Knox followed his gaze. “Where?”
“Across the street. Black jacket.”
They watched her reach into her bag and pull out something wrapped in paper and a bottle of water. She set them beside the man with a quiet word too soft to carry across the street. Then she straightened and disappeared into Flour & Honey.
“And that,” Knox said, “is why we have a homeless crisis. People like your girl make it easy for them.”
“I’m sure she’d say she’s helping. And she’s not my girl.”
They entered the bakery. It smelled like butter and brown sugar.
Tessa stood at a table with Lucy, who had her dark hair pulled into a high ponytail and flour dusting her apron.
Lucy looked up and saw them. “Oh look. It’s Devney’s boys.”
Tessa’s head turned. Her eyes found Gabriel’s, and she went still.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hello.”
That was all he managed. His brain had stopped working the moment her eyes found his.
She drew a small breath. “So. Monday morning.”
“Monday morning.”
“Lucy and I were working on partnership details.”
“Right.”
The air between them felt charged. Five feet separated them, close enough to catch the hint of her perfume. Citrus and sandalwood.
Lucy moved behind the counter. “I’ll get your order boxed up.”
Tessa’s gaze shifted to the register. Gabriel followed and tried to steady his breathing.
Knox approached the counter like he was entering hostile territory, shoulders back and jaw tight. He had the posture of a man who expected the world to accommodate him and couldn’t understand why this particular corner of Brooklyn hadn’t received the memo.
“I’m here for the order for Devney Wilder.”
Lucy didn’t look up from the pastry box she was assembling. “Magic word?”
Knox’s eye twitched. “Excuse me?”
“Please. The magic word is please.” She glanced up then, taking in his tailored suit, his expensive watch, the expressionthat suggested he’d never been asked to say please in his life. “They don’t teach manners at whatever finishing school produces guys like you?”
“I wasn’t aware purchasing baked goods required an etiquette lesson.”
“Everything requires basic human decency. That’s free, by the way. Unlike the danish.” She filled the box, her eyes never leaving his. “Thirty-eight dollars please.”
Knox pulled out his wallet. “Are you always this charming with customers?”
“Only the ones who walk in here looking like they’ve got a stick up their?—“
“Lucy.” Tessa’s voice carried a warning.
“— spine,” Lucy finished sweetly. “I was going to say spine.” She wasn’t. Everyone knew she wasn’t. “You know what would help with that? Oatmeal. Lots of fiber. Really loosens things up.”
