Page 29 of Sweet Spot

Chapter Twenty-One

Macy

I was doing it again. It seemed I was seriously going to have to consider moving Sweet Spot to another location just so I wouldn't waste work time watching for Chase to come out of his building. After an incredible deluxe massage at the hands of a true master, I'd drifted into such a deep, much needed sleep that I slept straight through until my alarm woke me at four.

Chase had been long gone, but the scent of lavender still permeated my room and my skin. I had almost hated to take a shower because I could still feel his hands on me smoothing the oil over my skin and I wanted to hang on to the incredible feeling.

It was an hour after opening, the early commuter rush was just slowing, but Chase had still not emerged, assuming he was in his penthouse. That prickling sensation that struck me every time I imagined him up there entertaining one of his many women friends resurfaced. There was every chance that he had someone up there with him. And I couldn't blame him. I now knew what it was like to be taken to the height of arousal, where nothing else would do for an ending other than an orgasm. Last night, I had seen the thick bulge in his pants when he stood over my bed. I found it hard to believe that I could possibly be stimulation for him. I had seen the two women he had on his arms the first day I met him, and I felt utterly out of their league. On top of that, I was an inexperienced ninny in the bedroom. But I hadn't expected the erection. He had taken excellent care of my needs and had left my house with no satisfaction of his own. It seemed depressingly likely that he would have gone home to find some of that satisfaction with someone else.

Harlan, an office manager from the building two blocks down and a regular customer, walked up to the stand. "The usual, Macy."

"Sure thing." I pulled a box out from under the counter and unfolded it.

"Looks like we might get some rainy weather later," he noted.

"Yeah, I hope it stays away until I'm done packing up for the day. Oh, I'll need to start a new pot of coffee. You want four, right?"

"Yes, please." Harlan pulled out his cell phone for a conversation, and I turned to the coffee station to start a new pot. I had to lug gallons of water along with me each morning to fill the pots. An arduous task, made more difficult by the fact that I had to park a good block away. I'd invested in a solid rolling cart, but I still had to make three trips to the car to get all my supplies to the stand for the day. Chase had brought up the idea of hiring someone to help and the truth was, I really needed it, but there was just no way to do it without the business going belly up. As it was, I was just scraping by.

I finished with the coffee and turned back to Harlan. He had moved off to the side to finish his call, but someone else was standing at the counter. My heart stuttered in my chest, and a low sinking feeling filled my stomach.

"Trevor, what are you doing here?"

He had changed his hair. It was shorter. It was hard to know why I was ever attracted to him in the first place. He pushed his expensive sunglasses onto his head and looked pointedly up at the sign. Then he swept a sneering gaze around my tiny kiosk. "It's hardly the bakery you always dreamed about."

"Yes, I had to change a lot of my dreams, thanks to you. But I'm doing just fine."

"Are you?" I realized I also hated the sound of his voice. Was his tone always that arrogant?

Harlan returned for his order.

"I've got work to do, Trevor. Nice seeing you. Now go away."

Harlan's eyes widened at my comment to a presumed customer. "My ex-fiancé," I muttered with just enough disgust to let him know the man had deserved my rudeness. Harlan seemed to understand and nodded. I filled his coffee order and tried hard to ignore the shadow looming over my cart. Apparently, my blunt, simple message telling him to go away was too hard to comprehend.

I finished with Harlan. He shot me a wink before walking away. Trevor decided he had the right to walk around to my side of the stand. I found myself jammed in the tight space with the one person who I hated more than anyone. Had he always worn that foul smelling aftershave or did it just smell bad now because the man wearing it was such a pig?

"I need you to get out of this kiosk now."

Trevor took hold of my hand, but I yanked it away.

"Macy, let's get together and talk about this. I've changed. I'm working out my problems, and I think you need me."

I laughed. "I don't need you. Oh my god, if there's one thing on this entire planet that I do not need it's you. I don't ever want to see you again. Now get out of this kiosk."

"She asked you to get out. I suggest you do that." Chase's deep, smooth voice was the perfect contrast to Trevor's grating, arrogant tone.

I looked at him. His green eyes were normally sparkling with humor, but this time they were dark with anger. The muscle in his jaw twitched, and somehow his shoulders, now tense with anger, managed to look even broader than normal.

Trevor looked at him and his brows twittered with annoyance. But there was also a glint of fear in his face, something I'd never seen before. "Sorry, dude, this is between us, so why don't you go back to wherever you came from."

"I'm not going anywhere." Chase cocked his head just slightly. He stood silently, his jaw clenched, waiting for Trevor to step out.

Trevor looked at me. "Are you sleeping with this jackass?"

"It's none of your damn business what I do. You have no part in my life. Now get out of here, so I can run my business."

Trevor's harsh laugh rocked my small stand. "Do you think I'd actually want you now that you're damaged goods? Whore."

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