If You Loved Me (Pebble Brook Falls #2)

1. Sarah

Chapter 1

Sarah

“I’m a thirty-year-old virgin. My best friend is getting married in less than four months. All I do is work. And I’m going to end up like one of those cat ladies, except instead of being surrounded by cats, I’m going to be surrounded by dogs because I’m allergic to cats.” I slammed the fridge door closed after pulling out the piping bags of icing.

“I’m doomed, Deacon.”

His throaty chuckle sounded across the phone line. This was the third call I’d made to him since my best friend, Willow, and her fiancé, Johnny, got engaged this past summer. Somehow, it had taken a really long time for me to realize just how alone I was.

Sure, I had Willow, Deacon, and our friend group. But when Willow called to share the news of her engagement, I was struck with the startling reminder that I hadn’t had a boyfriend since I was in high school .

High school. I was almost thirty years old. Which meant that over twelve years had passed since the last time I had a boyfriend.

I groaned into my phone and Deacon finally responded, “You’re not even thirty yet, Sarah. You still have a couple of weeks to figure this out before you make that very very sad benchmark.”

“You are not helping!” I squealed, which only made him laugh harder.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. That was a low blow, I admit. Honestly, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. You’ve been focused on making your business work for the past decade and there’s a lot to be said for a person who goes after what they want like that. It takes focus and grit. I can see how it would have been hard for you to date, much less have a significant other in your life during that time.

“But it seems like your business is thriving, so maybe now is the perfect time to shift your focus a little bit to find someone who would add value to your life.”

I mulled over his words. It was true. My life had been so consumed by turning my dream into a reality that I never stopped to think about what else I might want out of life.

It wasn’t easy. Building what had now become Sarah’s Bakery . I started by baking in my home kitchen and selling orders online until I could save enough money to buy a storefront.

That was a huge adjustment as well. The townsfolk of Pebble Brook Falls were amazingly supportive…until so meone told them not to be. And that someone just so happened to be my mother.

Both my parents had expectations for me and becoming a baker was not one of them. When they started to notice how my bakery was taking off, my mother went out of her way to tell her friends that they should go somewhere closer to the city for their more important orders.

Two summers ago, she stole the wind from my sails after I landed my biggest order yet. An elaborate birthday party for little Tommy Jackson needed an amazing cake with cookies and other sweet treats to go with it because children’s birthdays weren’t just a celebration for the kiddos in the South. It was an opportunity for the wealthy to show off just how much money they had to spend.

I always thought it was ridiculous seeing parents blow thousands of dollars on children’s birthday parties when they wouldn’t even remember it a few years later. Not to mention that most children would be happy with a sprinkler and a slip ’n slide as entertainment.

I headed through the kitchen door and to the front counter to take a quick inventory of what was in the glass display case from yesterday.

“But who the hell is going to want to be with a thirty-year-old virgin, Deacon? Men my age want someone who at least knows what they’re?—”

I skittered to a stop when I noticed an abnormally large guy standing on the opposite side of my checkout counter. My cheeks immediately grew hot under his gaze and given the smirk that played on his lips, I knew he heard everything I’d just said to Deacon.

“Sarah?” I heard Deacon’s voice through my cell phone but it came across muffled like he was underwater. That was because my entire body was shutting down under the embarrassment that had me feeling like I was being consumed by the sun.

How the hell did Ranger fucking Adams get into my store? I wasn’t supposed to be open for another hour.

Ranger must have seen me glance at the door because he shrugged his shoulders and said, “The door was unlocked and your lights were on, so I figured you were open.”

“Sarah!” Deacon’s voice boomed louder and clearer this time down the line.

“I have to go,” I hissed into my cell phone before tapping my finger on the screen to end the call.

Sliding my phone into my back pocket, I ignored its vibrating as I tried to collect myself.

“Um, yeah. I must have forgotten to lock it when I came in this morning. We don’t open for another hour.”

Idiot . I was a damn idiot.

