Page 12 of Callahan

I grinned at her. “That’s all I need.” It was tempting to not even look for a place elsewhere. I’d love to be under the same roof as her all night, even if we were in separate rooms. But I knew that was just asking for trouble. “I appreciate the offer, but I wouldn’t want to be in your way, so I’ll try to find someplace else.”

“You wouldn’t be in my way, but I understand. At least you know you have a backup plan.”

Backup plan. Yeah.

Part of me wanted it to be Plan A.

Maybe that’s why, instead of going back to the O’Brien’s and arranging for a place to sleep that night, I looked around her bakery and said, “Since I don’t have a hotel room to hang out in, can I help you here?”

Chapter Six

Lainey

Paulina’s shift had ended, and I wasn’t about to turn down free labor, so I got Adam started on fixing the chime above the door. It’d worked the three weeks leading up to the grand opening when I was getting the place ready. And the two months prior when I’d been too tired to do anything. But halfway through opening day, it wentkaput.

And today it bit me in the ass for not getting it fixed right away. But until twenty minutes ago, that had felt like the least of my worries.

I’d known I was going to want no less than a month with Conor before getting the bakery ready to open. I would have preferred longer, but, single mom, sole income, and all.

I’d bought the bakery from Mrs. Riley at the end of February, but the sale didn’t include the building. Since I wanted the business to stay in its location, I’d had to negotiate with the building’s owner, Earl Schilling.

Business wasn’t exactly booming in Haven Springs, so Earl agreed to give me free rent until the first of August if I signed a five-year lease—allowing me a little breathing room before reopening.

Full of hope, optimism, and a little bit of fear, I took the deal.

Moving while eight and a half months pregnant had been a group effort. Fortunately, everyone in town loved my BFF, Kristy. No one could say no to her. So, recruiting help had been easy. Plus, Brian and his friends showed up, too. The apartment was move-in ready in a day, including assembling the furniture for the nursery.

The same group came to my rescue when I gave the bakery a thorough cleaning last month and a budget-friendly makeover, consisting of fresh paint, new lighting, brightly colored art on the walls, a new sign with the new name—plus the grand opening banner, and an updated payment system and cash register. Although, I did keep the old black one, with its big buttons and large display numbers, in the corner for decoration.

It literally took Adam eight minutes to diagnose and fix the problem with the chime, including the time it took for him to get a ladder and tools from a closet in the kitchen then put them away.

I may have stared at him while his attention was on fixing the bell. He was really handsome, in an athletic, boy-next-door way.

I must have a type because that’s how I would’ve described Shawn, too. Then again, that would describe half the men in Haven Springs. We didn’t have a lot of bad boys in town. The rebellious ones all seemed to leave Haven Springs the minute they got the chance.

Adam came out of the kitchen drying his hands on a paper towel and gave me a lopsided grin that made my stomach erupt in butterflies.

“What next?”

Take me back to the kitchen and bend me over the counter.

Oh.

My.

God.

Where the hell did that come from, hussy?

In my defense, I hadn’t had sex since August. And now that my ankles were no longer swollenandI could see them, I’d been feeling horny. Except the prospects for scratching that itch were few and far between in Haven Springs, and I didn’t exactly have a lot of opportunities to get out of town. Adam was, well, freshmeat that wasn’t going to be around long. In other words, he was perfect.

A girl had needs.

But it wasn’t like I could be like, “Hey, I know you’re here visiting my boyfriend’s gravesite, but before you go, would you mind letting me ride your cock?”

Oh god. I was a horrible person for even thinking such a thing. Adam was Shawn’s friend!

I was definitely going to hell.

---