Jayme appreciated his encouragement. “I’ve got some awesome low-calorie recipes too.”
Rocket grinned, then got serious. “I’m sorry you were disappointed by your friend. I don’t know this Claire person, but I’m sure she’s regretting what she did. Her nephew has probably run her precious bakery into the ground by now. But don’t let her actions ruin your dream. You can be grateful to her for giving you the opportunity to learn what you needed to learn to run your own business, while still feeling hurt over her actions.”
That was true. Jayme still had mixed feelings about what had happened. She loved Claire, but had been so very hurt over what she’d done. “Thanks,” she said softly.
“You’re gonna need a kick-ass name for your bakery though,” Rocket said. “What about Pie in the Sky?”
Jayme grinned and wrinkled her nose.
“No? What about, Holy Cannoli?”
She laughed outright at that. “Uh, no.”
“Right, too corny. It needs to be something that encompasses more than just cakes, cookies, or bread, so you can’t have any of those words in the name. You don’t want people thinking all you make is bread or cookies or whatever, but it can’t be so broad that no one knows what the business is.”
“You seem to know a lot about this kind of thing,” Jayme noted.
Rocket shrugged. “I have a master’s degree in business. Took a class on marketing.”
“You do? Really?”
“I know, a mechanic having a master’s degree is surprising,” he said self-deprecatingly.
“No, it isn’t that,” Jayme said quickly, not wanting him to think she was dissing him in any way. “I just…most people don’t understand this stuff. When I tried to talk to Memaw about it, she didn’t really understand how much work goes into owning a business. She means well, but she thinks all I need to do is make a bunch of cookies and they’ll sell without any effort.”
“Nothing about owning a business is easy,” Rocket said. “I would’ve started my own business, but helicopter repair isn’t exactly high in demand with the general population.”
Jayme chuckled. “Right, until we all have helicopters in our garages I can see why working for a contractor is the best move for you.”
He returned her smile. “What names have you thought of for your bakery? And don’t tell me you haven’t thought of any, because I won’t believe you.”
How did this man know her so well after only a few hours? “Promise you won’t laugh?” she asked.
“I’d never laugh at you,” he said seriously.
Jayme believed him. It was crazy, but something about this man made her want to believe her dream could come true. “Confection Connection?”
Rocket wrinkled his nose.
“Yeah, that wasn’t my first choice,” Jayme agreed. “What about Dream Puffs? Or The Baker’s Table?”
“Better, but I’m not sure they really fit you.”
“Warm Delights?” Jayme asked, holding her breath. That had been her favorite of all the names she’d come up with.
“Warm Delights…I like it. It gives the impression of all sorts of treats, not just cookies or pies. And if you ever wanted to branch out and do more than desserts, you could sell pot pies, casseroles, things like that.”
Jayme beamed. “That’s what I thought too. Rocket…?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m not scared of you.” As surprise registered on his face, more words came tumbling out of her. She’d been thinking about what he’d said earlier and she wanted—no needed him to know that she didn’t think he’d ever hurt her. “Most of the men I’ve dated haven’t understood that baking calms me. That being in the kitchen is what fills my soul. They haven’t understood that I’d rather spend an evening baking than going to a music concert or to the movies. I was an annoying kid; just as my grandmother, she’ll tell you so many stories about how I wouldn’t stop bugging her or my mother to show me how to use some new kitchen utensil, or how I hated to play outside because I’d rather be inside with them baking or cooking. So now you know what my dream for the future is, owning my own bakery—and I don’t think you’re a creeper.”
Jayme was almost panting by the time she got done with her little speech, but she’d rushed through it so she wouldn’t chicken out. She was more content to fade into the background and not bring attention to herself, so telling Rocket what she really thought had been hard…but the smile on his face was worth all the angst she’d built up inside before she’d finally shared her thoughts.
“Good. Can I take you on a date?”
“I’d like that,” Jayme said shyly. “I haven’t seen much of Killeen yet.”
Rocket grinned. “I’d be honored to show you around.”
“Cool.”
“Cool,” he echoed.
Then he surprised her by sitting back on the couch but not letting go of her hand. “I could leave now, but that would deprive Winnie of the satisfaction of knowing how well we got along…and how well her little plan worked.”
Jayme laughed. “Right? Although she probably deserves to be disappointed and think her scheming didn’t work for a while.”
“Do you really care?” Rocket asked.
Did she? No. She loved her memaw, and while it was a little embarrassing to be set up by her, if things worked out between her and Rocket, she couldn’t really be too mad. “No,” she told him.
“Me either. I don’t suppose Winnie’s got cable?” he asked skeptically.
Jayme laughed. “Not only does she have cable, she has Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV.”
Rocket’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”
“Yup. She says that she needs to stay up on what’s hip in the world,” Jayme told him.
“Your grandmother’s cooler than I am,” Rocket said.
“Me too,” Jayme agreed as she reached for the remote and clicked on the television.
She had no idea how much time had passed while they watched a British reality series about a helicopter 9-1-1 unit, but Jayme realized she’d fallen asleep when she heard voices speaking around her.
Opening her eyes, she saw that Rocket had turned off the lights…and she’d somehow snuggled herself almost onto his lap. His arm was around her, and she was using his shoulder as a pillow. He’d covered her up with a blanket, and she felt warm and safe in his arms.
He shifted next to her, and Jayme felt herself being lowered to the cushions. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” Rocket told her softly.
Jayme nodded. She was having a hard time keeping her eyes open.
“Go back to sleep,” Rocket told her. “I’ll see myself out.”
“Rocket?”
“Yeah?”
“I had a good time tonight.”
“Me too.”
Then she felt his warm lips against her forehead before she sensed him moving away. She heard more low conversation, probably Rocket saying goodbye to Memaw, before she heard her grandmother shuffling back into the room. Knowing she needed to get up and go to her bedroom, Jayme slowly sat upright, keeping the blanket that smelled like Rocket around her shoulders.