Page 35 of Baking it Merry

And yet, kissing Daphne was all Tristan had thought about since Saturday night.Hell, he’d purposely decided to come in late today so that her breakfast crowd would be done and he might have a few minutes alone with her.Not that he thought they were going to kiss, but he wanted to convince himself that it was all a fluke—that he just simply got caught up in the heat of the moment.

Oh, you’re caught up in something alright.

The woman was pure temptation.

When she wasn’t talking.

They didn’t seem capable of having a simple conversation without arguing with each other, and it made what they were doing even hotter.Her lips were soft, her curves were even softer, and she smelled like the sweet confections she baked.

And he wanted to taste every inch of her.

Whoa…hold on…that’s…that’s…

Accurate.

One hundred percent accurate.

“Hey, Daphne!Do you have any…oops!Sorry!”someone was saying.

Reluctantly, Tristan ended the kiss.They were both breathless as they held each other’s gaze.Daphne licked her lips, and he nearly dove back in for another taste, but refrained.She had customers, and this was just supposed to be something chaste to satisfy his nosy mother.

“Hey, Morgan,” Daphne said as she stepped around him.“What can I get for you?”

“Um…I’ll see you later,” he murmured before turning to leave the booth.He took a moment to really study the interior, and he had to admit that she utilized every inch of space.It was impressive, even if it was impractical.Luckily, he didn’t have to work in this space because he meant what he said earlier—he’d go crazy.

When he was out of the booth, his mother waved him over to the pet portrait booth.“How cute are these?”she gushed.“Honestly, your landlord is a genius.These are all such unique vendors and a great way to get your holiday shopping done when you’re short on time!I love it!”

All he could do was smile and nod.

“Do you and Daphne have any plans this week?Your father and I would love to meet you for dinner one night.It would be nice to get to know her when we’re not in the middle of a holiday party.”

“Daphne has to get up super early every day to bake so we don’t go out on weeknights.The next party is Friday, and I know she’s not going to stay after working all day.”Sliding his hands into his pockets, he shrugged.“Maybe after the holidays?”

He already knew he’d be able to get out of that because they wouldn’t have to be fake dating after the holidays and he could just say they broke up.It was the perfect plan.

“That poor girl.I don’t know how she does it,” his mother said.Her phone rang and when she looked at the screen, she frowned.“It’s your grandmother.Please tell Daphne I’ll be back later to place my order.”Answering her phone, she walked away.Actually, she walked out of the building and Tristan knew he should just go back over and relay the message, but he was a bit of a coward.

“I can text her when I get up to the office.”

So that’s what he did.It was safer that way.If he had gone to talk to her in person, he knew the only thing he’d think about was kissing her again.

Why her?Why now?

The now part was completely his own fault.He had panicked Saturday night for a myriad of reasons, but he honestly thought having Daphne there would be a simple solution.He hadn’t expected her to kiss like a damn fantasy.The dress had been ridiculous, but it showed him all the curves she was hiding under those sweatshirts with the silly sayings on them.Now that he knew what she looked and felt like, it was going to be impossible to look at her the same way.

“Tristan?”Faye called out as she walked into his office.“Your ten o’clock appointment is here and your mother is on her way up.”

“Okay, tell my mother she can wait in here and I’ll take the meeting in the conference room.Standing, he glanced around.“I thought I had made myself some coffee when I came up here…”

“Oh, darn it!I bought you a muffin this morning and it’s still at my desk.Sorry.The phones were ringing, and time got away from me.You go into the conference room, and I’ll bring you all some coffee.”

Now he really wanted the muffin, but it would have to wait.

An hour later, he walked back into his office and found his mother sitting at his desk.Walking over, he kissed her cheek.“I didn’t expect to be that long.I apologize for keeping you waiting.”

“No worries, dear.I thought maybe we could go to lunch?”she suggested.“I know Daphne can’t join us, but maybe we can bring something back for her.”

“Um…sure,” he agreed because it was easier.

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