Page 90 of Born to Make You Smile

My chest ached, a painful squeeze. He was so disappointed in me, not for the nature of my night job but for lying.

“I’m so sorry for lying to you. I was scared you’d fire me if you found out. But now, I guess that’s it. You probably don’t want to see me again. And I can probably kiss my job at your office goodbye.”

“I’m not letting you go. But as for us, I’ll need time to process this. I feel like everything we’ve built, all the trust between us, has been shattered.”

I moved closer and put my hand on his. But he pulled away. My heart cracked.

“No. Don’t. I need time.”

“Okay,” I said quietly. “How much time?”

“I don’t know. Until the blood in my veins cools off.” He pulled the sleeves of his sweater down. “Speaking of which, it’s very chilly in this house. Do you have your heating on?”

I blinked. “Oh. Yeah. I usually keep it on the lower side.”

Now that he mentioned it, it was cooler than usual. I suppose I hadn’t felt it due to his heated presence.

He stood. “Before I go, I do have one more question. Bill Salinger. He referred to your orange wig. And he called you Peach. What was that all about? Is he a member there at the club?”

“I’m not in a position to disclose our members due to client confidentiality. But I can tell you my alias at the club is, in fact, Peach. And I wear a costume with an orange wig.”

“Peach.” He scoffed. “I thought so. What kind of costume?”

“It varies. Some nights I dress up as a schoolgirl. I was an elf for Christmas. Last night, I wore a maid outfit.”

“A maid?” Something flashed in his eyes, a flicker of intrigue. “Well, I best be getting home.”

As I watched him leave, my heart sank to the floor.

TWENTY-SEVEN

My body shivered, thechill reaching my bones. And it wasn’t only due to Gavin’s disappointment over finding out about my side job—my house was absolutely freezing.

I raised the temperature on the thermostat, then tossed on a thick sweater. I was so ashamed of how much I’d hurt Gavin. A hollowness pained me, and tears pierced my eyes. I should have been honest with him from the beginning. As if we didn’t have enough stacked against us, I’d added another ton to the load.

I sent him a text message.

Me:I’m so sorry :(

Read without a reply.

I wished I could do something to make up for my actions.

Then I had an idea.

***

Thankfully, I had all the ingredients to make Gavin’s favorite lemon scones. Extra fluffy. The English way.

Once the ingredients were processed, I rolled and cut the dough into circles using a cutter. I made sure each were the same thickness and shape. They had to be perfect.

As the scones baked, I checked on the thermostat. About forty minutes had passed since I turned up the heat. While the house felt somewhat warm, there was no way the temperature was the number I’d set it to. I thought about the windows and the draft. Eddie had put a film on the bay windows. Surely, it should have helped. Perhaps it was way too cold. After all, it was minus fifteen outside.

Later that afternoon, I knocked on Gavin’s door, my heart pounding. There was a chance this ridiculous scheme of mine wouldn’t work. There was a chance he’d turn me down and send me away. As much as it hurt, part of me was prepared for that rejection. Technically, I deserved it.

“Grace,” he said with a furrowed brow. “What are you doing here? What is that?”

I held up the tray in my hands. “Warm lemon scones. But not for long.”

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