Page 2 of All Mine

Her chocolate brown eyes went wide and stared up at me for a beat, and she stepped back.

“Can I take those for you?” I indicated the boxes.

“Oh my god, Lauren. What happened?” A server appeared with Adrian close behind her, concern creasing his face.

Lauren stood there, dazed. “I’m fine,” she breathed. “I almost fell, and this guy caught me.”

“Here,” I took the two remaining boxes from her and sat them on a table. The overwhelming scent of vanilla and sugar hit my nose. A sticker on the top box read,From the Hart Bakery. Kitschy name. I didn’t care for it.

Only bits of unidentifiable pastries remained of the third box now scattered across the floor.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked.

Her breathing had slowed to a normal rhythm, and she nodded. She wore a black t-shirt with a screen print of an outline of a cupcake in pink, yellow, blue, and green pastel colors.

“Tell me the cupcakes are okay,” Adrian said, a sly smile slipping over his face.

A snorty laugh escaped Lauren, and she shook her head. “I see where your priorities are.”

“What’s with all the cupcakes?” I asked.

“Oh, I bring them over from the bakery across the street at the end of my day so that Adrian can sell the rest.”

“You work at the bakery?”

“I own it,” she said.

She owned From the Hart Bakery? The woman who’d fallen into my arms owned a business on the land I’m working to buy for a client.Terrific.Well, she didn’t need to know about that for now.

“Oh cool,” I said, feigning ignorance. “Do you own the Victorian house?”

Lauren frowned and folded her arms across her chest. “Rental,” she sighed. “I wish I owned it. It’s a spectacular piece of history.”

Spectacular? She had to be joking.

“Tragically, there were casualties,” Adrian said, drawing attention to the busted box and scattered bits on the floor.

“I’ll grab the broom,” the server said. Turning, she darted behind the bar.

“No, I’ll take care of it,” Lauren called after her. “I’m so sorry and just so embarrassed,” she whispered to Adrian loud enough for me to overhear.

“There’s no need for embarrassment. Let Annie get it,” Adrian said, “You look like you need to sit down.”

She no longer appeared all that dazed. But I wasn’t about to contradict him.

“Yeah, let’s get you a seat,” I said. The town might be a waste, but that was no reason to discount the idea that a pretty little woman wouldn’t make my time in Hart Valley better.

Annie returned to the scene of the splatter with a broom, dustpan, and a large trashcan on wheels. She began sweeping the remnants into the dustpan.

Lauren paused, frowning and staring back and forth between the broom in Annie’s hand and the mess on the floor, but she relented and let Adrian lead her to a seat at the bar.

“It was an accident,” he said. “And it could have been so much worse if it wasn’t for Camden.”

“Who?”

“Him,” Adrian nodded toward me.

“Oh,” she turned to me, “Oh my gosh. I’m all sorts of scattered right now. Forgive my lack of manners. I’m Lauren Hart.” She offered her hand and a weak smile that didn’t meet her eyes.

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