“Hmm.” Gypsy tapped her chin in thought. “I don’t know. He’s good looking, that’s for damn sure, but he also likes to play the field. Not sure he’d be right for Dani.”
“Uh, guys.” I lifted my hand and waved it in the air. “I’m right here. And if any of you care, I really don’t want to be set up.”
“We don’t,” all four of them said at the same time.
“What about Leo?” Nona queried.
Oh lord. I clamped my mouth shut, pulling my lips between my teeth and biting down as my cheeks began to burn.
That got Gypsy’s full attention, and she swiveled around to face Nona full-on. “Leo Drake?”
“Didn’t he just get divorced?” Blair asked.
Nona spoke next. “Yeah, but it was like, a year ago. That’s enough time, right?”
“Normally, I’d say yes to that,” Sadie answered before frowning and continuing with, “but that ex of his is a real piece of work. Not sure our Dani needs to take on something like that.”
I’d given up. Those four women were going to keep talking about me like I wasn’t there, so I decided my best bet was to keep my mouth shut. There was also the added fact that I wasn’t sure I could speak without it becoming glaringly obvious how just hearing them say the name Leo Drake affected me.
“True,” Nona said on a sigh. “So then we’re back to one of the Alpha Omega guys?”
Letting out a beleaguered breath, I cast my eyes up to the ceiling and mumbled, “From here on out, I’m going to the salon in Grapevine.”
They all knew I was full of it, and they showed that by bursting into laughter.
It was official. I needed new friends.
They continued on like that for several minutes, to the point Nona had finished with the foils, and they were still rattling off names.
I couldn’t take it any longer. “Seriously, guys. No setups,” I pleaded. “I mean it. If I’m supposed to meet someone, it’ll happen naturally.”
“Not when all you do is spend your time working, hon,” Gypsy stated. I pulled my lips between my teeth again, this time feeling the hit of her words, because she wasn’t wrong. Owning my own business, I worked crazy hours and was on my feet the whole time. Usually, I was so exhausted by the end of the day that all I wanted to do was go home and pass out. That didn’t really give much of a chance for a social life, and it played a large part in why I was still single at thirty-four.
“Gypsy,” Nona said in a low, admonishing voice.
I looked into the mirror to see her looking down at me with concern and understanding.
“It’s fine,” I said softly. “I mean, she’s not totally wrong. I work like crazy, then go home. That’s pretty much it.”
“See?” Gypsy threw her hand out toward me, looking to Nona as she declared, “She gets me.” Her gaze turned to the mirror, her expression turning contrite. “But I am sorry, babe. I didn’t mean to—”
“Don’t.” I held my hand up to halt her apology. “You don’t have anything to apologize for. I didn’t take offense. I get it, and I need to do better. But—” I added quickly when her and Nona’s faces both lit up with excitement. “How about we start smaller? Much smaller, say, with a girls’ night in which none of you try setting me up with a man. Deal?”
The two of them turned to each other, communicating silently before facing the mirror and looking back at me to say in unison, “Deal.”
“Where are you going?” I called out when Gypsy spun around on her heel and started scurrying away.
“To make some calls,” she returned. “You said you’re down for a girls’ night, so I’m gonna set something up. I’m thinking Whiskey Dolls, next Saturday.”
“I’m out for that weekend, but don’t let that stop you,” Nona informed her. “I’ll catch you guys another time. I know Eden and Tempie will be in. You just need to check with Tessa, Sage, and Rory.”
Gypsy’s hand went up in the air. “On it. This is gonna be so much fun!”
I might have initially used this as a diversion to get them off the path of fixing me up, but now that it was actually in the works, I was starting to get excited. I hadn’t had a night out in so damn long, and Whiskey Dolls was the perfect place.
Chapter Five
Danika
“Dani?”
“Taylor, make sure you start on those fruit tarts as soon you finish filling the cannoli. We ran out yesterday. Don’t want the same thing happening today.”
