Page 66 of A Taste of Trouble

She owed him an apology. She had no doubt hurt his feelings. Okay, she owed him more than one apology.

But she had been humbled this morning. Nancy had been right. She'd had it too easy all these years, and it was time she paid her dues. Why not get all of the feeling-like-shit moments out of the way in one morning? She needed to fix things with Jake.

Liv looked him in the eye. “I'm sorry.”

“You weren't supposed to do that.” His voice was stern, hard, nothing like the smooth tone she was used to.

“Do what?”

“Apologize. That's not how I planned this.”

He planned their encounter? “Jake, I know I—”

“Let me say what I need to say.” He held his hand up, cutting her off, and took a deep breath. “You freaked out this morning.”

She lowered her gaze to the floor. She knew what was coming. He was here for closure.

“You were worried,” he hesitated. “And I'm sorry.”

She looked up at him. The last thing she expected was an apology.

“If I came on too strong, I'm sorry. I should know what not to do.”

Shame gripped her. It took a lot of guts to do what he was doing right now. She only hoped she'd be able to do the same thing when it was her turn to lay her cards on the table.

“I know you're busy. I'll give you as much space as you need. Maybe one day, you'll trust me and let me in.” He stepped closer. He had changed into a suit. No one looked better in a suit. The pale pink of his dress shirt matched his pale, pink patterned tie. So he did have pink in his wardrobe.

Jake reached out and covered her hand with his. “I know we aren't together-together, but when I'm with you, I want nothing more than to have your hands all over me.”

Agreed! She loved Jake's hands all over her. Couldn't get enough of his hands all over her.

“But I don't want to just hide under the covers in your bed.” A sly smile spread across his face. “Not that it wasn't fun.”

He was drawing her in. She was inching closer and closer, leaning over the counter. “It was fun.”

“I can't wait for the book launch. Say you'll go out with me on Wednesday.”

Before she could answer, the ding of the oven interrupted. “Uh…can you…? Can we move this to the kitchen?”

She couldn't handle burnt cupcakes on her conscience today, too.

He nodded and followed her to the back.

She grabbed her oven mitts on the way to the ovens. When she opened the doors, sweet chocolate flooded her nostrils. Despite the problems this morning, her feelings toward cupcakes hadn't been tainted. The smell still brought back wonderful memories.

“Those smell great.” For a moment she had forgotten that he was with her.

She placed the trays on the wood island then shut the oven door.

“Have you sold anything today?”

Despite the gnawing sense of dread that sat heavy in her stomach, she gave him a genuine smile. “A few. But it's early in the day. The two o'clock craving hasn't hit yet.” Not to mention the after school crowd. She'd noticed there was an elementary school just down the street, which meant lots of stay at home moms, and lots of sugar-craving kids to cater to.

“What happened there?” Jake gestured to the sink where the soaked boxes sat. She didn't have the heart to throw them out just yet.

Liv sighed. “Let's just say it's been a chaotic morning.”

 

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