Page 21 of If You Loved Me

Time seemed to drag as the man stepped to the side of the counter, clearly waiting for something. And the woman in front of me finally placed her order before it was my turn. I glanced behind me to see if anyone was waiting and loosed a breath as I noticed it was just me tailing the line.

“Stephanie, do you mind checking on those cookies? I can take his order.”

The girl, whose name was Stephanie, looked at me with a wide smile before saying, “Sure,” and scurrying through the door.

“Hi,” Sarah looked up at me through thick lashes, that deep blush on her cheeks remained and I felt myself wanting to reach out and feel the heat of her skin against my palm.

Instead, I dove my closed fists into my jeans pockets and said, “Hey, looks like you’re pretty busy today.”

She looked around the bakery, taking notice of all the tables filled with patrons. “Yeah, it’s kind of surprising to be this packed on a weekday.”

“Your sweets are hard to resist.”

Those brown eyes widened at me and I could see the flecks of green and yellow dancing in her irises, like changing leaves on a tree falling to the earth.

“You liked the blueberry muffins then?” Her voice was barely above a whisper, but the sultry tone had my cock twitching against the fly of my jeans.

“They were the best I’d ever had. Just don’t tell my sister. She prides herself in her baking skills and I wouldn’t want her to feel bad.” I winked at her and the smile she shot me back nearly knocked the breath from my lungs. This woman was gorgeous, but I had a feeling there was more to her than what met the eye and that meant trouble for me because I wasn’t the guy a girl like her dated. Even if she did blush in my presence.

This is fun, I told myself. And that’s all it could be.

She pinched her thumb and forefinger together before running them over those perfect pink lips. “My lips are sealed. I won’t tell a soul.”

For some reason, I believed her.

“What can I get you today?”

Leaning back, I looked at the case of treats even though I already knew what I wanted. “How about another dozen of those blueberry muffins?”

“Sure thing.”

I followed her to the case where she carefully crafted the box and started filling it with the muffins. “I think I saw your sister at the farmer’s market last weekend.”

“Yeah, she started taking her harvest there to sell to help fund her winery.”

“She’s opening up a winery? Here in Pebble Brook Falls?” Her voice rose an octave.

“I just finished helping her run the wire last week and she did her first pruning. I think she’ll be ready to start making wine by next fall.”

“Oh my gosh, that’s amazing. A winery would do so well here. Is she planning on offering tastings?”

“Probably not right away, but it’s definitely in her plan. She’s even talking about building an event barn to host weddings and some other events.”

“She sounds like a girl after my own heart. Who doesn’t love wine and weddings?” The moment the words left her mouth her cheeks flushed again and she looked away from me, focusing on filling the rest of the box until she placed the final one in, folded the lid down, and handed it to me.

“Thank you. And you’re right you know.”

She raised her eyebrows.

“About wine and weddings. Anyone who doesn’t love both those things is a fool.” Her entire face lit up like a sunrise breaking through the fog of a hazy morning. Beautiful. So damn beautiful.

A noise that sounded like a hog grunting caught my attention and I turned around to find the line had picked up again and all the soured faces told me if I didn’t move my ass a riot might break out.

I turned back to Sarah and swiped my card. “Thanks again. The last box didn’t make it through the day and I’m sure this one won’t either.”

“It was good to see you, Ranger.” When she said my name, something in me cracked wide open like a dam breaking loose after too many years of holding the weight of rushing water. It was so startling I caught myself standing there—completely unable to move as I stared at this bright wonderful woman.

The only thing running through my mind was that if I came too close to her light, I’d ruin it. My shadows were too dark. Too fucked up.

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