by Alison Bliss
“Hey, Leah, are you up?” someone called from downstairs.
Leah’s eyes popped open.
Valerie! Shit.
Leah quickly rolled over to find the other side of her bed empty. She gazed around the room, eyeing the floor for his clothes, but nothing of Sam’s remained. Her stomach churned, queasy with the knowledge that he’d left her without so much as a good-bye. She hadn’t expected it after spending long hours throughout the night pleasuring each other in every way imaginable.
“Yep, I’m up. I’ll be down in a minute.”
Leah flew out of the bed before Valerie could come up and see her sitting there in the nude. Her best friend knew damn well she would never sleep in the buff unless a man had spent the night. And even then, it was a questionable thing because she’d always put her clothes back on after she’d had sex with a guy.
Well, almost always, she thought, remembering how Sam had stripped her for a second time and had kept her naked and under him for the rest of the night.
She threw on her undergarments, a pair of jeans, and a T-shirt, then ran a brush through the tangled bird’s nest on her head. She checked herself in the mirror. Yep, still had that freshly fucked look. Great. But she didn’t have enough time before the bakery opened to do much about it. This would have to do.
She ran downstairs as fast as her feet would carry her, but Valerie had already disappeared from the kitchen. Noises from the front store room alerted her to her friend’s whereabouts. Leah grabbed an apron from the hook on the wall and tied it around her waist. Then she spotted the stainless steel table and gasped.
The table. Oh, hell.
The mug cake was no longer there, but the memories of what took place on that work station had Leah sweating. Thankfully, Valerie hadn’t been at work long enough to lay out the baking trays they usually placed there.
Grabbing a lemon-scented cleaner, Leah sprayed it liberally all over the table in a fine mist and began wiping it away with a clean rag.
Valerie flitted through the door, carrying flattened bakery boxes. “Wow, you look a little harried this morning. Everything okay?”
No, everything wasn’t okay. Leah was wound up tighter than a loaded spring wondering why Sam had cut out on her without saying anything. “I didn’t get much sleep last night.” Because I was having sex with my fake fiancé.
“Was it that bad?”
Leah’s cleaning rag froze in place. “Um, was what that bad?”
“The weekend with your family.”
Oh. “Um, no. It was all right,” she said, spraying more sanitizer and wiping the table down again. She could almost feel Valerie’s laser-beam gaze drilling holes into the back of her head though.
“Okay, so what aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing,” Leah said, focusing all of her attention on wiping down the table.
“Leah, you’re such a terrible liar. Did something happen with Sam?”
Knowing Valerie couldn’t see her face, she lifted the corner of her mouth into a smirk. She continued moving the cleaning rag in circles across the shiny metal, not bothering to answer her friend. It might be fun to keep her guessing the rest of the day.
“Oh my God! You had sex with him, didn’t you?”
Leah stopped wiping and glared at her friend. How the hell did she do that? Was the girl psychic or something? She shrugged casually. “Maybe.”
“You did! Okay, now you have to tell me all about it.”
“No, I don’t.”
Her mouth drooped. “Oh, man. It sucked that much?”
“What? No, of course not. I’m just not going to discuss it. At least not while we’re at work. It’s bad enough I’m going to be thinking about it all day while I’m working,” she said, gazing at the table and sighing.
Valerie leaned her hip against the steel worktable. “Why would you—” She paused, then followed Leah’s gaze to the impeccably clean surface. “Oh gross,” she said, moving away from it. “You’re sanitizing your sex germs, aren’t you?”
“Shh! Someone might walk through the front door and hear you say that.”
Valerie laughed. “Oh man. No fucking way. You had sex in the bakery?”
“Damn it, Valerie. God. This is so embarrassing.”
“Are you kidding me? It’s not embarrassing at all. It’s hot as hell.”
Leah gave her a yeah, right look. “You just said it was gross.”
“Yeah, but that’s only because I have to touch that table, and now every time I do, I’m going to think of you and Sam having sex on it.”
