Page 8 of Rebel Heart
My body tensed, but I didn’t dare turn around.
With a gleam of pride in her eye, Birdie said, “I’m going to duck out of here just a few minutes early, but I expect to hear what this is all about when I see you tomorrow morning.”
Before I could protest, she was gone.
And I was alone.
Ever-so-slowly, I turned around. My eyes landed on his hands now resting on the counter. One hand—his left—was covered up to his knuckles in tattoos that snaked all the way up his forearm, landing just below the elbow. He wore two chunky rings on that hand and another on the opposite. And while the right forearm was bare, I could see the bottom part of a tattoo peeking out beneath the sleeve of his T-shirt and up past the collar on the side of his neck.
I lifted my chin and met his blue stare. “You’re back.”
“I am.”
His voice. God, there was something so sexy about that deep rumble.
“I hope you’re not coming back to file a complaint about those cookies,” I teased. I didn’t know what was wrong with me—maybe it was the desperation tofind someone—but I couldn’t seem to stop smiling and flirting with this man.
And it was crazy, because I knew. One look at him told me there was something about him that was absolute trouble. It didn’t matter. Maybe I needed a little trouble in my life. It’d be far more exciting than what I was dealing with now.
“My only complaint as it pertains to those cookies is that I felt obligated to share them with my buddies,” he revealed.
“I see. This is a problem. So, are you back for more?”
His lips twitched, and I couldn’t miss the way his eyes twinkled with amusement. “I was thinking you made such a great case for the brownies that I need to try one of those.”
I offered a sympathetic look as I bit my lip. “I sold out of them.”
The amusement was gone. “Are you joking?”
I shook my head and waved at the display case. “I am not. But I do have one cinnamon roll left, and it’s just as delicious.”
Beau chuckled. “Alright, you’ve convinced me.”
My brows shot up in question. “I didn’t work very hard. You’re easy.”
He narrowed his eyes playfully at me. “If only you knew…”
Apparently, my flirting had paid off, because he was giving it right back, and now my belly was a trembling mess of nerves.
So, I took the opportunity to calm myself when I gothim the cinnamon bun. But after I returned to where he was waiting, I realized there was something nagging at me.
“Okay, I have a deal for you,” I declared.
“What’s that?”
I held up the bag containing his dessert and said, “If you can answer one question for me, this one’s on the house.”
“Mmm. Tempting. What’s the question?”
“When you stopped over here at lunchtime, you mentioned that you didn’t want me to think you were a jerk, something about me having a long line here. I’m not sure I got a real explanation. So my question is, why would I have thought you were a jerk for coming over to buy a treat?”
Beau reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Then he tossed a twenty-dollar bill on the counter. Disappointment washed over me as I presumed he was making it clear he had no intention of giving me an answer.
But then he surprised me when he revealed, “I have a weakness for desserts, which is part of the reason I strolled over here earlier. But the truth is, I was wondering if everyone else in line had the same thoughts as me.”
“The same thoughts?”
He swallowed roughly, his eyes roaming over my face. “I wanted the chance to talk to you, because even from the distance, I thought you were beautiful. Up close, you’re stunning. And I worried that perhapsall the other guys in line were thinking the same thing.”
