Page 20 of A Little Harmless Pleasure

“You’re leaving in a few hours.”

“So, is that no?”

“You don’t have time. I would feel guilty if you missed your flight.”

“You’re a hard woman to pin down. I get back to Hawaii late your time, so how about I call you tomorrow?”

She wanted to ignore the excitement that one comment caused, but it was hard. Especially since her body was already reacting to the way his voice flowed through the phone. She shivered. “Chris, you really don’t have to do that.”

“Ahh, butchéri, I do. More than you know.” He paused as if he were contemplating his next words carefully, but simply said, “I’ll talk to you later,Cynthia.”

After she hung up, she pushed the conversation aside. As she headed back to the kitchen, she decided she wouldn’t wait to hear from him. She would only be disappointed if he didn’t call. She would not make plans; she would play it by ear.

Stopping midway down, she realized that was something new for her. She plotted everything, planned things down to the smallest detail. Ms. Cynthia Myers didn’t just go with the flow. A smile curved her lips, and she practically floated down the stairs. When she reached the first floor, she joined Max and Anna in the kitchen, where he was devouring more cookies.

Both of them looked at her, Anna expectant, Max frowning as he munched away.

“Anna, I’ll take you up on that offer of working for you.”

Chapter Six

A month after her announcement to Anna, Cynthia smiled as she pulled out a tray of cookies and placed them on the counter. As she removed them to the cooling rack and hummed, Analise, the college student who worked afternoons at the shop, gave her a dirty look, and left the kitchen. Cynthia shrugged and went about her work.

She knew she annoyed many of the workers there with her constant good mood, but they didn’t understand. She had a job for the first time in her life. A purpose, something to do that was all about making a better life for herself. There were still those moments that filled her with self-doubt. When her brother had stopped by a few weeks ago, she’d almost fallen apart. Thankfully, Max had been around and made sure Randall understood to leave her alone.

She wiped her brow with the back of her hand. Her hair, which she’d stopped straightening, now curled around her face. Even though she wore a T-shirt that had fit her a few months ago, it now drew tight over her breasts, but that made it easier to work. The hip-hugger jeans were brand new. Through the weeks that followed her move, she’d stopped watching every little bit of food that went into her mouth. Without someone pointing out each ounce she gained, it was easy to savor food and no longer see it as the enemy. She’d always had a love/hate relationship with food, especially with the sweets she loved to bake. As each day passed, the bonds of her mother’s catty comments dissolved. Granted, it meant she’d moved to a new size in clothing, but there was absolutely nothing normal about wearing a zero if going to bed hungry each night.

With the high humidity and the heat of a Georgia summer in full swing, it promised to be a scorcher today, but she didn’t care. She’d been up late last night talking to Chris. He called every few days and they talked—not about anything in particular, and they never really touched on sex or what had happened the night they’d spent together. But in the last month, she’d gotten to know a lot about Chris Dupree, and what she did know, she really liked. He cared for his family, was dedicated to his restaurant in Honolulu, and made her want to be naughty. It was nothing he said. He hadn’t made one sexual innuendo in all their conversations, but something about Chris made her want to misbehave.

“Looks like you’re having a good day.” Max leaned against the doorjamb, watching her work. She wondered how long he’d been standing there.

“Pretty good. How about you?”

“Well, it could be better. I had a meeting with your father early this morning.”

She couldn’t stop the pain that little comment brought. Her clothes had been delivered to Anna’s house, and she had yet to speak to either of her parents. Even her mother had ignored the fact that her only daughter had turned thirty the week before.

“Why were you meeting with him?” Oh, she hated the way her voice wavered. It made her sound like a frightened girl. And she wasn’t.

Max’s jaw flexed a couple of times, his eyes going cold. “We were supposed to discuss some business, but it turned nasty. He made some remarks I didn’t appreciate, and I told him I would not be doing business with him again.”

“Oh no, I hope this has nothing to do with me, does it?” She would just die if she had caused Max any more problems.

“Indirectly. He made certain observations about Anna.” From Max’s thunderous look, Cynthia was pretty sure she knew what was said about Anna.

“Ah. Father isn’t as bright as he claims to be.”

Max’s expression lightened. “No, he’s not. Then he mentioned your grandmother’s home in Hawaii. I didn’t even pay attention to it until I got back to the office and did some checking. Do you have any idea about the state of your father’s finances?”

She shook her head, puzzled. “No, why?”

He walked further into the kitchen. There was a pensive look on Max’s face. She had grown accustomed to his more relaxed mood since he started dating Anna. This was the old Max, the one with too many worries for one man.

“Tell me.”

He sighed. “It appears that your father is done up.”

She laughed at first, thinking he was joking. When she realized he wasn’t smiling, her laughter died. “My father is broke?”

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