Ranger Adams was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen and I was telling him to get out of my bakery. With piercing blue eyes and jet-black hair that curled slightly, ending just above his shoulders, he had a dangerous look about him. Dangerous in the way that had my heart skipping a beat because I knew if he ever got ahold of me, I wouldn’t be able to let him go.

That was exactly why I never told the man I’d been infatuated with him since I saw him picking up his younger sister in school. Not that I would have ever had the nerve to tell anyone that I was drawing hearts around our initials in my notebook as a freshman.

In fact, I was fairly certain I hadn’t told a soul about my crush on Ranger. I knew part of the reason I didn’t was that my parents would have thrown a fucking tantrum if they’d found out that their child had the potential to be tainted by the town’s notorious bad boy. God. I could see my mother’s face right now with her pursed lips and crimson cheeks stained from anger.

No. I kept that little factoid to myself—even hiding it from my best friend.

But I was doing a crap job of hiding it right now when the man was two feet away from me.

I shook my head, finally finding my words. “What I meant to say is that I wasn’t expecting anyone. But I have plenty of options in the container from yesterday if you don’t mind having something that isn’t fresh from the oven.”

Why am I sweating? Beads of perspiration gathered under my arms. I tried to play it cool as I clamped my biceps against my ribcage, hoping the sweat wouldn’t show under my black long-sleeve shirt.

Ranger slid his gaze toward the glass display case, giving me a moment to really take him in. I’d only seen him up this close at Deacon’s summer bonfire over a year ago. There were a few times when I’d seen him around town with his sister and each time I tried not to act like a total stalker by staring at him .

Just like I was doing right now.

But I couldn’t help it. With his black cowboy hat, thick eyebrows that matched his inky locks, and wide shoulders with sculpted muscles that were barely hidden beneath his black flannel…he looked like Rip from fucking Yellowstone. My mouth watered with thoughts of what it would be like to sit in his saddle. What his calloused hands might feel like against my sensitive nipples as he palmed my breasts.

“…twelve of these.”

Shit .

“What?” I blurted out. I hadn’t heard the first part of his sentence because I was too wrapped up in fantasies that would never happen. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t catch the first part of what you said.”

He trained those dark eyes on me and I swear he leaned closer. Or maybe it was just my imagination. My desire to be closer to him made my brain think he wanted the same thing.

His lips split into a lopsided smile that gave me the tingles right between my thighs. “Your blueberry muffins. I’ll take a dozen of them.”

“Blueberry muffins,” I repeated as I gawked at him.

“Yup,” he replied, his smile growing wider which made the edges of his eyes crinkle in the most endearing way.

I felt myself nodding as I moved to grab a box from the shelf behind me and somehow my feet got so twisted over one another that I ended up stubbing my toe against the brick wall.

“Fuck,” I hissed, drawing my leg upward and bouncing around on my other foot .

“Are you okay?” Ranger came around the counter, arms extended like he was going to catch me.

“Yup!” I shoved my hands toward him to ward him off, feeling completely flushed at the thought of his arms wrapping around me.

“I got it. I’m good.” I sucked in a lungful of air before I tested my right foot on the ground. My big toe was a little sensitive from the hit it just took, but otherwise, I was good to stand on it.

“Okay,” he chuckled.

“Let me get you those muffins.” I avoided looking at him as he slowly made his way to the patron side of the counter again.

When I was hidden behind the glass case I quietly chastised myself. Since when had I become this groveling woman who couldn’t keep her wits about her in the presence of a handsome man? I was a business owner. A badass baker. I had a lot going for me. So what if I hadn’t felt a guy’s lips pressed against mine since I was in my late teens? I’d been focused on building something for myself. Breaking out of the mold my parents squeezed me into.

Taking a deep breath, I started placing the blueberry muffins into the box.

I popped my head over the case and asked, “Would you like me to keep one out for you to take on the road?”

