Emmett looked at her for a moment and then reached across the table to take her hand. There was a sadness in her expression as she spoke that he didn’t like. Had she tied all her self-worth to her ability to craft these impeccable treats? They were great, but she was more than her job, just as he was more than his bar. He brushed his thumb across the back of her hand, feeling her tremble slightly at his touch. “You don’t need perfect cookies to be amazing. You know that, right?”
When her eyes met his, the baby blues were shimmering with a layer of glassy, unshed tears. She held his hand tight and managed a small smile. “Thank you for saying that.”
But he didn’t think she believed him. A woman as driven as she was, was fighting for a reason.
Thankfully, there were no more tears during dinner. The food was excellent. They shared a cinnamon crème brûlée for dessert with decaffeinated coffee so Maddie could sleep when she got home. It was fully dark as they left the restaurant and walked back to his truck. Now the fairy lights in the trees seemed to float in the darkness like late-season fireflies.
“This makes me want to hang lights in my trees,” Maddie said. She paused, leaning her back against the side of the truck to look up at the sparkling white lights. “I’ve always loved Christmas lights, but these are even better, because I can leave them up all year long, like it’s my very own fairy garden.”
“You should do it,” Emmett said, pressing one hand onto the edge of the truck bed. “I’ll even help you put them up.”
“Really?” Maddie said, looking at him with big doe eyes that reflected the lights in the dark.
She looked so hopeful, like a child being promised her heart’s desire. It confused Emmett for a moment. How could a woman who grew up so spoiled be so excited by something like this? Had her reputation become so tarnished that no one was willing to do anything for her? It was just some twinkle lights, and yet it felt like more to him. “Absolutely. I’ve even got a ladder. We can get you a timer so they turn on every night at dusk and you can see them before you go to bed and when you get up.”
“Thank you,” Maddie said, nearly launching into his arms. He caught her in his embrace, closing his eyes to absorb the sensation of holding her so close. There always seemed to be a barrier to their intimacy—their attitudes, handcuffs, car consoles—but now it was just him and her, pressed together.
She buried her face in his neck and Emmett slowly stroked her back. His fingers brushed over her silky, loose curls, making him wish she wore her hair down more often. Emmett took a deep breath, drawing her scent into his lungs and holding it there. As she shifted against him, he felt a stir of need in his body. She felt so good in his arms, he wanted to lift her up and carry her off to his apartment to make love to her.
Maddie pulled away, looking up at him. Rising onto her toes, she pressed her lips to his. It was a gentle, hesitant kiss, nothing like the ones he’d initiated before. With his hands balled into fists at her side, he held back, letting her explore him with her hands and mouth. The heat in his core climbed higher, degree by degree, nearly engulfing him as her tongue glided along his own. He was on the verge of pinning her against the truck and touching her the way he ached to, when suddenly she was gone.
Emmett’s eyes flew open and found she’d taken a step back. There was a sheepish expression on her face, even as her cheeks flushed. “Tonight was really nice, Emmett. I hate to say it, but I’ve gotta get home and get to bed.”
Bed sounded great, but he knew that she meant without him. With a sigh, Emmett nodded and let her go. He reached for the handle and opened the passenger-side door. “Your chariot awaits.”
Maddie cut the last of her white-chocolate-raspberry-cheesecake bars. She was about to slip them into their paper wrappers when she heard the front door of the bakery chime. She pulled off her gloves and went out front to tend to her customer.
Standing at the counter was Lydia. It was her second visit in a week, which made Maddie wonder why she was there now. Likely, she had something that she wanted to gloat about, or she’d heard about Maddie’s date with Emmett. “Hey, Maddie.”
“Hey, Lydia,” she said, coming out from behind the counter to give her a hug. “How have you been?”
She shrugged and turned her attention to the bakery case. “Good. The restaurant has been crazy, as usual. I keep telling Daddy we need to just contract you to make some of our desserts, but he likes to be able to say it was all done in-house. Just one more thing to do.” She bent down to eye something in the display. “What is that?”
