No, she hasn’t called, and that shouldn’t piss me off, but it does. I don’t even know the woman who’s suddenly consumed my mind. But what I do know is she’s gorgeous, with a beautiful full figure my hands and mouth itch to explore and a sense of humor that makes my dick hard. “Did you need something, or are you just here to annoy me?”
“Just go to her job and talk to her,” he says, ignoring my question.
“Yeah, that wouldn’t be awkward.” I scrub my hand through my hair. “I sent her flowers with my number and haven’t heard from her.” I shake my head and do the math. It’s been five days since I sent the bouquet. “She’s obviously not interested.” Isn’t that a kick to the gut? The first woman I’m actually interested in pursuing isn’t interested in me.
“Cammy didn’t want anything to do with me when we met; she thought I was a player and was just trying to get into her pants.”
“You were a player, and you were trying to get into her pants,” I point out.
“I was a player until I met her. Getting in her pants was a bonus.” He shrugs while grinning; then he sits forward with a serious look on his face. “The point is, I didn’t let her push me away and I didn’t give up, because I knew she was as into me as I was her. I just had to convince her to see things my way.”
“You mean you stalked her until she agreed to go out with you.”
“You say it like it’s a bad thing.”
“Stalking is illegal.”
“It worked, didn’t it?” he asks with a knowing smirk.
Shit, he’s right.
“Go by her shop tomorrow and ask her out. If she says no, go back again the next day and the next until she agrees.”
“You might be a little insane,” I inform him.
“Maybe. Then again, I have the wife I wanted and a beautiful little girl at home who calls me Daddy, so things worked out for me in the end.”
“True,” I mumble, wondering if I should take his advice. The truth is, I know Chrissie had to have felt what I felt when we met. At least I really fucking hope she did. I swallow as doubt settles deep in my chest.
“I’ve never seen you like this, so you must really like this chick,” he says quietly.
“I do.” In the few minutes I spent with her, she made me laugh, frustrated me, and had me so on edge with desire that I was tempted to throw her over my shoulder and take her someplace quiet where I could kiss her without interruption.
“I—”
Before he can say more, there’s another knock on the door.
“Hold that thought,” I say, looking at him before I shout, “Come in!”
“Hey, Gus.” Georgia, my bar manager, walks in with a bright smile that quickly slides away when she spots Luke sitting across from me. “Luke.”
“Georgia.” He lifts his chin, then leans back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest. I’m not surprised by either of their reactions, since they don’t like each other and only tolerate being in each other’s company because they both work for me.
“Did you need something?” I ask when she stops in the middle of the room.
“I just wanted to go over the schedule for next week with you.”
“I got it when you emailed it to me. I emailed you back, letting you know it looked good.”
“Oh, I didn’t see that you replied,” she says, and Luke makes a noise of disbelief that causes her to turn to look at him with what I’m guessing is a murderous expression.
“Did you need anything else?” I ask, and her features soften as her eyes come back to me.
“Um, no, not that I can think of.”
“If that’s all, I’ll be out in a bit after I finish up some paperwork.”
“Sure. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Will do,” I agree, and she nods once before quickly turning around and leaving my office.
“Dude, you seriously need to deal with that situation.” Luke shakes his head.
“There’s no situation to deal with—she’s my employee.”
“Yeah, but in her mind, you’re eventually going to see that she’s the kind of woman you can take home to your mama, put a ring on and a baby in.”
“That’s never gonna happen,” I say, my stomach actually turning at the thought.
“I know that and you know that, but she sure as fuck believes something different.”
“I’ll deal with it,” I sigh, knowing he’s right but also hoping she will realize nothing is ever going to happen between us.
“Jesus, I’m so fucking happy I’m married,” he rumbles, making me chuckle.
“Luke ‘Forever Single’ Parker, happy he’s married.” I laugh.
“You’ll find the right woman one day, and then you’ll understand exactly why I’m happy to be off the market.” He stands up and places his hands on my desk before leaning over it. “Get your girl, because if you don’t and I have to deal with your shitty attitude for another day, I’m kidnapping her and tying her to your bed.”
“Does Cammy know exactly how insane you are?”
“Yep, and she loves it. She’d probably help me kidnap your girl if I asked her to then fuck me senseless when it was done.”
Knowing Cammy as I do, I’m sure she would help him and get off on it. “Get out of my office—I have shit to do.”
“Was leaving anyway.” He grins before he shuts the door behind himself.
I glance at the clock on the wall and calculate exactly how many hours it will be until I see Chrissie again. The double-digit number makes me groan. With no other choice, I get back to work, hoping like fuck that I can convince the woman who has completely taken over my every waking thought to take a chance on me.
Suggestion 3
GIVE A LITTLE
CHRISSIE
“The wedding looked beautiful, and you were killer in your dress,” Rachelle tells me while scrolling through the photos I took at Leah’s wedding. “Also”—she waves the last bit of cookie in her hand between us—“whatever this is, it’s delicious.”
I can’t help but smile as she shoves the last bite of my newest creation into her mouth. “It’s a mixture of banana chips and dark chocolate cookie dough.”
“Well, it should totally go in the showcase.”
“Maybe next week. I think I want to play with it a little more—maybe add peanut butter chips to the mix and see how it tastes.”
“Oh, I want to try that,” she says and then hands me back my phone.
I slide through some of the photos, stopping on one I took of Leah before she walked down the aisle. Even in the photo, I can feel her happiness and excitement.
“Oh my God,” Rachelle hisses suddenly, jabbing her elbow into my rib cage and catching me off guard.
“What the heck?” I wheeze, grabbing hold of my side, sure I’m going to have a bruise there.
“Oh my God, oh my God, he’s coming in!” she cries, and I look to see which one of the dozens of high school boys she likes is about to enter the shop.
My eyes widen and my stomach drops when it’s not some high school kid, but Gaston . . . sweaty, gorgeous Gaston in running shoes, sweats cut off at the knee, and a hoodie.