There was no escape.He took a deep breath and walked forward, greeting Grant as the other man paid for his pastries.Grant thanked Audrey, dropped a dollar in the tip jar, and headed out, leaving Mason and Audrey alone except for the couple in the corner.
“Here.”Audrey pulled a small tray out from behind the counter, something that wasn’t in the display case.It was covered with cupcakes that had a sprinkling of something on the top of the icing swirl.“Baklava cupcakes.”
“Baklava cupcakes?”His mouth watered immediately, his hand lifting to reach for one.
“Yeah, I heard about you and Yasmine and… well, I just wanted to do something to cheer you up.So, baklava cupcakes.I saved these for you, and whatever you don’t want, I’ll put up for sale.”
“Thank you.”Dammit.She really was as sweet as she was sexy.His cold feet really knew how to pick them.Even with the counter between them, he could feel the sizzle of their chemistry, of his attraction, as he picked up one of the cupcakes from the tray.“How much for all of them?”He didn’t want to share the baklava cupcakes she’d made for him.Was it ridiculous?Yes.But he hated the idea of anyone else getting them.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh, they’re on the house for you.I can box them up if you really want all of them.”
“I do, but I also want to pay for them.”If he paid for them, they would feel less like pity cupcakes.“I appreciate the gesture, but I don’t want you to lose money on me when I’m fine.”
Audrey’s lips pursed, like she was thinking about denying him.
“I’ll just put what I think they cost in the tip jar if you don’t tell me, and I bet I’ll overestimate what it would be,” he warned her.Surprisingly, her expression turned smug.
“Go ahead.As the owner of the establishment, I don’t have to take your payment, and I can’t take the tips.Technically, they’re for Ashley, although she doesn’t need them, so she’s giving them all to Alexis.”The little smirk on her lips as she got sassy with him made his hand itch to spank her.
Shit.Since when did he want to spank a woman just because she was being a little bratty with him?
Since Audrey.
He should go.
But she was putting the tray on the counter and taking out a box to put the cupcakes in.Mason decided the best thing to do was eat the cupcake he had in his hand, which would at least give him something to focus on other than the woman behind the counter.
Honey, orange blossom, and pistachio flavors exploded on his tongue at the first bite, and he moaned.
“Fuck, that’s good.”
Audrey lifted her head to look at him, her eyes sparkling again.Behind him, he heard the sound of the door opening as the couple that had been sitting in the corner exited the bakery.He was acutely aware that it was just him and Audrey in here now.
“Really?”
“Really.And I am more determined than ever not to share them.”
The pleased smile she gave him felt like it was warming him from the inside out.He wanted to always see her smiling like that.
Fuck me, I really need to get out of here.
“I’m glad you like them.I’m already thinking about making them one of the flavors of the week.”
“You should.”Even though he’d be tempted to buy them all.“I’ve never heard of baklava cupcakes before.”
“It’s really just the flavors.”She ducked her head shyly, putting the last of the cupcakes in the box and closing it up.Pushing the box over to his side of the counter, she smiled.“There you go.”
“Seriously, Audrey, you should let me pay you.”Mason reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet.
“Nope.”Shaking her head, she stepped back away from the counter, shoving her hands into her apron pockets as she did so.Then she suddenly frowned and pulled something out of one of them, holding it up to see what it was, and she made a face.
“What’s that?”Something about her reaction to the thing had his instincts alerting.
“I… it’s probably nothing.It’s just a note that I found on the bakery door this morning before we opened.”But she held it in front of her like she wasn’t sure she wanted him to see it or not, and she’d frowned when she realized what it was.
“What does it say?”