Maddie went back behind the counter and peered in at what Lydia was pointing at. “It’s a Bavarian cream-filled horn dusted in sugar crystals.”
“Lord,” she said, taking a step back. “I don’t know how you can stand to be around all this junk food. It’s a wonder you don’t weigh more than you already do.”
Maddie bit the inside of her cheek to avoid responding. She was the same size eight she’d been since graduation, so she wouldn’t let her friend get a rise out of her when it wasn’t true.
“So, word is that last night you and Emmett were spotted looking quite chummy on your front porch. What,” Lydia said with a mix of interest and disgust, “was that all about? I thought you two were fighting.”
“We were. And now we’re not.”
An amused smile crossed Lydia’s face. “So, now you’re dating a bartender? Really? How very blue-collar of you, Maddie.”
Maddie tried not to frown at her. “For one thing, he isn’t a bartender. He owns the bar.”
“The guy brings me drinks when I order them,” Lydia said. “Same thing.”
“And for another thing, I don’t really want to talk about it.”
Lydia leaned against the counter. “You don’t want to talk about it? Was it really that bad?”
“No, it was wonderful. I had a great time. So really, I don’t want to talk about it because you’re just going to pooh all over it and ruin my buzz.”
Lydia ignored her, narrowing her gaze. “Did you sleep with him?”
“It was our first date, Lydia! No, I didn’t sleep with him.”
Lydia shrugged and strolled down the counter to the small container with cookie samples. For all her money and their years of friendship, she’d never come into the shop to buy anything. She ate a sample or whined until she got something free. Sometimes she went as far as to walk into the kitchen and just take something off the cooling racks without even asking. But she never bought anything, claiming she didn’t need the calories.
Before now, that hadn’t bothered Maddie. Lydia was her best friend, right? Of course she didn’t have to pay for a cookie. But something had changed, even just in the last few days since they went to lunch. Maddie had changed, without realizing it. Lydia was the same as she’d always been. That didn’t leave them with a lot in common anymore.
“I would’ve slept with him,” she said. “He doesn’t have a pot to piss in, but he’s hot. He’d make an excellent lover on the side, I think. Those rough carpenter’s hands . . .”
Maddie tensed as she thought of those same hands on her body. She didn’t like the idea of Lydia imagining them. With her stunning good looks, most men fell over themselves to get attention from Lydia. More than one crush in high school had been lured away by her stunning best friend. But Lydia couldn’t have Emmett. They might have had only one date, but he was hers until Maddie said otherwise.
“Well,” Lydia continued, ignoring her friend’s silence and casually flipping the long strands of blond hair over her shoulder. “If you do sleep with him, let me know all the details. I don’t have a lot of excitement in my own love life right now, so I’ll take whatever I can get.”
Maddie wasn’t surprised that Lydia was having a dry spell. Not even her good looks could erase the reputation she’d earned. The whole town knew about how she’d gotten so insanely jealous over Blake. The
things she’d done to Ivy in an attempt to win Blake back had been despicable. Even Maddie had been surprised her best friend could stoop so low. After Lydia was publicly outed for throwing a firecracker into the Fall Festival parade and spooking Ivy’s horse, her social calendar had shriveled right up. She’d even had to buy a Valentine’s Day date at the fund-raising auction, winning Simon when no one else would bid on him. Maddie hadn’t asked how the date had turned out, because frankly she didn’t want to know.
“Who’s the weirdo I saw in the shop last week?” Lydia said, shifting the topic.
Maddie felt her hands clench at her sides. “What?”
“Some girl was working the counter when I came by and said you weren’t there.”
“That’s my new employee, Gertie.”
Lydia wrinkled her nose and Maddie braced herself. She couldn’t do anything about their past together and the people they’d hurt, but she wouldn’t allow Lydia or anyone else to stand in her own shop and insult Gertie.
