Page 18 of Hers to Hold
Kady swallowed a sigh of relief. “Yes, sir. I’m going to ask general questions about his business and how he thinks his campaign is going. And I’ll stick close to his wife. See if she’ll open up about any issues.”
“Good, good.” He pointed a finger in her direction. “Don’t forget the mission. You’re playing a role. You want a Pulitzer? Give an Oscar-worthy performance.”
Kady gave a close-mouthed smile. She could do without the Pulitzer if it meant getting out of this assignment without Wes cursing her name.
Chapter 8
The door chimed for the umpteenth time that morning, creating a full-blown symphonic piece. Kady wondered if anyone had ever bothered to count the number of patrons the shop received before nine a.m.
Thankfully, today wasn’t as busy as the last three days had been. Probably because it was a Thursday and the week was slowing down. Kady wasn’t sure if that made any sense, but she was grateful nonetheless. Grateful she hadn’t mixed up any orders, burnt anything, or lost another tool in batter or icing.
And she had managed to block all thoughts of Wes that morning.
She turned after stacking a set of clean plates on the counter and sucked in a breath.
Wes stood at the counter, his mouth slanted up in a half-smile. “Hi Kadynce.”
“Wes…”
Something jumped up and down at his side. Kady’s eyes dropped to a young girl with brown eyes and raven hair. She looked absolutely stunning. And the spitting image of Wes.
“This is Chastity. Chas, this it Kadynce. She works with Aunt Kat.”
Chastity arched a dark brow and slowly assessed Kady from countertop level up. “You’re pretty.”
Kady snorted. “Well, thanks. So are you.”
“You don’t have to say it because I did.”
Kady titled her head to one side. “I’m not. I’m always honest.”
Chas crossed her arms. “No one’s always honest.”
Kady ignored the sharp jab of guilt hitting her square in the stomach and placed her hands on her hips, taking a playfully defensive stance. “I bet you are.”
Wes chuckled nervously. “Chas, be nice.”
She stuck her lower lip out and looked up at her father. “I am!”
“How ’bout you pick out the muffin you want, huh sweetie? I’ve got to get you to school.”
“I like the lemon poopyseed.”
Kady choked on a laugh. “That’s poppyseed. And I’ll get that for you.” She winked at Wes.
“Thanks,” he said, before rattling off a huge order of muffins and specialty breads.
Kady kept half her attention on the young girl. She looked about seven or eight years old, if Kady was any judge of children. Chas wore a pleated skirt and blouse with a school logo above her heart. Private school. Kady’s gut constricted around the guilt pin still burrowing into her stomach. Wes was looking more like he needed money. The sooner she could prove he wasn’t under any financial strain, the better.
Kady was bagging some cookies at the opposite end of the counter when Chas skipped up to the glass case. “How old are you?”
“Chas, that’s rude. You don’t ask a woman how old she is,” Wes stated.
“Why not? We’re both women.”
“You’ve still got a good ten years, sweetie.”
Kady laughed. “It’s okay, Wes. I’m twenty-nine.”
