As soon as the words left her mouth, the door swung open and a big group came in, somewhat chaotically as they shuffled past each other in the doorway and then spread out. There were three women and five kids. Crystal’s mouth fell open in such a comical way that Ruth burst out laughing.
As soon as she got control of her mirth, she said, “Welcome to Sugar Lips Cookie Company.”
The older woman in the group, probably the kids’ grandma, smiled but was too distracted by the kids pointing out cookies to respond. The two other women were obviously the mothers of the group. To Ruth’s surprise, they grinned at her in a very pointed way.
“Hello,” the taller one said, heading straight toward her. “I’m Lori, Mason Baker’s sister. And this is Tonia, our sister-in-law.”
“Hey,” Tonia said.
Both of them were looking her over too curiously for it to just be casual interest.
“Well, hello,” Ruth said to Lori. “I was wondering why you looked so familiar. I’m Ruth.”
Lori laughed. “I know. This is too exciting.” Tonia elbowed her so she rolled her eyes and added, “Sorry. We don’t mean to be so weird. It’s just that we’ve heard your name every time we’ve seen Mason lately, and then that picture on Facebook popped up. We had to come meet you.”
Ruth felt her face go pale. “Oh. Um…”
Crystal laughed beside her but pressed her lips together when Ruth glared at her. “I’m going to go help the kids over there,” she said, slinking away.
Shifting her feet, Ruth tried to figure out how to deal with this situation. “Look, I get the impression that you think Mason and I are…that we’re…dating.” She had to pause for breath at that point. Holy awkwardness. “But we’re not.”
“Oh, I know that,” Lori said. “But there’s no doubt in my mind that Mason is interested in you. And that is amazing. He’s never told us much about his dating life, but from what we can tell, he hasn’t dated anyone seriously since he started culinary school. We’ve been worried about him since he works so much that he doesn’t have a social life. The fact that he’s looking up from his chocolate to notice a woman is exciting.”
Tonia shook her head at Lori and said, “Don’t let her freak you out. As much as Lori wants to play matchmaker, we’re just going to buy some cookies and go away again.”
Ruth managed to smile. “I’ll be happy to sell you cookies. As for the rest, well…I think you’re probably reading too much into things.”
Lori leaned over the counter and said, “But if he did ask you out, what would you say?”
Feeling like she’d been sucker-punched, Ruth just stared at her.
Meanwhile, Tonia stepped back and took a picture of her and Lori. She worked on her phone for a few seconds. Ruth noticed but couldn’t focus on that when Lori was still waiting for an answer.
“I might,” she said at last, her voice so quiet she realized Lori might not have even heard. She made her voice louder. “Maybe.”
Before Lori could say anything, the door burst open with more force than usual. Ruth looked up and nearly died when she saw Mason striding in like a storm cloud.
“What are you all doing here?” he asked.
Ruth watched the way his family reacted, trying to figure out what on earth was going on. Lori smirked, Tonia bit her lip, his mom looked confused, but all five of the kids turned from the cookies and ran for Mason.
He hugged and greeted them all but in a distracted way. He met her eyes over their heads with an expression that was both a question and an apology. “Are you guys picking out cookies? You’d better hurry—you don’t have much time left.” He looked at his sister. “Before you leave.”
Lori grinned at him, totally unrepentant. “I’m not in any hurry.”
Mason shook his head and stuffed his hands in his pockets as if he’d given up and walked over to his Mom. “So, what’s this? You can buy Ruth’s cookies but not my chocolate?”
His mom smiled, responding to the teasing note in his voice. “Why would I buy from you when you bring me chocolate for free all the time?”
He gave her a hug. “Fine. But you’re going to stop in and see me, right? I wouldn’t have even known you were here if Tonia hadn’t texted me.”
“Of course. As soon as we’re done here. Aren’t these cookies beautiful? I can’t believe I’ve never come here before.”
“Wait till you taste them,” Mason said, smiling across at Ruth. “They’re life-changing.”
Ruth bit her lip to control her smile before it turned into an idiotic grin. “Thanks.” She didn’t know how much longer she could suffer through Lori’s perceptive gaze as she looked between the two of them. “What can I get for you ladies?”
Toni stepped up to the counter and pointed. “I want one of those gingerbread snowflakes.”
Mason lingered for a few minutes, helping the kids make their choices then waited by the door as if he wanted to shoo his family outside. The whole time, Ruth felt electrified and bewildered.
Soon, their cookies were boxed up and paid for. Lori was the last one out the door, and as she left, she called back, “Hope to see you again soon.”
“Me too,” Ruth answered. Then she looked at Mason and raised her eyebrow.
He shook his head slowly back and forth. “Meet you after work to talk?”
“It’s fine—”
“Please?”
Why did it feel like talking would be significant somehow? Gathering her courage, she nodded. “Okay.”
As Mason closed the door and followed his family down the sidewalk to his store, Ruth could feel Crystal’s eyes on her. “Ugh! Stop staring already. I feel like I’ve been under a microscope since they got here.”
“Oh my gosh. I knew it. Mason has a thing for you.”
“He does not.”
