“Get well soon flowers are normal, aren’t they?” he asked gently.
I realized that most women probably didn’t get choked up so easily. “Thank you, Daniel. No one’s ever given me flowers before.”
I realized with shock that I should not have said that. I was supposed to be playing the part of a regular woman. And the way he looked at me in surprise was certainly not a normal response.
“Do you have a vase or anything I could put these in for you?” he asked, probably realizing that whatever was making me rattled, I couldn’t speak about it at the moment.
“How about that?” I asked, pointing to a huge neon green vase in the window.
“Perfect,” he said, taking it to the back and filling it with water before bringing it out to the counter and arranging the flowers.
I couldn’t help giggling. “You’re one of those people that just make themselves comfortable everywhere you go, aren’t you?”
Daniel nodded. “Yup. Pretty much.”
I shook my head, mentally giving him a few more imaginary points. “Interesting.”
He reached out to trail his fingertips along my cheek. “The most gorgeous girl I’ve ever seen finds me interesting? It’s a good day already and it’s not even noon.”
I was shocked at how easily he made me laugh, all the time.
Then a few teen-aged customers came in, and Daniel quickly explained how the resident baker was injured saving puppies from a wild mountain lion, and it might be a few days before a new batch of cupcakes could be baked. They laughed, agreeing to spread the word at school.
“My shift starts in a little while,” Daniel said quickly. “I’m sorry I can’t stay. Are you going to be all right here today alone?”
“Of course.”
“You’re not going to do anything crazy like try to work, are you?”
I bit my lip, looking down, but then flashed him a huge grin. “I’ve actually been planning out the easiest things to bake, that require the least amount of lifting and arm work. So I might prep a few little things for tomorrow morning. Just a few racks of cookies and muffins. Nothing heavy or dangerous.”
“Could you call in an assistant for a couple of days?”
I shook my head. “Likely not. Unless it’s someone who already knows how to bake, the time I spent training then would just be crazy. People seem pretty understanding that it’s going to be a few days before I can make everything again.”
Daniel stepped close beside me, tucking his arm around my back. Breathing in his seductive, woodsy scent, I instantly felt a bit better. The tiny voice that screamed that I should not get close to him was silenced whenever he touched me.
“It’s not just your arm, Bailey. You lost some blood and had a severe panic attack about the needles. Please don’t stress yourself out.”
I nodded, truly touched by his concern. “I won’t. I’m going to close up by noon and spend the rest of the day on the couch with a notebook, brainstorming recipes. That’s resting, right?”
He grinned. “I guess that’s your version of resting, sure.”
“Do you have any huge plans for the day?” I asked, trying to get the focus off of me immediately.
He shrugged, his arm winding a little tighter. “Just driving around, being a cop. Doing official things like looking out for bad-asses.”
“Sir,” I gasped, pretending to be horrified. “Your language in front of the unicorn. Please.” I gestured to the huge tacky unicorn sculpture behind him in the window.
“Forgive me, Mr. Pointy Horse,” he apologized to the pink and white pearl monstrosity.
Then Daniel looked up at the security camera in that corner of the window. “You have a lot of cameras here,” he said. “I noticed that bringing you home yesterday. Every entrance, every window is covered quite well.”
I nodded, giving a calm, measured smile. “Since I just moved here, I wasn’t precisely sure what sort of neighborhood it was, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to be a bit cautious.” Shrugging casually, I added, “Single girl in the big city, my first business, and all that.”
“You have a few of them that cover the street out front, right?”
“The sidewalk and a fair bit of the street around my front entrance are well covered.” I realized that he wasn’t grilling me, he needed information.