Dating him could ruin that. For all I know he could have a girlfriend or even a fiancée. The thought sours my stomach. If Lennon was mine, I’m not sure I’d be okay with him texting another girl all the time.
Glory snags my phone from me, logging me into the dating app and showing me how it works. Chris and Corby make it back to our table. Chris holds a cupcake out for Glory.
“Why, thank you.” She kisses him on the top of the head. The little boy gives a bright smile to her. “We’re headed to the park. I’ll call you later.” I give her another hug before she heads out. It’s so crazy how fast life can change.
I watch as they walk out the door, hoping that one day I’ll have what they do: a family. I’m not sure if that’s even a possibility for me after all the treatment I had in the past, but seeing Glory and Corby with Chris reminds me there are other avenues I could explore.
I find myself checking my phone again to see if I have another text from Lennon. There isn't one, so I slip it back into my pocket and get back to work. I normally love my job, but today it drags on. Any time the bell goes off for the front door, I’m checking to see if it’s Lennon.
I don’t know what it is about this man that has me so drawn to him. I swear there is a connection there unlike any other. I thought billionaires were supposed to be jerks. Lennon is the sweetest man I’ve ever met.
I pull the desserts from the front display, taking them into the back to put them away before I start wiping things down.
I stop what I’m doing when Cindy comes flying into the back of the bakery. “Willow. What the hell? There is a super hot man asking for you. He pulled up in a car that cost as much as a house.” I pull my apron off. Excitement bubbles up inside of me.
“I’m working with him on a fundraiser event.” I pull my hair down from my ponytail. I don’t wear it down often because I hate when my hair hangs in my face. Plus, I work with food, and I prefer to keep it tied back.
“Sure.” Cindy hands me her lip gloss. I put it on and hand it back to her. “Get it, girl. I’ll finish cleaning up here.”
My face warms. “It’s really not like that.” Those words come out of my mouth, but I don’t necessarily believe them.
“We shall see.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me.
I take a breath, getting myself together before I push through the door. I let my eyes take every inch of him in. He’s standing with his hands in his pockets, looking as hot as I remember. A smile forms on his lips when his eyes meet mine. My heart flutters. How does he do that to me? I’ve never had this reaction to any man.
“I brought the food.” He picks up a box from off the table.
“You didn't have to do that.”
He shrugs. “We have to taste test them to make sure everything is good.”
“All right.” I laugh. “I’m always down to eat. Want to do it at my place?” He lifts his brows. I can feel my face beginning to flush after realizing what I said. “Not do it do it.” Oh my God. What is wrong with me? I’m not making this any better. “I mean like try the food. Eat it or whatever.” Now I’m rambling.
“You’re adorable when you get flustered.” Ouch. Adorable? Here we go again. I’m getting thrown into the cute friend category. Why can’t he see me as hot or sexy? Though I don’t think I’ve ever been hot or sexy. I need to stop crushing on this man. He’s charming, and we could be good friends. He might even let me help out on more projects. If I can keep myself from making a fool of myself.
“Follow me.” I turn, heading into the back of the bakery. Cindy smirks when she sees us going up to my place. I try and remember if I’ve left my place a mess. I pull out my keys and unlock the door, letting him in. I’ve never had a man over before.
Lennon sets the box down on the small table. My place is all open except for the bathroom. I’m sure this is a far stretch from how he lives. I bet he has closets that are bigger than my entire place.
“This is cute.” I cringe when I realize I have a couple stuffed animals on my daybed. Kill me now.
“I’ll be right back.” I dart into the bathroom to give myself a pep talk. I glare at myself in the mirror, silently begging myself to get it together. I take a deep breath and then glance around to make sure it looks acceptable.
When I step out of the bathroom, Lennon is sitting on my day bed looking at one of the stuffed animals.
“That’s not mine,” I blurt out. He looks over at me. “Okay, it is mine.” I can’t lie. Right now I wish I could. I’ve never been good at lying.
So much for me playing it cool. I’m so in over my head when it comes to men. Now I'm starting to think these dates might be a good thing. I can use them as practice. I can learn something, then maybe I can get Lennon’s attention. Once I do that, maybe he’ll see me as more than only the cute quirky girl.
I’ll learn to be sexy. I’m not sure that’s possible, but that’s never stopped me before, and it’s not going to stop me now.
5
Lennon
She’s nervous, and I freaking hate that. I’m not sure how to put her at ease. It might have something to do with my size. Something that never bothered me until right now.
Her cheeks are still flushed about the stuffed animals. Not sure why she's embarrassed of them. I’m guessing some of them are from her childhood. Like the panda that has a stethoscope around his neck. She shouldn’t be embarrassed by any of them. I’m sure they helped her get through some scary times, and I would never judge her for keeping them.
“You ready to dig in?” I ask, standing up. I start pulling everything out of the box and putting it onto the coffee table that sits in front of her daybed. I’m pretty sure it is both her sofa and bed. Her place is small but warm. It smells like her too. I’m never going to be able to eat strawberries again and not get a hard-on.
“Yep.” She heads into the kitchen, coming back a moment later with two bottles of water. She drops to her knees next to the coffee table. I do the same.
