Page 32 of Cupcake

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She shrugged before she disappeared into the kitchen, her tiny sleep shorts sending a zing of awareness straight to my groin. When she came back, she had a bottle of wine and two glasses. She poured us each a glass and then sat before she finally picked up her burger and took a bite. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she chewed. “I love their food. It’s always so fresh.”

“Including these thick, crusty rolls they use for buns. Wonder where they get them from?”

Her laughter filled my head, and my heart soared. That was precisely what I wanted. I wanted her to relax and enjoy a meal with me the way we used to. The way we did before the painful awareness of our mutual attraction stole that away. It had been years, but tonight was different. It felt to me like the kiss in the cooler took the edge off that electric charge zinging between us. Sure, it also supercharged it, but with that first kiss out of the way, we weren’t left to wonder if kissing each other was what we wanted. It was. Now we just had to figure out where to go from here.

For now, we’d eat burgers and cheese curds and sip the wine she had disappeared into the kitchen to get before she started on her meal. That helped, too. She was extending an olive branch to me in her home. It wasn’t about being a good hostess, though. It was about her knowing it would help us both with the conversation to come.

I leaned back on the couch and drank the wine while she finished her food. It was glorious to sit here and just observe her somewhere other than the bakery. Every inch of her ivory skin was glowing, and if I had to guess, also softer than a down pillow. I knew her ass was. When I had it in my hands earlier today, I was breathless. I had found heaven after six long years of searching, and I wanted to stay in that cooler forever. The memory alone made my dick harden without conscious thought. I wish she understood how incredible she was in all aspects of her life.

She didn’t.

She didn’t see that she could bake circles around me without even trying. She didn’t see that she was more than Darla ever could be simply because she was kind. She didn’t see that her beauty knocked the breath from me every time I saw her. One day she would. One day I would open her eyes and teach her to love the real Haylee Davis.

She leaned forward to grasp her wine glass, and her tiny sleep shorts pulled up another inch, leaving little to my imagination. I moaned and then cleared my throat, so I didn’t choke on the wine. “I don’t suppose I could convince you to cover yourself with a blanket?” I asked, my voice needy and thick with desire.

Her brow went up, and she tugged on her sleep shorts before she checked to make sure her tank top hadn’t dipped too low in the front. It didn’t matter. I could see the outline of her nipples through the fabric, and I wanted nothing more than to suck them between my lips and tease them until she came under me.

“What? Suddenly you can’t stand to look at the hips and ass you said you didn’t have a problem with just a day ago?”

She wanted the question to sound flippant and uncaring, but it didn’t work. I heard the hurt that filled those words. I set my wine glass down and stood slowly, my khaki shorts unable to hide the truth when I was standing. “Does this look like I can’t stand to look at them? No, just the opposite is true. I love looking at them, but if you don’t cover up, I won’t be able to form a coherent sentence in another two minutes.”

She tugged a blanket off the back of the couch and covered her legs with it. Her nipples still begged for my touch, but I’d accept only suffering half as much pain right now. “Thanks for dinner. It was nice not to have to hear about how I should eat a salad when I really wanted a damn burger.”

I sat again and tried to adjust my pants, so every movement didn’t cause shooting spasms of desire through me. “You’ll never hear that from my lips, Haylee. You’re an adult, and you make your own decisions. Sure, in this case, I made the decision, but I didn’t think you’d mind.”

Her smile was genuine when she lowered her wine glass. “I didn’t mind at all. I appreciate dinner. Sorry about being rude earlier. You took me by surprise.”

I shook my head and leaned forward over my knees. “You weren’t rude. You were cautious, and I get that. I showed up unannounced. I should have called or texted, but I was afraid you’d say no.”

“Probably would have,” she agreed, chuckling. “I’m glad you didn’t call ahead. I would have missed out on that amazing hunk of meat and...you.”

“Another amazing hunk of meat?” I asked, laughter in my voice.

“Some would say.”

“What do you say, cupcake?”

“I say you should stop calling me cupcake, but you won’t.”

“You’re excellent at diversion, do you know that?”

Her shoulder went up in a shrug while she tipped her wine glass up again. “I wanted to talk to you about something, Brady.”

I held up my hand to stop her. “I know, that’s why I’m—”

“No,” she said with a head shake. “I’m first.” I sighed internally but motioned for her to go ahead. “I made a mistake.”

“I don’t think so—” Her withering look had me stopping midsentence.

“As I was saying. I made a mistake when I offered you the position doing inventory for the bakery.”

Was she fucking kidding me with this? I kiss her once, and she starts backtracking on all the progress we’ve made over the last seven years?

“I offered you the position because I was scared.”

“Color me confused, Haylee. I thought you offered me the position because you trusted me to have your back in the bakery. I thought I’d finally proven myself as a team player in your business.”

She refilled her glass, tossed it all back, and set the glass down, leaning forward to give me a shot down her shirt that only served to make my dick even harder. Forget a cold shower tonight. I was going to have to immerse myself in ice to forget about those creamy breasts that would overflow in my hands if I ever got the chance to hold them.