“Thanks, beautiful. Now, about that number?”
“I’m sorry, I—” I start to decline when Aspen grabs a business card and scribbles my name and number on it, handing it to him.
“Here you go.” She grins like a kid on Christmas morning.
“Thanks.” He makes a show of taking a picture of it with his phone, then pulling out his wallet and placing it inside. “Just in case I lose it. It’s too important.” His eyes sparkle as he smiles.
“How much do I owe you?” he asks.
Aspen again elbows me, and I jump into action, ringing up his order and swiping his credit card. “Thank you,” I tell him, handing him the receipt.
“The pleasure is all mine. I’ll be seeing you, Aurora,” he says. Is it just me or does his voice sound deeper? Sexier? Aspen clears her throat. “You too, Aspen. You ladies have a nice day.”
“Enjoy the magic,” Aspen calls after him.
He stops and turns to face us. It looks like he mouths “the magic” before nodding. “It’s always about the magic.” He grins, turns on his heel, and exits the same way he arrived, holding my attention.
“Holy freaking hotness.” Aspen fans her face with her hand. “That man is fine, and that look on his face…. It’s as if he wanted to eat you alive.”
“Come on. He’s just flirting. I’ll never hear from him.” As I say the words, my phone vibrates in my pocket. Grabbing it, I see a text from an unknown number.
Unknown: This is Grant. Save my number. Have a great day, beautiful.
“It’s him, isn’t it? I can tell by the blush on your cheeks. Told you so,” my little sister gloats.
“Stop. It’s not going to happen.”
“You need a good man in your life. After what that dick Elijah did to you.”
Before I can reply, the door chimes and in walks a group of older ladies. I give Aspen a look that tells her to drop it before greeting our customers. Grant might be the sexiest man I’ve ever laid eyes on, but that’s where this ends. I’m not looking for a man in my life. The last one just about destroyed me.
Chapter 3
Grant
I’ve checked my phone a million times today. Okay, maybe a million is a stretch, but it sure feels like it. Hell, even my battery that’s flashing 25 percent is tired of me checking. I sent Aurora a text before I even pulled away from the bakery this morning, and nothing. I can see that she read the message, but it’s been nothing but silence.
“What did that phone do to you?” Sawyer asks from the doorway of my office.
“Nothing.” I toss it onto my desk. “What’s up, sis?”
She steps into my office and takes a seat across from me. “Not buying the ‘nothing,’ Grant Riggins. What’s going on?” There is nothing but love and concern in her voice.
“Just waiting on a reply.”
“Oh, yeah?” Her interest is piqued.
“It’s been hours,” I say, frustrated as I run my fingers through my hair.
“Lady friend troubles.” She nods, sitting back into the chair, obviously settling in for this conversation.
“Does she count as a lady friend if I just met her?”
“Yes.”
She doesn’t say anything else, and I’m thankful, but I know what she’s doing. Sawyer is waiting me out. She’s so damn easy to talk to. It’s one of the reasons why she hit it off with my family and me immediately. Royce was a little slow to admit she made him feel something after years of self-isolation and throwing himself into his work. Sawyer, she waited patiently, and he eventually came around.
I’ve learned a lot watching my two oldest brothers fall in love, and when I find her—my own woman—I’m not holding back. I understand why Royce kept pushing Sawyer away, but he was an idiot and wasted so much time with her. Owen, on the other hand, he knew what he wanted, and he wasn’t giving up until Layla was his.
“Oh, I meant to tell you those bars or whatever they are, were delicious. Thank you.”
“Magic bars.”
“What?” Sawyer tilts her head to the side, studying me.
“Aurora called them magic bars.”
“Aurora?”
“The woman at the bakery.”
“Ah.” She grins. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“What do you mean, ah?”
“Let me guess? You gave her your number, and you’ve been waiting on her to call?”
It’s eerie how close she is. “Not exactly.”
“Enlighten me.” Her grin grows wider.
“Why are you monopolizing all my wife’s time?” Royce asks, waltzing into my office.
“She came to me.” I smirk. He ignores me and goes straight to her. He’s used to my two younger brothers and me doing what we can to rile him up when it comes to his wife.
He doesn’t stop until he reaches Sawyer. His hand slides behind her neck as he bends to press his lips to hers. “Love you,” he says, not bothering to lower his voice. My big brother is unapologetically in love with his wife. I can’t stop the smile that pulls at my lips, seeing him this happy. He went through hell to get here, but he’s finally found his other half. “What’s going on?” he asks, standing behind Sawyer with his hands on her shoulders.
“Nothing.” Sawyer is quick to reply, offering me a wink. “I just came to thank Grant for the magic bars.”
“Is that what those things were? I had two of them.”
“Yeah, I had to stop by and check it out after the muffins yesterday.” Sawyer gives me a look that tells me she knows I was checking out more than just the bakery. My phone vibrates on my desk, and I lurch to grab it and fumble to look at the screen. Finally, after hours of waiting, I see the name I’ve been waiting for.
Aurora.
Aurora: You too.
That’s it. You too, but I’ll take it. She replied, which tells me she’s interested. Glancing at the clock, I see it’s after three. I’ve been waiting all day for a tiny morsel from her, and I finally have it.
“What’s with the shit-eating grin? Who is that?” Royce inquires.
“Aurora.”
“Aurora? What did I miss?”
Lifting my head from my phone, I smile at my brother and his wife. “She was working at the bakery this morning.”
“Ah.” Royce nods as if those eight words explain it all. In a way, I guess they do. “Thank fuck I’m not in the dating scene anymore.”
“You weren’t in it when you found me,” Sawyer reminds him. Royce leans over her and presses his lips to hers to keep her quiet. I must admit his method works.
“I need to get back to work. Why don’t you two love birds take that”—I wave my hand at them—“somewhere else.”
“My pleasure,” Royce says, his voice growing deeper.
“Go.” I laugh. Sawyer waves before allowing Royce to lead her out of my office. I don’t even know why she was in here in the first place. I guess if it’s important, she’ll let me know. I wait a total of maybe fifteen seconds before unlocking my phone screen and firing off another message.