Page 21 of Falling for Her

“I’ll serve them, Ess,” Trina says from beside me, a hint of desperation in her voice, and I swallow hard, the words to decline her just on the tip of my tongue but I keep them inside.

I turned him down…

I stand straight, nod, and turn to head back to the kitchen, knowing there is a pile of washing up to be done but I pause when Damian states, “Actually, Levi here has personally asked for you, Esmerelda. Isn’t that right, bud?”

I turn back and look with a raised brow as the little boy, Levi, nods his head and demands, “Yes!” and I can’t help but chuckle at his enthusiasm.

Clearing my throat while trying to ignore the feeling of my father’s eyes on me, I look at Levi and ask, “Is that so?” he nods again and smiles shyly at me, and I hum and ask, “What’s your favorite color, Levi?”

He thinks for a moment, his brows scrunching cutely before he says, “Orange.”

I nod and bend before opening the case. I look over the different cakes I have before I spot the bright orange frosted chocolate cake, and I smile. Grabbing it, I put it on a plate, then look at Damian, who is already intently looking at me sending shivers down my spine and causing my skin to tingle.

Damn….

He tilts his head, and without me having to ask, he says, “Blue. " I nod, grab a dark frosted blue cake, put it on a separate plate, and put them both onto a tray.

I clear my throat and ask, “Anything else?”

He smiles and says, “A chocolate milk and coffee, please.” I raise a brow at his please, but he just smirks and asks, “Could you bring it to the table in the back?”

I open my mouth to decline, knowing Trina can do it, but she speaks for me and says, “I’ll do it. Ess is busy in the kitchen, you know…”

I side-eye her, seeing her biting her bottom lip and twirling her hair in her finger. I swallow my growl of jealousy and look back at Damian, seeing him narrowing his eyes at her, his mouth pressed in a thin line.

Uh oh, someone is not happy which inadvertently makes me happy because he isn’t fawning over her like most customers do – double crap, I really want this man….

I open my mouth to confirm I’ll bring his order over, not wanting any arguments, but before I can say

anything, my dad walks over with my brother and hands him to me over the counter. I humph as he’s basically thrown into my arms, which, of course, my brother giggles at making me smile.

My dad states, “Actually, I think Mer should take a seat as well. She’s been baking all morning, besides, I’m sure this little boy would love a friend to play with.”

My mouth parts in shock, and my eyes widen as Damian snorts but coughs to cover it while my dad smirks and confirms, “I’ll bring you a latte over, sweetheart, and Trina can start washing everything up in the kitchen, ready for closing. I’ll man the counter.”

Trina huffs and walks away, knowing she can’t win against Dad, while I blink several times, unable to comprehend what my dad is doing. I mean, he’s just sided with my stranger, I mean uh…

Ah pickles!

Aiden puts his palms on my cheeks and squeezes them together, and demands, “Sissy, cupcake,” when I don’t snap out of my stupor quick enough. I grin despite him squishing my cheeks, and I mumble, “But you’ve already had one.”

Dad laughs as Aiden replies, “It’s suga fwee…”

I shake my head to loosen his hold and kiss his palm before looking at Damian, a complete stranger I’m pulled towards. He tilts his head to the back of the room, and the little baby murmurs again, and I sigh, knowing I can’t say no.

I’m a sucker when it comes to kids, no thanks to my little brother here.

Without a word, I walk around the counter and towards the back of the room with my brother on my hip. I grab a highchair and take it to the table Damian sat at last week. I put Levi inside, clicking him in and grabbing the attached table. I click it on, bop Aiden’s button nose, then walk and grab another highchair for Levi.

I set it up next to Aiden’s, and I turn and lock eyes with Damian, who has moved from the counter to the table. His eyes are intense and highly focused on me….

My nerves begin to fray, and the urge to run to the kitchen is strong and so is the urge to throw myself at him making me want to run to the kitchen faster, but I push them away, especially knowing my dad is watching me like a hawk and would drag me back by my hair and I hold my hands up to Levi.

I expect him to shy away, but he doesn’t, instead, he surprises me and leaps into my arms. I laugh as I catch him, then swing him around, making an airplane noise, which he giggles loudly at, and I plop him carefully into the highchair before clicking him in.

He gives me a wide grin as I click the table on, and I tap my finger on his nose before I go to the table in the corner of the room Mom set up for kids when I was about three or four.

I pick up two cups full of coloring crayons and some pictures and return to the table, putting them on the boys' tables. Instantly, they begin to color, making me smile before it slowly fades because now I have no excuse.

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