Page 187 of A Taste of Vanilla

“Halston,” I plead.

“No.” She lifts one hand. “Let me finish.”

I close my mouth.

She walks toward me slowly, her eyes clear, looking more dangerous than she did that night at the bar. Tonight, there’s no anonymity between us. We’re not strangers.

She stops three feet away.

“I’m not asking you to stay in Maryland forever,” she says. “I’m not asking you to promise me something you can’t promise. I’m not asking you to fix me or the review or my bakery or my schedule or anything.”

My heart beats out of my chest.

“I’m asking if you want me,” she whispers.

My answer is immediate. “Yes. Yes, Halston, I want you.”

She swallows.

“Then stop acting like wanting me is something that will kill you.”

The words hit me like a bullet to the chest. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I know.”

I run my hand over my head. “I’m not good at this.”

“At what?”

“Wanting something I should be careful with.”

Her eyes linger on mine for a moment before drifting to my mouth. “I’m not careful either.”

“I know.”

“I want this.”

“I know.”

She bites her lip. “So ask me,” she says, her voice low.

Heat moves through me so fast I don’t know where it started. “Ask you what?”

Her pupils widen, a faint flush climbing her throat. She takes a step closer. “Ask me if I want you to lock the door.”

My pulse thunders.

“Do you want me to lock the door?”

“Yes.”

I turn away before I can touch her, because if I touch her now, I won’t be checking a damn thing.

I lock the front door first, turn the deadbolt, and pull once to confirm. Then I move to the front, checking the lights, pulling down the blinds over all the front windows. I check the pastry case, the register, and chuck the bank bag into the safe for now. I step into the kitchen and check Agatha quickly to make sure she’s off, and then lock the back door, adding the deadbolt for a second layer of protection against Oliver, who went home early today.

Halston waits near the counter.

When I get back to her, she’s taken the pencil from her hair. It hangs loose, falling around her shoulders and over the side of her blouse.