“You’re not going to see him anymore?Just like that?”
“Seeing him is quite a stretch, Mia,” Aspen nibbled on the corner of her mouth hoping her friend didn’t see through her blatant lie.“It was just dinner, a dinner that was about as much fun as lemon juice on a papercut.”
And yet, thinking back at Connor’s humble and heartfelt request to have a do-over touched a quiet knowing within Aspen that there was much more to his story that she was certain very few—if anyone—knew. She didn’t profess to be able to see into the hearts of people, but her instincts whispered that Connor kept something buried deep and she couldn’t resist the desire to help him, especially since he was so kind to assist her with fixups around the bakery.
And if she was being honest with herself, a lonely part of her soul that longed for companionship, a connection, had her questioning her resolve to stay away and not explore the electrifying attraction they seemed to share with a simple touch or glance.
She just didn’t want to offer that little nugget to Mia, her matchmaking Italian friend.
“Well, I think you should give him another chance,” Mia pushed forward with her argument.
“And what I think, my beautiful barista friend,” Aspen rested her hands atop Mia’s t-shirt clad shoulders and turned her toward the door, “is that your shift is over and you need to head home.Besides, you’ve got enough going on with the cutie hockey player who showed up bearing gifts for you the other day than to get involved in my crazy world.”
“We’re just friends,” Mia called over her shoulder at the door in a singsong voice.
“Trying to convince me or yourself?”Aspen’s smile was so big, she could feel her eyes crinkle at the corners.
“You’re impossible, Aspen.See you tomorrow.”
With that edict, Mia closed the bakery door behind her.The bells above the frame called out her exit.
Aspen loved to see the attraction bubbling between Matt and Mia.She was glad her friend was spreading her kind and loving wings to allow someone besides her brother and Connor into her heart—even if she wasn’t ready to admit it to the world yet.
She thought about herself and the topsy-turvy moments she shared with Connor and wondered if she had the bandwidth to let him into her sphere.
The business-minded and logical woman she prided herself to be said there was no way in hell she could juggle everything.Expanding the bakery and paying off her loan and financially supporting her parents while spending time with Connor?She just didn’t think it was doable, no matter how much she wanted to discover what rested below his bristly surface.
Meanwhile, the supreme desire to figure out what made the broody man tick called to her.Aspen had the feeling his bluster had about as much sizzle as a plate of fajitas sitting uneaten on a table at Applebee’s.
The silent back-and-forth tick, tick, tick of her warring mind was interrupted by the ding on her oven indicating the cupcakes were ready.
Aspen looked inside the oven through the glass door to ensure the cupcakes were ready to leave the heat and start the cooling process.Their scent filled the bakery with rich vanilla.She gave the sponge a little push to ensure doneness before using mitts to remove the pans.
Setting the tins on cooling racks, Aspen resigned herself to thinking more about the situation with Connor while she cleaned the mixing bowls and the like.The last task of the day.
Flipping on the faucet, the entire wand came off in her hand and water began spewing from the broken fixture at a pace that rivaled a Yellowstone geyser.
“Nooooo!”Aspen shrieked and instinctively rushed to cup her hands over the gushing waterspout.Unfortunately, that caused the water to shoot horizontally toward her and soak her body from head to toe in its far-reaching and surprisingly strong spray.
“Think, Aspen, think!”she exclaimed to her empty bakery while her clothes became wetter with each passing moment.“Where is the damn water shut off?”
Frantically searching the area for the shut-off knob as water continued to pour over her body, Aspen thought she heard the tinkling of the bells above her door announcing a late-day customer.She couldn’t be sure over the roar of the rushing water from the wrecked and wicked faucet.
“Give me a minute,” Aspen called out in what she hoped projected a calm voice if she really did have a customer.The reality was she was freaking the hell out that she couldn’t remember the location of the damn shut-off valve.
Thank goodness her customer couldn’t see her scrambling, as the sink was located behind a wall that split the front of the bakery from the back where the magic happened.
And by magic, she meant a replica of a scene between Allie and Noah fromThe Notebook,except Aspen wasn’t going to be soul-kissed by the hottest man in the universe.Nope, she’d be lucky if she wasn’t drowned.She was dripping and frenzied because she couldn’t remember the location of the freaking water shut-off.
The water collecting on the floor caused her feet to squish in her suddenly sodden shoes.It was a stark reminder that this wasn’t a romantic-movie-inspired moment, and that there would be no epic ending with a handsome hero.
She couldn’t ponder that sad reality a second longer because her body was bracketed from behind by tattoo-covered arms and a wall of chest muscles as wide as the Mighty Mississippi.
Aspen let loose a scream that rivaled a Berserker.
“I’ve got you, BB,” the rich, baritone voice of Connor rumbled in her ear.
It may be irrational, and Aspen would consider her absurd response once the water disaster was thwarted, but she was instantly soothed by the man and his muscles of his ripped and sexy body pressed against her.
