Page 3 of The Hockey Contract

"You're the one who told off Jax Harrison," another girl said. "That video is everywhere. We had to come see the bakery for ourselves."

For the next few hours, we experienced an unexpected surge of customers, all there because of my sidewalk confrontation with Jax. By closing time, we'd sold out of nearly everything, something that hadn't happened in months.

"See?" Chloe said as we cleaned up. "All you had to do was publicly humiliate a local celebrity, and boom, business is booming."

I chuckled. "Yeah, for today. Tomorrow they'll move on to the next viral sensation." I wiped down the counter with more force than necessary. "Besides, even if every single one of those people came back daily for a month, it wouldn't come close to what I need."

"I know," Chloe said gently. "But it was nice to see the place full again, wasn't it?"

I had to admit it was. For a few hours, I'd remembered why I loved this place so much—the joy of watching people enjoy my grandmother's recipes, the comfort of creating something delicious with my own hands.

Later that evening, I took Sprinkles, my golden retriever, for her evening walk in the park. The spring evening was mild, cherry blossoms scenting the air as we wandered along the paths. Sprinkles was more interested in squirrels than exercise, stopping every few feet to investigate an intriguing smell.

"Come on, girl," I urged, tugging gently on her leash. "Let's at least pretend we're getting some actual walking done."

"Trouble keeping up with you, is she?"

I froze at the familiar voice, then slowly turned to find Jax standing a few feet away. He'd changed out of his coffee-stained clothes into joggers and a fitted hoodie that did nothing to hide his athletic build. My stomach did an annoying little flip.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, defensive.

He held up his hands in a gesture of peace. "Just out for a run. And..." He hesitated, looking uncomfortable. "I wanted to apologize for this morning. I was rushing to an important meeting, but that's no excuse for being rude."

His apology caught me off guard. "Oh? Well, I'm sorry too, about your jacket."

An awkward silence fell between us. I wasn't sure what else to say to the man I'd been mentally cursing all day.

"So," he finally said, gesturing to Sprinkles, who was now sniffing his running shoes with great interest. "This is your dog?"

"No, I just kidnapped her for the evening," I deadpanned. "Yes, this is my dog. Sprinkles."

His lips twitched. "Sprinkles?"

"I'm a baker. It's on-brand."

"I suppose it is." He cautiously extended a hand toward Sprinkles, who took this as an invitation to launch herself at him, her front paws landing on his thighs with enough force to make him stumble back.

"Sprinkles, no!" I yanked on her leash, but the damage was done. Muddy paw prints now decorated his previously immaculate joggers. "I'm so sorry, again. She gets excited around new people."

To my surprise, Jax let out a short laugh. "It's fine. Though I'm starting to think you've trained her to target my wardrobe."

I laughed too. "If I had that kind of control over her, she wouldn't be dragging me toward every squirrel in the park."

He brushed ineffectually at the mud on his pants. "Well, at least mud washes out easier than coffee."

"Good to know I've ruined your day on a sliding scale of laundry difficulty."

His eyes met mine, and for a moment, I glimpsed amusement behind the ice. But it vanished quickly, replaced by his usual guarded expression.

"I should get going," he said, taking a step back. "Enjoy your walk."

Chapter 2: Jax

I returned to my waterfront mansion, my mind oddly preoccupied with the baker. Her name was Sienna, according to the viral video captions. Something about her sharp retorts and refusal to be intimidated had gotten under my skin.

"Focus, Harrison," I muttered to myself as I punched in the security code and pushed open the door to my home.

The house was exactly as I'd left it. Immaculate, monochromatic, and empty. The cleaning service had been by, and everything was polished to perfection. I kicked off my muddy running shoes and headed straight for the shower, stripping off my clothes and leaving them in a pile on the bathroom floor.

---