“Asking me to have dinner with you is a good deed?”
Her words hit me square in the chest. I turn to her, but she’s no longer next to me; she stands a few steps behind. Her narrowed eyes burn with flames of anger, and there’s no way to miss the hurt in her voice.
“You think I’m that pathetic that I needed you to ask me to dinner as a ‘good deed’?”
What the hell? She twisted my words. That’s not what I meant. Not at all. I need to find a way to fix this.
I take a breath before answering, this time thinking about my words before speaking. “Of course not. I meant by showingyou around town and proving that there are dessert items on the menu at my friend’s place—that’s my good deed.”
“Let me get this straight. You either see me as a charity case or as competition for your friend’s business. Which is it?”
“Neither. I’m . . . I’m showing you what another food business in town looks like.”
“Is he paying you?”
“Paying me for what? If you want to turn back—.”
Is this the kind of shit my friends are faced with on the daily? And they do so willingly? Happily? Yeah, this only proves I’m right. I don’t want any part of falling in love.
She turns around, and I think she is going to head back home. My chest fills with the heavy ache of regret. I don’t want her to leave, not while she’s upset with me.
“We’re already here. I didn’t mean anything bad. What I meant to say is, I’m showing you small-town hospitality by showing you around the neighborhood. And I’m helping my best friend by bringing a new customer to his establishment. That would be you, by the way. And then, I’m helpingyouagain, by introducing you to his menu.”
“You’re such a jerk. A rude one, too. Do women actually fall for your excuses?” She answers, shaking her head as I pull the door open and hear the bell-chime announcing our arrival.
Great. I can’t seem to do anything right with this woman. I wouldn’t care if it weren’t for the fact that she’s going to complain to Erik. I’ll never hear the end of it. He and Magnus will go on about what a loser I am with women.
The dinner rush has thinned out. It’s not often that the place is packed, but if it’s going to be busy, it’ll be between five and seven pm. They might save money on overhead if they only opened for those two hours. I glance around to find that three tables are taken.
“Why don’t you sit down, and I’ll go get us menus.”
“No, thank you.” Her tone is short and curt. “I’ll come with you so that I can look in the display case, after all, that is why I’m here, isn’t it?”
“Okay.” Sheesh, I know I’m no Casanova, and I’ve muddled this up as well as a pig in slop, but Camilla Ramos isn’t like the women here. She’s as touchy as she is beautiful, and I’m not navigating well because I’ve never met a woman carrying such a huge chip on her shoulder.
Standing behind the counter, Cayden’s fiancée, Raven, smiles as we approach. I can’t help but notice how much better she looks in comparison to when I first met her. She’s lost her sickly pale coloring, and even though she’s part vampire, her cheeks are rosy, and her hair and eyes shine brighter. If I didn’t know she sips my friend’s blood like sweet tea, I’d believe the lie they put out for everyone, that love healed her. They can’t fool me, I know better.
“Hi, Stone.”
“Hey, Raven. I’d like to introduce you to—”
“Camilla Ramos,” The beautiful woman next to me interrupts, elbowing me in the ribs as she steps in front of me and reaches her hand across the counter. “I’m new in town.”
Raven’s smile grows wider as she looks between Camilla and me with her eyes as wide as saucers. I see the unspoken question in them and don’t know how to dodge the oncoming truck. Cayden strolls out of the back, wiping his hands on a towel that he tosses under the counter.
“Cayden,” Raven says his name with warmth and humor as he joins us and wraps his arm around her shoulder, tucking her against his side. “Meet Camilla, Stone’s date.”
There it is, the kiss of death.
“We aren’t on a date,” Camilla clarifies with an overly sweet attitude. “Stone, excuse me, Mr. Flint,” she turns to me, batting her eyelashes. “Is doing his good deed for the day,” she offers abig, warm smile, showing off a set of dimples I somehow missed, but the temperature around her drops thirty degrees. “I’m new in town, and he wanted to show me around, give me a look at the competition since I’m opening a bakery a few blocks away.”
“That’s great news! Congratulations!” Cayden extends his hand. What the fuck? Why does he seem so happy for a woman he just met? “Why don’t you order something, on the house, of course, as our way of welcoming you not just to Erie Cove, but to The Mummy’s Tomb. And then, if you wouldn’t mind, maybe we can talk about a collaboration,” he gushes, as if I just brought him a genie and three wishes. “I’ve been thinking about expanding our offerings, and perhaps we can showcase some of your offerings to start building your customer base.”
Without knowing it, my friend didn’t just throw me under the bus; he dropped it on me from twenty thousand feet in the air, backed it up, drove forward, and backed it up again.