“Sorry I don’t have a bigger table.” She chews on her bottom lip. Unable to stop myself, I reach out and pull her lip out from between her teeth. The urge to kiss her is almost too great for me to resist, but I do, knowing that pushing her too soon could make her run. She’s not the only one that’s nervous here.
“I like this.” Her eyes stay locked with mine. They are even bluer than I remember them being. Everything about her is so much more. When I started down the road of my obsession with her it was more about finding her and making sure she was okay. As I got older it started to change. My brother is always saying I’m fucking nuts. Maybe I am.
“You should do a honey mustard dip for the corndog.” She lifts one and brings it to her mouth. She lets out a small moan as she eats it. I’ll never make it through this if she keeps making sounds like that. It’s been so fucking hard staying away from her. I didn't want to come on too strong and scare her, so I started off texting. I might have driven by a few times too. “I’m a sucker for dips.”
“Me too.” I pick up one of the fried mac and cheese balls and bring it to her mouth. A small smile pulls at her lips, but she opens for me, taking a bite.
“Another winner.”
“I really love the idea of having finger foods at the benefit and all of them being comfort foods. This is about raising money for children in need.”
“I’ve been thinking about that some too.” She tucks her feet under her. “What if instead of doing it in one of the lodge’s ballrooms you do it outside? Turn it into a fair.”
“Hmm.” I pretend to ponder the idea, even though I already know I’m going to do it. If that’s what she wants to do, I’m more than down for that. “I think I would need some help.”
“I’m totally down to help however I can.” She gives a small bounce. I’m noticing she does that when she gets excited. Her whole face lights up. She could ask me for anything, and I’d gladly give it to her if she keeps looking at me like that.
“All right,” I agree and offer her another bite. It doesn't
take us long to get through everything.
“It was all so good.” She falls backwards and looks up at the ceiling. Her shirt rises up a bit, letting me see part of her stomach. “I’ll never be able to move again.”
“I know we just ate all this food, but if we’re doing a fair theme, I think there would be booths with cotton candy and funnel cakes.”
“Meat on a stick!” she adds. I have no clue what meat on a stick is, but I’m sure I can figure it out. “You know I never got to do the fair thing when I was younger. My parents always thought the rides were dangerous and they worried about all of the germs with my compromised immune system.” I make a promise to myself right then and there that I will help her experience all the things she missed when she was younger.
“Then we’ll have to make sure we go all out. We don’t want your first fair to be a dud.”
She rolls to her side, propping her head up on her hand. “They never wanted me to go to the beach either. It’s why I moved to Kissme Bay.”
“They worried about you. I’m sure it was hard for them.”
“It was. I love them, but I survived and now I want to really live. Why did you move out here?”
“It was time to slow down. All I did was work. I guess I wanted to live too.” That makes her smile. That adorable dimple forms in her cheek.
“What about a family? You’re in your thirties, right?”
“You haven't googled me yet?” Her eyes go wide like she hadn't thought of that, making me chuckle. “Marriage is something I want. Kids too. Maybe a kitten.”
“A kitten.” She sits up. “Not a dog?”
“Nah. Definitely a kitten.”
“I've always wanted a kitten too.”
“What about you? Marriage and babies in the cards for you?” Her smile falters for a moment. She gives a small shrug.
“Fall in love is the last thing on my bucket list.” Does that mean what I think it means?
“You’ve never been in love?” She shakes her head, sending her sandy blond hair flying.
“You?”
“My only passion has been my job. I’ve put everything else on the back burner.” She reaches out and snags my hand.
“Don’t downplay your work. Glory told me some about you. You’ve done some amazing things for the medical field. I’m sure you’ve saved a lot of lives.” She lets go of my hand. I want to snatch hers back.
“Thank you.” She hops up and starts gathering our containers. I help her.
“You want to go for a walk on the beach? I think my stomach needs it.” She turns around, almost running right into me. I’m crowding her space. I can’t help myself. The pull to her is so strong.
“I would love that.” I’d walk over broken glass if it meant spending more time with her. She peeks up at me through her lashes, that innocence of hers shining through. I want to lean down and kiss her, but I stop myself.
I will not fuck this up. I don’t care how slow I have to go as long as she’s mine in the end.
6
Willow
“Pucker your lips for me,” Amethyst tells me, holding the lip stain in her hands. I do as she says, putting on the finishing touches of my makeup. I still can’t believe I’m doing this. Going on a date tonight feels wrong after the night Lennon and I shared. We walked along the beach for over an hour. I don’t think either one of us wanted to call it a night.
I invited him up for some coffee, but he said he needed to get going. His mood had changed some when we were making our way back to my place. He might have been tired. Glory is super grumpy if she doesn't get sleep.
Amethyst puts the lid back on the lip stain. “I think you’re good.” I turn to look at myself in the mirror.
“Am I glowing?”
“Yep. It’s a shimmer highlight I put on your cheekbones.”
“I look so much more…”
“Sexy.” Amethyst fills in for me. I’m not overdone or anything. The makeup is subtle, but my eyes look bigger and so do my lips.
