Page 23 of The Grump

“Sure. Let’s try again.”

I watched her do another one and then carefully replicated her moves. By the fourth one, they’d started to look decent.

“Will you look at that?” She leaned in so close that I could smell her perfume. “You really are a fast learner.”

“Have a little faith in me, will you, Bailey?” I teased.

She straightened up, the tip of her nose so close to me that I could barely keep myself from tilting in even more, closing the distance, and kissing her. Like it was beyond my control.

Pulling back, she said, “If you continue like this, I just might. I’ll keep a close eye on you, though, as I move about the kitchen, and if you fall too far behind, I’ll come over to help.”

I winked. “Of course. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Do you mind if I leave the Christmas carols on?”

I looked into her eyes. “Bailey, this is your home. You can do whatever you want. Just act as if I’m not even here.”

“Ha, I can’t. If you weren’t here, I’d probably toss my bra.” She immediately pressed a hand to her mouth, her eyes wide.

Fuck, I had to get that image out of my mind, but it was impossible. Her body had kept me up at night anyway. Bailey was petite, but she didn’t lack curves. Quite the opposite, actually.

And now I couldn’t help but imagine how she’d look without a bra on, how her nipples would poke through her shirt. I could feel my control slipping away.

Bailey jumped from her seat. “Um, okay, let’s get to work.”

“You really have your hands full during the Christmas season.”

She smiled. “Honestly, it’s not that bad. Back when I worked in software, every day was highly stressful.”

I stared at her. “Wait, what? You worked in software?”

“You should know that. I’m not even a pastry chef at all. Your grandmothers never told you?”

“No. I always assumed... Never mind.”

“I met Isabeau when I was on a burnout vacation from work. I wanted to occupy my time with something, so I took up making desserts and pralines. She convinced me to work at the confectionery.”

I was stunned. She’d actuallychosenthis life. I felt like an idiot. Why had I not even bothered to ask how she’d come to do this?

“Your financials must have taken a big hit.”

“Of course you’d go there.” She smiled, and I rightly felt chagrined. “Avery and I also have a side business. We teach people how to make sweets in an amateur online academy kind of thing. It’s been surprisingly profitable, even in the age of free videos on YouTube, so money is good. Although, probably in the long term, if the confectionery closes down, I’ll either have to look for something else in software or...” She shuddered. “You know what? Forget I even said that. It’s never going to be an option. My sister and I will expand our business.”

“This is completely unexpected,” I admitted.

“Why? Couldn’t you see me working in a corporate environment?”

“Honestly, no. I assumed this is what you’ve been doing forever.”

“No. Ever since I was small, I worked hard toward being a software developer. I was good at it. Somehow, I thought that if you’re good at something, you’re supposed to do that. But it ended up being a soul-consuming job. And now that I know the alternative, no way in hell would I go back to working in corporate. No offense.”

“I don’t feel insulted at all. This is very interesting.”

“I also took off because my father had been sick for a while, and I was literally working twelve hours a day from Monday to Friday. On weekends, I barely had time to do anything other than sleep, let alone help my parents.”

“Is he okay now?”

“Yes. He’s made a full recovery. But he couldn’t keep up with work, so he retired. Mom is still working.” She hesitated a moment, and I noticed her eyes were a little glassy. “So anyway, now you know why the confectionery is so important to me.”

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