Page 26 of Tasting Sin

“Dad, this is Nellie Giordano,” Ronan said when he had their attention. “Nellie, meet Anthony Moretti. You remember Enzo, and I believe you’ve also met my brother, Giaco.”

I rolled my shoulders back, trying to stand up straighter under the gaze of all four men. “It’s very nice to meet you,” I said, nodding. At least I didn’t curtsey.

“You make quite the dessert,” Anthony said. His voice sounded a lot softer than his hard exterior led me to believe, and I bit back a tickled laugh. “Though it’s too bad your bakery was vandalized. I’m sure they’ll do what they can to find out who it was. I have a friend down at city hall. I’ll ask him to put a little weight behind it.”

The other men nodded, and though I didn’t know exactly what he meant by that, my stomach flipped with a nervous excitement. Part of me wanted to thank him for the offer and tell him I could handle it on my own, but more of me knew Anthony Moretti wasn’t likely to take no for an answer. “Thank you,” I said instead. “I think I’ll get it all figured out.”

“You can guarantee it,” Giaco said, and I fought the shiver that raced down my spine. Why did they all care so much about my bakery? When I looked at Ronan, he was nodding with a dark, angry glare on his face.

I swallowed the lump that rivaled the butterflies in my throat. “It was, uh, really nice to meet you all. I should get back.” I pointed over my shoulder, as if none of them knew where back was. The party seemed to blur around me when I hurried back to the table, well aware that Ava would be anxiously waiting.

“What was that about?” she asked when I was barely within earshot.

I shook my head, reaching for a macaron and taking a large bite. “I don’t know.” Be careful who you take help from.

Chapter 17

Ronan

“There are so many leftovers!” Nellie piled containers of cupcakes back into her car, giggling. “Are you going to eat all these?”

I shook my head, reaching around her to help. “Not a chance.” I chuckled when she paused, putting her hands on her hips and looking at me like she didn’t believe me.

“I don’t know. You seem to really like them.” Her laugh rang through the mostly-empty parking lot that was full of people a few minutes ago. She was right. I’d been buying a lot of cupcakes recently. My mouth watered. “Why else would you order three hundred cupcakes when you could’ve easily gotten away with two?”

When Nellie winked, my stomach flipped. “Because people like cupcakes.” I shrugged. I grabbed the hatchback door to her trunk, catching her stare before I closed it. She froze, her brown eyes flickering but her gaze not leaving mine. She swallowed.

“That’s everything,” she said, looking at my hold on the handle, but she didn’t make any effort to move so I could close it. “Thanks again for the opportunity.”

“Opportunity, huh? It was my pleasure. Thank you for doing it on such short notice.” I winked and nodded to the side, directing her to take a step to the left. For a moment, she just stared at me, following the line of my arm to my shoulder and then letting her eyes flicker to my face. When she blushed, I chuckled, pulling Nellie from her daze. She stepped to the side, watching me close the trunk, and when I turned to face her, she giggled nervously.

“So anyways, I better get going.” She pointed to the driver’s side door but made no effort to move in that direction. “Maybe I’ll see you when you come buy more cupcakes tomorrow.” Nellie’s giggle was so natural, and it went straight to my core. My chest squeezed and my cock stirred. I shouldn’t be reacting to her like this.

“I’m coming with you,” I said, earning a surprised head tilt.

“Why?” She scanned the parking lot, as if the answer would come out from between cars that didn’t appear to be moving any time soon. Deciding it must have been safe enough, she put her hands on her hips, and a hint of the attitude she’d had toward me for the last few weeks returned.

“So I can make sure it’s safe.” I stepped around her toward the driver’s side door, grabbing the handle in a way that implied I would be driving her too-beat-up-for-my-liking Subaru.

Nellie planted her feet where they were, rolling her eyes so dramatically, her head followed. “That’s not happening. I am a big girl, Ronan. I’ll be fine.”

“Before six days ago, you’d never had a brick thrown through your window,” I said, tugging at the handle and ignoring her scoff when the door opened. “I’m looking out for you.”

Nellie scrunched her nose, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth and biting down on it. She closed her eyes and exhaled heavily. When she opened them, part of the annoyance on her face had softened. It had been replaced with something like defeat, or maybe fear. “You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”

“Absolutely not.” I locked my stare with hers, holding onto the door. Nellie sighed.

“Fine,” she said, stepping back and making her way to the passenger side. Convincing her had been easier than I expected. Too easy. “But if you come back to the bakery with me, you’re on dish duty. I told Ava she could go home.” She slid into the passenger seat, biting the corners of her lips, like she was holding back the smile I could already see creasing the corners of her eyes.

I got in the car, starting it and placing my elbow on the armrest. I leaned toward her, winking and feeling satisfied when her cheeks turned a bright pink. “Deal.”

“You really should get a cart or something.” I dropped the fourth load of containers and supplies from the back of Nellie’s car onto the steel prep counter, turning to watch her walk in with the rest of it.

“What?” The dishes Nellie dropped into the sink clanked against the side and nearly covered her voice.

“I said you really need a cart or something,” I repeated, resting my hip against the counter. “That way, you don’t have to make so many trips.”

When she cocked her head to the side, loose strands of hair fell across her face. She blew them off her forehead, scowling when they fell back in the same place. “Normally, I don’t cater.” She half-shrugged. “And if I did, I’d have a real team.”

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