Page 58 of The Gingerbread Bakery
Annie's hands were putting flowers on the tables, and her head was nodding at whatever it was Kira and Daisy were talking about, but her eyes were tracking Mac’s movement through the barn. He’d put his brand-new kittens back in their box, tucking them in with an extra tablecloth when he went outside to help Bennett haul some fresh-cut Christmas trees, but now that the trees were in position and dried off from the snow, he had one kitten tucked in the crook of his arm and the other peeking out from his coat pocket. It was absurd in its cuteness. He was up to something. That much was obvious.
Mac laughed at something Bennett said, the rich sound echoing through the barn. He stopped his work on the lights to pet the head of the orange kitten, opening his pocket a little to check on it. He was really laying it on thick today. First, insisting on driving her up here, and now adopting kittens?! It was diabolical. Not to mention his threat about not leaving womenunsatisfied.The memory of the way he’d said that continued to send shivers through her body.
He’d nearly kissed her by the truck. She could still feel the imprint of his fingers on the back of her neck. Mac was making his move, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to stop him.
Even though she should. She definitely should.
‘Annie, you think that’s a good idea?’
‘Huh? What? Yeah, that's a great idea,’ Annie answered, her eyes still on Mac until she heard Kira and Daisy giggling beside her.
‘What?’ she snapped.
‘I asked you if you thought it was a good idea for us to cartwheel down the aisle tomorrow instead of walking,’ Kira said.
‘That was low.’
‘You've been stalking that man with your eyes all night. I feel like I'm watching a nature documentary and you’re about to pounce,’ Kira said with a laugh.
‘Oh, shut up,’ Annie said, giving her friend a playful shove. ‘It’s not my fault! The damn man has kittens in his pockets!’ Kira laughed harder and Annie snorted as she tried to stifle her own laughter. It didn’t work.
‘Whatisgoing on between you two?’ Daisy asked.
‘Nothing.’ Annie knew her answer was too quick and too sharp to be believable.
Daisy raised her eyebrows. ‘Really? Because we have a bet going at the flower shop and I would love to have the inside scoop.’
‘A bet? I want in on that action! I bet the whole farm that these two end up in bed together by the end of this wedding,’ Kira said.
Annie shook her head. ‘You're going to lose that one. There’s no way.’ Even as she said it, Mac’s words echoed in her ears.I don’t leave women unsatisfied. A threat and a promise all in one.
‘But seriously,’ Daisy said, ‘there’s history between you two, right?’
‘It’s all very mysterious,’ Kira said, arranging the plates on the table. ‘She doesn’t talk about it.’
‘It's not mysterious,’ Annie said with a huff. ‘It’s ancient history and it doesn't matter anymore.’
‘If it doesn't matter, then why is that man looking at you like he wouldn't mind being your prey?’ Kira asked with a grin.
Daisy sighed. ‘He really is. But that's the sort of look that's gotten me into trouble twice already. If I was you, I’d look away.’
‘You can’t give up on love forever,’ Kira said, her gaze lingering dreamily on Bennett across the room. He was currently explaining to Mac why it was impossible to have too many lights on a Christmas tree.
‘My attempts at love have hurt not only my heart but my business, so I’m done trying,’ Daisy said, thumping another arrangement of flowers on the table. The cream and maroon flowers that Jeanie had picked were artfully arranged in low vases, so they didn’t obstruct conversation across the table. They were gorgeous.
Daisy was incredibly talented.
And a teensy bit cursed. Or at least according to the town she was. Annie happened to know, as did everyone else, that Daisy had not only an ex-husband but an ex-fiancé. It didn't help matters that the last three weddings she’d provided flowers for led to marriages that had ended within a year.
‘Are people still refusing to use your shop for weddings?’ Kira asked.
The three of them had moved on to the next table and were arranging tall white candles around the pine boughs and flowers.
Daisy let out another exhausted sigh. ‘It’s been only funerals for me for the past six months and frankly not enough people are dying around here.’
‘That’s ridiculous.’ Daisy lamenting the lack of death in Dream Harbor had Annie biting down on a smile, but it was obviously a serious problem if it was hurting her business. The funny thing was, the woman looked perfectly suited for the funeral business. Annie had never seen her in anything but black, even down to her fingernails. It was like she was trying to appear as opposite from her sunshine-y name as possible.
Daisy shrugged. ‘I thought so at first, but I don’t know. Maybe it’s true. Maybe I am cursed, and now it’s rubbing off on everybody else.’ She glanced around the room, apparently remembering what they were in the middle of doing. ‘I’m sure it’s nothing, though. I mean, I’m sure Jeanie and Logan will be fine.’
