A Sweet Mess - Jayci Lee Page 0,17

was like a bloodhound when it came to sniffing out trouble.

“It’s a terrible shame your review is having such a devastating effect on her business. The timing couldn’t be worse for her. I get all that.” She paused before she went for the kill. “But that doesn’t explain why you sound like your world is going to hell. Who is she?”

“I ran into her at a bar in Weldon the day I got stranded.” He sighed in resignation. He had to come clean if he wanted her help. Besides, it would help her to see the whole picture. “I had no idea she was the owner of Comfort Zone, and she didn’t recognize me. Something just drew me to her. She was special, and we connected.”

“Oh, my.” The beginnings of real concern entered her voice.

“We spent the night together.” He sounded wistful, and Aria sighed long and loud. “It was meant to be a one-night thing, but when I found her gone the next morning, I was … disappointed. We didn’t even exchange phone numbers, but I wanted to see her again.”

“Have you seen her since?”

“I probably would’ve gone looking for her after my trip to Asia, but I found out my Aubrey was one and the same as Comfort Zone’s Aubrey Choi as soon as I got back. So, no. I haven’t seen her since.” Landon massaged the back of his neck. “Besides, there’s no way she would want to see me after this fiasco.”

“So, to recap, you want to set things right, but you don’t want to bring attention to the whole situation because people might discover you slept with her. Plus, you don’t want her to hate you. Does that sound about right?”

“Bloody, fucking hell.” How had he messed up so badly?

“I take that as a yes. Well, I may have just the right solution for your mess.”

4

The bell above the shop door trilled cheerfully as the man of her nightmares strode into Comfort Zone.

“You.” All the shock, hurt, fear, and devastation of the past months saturated the single word. “Get out.”

“Hello, Aubrey.” His unflinching gaze cut into her like chips of onyx, but she willed herself not to glance away.

“Get. Out,” she snarled through gritted teeth.

How dare he come here! He and his magazine had ignored the pleas of her townspeople, as well as her own, for over a frigging month. She didn’t know when he’d learned who she was, but he had to have known after her first twenty emails to his editor. They had a one-night stand, which didn’t mean he owed her anything, but what they shared hadn’t meant nothing. Didn’t he have any regrets about his review? Not even when he realized the cake mix-up was a mistake?

And now, there he stood, looking irresistibly sexy in her dying bakery. After everything he’d done, did he want to frame her for murder as well? The bakery was empty, so there would be no witnesses. It was tempting. Much too tempting.

Her outrage multiplied when his eyes swept across her neck, chest, and the length of her legs, reminding her he’d touched every inch of her that night. Heat spread through her treacherous body, and humiliation followed in its wake. Standing on the brink of losing her dream, she still wanted the man.

“I’m not here to resume our affair, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“What?” she whispered in disbelief, her mortification mounting. “What?”

She clapped her mouth shut and stood shaking with helpless rage. Silence was infinitesimally more dignified than screeching like a banshee. Resume our affair? Even if he draped himself across her bed in all his nude glory, she wouldn’t so much as nudge him with her toes. Gah. She was determined to hate him, but the thought of him naked on her bed stalled her brain.

Her chance for a clever retort lost, Aubrey watched Landon through narrowed eyes as he perused her shop. He absently ran his hand over a leather chair and then paused in front of a photo on the wall. One of her favorites. A handful of her regulars were piled onto a single love seat, laughing themselves to tears. She fought the impulse to throw herself in front of it. Landon Kim didn’t deserve their smiles.

He strolled to another set of pictures, his hands loosely clasped behind his back. Despite his relaxed posture, he permeated the shop with nervous energy, and his silence filled her with unease. Whatever he was there to do, he needed to do it and