He follows my line of sight and groans. “I hate to do this, but I have to get back to the office.”
“It’s okay, I should get back too. My mom is running the bakery alone.”
We’re quiet on the short drive to Konditori. I don’t know why he isn’t talking, but I know for me, it’s because there’s so much to say and not nearly enough time, so I don’t speak at all.
When we pull up in front of Konditori, Hunter shuts the car off and hurries over to open my door again. I climb out, feeling strangely bashful and uncertain. I have no idea where we stand now. Are we ... friends? Still only messy mates? Messy mates who are maybe dating or something?
“Thank you for going to lunch with me.” He’s as uncertain as I am. I notice a flash of movement in the window of the bakeryand realize Mom is watching us. “We’re going to be swamped with this deal today and tomorrow so I don’t know if I can sneak away like this again. But ...” He hesitates, his hands flexing at his side. “Maybe I can take you out on a real date this weekend?”
Warmth blossoms in my chest. My hesitation melts away. “I’d like that.”
“Me too. And hey, thanks for being my messy mate,” he says with a little half-grin, bumping my shoulder with his.
“Thanks for not thinking I was crazy when I suggested it.”
“Oh, I definitely thought you were crazy. Butcutecrazy,” he adds when I huff, affronted.
“Okay, then.”
“Okay, then,” he repeats.
“Thanks again for lunch.” Before I can lose my nerve, I throw my arms around his waist. His arms come around me, holding me tight. But when I start to pull back, he immediately releases me. “I better get in there.”
His gaze lingers like a whisper down my spine as I walk into the bakery. When I glance over my shoulder, he’s watching me, the corners of his lips curved gently up. It’s a smile I haven’t seen before.
One laced with hope.
22.
I’m ripping open a new bag of flour when my phone rings. I glance at the screen and see Lou’s name and picture. I try to reach for my phone with one hand and continue opening the bag with my other, but in my distraction, the seam rips horizontally, and the bag explodes, engulfing me in a cloud of white.
“Crap!”
Flour coatseverything—it looks like it snowed inside the Konditori kitchen. I grab an AirPod and stick it in my ear so I can call Lou back while I clean up the mess, but before I can pull up her contact, my phone rings again. I don’t even check my screen before I tap my AirPod to connect.
“Hey, sorry I ripped open a bag of flour wrong, and it exploded everywhere!”
“Do you always answer the phone this way?” a deep male voice says.
“Uhhh ...” I scramble to grab my phone in the sea of flour, but my hands are caked in it, and the device slips through my fingers and drops to the ground.
“I’m sorry, hold on—I dropped my phone, and there’s flour everywhere, and—”
The man’s throaty laugh is vaguely familiar, but I still can’t figure out who I’m talking to. Finally, I manage to grab my phone, wipe the screen, and barely suppress a groan before he hears me.
“Sorry, Austin, we had a flour-tastrophe at the bakery, and I’m trying to clean it up.”
“It sounds like I called at a bad time.” He’s still laughing. “I’m just making sure we’re on for tomorrow night.”
My stomach nosedives. I never told him yes or no for the dinner reservation he made in hopes of another date. I’ve gone back and forth so many times—mostly because I’m scared of what will happen with Talia’s job if I say no. But when I think of Hunter telling me he doesn’t want me to go out with Austin again ... I can’t bring myself to say yes, especially now that I’m going out with Hunter on Saturday—the night after dinner with Austin, if Iwereto say yes.
I pick up the broom and start sweeping, even though I might have to do it again once I clean the counters off. “I have to be honest with you, Austin. I don’t want to waste your time or your money. I’m really not sure if it’s a good idea for us to go out again or not. Part of me is curious and wants to ... but the bigger part of me knows that I’m not the right kind of girl for you. And I think you know it.”
“That’s not really fair for you to decide, is it?”
I lean on the broom and take a deep breath. “It might not be fair, but I think it’s at least honest. I’m not what you’re looking for. Trust me.”
“Are you sure the real reason isn’t because whatyou’relooking for is Hunter?”
