Page 5 of Cookies & Kisses

We try a few more samples, and I avoid any meaningful conversations, keeping things surface. I don’t know how to keep her at a distance without being a little rude, but it’s safest this way. It doesn’t seem to bother her, though.

The final stand is a barbecue, where Aram is grilling up his lamb kabobs and handing them fresh off the grill, wrapped in pita to everyone who passes by.

“Hello, pretty lady,” he says to Madeleine, offering her a miniature sandwich. If he wasn’t seventy years old and happily married, I’d feel almost jealous at the way he’s freely flirting with her.

“Hello, there,” she says, flashing him a smile and accepting his offering. She takes a dainty bite, her eyes widening. “This is incredible. Did you marinate the meat in red wine?”

“I did, I did! For a full twenty-four hours!” He beams with delight, then winks. “I like this one,” he says quietly to me.

My face reddens with heat. “She’s just my assistant,” I say quickly.

“Sure, sure.”

Before I can say more, Ani and Mari, his granddaughters, rush over and knock Madeleine straight into me.

Instincts kick in. I grab her around the waist, holding her tight against me, and her hands go to my chest. Her body fits perfectly against mine, and warmth floods through me, a million times worse than the handshake we shared yesterday. She stares at me, wide-eyed, but I can’t let go.

“Assistant, my foot,” Aram mutters.

That does the trick. I separate myself from Madeleine and school my expression back to neutral, pretending I’m not anywhere near as affected as I feel.

Ani and Mari squeeze Aram around the waist, completely unaware of what’s going on between me and Madeleine.

“Girls! Careful with the fire!” Aram scolds them.

“We want kabob!” they squeal.

Aram chuckles and gets them each a piece of meat and bread, and they rush off. Madeleine watches them with a smile, then looks concerned. “Where are their parents?”

Aram shrugs. “I’m sure they’re around somewhere. But it doesn’t matter. This is Brookhaven. Children are safe here.”

Her eyes soften, and I see her take a deep breath. “That’s beautiful.” She looks at me and smiles warmly. “I’m glad to hear it.”

The town is growing on her, and unfortunately, she’s growing on me.

I’m in trouble.

After that final stand,I made sure to send Madeleine back to her parents, making an excuse that I needed to get to work on some cookies. She’s working her way into my thoughts and my heart, and I can’t have that.

This is dangerous.

I headed back to Cookies, and now I’m cutting cold butter into my chocolate chip cookies (the secret to their perfect texture), convincing myself of all the reasons I need to stay away from Madeleine. Because today was almost…fun.And I can’t havefunwith Madeleine. We need to have a professional relationship, one where I keep her at an arm’s length and NOT pressed up against my body.

Because that sensation is one I’m having a hard time forgetting.

So here’s the reasons I’ve come up with:

She’s way too young for me. Seven years is pretty significant.

And she’s inexperienced. Sure, maybe she’s worked in a few fancy bakeries, but that doesn’t mean she has the talent I’m looking for.

Not that I’m looking for anything.

And beyond everything else, she’s a distraction.

Dang it. Speaking of distractions, now the butter is melted all over my fingers. I’m so caught up in my thoughts, I’ve ruined this batch of dough.

I set it aside, but instead of starting again, I head to my office and sit at my computer.

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