Page 2 of Cheesecake
“Definitely. If I wasn’t taken, I’d happily flirt up a storm with him.”
I glance over my shoulder to get one last look at him before he’s out of sight, catching his eye and getting rewarded with a smile. “So you’d date him and not care about his age at all?”
She loops her arm through Rob’s and giggles, flicking her long blonde hair over her shoulder. She’s so tall, slim, and pretty that I imagine she’s never had an issue finding a date. Unlike short, dumpy, opinionated me. “Of course I would. I’m an adult. He’s an adult. As long as it’s consensual, what does it matter how old he is?”
“I don’t know. I guess it doesn’t matter. But it’s not like that between us. We’re just friends.” I’m not blind to how good-looking he is, but I’m fairly sure he’s just being kind to me because I’m a regular customer. I’m practically a kid to him.
“Friends can have benefits, you know. It doesn’t have to mean anything.” She grins at me, nudging me conspiratorially with her elbow. I shift away slightly, feeling uncomfortable with her insinuation.
“I think it should mean something,” I retort. “The whole ethos behind dating these days is broken in my opinion. Everyone just wants to get laid, and no one seems to care about having decent human connections any more.”
“Penny is saving herself for her one true love,” Rob points out like it’s something laughable.
“Really?” Tina turns to me, and her eyes light up when I nod. “You know what? I love that. And I hope you stick to your guns, Penny. Your true love is out there, and if you believe you’ll find them and live with the intention you will, you can’t miss them when they appear. I didn’t,” she says, leaning into my brother with a happy smile. And for the first time in my life, I’m actually a little jealous of Rob, but I have hope too. My soulmate is out there. And they probably like cheesecake just as much as I do.
Corey
With a view of the beach out the café windows, I’ve been somewhat entertained by the drunken chants and squeals of a bonfire party while I prep the food for tomorrow—cakes in the oven, cheesecake and slices setting in the fridge, roast chicken and beef for the sandwiches cooling on the counter. It’s a lot of work for one person, but with my overheads I can’t really afford much more than a couple of servers to help me during opening hours. All of the before and after hours work is mine and mine alone. Something I have to fit in with my home life. Being a single parent to a six-year-old isn’t an easy feat when you have a business to run too. I’m often rushing from the café to the school or baseball practice, trying to be a present dad while also trying to make a living. My mother is always there when I can’t be, but still, Billy needs his dad. I feel like I’m not around enough.
Grabbing the roast meat, I move it to the counter and start slicing, transferring it into containers ready for tomorrow morning when I’ll come back and chop up all the salad, add cream and frosting to the cakes, receive deliveries and open up, starting the process all over again.
With a sigh, I lift my head and watch the party on the beach, remembering what it was like to be that young and carefree. Long before the reality of life, love and loss became my every day. I wonder if Penny is there, partying away her final summer on the island before she goes away to college and probably forgets all about the Hibiscus Café and the cheesecake she loves so much. She’ll find somewhere near Berkley that makes cheesecake in more flavors and textures, and she won’t need me and this little place anymore. Which is when it hits me, that pang in the center of my chest that tells me something I’ve been trying to ignore for a while now—I’m going to miss her when she’s gone.
“Don’t be stupid, man,” I mutter to myself, finishing up with the meat and carrying it to the fridge. The whole time I’m moving around cleaning up, I chastise myself for evenindulgingmyself by thinking about Penny in the way I secretly want her.
She’s too young.
I’m too old.
She’s leaving soon.
I’m too old.
Still, I can’t deny how attracted I am to the curvy beauty. Something about the way she talks, the way she laughs, and actuallygetsmy jokes. The way she makes me feel like I matter to her. The way she reminds me that I’m amaninstead of just a café owner, a dad, a widower… I swear, the moment most people slap that label on me, they treat me with kid gloves. But not Penny. She treats me like I’m her favorite person in the world, and I guess that’s why it’s so easy for me to forget about our age difference when we’re together.
“Corey?” A tap on the glass and my name called has my head snapping up from the counter I’ve been wiping over while deep in thought.Speak of the devil…
“Penny?” I move to the door and let her in. “What are you doing here at this time of night?”
She grins and shrugs like suddenly she’s nervous. “I was at the bonfire and it’s not really my scene. Saw your lights on and… I can go.”
“No,” I say almost too quickly as I step back to let her in. “You’re welcome here any time.”
A gorgeous grin lights up her cherubic face. “Thank you.” She steps in, and I let the door close behind her, moving quickly to step behind the counter again, giving us that separation I seem to need so I don’t read into this. And it’s kinda hard not to when I was thinking about how badly I want her and thenboomshe turns up. Kismet? Coincidence? I have no idea.
“Drink?” I gesture to the drinks fridge behind me. “On the house.”
“Oh no,” she says, moving along the other side of the counter and looking around the quiet café. “All I wanted was quiet and someone who can hold a conversation without trying to stick their tongue down my throat.”There goes that idea…
“I hope nothing inappropriate happened,” I say, my protective instincts flaring before she shakes her head.
“Just dumb, drunk boys. I don’t know why I let Rob talk me in to going. I never enjoy bonfires.”
“Probably because you’re too smart to mindlessly party.”
She laughs. “Orrr, maybe I’m just crappy at fitting in.”
“We all fit in somewhere, Penny. Sometimes it just takes longer to find our people.”
