Page 3 of Blowing His Circuit
I glance at Candy, but she leans forward on the counter to let Betty swipe through the suitors that have apparently liked my profile, leaving me to finish his order.
My face heats as I wipe my sweaty palms on my apron and reach for the money he's placed on the counter. Max scowls, and I glare right back at him. Try as I might, I can't fix my face, even for a paying customer—one who visits my bakery every single morning. If he only knew what the rest of my body wanted, he'd never stop in again.
Trying not to sigh, I pop open the vintage cash register and count out the coins. When I hand Max his change, my fingers brush his skin, and I gasp as a current of electricity explodes up my arm.
We lock eyes, and the rest of the world falls away. A swirl of sunshine lights him up from behind. The birds sing a song only we can hear. A choir of heavenly angels bursts into song. My chest heaves, and his fingertips lightly caress mine as we stare at each other.
"Oh, this one works from home. You could finally get a pet, Aubrey!"
Candy's comment barely penetrates the lusty haze of glitter and rainbows.
The entire illusion crashes and burns as Max turns on his heel and stalks toward the exit.
"You forgot your change!" I yell after him in flustered frustration.
"Keep it," he barks as the door closes behind him.
I clench my jaw. My first instinct is to throw it after him, but I sigh and dump it in the tip jar.
"Do you want me to reach out to any of the guys who are interested?" Candy asks.
I try to focus on her through my irritated, horny state. "No. Stop trying to set me up. I'll meet someone when I meet them." I look pointedly at Betty as well, to make sure she gets the message.
Betty nods thoughtfully. "Of course, dear. Who knows? Maybe it's someone you've already met." She gives me a knowing smile and hooks her bag of goodies over her arm. "Have a lovely day, ladies."
I give her a pathetic wave. Today is not going to be lovely at all if this morning is any indication.
Stupid Max and his dumb, sexy fingers.
Yet I'm the one whose nightly fantasies feature familiar hazel eyes.
I suppress a groan and throw myself back into work.
"Next!"
Chapter two
Max
"Hey, Max, can you hand me a new tube?" Archer pulls the empty container from the caulking gun and holds a gloved hand out to me.
DP Construction is renovating the reception hall that Violet and Brooks purchased last year, and we're hauling ass to get this place ready for the first scheduled wedding in June.
"Here." I throw the bag filled with caulk too hard, and it bounces by his feet. "Shit. Sorry."
"What's got you all worked up?" Emmett asks, reaching down to gather the scattered containers and handing one to Archer.
"Wait, I need like fifteen seconds, then I want to hear about it too," Archer says, ducking into the bathroom to finish the seal on the toilet.
"Nothing." I shake my head. "It's nothing!" I yell louder when I hear Archer's muffled protests.
"Dude." Emmett crosses his arms and glares at me. We've been friends for so long, I know he's not going to drop it.
"I stopped for a bear claw this morning."
"At Sugarplum?" Emmett asks.
"Betty and Candy were obsessing over a dating website." I shrug. "It's no big deal."
