Page 38 of Sweet Hate
“Besides, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Imightbe staying, Mia. It’s not a sure thing. Especially now, for fuck’s sake. If I can’t do the wedding, I’ll have no option but to leave. Luckily, Grams said there’s no pressure for me to stay and run Sweet Bakes, so I could just hire someone to do it for me and move back home. I still own my apartment, and the hotel said if I ever wanted my job back, I could have it, no questions asked. Besides I can work anywhere, if I really have to.”
I have no concerns over what I’ll do if this doesn’t work. My dad’s a celebrity chef, so following in his footsteps made it very easy to get noticed, especially once I came out of my shell.
That’s why the Merryweather’s insisted on having me here. They love the idea of being able to name drop the up and cominglocal star—their words, not mine.
“Semantics, babe. You’re staying. You’re a Blake. Sweet Bakes is your birthright. I can’t imagine you’d want someone else poking around in there. You’d talk about running your own bakery when we were kids. Besides the boys will figure it out. Axel would move heaven and earth to make sure you can meet that deadline. No matter how much of an ass he’s being right now, I’d bet my life on that. I think you should tell him you might be staying. I bet that’ll snap him out of his weird fuckboy ways quick enough.”
Ugh, I don’t need that reminder. That was the conversation that triggered me to ban all talk of him.
If only I could reinstate that.
“I’m not going to tell him shit. He doesn’t get to know what my plans are. He lost that right over a decade ago when he disappeared on me. And he can fuck whoever he wants, Mia. I’m not going there ever again. It was a stupid idea in the first place. All it did was tear us apart in the end.”
“Never say never, Haven. From what I can see, he’s about five seconds away from going caveman on your ass and ravaging you on the spot. It’s super hot.”
She fans herself with the darts in her hand, and I hate the shiver of excitement her words send up my spine.
Hasn’t he messed with my head enough as it is?
“No chance. That’s not happening. Besides, it’s my best friend I miss the most, and he’s clearly not that guy anymore. He doesn’t get to worm his way back into my life. Or my panties.”
“Who’s getting into your panties?” Lucas’s voice booms behind us and makes us both jump before he lifts me clean off the ground in a bear hug.
“Get off, you clown!” I slap his arm to put me down, which he does, but firmly keeps me tucked against him. I look past him to check if Axel will be joining us too, but lo and behold, he seems to be otherwise engaged, grinning at some blonde by the bar.
Twat.
“Who wants to play a little game of truth or dare for old time’s sake?”
I can’t help but laugh when Lucas wiggles his eyebrows, mischief written all over his face.
“It’s on, Batman!” I grin up at Lucas while Mia practically jumps up and down in glee—literally bouncier than a ball. These guys really are the perfect distraction from all the bakery stress, the wedding, and Axel.
“Ok. Whoever throws the highest number on the dart board goes first,” Mia tells us, giving us each a dart.
“And she’s back in the game!” Lucas shouts out when I hit the outer ring of the bullseye, putting me in the top spot.
“Want to shout any louder, Lucas? Not sure the guy in the back heard you.”
“The guy in the back didn’t, but we certainly caught Axeman's attention,” Mia singsongs, smiling slyly.
The pair of them grin mischievously at each other as I side eye the bar, sure enough, he’s looking right this way again, a scowl on his face.Surprise,surprise. Blondie is still standing beside him though, her clawed hand gripping his forearm, trying to draw his attention back to her and her ample assets.
“Behave, you two!” Rolling my eyes at Mia, I suck in a deep breath and announce, “Dare.” Might as well dive into the deep end, right?
“Yes,” she hisses as she fist pumps before scurrying over to Lucas to confer. I should have thought this through—she’s looking crazy hyper tonight.
What if she dares me to go and kiss Axel or something?
Would I do it?
Or would I back down for the first time ever?
I’m so lost in thought, I don’t hear them talking until Lucas waves his hand in front of my face, bringing me back to reality.
“We dare you to sit on Lucas's lap for a complete round of the game,” Mia bursts out, and Lucas winks at me.
I slump in relief, releasing tension I didn’t know I was holding. That’s easy. Laughing, I walk over to him. He easily lifts me onto his wide thighs, promptly wrapping his arms around me and resting his chin on my shoulder. He pulls out his phone to snap a selfie of us and taps away on the screen.
