Page 84 of Almost Love

He’d had that one explosive orgasm a few nights ago, but it didn’t happen every time. She could feel the relief pouring off of him and that was enough. They experimented and explored different ways to make their heads spin and she savored every minute. She’d been researching a lot and was waiting for the right moment to implement her learnings.

In the meantime, she was enjoying having Oakley’s head buried between her thighs. He was damn good at making her come with his fingers and mouth and driving him wild with her hands around his dick. He knew how to push her right up to the edge and make her scream for more before really giving her what she wanted. She appreciated his thoroughness too. Licking her clean every single time, dipping into her and driving her absolutely wild.

Clementine liked this level of intimacy and was always learning how her body responded to pleasure, how to make him feel the way she did. They knew each other’s limits and mental blocks, they talked it out often and if something didn’t feel right, they moved on. Curling up in his arms was definitely a highlight of her evening. They would attach themselves to each other in the middle of the bed andtalk. Outside of Mack, and sometimes Ginny and Daisy, she didn’t spend too much time talking about her hopes and dreams.

Through all of this, she was definitely ignoring her feelings, because they were dangerously close to tipping over fromliketoloveand that was what scared her the most. Telling him about her history with crushes had been a huge step, but it was also a reminder that more often than not, her crushes turned into heartbreak. Case in point: Xander. Oakley hadn’t shown any signs of being anyone other than who he presented himself to be, but wasn’t that the case with everyone? She chose to believe thathe wouldn’t take advantage of the power he had over her, but the voices in her head sometimes liked to bring her fears to the surface now and then.

Another difference was that Clementine was experimenting with new ideas for her clients the past few weeks. She also introduced tasters for regular customers. Watching Oakley devour the taster slices, she knew others would enjoy it too. Besides, why should only those with weddings on the horizon get to try the delicious creations Pretty Baked made? The one thing she was conscious of was that the cakes were only put into the display caseafterthe couple made their final choice.

The biggest thing was agreeing to be a part of the annual Wildes food festival—Spring Food Fling. They’d been inviting Pretty Baked for years, but she kept finding excuses not to participate. Spring was the most popular time for weddings and she was often drowning in cakes, leaving very little time for anything else. There was also an elitist part of her that believed people who attended the food festival wouldn’t appreciate her baked goods. But the joy she got from watching Oakley and his colleagues at the tattoo shop eat her food made her realize more people would probably feel the same way.

One thing was for certain: her staff was beyond excited.

“This is the best decision you’ve ever made.Afteroffering wedding cakes,” Roscoe said from the opposite side of the big table where they were all gathered to eat breakfast.

Freya nodded. “Agreed. But the more important question is what’s on the menu?”

Clementine looked around the table. “I was hoping you could tell me. This is a big deal for us and each of you has a speciality. So, what are we offering?”

Everyone started shouting options at once and she scribbled them down, not stopping them from offering suggestions that might be slightly out of their wheelhouse.

“I have a question, Chef Kinney,” Luna’s soft voice broke through the melee. At her nod, the blonde tucked her hair back and smiled. “Would you ever maybe consider adding savory pastries to your menu?”

All heads snapped to the young woman and then back to Clementine, who shrugged. “Never thought about it, but I don’t see why not.” She put it on the list, then said, “You know what, let’s make a few samples and if they do well, we can think about it.”

Luna’s beaming smile was all she saw though. As the newest member of the staff, she was careful with her contributions, but Luna was incredibly valuable—she was the first person customers saw when they walked into the shop. Her positive attitude and knowledge of everything in the display cases drew people in effortlessly every single day. Oakley was proof of that.

“All right, we’ve got our usual line-up and possible savory pastries. This list is too long, so we have to cut it down. Remember that we have to churn out larger amounts than we usually do that weekend, with very little time to make fresh batches if we run out. We need to be smart about this.”

A collective hum of acknowledgement went around the table and she added, “I’ll put this list up on the board and I want everyone to vote on what they think makes sense.”

“You got it, chef,” Roscoe said and stood up, clearing up all their plates from breakfast. “Also, big props to Jude for breakfast. That shit was fucking delicious.”

Jude, who was bigger than Roscoe and the sweetest human in her kitchen, blushed as he nodded. Everyone else got up as well and started clearing up, except for Freya, who narrowed her eyes at Clementine.

“Something’s different.”

She tapped her pen against her notebook. “I’ve been thinking about the expansion again.”

“We’ll come back to that in a minute. Is it the tattoo guy?”

“His name is Oakley,” she blurted out and then sighed at Freya’s smug smirk.

“Oh, I know. Luna is his biggest fan. And if he wasn’t in love with you, she would have made her move.”

“He’s not in love with me.”

“Whatever you need to tell yourself to sleep better at night.”

Even though he’d made that passing comment about falling in love with her, she couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not. She was holding her feelings tightly against her chest. Maybe he was too. “I like him, we’re having fun. He’s making me see things differently. That’s all. Is that bad?”

“Nope. I like this version of you. I mean, you’re still frowning more than a person ever should, but you seem lighter.”

“He kind of helps me not take everything too seriously.”

“I’m glad,” Freya said, squeezing Clementine’s arm. “Now, let’s talk about expansions.”

Poring over her notebook and sketches, the two women discussed all of the things that could be done with the shop space. Being locked in both sides meant having to find a new place, which excited Freya. When the other chef went to the kitchen to work, Clementine looked out at the empty bakery and smiled to herself. Oakley probably didn’t even know how much of an impact he had on her. By injecting his happy self into her life, she’d absorbed some of that hope.

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