“That girl looks like a cast member of The Walking Dead. So thin and pale. For a minute I thought she might be an albino. Where’d you dig her up?”
“Gertie came highly recommended from the high school. She’s a sweet girl and a very talented baker. I’m lucky to have her, and I’d appreciate it if you were respectful of her.”
Lydia flinched. “What? She’s not even here.”
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want to hear it.”
“What’s going on with you, Maddie? You opened up this hoity-toity shop and now all of a sudden you’re too good for everyone.”
“Actually, Lydia, it’s the opposite. I’ve realized that I’m not better than anyone else. I’m trying to be more mindful and kind. I know that’s hard for you to grasp.”
“Kind? You’re not doing a very good job. You’re my best friend and you’re being really bitchy to me.”
At this point, Maddie desperately wanted to tell Lydia to go to hell. Unfortunately, she knew that wouldn’t be the end of it. Lydia’s vindictive streak was a mile long, and with everything going on, Maddie didn’t have time to deal with whatever drama she would dish out in retaliation.
“I’m sorry,” Maddie said, smoothing her hand over her dark hair. “I’m stressed out and just feeling a little touchy about Gertie. Don’t take it personally.”
Lydia eyed her for a moment and then smiled. “Okay, good. You were worrying me, there.” She went into the kitchen, coming out with one of Maddie’s limited white-chocolate-raspberry-cheesecake bars hanging out of her mouth. “We should do something this week. All we do is work,” she managed between chews. “What about tomorrow evening? I’m off.”
“I have community service with Emmett.”
Lydia frowned and took another bite of her pilfered treat. “What about Saturday morning? I’ve been dying to drive down to Birmingham and go to this new boutique.”
“I have community service on Saturday, too. And even if I didn’t, the bakery is open. You know Sunday is my only day off.”
“And you spend it with your family,” Lydia said with a sigh. “Have Ivy or Pepper started coming to Sunday dinners yet? I can’t imagine your grandmother sitting across the table from both of them. Such disappointing choices in brides for Blake and Grant. Not at all who she would’ve picked, I’d guess. Say, what does Granny think about you and old Emmett?”
Maddie hadn’t really talked about her date to anyone. Her grandmother knew about the fighting, of course, but she hadn’t spoken to her about him since then. “I don’t think she knows. Or cares, really.”
“I don’t know,” Lydia said. “I’d be careful about letting Emmett get too chummy with your family. You know how guys can be with you, Maddie, and this guy could use a few bucks. He’s been around Rosewood long enough to know about your family.”
“We’ve gone on one date,” she reminded her.
“I know. I’m just saying be careful. I don’t want another guy hurting you in his attempt to make business connections with your family.”
Maddie stiffened. Lydia was one of the few people who knew about Maddie’s sad dating history, including the truth about what happened with Joel. Her brother’s friend had gone a step further than the other boys looking to get an in with the Chamberlain family by dating her. Joel had won her heart, then slipped a date rape drug in her drink on graduation night in the hopes she’d get pregnant and have to marry him. She’d been saved from that unfortunate situation, but it was a tender subject and one she wished her friend hadn’t brought up. “I don’t think Emmett is remotely interested in my family.”
Lydia shrugged it off. “Okay. But don’t say I didn’t warn you if all of a sudden he’s building bookcases for your grandmother or something. He might not be trying to marry into the family like Joel, but he’d probably be happy to get a couple of high-paying customers out of it.”
Maddie’s jaw dropped at Lydia’s cold assessment. She didn’t understand why she would think so poorly of Emmett, although she shouldn’t be surprised. Lydia thought poorly of everyone.
“Well, thanks for the treat,” she said. “If you ever find time in your schedule to hang out with your best friend, let me know.”
“What about Thursday night?” Maddie offered. She hated it when Lydia got pouty.
Lydia rolled her eyes. “I’m working at the restaurant,” she said as though it was so obvious. “Just . . . never mind. You’re too busy with the bakery and the bartender. I get it. I’ll talk to you later.”