“Oh, come on. That would have been obvious to a five-year-old.”
“That stupid Facebook photo just gave his sister the wrong idea.”
Crystal crossed her arms over her chest. “Then why was Mason so worried about what you thought?”
Ruth rolled her eyes. “Because how awkward would it be for him if I thought he liked me when he didn’t? Let’s refill the display cases.”
With a gusty sighed, Crystal followed her into the back. “I don’t know if you’re just lying to me because you don’t want to talk about it, or if you’re lying to yourself. But will you just consider something?”
“What?”
“Open up to possibilities.”
“Crystal, have you ever heard the term out of my league?”
“He’s not.”
“He was in high school. And what has changed since then?” She held up her hand to stop Crystal from interrupting her. “He’s hotter than ever and I’ve gained about thirty pounds, that’s what. He’s lived in foreign countries and I’ve never left Willow Falls. And he’s probably had loads of girlfriends while I have only ever had a few failed attempts at dating guys I wasn’t even attracted to.”
Crystal was silent. “Okay, that’s just sad.”
Ruth closed her eyes and nodded. “Tell me about it.”
“But that doesn’t mean Mason doesn’t see how incredible you are.”
“It does mean that I’m not ready to let myself hope just because his sister wants to be a matchmaker.”
“Just trust me, okay? I can see the way he looks at you.”
She felt a sharp, tight sensation in her chest that she thought might be hope. “And how is that?”
“Like you’re a chocolate he wishes he could taste but doesn’t dare.”
“Why doesn’t he dare?” Ruth realized how loud her voice had gotten and lowered it. “Not that I want him to taste me. That’s weird.”
“Okay, so the metaphor isn’t perfect. I just mean that if you give him a little bit of encouragement, you just might be surprised.”
Chapter Ten
Mason couldn’t believe Lori had come down here to see Ruth. And then she wouldn’t even t
ell him what they’d been talking about when he’d come in. From the laughter in her eyes, he could tell she’d been up to something.
In the wake of the disaster Lori had created, he knew he had to fix things with Ruth. And maybe, just maybe, if he could see some sign that she was as interested in him as Lori said she was, he might try to take a step forward.
When he locked up his store for the night, he went over to her place. As he stepped inside, he paused to take a deep breath. Already the smells and atmosphere of her kitchen felt more like home then his apartment. The sweet, buttery scent of cookies permeated the air as if they’d just come out of the oven, but the counters were clean of the day’s work. The only light came from the Christmas tree lights in the front—a distant sparkle of colors through the window in the swinging door—and a bluish light from her office.
Walking over to it, he leaned against the doorway and enjoyed the sight of her face lit up by the screen of her laptop as she entered numbers on a spreadsheet in the near darkness. She must have been too caught up in her work to notice him at first, so he cleared his throat softly.
She looked up immediately. “Oh, hey.”
“Hey. I hope you don’t mind me coming in.”
“Of course not. I left it open for you. Usually, I lock up when I’m alone here at night.”
“Good. Do you have much more to do?”
She shook her head and closed the laptop. “No. I was just working on that while I waited.”
With the light from her screen gone, there was only the small desk lamp to light the room. The space felt intimate and secluded from the world, the air around them hushed as if it too was waiting. But where did he go from here?
“I wanted to apologize for Lori. If she made you uncomfortable in anyway, I’m sorry. She’s always been like a bull when she went after something.”
Ruth stood and moved closer. Searching his eyes. “And what does she want?”
He took a deep breath. It was time to take the leap. “She thinks that I should find what will make me happy. For a long, long time, that has been my career. Since meeting you, I’ve realized that won’t be enough. I’m just not sure…”
Looking down, Ruth stepped back and folded her arms across her chest in a protective gesture. “You’re not sure about what?”
Shoot. He was already screwing this up. “How to date someone who’s as busy as I am—someone who sees me as a competitor. And to be real, if you distract me this much when we barely even know each other, how would I get anything done if we were dating?”
To his surprise, she looked up again as she chuckled softly. “Sounds like you have as many concerns as I do, mostly the same ones. So, what are we going to do?”
“What if we stop over-thinking this and just go with what feels right?”
“That sounds good. Where do we start?”
“I don’t know where we should start. I just know where I want to.”
“Where?”
He should have been nervous, terrified, that this was the wrong move to make. But moving towards her and taking her in his arms just felt so right. In that moment, there was nothing between them, no one to see them, and the time was all theirs. He raised his hand to cup her face and brushed his thumb across her bottom lip. His voice was soft as he asked, “How about here?”
In answer, she closed her eyes and waited. She stood still and lovely like a statue waiting to be awakened, her fair skin glowing in the lamplight. But no statue was this soft and warm.
Caught up in her perfection, he paused too long so that she opened her eyes again. He saw the hurt in them—saw her withdrawing.
“Ruth, no.” Then he bent swiftly, tilting her face up to meet his again, and pressed his lips to hers.
In the rush, he hadn’t prepared himself for the impact of kissing her—though in reality, how could he have? It felt as if his soul had burst open like an exploding star. He held still, savoring the feelings and sensations coursing through him. Then slowly, gently, he tugged softly on her bottom lip with both of his.
