Page 2

CHAPTER 2

TYSHAWN

I’m unable to pull away, even if Leo running his finger through my blood is a little weird. I follow him to the back of the coffee shop after grabbing my basket.

He leads me into a bathroom that looks old but clean and turns on the water before sliding my hands under the cool spray. Leo doesn’t shy away from the bleeding, washing my hands with the nice-smelling soap on the sink. I should think it’s weirder than it is, but for some reason, I like him touching me.

Okay, now that is weird. I don’t know him. I shouldn’t like him touching me. But I can’t help how my body responds to him, blooming in a way it hasn’t in years.

Tamping that down takes effort, but I do before he can see in my eyes that I’m thinking all kinds of filthy thoughts about him. I look up at him in the mirror, taking in his handsome features, how his eyebrows are furrowed as he concentrates on cleaning me up. His lips are tipped down, almost in a frown, but that doesn’t stop his dimples from making an appearance. Fuck, how can a man have such deep, sexy dimples? It gives him a boyish appearance, but it’s obvious Leo is all man.

His big body crowds me in the small bathroom, but I don’t mind. The heat coming off him is making it harder for me to keep my babbling musings to myself. I manage it but barely.

Leo’s gaze meets mine in the mirror suddenly, and I visibly start, jerking my hands out of his, causing a splash of water to wet the front of my pants. “Shit,” I mutter, reaching for the paper towels so I can clean up and make a break for the door. It seems like I’ve been embarrassing myself a lot today. I would like to leave this meeting with some dignity intact.

“Let me,” Leo says, smoothly snapping a few paper towels from the holder. He sinks to his haunches, dabbing the water from my pants. Like a fool, I allow him to do it, trying to keep my breathing normal. I know he’s not doing it for the reason I’d like him to, but Leo on his knees in front of me is hot as fuck. I threaten my cock that I will cut it off if it gets hard. It mostly listens, twitching miserably but staying soft.

“There,” he says, rising to his feet and tossing the paper towels away. “Let’s get a bandage on your hand.”

The bleeding has mostly stopped now, only small dots of blood here and there. “I think I’m good.”

Like he did before, Leo grabs my hand and wipes his finger through the blood droplets. “You’re still leaking. Come on, it won’t take long.”

Guess he’s going to bandage me up.

Leo drags me to his office, sits me in the chair behind the desk, and kneels in front of me. He needs to stop that. My dick can’t differentiate between help and head.

He pulls a first aid kit from the bottom drawer and extracts a gauze pack, tape, and an alcohol wipe.

Quickly, he swipes the wipe over my torn flesh, and I hiss, not expecting it to smart as much as it does. It’s been a while since I’ve skinned my hand, probably not since I was a kid. As a baker, I get burns more than anything else, and that’s a whole other level of pain.

Leo’s eyes flick up to mine, searching my face with his gorgeous blue-green stare. “Does that hurt?”

“Stings a little. But of course, alcohol stings. I expected it to sting since I have an open cut, but I wasn’t prepared for it.” I snap my lips shut to stop the babbling pouring from my lips.

“Sorry,” Leo murmurs, then purses his lips and blows on my hand to dispel the pain. My eyes lock on his mouth, and again, I have to tell my dick not to get hard as his plump pink lips form a perfect O as he tries to rid me of discomfort.

With Herculean effort, I pull my eyes from his lips and look around the office, trying to find something else to focus on. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“I know. I want to.” Leo puts pain relieving salve on my hand before applying the gauze and tape, making sure to cover all the skin that was torn in my fall. “You lived here long?”

Huh? “Um, no. I’m from Corpin, like seventy miles away? My roommate and I moved here after my mother died. I wanted a fresh start, but I couldn’t afford the rent on my own.”

“Where’s your dad?” Leo grabs my other hand, swiping it with the alcohol pad. The skin isn’t too badly damaged on this hand, so after he cleans it, he puts a small bit of ointment on it, foregoing a Band-Aid.

“He’s still in Corpin. Even though I was close with both my parents, my mother and I had a tighter bond. He also has a new girlfriend, and I’m not really okay with that yet.”

I know people move on with their lives after a loss, but I didn’t think my dad would get a girlfriend six months after my mother’s death. It made me feel like he didn’t love her as much as he said he did.

Leo gathers the trash and tosses it before leaning on his desk. “Do you like it here?”

“It’s fine. Quiet. I like quiet. What about you? Are you from the area?”

He smiles. “No. I was born about an hour away, but I grew up mostly in Russia.”

