Page 60 of Jack

The one I voted no to immediately was Jay. Ava and Melody have a seriously unhealthy thing for the Viking Warriors, especially for the McLeod men. They said they couldn’t swoon over Jack anymore now that he was taken. Emily didn’t help matters when she told them messing with a taken biker couldget a woman killed. My co-workers are insane. Jack isn’t mine, and I’d never stab them in the neck with a decorating spatula like they think. They don’t know weapons. A decorating spatula doesn’t have any sharp edges. I pause and try to imagine it. That would seriously hurt. It would be more along the lines of torture. If Jack was mine, and Jenny touched him, yeah, I could do it.

At four o’clock, the end of my shift, the person I want to see the most walks into the bakery. Every motorcycle I heard today had me looking out the windows. Two hours ago, Emily refused to let me out of the kitchen. Those two hours felt like eight. Emily doesn’t stop me when I step into the doorway this time.

Jack smiles at me over the display case. “Hello, angel. Ready to go?”

“Yes,” I reply with a sigh.

“Yes, pleeease take her. She’s gotten on my nerves checking the door for you every time a motorcycle rode by today.” Emily should try doing theater. She has a flare for being dramatic.

Without breaking eye contact with my wonderful dramatic boss, I grab a decorating spatula off the counter and wave it at her. Ava and Melody burst out into a fit of laughter. Jack knows there’s an inside joke. Thankfully, he doesn’t ask.

I quickly grab my bag and helmet from my locker in the breakroom. My helmet. That’s such a strange statement coming from me. And my locker? It’s really a fancy cubby because Emily is a major do-it-yourself person. She decorates everything in her life, not just cakes and cupcakes.

When I return to the front, Emily’s handing Jack a small pastry box. He hands her some cash and refuses the change. Emily just smiles. Ava and Melody are about to vibrate out of their skin. We need to get out of here. These three have no problem with openly embarrassing you in public. They’ve done it all day, and even with customers present.

Jack, once again, tosses an arm over my shoulders. “You ready to take the long way home, angel?”

The sighs and swoons behind us are loud. I swear two customers are part of it. I ignore them and nod. Jack doesn’t ignore them. He grins and winks at me.

At the door, he pauses and looks over his shoulder at Emily. “You ladies, have a good day. Lily might be late in the morning.”

My mouth drops open. Emily claps. Ava swoons and literally drops to the floor. I rush past the front windows and to his bike without checking to see Melody’s reaction.

Jack strolls across the parking lot, happy as a lark. It’s just a normal day in the life of Jack McLeod. Women everywhere swoon over him. No, really, they do. There’s a lady in a minivan driving by right now, staring at him with her mouth open. I cut my eyes at her. Finally, she notices me when Jack’s a couple of feet away. She snaps her head forward. I’m going to have to invest in a few cases of spatulas from the looks of it. A knife from Jay would work so much better.

Jack puts the box Emily gave him into one of the saddlebags and taps my helmet. “Put this on. We’re losing daylight.”

Geez. Causally taking our time is gone. Now, we’re in a hurry. I don’t understand how a man can go from happy and fun-loving to snappy and mean so quickly. Joel did it every day. I knew better than to ask him what was wrong. Now, Jack’s doing it, too. No. Jack is nothing like Joel. Jack hasn’t degraded me, hit me, or hurt me in any way. Comparing him even slightly to Joel is wrong.

“Angel, you okay?” He’s already on the bike waiting for me.

“Yeah. Sorry.” I put my helmet on and fasten the strap.

“Foot on the peg and swing your leg over,” he instructs and offers me his hand for support.

“And wrap my thighs around you.” It’s a repeat of our conversation this morning.

Jack releases a long breath. “Yeah, that.”

He doesn’t mean riding a motorcycle. If another man, Joel included, implied something like that to me, I’d smack them. Yeah, Joel would make me pay for it later, but I’d do it. Not with this man, though. I sit behind him and slide as close to his back as possible. My thighs lay against his. His thighs are muscular. Mine are fat. Movies and novels call what I have thick thighs. It’s not a romantic term to me at all. My hands slide around to his stomach. I shift slightly, causing my thighs to move against his.

He moans. “Angel, you’re killing me.”

No, he wasn’t referring to riding a motorcycle a few minutes ago. Before I can slide against him again to test my theory, Jack starts the bike and pulls out of the parking lot. The same wonderful free feeling settles over me again.

We definitely take a longer ride than this morning. We’re on the same side of Willow Creek as the clubhouse. This road has more houses and small businesses. Of course, there are pastures and fields out here, too. What I wasn’t expecting was to stop at a park by a river.

We park at the lower side of the lot. The playground is more toward the center. Picnic tables are scattered all around. Naturally, most of them are near the playground. There’s only one where we are.

I need no instructions on how to get off the bike this time. Jack hangs our helmets on the bike before handing me the box from The Cupcake Cottage. Cupcakes by the river with a biker. I’ve never heard of such a thing. This is definitely a first. He pulls a to-go bag of food from Angie’s from the other saddlebag. Oh my gosh. Not just cupcakes. We’re having a picnic. The biggest surprise is the red checkered blanket he pulls out. Wow. All of a sudden, I feel special. That’s the biggest new thing yet.

We pass the picnic table and stop at a grassy area under a tree. I don’t know what kind it is. Growing up in LA was fast-paced.We had trees and nature classes in school, but I didn’t bother to memorize tree types. I did learn more about flowers, though. We had a neighbor when I was little who grew some of the prettiest flowers. It was more fun to help her with her flower beds rather than being at home.

The park and river are beautiful. The picnic is such a sweet gesture. I really want to enjoy every part of this. Jack’s grown quieter than usual, and it concerns me. He hands me the bag of food and sets two bottles of water on the ground so he can spread the blanket out.

We sit down, and I try to put the food between us. He moves it all to his other side. His arm slides around my waist and pulls me against his side.

“Sit with me here for a few minutes, angel.” He rests his forehead against mine.

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