Page 3 of Hot Response
The bell rang in front of the shop, and I took a deep breath knowing it was him.
TWO
RON
I sat in my truck,dressed in my uniform, ready for the day.
I shouldn’t be there. I knew that.
I should have stayed at the gym and done more reps on my arms or legs, maybe until I didn’t feel them. Anything but sitting in front of a bakery I had no business being at. Not when sweet treats were my kryptonite and the woman who was responsible for making them was worse than that. For the first time in over a decade, a woman called my attention for longer than a passing moment.
It happened by accident and left me reeling. For the first two weeks after picking up the cake for Logan’s engagement party, whenever I’d showed up, Evelyn was all smiles and conversation. But I was too serious and nervous. Now she didn’t smile if she came out to help me. The last two days, she’d stayed in the back and one of her employees had served me.
I shouldn’t have been there, but I was.
Freshly showered after cutting my workout short, I opened the driver’s door to my truck and begrudgingly got out. My lips suddenly dry and the palms of my hands sweaty, I shoved theminto my pockets as my legs closed the distance between where I’d been and where I was dying to be.
When I pushed the door open with one hand, the bell overhead chimed as the warm white walls seemed to draw and welcome you in just around the time the warm scent of vanilla and sugar and spices filled your lungs. I had no idea if the smell was simply coming from the goodies behind the counter or if there was some kind of scent infuser inside the building. But if there was, I wanted one for my place.Maybe if I have something that smells this way, I can avoid coming here what feels like almost every damn morning for the last two weeks?
“I’ll be right with you,” a soft familiar feminine voice called from the back. My heart rate picked up speed.
Not two minutes later, the double doors that separated the kitchen from the main space of the bakery swung open, and there she was. No matter how much I tried to prepare myself, I was never ready for the beautiful sight she made.
Evelyn Rojas was one of the most beautiful women I had ever laid eyes on. Short, maybe five feet tall, with long silky dark hair that passed the middle of her back, killer curves, and big, wide eyes you thought were brown, but the closer you got, you realized they were almost caramel in shade with soft swirls of gold in them. Her lips were what women all over the country tried to get with fillers and shit, but Evelyn’s were all natural. Plump and full in the prettiest deep shade of a deep pink.
“Hey, it’s you,” she said with a tight smile, and I hated it.
I wanted to ask if everything was okay. Maybe tell her a joke all just to see her smile genuinely like she had been. She set the tray of what I could only assume were freshly baked Danishes down. My stomach threatened to growl. I should have eaten something before coming here.
“Hi,” I muttered, unable to look away from her.
“Let me put these away really fast, and I will be right with you.” Her dulcet voice felt like a balm over my soul. And like every fucking morning I came here, my brain went berserk, trying to come up with something to say.Something witty. Funny.But fuck me, like every day, nothing came to mind.
But unlike all the other days, this morning, she was quiet. She didn’t try to make small talk or chat me up. My brows bunched together.
“Okay, what can I get you?” she asked, her pretty, dark eyes barely connecting with mine.
“I, umm…” I scratched the back of my neck. “What’s your favorite?” I asked, my tone a little rough
“What?” Her eyes rose up to meet mine with nothing but clear surprise. Jesus, had I been that big of a dick these last two and a half weeks? I cleared my throat and crossed my arms over my chest, not missing the way her gaze seemed to follow my movements.
“I just mean, umm… I’m thinking of trying something new. What’s your favorite?”
“Oh.” She licked her lips. “My strawberry shortcake cupcake is one of my bestsellers.”
“No, your favorite.”
“Mine?” she squeaked.
“Yeah.” My face softened as I leaned closer to the counter. “Or is that a secret?” I asked, trying to flirt and probably failing.What the fuck is wrong with me?!
I was probably giving her major creep vibes. I was charismatic when it didn’t matter. In the past, I hadn’t had any trouble with the ladies. Especially ones I wasn’t actually interested in. But no one had caught my attention like Evelyn since Sara.
“You really want to know my favorite?” she asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. I nodded because I couldn’t trust myself to speak.I want to know your favorite everything.
She leaned closer, her eyes bright and happy. Fuck, there was something about Evelyn that was so damn addicting, so damn alluring, it made me helpless to fall for her.
“Here.” She grabbed a wax paper, opened the display, and reached in, pulling out a delicious-looking eclair. When she started to hand it to me, for some goddamn reason, I froze. Her little hand was out there, distended towards me, and all I could think about was whether or not my hand was sweaty.Shit! When did this become this hard?
