Warm. Sweet. Him.
Kael was behind the counter, his back to me as he arranged pastries in the display case. Flour dusted his dark hair and the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows, showing off forearms that had no business being that distracting.
He's a baker, Amara. He kneads dough. Of course his forearms look like that.
"Morning," I said, my voice coming out quieter than I intended.
He turned, and his whole face lit up.
"Amara," he said, and the way he said my name made my stomach flip. "I was hoping you'd come by."
"You say that every morning," I pointed out, setting my bag on the counter.
"Because it's true every morning."
I felt my cheeks heat and looked down at the display case to hide it. "The honey-ember tarts are back."
"I made extra today," he said. "Figured you might want one."
Suddenly I felt all warm inside, like I was one of the pastries he'd kneaded and formed and baked.
For me,I thought. Was he thinking about me?
Then reality slammed into my brain because I wasn't special like that.Stop reading into it,I told myself.
"I'll take one," I said. "And a coffee. Black."
"No sugar?" He raised an eyebrow, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You sure you don't want to live a little?"
"I live plenty," I shot back, surprising myself.
His smile widened. "Good."
He moved to the coffee station and I watched him work. Everything he did was careful. Deliberate. Like he was putting thought into every single motion.
It made me feel...seen.
Which was ridiculous because he probably treated all his customers like this.
"Here you go," he said, sliding the tart and coffee across the counter. His fingers brushed mine as I reached for them and I swore I felt a spark.
Omega hormones. That's all,I chided myself mentally.
"Thanks," I managed.
"Amara?"
I paused, the tart halfway to my mouth. "Yeah?"
He looked like he wanted to say something. His jaw tightened, then relaxed. Finally, he just shook his head. "Have a good day."
"You too."
I practically fled out the door as if something spooky was chasing me.
You're so stupid, I thought but my cheeks had started to hurt because I was smiling so hard.
I literally couldn't stop smiling at the fact that Kael had been so thoughtful.
