Page 86 of Wild Desire

I smiled at her, and the little boy who cheered. I'd never seen the place this busy before.

"We just love your donuts," a woman said as I carefully replaced the empty tray with the new one.

"That's so nice to hear."

The man behind her said, "My kids make me get up early to get chocolate donuts before they're out."

"I'll have to make more chocolate donuts then," I said as I slowly backed away. Inside the kitchen, I let out a breath. "There's a lot of people out there."

He smirked. "I told you."

'"I'm not sure I have enough donuts."

"It's okay to let them run out. It creates scarcity and increases their value."

I huffed out a laugh, despite the melancholy that had settled over my shoulders. "I'm selling donuts, not gold bars."

"They might as well be the same. Heather at the front counter said there was a line out the door this morning, before you even put the donuts out."

"That's crazy. Who would get up early just to get donuts before they ran out?" I grabbed my icing tool and continued with my tray of donuts. A white swirl on chocolate. Sprinkles on the strawberry. If I could just focus on design, I could ignore the fact that Killian was gone for good.

"Girl. You don't see yourself very well."

That caused me to straighten and meet his gaze. "Marcus, what are you talking about?"

"Your donuts are the best I've ever tasted, and you know how I feel about pastries."

"You're a cook. Not a baker."

"Exactly. They're not exactly good for my health, but I can't resist them."

I frowned. "I never sold this many at Cal's shop."

"That's because he's an asshole, and people don't want to go to his shop for donuts. They want to come here. Get up early, grab donuts, and get on the slopes. The whole family can come and sit in front of the fire with hot chocolate. Or they're taking them home."

I shook my head. "It's just a novelty for now. The attraction will wear off."

"I'd prepare yourself. I have a feeling this is just the beginning, and there will be more demand."

After the breakfast rush, I cleaned my prep area until it gleamed and then took off my apron. Eli appeared in the doorway.

"Noelle, can I talk to you for a minute?"

I smiled at him. "Of course."

He took me to a table in the lobby and pulled out a chair for me to sit. "I wanted to talk to you about taking a couple of days off a week."

I frowned. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Did you see the line this morning?"

"It was great. But you need days off. You can't work seven days a week."

"I can." And I would because I wanted to forget about Killian all together. Getting over him was going to be a long and arduous process.

"That's not realistic in the long run. You probably want to have a morning off here or there."

"How about we see how it goes, and I'll let you know." My phone dinged with messages. "I have a bunch of pending assistant requests. If there's nothing else?—"

"If you need anything, let me know."

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