“Why not? All this—the little frown you wear when you’re decorating, your smile when one of your customers compliments you, the way you and Josie talk and joke, the way you look in that damned apron—” Again his gaze went over her. “It all makes me hard. All day long. I love just being here with you in your element. Working side by side.”
She liked that too. But she gave a little half sigh, half groan. “Aiden.”
“What, Sugar?”
“You can’t talk about being hard and kissing and stuff.” She glanced toward the kitchen where Josie was working on a wedding cake with five tiers for that weekend. “If you’re not going to do anything about it, you have to stop turning me on.”
His smile was slow and sexy. “I’m sorry you’re all worked up, babe.” He didn’t really look sorry.
“After all the frosting and cream-filling talk the other night?” she asked. “And the kitchen the other morning?”
He nodded slowly. “I’m very sorry. This has all kinds of blown up. Our timelines got sped up, and there are more issues than we expected.”
“I get it. I do understand,” she said. Then she dropped her eyes to study the flecks of icing on the tabletop. “But the other morning didn’t take very long.”
Suddenly Aiden was around the counter and crowding her against the worktable. Her breath caught as she looked up at him. He looked hungry and as wound up as she felt. “You need some relief, Sugar?”
She nodded mutely.
“Tell me what you need, Zoe,” he said, his voice dropping to a husky drawl.
She wet her lips. “Well, you’re kind of the expert.”
He gave her a half smile but shook his head. “I think you know what you want.” He dragged his hand from her shoulder to her wrist, brushing his finger over her pulse point. “And I’ll do whatever you need. Can’t have my girl unsatisfied.”
“I’m definitely that,” she told him, liking the my girl thing more than she would have expected. “I’ve been so…”
He lifted a brow when she trailed off.
She lowered her voice. “Horny.”
Aiden’s eyes flared with heat even as his grin grew. It was surprised and cocky at the same time. He leaned in. “I’m sorry.” He seemed sincere now. “You’re so busy when we’re here together, and our schedules have been so off. But hopefully not for much longer.”
“You could wake me up when you get home,” she said, hopefully.
He gave a soft laugh. “The first two nights were way too late. And I tried last night.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
He nodded. “I came in, gave you a kiss, hoped you’d wake up.”
“You did not.” But it was possible. She slept like the dead, and she definitely had a hard time even seeing nine thirty most nights.
“Totally did,” he said. “And I tried to meet you for… coffee… the last two mornings, but girl, you get up early.”
She smiled. Aiden and Cam had never been morning people. She’d been surprised and pleased to see him at the bakery as early as he’d been coming in the last few days.
Zoe lifted a hand to his face. “It’s okay. It really is.” She’d gone this long without sex. She could wait until he had this project under control. Probably. “I’ll wait for you.”
He took her hand and turned his head to press a kiss to the palm. “It’s not okay,” he disagreed. “We’re both busy, and you’re on deadline when we’re here, so I haven’t wanted to interrupt. And I’ve been busy every evening. But if you need me to help you take the edge off, I’m more than happy to take you into the storeroom and give you some relief.”
She wanted that. So much. “Sex in the storeroom?” she asked, her mind spinning with images. “There’s not really a flat surface or empty wall. It’s all shelves.”
He chuckled. “Not sex. Not like that. Yet,” he added. “But I can get my hand in your panties in the storeroom and have you coming hard and fast.” He ended the offer with a hot, deep kiss.
She wasn’t too proud to not grind against the hard length behind his zipper before pulling back. “Why not sex?”
Aiden dragged his thumb over her bottom lip, his pupils dilated. “Not your first time.”
“Oh.” That made sense. That was sweet.
“The first time calls for lots of space—and lots of time,” he said huskily. “I’ve got a very long to-do list for that.”
“Okay.” She was breathless.
And when a glint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes, she realized what she’d kind of admitted. Or what she hadn’t denied. This would be her first time. “The first time for us together, you mean,” she said.
