Longing for Forever (Sunset Bay Romance Book 1)

by Debra Clopton

  But no, he didn’t do that. Instead, he walked over to her.

  He spoke softly, for her ears only. “I’m sorry. I was out of line back there. You’re right—we barely know each other. So what right do I have to try to foist my wishes on you? None. But, I’m a doctor and giving advice comes naturally.” He shrugged. “It’s a hard habit to break. And while I can’t say I’m happy you disagree with my cautions to you, I can say I’m sorry that I was so blunt and demanding and out of line completely. Can you forgive me and let us start over?”

  Shocked, she studied his face. His expression held sincere regret. She could imagine that his job did make it hard to keep his opinions to himself. She didn’t like holding grudges. It was poison to the soul and entirely not good for anyone. “I accept and yes, we can start over. Did you come into the bakery for a cup of coffee and a muffin?”

  Rosie, what are you doing?

  He looked relieved at her easy acceptance and smiled, then glanced around the shop, his gaze touching the four ladies at the table. She followed his gaze and saw Birdie and the gang watching them. Realizing they’d been caught snooping, they immediately went back to dipping muffins into chocolate as if their lives depended on it.

  “I am off work and I don’t have any plans. I could work for muffins and coffee.”

  “Oh,” she gasped. He wanted to help.

  She should send him away. She did not need to work beside him. No, not at all. She was too attracted to him. And she had a deep fear that while he had apologized for his earlier words, if she let them get to know each other better, then his opinion would reemerge. Only stronger.

  She was a warrior, she reminded herself. She was very strong-willed and no one else’s opinion usually mattered to her much, at least not anymore. She was very good at keeping herself on track and doing what was right for her. There had been a time in her life when she did what was right for everyone else.

  But not anymore. She had learned that life was too short, too unpredictable to waste.

  She placed a hand on her hip and added a cocky tilt to her head. “I should send you away with the muffin and a cup of coffee. But I’m desperate. And yes, I could use the help. If you’re sure, then I would say you’re on. I can supply all the muffins and coffee that you can eat and drink. And great company.” She splayed a hand open toward the ladies, who were back to watching them with expectant expressions.

  His lips quirked upward into a dazzling smile that instantly set butterflies doing crazy, amazing aerobatics inside her chest. Focus, girl. “Is that a smile of agreement?” she asked.

  “Yes. And excitement at getting more of your amazing muffins. I might have to try a few pastries too. Maybe a cupcake.”

  She laughed. “Of course. The display is yours. And that brings us to some other important issues. Have you ever baked muffins before?”

  “Nope, I hate to tell you that I haven’t. I’m a fast learner, though. Then again, I have to warn you that I can’t imagine anything I could ever mix up would come close to those fantastic muffins you brought me the other day. I loved every delicious bite.”

  Oh, he was good. She swayed slightly toward him, woozy with delight. “Baking is just science and ingredients. But since we are on a tight timeframe, I will mix and you can pour it into the muffin pans. I’ll get you an apron.”

  “Now that, I can do.” He glanced down at her pink apron with the Bake My Day logo scrawled across it and hitched a brow as he looked back at her. “I think for wearing this pink apron…” He lifted it and his brows scrunched over teasing eyes. “I’m going to need a muffin right away. And a cup of coffee.”

  The man was too adorable. She reminded herself that he was not a puppy but a man, and she was not in the market for a puppy or a man. But who knew what tomorrow might bring? She slammed the door on that thought, not certain she would ever be ready for a man like Adam. Instead of letting her thoughts dig her deeper into that hole, she turned toward the glass-enclosed counter. “Ladies, we have recruited some new help. Dr. Sinclair is in the house.”

  Whoops erupted as she reached into the display full of muffins. Birdie, Lila, Doreen, and Mami clapped as they called out congratulations and thanks. Rosie heard a couple of quiet “I told you so’s” pass between them, too.

  “I might get in the way more than anything,” he warned.

  “Not on your worst day,” Birdie grunted. “Again, remember, we just like looking at you.”

