Page 16 of One Sweet Match Up

Donovan followed her over. “What’s wrong?”

“Emma and Abby are going to kill us.” She dropped to the floor, picking up the spoon with both hands and holding each end high in the air.

4

Donovan gavehis lunch order of a BBB Burger, fries, and vanilla milkshake to Betty and glanced outside at the tall, white mounds across the street. It’d been one week since the wicked snowstorm had torn through the town, dumping more than two feet of snow. Things were finally starting to get back to normal.

And that meant no more random evenings spent locked in the Sugar Spoon. He couldn’t help but chuckle. What an unexpected night that turned out to be. Being stranded in a bakery had been a first.

Strike that. Being stranded in a bakery with a beautiful woman who’d given him the best kiss of his life had definitely been a first.

And one he wouldn’t mind repeating, but maybe sans the blizzard and maybe with a little less hocus pocus.

Abby hadn’t taken the news well that he’d 1) gotten the mixing spoons out of the safe and 2) broke the blue one, but she’d said they’d figure it out once Emma returned later in the week.

And she’d made it perfectly clear that to make up for his shenanigans he would be cooking her his special pasta with Bolognese sauce for the duration of her pregnancy.

He accepted his punishment and promised to keep Abby and her unborn baby full for the next few months. His gaze bypassed Ralph’s Pizzeria, landing on the Ice Heaven’s neon blue sign. Although, technically,hehadn’t been the one to break the blue spoon.

True. However, if he hadn’t suggested to Zoe that they kiss, it might still be intact.

But then he wouldn’t have felt the instant pleasure of her mouth on his.

He brushed his thumb over his bottom lip.Totally worth it.

The minute her lips crashed onto his, he’d had to restrain every muscle not to pull her into his arms and kiss her into the morning. He wanted her that much.

He didn’t quite understand what had come over him. It wasn’t like he hadn’t made out with other beautiful women, because there had been many over the years.

But none of them had caused his heart to beat as fast as it had in response to Zoe kissing him back.

He shook his head. It didn’t really matter. He was pretty sure she’d only done it to get one thing.

While he’d like to think she’d wanted to lock lips with him specifically, he wasn’t a total idiot. The only reason she did it was because he’d planted the seed that maybe if they kissed Will’s name wouldn’t show up in her batter, proving the mechanic wasn’t her soul mate.

And that was really all she wanted.

She’d been so desperate not to see Will’s name in her batter and to put an end to the town gossip, she most likely would have kissed anyone. He glanced in the direction of the kitchen, seeing the old owner, Mel, garnishing a plate. She probably would have kissed Mel, if Donovan had suggested it.

He fisted his hand and cracked a knuckle. He’d never been used by a woman. Maybe that was the big turn on? Maybe he’d fed on the desperation that coated her lips.

His hand went to his chin, and he scrubbed his stubble. Why did he care?

It wasn’t like he knew anything about Zoe Mathews other than she was passionate about her business, liked to take in a matinee, appeared to enjoy his cooking, and the only requirements for a soul mate were that he’d be funny, smart, and buy her a cat. He mentally went through her list again.

Funny.

Check. He might not be as funny as class clown Adam Reed, but he’d like to think he knew how to make a woman laugh.

Smart.

Double check. He’d always gotten good grades in school and had numerous culinary awards to prove he had a brain, not to mention he’d run a successful restaurant for years.

The third requirement, well, that was a problem. He was more of a dog person. He’d never cared for the self-righteous, judgmental, moody felines.

He scoffed. She was probably one of those women who would let her cat sleep on the bed snuggled on her head and refer to it as her fur baby.

He scratched his nose, feeling a sneeze coming on just thinking about a cat crawling near his face while he slept. Nope. He and the cat lady weren’t happening.

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