“Uh-huh.”
She grinned. She wasn’t confirming a thing. Because she loved seeing possessive Aiden rear his head once in a while.
He shifted back, a “got ya” look on his face that made her feel very warm.
Then her gaze dropped to the worktable, and another surge of warmth went through her. She’d been trying something new. Because of him. And she wanted him to know it.
“Would you… try something for me?” she asked.
“Of course.”
She leaned to pick up one of the little mason jars and held it up.
“What’s this?” He took it from her.
“Cupcakes in jars. And pies,” she said.
She watched him lift it up, studying it.
“Is this… strawberry?” he asked. His eyes went to hers. Questioning.
She nodded. “Yeah.” Because those were his favorites. She hadn’t intended to show him this. Certainly not to have him try the cupcakes. But she’d still made it with him in mind. “It’s a thing. People do cupcakes and pies and cobblers in jars. Makes them into instant individual servings. Very easy to ship and transport.”
He picked up a strawberry pie in a jar as well. “You haven’t done these before.”
“No.”
“Why now?”
Her eyes dropped to the deep-green silk of his tie instead of his gaze. “I guess I was thinking that if people were to buy things that had real frosting or cream topping—not the plastic, preservative-filled crap some people put on their cupcakes—to put in their lunches or maybe even their compartments—not that they would last too long, but people would want to eat these right away and wouldn’t forget they were there or whatever—then jars might be better than boxes or plastic containers. Because you can bake them right in the jars. Then they’re not loose inside the container and sliding around and getting smooshed. Plus that saves us work and time, because we don’t have to cut them and transfer them to new containers. And jars are different from what anyone else is doing around here. And they’re reusable and recyclable. We could even have people bring them back in for ‘refills’ for a little discount or something. Or just to be used again. I mean, once you wash and sanitize them, there’s no reason to not use them again, so that could allow us to keep costs down and…”
She trailed off realizing that he was just standing there. She lifted her eyes to his. He was staring at her. But grinning.
She crossed her arms, suddenly feeling very vulnerable. She’d been rambling but it was because she had a lot to say about the jar pies. Evidently. “What?”
“That’s amazing, Zoe.” He was practically beaming. “This is a fantastic idea. For all those reasons. You’re thinking about ways to expand. That’s so great. Are you going to go talk to Tom down at the store about shelf space? I’d go with you. I bet you could even talk to the convenience store. And you could do something at the farmers market. You could maybe even set up some kind of profit-sharing fundraising thing with the school. These would be amazing things to sell for something like that. Unique but something that everyone would want.”
Now she was the one to stare at him. But she wasn’t grinning.
“No.” She shook her head. “No. No. Definitely not. I just tried it. This one time. This is the first batch of anything I’ve made.”
“Did it wo
rk?” he asked.
“Well… yes. I mean. They turned out.”
He set the jar down with the pie and then looked around. He grabbed a fork from the counter and then dug into the cupcake. He took a huge bite, watching her while he chewed. But suddenly he stopped and swallowed with some difficulty.
Her eyes grew round. “Oh my God! Is it horrible? Did I mess it up?”
He swallowed again and set the jar down, wiping a hand over his mouth. “No.” He cleared his throat. “No, definitely not. It’s… perfect.”
“Then why do you look like that?” Not believing him, she picked up the fork and took a bite for herself.
But he was right. It was perfect. Delicious even. Moist, fluffy, wonderful strawberry flavor, perfect creamy icing.
“It just… tastes exactly like the ones my mom made here,” he said, his voice gruff.
Her eyes flew to his face.
“It just hit me. Hard. All of a sudden,” he explained. “The smell and the taste and everything at once.”
She swallowed, also with difficulty, and nodded. “I know they’re your favorite. I always associated them with you.”
“They are. Were.”
Zoe suddenly felt tears stinging her eyes. Maybe she shouldn’t have picked strawberry. “Have you had one since she died?” she asked softly.
