“You’re looking for a fling, huh?”I say.
“Um... not with you.”
“That’s contrary to what I heard.”
A phone starts ringing, and Emory answers.“Hello?… Now?… Can it wait?… I see. Okay, I’ll be right there.”
“Where are you going?”Joey demands in a high-pitched tone.
“Sorry, apparently we need to bake more goods because there’s a busload of tourists passing by. That’s why Maggie’s not coming to help either. But Cutie will come after lunch.”
With hands on her hips, Joey whines,“Why do you have to do the baking?”
“Believe me, I’d rather stay and watch you get sassy with each other—which I’m starting to believe is your very own version of foreplay.”
Joey glares at her.
“Anyway,”Emory continues,“the tourists are coming because of my Mooner’s Cake that a visitor from Brisbane posted on her social media channels. They want to meet its creator.”Emory pumps her fist.“Eat your heart out, Chelsea Banton. I don’t need you.”
“Mooner’s Cake?”I ask.“I should try it one day.”
Emory grins as she grabs her keys.“If you keep annoying Joey, she might make you eat one. Anyway, I’ll come back later if I finish early at the bakery. See yah!”
I turn to Joey.“You’ll make me eat Mooner’s Cake if I keep annoying you?”
She waves dismissively.“It’s a cake shaped like an ass.”
I arch a brow. “You’ll want me to eat your ass?”
Blush instantly appears on Joey’s face and neck. “No! I’m talking about the message it conveys, which is kiss my ass!”
“Oh.” I grin. “I wouldn’t mind getting a hold ofyourMooner’s Cake.”
She rolls her eyes albeit chuckling reluctantly. “Look, we have a lot of work to do. Since it’s just you and me here, we better get going. We need to finish setting up today because I have classes for the next few days, and the others won’t be available either.”
“Sure, but let’s finish our conversation first.”I lean against the wall and try to engage her with a smile.
“What conversation?”She starts dragging a table closer to the centre.
I help her.“I don’t believe this. Joey Barker is shy? You know I’m not gonna let this go. You said I was hot.”
She scoffs.“All right, fine. I’m attracted to you and you’re attracted to me. But that doesn’t mean I want to have a fling with you.”
“Why not? I thought I was forgiven.”
Facing me fully, she crosses her arms and cocks her head.“You seem keen.”
“Is that even a surprise? Yesterday at your shop should have told you there’s a lot of heat between us. Jesus, Joey, I look at you and firecrackers explode inside my body.”
A slow smile spreads on her face.“Really?”
“Uh-huh,”I say with a deliberate nod.
She paces the big barn, avoiding stuff on the floor while she walks from one side to another.
I take the opportunity to watch her. It’s not often I get the chance to gawk at her openly.
God, she’s lovely. And now that the possibility of taking her to my bed is no longer a pipe dream, there’s no way I’ll be able to get it out of my mind.