A knock on her window made her jump and she turned to find an attractive man watching her with a look of concern on his face. “Can I help you?” he asked. “You’ve been staring at the house for a long time.”
She felt her face turning red, but saw only concern in the man’s eyes and rolled down her window. “I was trying to decide if I was brave enough to walk up and knock on the door,” she said, grabbing the flyer on the seat next to her. “I know we’re not supposed to be here until Monday, but I wanted to…well…get a jump on the rest of the competition.”
“That’s smart. Come on, I’ll make it easy for you, I’ll take you inside and introduce you to Hattie,” the man said. “I’m Aaron, by the way, I live here.”
“Oh, that would be great,” she said, caught off guard. “Thank you.”
“Always happy to help,” he said, stepping back from the car. “I’m getting tired of doing Hattie’s dishes. It will be nice to turn that job over to someone else.”
She laughed as she got out of the car, wondering how someone so nice could be mixed up in…well…she wasn’t sure. “If dishes are part of the job, I might change my mind,” she said, following him up to the front door. “How many of you live here?”
“Eight of us, but you don’t worry, we take care of ourselves,” Aaron said, opening the front door. “You won’t be cleaning up after us, just Hattie.”
“What’s this about cleaning up after me?” an older woman asked, coming down the stairs. “Oh, you have a guest.”
“Hattie, this is…” Aaron turned to her and whispered. “I don’t know your name.”
“I’m Paula, it’s nice to meet you, Hattie,” she said, suddenly nervous. “I probably shouldn’t be here today, but I couldn’t wait until Monday. I was hoping we could talk about the job you posted.”
“Oh, I wasn’t planning on doing interviews until Monday,” Hattie said, looking her up and down. “Do you have experience?”
“My parents own a bakery, I worked there all through high school,” she said. “And we always baked at home; my mother refused to buy anything store-bought. Just give me the right ingredients, a stove, and a little time and I can bake just about anything.”
CHAPTER 5
***RYAN***
Ryan hit the save button, then sat back in his chair with a satisfied sigh. He’d just finished the last paper he’d ever write as an undergraduate, and he felt like celebrating. Looking up at the clock, he realized it was long after lunch and too early for dinner, but hopefully he could convince one of the guys to go out with him for a few hours, maybe shoot some pool and grab a burger after. Tempted to read the paper one more time, he forced himself to close the file, then, with a huge sense of accomplishment, emailed it to his professor.
He was so close to student teaching that he could practically taste the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, only to remember that peanut butter wasn’t allowed in schools anymore. “Hey, you look like you just won the lottery,” Aaron said from the doorway. “I definitely want some of what you’ve got.”
“I just turned in my last paper, now I just have two tests left, and then I’m done with class work,” he said. “I’ll be ready to start student teaching in January.”
“Lucky you, next semester is going to be my hardest,” Aaron said with a sigh. “Not that this semester has been easy, finals are killing me. I could use a break.”
“Let’s go play a couple games of pool, I feel like celebrating,” he said, shutting down his computer. “We can grab something to eat afterward, my treat.”
“That’s a deal, just let me go grab my coat,” Aaron said. “We can check on the pretty blonde I just let in to see Hattie, she’s interviewing for the assistant job…I wouldn’t mind hiring her as my assistant. She’s got these big blue eyes and curly blonde hair. I couldn’t see what was under her coat, but if her legs are any indication…”
“Whoa, boy, slow down, this woman is going to be working for Hattie,” he said, laughing and shaking his head. “I’m sure the last thing she wants is you ogling her all the time.”
“Hey, I’m not a creep,” Aaron said, grinning at him. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t see me doing it.”
“You’re impossible,” he said, grabbing his coat. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”
He thought he’d beaten Aaron to the entryway, but after waiting for ten minutes, he realized his friend had been serious about stopping in the kitchen before they left. With a sigh, he got up from the chair and headed down the hallway to the back of the house, picking up the sound of Aaron’s voice long before he walked into the kitchen. The last thing he was in the mood for was watching his friend flirt with some random woman, and he almost changed his mind about going out with Aaron. Then, he heard a voice he was sure he’d never forget.
Heart pounding, a mixture of excitement and dread spreading through him, he poked his head in the room, then let out an audible groan when he saw the woman standing in the middle of the kitchen with Hattie. The counter was covered with baking materials and a delicious smell came floating to him, making his mouth water. The woman was wearing one of Hattie’s aprons, which made him feel a little off balance. He stumbled as he walked into the room; everyone turned to look athim, including the woman. When her blue eyes met his, he was flung back to the night they’d met.
A wave of warmth washed over him, and his body started to tingle with desire, making him wish he had stayed in the hallway. “Uhhhh…hey everyone,” he said, feeling like an idiot. “It sure does smell good in here, Hattie.”
“Oh, that wasn’t me,” Hattie said, turning to the woman. “Paula is responsible for that delicious smell. She’s my new assistant; I’d be an idiot not to hire her.”
“Really?” Paula asked Hattie, then gave her a hug when she nodded. “That’s great, I’m so excited. When do you want me to start?”
“Monday will be fine. You and I are going to make a great team,” Hattie said, a big smile on her face. “Now we just need to get rid of these boys so we can talk details.”
“We were just on our way out,” he said, unable to take his eyes off Paula, who saw him watching her and began to blush. “It was nice to meet you. I guess I’ll see you around.”
