Chapter 15 #2
“Poison Ivy, this wasn’t part of the deal,” East muttered, but he did as his sister asked and swiped up a book with a sigh.
“I’ve seen the movie.” The whole table gasped.
We all knew that was a cardinal sin. Movies were never as good as the books.
Nobody would give him a hard time about it, but you were at least supposed to fake it.
“You agreed to come, so you’ll need to follow along. Oh, and we need snacks. Go with Lila and load us up. Right, Mags?” She smiled brightly at him.
That’s right. I want all of Lila’s creations today. Take my bookmark. I need stamps. I’m behind.” Maggie tried to reach for her purse, but she struggled since she was perched awkwardly on the chair. Easton’s jaw tightened, and he hurried to help.
“Let me. The bookmark? I’ll get it.” Sliding it out of her bag, he held it up triumphantly. “I’ll go with Lila and get you all the things.” Leaning forward, he kissed the top of her head as he levered himself to his six-plus feet of deliciousness.
It was another side of Easton Holt that I hadn’t seen before, which softened me. This tender part of him with Maggie. Turning away from the sight, I hurried back to my counter, even though I knew the hulking brute was hot on my heels. I could practically hear him thinking.
Sure enough, it only took a few moments before he opened his mouth. “So, what do these book club treats entail that my sister and Maggie keep going on about?”
I retreated behind the counter, forcing my hands to stay steady on the coffee machine as I fiddled with it unnecessarily. But every time I looked up, Easton’s eyes were there, watching. And for the first time all week, I wasn’t sure if that unsettled me or made me feel… safe.
He twirled the bookmark, leaning forward on the counter, his eyes pinned to mine as if he were studying me.
“Sure. I can do that.” I took a breath, then focused on the bakery case, pointing out the various specials related to the book theme and mentioning our coffee special. “The eclairs are really good today.”
“Those look amazing. You don’t do those normally.” He leaned forward to peer into the case, and I could just glimpse the scruff across his cheeks. I wondered how that would feel against my skin. Would he be a considerate lover or a selfish one?
I cleared my throat.“No. These are just for today. Next meeting I’ll have something different to keep it interesting, and during the week there might be themed surprises.
” His brows lifted, and I couldn’t tell if he was impressed or thought maybe I was giving too much information.
Some people weren’t as into it as I was, which I respected, but I’d been really trying not to apologize for my enthusiasm.
For a while, I’d developed a bad habit of trying to be a less authentic version of myself, and now I was working on changing that.
Be a truer self. Derek had always told me that people thought my ideas were dumb.
“Smart business. Creates rarity. I respect it.” A warm glow spread through me at his words, and my thighs clenched together.
“Well, in that case, I’ll take three eclairs, three of the cookies,” he said, pointing to dino print cookies.
“Got to keep memories alive.” Oh my God, was he… flirting? “And, one black coffee.”
Feeling flustered but laughing a little at him, I started gathering his order. “Good times. Costumes keep it fresh.” Shut up, Lila. I told myself, just as I shot him a saucy look over my shoulder while grabbing a tray for him, blush creeping in when I caught him staring right at my ass.
“So … you doing okay? After the other night?” he asked as I rang him up. “You haven’t called.”
I focused on stamping Maggie’s bookmark, adding a few extras since she missed out last week.
“Sage helped me a lot, and we got the house cleaned up. Mia is scheduled in the mornings now. I appreciate you coming in, though. That was nice,” I paused awkwardly.
He waited for a moment, watching me with those soft brown eyes of his that made me think of ginger cookies and cinnamon sugar.
Hurriedly, I added, “Wade hasn’t been able to find anything yet, but …
” I trailed off. “I’ll be up in a second, okay? ”
“Sure.” He gave me an apologetic smile that told me he regretted asking, and he definitely noticed that I avoided his question about calling because his face settled into the grumpy mask that I was used to.
I wiped a hand over my eyes. Hell, I regretted him asking.
That night still felt fresh to me. Yeah, it wasn’t a secret that Derek banged me around a bit, and as scared and shamed as I felt because of that…
somehow this freaked me out more. Mainly because I couldn’t figure out who had broken in or what they wanted.
Derek, at least, was a known face. Weirdly, that made it both easier and harder at the same time.
I’d lost trust in him after he’d smacked me the first time, so I always knew another one was coming.
This time, I thought I was safe, and it was snatched away from me.
Now… even stepping into the house felt hard.
As far as calling Easton. Well, maybe I wanted him to ask for my number. Why was that so much to ask for? This time around, I was determined to hold out and avoid mistakes. If Easton Holt wanted to go on a date, he could ask me.
“I’ve got the counter. You can go back up and hang with hot stuff.” Mia’s words startled me.
“Great. Thanks.”
Maggie was sipping her latte with a smile, Sage fussed with her scarf, and the rest of the club practically buzzed with the thrill of having another book club meeting, or maybe it was the fact that we’d managed to wrangle a man-Holt in the younger age bracket for them to ogle.
Admittedly, that would be a draw. My book club was a certain demographic, and they weren’t shy about expressing their appreciation for the male form.
