Page 34 of Sweet on You
“My sister could do wonders for your bakery, too. She’s a genius with marketing.”
“As long as my face doesn’t end up on any park benches, I’ll give her a call.”
“NowthatI can’t guarantee.” Brady checked his watch. “We really need to hit the road. You ready?”
Lex grumbled beneath his breath. “They’re supposed to be downstairs by now,” he said and punched something into his phone.
“Who?” I asked.
“My friends who are helping manage the bakery while I’m out today. I could just hang up the sign that says I’ll be right back… at least ‘til—”
“I can stay and handle the counter until they arrive. Are they on their way?”
He glanced toward the back room, texting some more. “I couldn’t ask you to do that—”
“Lex,” Brady interrupted. “It’s at least an hour drive without traffic. If we don’t leave soon, we might be late.”
Lex sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You really don’t mind waiting here a few minutes until they come down?”
I gave him a smile. “If I minded, I wouldn’t have offered.”
He took my hands in his, giving them a squeeze. “I will make this up to you.”
“In croissants?”
The corners of his mouth flicked up. “I can do more than just bake, you know.”
If that kiss yesterday was any indication, then yes, I did know. Idefinitelyknew. I tilted my chin to the door. “Go. You’re going to be late for whatever this elusive formal affair is.”
“If you need to, you can bring Penny upstairs to relax in my apartment with Frost.”
I gave him a look. “That’s probably not a good idea. He might destroy something.”
Lex waved away my concern. “Not with Frost up there. He probably won’t have any anxiety with a furry friend to hang out with.”
“How much longer is your friend going to be?”
Lex glanced at his phone and sighed. “Honestly, I don’t know. I settwoalarms last night—”
“Okay, I’ll bring Penny inside.” I knew the second I stepped behind the counter, he would bark. Maybe Lex was right? Maybe the key to this separation anxiety was getting him a friend. I nearly rolled my eyes. Was I seriously debating adopting asecondanimal when I had barely figured out how to foster one?
“Lex,” Brady warned with another glance at his watch.
“I know, I know,” Lex said. “Just… text me if anything goes wrong, okay?” He grabbed my hand, giving it a squeeze. The moment didn’t last long, but with his fingers entwined in mine, I felt a buzzing electricity surge up my arm.
I nodded. “Nothing is going to go wrong. Nowgo.” I held open the door for him, and he and Brady exited, with a quick pause to give Penny a pet goodbye. I grabbed his leash and while the café was empty, I scrambled up the stairs, with my dog charging at my side. Lex had said a friend was over and probably still sleeping, so I quietly opened the door and let Penny in. He greeted Frost immediately by going nose to nose and the two ran around the living room before settling down together on the couch.
I was nervous as hell to leave Penny up here alone and prayed he wouldn’t destroy anything of Lex’s. As I turned to leave once more, I came nose to nose with a woman. A beautiful, leggy woman who was walking around in one of Lex’s t-shirts.
Edit that. She was walking around inonlyone of Lex’s t-shirts. Her long, slender legs on display below the hem, which was only a couple of inches below her panty line.
And not onlyawoman… butthewoman I had seen him with at Greico’s the other night.