Aiden shook his head and cleared his throat again. “No.”
“I’m… sorry. I guess, for some reason, that was just the one I started with when I was trying this out. And strawberry pie for Jane.”
He smiled and reached out, pulling her in. “It’s delicious. And perfect. And I fucking love that the first thing you do when you’re trying something new is something that makes you think of me.”
She wrapped her arms around him. “Well, you are the one who gives me the hardest time about not trying new things.”
He hugged her tight for a moment. Then his hands slipped to her hips, and he pressed her against him. She could feel he was partially aroused.
By strawberry cake in a jar.
God, he was easy. She grinned, rubbing her cheek against his tie. Then she wiggled her hips against his.
He gave a soft growl. “Yeah, I’ll give you a hard time trying new things later on, Sugar,” he teased huskily.
“Thank God,” she said sincerely.
He chuckled. Then he kissed the top of her head and let her go. “I’m proud of you for trying this.” He nodded at the jars of cake and pie.
She sighed. “I’m not really trying anything, Aiden. They’re the same recipes I’ve always used.”
“You put them in new containers. That’s actually pretty huge. Around here anyway.”
She laughed. “Well, maybe. A little huge.”
“And did you have to adjust the baking time at all?”
“A little.”
“There you go. You’re doin’ it.”
Lord, he really did seem proud. “But I’m not ready to go to the stores with them or do fundraising drives or any other crazy thing you have spinning in your head,” she warned him. “I’m going to put these out here in the bakery for now and just… see.”
“What’s the difference?” he asked. “Except if they’re in the store, people can get them more conveniently, grabbing them off the shelf while they’re also picking up chicken and potatoes for dinner. Or they can grab them on impulse while they’re paying for gas and lottery tickets at the convenience store. Or they can be talked into buying them by their grandchildren who need new soccer uniforms. Expanding your audience, getting more people to taste your products, taking it to them so they don’t have to come to you, making it available at eight o’clock at night when you’re already closed. I mean… other than all those things… what’s the difference?” But he was grinning.
She shook her head. “Okay, I can kind of see why your gaming company is so successful.”
He laughed. “And Dax is even more charming than I am.”
“Lord help us all.”
“I could take him some cupcakes in a jar…”
“No.” She slapped his hand away from the jars. “Just… I’m not ready.”
“Why not?” He seemed sincerely curious.
Zoe blew out a breath. “Because if the jars are sitting on shelves in other stores, in public, then everyone can see them not selling. Just sitting there. People can see other people reaching past them for Strawberry Swirls from Hot Cakes instead.”
He sighed. Then he nodded. “If it doesn’t go well or take off then everyone knows. If you keep it in here you can control that.”
“Of course. I can display just two or three items and make it seem like we’re almost sold out. I can dump the stuff that doesn’t sell. And no one is reaching for anything else in here. If they come through the door, at least I know they’re here because they want my stuff.”
“Got it.”
That surprised her. “Really?”
“Sure. I understand. That doesn’t mean I don’t think you should take a chance.”
“Yeah, well… taking chances and making cakes of any shape other than round or square are really not my strong suits.”
He gave her a very affectionate look. “You take your time with this. But,” he added, grabbing the cupcake-in-a-jar he’d already sampled, “this is fucking delicious. The second-best thing I’ve had on my tongue. Ever.”
“What the first best thing you’ve had on your tongue?” she asked. He really liked her chocolate pie.
“Your tongue.”
Before she could respond, the door to the bakery opened with a little jingle. They stepped apart, and Zoe took a deep breath before turning to greet her new customer.
It was Jane. She was dressed in her work clothes—jeans and black polo shirt with the bright pink and white Hot Cakes logo on the left side—and she was coming through the front door. Jane never came through the front door. Hell, she never came through any door to the bakery.
Zoe was immediately concerned. “What are you doing here? And coming in the front?”
Jane waved that away. “The new owners got rid of that rule.”
