Page 2 of If You Loved Me

In fact, I was fairly certain I hadn’t told a soul about my crush on Ranger. I knew part of the reason I didn’t was that my parents would have thrown a fucking tantrum if they’d found out that their child had the potential to be tainted by the town’s notorious bad boy. God. I could see my mother’s face right now with her pursed lips and crimson cheeks stained from anger.

No. I kept that little factoid to myself—even hiding it from my best friend.

But I was doing a crap job of hiding it right now when the man was two feet away from me.

I shook my head, finally finding my words. “What I meant to say is that I wasn’t expecting anyone. But I have plenty of options in the container from yesterday if you don’t mind having something that isn’t fresh from the oven.”

Why am I sweating?Beads of perspiration gathered under my arms. I tried to play it cool as I clamped my biceps against my ribcage, hoping the sweat wouldn’t show under my black long-sleeve shirt.

Ranger slid his gaze toward the glass display case, giving me a moment to really take him in. I’d only seen him up this close at Deacon’s summer bonfire over a year ago. There were a few times when I’d seen him around town with his sister and each time I tried not to act like a total stalker by staring at him.

Just like I was doing right now.

But I couldn’t help it. With his black cowboy hat, thick eyebrows that matched his inky locks, and wide shoulders with sculpted muscles that were barely hidden beneath his black flannel…he looked like Rip from fuckingYellowstone.My mouth watered with thoughts of what it would be like to sit inhissaddle. What his calloused hands might feel like against my sensitive nipples as he palmed my breasts.

“…twelve of these.”

Shit.

“What?” I blurted out. I hadn’t heard the first part of his sentence because I was too wrapped up in fantasies that would never happen. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t catch the first part of what you said.”

He trained those dark eyes on me and I swear he leaned closer. Or maybe it was just my imagination. My desire to be closer to him made my brain think he wanted the same thing.

His lips split into a lopsided smile that gave me the tingles right between my thighs. “Your blueberry muffins. I’ll take a dozen of them.”

“Blueberry muffins,” I repeated as I gawked at him.

“Yup,” he replied, his smile growing wider which made the edges of his eyes crinkle in the most endearing way.

I felt myself nodding as I moved to grab a box from the shelf behind me and somehow my feet got so twisted over one another that I ended up stubbing my toe against the brick wall.

“Fuck,” I hissed, drawing my leg upward and bouncing around on my other foot.

“Are you okay?” Ranger came around the counter, arms extended like he was going to catch me.

“Yup!” I shoved my hands toward him to ward him off, feeling completely flushed at the thought of his arms wrapping around me.

“I got it. I’m good.” I sucked in a lungful of air before I tested my right foot on the ground. My big toe was a little sensitive from the hit it just took, but otherwise, I was good to stand on it.

“Okay,” he chuckled.

“Let me get you those muffins.” I avoided looking at him as he slowly made his way to the patron side of the counter again.

When I was hidden behind the glass case I quietly chastised myself. Since when had I become this groveling woman who couldn’t keep her wits about her in the presence of a handsome man? I was a business owner. A badass baker. I had a lot going for me. So what if I hadn’t felt a guy’s lips pressed against mine since I was in my late teens? I’d been focused on building something for myself. Breaking out of the mold my parents squeezed me into.

Taking a deep breath, I started placing the blueberry muffins into the box.

I popped my head over the case and asked, “Would you like me to keep one out for you to take on the road?”

His answer was immediate. “That would be great.” The shadow of his cowboy hat slid over his eyes, making them even darker. So much life danced in those irises and I felt myself being pulled to start asking him all the questions Iheard the townsfolk murmuring about when he was released last year.

I wasn’t one to watch the news, but when his trial went live the entire town was up in arms about it. I guess that’s what happened when one of the town’s richest families had a son who got his face beat in by the guy from the wrong side of the tracks.

Some even said that Ranger should have moved away. That he and his sister were rotten.

Looking at him now, I knew that wasn’t true. Behind the mysterious allure, there was kindness. And I knew there was more to the story than him just beating up LeRoy Cummings. Ranger didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would put his hands on someone else unless they deserved it.

Or maybe I was a fool trapped in his charms.

---