  A deep dimple appeared as he laughed, looking slightly uncomfortable, and she thought his cheeks turned a shade of plum beneath his tan.

  “I do like a man with dimples,” Mami called, then giggled.

  Rosie grinned and let the ladies have their fun. “Which would you like?”

  Looking grateful to focus on the display, he looked thoughtful. “You did a great job picking the last one, so give me whatever you think I need today.”

  “Oh, then I have just the muffin for you.” She pulled out a double chocolate with a cream cheese center and handed it to him. “Chocolate is a masterful stress reliever and the cream cheese center is a delight to tempt your taste buds into complete bliss.” She placed it into his outstretched hand, being careful not to touch him. “One coffee coming right up.” She hurried away, putting distance between them while thinking about what touching him did to her. The brief memory of that one brush of his hand on hers had sent her entire body into a heat that made her think she was having a hot flash. And she was way too young to even know what that felt like. And her heart had nearly gone out of rhythm when it practically jumped out of her chest. Yes, it was true: this man did things to her that she didn’t quite understand.

  But it would be nice to figure it all out.

  She wasn’t naïve; she knew she was attracted to him. But she had never been attracted to anyone like this and it was scary. You are no scaredy-cat.

  True. She was a warrior.

  She might be a little thing, but she was a mighty warrior. She had proved that.

  She moved to her beautiful coffeemaker, and with slightly trembling hands produced a cup of bold coffee. She put a lid on it, then returned to him. “I put it in a to-go cup, not because you are leaving but because it’s insulated, and your hands are about to be busy so I don’t want it to sit in the open mug and get cold. This will keep warm longer as you fill the muffin pans.”

  He was already halfway through eating the chocolate muffin and he had a little crumb on the side of his mouth. Without thinking, she reached up and dusted it off. “You have a little chocolate—” She froze, realizing she had just dusted the chocolate from his lip. She jerked her hand back and her cheeks heated again. What—was she living in a sauna now?

  “I’m sorry. What was I thinking?”

  He grinned and winked. “That I had chocolate on my lips and I needed it removed.” His tone was teasing and flirtatious.

  Her heart did crazy things. She was a grown adult and needed to get hold of her runaway reactions to Adam.

  You’re allowed to flirt with a man.

  “Right,” she muttered, backing up against the counter. “That’s what I was thinking.” She spun away, grabbed a measuring cup and dipped it into the tub of flour. Her hand continued to tremble slightly as she dumped the ingredients into the large mixing bowl.

  The truth hit her. I am allowed to flirt. I’m allowed to date. Because I am still alive.

  She was alive…she had beaten the odds.

  She was twenty-five years old and she had her whole life ahead of her, which hadn’t been the case less than a year ago. Not only could she date if she wanted to, but now she could dream of finding her happily-ever-after. She paused, scooping flour into the mixing bowl as the thought settled over her. In her very recent past, she couldn’t do any of that because her life had an expiration date on it.

  She’d had to focus all her energy on overcoming her date with death.

  And praise God, she had.

  And now, she could do what normal young women her age
did and that was look to her future. Which she was doing. But, as the voice in her head sternly reminded her, that also meant her future with a husband and a family. That was the scary part—and as hard as it was for her to admit it…it was true.

  Despite the fact that she was a warrior, she wasn’t sure she was ready to face this part of her life. It was all so confusing. And it meant the next several hours were going to be very awkward if she was unable to get control of her runaway reactions to Doctor Adam Sinclair.

  Chapter Five

  Adam wasn’t sure how he’d ended up in this situation. He had come into the bakery for a muffin and ended up in over his head with the beautiful muffin maker. And the four ladies at the table giving him not-so-hidden stares as they watched him and Rosie behind the counter. The fact that they’d told him they liked his dimples and they liked looking at him…made the entire situation a little uncomfortable. Not that he wasn’t a bit used to older ladies acting a little bit eccentric at times. But these ladies were just having fun; they were just teasing and he knew it. It was the fact that they were watching him and Rosie together that made him uncomfortable. Did they see the sparks flying between them like sparklers on the Fourth of July?

