Page 11 of Midnight Dream

“No, what?”

“Stop trying to get in my pants,Steve. It’s not going to happen. Not now, not ever.”

Steve’s eyes darted every-which-way before he backed up a step.

“You have a good day, Dream,” he said and tipped the ball cap he wore on his head towards me.

“Wait a minute, Steve,” I said and touched his elbow.

He stopped, looked at my hand on his flesh and then to me.

“Were you at Jaded last night?”

Steve tilted his chin higher. “I was.”

“Did you see what happened? What happened between Dustin and Jake?”

“You have a good day, Dream,” Steve said with a furrowed brow, right before he got into his pickup truck and drove off.

I exhaled.

Not a great start to the day.

I turned the knob to the front door, and relaxed a bit when it didn’t immediately open. I pulled my keys out of the back pocket of my jeans and unlocked the door. I always kept a spare outfit at Jeanette’s in case of emergencies, and I was glad I did. It came in handy today. After the way I blew Steve off, there’s no tellingwhatlies he was going to try to spread about me, but if he’d seen me show up to work with the same yellow sundress I had on the day before, it wouldn’t be a good look.

Jeanette had understandably called me early in the morning to tell me she wasn’t going to come to work. I tried to get more information from her, but she was too teary and too tired to go into much details. Plus, the doctor came in when she was on the line to discuss Jake’s condition and treatment plan, and she needed to disconnect. I understood. Her first priority was her husband and her family. Dreamy was my dream. The love of her life and those three kids were hers. I told her to take all the time she needed, and I would see her soon.

But I needed to open and run my shop, which meant I needed to deal with Dustin. He was an employee after all, and I was his boss. I couldn’t be his plaything and run my business at the same time.

“Dream.”

Shit. I’m tired of people coming up on me like that.

Dustin had come up behind me, and I hadn’t noticed. It was my own fault. I was lost in my head, again, and standing like an idiot with the door to Dreamy half opened and me in the threshold stuck in place.

“Are you going to step aside and let me in?” He asked and put his hand on my hip.

Damn him. Why am I melting from his touch?

“Or should we bake and serve out here in the parking lot? It is a beautiful day, so I guess that could work.”

And here we go. He was as charming and disarming as he’d ever been. If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I would never believe his smooth tones and joking style masked an insatiable beast. I held the door fast and waved my hand for him to enter.

“No,” he said. “Ladies first.”

“Not whores?”

“I see no whores here, Dream. Only a lady of the highest quality.”

Heat rushed up my neck. I went in first through the door and heard the bell sound as it closed behind Dustin. I went for the backroom set my keys down, grabbed my apron and headed back to the front. The lights were switched on as Dustin hit the light switch on the wall. I aimed for the front door to switch the cardboard sign to signal we were open for business, but Dustin intercepted me on his route to the backroom.

“Excuse me,” he said in a tone so deep it shot through my body.

I bit my lip and held my breath as he walked around, but so close to me I could feel the heat emanating from his body. As he traveled in a half circle around me, he looked me up and down, devouring my frame. The heat from my heat traveled to my face.

Stay strong, girl. Get a grip. He works for you.

I stared blankly out the front door to the parking lot beyond, sending Daisy an inaudible cry for help.

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