“Now this is art,” Maggie said, holding it up. The cinnamon-dusted footprint pressed into the center made the room chuckle with approval. “Almost too pretty to eat.”
That was blatantly untrue. It was just a simple cookie stamp since my skills didn’t extend to fancy royal icing decoration, but I appreciated the sentiment.
“Almost,” Sage agreed, stealing one for herself.
That was all it took. The ladies descended into chatter like actual velociraptors.
I shot Maggie a grin. “Always classy chaos here at my shop.”
Her lips curved, faint but strong enough to glow through the lines of tiredness in her face. “You have done something special here, Lila. Nora would be proud of how you’ve grown things here.”
The words hit me square in the chest, my throat tightening as I pretended to fuss with some of the decorations on the table.
Maggie always was the first to bring up Grams and fill in some of the words that had seemed so absent the last few years, now that she was gone.
My mother had died young after a battle with cancer.
I’d been only about four anyway, so my memories had been hazy.
Grams was the parent I knew. Losing her was hard.
Of course, Easton noticed that I was choked up. He stood at Maggie’s shoulder, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. Not angry, exactly. More… focused. Like he was memorizing every move I made, every twitch of emotion I failed to hide.
“Why are you standing there like a bouncer?” Sage asked her brother, breaking into my thoughts. She flicked him on the arm. “Come sit down before you scare off Lila’s customers.”
“They don’t look scared,” Easton said. His tone was flat, but his eyes stayed locked on me.
Janice, who had a latte in one hand and half an eclair in the other, piped up. “We’re not scared of him. We’re enjoying the view. He can stay standing so we can see everything.”
The whole table erupted in giggles, and I wondered if I should say something about objectifying him, but he winked at her instead, seeming not to mind.
Heat raced up my neck. I busied myself making sure everyone had their books while pretending not to hear the chorus of teasing about Easton’s shoulders and “that jawline.” Thank God they weren’t talking about his “package” or anything.
Mia leaned close, stage whispering, “This is better than the book discussion. You’re welcome.”
“Do not encourage them,” I whispered back. These women would devour him. That thought led to other thoughts. Thinking about someone else doing the devouring immediately reminded me that I shouldn’t be having such thoughts.
When I risked another glance, Easton was glaring at the table like he wanted to knock all their eclairs onto the floor. Which, apparently, only made them laugh harder.
“Come on,” Maggie finally said. “Sit, Easton. You make the room tilt if you loom in one place too long.”
To my shock, he actually obeyed, dropping into the chair beside her with a long-suffering sigh. He leaned back, long legs stretched out like he dared anyone to trip over them.
“Better?” he muttered.
“Much,” Maggie said serenely, sipping her latte.
The discussion finally shifted toward the book.
Jurassic Park had been my pick—partly because I knew these women would love debating chaos theory and man-eating dinosaurs, but mostly because I had gotten the cute little dino cookie stamp on sale and wanted to use it.
I’d never admit that it was how a lot of our books were chosen.
I’d get an idea for a bakery item, and then I’d find a book to match.
“So,” I said brightly, grabbing my own chair and notebook, “who thinks Hammond should have been eaten first?”
Hands shot up around the table like popcorn. Laughter followed, with half the group arguing that yes, he was the worst, and the other half insisting that Dr. Malcolm’s leather pants deserved their own chapter.
Maggie, bless her, listened intently, adding the witty barb that made everyone laugh. I was just happy that she’d been able to make it.
Meanwhile, Easton sat beside her like a thundercloud in flannel. He didn’t join in, but he didn’t check out either. Every time I leaned in to laugh with someone, his gaze was there. Every time I passed a tray or refilled a mug, I felt the weight of him watching.
At one point, I tripped slightly over the leg of a chair while carrying a tray of fossil mousse cups. His hand shot out instinctively, steadying my elbow before I could stumble.
“Careful,” he muttered, voice low, eyes sharp.
I swallowed hard, managing a nod. “Thanks.”
He let go instantly, his hand curling back like he had touched something too hot.
Mia noticed, of course. Mia noticed everything. She made exaggerated eyes at me behind the counter, mouthing, Oh my God.
I pretended to be very invested in straightening the stack of napkins.
The meeting carried on, the ladies growing louder, Maggie glowing under their attention, Sage snapping photos for her flower shop’s Instagram because apparently dinosaur cookies and succulents were the collaboration no one knew they needed.
When the discussion finally wound down and everyone began bundling into coats, Maggie reached for my hand. Her grip was firm, surprising me.
“Thank you,” she said simply. “This was wonderful.”
My throat clogged. “Anytime. We can’t have book club without you. It’s never the same.” I spoke the truth, too. Book club was stale without Maggie Holt.
Easton appeared at her side, slipping her coat gently around her shoulders while Maggie adjusted the crutches under her arms. His eyes met mine for one brief, charged second. Something unspoken passed there, heavy and hot, before he looked away.
As they left into the drizzle, Mia fanned herself dramatically. “Well, I’ll be damned if dinosaurs don’t bring people together.”
“Go mop the back,” I said, tossing a towel at her head.
But even as I laughed with the ladies on their way out, my stomach twisted in that unsettled, restless way.