I had issues, but I’d managed to keep them at bay for a couple of hours.
“You aren’t bad at all.” He grinned as I carefully took a tray of crusts out of the oven and set them down to cool. “I’d hire you.”
“I’m moving things back and forth, not really touching any of it.” I cocked a brow as I pulled off the protective gloves. “But it’s good to know if both my jobs fall through, I have something to fall back on.” I pointed to the smaller bowl of chocolate on the counter. “Is that for a mini pie?”
“No.” He smirked at me and dropped a small spoon inside the bowl. “For you.”
I gasped and scooped it up.
“If this is my payment for tonight, I’m totally into it.” I moaned around a spoonful. “My God, you’re amazing.”
The smile faded from his face, new tension running through his shoulders. The last time he’d heard me cry out how amazing he was, I was sitting on his face.
“You earned it.” He said, his voice raspy as he ambled over to me. “The third night of us getting along. We keep setting records.”
“I guess we do,” I mumbled through a mouthful of chocolate. We still weren’t talking about the sex, but the memory crackled between us.
That’s what I had to accept it as—a memory. A great memory, but as bittersweet as the chocolate he’d given me.
A dollop fell onto my apron thanks to my shaky hand.
“Ugh, I guess I needed an apron after all.” I reached for a paper towel to wipe it off and felt Tyler’s eyes on me. “What? I can’t help it if your chocolate is that good.”
He inched over to me, tapping his knuckle under my chin for me to look up. I stopped breathing when his thumb slid across my bottom lip.
“You’re a messy eater.” He slid that thumb into his own mouth and sucked the chocolate off.
I clenched my thighs together under my apron to get rid of the sudden throb. I wanted to flirt back and say,So are you,but I was too entranced by his hooded eyes to say a word.
“All right, let’s make some pies.”
We jumped apart when three guys came in through the back door.
“Wow, boss, you brought in extra help and didn’t tell us.” A man with a crew cut and tight beard made his way over to me. “I’m Eli, one of the bakers. This is Kevin and Aiden.”
I took his extended hand. “I’m Olivia. I just came to help out, I’m a… friend of Tyler’s.”
“Nice to meet you, Olivia.” He shot Tyler a glance. “I guess we could use all the help we could get, right?” Eli slapped Tyler on the back and headed to the rack to pull on an apron.
Tyler briefed the guys on what we’d done so far and his plan for tonight, flicking his gaze to me a couple of times.
“You’re welcome to stay,” he said when he came back over to me.
“I don’t want to be in the way. I’ll head home.” I pulled the apron over my head, and Tyler grabbed it from my hands.
“I’ll put this in the laundry.” He threw it into the bin next to the counter. “Let me walk you to your car. It’s late.”
He said something to Eli that I couldn’t hear before he led me out the door.
“Thank you. Again.” Tyler laughed when we got to my car. “This was a big help. All of it.”
“I told you, you deserve it. What arefriendsfor, right?”
He didn’t reply, only nodded and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek, lingering a moment.
“You’re all right, Sanchez.” The side of his mouth curved up.
“So you’ve said.” The memory of him telling me that after Donnie’s wedding squeezing my chest. “I guess you are too, Bennett.” I shot him a quick smile before I climbed into my car and drove off, trying not to stare at Tyler in my rearview mirror, still watching me.