“You got it,” Taylor replied, shooting me a thumbs up from across the kitchen.
“Dani.”
“And Martin, double up on the cronut recipe for today. They’re a crowd favorite.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Dani!”
I whipped my head to the door where one of my girls, Candace, was standing, looking exasperated with me. “Yeah?”
“I got a man out here asking for you.”
I looked around the busy kitchen. “Can you take care of it, babe? I’m kind of in the middle of a rush right now.”
“Sorry, but he’s adamant that he speaks with you. No one else.” A grin so big it made her dimples pop stretched her cheeks. “And just to say, this dude’s so fine, if he wanted to talk to me, I’d stop what I was doing and barrel over anyone in my way to get to him.”
Martin suddenly seemed very interested in what was going on. Looking to Candace, he asked, “This guy give you his name?”
“Leo Drake,” my girl replied. “Didn’t think it was possible for a name to be sexy, but his totally is, and it fits him perfectly.”
Oh God. Leo was here? Asking for me? My heart started to flutter and my hands trembled as I wiped them clean on a dish towel. On the days I scheduled myself to work the front of the shop, I took time in my morning routine to do my hair and slap on a bit of makeup. However, on the days I knew I’d be in the kitchen the whole day, I didn’t bother. I skipped makeup completely and always tossed my hair in knot at the top of my head to keep it out of my way. Anything else would have been a waste, seeing as I’d inevitably end up sweaty and covered in flour.
I looked down at my apron—black, with the Muffin Top logo embroidered in red stitching on the left side of my chest—and brushed off any residual flour clinging to me before moving to the swinging double doors that led to the front.
“Hold on,” Candace said before I could step through. She reached up and rubbed my cheek, muttering, “There, you’re all good.” Then she smiled, emitted a girly squeal, and stepped aside so I could continue on my path.
Leo was standing to the side of the crowd at the end of the counter, turned to stare out into the shop, giving me a hint of his profile. Since he was a detective, he wasn’t required to wear a uniform, but it was clear he still took pride in his job by wearing a pressed button-down shirt in light green tucked into a pair of nice, dark-washed jeans. I couldn’t see much lower thanks to the counter obstructing my view, but I knew from studying him whenever he came into the shop that, on his feet, were a pair of cowboy boots—today’s probably brown to match his leather belt—that weren’t new by any stretch, but that he kept shined and polished.
There was the finest dusting of dark stubble on his jaw, telling me he hadn’t bothered to shave that morning, and his dark hair was just on this side of needing a cut, flipping ever so slightly around his ears and neck, but still managing to look hot as sin.
It had been three days since he walked me to my car after visiting with him and his family at his dad’s house, and I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him for more than a handful of seconds at a time.
His frame went straight and his head swiveled in my direction as I got closer, those unique hazel eyes, usually an interesting olive green, were a bit brighter today thanks to his shirt. “Hi,” I said softly, smiling as I came to a stop just across the counter from him. “Candace said you wanted to talk to me?”
“Is Candace the spunky little thing with the nose ring?” he asked, turning his body completely to
face me.
That was definitely Candace. In her early twenties, she had more energy than I knew what to do with. Spunky was an apt description, though, somedays I’d call her flat out hyper. “That’d be her,” I said with a giggle. “Is everything okay? Please tell me you aren’t here to complain that your order got screwed up.”
He grinned, and I felt it all the way down in my belly. “No. Nothin’ like that. Do you even get complaints?”
I blushed and lowered my head, looking up from beneath my lashes. “Um, not really.”
The corner of his mouth trembled with humor as he mumbled, “Didn’t think so.”
“My team and I strive to make everything great so no one has to complain.”
“Safe to say, I think you guys have succeeded. I haven’t heard a single negative word about anything that comes outta here.”
“That’s always nice to hear.” Especially coming from him. “So what can I do for you?”
