Page 11 of Mitch

Penn shook his head.

“No. Pastry, but... my dad paints in his spare time.”

“Usually, I charge by the hour, but?—”

“I’ll pay you whatever it is you want,” he blurted out, and I couldn’t help but smile at his desperation.

He was so cute, I couldn’t stand it. I just wanted him to ease up, to feel better.

“I was going to say… but, for you, I can do a flat rate of six hundred for the week, and this next part is the most important part of the negotiation,” I said, leaning closer.

Penn leaned in without hesitation, putting his face inches away from mine. He smelled like sugar, spice, and untapped desire.

I gently pulled the box of goodies toward me as I whispered, “I’m going to need another box of cream puffs, and maybe a sweet, spicy, cinnamon roll. As terms of the payment, of course,” I said, flashing him a grin.

Penn’s gaze fell to my lips, and I watched him swallow harshly, his Adam’s apple bobbing as a softsighescaped him.

This is a bad idea.

Penn looked up at me with glassy, turquoise eyes, biting his bottom lip, and my cock twitched once more from the sight.

“Deal,” he said.

My gaze dropped to his lips. Pink, pouty, and perfect.

Fuck.

If he had been any other man, I would’ve just gone for it. I would’ve closed the gap and kissed him, butsomehow I knew I needed to take my time with Penn.

I knew kissing him like this, now, would only push him away. So, for the moment, I stowed my desire, my sudden attraction, in favor of beingprofessionaland giving my Cream Puff the space he needed to process everything that had just happened.

“I’ll start Monday,” I said, pulling back.

CHAPTER 6

Mitch

“What’s with the face?”Dawson asked, poking me in the side like a juvenile.

I took a sip of my beer as Weston flirted relentlessly with his boyfriend, my oldest friend, Cade.

Dawson and Cade were probably the closest thing I had to what one would call abest friend. Cade and I had hung out since middle school, and after he and Dawson broke up, the guy refused to leave. But with that being said, I actually enjoyed his idiocy most of thetime.

When I was in a better mood that was.

“What face?” I deadpanned as Nolan came back to the table with a handful of drinks. True to his white knight nature, Cade immediately moved to help him, abandoning whatever Weston was going on about.

“Thanks,” Nolan said, his glasses sliding down his nose in the process as the liquid sloshed around in the glasses. Miraculously, nothing spilled as Cade helped pass out drinks.

“The constipated face you’re currently making,” Dawson nipped. “I would think you’d still be smiling from ear to ear from the wedding. I know I am,” he said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat for added idiot effect.

Dawson was like that.

Like a big, dumb golden retriever. Most of the time, I didn’t mind.

But Dawson was right, I was in a mood, and I had been ever since Amy showed up to crash my date—no,meeting—with Penn.

It wasn’t like I thought Cream Puff and I were going to run off into thesunset after one box of baked goods and some stupid flirting, so why did it bother me so much?

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