Page 19 of Sweet Bred

I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about Shaw over the past few weeks. He was the one person I wanted to talk to, the one person who I thought might actually be understanding and comforting. But I didn’t feel like I could reach out. He wasn’t actually my friend. He was a man I’d hired to bake my wedding cake. Any chemistry we’d shared had been incidental.

Or at least that’s what I had convinced myself of. But the last few hours have shown me the truth: Shaw does actually care about me. What we have is far more than a transactional relationship. There’s something real here. I don’t know where it’s going to go, but I do know that every time I look at Shaw, I get a rush of flutters in my chest.

I finish off a fry and peer across the booth at Shaw. I have something to tell him, but I’m a little nervous about it. I’m not sure how he’ll react.

I rub my fingers on my napkin. “Remember when we were talking about music? And how you said you weren’t really caught up?”

Shaw nods as he dips a fry into a dollop of ketchup.

“I started making you a playlist.”

“You did?” A smile spreads across his face. “When do I get to listen to it?”

His reaction makes my worry vanish. “Soon. I promise.”

“Can I get a preview of it?”

“Nope. You have to wait.”

“Aw, come on. You’re really going to tease me like that?”

I grin. “I’m not teasing you. I just wanted you to know.”

“That’s exactly what teasing is. You’re getting me excited about something but holding it back.”

I reach into my bag and pull out my phone and earbuds. “Okay. Fine. I’ll give you a sneak peek. But only a tiny one.”

Shaw accepts my earbuds and tucks them into his ears. I press play on my phone and then watch him, eager to see what his reaction will be to the first song on the playlist. It’s one of my favorites, a song I’ve listened to a million times. Every time I hear it, I get chills down my spine.

As Shaw listens, his expression remains neutral, impossible to read. He just sits there, listening. Absorbing. Considering.

When I pause the song, he slips the earbuds out and says, “I like it.”

My knee bounces under the table. “It’s okay if you don’t. I won’t be offended.”

Shaw laughs. “I just said I like it, Juliet.”

“Well, maybe you were just being polite.”

“Nope. I would have kept listening if you hadn’t paused it. And as soon as you’re done with the playlist, I’m going to listen to the hell out of it.”

I can’t restrain my smile. “Guess I better get on it.”

“Agreed. No sleeping, eating, or working until that baby’s done.”

“Jeez. If I knew you were going to be this demanding…”

He smirks, a smile so sexy I can hardly stand it. “See? You shouldn’t have teased me.”

I bite down on the inside of my cheek, those flutters in my chest beating more rapidly than ever. I have to remind myself that it’s okay to feel like this. It’s fine for me to flirt with Shaw. It’s good to flirt with him, even. I’m finally doing what I want.

Our server swings by our booth to drop off the check, and I snatch it up before Shaw can reach for it.

“My treat,” I say.

Shaw shakes his head. “No way. I’m not letting you pay.”

“Too bad. That’s exactly what’s happening.” I slip my credit card out of my purse and scoot out of the booth.

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