He had the strangest urge to chuckle.
“Risk it, risk it,” Jackie and Tad chanted, pounding their fists on the counter.
“Okay. Here goes.” Reese tossed back her head and threw the cherry bomb into her mouth like she was taking a shot of tequila. Almost immediately, her eyes flew wide, her cheeks bulging out on either side. “Wrong call,” she slurred around a mouthful of chocolate.
Leo handed her a napkin and watched in amusement as she bent forward and waved her hands, as if that was going to help her swallow. “Am I going to have to Heimlich you?”
She straightened, visibly pulling herself together, though she kept a hand over her mouth when she spoke again. “That was incredible. You didn’t tell me there was a cherry inside. I was caught off guard by the gush, but it was perfect. Exactly what I’d cobble together if I could pick from a hundred different ingredients. How did you do that?”
“Leo has a gift,” Jackie explained. “He likes to convince people they’re wrong about what they prefer. It’s infuriating and inexplicable.”
Reese considered him, finally taking her hand away from her mouth to reveal not a trace of the cherry bomb she’d just eaten. “There’s something kind of eye-opening about it. Maybe I don’t know myself as well as I think, since I was going to settle on an éclair.” The girl gasped suddenly, transferring her attention back to Jackie. “I have it. The Valentine’s Day promotion of a lifetime. We all want something that shows the person we’ve been dating has been paying attention. That they know our taste. Right?”
“Right…” Jackie said thoughtfully. “Except some people, and I’m not generalizing, will be lucky to remember Valentine’s Day at all. Men. I’m talking about men.”
Tad screwed up his face. “I resent that.”
“Sure, you’re totally right,” continued Reese. “A lot of customers won’t know what their significant others wants, but with a few simple questions…”
“Leo will. Bravo,” Tad said, nodding in approval. “It’s a great idea.”
“Sure is,” Leo drawled. “For someone else.” That shocked a laugh out of Reese and the husky music of it almost robbed Leo of his train of thought. Swallowing hard, he dropped his attention from her mouth. “I can see this turning into customers asking for relationship advice. And it requires me to talk to a lot of people. I’d rather walk on Legos.”
“What if you do it online?” Reese suggested. “They can fill out a form…”
He grunted. “You’re pretty willing to sign me up for a lot of work.”
“It was just nice.” She gestured toward the cherry bombs. “Really nice. Having someone take the time to pinpoint what I like. People will love it. And even if it ends up being wrong and some dumb-dumb gives his boyfriend caramel when the dude hates caramel, at least it will prompt a conversation about likes and dislikes. It’s a win-win if you think about it.”
The way she said “caramel” with her Wisconsin accent was ridiculous.
He shouldn’t like it so much.
“Come on, Leo,” Jackie said. “It’s a great way to engage the public.”
“Maybe he’s not up to the task.” Reese sniffed, picking non-existent lint off her collar. “Maybe he got lucky with the cherry bomb.”
Tad and Jackie sucked in identical breaths.
“You think you could do better?” He swept an arm to indicate the display cases, and Jesus Christ, he was actually enjoying this. “Which would you choose for me?”
If his employees thought he couldn’t see them nudging each other under the counter, they had another think coming.
After a moment of appearing startled, Reese straightened her spine and walked the length of the case, wheels turning behind her brown eyes. There was no way she was going to guess correctly. It just wasn’t possible—
“Biscotti.” She brushed her hair back over her shoulder, nodding at the row of glass jars on top of the case. “Not the chocolate-dipped one. Just the regular, no frills kind.”
“She nailed it,” Tad whispered. “Holy shit.”
Leo echoed the sentiment in his head.
“Connection,” Jackie murmured, falling onto her elbows on the counter. “There it is.”
This whole thing, meeting this beautiful, interesting girl and finding himself pretty eager to know every damn thing about her, was happening too publicly, even if it was only two people watching. He was probably going to say the wrong thing or accidentally offend her and the last thing he needed was an audience. But letting her simply walk out of his bakery?
Yeah. He just couldn’t let that happen.
Leo coughed into his fist, hoping his ears weren’t as red as they felt. “Do you want to come in back and see my work station?”
Reese didn’t seem to register the twin gasps from Jackie and Tad, the corners of her mouth lifting into a quiet smile. “Yes. I’d like that.”
Chapter 4
Reese Stratton was a sensible girl.
Being a dancer had given her the gift of discipline. Taught her the value of routines.