He braced an arm on the countertop between us and leaned into it, making the muscles in his biceps and shoulders strain appealingly against the material of his shirt. “Well, I know you’re really busy, but Macie’s been on me for days about your bakin’ lesson. I put her off as long as I could, but she wasn’t lettin’ me leave the house this morning without a promise that I’d stop in and ask you when a good time was.”
“Aw.” His daughter was just the cutest.
“Now, if you have a lot of stuff goin’ on and can’t make that happen in the near future, don’t feel the slightest bit bad in saying so. I’ll explain it to her in a way she’ll get without getting upset.”
“I can make it work,” I said quickly, the words spilling out without a single thought.
He lifted one brow in that really cool way I’d never been able to pull off. “You sure about that? I know I said it was hard to deny my girl much of anything, but—”
“I’m totally sure,” I chirped. “And not just because you’re right and Macie’s too adorable to say no to, but because I want to. I got really into baking when I was about her age, so I get a real kick out of her wanting to learn.”
His smiles could be dangerous to a woman’s health, but his smirks were downright lethal. I knew that for a fact because he hit me with one right then and I had to brace myself against the counter to keep from going down. And I could’ve sworn I heard soft, appreciative sighs coming from a couple of the women standing around, waiting for their orders. “That’s great. So what day works for you?”
“Well, if it’s cool with you, I can actually do it this evening. Today’s a kitchen day for me.”
That damn brow went up again, and I had to fight back the need to fan myself. “Not sure I’m supposed to know what that means, darlin’.”
“Right. Sorry. It means I came in early and get out early. When I work the front I’m here from open until close, but since today’s a baking day, I work from four in the morning to four in the afternoon.”
His eyes went big with bewilderment. “Christ, sweetheart. You work a twelve-hour day every day?”
“Comes with the territory in this line of work,” I answered on a shrug. “Believe me, I’ve gotten used to it.”
When he spoke next, his voice was low and husky. “Guess I shouldn’t say anything, considering I’m one of the many who benefits from all your hard work.”
My lips pulled up in a bright, full smile, and there was no missing the way his gaze trailed down to my mouth and hovered for a beat before shooting back up. “That’s sweet. Thanks.”
“So, tonight it is. I usually get off around five, so what do you say we meet at my place at six? And if you’re gonna be helpin’ with dessert, it’s only fair I provide dinner.”
I suddenly thought back to what his son and father said a few nights ago. “Oh, you don’t have to do that. Really, I can eat before—”
“I insist,” he said with another smirk. “And just to put your mind at ease. I’ll be cookin’ something I know how to make. You’re not in any kind of danger.”
“Well, okay.” I narrowed my eyes skeptically. “If you’re absolutely sure I’m not gonna get sick.”
“You have my word. I’ll see you tonight. Six o’clock.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. Flipping it open, he grabbed a business card and extended it to me. “My cell’s on there. Shoot me a text when you get a moment with a list of the stuff you need for tonight. I’ll program you in, then send you my address.”
“I can bring the ingred—”
“Non-negotiable. You’re doin’ me a solid, coming over after twelve hours on your feet. I’m getting all the groceries. Deal?”
I took the white card, looking down at the police department emblem in the top left corner before shifting my gaze to Leo’s name, title, and phone numbers in strong black font. “O-okay. Yeah. Deal.”
“Tonight, darlin’.”
I lifted my head, returning my gaze to Leo. “Tonight, Leo. Six.”
With one last devastating smile, he turned on his boots—I was right, they were brown—and moved out. He was the kind of man who swaggered with every step he took without even trying. It was just how he walked. It was just him. Leo Drake, cool, calm, collected, and incredibly hot, swaggered.
I’d been watching him long enough to know it was just a part of him because he’d been doing it for most of his life. And still, at thirty-four years old, with years of witnessing that swagger under my belt, I wasn’t any more immune than I had been the very first time I witnessed it in all its glory.