Blowing out a breath, Leah tossed the rag into the trash and washed her hands. “Sorry. I didn’t know it was going to happen. It definitely wasn’t planned.”
“So what? Sometimes that’s the best kind of sex.” She shook her head. “But you are crazy, you know that?”
“Apparently,” Leah agreed.
“Well?”
“Well what?”
“Oh, come on. You aren’t going to make me beg, are you? Spill it. How big is Sam’s dick?”
Heat flooded Leah’s cheeks. “Why does it matter?”
“It doesn’t. At least not to me. But after what Max said…Well, I can’t deny that I’m curious.”
“I don’t know why Max told you that, but it wasn’t at all true.”
“Really? Maybe he had penis envy or something. Or maybe you just haven’t been with enough guys to know the difference,” Valerie said with a giggle.
Leah didn’t know why she felt the need to defend Sam’s package, but she did. “No, Max is just mistaken because…well, I’m pretty sure there is a donkey somewhere missing a dick.”
“Holy shit!”
“Exactly what I thought.” Leah walked to the pantry to pull out the large bag of flour they needed to get the doughnuts started.
When she returned, Valerie was still standing there with wide eyes and shaking her head. “Um. Wow.”
“No kidding.”
“Why would Max start a rumor like that about his friend? It just doesn’t make any sense. It’s not like they were competing for the same girl or anything.”
“I don’t know. I would have asked Sam, but we were a little busy at the time.” She grinned at Valerie then cut the bag and dumped the flour into the heavy-duty mixer. “Come on, Val, are you going to stand around looking dumbfounded or are you going to get to work on the cinnamon rolls we need done before we open?”
Valerie laughed and reached for the large mixing bowls. “Okay, fine. But I have one last question. What was the chocolate mug cake sitting out on the counter for?” She giggled as flames of embarrassment licked up Leah’s neck. “Never mind. I had a feeling I didn’t want to know.”
“Sam, uh…has a thing about sweets.”
“Uh-huh.”
“No, I’m serious. When it comes to chocolate, he’s like a menstruating girl.”
Val grinned. “After what you told me about his dick, I’d say he’s nothing like a girl at all.”
“Okay, stop it. And if he stops by, you better not act weird or anything. I don’t want him to know we were talking about him.”
“Wait, you mean he isn’t still here?”
Leah shook her head. “God, no. Do you think I would be talking about his junk if he was upstairs in my bedroom?”
“What’d you do—rush him out of here before I arrived?”
“Um, no. Actually, he sort of left on his own…without telling me.”
“So he just had sex with you and then left? That’s a jerk thing to do.”
Jeez. As if this couldn’t get any more humiliating. “No, he stayed most of the night, but he was gone this morning before I woke up. I’m not sure what time he left. He didn’t exactly say goodbye.”
Valerie’s lips turned downward, and her eyes narrowed. “So this was just a fling for him then?”
“I…I don’t really know. It wasn’t exactly the first time we had sex. Over the weekend, we had agreed to being friends with benefits, bu
t I…don’t think I can anymore. Not if he’s going to come and go as he pleases. And I mean that in the literal sense.” Leah sighed. “It makes me feel like I’m being used for sex so he doesn’t have to face up to his commitment issues.”
The scowl on her friend’s face worsened. “I think he’s a good guy so I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt here and hope he had a damn good reason to run out on you. But if he doesn’t, I’m going to seriously consider putting his donkey dick in that mixer and turning it on full speed.”
Leah couldn’t help but smile at Val’s overprotective side, but inside she was cringing at what she was about to tell her. “Unfortunately, I have an even bigger problem than Sam leaving without waking me.”
“What’s that?”
She sighed, conveying her unhappiness. “What do you do when you fall in love with your fake fiancé?”
Valerie cocked her head, and her forehead wrinkled. “Oh, honey. You don’t think he feels the same way about you, do you?”
