Page 13 of One Whopper of a Love Story

Rolling her head to face me, she grinned. “That’s great advice.”

“The give him a chance part?”

“Nope. The other part.” She stood up and pointed at me. “If he doesn’t like the giggly, impulsive Layla, it doesn’t matter what he thinks of the person you are pretending to be.”

“How rude! You are using my own words against me.”

She curtsied. “My job here is done. I’m headed to bed. Four comes early.”

I hadn’t even given Nico my number, but he knew where I lived. If he sought me out, then I’d give him a chance. Rolling onto my stomach, I sighed into my pillow again. Why had I kissed him? Twice!

I’d set the wrong expectation from the outset. Even if he did show up one day, the chance I’d give him would be narrow. No kissing. At least in the beginning.

The shop was extra busy for a Tuesday morning, but I enjoyed the busy days. For one, I felt like I was needed, and the day went by more quickly.

The door opened, and I froze when Tessa spoke. “Welcome to Sweets—Nico, hi!”

He came. It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since I’d seen him, but here he was in the doughnut shop. Duh. The doughnut shop. He was here for a doughnut. I tamped down my excitement, but my brain didn’t get the memo to my cheeks. They were probably flaming pink.

I stared at the counter, trying to breathe normally. Hugging would lead to kissing. I’d learned that from past experience—not with him—but in general. Knowing that, I didn’t run around the counter to greet him.

“Good morning.” He leaned down to catch my eye. “How are you today?”

“Really good. Thank you.” I didn’t have to lie about that, but I reminded myself that he was here for a doughnut. “What can I get you?”

“I’ll think about it, but I wanted to run an idea by you.”

“An idea?” I glanced around Nico when the door opened, then focused on him again.

Garrett wasn’t here to see me, and if he needed a doughnut, Tessa would get it for him. I knew that routine.

“What idea?” I held my breath, hoping this one chance wouldn’t be ruined by an idea I’d hate.

Nico folded his arms and rested them on the counter, putting us at eye level. “I did a little research, and while there are differing answers, it seems a habit can be formed in twenty-one days. One person said as few as eighteen days, but for this to work, I really wanted an odd number.”

“Okay?” Usually, I was the one confusing people, but right now, I had no clue where he was headed with this idea.

A hush fell over the room, and I saw Garrett on one knee. Tapping Nico’s arm, I pointed.

He spun around and leaned back against the counter.

As much as I wanted to watch Tessa say yes, Nico’s back was a distraction. The seams at the shoulders were taut, and I could tell there were muscles there even with his shirt on. He had carried me around like I weighed nothing yesterday, so yeah. He had muscles. I think even his muscles had muscles.

Tessa threw her arms around Garrett, and we all cheered. It wasn’t a surprise that she’d said yes. I’d only known her a month, and it was clear she was just as smitten with Garrett as he was with her.

I smiled and waved as Garrett carried her out of the shop. “I’ve got this! Have fun.” It was a good thing I was here. Today, I felt needed.

Nico turned back around. “That was sweet.”

“Very romantic.” I held up a mug and a to-go cup. “Which do you need?”

“Since you’re working until the place closes, I’m definitely going to need a mug.” He perched on the stool nearest the register after getting himself coffee. “Back to my idea. Supposing I wanted to make a habit of talking to you every day, would that idea appeal to you?”

“Onlytalking?” No one had ever asked me just to talk.

He nodded, then sipped his black coffee. “We’ll work on one habit at a time.”

“I like that idea.”

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