Page 12 of Cupcake
I accepted the tulips and smiled. “Tieg, I presume?”
“Of course, who else would bring tulips?” he asked, as though I was a tulip short of a bouquet.
Off to a good start.
I pushed back the eye roll threatening to escape and offered a smile instead. “Who else, indeed. I’ll put these in the cooler inside, and then we can head out?”
“Oh, no,” he said, shaking his head. “You can bring them with us. That way, everybody knows I’m a gentleman.”
Blink. Blink.
I was infrequently at a loss for words, but Tieg Tulip had managed it in our first two minutes together. Propelled along the sidewalk by his beefy mitt, I struggled to find something to say to put the night back on track.
“Amber says you’re a science teacher?”
“Ag-science,” he corrected, as though I should know there’s a difference. “I teach small animals and dairy science besides my duties running FFA.”
“Exciting,” I said with fake enthusiasm, even though it sounded a lot like watching paint dry to me. “As a baker, I don’t know where I’d be without my farmers and their fresh eggs and milk.”
“You’d be working somewhere else,” he answered logically.
I bit back a sigh and plastered a smile on my face. “Without a doubt. So, where are we going for dinner?”
“We can eat at a restaurant any day, right?” Tieg asked, and I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. “I put together a little private picnic at the lake instead. You won’t believe the goodies I’ve got in my basket.”
I was pretty sure, considering our already bizarre conversation, that I would believe it. I was also sure I wasn’t going to be a huge fan of said goodies.
ISTROLLED THROUGHthe park on the way back to my apartment but paused halfway through, wondering if that was Haylee sitting at a picnic table near the community dock. I tipped my head to the side in fascination. Was that a bouquet of tulips stuck between the slats of the table? She sat across from a guy who looked like the love child of sasquatch and an Abercrombie and Fitch model. Curious, I walked closer, glad the guy had his back turned to me.
When I got a little bit closer, I could see it absolutely was Haylee sitting there with some sort of bento box in front of her. Whatever was going on, her hunched shoulders told me she wasn’t enjoying herself. Her eyes met mine, and what they said had me strolling over to them.
“Oh, hey, Haylee,” I said casually. “I didn’t know you were out and about tonight.”
The look of relief on her face told me I’d read the situation accurately, even from thirty yards away.
“Brady!” she exclaimed with a little too much excitement. “What a surprise.”
“Beat it, buddy,” the guy said, swatting at me like a fly. “We’re on a date.”
My gaze flew back to Haylee, and she was mouthingsave me, her eyes filled with desperation.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I was looking for Haylee. There’s a problem at the bakery. I need your help,” I said to her, “or we might not be able to open tomorrow.”
The guy across from her snorted like a feral hog. “I’m sure you can handle it with all of your muscles.”
I balled my fists at my side and inhaled deeply to keep myself from punching this guy. I didn’t know who he was, but I wasn’t playing tonight. “I don’t own the bakery, Haylee does. It’s her call on how the oven gets repaired.” I turned and addressed her, hoping she understood there was nothing wrong with her expensive bakery oven. “It won’t heat when I turn it on. Just sits there and clicks.”
She stood instantly, and the dramatic nature had me believing she was frantic. “That’s not good. Not good at all. If we don’t have the oven, we can’t bake that special order for tomorrow. Oh, brother.” Her hand was at her throat as she acted her way into the record books. Haylee turned to the guy across from her. “I’m sorry, Tieg. I will have to address this. I’m sure it will take all night. Thanks for the lovely picnic. It was nice of you to go to all the bother.”
Haylee practically grabbed my hand to get away as fast as possible, but Tieg stopped us in our tracks.
“You forgot your tulips!” he exclaimed, thrusting them at her and going in for a kiss that was inappropriate in the current setting—or ever, for that matter. I had to bite my tongue to keep from telling him to back off.
I grabbed Haylee’s waist and diverted her around the guy, a growl on my lips while I did it. I propelled her down the street toward the bakery, one hand at her waist and the other plucking the tulips from her hand and tossing them in a garbage can.
“Who was that guy?” I asked, slowing our pace and releasing her waist now that we were far enough away from the beach.
“That was the twenty-ninth date of my twenty-ninth year of life. It was also my last date forever and ever amen. I’m never dating again.”
