Page 5 of How Sweet It Is (Willow Shade Island #3)

T he heat beats down on me as I stare at Pretty Boy, flour still dusting the tips of his wavy hair. He had a bad breakup? And he’s still broken up about it? I had not pegged him for the caring type, but I heard it in his voice. He was hurt by this woman, which makes me feel bad for him.

“What?” Levi says, probably because I’m just standing there staring at him.

I blink to snap myself out of my thoughts. “I need to know the terms of Kiera’s employment.”

He scrunches up his forehead. “Terms?”

“How much are you paying her? How many hours are you giving her? That kind of thing.”

He waves his hand at me. “I don’t know. You do my books. Figure out what I can afford.”

I sigh and shake my head. Pretty Boy has no idea what he’s doing. I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t go out of business within the year. “Let’s go over things tonight. I need to see your business plan.”

He slowly nods at me.

“You do have a business plan, don’t you?” I ask.

“If you are asking if I planned to open a bakery, then yes.” He grins at me, his dimple looking cute as ever on him.

I roll my eyes and put my hands on my hips. “So, no business plan. Where did you get the money to open a bakery?”

“I used my own money.” He lifts his chin as if to challenge me.

“Okay. How much did you spend?” I squint at him, the sun in my eyes.

He waves his hand. “I don’t know. Not that much.”

I rub my temples. This is going to be a nightmare. “Fine. I’ll need access to your business account so I can see what you’ve spent.”

Pretty Boy brushes past me and enters the bakery. His silence is too telling. I follow him. “You do have a business account, right?”

He doesn’t answer. I follow him around the counter, past Kiera, and into the kitchen. “Levi?” I press.

He turns to me, all swagger and bravado but no actual confidence. “Look, Spreadsheet. I bake. That’s what I do. I don’t know the first thing about financials. That’s why I hired you.”

I suck in a breath. “You spent money from your personal account for your business?”

He cringes. “I opened a bakery. The whole ‘knowing what I’m doing’ part is still in beta.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose and try not to scream at him. “Okay. We can sort this out. What time do you close?”

“Four o’clock.”

“After you lock the doors, I’ll need access to everything. Your personal account, your credit card debt, any loans you took out, and all your receipts.”

Levi grins at me. “I have no debt.”

This surprises me, but I simply clasp my hands together. “Good. We’ll go over everything after you close.”

“Perfect.” He walks to his sink and washes his hands.

I stare at the massive flour mess he made earlier, and I bite my lips to keep from smiling, remembering him dancing around in it like a child.

What in the world was he doing? He looked startled when I walked in, catching him dancing around like Beyoncé.

I wonder what goes on in that pretty head of his.

I walk out into the storefront. Kiera’s at the register, and I teach her how to ring up the customers. She catches on quickly. She’ll be a good help to us. Levi sells out of quite a few things in the last two hours that he’s open, and I’m impressed with his first day.

After I lock the door, Kiera grabs a broom and starts sweeping the flour that Levi tracked all over the place.

I really like her. Apparently, she can’t stand Levi’s messes either.

I help Kiera clean the storefront before wiping down the display case, closing out the register, and gathering up the leftover pastries.

Kiera leaves, and I take the box of unsold items into the kitchen. I stop short when I see Levi with a mop, cleaning up the flour mess from earlier. He doesn’t notice me, and I step back so I don’t get in his way.

He scrubs the floor then picks up the mop and swings it around like he’s ballroom dancing.

I wonder what he’s imagining as he dances like he’s all dressed up and at a fancy party, not wearing jeans and a T-shirt dusted with flour.

Not that I mind him wearing jeans. They hug him in all the right places.

His dancing becomes more animated, and I feel awkward watching him without him knowing I’m there.

I step forward to let him know I locked up the front, but at the same moment, he twirls around and runs smack into me.

The box of leftover pastries goes flying.

The floor is wet, and my arms pinwheel as I try to get my balance.

Levi tosses the mop and grabs me around the waist, pulling me to his chest as pastries rain down on us.

“Oh!” I hear myself say.

“Are you okay?” Pretty Boy asks, his arms tight around me, concern on his face, which happens to be just inches from mine.

I stare up at him, my heart going crazy in my chest. He’s leaning over me, almost like he’s about to dip me, as if he’s continuing the dance.

I shake my head, because words won’t come to me at the moment. I’m too close to him. Too wrapped up in his smell and the way his arm muscles are bulging. Levi pulls me upright and lets go of me. He looks me over. “You’re not okay? What’s wrong?”

I take in a gulp of air, trying to get rid of all the insane feelings that enveloped me while he held me in his arms. “I’m fine.”

Pretty Boy hooks his thumbs in his jeans pockets. “You should be careful. The floor is slippery when wet.”

I snort.

He raises an eyebrow at me, questioning me with a look.

“You’re acting like the slippery floor was what knocked me over, not you wildly dancing around with a mop.”

His face flushes for a second, but then he chuckles and takes a step toward me. “You were checking out my moves, weren’t you?”

“No.” Lie. I was totally checking out his moves. And his butt. For some reason, his ballroom dancing was quite sexy, which is not something I should be thinking because I’m not at all attracted to him.

His gaze travels over me. “You’re a terrible liar.”

I know he’s flirting, but that seems to come naturally to him and hardly means anything. He can’t possibly be attracted to me. I decide to change the subject. “I’m sorry about your pastries. We could have sold them as day-old, but now they’re ruined.”

He shrugs and leans over to pick up a soggy cinnamon roll. “It’s okay.”

I retrieve the box from the floor and help him pick up all the fallen treats.

I take them out back and deposit them in the dumpster.

When I get back inside, Levi is once again mopping the floor, although without his sexy ballroom dancing.

But I still get a nice view of his backside, which I admit I enjoy for a minute.

I go into the office and set up my laptop. I pull up the software I use for accounting and get ready for him. He comes in a few moments later. “All clean. You can breathe easy now.”

He’s unaware how true his statement is, because I really shouldn’t be inhaling a bunch of gluten-infested flour, but I simply smile at him and nod. “Thanks.”

He pulls a chair beside me and plops down, slinging his arm over the back and stretching out his legs. “Okay. What do you need from me?”

I push my laptop toward him. “You’ll need to log into your bank account, the one you used to purchase everything for your business.”

He pulls up his banking website and logs in. I turn the laptop so I can get a good view of his transactions. I do a double take at all the zeros in his balance, my spit drying up.

I point at the screen. “Is that number right?”