She responded by leaning even further into his embrace and sweeping her mouth across his in a caress that shattered the last of his restraint. He’d meant this kiss to be brief and careful, but her touch had driven all those intentions from his mind.
Running his hands down her arms, he shifted them to the curve of her waist and pulled her firmly to his chest, bracing her there by smoothing his hands around her back. Angling his head, he deepened the kiss, exploring every dip and curve of her mouth, but keeping himself focused on her every reaction.
Even lost in the heady experience, he knew the second she began to pull back. Relaxing his arms, he let her go and ended the kiss with a gentle peck at the corner of her mouth.
She stayed in the circle of his arms, breathing as heavily as he was, and staring at his chest instead of meeting his eyes. More than anything, he just wanted to know what she was thinking. But he also didn’t want to break the moment. Words might ruin the magic that swirled between them.
In the end, it was Ruth who spoke first. “So, about over-thinking…?”
“Yeah?”
“I wish I could just shut my brain off right now.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to know how that was for you.”
“For me?” He tried to think of the right words to explain how he’d just felt. Her description of his chocolate came back to him then, something he would never forget. “It was impressive. Complex but still delicate. And just the right amount of sweetness.”
“What in the world?” But then as if it clicked in her mind, she chuckled—a gurgling sort of sound. As she leaned her forehead against his shoulder, her chuckle grew into a laugh that shook her whole body. “That was not what I was expecting.”
He smiled, even though she couldn’t see it, and kissed the top of her head. “No? What were you expecting?”
“I don’t know.” Her laughter stopped as if it had been smothered. “I’ve never kissed anyone before—well, not like that anyway.”
“Neither have I.”
She looked up and rolled her eyes. Pushing back against his chest she said, “Whatever. I bet you’ve kissed like that a dozen times.”
His arms felt empty without her, but more than his own desire to hold her again, he wanted to reassure her—because there was a scared, wounded note in her voice that was unmistakable.
“But never like that. And I have never compared a kiss to chocolate before.” He reached out and nudged her chin up. “And you know how I feel about chocolate.”
“I do, but…Mason, I think I need to go home.”
“What’s wrong?”
“We shouldn’t have done that. Not yet. Maybe not at all.”
Feeling as if he was walking on a tightrope, Mason said, “Look, I know this is going to be tricky, but if you’re worried about something more than our hours and being competition—though I still say that isn’t a big deal—”
“Yeah, well you haven’t had sales in your biggest month drop while the guy next door can barely keep in stock.”
“Is that what it is then?”
“No. I mean, maybe a little, but mostly it’s—Mason, it’s just crazy that this is happening and I’m not sure I can trust it. It’s hard to forget what you thought of me in high school, so how can I believe that you might be interested in me now?”
His eyebrows drew together as he tried to figure out what she meant. “What do you think I thought of you in high school?”
“According to your words, there was no way you’d ever date me.”
“What? I said that?” Mason was more than appalled at his younger self. He was sick.
“I heard one of your friends teasing you because you hugged me after our English project. I have to admit that I was on top of the world that day, but then you said, ‘Ruthie Haynes? No way. Are you kidding?’ And so, yes, I know how you felt about me then.”
Mason stared at her, desperately wishing he could cut tha
t from her memory and heart. “Wow. I knew I could be a jerk back then, but, man…I’m so sorry. Whatever I said to my buddies, I always thought you were pretty.”
“I just wasn’t one of the popular kids.”
He clenched his jaw and nodded. “So stupid. But, Ruth, surely you know I’m different now.”
“Yes, but in ways, you’re exactly the same—so charming and good-looking. Everything comes so easily for you.”
Reaching out, he took her by the shoulders. “Things do not come easily to me. I just don’t stop until I get what I want.” He hoped she sensed the deeper meaning behind his words.
“I just need some time to get my head straight,” she said. “There’s a lot to think about—and let go of. You know?”
He nodded and sighed. “I understand. Okay, so let’s put this kissing thing in a box and pack it away for now. You let me know when and if you’re ready to open it back up.”
“Okay.”
“And if you want to punch me for being such jerk in high school, go for it.”
She looked surprised for a moment, then laughed. “Don’t tempt me.”
“I’m serious. Give it your best shot.”
A second later, her arm shot out and her fist landed squarely in his solar plexus. Caught off guard because he hadn’t expected her to actually do it, he didn’t brace against the impact and let out a sharp ooph as it knocked the wind out of him.
While he caught his breath, she said, “That did make me feel better.”
Mason rubbed his stomach. “I’m glad. Can’t say it had the same effect for me.”
But then she laughed, and Mason didn’t even try to stop the smile spreading across his face. How did she do that to him, even after punching him in the gut? Want me to walk you to your car?”
“Sure. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Even though it’s clear you don’t need any protection. Dang.”
Chapter Eleven
Ruth wasn’t sure what the protocol was for calling a guy you’d kissed, freaked out on, and then punched in the stomach.
Hopefully, the fact that Mason had made a point of giving her his number before they said goodnight meant he wanted her to use it.
Sugarplums and Mistletoe Page 6
