Page 1 of Blowing His Circuit
Chapter one
Aubrey
“Now one with you walking," Candy, my assistant, directs her husband.
Slate’s well-earned muscles are on full display as he tugs at the tight t-shirt she made him wear.
“I’ve never felt more like a piece of meat in my life,” Slate grumbles, shifting the plate of hot pink sprinkle cupcakes carefully as he gets into place.
"Sexier!" Candy insists.
Slate narrows his eyes at her.
“Thank you, Slate. We appreciate you for doing this,” I call out before nodding to the next customer in line to start their order.
“Sex sells, baby. Don’t hate the player, hate the game. No. Turn the plate so we can read Sugarplum. Perfect." Candy grins and lifts her phone to start the video.
Slate walks toward her, carrying the plate of cupcakes.
"Cut! All right, we're going to do one more. Should we have him take off his shirt this time?" Candy looks up when Slate growls at her. "Why should I be the only one who gets to appreciate your gorgeous body?"
Slate snorts. “Being sold to the masses by my own wife.”
Candy shrugs. “They can look.”
"I'm leaving my shirton." Slate sets the plate down and crosses his arms as if he's afraid Candy might actually rip his shirt off his body. The way she squares up to him, I think he might be right.
"Health code requires we keep all clothes on, thank you," I call out as I hand Mrs. Barkus her bag of goodies. "Thank you. See you next week!"
"The beefcake is supposed to sell the cupcakes. Not the other way around," Betty pipes up from two spots back in line. Betty is the unofficial mayor of Duhring Park and the go-to source for all the happenings around town, which means everyone will know about this video before it even gets posted.
Slate's jaw clenches when he realizes they have an audience, but he knows better than to argue when Betty's helping him.
Candy purses her lips as she considers Betty's comment.
Betty gives me a wink, and I smile at her as I start pulling Mrs. Greyson's order. She’s taken me under her wing since I opened the bakery six months ago. Besides being my best customer, she’s also become a good friend.
"Yeah, you're right. The focus needs to be on the dessert. Your shirt stays on," Candy finally proclaims, then claps her hands.
Slate rolls his eyes but picks up the plate again and gets into place. When he turns around, Candy blows him a kiss, and the corner of his mouth lifts. That man would do anything forCandy. His eyes trail over her curvy body, and it suddenly occurs to me that all the grumbling is a form of foreplay.
Slate quickly schools his face as Candy counts down from three. He stalks toward the camera, and this time, when Candy yells cut, Slate keeps going, pinning her against the counter. She laughs, swatting at him half-heartedly as he kisses her hard.
“Get a room, you two,” I joke, fanning myself. “You’re going to melt all my chocolate.”
“Speak for yourself, dear.” Betty steps up to the cash register. “Some of us like to watch.”
I chortle, and Candy’s cheeks turn pink. Slate pulls away, grinning down at his wife with nothing but love. Well, maybe love and a shit ton of lust.
"All right, back to work," Candy says.
Slate leans down to whisper something in her ear. Candy's face turns bright red, then she bites her lip and nods. Slate grins, leaning forward to brush a chaste peck on her lips before he saunters out of the bakery and heads toward his garage one block over.
After watching him walk away, Candy turns to find both Betty and me grinning at her.
"What? He asked if I'm making dinner tonight." Candy avoids our eyes as she hustles around the counter to put on her apron.
"Yeah, right. More like he's letting her know what he's having for dessert," Betty quips with a wiggle of her eyebrows.