“Wait, what?” Zoe asked. “You mean, you can shop here now?”
“Yep. No problem.”
Zoe felt a jolt of surprise, then excitement. “Really?” Wow. That was a lot of potential new customers.
“Really.” Jane braced her hands on the counter. She was frowning.
Which distracted Zoe from the thought of needing to up the muffin inventory. “What’s wrong?”
“Can I talk to you?” Jane asked. But she was looking at Aiden.
Aiden straightened. “Um… of course.”
Jane nodded and headed for the table where Aiden’s computer was set up. Aiden shot Zoe a puzzled look. She shrugged. But she moved to the bakery case as Aiden started for the table. She grabbed a jar with a strawberry pie in it and a fork. Jane looked curious when she set it down.
“Trust me. You’ll love it,” Zoe told her. At least she knew that was true.
Zoe grabbed a cup at the coffee station and filled it with a dark roast and a splash of cream. She set that down for her friend too. Jane gave her a grateful smile.
“You okay?” she asked, her hand on Jane’s shoulder.
Jane nodded. “Yeah. I’m… pissed off and worried.”
“About what?” Zoe asked.
“The new owners,” Jane said with a frown. “They sent out a big welcome email to everyone, but all it really said was there were going to be some big changes. Everyone’s freaking out.” She played with her fork but had yet to take a bite.
That was a sure sign things were not okay.
“They want me to go talk to the new owners on everyone’s behalf. I don’t want to, but everyone is so worried, and no one else is really willing to confront them.” She sighed. “I feel like I have to.” She focused on Aiden. “I was hoping you could coach me.”
“Coach you?” he repeated. “What do you mean?”
“On how to tal
k to management. How to get them to listen? Do I act meek and submissive and beg for mercy? Do I go in guns blazing, demanding they listen? What?”
Aiden grimaced. “Somewhere in between those. Even if I thought you could actually pull off meek and submissive.”
That got him a tiny smile and Zoe felt relieved. Jane didn’t need any more stress or people to worry about. But Aiden would help her through this. That was also very sexy.
15
“Night, Zoe! See you tomorrow!”
Zoe looked to where Josie was leaning through the swinging door to the kitchen. “What?”
“I said, good night. I’ll see you tomorrow. You almost done?”
Josie glanced toward the table where Aiden and Jane were still sitting. Typically he left for his meetings by now, but he’d either canceled them or at least pushed them back to stay with Jane.
“Not quite,” Zoe told her.
“What’s going on?” Josie asked, stepping out from the kitchen.
They’d been talking for over an hour. Zoe had tried to give them space. She’d waited on a couple of customers. She’d even decorated some more cake pops. But she’d been very interested in Jane and Aiden’s conversation. Evidently several employees had come to Jane with concerns, practically begging her to talk to the new owners. They thought, and Aiden agreed, that they should bring up the things they loved and the things they didn’t about working for Hot Cakes before the owners started making changes. She’d apparently sent an email requesting a meeting to someone higher up and they’d agreed. Now, Aiden was coaching her in how to approach the whole thing.
“Aiden’s giving Jane advice about the new Hot Cakes management.”
Josie nodded. “That’s good.”
“Is it?” She was truly interested. “You think he’ll have good advice?”
“Sure. But mostly she just needs someone to tell her she’s right to ask for everything she wants. You know Jane. She's kind of a cynic. She’ll assume they don’t care and won’t tell them everything.”
“Aiden will help her with that?” Zoe asked, looking over at them again.
Jane was smiling now. That was good. Josie was right. Jane was a natural pessimist. Her dad’s illness and her stepmom’s attitude toward it had changed Jane. Her stepmom, Cassie, had decided Jane’s dad would be better off in a nursing home as his condition progressed and he needed more help. The truth was, being a caregiver got in her way. She couldn’t take her girl trips or go to four-hour-long coffee dates or on all-day shopping sprees if she had to be at home taking care of him.
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