“Thanks for helping a girl out. I know your man can get grumpy when you’re gone too long.”
“Trust me. It’s a win-win. I finally got to doll you up and my Big will be all over me when I get home.” Big and Amethyst are night and day. Most people mistake her as some supermodel. She has the classic Marilyn Monroe thing going on. Unlike me, she doesn’t have to work on being sexy; she exudes it.
Her man Big is the dark to her light. He’s covered in tattoos and could Hulk smash anyone if he wanted to. It’s really cute seeing them together. He turns to mush for her. He looks at her with so much love.
“Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me anything.”
“If a girl invites a man up to her place after they’ve been hanging out and he turns her down, does that mean he’s not interested?”
“I think that’s a pretty safe bet.”
My heart drops. I had a feeling. Lennon doesn't have a job he had to be up early for. So, it’s not as though that was holding him back. I thought we had fun walking on the beach and talking. We played a hundred questions to try to get to know each other. I might have read the situation wrong. That could be why he was irritated. I kept dragging out the walk and maybe he just wanted to get home.
“Are you thinking about inviting this guy back to your place tonight?”
“No!” Amethyst laughs. “It was just a question is all.”
She stares at me for a long moment. “Wait. Does this have anything to do with Lennon Carver?” My face heats, giving me away. “Glory said you were going to help him out with the benefit for kids he’s having. Are you crushing on him?”
“I think I am, but I’m not so sure he’s into me.” I give her a quick rundown of what’s happened between us so far.
“That’s a tough one. Has he texted you today?” I shake my head no. “He might actually have something going on today. You never know. Lennon isn't the kind of man that will lead you on.”
“How do you know that?”
“We’ve met. His parents and mine run in the same circles.”
“Uber rich?”
“Pretty much. My mom tried to set us up once.” Oh no. I do not like where this is going. “I wasn't into it, but before I could even tell Lennon that, he told me his heart belonged to someone else.” I’m not sure that bit of information makes me feel any better.
“He said he’s never been in love.” The thought of him lying to me makes my stomach uneasy. He doesn’t seem the type to be a liar. It’s not as if he were trying to get in my pants or anything. I mean, I had invited him into my place, and he hadn’t accepted. So, why would he lie about loving someone before.
“For all I know he said it because he didn't want to go on the date either. The Carver men have women throwing themselves at them. He likely thought I was another gold digger like all the rest.” She shrugs. I mean, if he turned down a date with Amethyst then I don’t stand a damn chance.
Women throw themselves at him? He must have his pick of women. I don’t think he’s in the market for a cute girl who has a few quirks. The man is accomplished. I make cupcakes.
“Thanks.” I walk over to my bed, sitting down to put on my silver flats.
“I’m not saying he’s not into you, Willow. I mean, the man showed up here to taste food with you. That’s something.”
“True.” I grab a jacket and my purse to head out. Amethyst walks down with me. I give her a hug before I head down Main Street towards Gino’s. It’s where I’m meeting Steven. I pull out my phone to make sure he hasn't cancelled or something. He hasn't, but I do have a text from Lennon.
Lennon: I have some new ideas. Thought we’d grab dinner and talk about them.
I stare at the text, getting irritated. I shouldn't be, but he clearly thinks I have no social life and that he can pop over whenever he wants.
Me: Can’t tonight. I have dinner plans at Gino’s.
Lennon: Date?
I bite my lip. I see the litt
le bubbles pop up on my screen that tell me he’s typing and then they stop. It happens a few more times before a text finally comes through.
Lennon: Don’t go.
I want to ask why, but I’m almost to the door of the restaurant now.
Me: I’m already here. It would be rude to cancel now. TTYL
I slip my phone into my purse, making my way into the restaurant. “Hey, Brandy. I’m meeting someone.”
“He’s already here.” She points at the table off in the corner. The man’s head is down, and he’s playing with his phone.
“Thanks.”
“He’s hot.” She winks at me. He spots me when I’m almost to the table. He stands.
“Willow?”
“That’s me.” Steven doesn't really look the same as his profile picture. His eyes run up and down me before he smirks. He’s checking me out like a piece of meat or something. I get an uneasy feeling.
“It sure is.” He grabs me, pulling me in for a hug. I stand there stiff as the smell of gross aftershave fills my nose. I pull back, but he keeps hugging me for another second or two. Finally he releases me and pulls out a chair for me.
“Thanks.” I drop down into it.
“You’re a cute little thing. You have got to be new around here.”
“I’ve been here for a few months.”
“Welcome to Gino's. Can I start you off with something to drink?” the server asks.
“I’ll take a whiskey on ice.”
“Water for me, please.”
“That’s no fun. Bring her a glass of one of your Rieslings.” What the heck? This guy is a bit too pushy for me. I’m already regretting this decision.
“I’ll give you a minute to look over the menu. I’ll be back with your drinks in a moment.”
“So you’re from around here?” I try to make small talk.
“I lived here until I was about ten, then my family moved. I recently settled back in town.” That makes sense. This guy is a tool, and I know Glory would not have set me up with him if she knew him. She tends to know everyone and most of their business.
209 Wedding Lane Page 3
