Page 75 of Fierce-Baker

“Sure. He seems like a nice guy. I see him now and again here, but soon I won’t. And I’ve got to go.”

That didn’t sound good at all.

Nothing like she was hoping for.

The minute Tasha was out of sight, she made a mad dash for Baker’s office.

There he was, texting on his phone.

It was time to gamble some more. “Talking to Tasha?”

“Nope, my sister,” he said. “Why?”

“I was just talking to her before she left. She brought up that you live by each other. I had no clue.”

He smirked. “Really? I thought you knew everything. Guess not.” The phone rang in his hand. “Sorry, I’ve got to take this.”

Her shoulders dropped as she all but stomped away.

When did it ever seem this hard to get answers before?

Maybe everyone was right and she was spinning her wheels and wasting her time.

Nah. They were all just playing with her.

“DidJolene run to you after she left me?” Tasha asked Baker when she opened the door hours later.

“She did,” he said. She could see he was hesitating. Should he lean in and kiss her, or just walk by?

She took the decision out of his hands and gave him a quick kiss, then reached for his hand to give it a squeeze.

When she did, she noticed a bag in the other. A gift bag. A big blue one with trucks on it.

Oh, my God. He bought her son a gift!

“You’ll have to fill me in on what she said.”

“Mama!”

She turned just as her son darted toward her, his tiny feet pounding across the floor to see who was at the door. She scooped him up before he could barrel into her legs like usual. It was a miracle her shins weren’t permanently bruised by now.

“Micah, do you remember Baker?”

Her son stared at him with wide, assessing eyes.

Her boyfriend.

That was what he was in her mind, even if the word “boy” didn’t come close to fitting him.

He was a man. All man. And somehow he felt like hers.

A dangerous thought. A possessive one.

The last time she’d felt anything like that, her whole world had crumbled faster than a stale cookie in Micah’s fist.

“Hi,” he said softly. “I brought something for you.”

“Gift?” Micah perked up instantly.