Page 76 of How to Break My Heart
“Wait! Are you joking or serious?”
Aston shakes his head with a smug expression. “If I can run a billion-dollar company, I can make coffee.”
I opt to give him the benefit of the doubt and spend the next few minutes teaching him. To my surprise, he quickly picks up the instructions and starts to work.
“You’re a lefty,” I tease, watching him closely. “So cute.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t pick up on that when you were in the bathroom with me,” he responds with an irritatingly smug expression, then leans in to whisper, “I guess you were too busy coming on my fingers.”
Heat rises to my cheeks, but I flatten my lips to hide my embarrassment. “Okay, we’re violating some sort of work code here.”
“Oh yeah, which one, Miss Woods?”
“Sexual harassment,” I tell him. “For now, I’m your boss. So behave or else.”
He keeps his grin to himself. “I never pictured myself as a submissive, but here I am, I guess.”
A small laugh escapes my lips. As Aston takes to the machine like a pro, it allows me time to take the remaining orders and finish icing the rest of the pineapple donuts. As usual, they’re a hit.
“Pineapple donuts, eh? That’s new,” Aston mentions casually, then motions for me to glance at the old lady sitting at table three with two of her friends. “See that lady wearing the blouse with the upside-down pineapples?”
I glance over to see the bright pink shirt with pineapples scattered all over. “Yeah?”
“She’s into swinging.”
My eyes widen in disbelief. “Why would you say that?”
“Pineapples on clothing, specifically upside-down ones, means you swing,” he informs with a gleam in his eye. “So, Grandma likes to take it on both ends.”
My mouth opens, then I slap his arm. “What’s wrong with you? Why would you tell me that? Now it all makes sense. She told me she had a hip injury. The injury must be from the swinging.”
Aston keeps his laugh at bay. In that split moment, gazing at him, I realize it’s been a long time since I’ve seen him genuinely smile. Most of the time, he’s acting like an asshole to get a reaction from me.
And the truth is—he looks so devastatingly handsome when he’s happy.
I demand that we work in silence since the swinger talk has left me somewhat disturbed. I find myself glancing at her to see if there’s any truth to what Aston said. The ladies all seem to be giggling at something as swinging grandma shows them a picture on her cell phone.
The two ladies cover their mouths, almost as if they’re embarrassed.
I wrinkle my nose and imagine the picture to be some old dude’s penis.
God, why did you even say that in your head?
An hour later, the group leaves. They finalize their bills and head back to their bus.
And that’s when I breathe a sigh of relief, turning to face Aston. If it wasn’t for him, I would have gone insane trying to wrangle this crowd. Not to mention, they tipped generously because we were so accommodating.
“Thank you for helping me.”
“My pleasure,” he states simply.
“If only business were thriving like this every day, then I might be able to open a second café one day.”
“Well, if you ever need an investor,” he mentions with a grin, “Manhattan has a big swinging community and those pineapple donuts would be a drawcard.”
“Eww.” I cringe, shaking my head before laughing. “Manhattan would be a dream. Though, should I be worried you know so much about the swinging community?”
“I knowofthe swinging community, but that does not mean I partake in such activities. I’m selfish. If I want someone, I want them all to myself.” Aston gazes over at me. “But I’m serious, if you are looking for an investor.”