“Mmm.” At Candace’s hum, I turned and saw her staring out the door Leo had just exited, a dreamy expression on her face. “That man is something else.” She turned to me. “Please tell me you’re getting yourself some of that.”
I wish.
“It’s not like that. I’m teaching his daughter to bake.”
She let out another hum, this one not nearly as dreamy. “Damn shame. With how fine that man is, and you being all cute as a button, you’d look great together.”
It was nice to hear she thought I was cute and would look great with Leo . . . really nice. But I couldn’t let my head go there. Leo Drake wasn’t for the likes of me, and I’d do well to remember that.
“Candace?” I asked when she remained in place, gazing longingly out the huge plate-glass windows.
“Yeah?”
“Customers aren’t gonna serve themselves, babe.”
She blinked quickly and shook herself out of her stupor. “Right!” Then she and I both got back to work.
Chapter Six
Danika
I double checked the address I’d put into my car’s GPS, making sure I had it right before bending lower to get a better view out of my passenger side window. It was the right address.
Until that moment, I hadn’t really given much thought to Leo’s house, but now that I was thinking about it, the image that had sprung to mind was a rustic log cabin tucked way up in the woods, secluded, with a rusted axe stuck in the middle of a big-ass stump beside the house. Not too far from that stump would be a huge pile of split wood, wood that Leo would have definitely chopped himself—or ripped apart with his bare hands, al la Chris Evans in one those Avengers movies.
Okay, so I might have let my imagination run away from me a bit.
Still, I hadn’t expected his home to be an attractive, red-bricked Colonial Revival, tucked into the middle of a quiet neighborhood. A neighborhood that had been around so long the street was completely shaded by a canopy of fully matured trees that lined the sidewalks on both sides, making it so it would feel pleasant to take a stroll any time of the year.
Shaking off my surprise, I pushed open the door and climbed out, moving around the hood to grab my stand mixer and other kitchen items out of the passenger seat. I headed up the walkway, shifting the items in my arms to knock, but the door flew open before I had a chance, revealing an excited Macie. She let out a squeal and began hopping in place. “You’re here!” she cried before tu
rning to look inside the house and hollered, “Dad! She’s here!”
Hardin appeared behind her a second later, an adorably goofy grin on his face as he practically shoved his sister out of the way.
“Hey Ms. Dani. Here, let me get that for you.”
He divested me of the heavy mixer and bag of utensils with ease. “Thanks. And, please, feel free to just call me Dani.”
His cheeks turned pink and his smile turned a bit wonky, making it even cuter. “You got it, Ms.—I mean, Dani.”
I followed them inside through the entryway and passed a masculine, yet attractive, living room, complete with the biggest TV I’d ever seen mounted on the wall across from a huge gray sectional. I took in what I could as we moved along, noticing there had been a lot of updates to the house. It was really nice. It didn’t take a genius to realize he’d picked this house so his kids would be comfortable any time they came over.
We rounded the corner into the big, spacious kitchen, and the first thing my eyes rested on was Leo. His back was to the entry as he chopped something on the cutting board beside the stove. Since I’d last seen him, he’d changed out of his work clothes. The jeans he had on now were more worn, the pockets frayed from being washed so many times, and he’d switched the button-down for an extremely faded black tee.
His head came around just as Hardin deposited my wares on the island. “Damn, darlin’. You leave anything back in your kitchen?”
I shrugged and moved forward, pulling my purse from my shoulder and hooking it on the back of one of the barstools. “I wasn’t sure what you had to work with, so I decided overprepared was probably the best bet.”
The corner of his mouth hooked up as he looked down at the items I’d started taking out of my bag. “Good call. ’Cause I can tell you now, I don’t have any of that stuff.”
I finished laying everything out, and for the first time, noticed the incredible smells surrounding me. “Well, I don’t know what you do have, but judging by the smell in here, it works just fine. Whatever you’re cooking smells amazing.”
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