“Got it.”He flashed her a smile as he stepped inside, and Audrey felt her pulse pick up as she realized she was now going to be alone in the bakerywith Mason.
Down girl.He’s not here for you; he’s here to set up a camera.
Mason
Close proximity to Audrey was only making his attraction worse.Knowing they were here alone…
He should have waited until tomorrow.
But it had made sense to stop by and see if he could do it now.After all, if he waited until tomorrow and someone left another note tonight, he’d be kicking himself for waiting.Plus, he’d been nearby.It was on his way.
It had nothing to do with wanting to see her again, unless it was to ask how the first real day had gone.
Which was exactly what he did once they figured out where she wanted the camera located and what she wanted it to pick up—basically the whole front window and door.
“So, how was your grand opening?Are you feeling reassured?”
“Sort of.”She sat down at a nearby table, watching him intently as he got to work.He could feel her eyes on him, making him hyperaware of his every movement and how he might appear to her.Even though it didn’t matter what she thought of how he looked.“It went really well, but see, I talked to someone who pointed out that a good grand opening day doesn’t guarantee future days.”
Her tone was teasing, but Mason still felt bad.He hadn’t meant to put a damper on things for her.
“It definitely doesn’t hurt.”He glanced over at her.Thankfully, she was smiling at him.
“It doesn’t.And a lot of people said they were happy a bakery had opened up here, and they’d be sending their friends.”
“No one who seemed like they wanted you to get out?”It was a joke, but also not.If someone did want her out of this space, there was every chance they would have stopped by to see how today was going.
“Not that I could tell—at least not of people who came inside.”She hesitated.“You think the person who left the note might have stopped by?”
“If it wasn’t a prank, it would make sense.They might want to see how the grand opening was going or if the note had affected your attitude at all.If you seemed anxious.”
“Well, I didn’t see anyone like that, but it was really busy.And if they wanted to see any of that, they would be able to do so from outside the window.”She gestured toward it, turning her head and staring at the front of the bakery with a pensive look on her face.“That’s another thing the camera will be good for.”
“Absolutely.Okay, it’s in place, now let me get it hooked up to the system.”Thankfully, that didn’t take him long either.While he was working, Audrey remained seated, doing something on her phone.Mason didn’t mind.He imagined she’d been on her feet for most of the day, and here he was keeping her here even longer.
Maybe he should offer her a foot massage as an apology…
No.Stop it.
If there was anything he could do to make his situation worse right now, it would be to start touching her; he wasn’t sure he would be able to stop.
He cleared his throat, and she jumped in her seat, head coming up in surprise, eyes wide with… something.The way she looked at him.
Fuck.
The air suddenly felt heavy.Tight.So did his chest.His dick perked up.He felt like a fucking teenage boy again, with no control over his body.Which didn’t make sense.He always had control.
Why wasn’t this going away?
“I’m all done,” he said, his voice deeper than usual—the voice he used at the club when he was scening.
Heat flushed over her pale skin, turning her cheeks bright pink, and she hastily turned off the screen of her phone and got to her feet, shoving it into a pocket in her skirt.
“Great.”Unlike him, her voice had gone higher.Squeakier.“Thank you so much for doing that.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt whatever you were doing.”
“I wasn’t… I mean… I was just reading.”She stumbled over her words, and the blush on her cheeks got even redder.
