as it isn’t you.”
Three months earlier…
Chapter Two
Lily
“I’ve got the solution,” Lewis, my trade manager, shouts as he approaches me. “We’re about to set you up on a dating app, Lilly Pilly. It’s going to be awesome.”
It’s mid-morning so people are checking out of the upscale Chicago hotel where we’re meeting to work through our presentation to the Gladstone Hotel Group. Several guests stop what they’re doing and glance around in curiosity at his booming voice.
I half lift my hand to wave. Yes, it’s me. Desperate and dateless in Chicago. Except I’m not desperate, and I’m dateless by choice. The embarrassment that heats my cheeks, though, is a gift from my best friend and favorite contractor.
“Was that necessary?” I ask as the hotel’s guests go back to checking out.
“I brought baked goods.” He grins from under his blue Cubs cap. Dark curls that match his scruff explode from under the rim and his brown eyes dance with cockiness. He has his arms full with a tray of coffees and a white cardboard box with the name of the bakery across the road stamped on the side. “Bear claw? Cruller? Devil’s food cake?”
“That’s not fair,” I whine as he pops the box on the table between us and flips open the lid to reveal the sweet, sweet contents. Chocolate ganache. Vanilla glaze. Pie filling. My stomach growls. “Buttering me up isn’t going to work.”
“I got you one of each.” He takes a seat in the black leather tub chair opposite me and hands me a tall carryout cup. “Caramel macchiato with a shot of vanilla and extra chocolate drizzle.”
“I hate you,” I whisper, nuzzling the cup to my chest. I lift it to face height and kiss the side. “But I adore you.”
Lewis chuckles. “So about this dating app.”
“No.” I groan under my breath. This isn’t the first time he’s announced my availability to the world. Or tried to help fix my love life. In fact, he’s been trying to set me up since high school. He picked out my prom date. Probably because he met the love of his life during senior year and he figured I’d feel like a third wheel.
He’s set me up on double dates. Then there were accidental dates. The kind where I’d show up to dinner and some guy with single status would also be joining us. And now we’ve graduated to dating apps. “Not going to happen.”
“Eat a donut, Lily.” He nudges the box toward me. The aroma calls to me. “It’ll make you feel better.”
“No, thank you.” I clamp my lips together and hold my breath. He knows me too well. He knows I have a weakness. A type of kryptonite that turns me mellow and sweet and pliant. Those delicious morsels call my name, they make my mouth water. Breakfast was hours ago so the idea of shoving one of these in my kisser is tantalizing.
“I had a cruller and a jelly on my way over.” He rubs his palm over his narrow torso. “I couldn’t decide which one was sweeter. You’ll have to tell me what you think.”
I shake my head. My eyes are stinging because I refuse to blink. If I break concentration those beautiful sugary carbs are going to win. And if I cave there’s no telling what I’m liable to agree to.
He leans his elbows on the table and hovers over the carton. “Mmm. I think I’ll have a bear claw. They look so good.”
I can practically taste the Danish-like pastry. The raisins. The apple pie filling. I clutch my stomach, which is trying to gnaw its way through my abdominal muscles in an effort to bypass my lips in order to get those delightful mouth treasures.
“On second thought, devil’s food cake it is.” He lifts the doughy ring from the box and takes a bite.
“That’s not fair.” I gasp for air. He knows they are my favorite.
He grins, chocolate between his teeth as he rips the plastic lid off his coffee and takes a sip right from the rim. “Coda emailed me.”
“How is Coda?” I grip the edge of the table and glance at the time on my phone, which is screen up on the table. Where’s Kiki? There are still a few details we need to work through before we give our presentation for the newest of the Gladstone hotels next week. While it’s the smallest of the Gladstone Groups guesthouses, its purpose is to serve as a home away from home for exclusive clientele. And it’s