Page 29 of Cupcake
“And probably everything else, including those shorts you were wearing last night.” I groaned, and her laughter rang out through the bakery. “I can’t believe you kissed him.”
I held up my finger. “Brady kissed me. I would never kiss an employee.”
“But you kissed him back, right?”
I nodded and swallowed around the fear in my throat. “With tongue,” I added, “but by not thinking, I put our whole business in jeopardy.”
She held up her finger, pausing and licking her lips. “At the risk of sounding dumb, how did it put our business in jeopardy?”
“Duh, Amber! If he claims sexual harassment, we’re done! We can’t come back from that.”
“Whoa, back up the bread wagon, Haylee. Brady kissed you, not the other way around. He also did it in a place where there were no witnesses. A sexual harassment claim would be he said-she said. He’d never win in court with that.”
“He will in the court of public opinion. Who are they going to believe? The sexy guy or the thick chick? They’re going to believe the sexy guy because why wouldn’t a thick chick throw herself at a guy like him?”
Amber made the head explosion motion and shook her head. “You have serious self-confidence issues. I’m siding with Brady on that. Regardless, Brady isn’t going to cry sexual harassment any more than you are. You’re both adults, and you were both willing participants, right?”
“Seemed like it,” I agreed. “He was moaning louder than I was. I broke off the kiss, and he dove back in for another until you interrupted.”
“Dammit. I’ve always had bad timing!” she exclaimed, hitting herself in the forehead with her palm.
I chuckled and took another bite of the sandwich.
“That leads me to the next question,” she said, and I motioned for her to ask it while I chewed. “Do you want to do it again?”
I moaned and closed my eyes. “So much, Amber. I’m trying not to think about the fact that I’ll never do it again.”
“Why the hell not?” she asked, her brow up in surprise.
I tossed my hand up and let it fall to the table, rattling the dishes. “Have you been listening?”
Her head nodded, but her smile was sneaky. “I heard you say he kissed you, you kissed him back, you both moaned, he liked it enough for a second kiss, and he loves your ass. All of those things seem like excellent reasons to do it again.”
“Even though it could put our business in danger?”
Amber leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. “It won’t. Brady’s not like that. He’s also had the hots for you since he started working here. I’m not at all worried about it.”
I stood up, my shoulders slumping. “I’m glad someone’s not. Thanks for the food. You got the cleanup and lockup? I’m going upstairs to shower and try to forget about this day.”
She stood and hugged me, how much she cared about me evident in her touch. “I’ve got this. Go rest up. Tomorrow is going to be just as busy. And stop worrying about this, please. I’d rather you spent some time thinking about the implications of kissing Brady in your personal life rather than your professional life.”
I released her and headed for the back of the bakery. “That’s the thing, Amber. The implications of Brady in my personal life are even scarier than the implications in my professional life. He could upset the bread cart here for a few months, but he could dismantle my personal life forever without even trying.”
I took the steps to my apartment one at a time and hated how spot on those words sounded to my ears.
“HAYLEE, IS THAT YOU?” Amber called out, and I frowned.
“No, it’s Brady,” I called back, walking into the front of the bakery. “I was looking for Haylee. I thought she’d be here.”
Amber leaned on the counter and crossed her arms. “She left about twenty minutes ago. She was going home to shower and rest. Did you need something?”’
I couldn’t tell her that I’d come looking for Haylee to apologize for kissing her. Correction. Apologize for kissing her at work. I was struggling with the knowledge that if I did find my cupcake, I’d probably just kiss her again. I couldn’t resist her now that I’d had a taste. Ever since I’d had her ass in my hands and my tongue in her mouth, I’d been walking around with half a hard-on. It was thoroughly uncomfortable. I needed more of Haylee Davis, and I wasn’t going to pretend that I didn’t.
“No, it can wait. I’ll just talk to her about it tomorrow.”
She shrugged and tipped her head to the side. “You could, or you could walk up the stairs and talk to her now. I know she wouldn’t mind.”
“It’s not important enough to bother her with.”
