Page 12 of Almost Love

It had been a long time since someone had taken up so much space in his brain and his day. Jasper had been his last relationship and Oakley had walked away from that bruised and hurting. He knew what it felt like to be so enamored by someone. Everything else ceased to matter. As someone who didn’t usually believe in attraction at first sight, he was alittleworried about how quickly Clementine had snuck her way into his life.

He’d seen her three times before she’d noticed him—three times that he’d witnessed different emotions in one person and liked all of them. He also rarely got tongue tied and awkward around people, but she had rendered him useless when she walked over that first day. She’d done something nobody else had ever done, and that was probably why she was all he thought about.

Was it silly to be focusing on a woman who wanted nothing to do with him? Probably. Oakley had met people who took a long time to warm up to him. Whether it was because of his sunny disposition, arm full of tattoos or because he was far more laid back than most was still unclear. He’d never had someone refuse to be his friend so blatantly. It hurt.

Even now, when he swung by Pretty Baked every morning for his sugar hit, he hoped to see her. But she never surfaced,instead Luna would smile apologetically as she slid the box of donuts over the counter. He was itching to ask if she was around, but knew better. After all, she’d told him in one word that she wasn’t interested and he was respectful enough to not push his luck. It was ridiculous that he missed seeing that scowl and those beautiful eyes framed by perfectly shaped eyebrows.

I really need to find a hobby.

Filling up the last bit of the alligator’s tail, he turned his tattoo machine off and straightened up. He rubbed a fist over his chest, soothing the ache that fluttered in his heart. How couldone personmake him feel so much and have it hurt all at the same time? Yes, he was a romantic, but this reaction was idiotic.

“You good, man?” Sam asked, shooting him a worried look.

“Yup.” He nodded and adjusted his glasses, then nodded at the tattoo. “Have a look.”

Sam rolled off the table and stepped in front of the mirror to examine his new ink. Oakley smiled as he grabbed the basket of cleaning supplies. Sam turned to him with a wide grin and Oakley went through the process of wiping and cleaning up the tattoo, before wrapping it up.

He peeled off his gloves and pushed his glasses up his nose again as he said, “You know the drill, Sam. And swing by if you think it needs a touch up.”

“Thanks, man. You do some really good work.”

He chuckled at the compliment, because all he had to do was bring wacky thoughts to life. Walking out to the front to process the payment, his attention was drawn to a familiar figure in front of the wall of sketches and photographs. Sam was speaking, but he wasn’t listening. Because standing before him was the reason he’d been distracted all week.

“Why don’t you make an appointment and I’ll see you next week,” he said, forcing his eyes away from the brunette for a brief moment.

Once his client was occupied, he turned to look at her. She wasn’t in her usual pastel coat, but this outfit was definitely melting his brain—dark leggings that showed off the shape of her strong legs were tucked into well-worn ankle boots with a short heel and matched with a large black and white flannel. It took everything in him to not go over to make sure she was real.

“I take it from the stupid look on your face, that’sher,” Auburn mumbled from behind him and he chuckled. The sound got Clementine’s attention and she turned to face him, stopping his heart for a moment.Fuck me, she’s so beautiful.He saw the familiar brown box in her hands and blushed at the realization that he was blatantly checking her out.

“I don’t mean to ambush you at work, but uh…I wanted to um…” she started, cleared her throat and shifted on her feet.

He could see how uncomfortable she was with everyone watching, so he hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “Step into my office?”

She nodded and followed as he led the way to his work space. Once the curtain was drawn, blocking out the rest of the shop, he pushed his rolling stool for her to sit and smiled.

“Hi,” he said.

She huffed out a laugh, the action transforming her face and he clenched his fists to stop from grabbing his heart. If she was beautiful when scowling and annoyed, she was breathtaking when she laughed. But almost like she knew she was doing something different with her face, Clementine straightened her expression and sat down.

“I wanted to apologize,” she started and held out the box of goodies. “And bring you this. Special delivery.”

He took the box and flipped it open to find six cupcakes with different colored frosting. “I’m guessing apology cupcakes are better than apology donuts.”

“Well, you wiped out our donut offerings today, so you’re getting the next best thing.”

“You think donuts are superior to everything else too?”

She rolled her eyes, but he saw a hint of her smile. “I believedessertis superior to everything else in the world.”

He laughed and picked up a purple cupcake, peeling off the paper before twisting it around to see how best to eat it. He’d never eaten cupcakes in front of someone before and he definitely didn’t want Clementine to see what kind of an animal he was when it came to baked goods. But before he could take a bite, the cupcake vanished from his hands. He watched as she broke the bottom half off and pressed it over the frosting and held it back to him. He smiled and her eyes widened as she returned to the stool.

“Sorry, I should have asked before touching your food with my bare hands.”

He shook his head and examined what she’d done. “You baked it, you can touch it however you want.”

Pressing her lips together, she looked away and he realized how that statement sounded. Instead of correcting himself, he took a bite of the cupcake and groaned at the moistness and the flavors exploding in his mouth. He inhaled the whole thing in one breath then grabbed a tissue from his workstation and wiped his hands.

“Do you teach everyone how to eat a cupcake?”

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