  He’d almost kissed her. Still wanted to. And for him, that was the first feelings of being alive inside that he’d felt in months.

  He hadn’t come in here expecting to help her behind the counter, but he was glad he was. She intrigued him now more than ever. He wanted to know her story.

  He stared at the back of her neck, exposed because her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and he had the sudden desire to walk over and kiss the soft spot behind her ear. She turned to him suddenly, catching him staring, and all he could do was smile and probably look completely guilty about what he’d been crazily contemplating.

  Her eyes narrowed. “You’re not working. Maybe I need to show you what you need to be doing now. Here, this batch is ready. Let’s start putting them in the muffin tins.”

  “Sure, show me. I’m at your disposal.”

  Looking flustered, she grabbed the bowl, the very big bowl, and carried it over to a table where there were several large muffin pans on a counter beside a rack with several shelves.

  “This container will fill six of these muffin pans.”

  “It’s a pretty color,” he said, thinking the soft pink of the batter matched her pretty lips.

  “These are my cherry crunch muffins. You’ll take this.” She picked up an ice cream scoop, snapped the button on the side a couple of times—he assumed to show him how the scoop worked—then she dipped it into the mix and carefully held it over the muffin pans. “Just squeeze the button and let the batter drop into place. One scoop per muffin. When the pan is full, place it on the rack and I’ll start putting them in the oven as we go. We’ll get a system going and have this place smelling like heaven in just a little bit.”

  He was all too aware of how close they were standing and that was pretty close to heaven to him. She caught him staring again. He added quickly, “It already does. I don’t know how you stay here all day. I would be eating everything in sight just because it smelled so good.”

  She laughed—a little breathlessly, he thought—as she moved a step away from him.

  “I resist. Besides, I have eaten a lot of this over and over again, so the newness has worn off.”

  “What you’re saying is you don’t eat your own stuff.”

  “No, I’m not saying that. I just don’t eat as much as my customers do because a lot of a good thing is a bad thing. A little of a good thing is a good thing. You understand?”

  He chuckled, enjoying watching her. “I know what you mean.” He got the uncanny feeling that he’d never get tired of watching her. She was a good thing. A very good thing.

  “Doc Sinclair,” Mami called, drawing his attention. “You look like you could eat anything you wanted to.”

  “I so agree,” Lila said, smiling. “Do you jog? You know, to keep your physique so perfect?”

  Birdie harrumphed. “It is perfect. I saw it the other day when I went by with paperwork. He was just coming up from a dip in the ocean. Yep, pretty perfect.”

  From the corner of his vision, he saw Rosie’s shoulder shaking. He glanced at her and she batted her big eyes at him, a mock attempt at looking innocent.

  “Well, do you, Doc Sinclair?” Rosie drawled, lightly.

  His lips twitched. “Yes ma’am, I do jog.”

  “Oh, I knew it,” Lila declared. “I just love a man who runs.”

  “I do too,” Mami agreed.

  Rosie laughed, enjoying the show.

  “I always wanted to jog,” Doreen grunted. “But my assets always got in the way.” She looked down at her “assets,” which were causing her to sit farther back from the table than the other ladies.

  “I never had that problem.” Birdie laughed, looking down at her fairly flat chest.

  Lila’s eyes were wide. “Mine get in my way sometimes, though not like yours, Doreen.”

  “Ladies, there is a gentleman in the room,” Mami scolded.

  “He’s a doctor.” Birdie laughed as giggles erupted around the table.

  He looked to Rosie for help. She was biting her lip as her face turned red and her eyes watered. The woman was fighting near hysteria as she looked at him.

  “Am I turning red?” he groaned.

  “Like a beet.” She placed her hand on his forearm. “They’ve never been so bad before. It’s like you bring the naughty out in them. I don’t know what’s going on, but obviously they like you.”

  “Gee, I’m so lucky.”

  “Actually, yes. They’re adorable, lovely ladies. And they don’t like everybody.”

