Page 33 of Sweet on You
My smile widened. “I would love one.”
He got to work blending and it only took about a minute before he was bringing the coffees over to a table closest to the window where Penny was now laying down, his nose practically touching the window, watching me.
Lex also brought over two white paper bags and set them on the table. “These are for you as well. Just a little token of my gratitude for bringing my car back yesterday.”
“That was nothing, Lex. Really. I was taking Penny for a run to tire him out anyway—”
“Except it wasn’t nothing. It was something. And I’m so grateful you didn’t listen to me and brought it last night. I sort of have a… thing to get to this morning out of town and picking up my car would have slowed me down.”
I glanced at his suit and tie, my gaze slowly raking over his sexy, dapper physique. Holy shit, this guy could pull off just about any look. Everything from a t-shirt and jeans, to work out clothes, to a three-piece suit.
“Is it the, um, emergency from yesterday?”
He nodded, taking a solemn sip from his coffee. “It is,” he answered, not offering anything more. And since he didn’t volunteer any more information, I didn’t pry.
“Is Seth watching the café while you’re gone?”
He shook his head. “No, a friend is. But I’ll be back later today, so it’s only for the morning.”
There was a moment of silence before Lex nudged the bag toward me. “Look inside.”
I opened the bag, the paper rustling loudly in the otherwise silent bakery. The bag was stuffed with pastries—a couple of croissants, a chocolate muffin, a bear claw. My stomach growled, but instead of diving in, I peeked up at him from over the bag. “Are these—?”
“One hundred percent gluten-free. Some are made with sugar substitutes and others were sweetened with raw honey and pure Maple syrup.”
My grin widened and I sighed in relief silently. I hated justifying my diet to people. I hated having to smile and grit my teeth eating something that I would only regret one hour later. But with these? No regrets. No breaking my diet. I dove my hand in, pulling out the croissant.
“One is chocolate, the other is plain,” Lex said.
I took a bite and my eyes fluttered closed as heaven exploded in my mouth. How in the hell he made guilt-free baked goods so damn good was beyond me. Because they were. So damn good.
“How’d I do?” Lex asked. “I’ve never made a croissant out of almond flour before. I was worried that folding the dough with the butter, it would lose some of the crispy flakiness it’s supposed to retain.”
“Oh my God,” I said, covering my mouth as I spoke because I had half-chewed food still in there. “Lex. It’s so good, I could kiss you right now.”
His eyes lit momentarily, then quickly dulled as we both realized where we were. Andwhowe were. Our situations didn’t warrant another kiss. He’d made that perfectly clear last night.
“I’m hoping to make good on that promise soon.Realsoon.” His voice held a graveled tone to it that, if I’d been standing, would have left me weak in the knees.
I bit my lip, licking a flake of croissant crust that had stuck to the chapstick I had smeared on my bottom lip before I left this morning. Lex swallowed hard. Then, reaching out with the pad of his thumb, he swiped at my bottom lip, gently and slowly until he spanned the length of my pout to the corner of my mouth.
His eyes crinkled with what could be described as a smile… but it held more sorrow than joy, and more than anything, I craved to know why.
“I also made some dog treats for Penny. So you both get a thank you.”
The door to the café jingled as a man about our age entered, also wearing a suit. He came up to us as Lex jumped nervously to his feet, glancing at his phone. “Is it time already?”
The man in the suit nodded. “It’s time.” He looked quickly at me, then at Lex and held out a hand. “I’m Brady,” he said, introducing himself. “Brady Goldman.”
“Brady Goldman, LLC,” I repeated. “I’m Ronnie Tripp.”
He looked startled and tilted his head to one side. “Have we met before?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I’ve seen your posters around town. Your face is on nearly every city bus and park bench from here to the Concord.”
He blushed and rolled his eyes. “My sister,” he said. “She runs my publicity and marketing and she insisted on those stupid ads.”
Lex grinned, standing. “Obviously, they work,” Lex said, gesturing to me. “Ronnie remembered you.”
