“Where is everyone?”
“Huh?”
“Your bakery is closed. Where are your customers?” He looked around, and then his gaze settled on the empty display case. “And there are no baked goods.”
“Closed for maintenance.”
He smiled slightly. “I must’ve gotten under your skin.”
“You did not.”
Slash shrugged. “No? Then why the hostility?”
“No hostility. I’m just surprised to see you. Didn’t we cover this already?”
He reached out and gently cupped my cheek, and before I could react, he said, “I meant what I said. One night with you could never be enough.”
My breath hitched when he took a step closer.
“Slash, don’t—”
The handle of the paper bag I was holding ripped, and the weight of the books tore the rest of the bag open. I watched in horror as they fell to the floor.
Slash dropped his hand from my face and looked down. I didn’t take my eyes off him as he crouched. He reached out and picked up the bookWhat to Expect When You’re Expecting.He stared at it for a moment before returning his attention back to me. He rose slowly.
Tension crackled in the air between us.
I swallowed. “I told you. Complicated.”
“Is it mine?” he asked tightly.
I nodded slowly.
“But we used protection.”
“Might as well not have,” I said.
“Were you planning on telling me?”
I shook my head no.
Slash handed me the book, turned, and marched out of the bakery. The jangling doorbell rang loudly behind him and then quickly fell silent.
“Yeah. That’s pretty much how I thought that would go down,” I said in defeat.
* * *
My phone rang, jarring me out of my doze. I was curled up on the couch, my face smushed into a pillow and I wasn’t in the mood to move. Not even to answer a call.
But my hand shot out anyway and grabbed my cell. It was an unknown number, and my heart tripped in excitement. Hopefully it was another catering gig.
I answered it.
“Hello, this is Brooklyn.”
“Brooklyn.”
The way he said my name made shivers dance up and down my spine. “Slash? How did you get this number?”