  He glanced over at the ladies and they were all grinning widely.

  Doreen looked a little bit mortified. “I can’t believe I said that. I don’t often talk like that. Lila does, but not me.”

  Lila gasped. “I do not talk about my boobs in front of people.”

  “Yes, you do,” Mami challenged.

  “Don’t be embarrassed, Doreen,” Birdie said. “Again, may I remind you he is a doctor. I’m sure he’s heard and seen it all.”

  “That’s true,” the pink-faced Doreen said, looking relieved. “I thought about having them, you know, reduced. But I was a chicken and so I didn’t and can’t jog, but I envy those who do.”

  He fought to keep a straight face. “Well, there are other ways to exercise besides jogging. Yoga is good.”

  “I love yoga,” Lila said. “You should come with me.”

  Doreen looked pointedly at her friend. “I went with you once and it was a disaster. I bent forward to do that forward dog move, or whatever it’s called, and I toppled over like a top-heavy ostrich egg. My balance was not too good. I’ll just stick to walking. Walking and I get along just fine.”

  “Me too,” Mami said. “When you walk, you get to see all those good-looking men jogging. So, it’s the best of all worlds.”

  “Is that why you walk something like twelve miles a day?” Birdie asked Mami.

  “I don’t walk twelve miles a day.”

  “Seems like it,” Birdie snapped.

  “Maybe you all should take up walking with me,” Mami said. “It is very entertaining and then we could always come back here and end the morning with another muffin.”

  “Ladies.” Lila sighed. “We better change the subject. The preacher’s going to come in and hear us talking like this and kick us out of the church. He’ll think we’re wild women or something.” She chuckled.

  Birdie looked insulted. “Just because I go over there to the Bayside Church every Sunday morning doesn’t mean I’m blind and can’t have some fun. Why, I’ll have you know—”

  “Ladies—” Rosie interrupted Birdie’s growing indignation. “Why don’t we change the subject and talk about the festival tomorrow. That is what we are getting ready for.”

  “I think the festival will be great,” Adam said, more than gla
d to help get the ladies talking about something other than boobs.

  “Will we see you at the festival tomorrow?” Rosie asked, a spark of interest in her eyes.

  “I had thought about it, but I’m thinking about going fishing instead.”

  “Fishing,” Birdie grunted. “Is that all you do?”

  He wasn’t sure what to think about her accusatory tone. “Well, not all I do. I’m working on the bungalow. I’m helping Doc Coleman two days a week. And yes, now that I’m back in town, I’m enjoying some fishing and also hoping to get back to doing a little surfing when the waves perk up a little bit. And today I’m helping Rosie with these muffins.” He wasn’t sure whether hanging out around Rosie tomorrow was a good idea. He was thinking too strongly about nearly kissing her earlier and the interest he’d just seen in her eyes had rekindled the flame he felt.

  “You surf?” Mami called. “I just love seeing a man get out there and ride that wave on that board.”

  Here they went again.

  “Ohhh, I do too,” Lila said.

  “Ladies, halt,” Rosie said, smiling at him. “I think surfing is pretty cool too, but I’ve never had much luck. The few times I tried, it was disastrous. Anyway, back to talking about the festival.”

  “What happened?” he asked, curious about what had happened to her surfing.

  “I drank a lot of water. Choked a good bit. It was not pretty. I almost killed myself on the last try. It really scared me.”

  He could tell by the tone of her words that she was serious. “Maybe we’ll have to try to overcome that unfortunate impression.”

  “I bet he’s a good teacher, Rosie,” Mami called.

  “If I was twenty years younger, I’d have you teach me,” Lila said, wishfully.

  “What do you mean, twenty? You mean thirty, don’t you?” Birdie laughed and Lila slapped her arm.

  “I’d sink the minute I waded past the four-foot mark and flip right over like a cork, with my feet sticking out of the water.” Doreen gave a heavy sigh and then giggled, and Adam had to fight not chuckling at the picture she’d just painted.