Page 24 of Almost Love

“Right! I’ve got some ideas for donuts.”

She didn’t bother to hide her smile this time and nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. “All right, let me hear them.”

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and thumbed through it almost nervously. She watched him, the way his big hand held the tiny device.What would those hands feel like on me?The thought shocked her enough that she had to look away.

“This is kinda stressful,” he mumbled and glanced at the display that had a handful of donuts left. “What flavors are these, Luna?”

Clementine rolled her eyes and to the young woman said, “Don’t answer that.”

“Jeez, okay. Look, I’m no expert and I don’t even know if these make sense or if you’ve made them before, but I like these flavors and maybe you might too.”

This fumbling and rambling was annoyingly cute, which was another problem. She wanted him to be like every other guy she met, a guy who was only trying to impress her to get her into bed and nothing else; a guy like Xander. Instead, he listened and stepped back when she felt like he was pushing too hard.

Oakley adjusted his glasses and hummed before saying, “Um, okay. Uh…Apple Cider, Baked Lemon, Maple Glazed with Bacon, Key Lime, Chai Spiced, Carrot Cake and uh, Banana Bread.”

She waited until he’d put his phone away and arched an eyebrow. He shuffled on his feet, blush deepening as he adjusted his glasses again. Then his hand moved to rub the back of his neck, drawing her attention to his bicep. This man. He either knew the kind of physical effect he could have on someone, or he was totally clueless. This only endeared her to him even more.

“So, what do you think?”

“You missed one.”

“I did?” He pulled his phone out and shook his head.

“I’m surprised it wasn’t on your list.”

“Which one?”

“You’ll figure it out.”

His eyebrows dipped. “What about the rest?”

“I like them. I’ll share it with the team. We’ll see what sounds good and doable.”

“Really? I thought you’d make decisions around here.”

Clementine shook her head. “There’s no point asking bakers to make something they’d never eat. Where’s the fun in that? Does your boss tell you what to do?”

“Nope. She trusts me.”

“Exactly. I trust my team and they trust me.”

He watched her for a minute and then nodded, the smile returning to his face. “That’s it?”

“Are you expecting a certificate or trophy or something?” He laughed, shaking his head as he dropped his eyes to the floor. “Maybe next time you swing by you’ll find something waiting for you.”

“Like tomorrow?”

She didn’t bother hiding her smirk as she backed away. “You’ll just have to find out. Thanks for coming to see me, Oakley.”

“Always,” he said softly, the most beautiful smile playing on his lips.

She turned around and walked back to the kitchen, shaky hands shoved deep into the pockets of her coat. Her staff were still pondering over the cakes, so Clementine took a few minutes to hide in her office and get her breathing back under control. All Oakley did was show up with a list of donut flavors he thought would be interesting. And her body was fucking betraying her. Once she was steady, she returned to where Roscoe was staring at the whiteboard.

“What do we have?”

“Chai, Hazelnut and Raspberry,” he said. “Everyone insists that the chocolate needs to go one after the other, so the raspberry can come on top or last, but not in the middle.”

“Well, that makes sense. The raspberry could be too tarty of a break between the chocolate. All right, we’ve got our cake.”

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