Page 117 of Dangerous Men
As she takes the next customer's order, I pull out my phone, quickly finding and downloading the app. As soon as I’ve made a profile and linked it to my email, I typeBook Boutique and Bakeryinto the search bar.
And sure enough…
“We do have one,” I say, stunned. “But… I never set this up. I didn’t even know this app existed.”
I scroll through the posts on our profile. Yep. That’smystore. Some of the shots even look professional. There are only a handfulof posts, each within the last week, but when I click on mentions…
We’re everywhere.
I scroll through hundreds of posts, each one tagging our shop.
“OMG! I can’t get enough of the #bunnycookies at the Book Boutique and Bakery! Everyone in Fortune City, get your tails down here and try this place! Hop to it!”
There are several pictures of our Staff Picks display, some even showing it empty at the end of the day, with crying emojis peppering the photo.
“Okay, but if you didn’t set this up,” Jade says slowly. “Then… who did?”
Alec, I think instantly.
Or…
“Ashton,” I say aloud. Who better to set this up than Mason Alexander Sterling’s chief marketing officer, after all? I flick my thumbs over the screen, going back to the officialBook Boutique and Bakerybookstapix profile, and sure enough, there’s a picture I instantly recognize.
It’s me. Holding a single red rose. The caption underneath advertises our wide range of romance novels.
I want to be angry, I really do. Ashton didn’t ask me, didn’t run any of this by me or get my permission, but…
I look around at the crowd of people waiting to try Jade’s delicious baked creations. The recipes she spent months perfecting when we were teens. I look at the people chatting and laughing in the bookstore, some of them even wearing our merchandise. I realize, for the first time, that there’s not a single seat in the store that isn’t occupied.
And I don’t feel angry. Or even upset.
Because it’s everything I’ve ever wanted. And Ashton—handsome, thoughtful, kind Ashton—gave that to me.
Ashton: I’ll pick you up at close, babygirl.
I readthe text from Ash again and grin. I must have read it twenty times already since he sent it earlier today.
Honestly, with everything that’s been going on, and with how busy we’ve been, I’d almost forgotten I’d agreed to this date. But I’m glad I did.
It’s almost time to close up, and even though I’m tired, and even though the stress of Dorothy selling this place is hanging over me like a dark cloud, tonight at least I feel satisfied. Happy.
I look around at my little shop—the business that Jade and I built from the ground up with nothing but sheer determination and love—and feel a moment of pure, blissful contentment. I never thought I could have this. A simple life with simple pleasures, a best friend who accepts me inside and out, my own little business. I’ve worked so long to leave the past behind, and it finally feels like all the pieces are shifting into place.
And I want to fight for that. I want to keep it.
I want to keep them, too, I realize. Ashton and Alec.
After years of feeling unsupported in my career and business choices, years of refusing to second-guess myself because everyone around me, except for Jade, was second-guessing me, I finally feel… supported.
And I think I might be falling in love. With both of them.
Is that insane? Some part of me is screaming,Yes! You can’t be in love with two men at the same time!But…
I’ve never felt this way before. Alec treats me like I’m a princess. And the way he touches me... reveres me, I’ve never felt the way I do with him, not ever.
And then Ashton?
He’s like a best friend. Everything feels so easy, so light with him.
