Page 55 of Resisting the Grump

“Just give me a few minutes.” She popped out of view into the kitchen.

“I need to talk to you, Avery.”

“Hold that thought,” she said, offering me another cat cupcake. Except this one was orange. Like Simba. “I was going to give it to you later, but consider it an amuse-bouche!”

“I’ve had them,” I said, taking the plate from her. “They’re delicious.”

“Oh, you haven’t had these ones,” she said. “They have chocolate cream inside!” She scurried off to change and called back to me from the bedroom. “Our reservations aren’t till eight, right?”

I stared at the cupcake, feeling sick and ashamed of myself. Not because I ate three earlier, but because Avery probably thought she’d rid herself of the biggest pain in her ass, and I was about to spoil the illusion.

I glanced in the painted mirror outside the kitchen and thought of Dorian Grey. Enough. The worst she can do is slap you.

I walked over to look at the mess on her coffee table, but on closer inspection, I realized it wasn’t a mess at all. It was designs for the café, complete with neon pink polka dots, green scribbles, and cursive calligraphy so beautiful it appeared to rise off the paper. “I didn’t realize you were responsible for doing the chalkboard at the café?”

“It’s all me!” she shouted from the bedroom.

I smiled and sat down on the edge of the sofa to get a closer look. She’d been designing logos like a madwoman, and each one was more creative and eye-catching than the last. I must’ve been admiring them for five minutes before I realized I shouldn’t be so surprised her creativity stretched beyond the bedroom.

I picked up a gel pen and looked for a blank piece of paper while I tried to think of something clever to write like… I’d rather be slapped by you than loved by anyone else. I shuddered and tossed the pen down. Talk about a Valentine’s Day card that would never sell.

“It’s how I express my creativity,” Avery said, appearing at the opposite end of the couch with a tempting tangle of towel-dried hair framing her face.

“It’s not the only way,” I said, waggling my brows and wishing she’d just get dressed already so I could get this miserable monkey off my back.

“You didn’t eat the cupcake.”

“I know,” I said, bracing myself to break the news. “Because, like I told you—”

“Maybe you’re hungry for something else?” She let her robe fall open, revealing the delicate negligee I hadn’t seen since I unwrapped it next door. My mind went blank for a second as my eyes feasted on her breasts, which bulged out of the top like they were desperate to break free. I swallowed, reeling at the sight of her supple skin which begged to be squeezed and stroked and… “It looks even better than I imagined.”

She smiled, shrugged the robe off her shoulders, and then stopped. “Wait—what did you say?”

“I said it looks even better on.”

She stared at me with wide eyes.

I stood up.

She yanked her robe back up and closed it like she was suddenly fearful of catching a cold. “You better explain what you just said.”

“I’m trying,” I said, holding my palms up in silent surrender. “I’ve been trying.”

She shook her head and hugged herself. “Have you—? Are you—?”

“I told you I lived on the sixth floor.” Her lips fell apart, and I hated myself for wondering what they looked like in the shower with water flowing over them. “I’ve already had three cupcakes today and… I know about Elaine.”

The color drained from her face. “I’d like you to leave.”

“Don’t be rash, Avery. It’s just a misunderstanding.”

“It isn’t, though. You knew... You’ve known.”

“I’ve been trying to tell you.”

Her eyes turned into hot coals. “You gave me a leash!”

“That was before I knew you lived here.” I could see she was getting more upset, but I didn’t know what to do. Telling a woman to calm down was a trap I knew better than to fall into.

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