Page 61 of Frosting and Flames

He pulls me further into the house, still kissing me, and I blissfully follow his lead as he draws us down onto the couch, my legs straddling his lap.

Some of the haze leaves me as I feel him, hard and hot,right there. Did I really work him up that much from just kissing?

My knee knocks into something—the remote, I think—and it’s only then I realize we’re sitting in the same spot Kyle was in when he told me he was leaving me. That he had cheated on me.

The dissonance jars me and I jerk back. What am I doing?

Yes, Nick and I have grown closer over the last month, but I… I barely know him. How can I trust him? I need more time. This is happening too fast.

I climb off his lap, crossing my arms over my chest as I move to the other side of the living room. “I’m sorry, I can’t do this.” I look at him once, but the confusion and hurt on his face is too much to bear, and I stare at the rug instead. “I don’t think I’m ready for anything with anyone.” Not if I still can’t get what Kyle did out of my head. That’s not fair to Nick.

“Why?”

How am I supposed to answer that? I can’t tell him I’m afraid he’ll cheat on me one day. That I couldn’t take it again. Especially because Nick seems so wonderful. It’s almost like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop with him.

“Not my business, I get it,” he says when I take too long to reply.

He stands, and my gaze gets stuck on his erection tenting the front of his pants. I bite my lip, remembering how good it felt against my core. Am I an idiot for stopping this?

“I guess I’ll get back to work.”

That’s right. He’s been on the clock this whole time.

He stalks to the front door, then pauses, his hand on the knob. “Damn it. I’m not supposed to leave yet, am I? In case Kyle thinks we’re in here fucking.”

I’m silent at his crude words, heat touching my cheeks at the reminder of what that kiss might have led to if I hadn’t stopped us.

“Shit, I’m sorry.” He doesn’t seem mad. More… frustrated. And why wouldn’t he be? I got him hot and bothered, then wouldn’t follow through.

He changes direction toward my kitchen, unlocks the back door, and leaves.

I sink on unsteady legs to the couch, regret and embarrassment filling me as I bury my face in my hands. What did I just do?

And how do I fix it?

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

NICK

The scent of cinnamon hits me as soon as I step into the bakery, clutching the stack of flyers in my hand like it’s a lifeline. It’s the only reason I’m here, after all.

Not because I want to see Rachel. Not because I want to make sure she’s all right after that disastrous ending to our night two days ago.

How many times have I pulled out my phone, ready to text her? To ask her where things went awry, what I could have done differently? But if I do that, it feels like I should apologize, as if I did something wrong. And kissing her like that, nothing held back… It had been completely right. Better than anything my imagination could come up with. I’d felt her response, how much she wanted it, too.

So why did she basically say it was a mistake?

I’m not ready for anything with anyone.

There’s only one reasonable explanation I can think of.

She’s not over Kyle.

And isn’t that a punch to the gut?

Even so, when she’d sent me a link yesterday to the chili cookoff flyer she created, I’d responded with thanks, telling her I’d print out some flyers for the bakery and drop them off today. The cookoff is still happening, regardless if Rachel and I are… anything.

Hailey’s behind the counter as she usually is, and greets me with a smile. “Are those the flyers?”

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