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My fingers itch to make the sign of the cross like my mother always does when she curses.

Speaking of my mother, I’ve got to call her back. She’s been hounding me about getting back out there ever since Bryan and I broke up. I swear, if it were up to my mother I’d be partying it up every night of the week.

I can hear her now.

“That’s what your twenties are for, mija. I worked my whole life away so that you could enjoy your youth. Why don’t you listen?”

Life isn’t only about fun. It’s about hard work and determination and getting a semi-successful bakery open by age twenty.

Without a loan from my mother.

Marcus looks around.

“This is a nice place.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s all yours?”

“Bought and paid for.”

He grunts and the sound does something funny to my stomach.

I heat up the muffin in the toaster oven, watching him walk around the bakery.

There’s no one else in here. Ever since the storm, business has been kind of scarce. I guess people don’t want to get caught out in the weather.

He’s not just big, he’s handsome. Piercing blue eyes, square jaw with silver stubble. So broad across the shoulders it’s actually ridiculous. Huge biceps.

He turns around, catches me staring. I dart my eyes away but the corner of his mouth is still upturned. Not a devilish smile like Cole, less arrogance, but confident.

He knows I’m thinking about him naked.

I thank God for my darker skin tone as my cheeks heat up.

Marcus sits down at my counter and we’re practically the same height this way, his blue eyes seeming like they’re staring through me.

I hurry to take the muffin out of the toaster oven, and in my hurry, I forget to grab the oven mitt.

“Ouch!” I cry, popping my thumb into my mouth.

Marcus makes a displeased sound in the back of his throat.

“Did you burn yourself?”

“It’s nothing,” I say, muffled around my thumb.

But he’s already standing up, coming behind the counter without asking permission. I guess Marcus isn’t the type of man to ask for permission.

That does something to my stomach, too.

He takes my wrist and pulls my thumb out of my mouth.

Gently, he leads me over to the sink, running cool water over the burn.

It helps immediately.

“It’s really nothing,” I say quietly.