My eyebrows shoot up. “You’re Russian?” I never would have guessed. He has the whole surfer boy appearance, so I would have guessed he’s originally from California or something.

Leo nods. “Half. My father is. My grandfather raised me.”

“Why?” Eyes wide, I slap my hand over my mouth. “I’m sorry,” I say, voice muffled since I haven’t moved my hand.

“Sorry for what?”

Dropping my hand, I smooth my fingers over the makeshift bandage. “That was an intrusive question to ask. You don’t know me well enough to share something so personal .”

Head tilted, Leo eyes roaming over my face. My skin heats under his gaze. He licks his thick lips, and I track the movement greedily.

“Would you like to?”

“Huh?” My brain isn’t fast enough to tell me not to sound like such an idiot.

“Get to know me. Would you like to?”

“What do you mean?”

“Let me take you out. We can talk over dinner.”

My mind races. Leo wants to what ? Why me? With the way he looks, he can have any man he wants. Not like I’m ugly or something—without sounding too cocky, I’m a handsome guy. But I’m also awkward. I’ve made a fool of myself the entire time we’ve been conversing. I’m sure it won’t get better when we’re sitting down for a date.

Meeting his eyes, I ask, “Why?”

His smile is blinding, and I want to take the word back and just replace it with yes.

“Honestly?”Leo asks and I nod. “I’m not sure. You’re interesting. I want to talk to you more. I think we’d have a good time.”

“Okay.”

“Really?” he asks, his grin growing, the skin around his eyes crinkling in the most adorable way.

“Sure. When?”

“Tomorrow night. Give me your phone.”

Almost of its own volition, my hand reaches into my pocket, pausing only to enter my unlock code, and passes it to Leo all before I could give it the command. Thankfully, Leo doesn’t comment on my eagerness—he simply taps a few buttons on the screen, then hands it back to me. He pulls his own phone out and types. My device buzzes in my hand, and I see a simple message that says, It’s Leo.

Standing, I slide my phone in my pocket and grab my basket. Leo pushes off the desk, walking close to me so our chests almost touch. “I’ll text you tonight so we can iron out our date.”

“Oh …” I mutter, not able to pull my eyes from his mouth. “Yeah. Yes. That’s … yes.”

“And my partner will message you about the contract.”

That snaps me back to why I was here in the first place. My sore hand tightens on the basket, and relief and giddiness flows through my body, a delayed reaction from when Leo told me he wanted to showcase my baking.

Smiling, I pull my eyes from his mouth and nod. “That sounds good. All of it. I’m excited to work with you. You two. You and your partner. Your business partner. Ray? No, you said Ray died. Fuck, that was blunt. I’m sorry. What’s your partner’s name?” I say everything in one breath.

A smile stretches his face, those amazing dimples popping. “His name is June. I like you, Ty. I like your babbling.”

“You’re the only one,” I say. The few guys I’ve dated in the past thought it was annoying. But when I’m nervous or overwhelmed, words sort of vomit from my mouth. I’ve tried to control it, but that’s a lost cause.

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Leo says. “Come, I’ll walk you to the front.”

I follow Leo like a puppy, gripping the basket as hard as my sore hand allows. My eyes stay firmly on his back, avoiding dipping to his ass, even though I’d love to get a look at it. I’m sure it’s as tight as?—

My eyes drop to the firm globes, and my cock stirs. Fuck, he’s so fucking sexy. I wonder how that ass would feel under my hands as I spur him on to fuck me, my fingernails sinking deep into the plump flesh.

I scoff as Leo pushes the door open. Just because he asked me on a date doesn’t mean he wants to fuck me. He could like me now but change his mind when he gets a load of my rambling.

Shaking my head, I clear my thoughts of fucking and firm asses. I can have my fantasies when I get home.

When we get to the front of the coffee shop, Leo turns to me and holds his hand out. “It was great meeting you, Ty. I can’t wait to taste more of what you have.”

Was that flirting? Was Leo talking about more than my baked goods? No, he meant the baked goods. “I can’t wait to let you taste whatever you want.” Okay, that was me flirting.

Leo’s grin widens. “I’ll text you later. Be safe.”

Nodding, I shake his hand gingerly and leave the coffee shop.

I’m safely in my car when I do a happy dance and shout almost at the top of my lungs in excitement. Grin still on my face, I drive home, eager to tell Sam what happened. Then I have to sit my ass down and make a schedule for when I’ll start to bake. Depending on how much Leo and his partner June want, I might be busy for the next few days.

Making my dreams come true feels good.