His answer was immediate. “That would be great.” The shadow of his cowboy hat slid over his eyes, making them even darker. So much life danced in those irises and I felt myself being pulled to start asking him all the questions I heard the townsfolk murmuring about when he was released last year.

I wasn’t one to watch the news, but when his trial went live the entire town was up in arms about it. I guess that’s what happened when one of the town’s richest families had a son who got his face beat in by the guy from the wrong side of the tracks.

Some even said that Ranger should have moved away. That he and his sister were rotten.

Looking at him now, I knew that wasn’t true. Behind the mysterious allure, there was kindness. And I knew there was more to the story than him just beating up LeRoy Cummings. Ranger didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would put his hands on someone else unless they deserved it.

Or maybe I was a fool trapped in his charms.

I grabbed the final muffin from the case and slid the glass door shut. Careful not to touch him for fear of going up in flames from the heat I felt, I slid the lone muffin across the counter before folding the box lid closed and sealing it with one of my logo stickers.

“That’ll be—” Holy mother of Moses. Ranger’s lips moved over the top of the muffin as he took a bite. I’d never been into watching other people eat food. Honestly, it kind of grossed me out.

But seeing Ranger devour my blueberry muffin was downright sinful with the way he licked the small crumbs from his bottom lip. Seeing his tongue run along the edge of his mouth had me squirming with naughty thoughts of that tongue licking something else entirely .

When I snapped out of my debauchery, I realized Ranger’s eyebrows were lifted like he was waiting for me to finish my statement.

“Um.” I swallowed the hard knot in my throat. “That’ll be twenty-four ninety-nine.”

I watched his torso shift as he reached for his wallet in the back pocket of his jeans which happened to be so damn tight I could see the outline of his large thigh muscles.

This man was the epitome of sex on legs and here I was, falling head over heels for it.

Trying to lessen the shake in my hand, I flexed the small muscles of my forearm and fingers as I reached across the counter and took his card. Once again, careful not to let our fingertips touch. There was no telling what I might say or do if I actually felt his skin against my own and I’d already made a total mess of myself.

“Thank you,” I croaked out as I slid his card into the machine to read the chip.

I handed him back his card and with the tip of his hat he said in a gravelly tone, “Thank you, Sarah.”

Melting . My insides were melting—turning into a giant pile of goo hearing my name on his lips.

I didn’t have the wits to say anything back so I just nodded before he grabbed the box of muffins and headed out the door.

I stared after him, wondering how such a large man could have a smooth swagger as he walked.

Then my phone rang and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

It was Deacon .

I slid my finger across the screen. “Hey, sorry about that.”

“You okay?” He sounded worried. Honestly, given the lust-driven stupor I was in, he probably should be worried about me.

I cleared my throat. “Yeah. I’m fine. Just had a customer come in when I was technically closed.”

“Gotcha. Well, I wanted to tell you that I don’t think you should worry about the virgin thing. When the right guy comes along, he won’t care if you’re experienced or not.”

I walked back to the kitchen and threw open the fridge door. Leaning far into it, I welcomed the blast of cool air along my flushed skin.

“Thanks, Deacon. I appreciate you saying that. I was actually going to ask you to do the honors and teach me some skills, but I think you might be right.”

Deacon must have choked on his coffee because all I heard was a pained gurgling noise.

“No. There’s no way in hell I’d touch you with a ten-foot pole.”

“Thanks for that.” I scowled, even though he couldn’t see me.

“Just being honest. That would be like having sex with my sister. Just…no.”

That had me chuckling. “Well, I appreciate you lending an ear. But I have to get back to work now.”

“Any time. Talk soon.”

I tucked my phone into my apron pocket and stepped away from the open fridge .

I hoped Deacon was right. That the guy I finally gave myself to would understand why I’d waited so long and that he would be okay with my lack of experience.

As I finished piping the last cupcakes and heard the kitchen door squeak open with Stephanie’s entrance, I realized that I’d spent the last hour daydreaming about a man with long dark hair whose eyes pierced right through me.