Page 60 of Yours and Mine (Friends with Benefits)

Oh! Since our house had been demolished by the tornado, I’d decided not to bother with pastry school. It just didn’t make sense, since I lived with two of the best bakers in the world. That, and I didn’t have the money to pay for it and didn’t want to ask Dad. I objected when he offered to pay for my school when he was looking for a way to rebuild our house. He had enough to worry about with our new living arrangements. I loved working with Marge and was sure her knowledge and experience were better than those of any teacher at any pastry school.

“I bought the house Mr. Grafton used to live in, with the garage and all.”

“The haunted house?” I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand dramatically. His mouth curved up a little. Mission accomplished! I curled my lower lip to the inside of my mouth and his grin widened. My heart pounded with delight.

“It’s just an old house.”

“It’s the garage that sold you, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” He gave me a bashful grin, reminding me of the boy I’d known my entire life who had been forced to grow up sooner than most. It also reminded me of how cute that boy had always been.

“My parents helped out, and I’ll pay them back. I’ve been fiddling with a few old cars, fixing them up. My father’s broken truck is next.”

“I’d love to see it, if that’s all right with you.”

“Yeah, sure.” He shrugged.

I looked at my watch. I didn’t want to leave, but I had a retirement cake to finish.

“I have to go, Carter. But I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah, sure, Jo.” I tried to stand up but he grasped my wrist and whispered. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

He let go of my hand and looked forward into the distance, lost. Just before I turned around I saw that young, capricious face disappear, replaced by a grieving one.

The next day I was swamped with receiving orders. It looked like everyone in town wanted a cake for the weekend. First I was busy planning them out, then fulfilling earlier orders, baking cookies and mixing tiramisu mascarpone filling for the Ladies Club at town hall, who’d ordered five tiramisu cakes. I didn’t even want to know what they were planning to do with them all. Since both Dad and Marge were sharing baking space now, the crammed scheduled hours meant little time for negotiation, so I couldn’t put something off for later. And all the while I’d been thinking about visiting my friend to see if I could get that spark of him back again.

It took me two weeks to find the time and work up the nerve to go see Carter. It was finally looking like spring outside. With a blast of warm southern air, the surprising snowfall two and a half weeks ago had melted away and the grass took on its bright green shade within twenty-four hours. Daffodils bloomed, tulips opened, and the smell of new beginnings lingered in the air. I knocked on the front door, but no one answered. The drapes were drawn and I couldn’t see anything through the window. I knocked again, lightly tapping my foot on the porch.

Something clattered to the side of the house. I followed the noise until I reached the garage. A pair of legs, which I assumed belonged to Carter, were sticking out from underneath a car. By their twisting motion, it looked like he was trying to turn something.

I cleared my throat, and he stopped. After a pause, Carter rolled out from underneath the hood, the arm loops of his overalls and the entire top half draped over the bottom. His torso was smudged with grease and dripping with sweat. While I wanted to laugh, there was something about the image of him like that, half naked… sweaty… dirty… that forced my mouth to open. He pulled his arm over his brow, smearing grease over his forehead and bringing me out of my confused daze.

“Jo?”

I took a step back and leaned over, blocking the sun from his face so that he could see me.

“Hi.” I waved with a full hand splayed out as if I was about to count out on my fingers. “I brought muffins. And cupcakes. Would you like to try my cupcakes?” I asked, reaching out with the box.

“Hrmph.” he cleared his throat, trying not to laugh. “Your cupcakes?”

“Yes, my cupcakes. You know how good my cupcakes are, don’t you?”

What the hell was wrong with me?

“Jo, right now I’m looking at your long pale legs, and when you say it that way, you make it sound like you’re talking about…” I saw his cheeks turn red as his gaze ventured higher to my chest.

I crossed my arms over my breasts. “Carter! Stop looking at my boobs.”

“Sorry, can’t help it.”

He finally got up and walked toward me in his half-naked glory.

“You better put something on or you’re going to catch a cold.”

Carter reached for the box I was holding, opened it, and swept his finger through the cream frosting before licking it all off in slow motion. My jaw snapped when my mouth fell open as I followed the tip of his tongue leaving a clean trail behind. My arms peppered with goosebumps.

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