“I honestly don’t know what he’s feeling, if anything. Before this weekend, I didn’t even think he was attracted to me so the whole friends-with-benefits thing came as a complete surprise. But now that I’ve been on the receiving end of his…um, benefits…I’ve fallen hard for him. I sort of mentioned it last night, but he’s hesitant about serious relationships.”
“Does he want to be with you?”
Leah shrugged. “I don’t know. He didn’t say.”
“So ask him.”
“What? Hell no.”
“Why not? How else are you supposed to know what he’s thinking?”
“I can’t do that. I would like to think he wouldn’t have had sex with me last night if he didn’t feel the same way, but I honestly can’t say for sure. He hasn’t been real forthcoming about much.”
“Leah, you need to go talk to him and find out where he stands after last night. You are a catch, and you shouldn’t have to play guessing games when it comes to how a man feels about you. Just grow a fucking pair and go ask him already.”
“B-but what if he doesn’t reciprocate my feelings?”
“Then he’s a fucking idiot, and we’re going to tell everyone his dick is the size of a soda straw…whether it’s true or not.”
Chapter Twenty
Sam let out a string of curse words and threw the hammer out into the yard.
“Need a hand with that?” Bill asked, chuckling under his breath. “Or maybe I should just offer you my thumbs. You seem to be running out of yours.”
Sam gazed down at his aching nub and gritted his teeth. “I’ve still got one good one left.” But at this rate, he wouldn’t have it for long.
Served him right though. He should have been paying more attention to what he was doing rather than thinking about spending last night with Leah.
Bill gestured to the patio chair across the table from him. “Why don’t you sit down and take a break for a minute. You might work better if you cool off a little.”
Aggravated with himself, Sam plopped down in the chair and wiped the sweat from his brow. The afternoon sun was still burning bright, and the heat was starting to get to him. Just like Leah had.
“You want to talk about it?” Bill asked, pouring a glass of iced tea from the pitcher on the table and passing it to Sam.
“No. It’s nothing. Just something I’m trying to work out in my head.” Sam took a big gulp of the sweet tea.
“I see. Well, if you need someone to talk to…”
Sam nodded. “Thanks. I appreciate it. I’m sure the problem will work itself out soon enough.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“I know where to find you…and your thumbs.” Sam grinned and then took another swallow of tea.
A moment of silence passed between them before Leah’s father spoke again. “I like you, Sam.”
“Bill, if you don’t stop flirting with me, I’m going to tell your daughter on you.”
He chuckled and pointed at Sam. “Right there. That is exactly what I’m talking about. You’re a fun guy, and Leah hasn’t always had that in her life. I see the way she is with you, the way she looks at you, and how happy she is having you around. The two of you fit together nicely.”
Sam’s blood ran cold. It was as if the man in front of him were a doctor who had just administered a heavy dose of guilt directly into his veins. Bill wouldn’t be saying any of this if he’d known that Sam had been having sex with his daughter with no intention of turning it into a relationship. “Well, Leah’s a great girl,” he muttered quietly.
Her dad’s eyes filled with pride. “Yes, she is. And she’s also my favorite daughter.”
Confused, Sam quirked a brow at him. “Isn’t she your only daughter?”
“Well, yeah, but just because Leah didn’t happen to have any competition in the daughter department doesn’t mean she would automatically be considered my favorite. I’ve seen lots of parents who may love their children but can’t stand the little assholes.”
“Touché,” Sam said, smiling.
“But Leah is a good girl. She’s respectful and kind and hasn’t got a mean bone in her body. She cares about the people around her, even when they don’t deserve it. Like Gavin. When that little prick broke things off with her, I was dancing on the rooftops. She deserves someone better, a guy who will always come to her defense and appreciate her for who she is. Someone like you.”
Sam didn’t know how to respond so he just nodded in agreement.
