Page 8 of Almost Love

“Friends don’t date.”

“I never saiddate. Go somewhere that isn’t your bakery. As much as I like this place, we can’t hang out here forever. I haven’t explored the rest of your fair town yet. You can be my tour guide.”

“Wildes is not big enough for a tour guide.”

“My food guide through Wildes, then,” he said, smiling wide because he knew she would cave. “Come on, show me all the best places to eat in your town, explore what else there is out there. Maybe it’ll even inspire my donut ideas.”

She stared at him a long moment, trying to piece together how this had become her day. She’d gone from hiding in her office every morning for a week to avoid seeing him, to sitting with Oakley for coffee and considering going on a food tour of Wildes. Her body and mind were screamingyes!really loudly, but when Clementine opened her mouth, what came out was, “No.”

His eyes widened, smile fading away for the first time since she’d met him and instantly she felt bad. Even a food tour could turn into a date and she’d been burned by attractive, charming people before. She knew that her crushes could get a little out of hand—my own fault, I know!—and the last thing she wanted was to hurt either of them. It wasn’t fair to accept a date when she didn’t trust herself around him.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she added, trying to justify her response.

He nodded, forcing a smile onto his beautiful face and stood up. “I get it. Have a good day, Clementine.”

“You too.” She sighed as he grabbed his box of donuts and walked out to his Jeep.

Before he could turn around to look at her, she picked up her coffee and went back to her office. Despite what everyone thought about her, she didn’t like hurting people’s feelings.And I still hurt him. She felt a little guilty, but she was only saving them from something worse.

They could be friends, with boundaries, and it would be absolutely fine.

Except, every time she thought about Oakley, her body went through the ‘crush effect’ and it scared the shit out of her.

CHAPTER 3

It had been four days since her interaction with Oakley. That’s what she called it, aninteraction. If she put too much stock into the way he made her feel with his attention, it would break her mission to avoid feelings. That didn’t stop him from coming into the shop regularly. She’d never understood the meaning ofbeing all atwitteruntil she heard her staff huddled together in the kitchen, talking excitedly every day. That was the only warning she had that Oakley had arrived. While someone served him, Clementine hid in her office under the guise of needing to get her recipes perfect.

That afternoon, she slipped in her AirPods so she could experiment with a new recipe while her staff handled everything else. She didn’t always meet with customers, but every now and then, she’d walk out with recommendations. The only time she was completely hands-on was when Frankie or Ginny brought a couple looking for the perfect wedding cake. Otherwise she trusted her staff to look after their customers.

Including the one that had her undies in a twist.

She was trying to bring her rhubarb cake to life, sleeves of her light green chef’s coat pushed up and arms covered in flour and cocoa powder, when a loud squeal pierced through her music.Clementine jumped slightly and looked over her shoulder in time to see a smaller body rush into the kitchen, aimed directly for her. She’d barely gotten her AirPods out when the kid crashed into her thighs.

“Tiny! Tiny! Tiny!”

She laughed, feeling all the tension in her body unravel at the childhood nickname her father gave her and had been adopted by this little hellion. She wiped her hands on a towel and set her AirPods down before stepping back so she could squat, bringing her face-to-face with her favorite kid.

“Hey, Little Dig,” she greeted the blue-eyed, strawberry blond nine-year-old who beamed up at her. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Tiny.”

They hugged and pulled apart as a deep accented voice filled the space. “Indigo, I told you, you’re not allowed to run in this kitchen.”

“I’m sorry, Daddy.”

She tapped Indigo on the nose and earned a giggle before standing up to shoot her best friend a glare. Mack might have been her first awkward kiss, but he would always be herperson. If it wasn’t for Mack, she might not have survived senior year of high school. Or even gone after her dreams to own a bakery. She often referred to him as a soulmate, because she believed that even best friends could be soulmates.

Mack had been a weird looking kid and she used to tease him about it as they grew up. Nobody would ever believe that he’d looked anything other than how he did now—broad shoulders, strong muscled arms and a firm torso. His light brown almost bordering on dark blond hair was a permanent mess and a straight nose balanced out his perfect face. Sparkling blue eyes always narrowed in frustration or lit up with joy because of his kid completed the look.

Their friendship was the gift that she never took for granted. Except for the ten years when he went to Inverness in Scotland to help out his aging grandparents—where he fell in love with a woman, knocked her up, became a dad, and was abandoned shortly after—they saw or spoke to each other almost every day. Mack was always her first call when things got complicated, so he already knew about the wholeOakley Interactionand was probably there to knock some sense into her.

“I believe you still owe me a picture from your holiday,” she told Indigo and pointed to her office. “There’s crayons and a sketchbook in the top drawer.”

Indigo bounced, grinning so wide before turning to Mack. “May I draw Tiny a picture, Daddy?”

“Of course. Remember not to make a mess.” Mack waved them off and Indigo speed walked to the office.

With Indigo out of earshot, she turned to her best friend, taking in the dark circles under his eyes and the exhausted slump of his shoulders. “Are you okay?”

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