Page 22 of The Cupcake Cottage

A crowd of men chatting near the counter shifted, parting to let them through, eyeing her and her out-of-place outfit.

“Promise me something,” Maverick murmured in her ear as they waited in line.

“What?”

“You’ll tell me if you want out early. Any reason.”

Her heart dropped. She’d been expecting a sweet something, not a reminder of why they were here in the first place.

“Of course,” she said lightly, hoping her voice didn’t betray her. “And you, too.”

Blindly, Daisy-Mae ordered a hot drink at the long bar, the barista waving off Maverick’s offer to pay. Beside them was a display of beautifully decorated gingerbread men cookies which she knew were there all year and not just when Christmas was slowly approaching.

“Daise?”

She blinked, realizing Maverick had given her a nickname. She didn’t mind it. It was better than Froggy—one he’d tried on eons ago and she’d quickly squelched.

He locked his gaze on hers, sending warmth all the way down to her chilly toes. “I won’t.”

“Won’t what?”

“Want out early.”

“Oh.” She nodded, her head feeling light with the firmness of his answer. “Okay.”

A woman a ways down the bar was sliding closer, her eyes pinned on Maverick. “You’re Maverick Blades, aren’t you?”

Okay, Daisy-Mae could kind of see why the recognition thing got a bit tiring for him. Was it really like this everywhere he went? She’d never noticed it being this bad before.

The woman sat on the stool next to Maverick, one hand casually pulling the hem of her skirt higher, giving him a full view of thigh.

“He’s taken,” Daisy-Mae said, leaning forward to speak around him. She winced, realizing she could be overstepping. But no, they were on a date, and in the eyes of the public, hewastaken. By her.

The woman’s smile fell as she turned to Maverick for confirmation. “Are you?”

“Afraid so,” he said cheerily, sliding an arm around Daisy-Mae’s shoulder and planting a warm kiss on her forehead that made her knees go shaky.

He collected their orders, handing her the medium mocha and keeping the large dark roast coffee with one milk for himself.

“Does that happen often?” she asked, looking over her shoulder as he held the door for her. The flirt was pouting, watching Maverick go. Daisy-Mae knew it wasn’t a terrible view. The man didn’t have any bad angles.

“Does what?” Maverick’s gaze was on her lips as she sipped her drink in the quiet of the sidewalk. Usually there were a few tables out front, but at this time of night they were tucked away inside. “Oh. The paying thing? My buddy Dak owns this place. I helped him find the location and such, and some of the staff know me… so…”

“No,that.” She pointed to the building behind them. “The woman.”

“Oh! Uh, yeah.” He pulled the lid off his coffee and took a long drink despite its heat. “Since Lafayette.”

Daisy-Mae watched him while they walked.

“That type seems to think I’m a bad boy now. They usually flirt to make their husbands jealous and stuff like that. I don’t like to go out much.”

“That doesn’t sound very fun.”

“And so that’s why I’m single.” He laughed, rather good-natured about it all. He sobered quickly. “Or was.” He shot a quick glance her way.

“So women are nuts for bad-boy hockey players?” she asked, intrigued.

“Yeah, and how are you still single? Or were. Until me. With this. Now.”

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