it was still early spring, the air was heating up, and Emma was grateful that she’d worn a loose, short sleeved shirt to work that day.

The walk back to the shop was nice, and gave Emma a moment to appreciate everything she loved about her little town. There were workers at the town’s gazebo, switching the decorations from snowflakes and icicles to big floral wreaths and white fluffy bunnies. People were sitting out on the patio at Stan’s, already enjoying an early lunch. The sun warmed her skin and the breeze at her back reminded her just how lucky she was to live in such a beautiful, friendly place.

She crossed the street a few shops down from her own. That familiar prickle of someone watching her flipped her stomach, and she planted her feet on the sidewalk, looking around to find the set of eyes on her. There was nothing out of the ordinary that she could see, though, and that unsettled her even more.

“Get it together, Em. You’re being paranoid,” she huffed under her breath as she forced her body to move towards the bakery.

Her eyes skimmed over the exterior of the building that was slowly changing into Montgomery Equities. She’d always loved the old brick department store, and couldn’t help but wonder what Sebastian was doing to the inside. Memories from the day before of her fiery exchange with the gray-eyed, certifiable grade-A hunk flooded her mind. Not to mention that X-rated dream she’d had about the former SEAL all soaped up and naked in her shower. She tried to convince herself that she wasn’t waiting all morning to see him walk across the street, but the sinking feeling in her stomach when Natalie walked in to grab his order instead told the truth. God, she needed a distraction from him, and fast. Her hormones were out of control lately!

Feeling the heat of a blush blooming across her face, Emma raised her hand to wave at Natalie, who was on the phone standing outside Montgomery Equities. The woman smiled brightly at her and returned the wave before turning back towards the building.

Screeching tires caught Emma’s attention. She was only four or five doors down from the bakery, and the speed limit on all of Main Street in Bell Ridge was low, for the safety of anyone walking from shop to shop. There was absolutely no reason why a car should be speeding down the road at that time of the day.

“WATCH OUT!” Natalie’s shrill voice from across the street had Emma looking around, just in time to see a gray sedan jump the curb and come barreling towards her. Adrenaline dumped into her body and every muscle froze in place, even as her mind begged her body to move. She closed her eyes and braced for the car to hit.

There was an immediate force of impact that threw her to the ground. She’d expected it to hurt worse. Or maybe, it didn’t hurt yet because of all the adrenaline in her system. What she did know was that there was now a warmth spreading through her body and a softness to where her head lay.

The faint sound of tires squealing off into the distance landed in her mind as more and more footsteps came closer.

“Someone call 9-1-1!”

“Oh my gosh, are you guys okay?”

“Did anyone get any details on that vehicle?”

“It’s Emma! They almost hit Emma. Oh goodness.”

All the voices around her jumbled in her mind. Was she in shock? Had she been so badly injured from the impact that her brain was having a hard time putting things in place?

“Sprinkles? Hey, honey, open your eyes for me, okay?” That gravelly voice she knew. She’d dreamed of it just the night before, but why would he be there?

“Sebastian?” Clearing her throat, her eyes shot open with dismay at the concerned voice calling her such a tender term of endearment. “I’m not your honey.”

Honey. The sweet name slipped from his lips like he had called her that a million times. Warmth washed over her as the word dripped over her heart, sticking to her soul. Why was fighting her attraction to him so tough?

“Thank fuck, you’re okay,” he blew out a long sigh. “Does anything hurt? I’m sorry I slammed into you so hard.”

“I think I’d rather have been hit by the car.”

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