Maybe both. I squinted at her and resisted sticking out my tongue. Then I swiveled my chair towardHogan.
“How about I come over there and you give your brownies to me for free, baby?” Iasked.
Delaney shook her head. She got up and took her coffee and judgey-Mcjudgement back over to her own desk where she could mind her ownbusiness.
I swanked on over to myman.
My man. I’d been thinking about him that way for a while. For weeks, if I were honest. At first it was just for fun, a silly way to tease him but now...now it felt solid. Real.Right.
What did that even mean? Was this temporary thing becoming more than that? And if it was, did Hogan feel thesame?
And if this was just a casual temporary thing for Hogan, how did that make mefeel?
My chest tightened and my stomach clenched. It made me feel not good. Not good atall.
“Whoa. What’s going through your head, Jeans?” Hogan asked gently, reaching out with one hand while he placed the pink box of what I assumed were six mint chocolate brownies he’d held aside just for me on thecounter.
I so didn’t want to answer his question. “Thought you couldn’t leave the shop.” I leaned on the counter and he leaned too, his wide, long-fingered hands reaching across to me. Warm, strong fingers wove between my colder thinner ones. He pressed until our palms were flat together, until his warmth seeped down intome.
“Billy’s got itcovered.”
“On her own?” Billy rocked and I knew that. She’d run the local motorcycle gang years ago. She was in her nineties now, with traffic cone orange hair and a smoking habit she couldn’t quit, even though she never lit the ever-present cigarette in her mouth when she worked the bakery coffeecounter.
“Don’t think there’s anything Billy can’t handle on herown.”
“Sure, yeah. She’s something. That Billy. So this is nice.” I peeled back the little puffin sticker that held the lid of the box shut. I couldn’t meet his eyes. Why was it so hard to look at thatsmile?
“It’s breakfast, baby, not an obligation.” He squeezed our fingers tighter together. “I should have sent Billy over instead,yeah?”
“What are you even talking about? I’m super happy you’re here.” My voice didn’t sound super happy. It sounded superconfused.
“Super liar,” he said. Like he could read my mind orsomething.
I looked up into the sunshine of him. “Just have a lot of things on mymind.”
“Like?”
“Gnomes.”
It was out before I could think better of it. He nodded like that made perfect sense. “Sure. They’re athing.”
“They’re a thing in October. And this year I have to deal withthem.”
“How’s thatgoing?”
“Not great.” I popped the lid on the box and peered inside. “Aw...you brought me a cinnamon rolltoo!”
“Think I’d leave you hanging with a crack in your heart?Please.”
And how sweet washe?
Maybe I was reading too much into this. Worrying about what we might be instead of enjoying what wewere.
“Never doubted you for a moment, baking god,” Isaid.
He laughed, a deep warm chuckle that rolled over me like a caress. A sexycaress.
I lifted up on my toes and leaned across the counter, which put me on just the right level to kisshim.
“What do I owe you for thegoodies?”
“I think you can start with a kiss.” His gaze was full of something that made me want to make him as happy as he mademe.
So I kissed him and made a wish that we could do this, find a way to stay happy together no matter how long ‘together’ mightbe.
