actions, and last night had been the ultimate wake-up call. He’d rescued her, comforted her, and offered to take care of calling the tow truck driver—which really meant he was taking care of her.
When was the last time anyone had done that? Her parents certainly hadn’t, and neither had her ex. There had been a maid once, many years ago, but her parents had fired the woman once they found out about their friendship, and after that, the rest of the servants kept their distance.
Those memories dulled her smile, but she refused to let them take away her joy. Not now…and not ever again. She’d lived that way for way too long, and it sucked.
She stepped inside the shack, and her full smile returned as she took in the scene. Lael was standing at the register behind the counter with an annoyed look on his face, and the five women in front of him were arguing amongst themselves about who he should help first.
The scene looked like a skit from one of those late-night comedy shows, and suddenly, her confidence resurfaced full-force. Lael might be surrounded by beautiful women all day, but he wasn’t impressed. At least not by the group in front of him. He was friendly and outgoing, sure, but that didn’t mean he liked dealing with stupidity on a daily basis.
She started walking toward him, and the movement caught his eye.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he said, turning to face her. “How did it go today? Did you have fun?”
Stacey didn’t miss the way the room quieted when the word “sweetheart” circled the air, but she kept on walking toward Lael and ignored the stares.
“It was amazing,” she replied. “We walked every row, and sampled so many things. You’d think Elle would be against trying another vendor’s baked goods, but she’s totally for it. She calls it Market Research. I think we sampled every pastry that was available, and everything was so good.”
“You might want to cut back on those samples.” The words were mumbled on a whisper, but she heard them easily, and so did everyone else. Their fight forgotten, the group erupted into laughter, suddenly bonding over a common enemy. She wasn’t perfect like they were, but she had what they wanted.
In the past, she would have allowed their words to hurt, and they did a little, but not in the way they intended. They wanted her to run, to learn her place and hide in the shadows so they didn’t have to look at her imperfections, but she was done hiding. She wasn’t going to scurry away unless Lael told her to go, and judging from the angry glare he was giving the women, that wasn’t happening any time soon.
“Ignore them,” she said, lifting the bag in her hand. “I brought you treats.”
He was still angry. She could tell by the way he held himself still, as if deciding whether or not to say something to the women, but she didn’t want him to say anything. As far as she was concerned, they had already taken up too much of their time.
She gave the bag a little shake, and his smile returned.
“What kind of treats?”
“I can’t say,” she teased. “It’s a secret.”
“That’s mean,” he teased back. “When do I get to find out?”
“Later…when we’re alone.”
She added the last part mostly to annoy the women still staring on the other side of the counter. The way all they all watched the exchange—like a herd of deer frozen in someone’s headlights—pissed her off, and if they happened to get jealous thinking about Lael banging the fat chick…well then, that was a bonus. They didn’t need to know what her and Lael’s plans really were.
“Everybody out,” Lael shouted. “We’re closed.”
Lael’s voice echoed around the room, and all of the women—including herself—stood there staring at him like he’d lost his mind, and then they all started talking at once.
“But—”
“I still need to rent a bike—”
“Wait…what?”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“You can’t do that!”
“Sorry ladies,” Lael smiled at them, “you all have had plenty of time to decide, and I have a date.”
He walked to the door, and turned the sign to “Closed,” and then he started closing the front windows. The group of women all glared at her as they started for the exit, and if looks could kill, she’d be dead five times over. She hadn’t expected him to throw the women out, or shut down the shack because of her teasing, but she had to admit that his reaction felt pretty damn