17. Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Ronan
“ T here are so many leftovers!” Nellie piled containers of cupcakes back into her car, giggling. “Are you going to eat all these?”
I shook my head, reaching around her to help. “Not a chance.” I chuckled when she paused, putting her hands on her hips and looking at me like she didn’t believe me.
“I don’t know. You seem to really like them.” Her laugh rang through the mostly-empty parking lot that was full of people a few minutes ago. She was right. I’d been buying a lot of cupcakes recently. My mouth watered. “Why else would you order three hundred cupcakes when you could’ve easily gotten away with two?”
When Nellie winked, my stomach flipped. “Because people like cupcakes.” I shrugged. I grabbed the hatchback door to her trunk, catching her stare before I closed it. She froze, her brown eyes flickering but her gaze not leaving mine. She swallowed.
“That’s everything,” she said, looking at my hold on the handle, but she didn’t make any effort to move so I could close it. “Thanks again for the opportunity.”
“Opportunity, huh? It was my pleasure. Thank you for doing it on such short notice.” I winked and nodded to the side, directing her to take a step to the left. For a moment, she just stared at me, following the line of my arm to my shoulder and then letting her eyes flicker to my face. When she blushed, I chuckled, pulling Nellie from her daze. She stepped to the side, watching me close the trunk, and when I turned to face her, she giggled nervously.
“So anyways, I better get going.” She pointed to the driver’s side door but made no effort to move in that direction. “Maybe I’ll see you when you come buy more cupcakes tomorrow.” Nellie’s giggle was so natural, and it went straight to my core. My chest squeezed and my cock stirred. I shouldn’t be reacting to her like this.
“I’m coming with you,” I said, earning a surprised head tilt.
“Why?” She scanned the parking lot, as if the answer would come out from between cars that didn’t appear to be moving any time soon. Deciding it must have been safe enough, she put her hands on her hips, and a hint of the attitude she’d had toward me for the last few weeks returned.
“So I can make sure it’s safe.” I stepped around her toward the driver’s side door, grabbing the handle in a way that implied I would be driving her too-beat-up-for-my-liking Subaru.
Nellie planted her feet where they were, rolling her eyes so dramatically, her head followed. “That’s not happening. I am a big girl, Ronan. I’ll be fine.”
“Before six days ago, you’d never had a brick thrown through your window,” I said, tugging at the handle and ignoring her scoff when the door opened. “I’m looking out for you.”
Nellie scrunched her nose, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth and biting down on it. She closed her eyes and exhaled heavily. When she opened them, part of the annoyance on her face had softened. It had been replaced with something like defeat, or maybe fear. “You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”
“Absolutely not.” I locked my stare with hers, holding onto the door. Nellie sighed.
“Fine,” she said, stepping back and making her way to the passenger side. Convincing her had been easier than I expected. Too easy. “But if you come back to the bakery with me, you’re on dish duty. I told Ava she could go home.” She slid into the passenger seat, biting the corners of her lips, like she was holding back the smile I could already see creasing the corners of her eyes.
I got in the car, starting it and placing my elbow on the armrest. I leaned toward her, winking and feeling satisfied when her cheeks turned a bright pink. “Deal.”
“You really should get a cart or something.” I dropped the fourth load of containers and supplies from the back of Nellie’s car onto the steel prep counter, turning to watch her walk in with the rest of it.
“What?” The dishes Nellie dropped into the sink clanked against the side and nearly covered her voice.
“I said you really need a cart or something,” I repeated, resting my hip against the counter. “That way, you don’t have to make so many trips.”
When she cocked her head to the side, loose strands of hair fell across her face. She blew them off her forehead, scowling when they fell back in the same place. “Normally, I don’t cater.” She half-shrugged. “And if I did, I’d have a real team.”
Nellie scanned the empty bakery, taking a deep breath before she turned to flip on the sink. I closed the distance between us, reaching past her to grab the sprayer that hung in front of her. As I grabbed it, she spun back around. “Plus, people don’t usually order more than they—” She stopped, following the line of my arm until her gaze found my face. When she swallowed, I watched the lump in her throat.
“Thanks again for doing this tonight.” My voice was husky, and Nellie held her breath. She blinked quickly, and her chest heaved when she inhaled. When I looked at her now, she couldn’t be further from the little girl who lived a life of tragedy.
She laughed nervously, tearing her eyes away from me to the counter. “There are so many leftover cupcakes.” I laughed, shrugging. I almost ordered more.
“What?” she asked, fidgeting and looking away from me when I continued to stare silently.
“Nothing,” I said, watching her blush travel from her cheeks and down her neck, disappearing under the neckline of her shirt. It was amusing. The woman who had been so strongly vocal a few days ago was bashful.
She looked down at the floor, wiggling her toes, before she looked back up. When she met my stare again, she giggled and covered her mouth. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Why do you ask so many questions?” I countered.
Nellie looked confused, almost like she hadn’t heard me correctly. “What?”
“Stop saying what.” I planted my hand against the counter, my thumb brushing against her hip. She shivered.
“Why?” Nellie whispered, gulping.
I took a step closer to her until I could feel her chest swell against mine. I lowered my voice, tracing the outline of her lips with my eyes. What am I doing? “Because I’m going to kiss you.”
Her eyes widened and then narrowed, and confused wrinkles carved themselves into her forehead. “What?” she asked.
“I said I’m going to kiss you.” I repeated myself even though I knew she heard me the first time.
Nellie stiffened and looked over her shoulder, like she was making sure there was nobody else in the still-empty bakery, and then she looked back at me. Her dark brown eyes were wide, and they shimmered. “You want to kiss me?”
She licked her lips, and I imagined how they tasted. I curled my pointer finger under her chin, holding her gaze steady and letting mine bounce between her lips and the shock in her eyes. “Yeah, I want to kiss you. I don’t know why, but I can’t resist knowing if your lips taste as sweet as your desserts.”
I swallowed her gasp when my lips met hers. When I ran the tip of my tongue along her bottom lip, I felt her soften. Her shoulders dropped and her jaw relaxed. Nellie leaned into me, her soft chest pressed to mine, followed quickly by her hands. They shook until they were flat against my pecs, and once they were, she hummed.
I savored the sweet taste of her mouth, better than any cupcake, and when she used her hold on my chest to push me away, I instantly craved more. Nellie pushed back but kept her face close enough to mine that I could taste her breath and almost feel her lashes flutter.
“I can’t do this,” she said breathlessly.
I knew she was right. She was my late best friend’s baby sister—a girl I should’ve spent the last seventeen years taking care of. “I know.” I agreed with her, but neither of us stepped back further. I lifted my hand, leaving a trail of goosebumps on her skin when I ran my fingertips along her shoulder and up her neck. She closed her eyes when I tucked a loose hair behind her ear.
For a second, she closed her eyes, leaning closer to me before she cleared her throat. “I really can’t do this.” Nellie scrambled backwards, tripping over her foot and stumbling. I grabbed her waist, pulling her back against me so she could regain her balance. I clenched my teeth when she gasped.
“Let me take you home.” I let go of her waist when she had her balance. I took a step back, looking at the dishes in the sink I had promised to wash.
Nellie shook her head. “You don’t need to babysit me.” The words stuck to her throat when she spoke.
“I’m not babysitting you. I’m doing what I should’ve always done.” Her eyes watered when I put my hands on her shoulders. “I’m protecting you.” Is that really what I was doing?
She looked at the sink and the counter, repeating the action a second time before she nodded. “Okay fine,” she reluctantly agreed before she giggled, and the blush on her cheeks darkened again. “After you finish the dishes.”