Thankfully, Bill continued on without hesitation. “I have to tell you, Sam, when I first heard about her getting engaged, I wasn’t the least bit surprised. I always knew Leah would one day meet that special guy who would love her for who she is. One who would put a ring on her finger as quickly as possible to keep another man from snatching her away.” He cleared his throat, and a glossy sheen fell over his eyes as his emotions got the better of him. “Look, we didn’t know each other at the time, and you may not have asked for my blessing, but I’m telling you…it’s yours. You have it. I’d be proud to have you as my son-in-law.”
Well, fuck. Now what the hell was Sam supposed to do?
This whole thing was supposed to be a quick solution to help get Leah out of an engagement that she was never really in to begin with. Instead they were screwing with these people’s heads, and things were getting too far out of hand. And he had no one to blame but himself. If Sam hadn’t opened his big mouth at Gavin’s wedding, then none of this would have happened.
Learn to think things through, dumbass.
Under the circumstances, Sam did the only thing he could. He shook Bill’s hand and muttered a quick, “Thanks. That means a lot.” Then he quickly stood, retrieved his hammer from the yard, and got back to work on trying to remove Bill’s old patio door.
Bill watched in silence as Sam pried off the weathered framework. He originally had planned on sending a crew out to do the job, which would have been much faster, but he couldn’t risk one of his workers blowing his cover about being Leah’s fiancé. None of them knew that Sam was engaged—fake or otherwise—to Bill’s daughter. And he had no doubt the subject would come up. So he’d made up an excuse about being down a few good men and told Leah’s dad that he’d do the job himself.
And Bill hadn’t seemed upset about it. Actually, he’d smiled at Sam and said, “Good, it means I get to spend the day with my future son-in-law.”
Sam sighed. He should have allowed Leah to end the engagement at the Water Gardens when she’d had the chance. Lord knows she tried. At least then he wouldn’t be battling his conscience every minute of the day.
Like this morning, when he’d ran out on Leah without waking her. He was supposed to meet Bill early so that he could get started on the patio doors, but Sam had forgotten all about it.
Then again, he had been a little distracted last night…and a lot busy.
A devilish grin spread across his face. Yeah, Leah had kept him otherwise occupied for most of the night, an
d he’d enjoyed every fucking minute of it.
By the time he’d remembered the job, Leah had already drifted off to sleep. He’d hated leaving without waking her, especially since her luscious ass had been pressed so snugly up against him. But neither of them had gotten much sleep and she had looked so peaceful that he hadn’t wanted to disturb her.
So instead, he had unwillingly torn himself away, dragged himself out of her bed, and thrown himself in the truck, hoping to get started on the job so he’d have one less thing to worry about. Leah, on the other hand, was the next thing on that list.
As if his mind had conjured her into a physical state, Leah rounded the side of the house. Her hair swayed in the slight breeze, and the scent of her perfume wafted to him, sending his heart racing. Her eyes met his as she reached the deck. “Oh. Um, hi,” she said softly, then shifted awkwardly as if she didn’t know what else to say.
And that only made Sam feel like more of an ass than he already did.
Irritated by his indecisiveness, he gave her a terse nod and said, “Hey.” Then he went back to prying off the old framework, loosening it from the stucco.
“I didn’t know you were here,” she told him. “I was…looking for my mom.”
“Here I am,” Nancy said, stepping into the kitchen. Her voice was muffled behind the glass door. “I heard you knock, but I was upstairs on the phone.”
Leah raised her voice so her mom would hear. “Well, I just stopped by to tell you that I received a thank-you note from Mrs. Newman. She said that everyone loved Gavin’s wedding cake and that it was a huge hit. She’s recommending my bakery to all of her friends.”
“That woman doesn’t have friends, dear. She has followers,” Nancy said, wearing an amused expression. “But that’s wonderful news. With her connections, I’m sure your bakery will be a huge success.”
Sam grimaced and shoved open the patio door to make sure Nancy could hear him. “Leah’s bakery is already a huge success.”
“Yes, of course it is,” Nancy agreed, giving him a lackluster smile. “In fact, we should celebrate and have dinner together.”
Leah shook her head. “Oh no, that’s okay. Tonight’s not good for us.”