Before Maddie could even respond, Lydia slipped out the door. She hated how easily her friend could get a rise out of her. One ten-minute discussion had been a roller coaster of emotions for her. The insults rolled so fast and furiously off Lydia’s tongue, Maddie almost couldn’t keep up with them. And the stuff about Emmett . . .
She wasn’t going to let her friend plant seeds of doubt about her new relationship. She was happy and Lydia was jealous, that was all. Emmett wasn’t interested in having anything to do with her family. Emmett was different, he didn’t care about the money or the family reputation. He’d barely blinked when she’d picked him up in her Mercedes. None of that impressed him at all, and she liked that.
Then again, maybe she was wrong and he was just a really good liar.
Chapter Twelve
Maddie felt stupid. It was Saturday night—technically Sunday morning, around two thirty—and she was standing outside the electronics store with a flashlight and her binoculars. Emmett had insisted she meet him tonight to continue their stakeout and catch the Pen—vandal.
“My car is still in the shop,” she’d argued.
“We don’t need it,” he’d said.
So here she was, waiting on Emmett’s arrival. The street was silent. Woody’s had closed a half hour earlier. Rosewood was a ghost town, especially near the electronics store, which faced away from the square. It overlooked the Methodist church and cemetery, not exactly late-night hot spots.
No one had vandalized the town since the incident with her car. Even though the vandal had managed to make his point on her hood, Maddie wondered if their pursuit of him had scared him off. Their Wednesday night community service session had been spent picking up trash at the park. Emmett was certain he’d strike again soon, so tonight, they’d try again.
“Sorry I’m late,” a voice said from behind her.
Maddie jumped and spun on her heels, finding Emmett on the sidewalk heading in her direction. “Lordy,” she whispered as her heartbeat slowed. “Don’t sneak up on a girl in the dark.”
“Sorry,” Emmett said, leaning in to rub her shoulder and give her a reassuring kiss. He fished into his pocket and took out a key. “Come on,” he said as he gestured toward Green’s Electronics.
“Why are we going in there? And why do you have a key?”
“Brian gave it to me,” he said, unlocking the door.
Brian had gone to high school with Maddie, and his father owned the local electronics store. She wasn’t sure what that had to do with their stakeout, though.
“Come on,” Emmett said. Once inside, he locked the door behind him.
“Why are we here?”
“You’ll see.” Emmett took her hand and led her through the aisles of flat-screen televisions and accessories to the back of the store.
There, he opened a plain white door marked NO ENTRY and ushered her through it. To the left was the stockroom, stacked high with computer boxes and Blu-ray players. To the right was a staircase.
“We’re going upstairs.”
Maddie followed him up to the second floor similar to what she had at her bakery. Upstairs, there was a living area that looked like it was used as a break room, and a desk piled with receipts and ledgers. On the far wall, a ladder was mounted, leading to a locked panel in the ceiling.
“We’re going up one more level to the roof.” Emmett climbed up the ladder and unlocked the door, pushing it open and stepping through. “Come on,” he said, offering his hand.
Maddie hung her binoculars around her neck and nestled her flashlight into the purse slung over her shoulder before she started up the ladder. “I thought you were afraid of heights.”
He took her hand and helped her up. “This isn’t too bad. We get a great view of town, and no one, not even the Penis Picasso, will expect us to be up here watching.”
Maddie smiled and shut the door to the ladder. “That’s brilliant. Unless, of course, Brian is the vandal.”
Emmett chuckled and shook his head. “He’s much too busy playing on his computer to go out into the real world. It was his idea to use the store. Since the roof stretches all the way over the antiques shop and Good Soles shoe store, we can see around the square.”
He was right. This shop was the perfect vantage point to see almost anything going on, and no one would be able to see them. As much as she hated to admit it, her big white Mercedes hadn’t been the most subtle vehicle for catching this guy. Now this . . . this might work.
Stirring Up Trouble Page 14
