Page 7 of Where There's Smoke…
“Not you claiming her already,”I say to myself with a sigh.“You don’t even have this woman’s number.”
“Knock. Knock. Earth to Phoenix,” I hear someone say, and I look up to see Kentrell leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest. “I’ve been calling you for the last minute, but I see you’re over there in your own world.”
“Whatever,” I waved him off. “What do you need?”
“There’s a really beautiful woman here to see you,” he smirks. I furrow my eyebrows, and he snickers. “You got women coming to your job now? Damn, she must really be different. Also, you’ve been in here for hours. Ain’t it time for you to clock out?”
I glance at the clock above my desk and see that it’s a bit after 6 p.m. Damn, I must’ve zoned out while I was working on plans for the festival. I get up from my seat and log out of my computer before following him out to the front lobby. A smile spreads across my face as my eyes land on the woman I’d been thinking about all day.
She doesn’t notice my presence since she’s busy reading something on the bulletin boards. I take that time to admire her and her style. I noticed that she was a colorful person and loved wearing things with cute designs. Even now, she was wearing light blue summer shorts and a white cardigan with tiny, crocheted blueberries along the sleeves. Her hair was styled in a half-up, half-down hairdo, and even though I couldn’t see her face, I could see that she was wearing glasses again. I guess they were prescription.
As I got closer to her, her fragrance delighted my senses, and it took everything in me not to hug her around the waist and bury my nose in her neck.
“Hey, Sweets,” I say softly as I lightly tap her shoulder.
She jumps a bit but settles down once she turns to look at me. Her eyes instantly light up as she turns her body entirely towards me. I notice she has a box in her hands, and I raise an eyebrow at her. She smiles that sweet smile of hers. Fuck, she’s so beautiful.
“Hi, Phoenix!” she finally says, and I damn near swoon at the sound of her saying my name. Suddenly, a look of embarrassment flashed across her face as if she were just realizing something. “Oh, wait, this is kind of weird, huh? Me just showing up at your job. I don’t know why I’m here. Well, I mean, I do, but like…still. Should I go? I should go.”
She tries to move around me, but I step in her path, shaking my head. “Nah, you here now,” I smile. “Did you need something?”
“Oh, uh, okay,” she stumbles over her words, but I find it endearing. She takes a deep breath and thrusts the box toward me, her eyes squeezing shut. Damn, she’s so cute. “You never came by the bakery, so I assumed you were busy and…I kind of made extra and wanted to bring you some because you said you liked them. Maddox told me you worked here. I’m not weird, I promise. I…I don’t know why, but knowing you liked it made me…kind of excited.”
“Is this what I think it is?” I ask as I finally take the box. I open it to see a pan with my own mini strawberry shortcake. I glance back at her and see that her eyes are now open, but she’s still trying to avoid my gaze. “Look at me, Sweets.”
As if those were the magic words, her head snapped up, and she pushed her glasses up as well. Everything about her was so damn adorable but also sexy as hell. The fact that she’d thought of me made my heart soar. I’ve never had anyone besides my family make anything for me before. It warmed my heart.
“Thank you,” I say, and she nods. My eyes travel to her plump lips, and I feel the urge to kiss her, but I hold back. That would come in due time. “Can I have your number?”
“Okay,” she says, taking my phone when I hand it to her. She quickly saves her number, and I thank her. Silence falls between us before she asks, “Are you busy after you get off work?”
“Why? You wanna ask me out?” I flirt.
“I would if you let me,” she chuckles, and my smile grows wider. I nod. “Would you like to have dinner with me, Phoenix?”
“I would love to, Sweets. Just let me go clock out and change. You can wait right here if you’d like,” I suggest, and she nods.
I handed her back the cake so she could hold it while I went to switch outfits. I had to have set a record because I swear, I was in and out of the locker room in under a minute. Of course, Kentrell and Jed bombarded me with questions, but I ignored them, telling them to mind their business.
When I finally made it back up to the front lobby, Angel was sitting in one of the chairs, tapping away on her phone. As I approached, she looked up, and that beautiful smile was back on her face.
“Ready, Sweets?” I ask. She nods. I hold the door open for her, and we exit out into the humid spring evening. “So, where to, love? Did you drive down here?”
“Uh, no, I walked. The bakery is only a street over,” she says. “Also, I finally moved into the apartment above it yesterday, so I just keep my car parked there. I rarely have to use it now since everything is within walking distance.”
“Perfect. So, that means I get to drive you,” I say as I lead her to the parking lot. I open the door of my truck for her and help her climb in before heading to the other side. Once we’re buckled up, I look at her. “So, what are you craving?”
“I’m not sure,” she admits nervously. “Honestly, I didn’t think this date through. I asked because I didn't want the conversation to end so quickly. Also,” she pauses and turns to look at me. “I want to get to know you, too. You intrigue me as well.”
“Again, that’s perfect,” I chuckle. I start the engine and pull out of the parking lot. “And I know the perfect place for our first date.”
3
Where There’s Wine...
AngelSavoie-April18th, 2025
We pulled onto a familiar road after about thirty minutes of driving, and my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. When Savoie’s Vineyard & Winery comes into view, I turn to look at her. Was she aware that my family owned this vineyard, or did she think the name was a coincidence?
