A Sweet Mess - Jayci Lee Page 0,18
leave. His presence confused and hurt her.
“Do you often revisit the restaurants you’ve ruined?”
“I fucked up.” She startled when he spoke from the other end of the shop. “That cake was beyond weird and a potential health hazard, but it was careless and unprofessional of me to write a review based on a single sample. I don’t do careless and unprofessional. That’s not the way I work. Usually.”
“Do you want me to absolve you of your sins?” It had probably taken him a few hours to write the review that destroyed what she’d built in four years. Comfort Zone wasn’t just a bakery to her. It was her home, her dream, and her freedom. Hot tears burned behind her lids, and she bit her lip till she tasted blood. If she cried in front of him, the last scrap of her pride would burn to cinders. “Come see me when you and I are the only survivors in a postapocalyptic, zombie-infested world. Maybe then … may-be. Who am I kidding? You can go straight to hell.”
“I’m not here to apologize.” He dragged a hand through his hair, showing signs of frayed nerves. “And I can’t write a second review.”
“Can’t or won’t?” Aubrey slumped into a chair, suddenly too tired to give a fuck.
“Won’t.” A hint of remorse flickered in his eyes. “Did you know who I was when you slept with me?”
She listened to her breath whooshing in and out, dumbstruck once more. Too bewildered to filter her thoughts, she said, “No, I did not know who the bloody hell you were. What the fuck are you implying?”
“I had to ask.” His long, thick lashes fluttered like the wings of a moth who’d strayed too close to the fire. “I had to be sure you didn’t sleep with me to extort a good review.”
“I slept with you for a good review? Are you out of your mind?” She shot out of her seat and reached him in a single, rage-fueled bound—close enough to spit on his handsome, arrogant mug. “News flash, asshole. You didn’t give me a good review.”
“Will you listen?” He leaned in so close that she had to tilt her head back to continue glaring at him. “I had to ask. I needed to be certain before I could help you.”
“Help me? You. Ruined. Me.” Grabbing fistfuls of his shirt, she jerked him in time with each word. But she was the only one who rocked back and forth, while he stood like a stone wall. She roared with frustration. “You wrote a review that destroyed my life. Just how did I benefit from sleeping with you?”
“You didn’t.” He raked his fingers through his hair, looking pained. “You said you didn’t sleep with me for a good review, and I believe you.”
“How very kind of you to acknowledge that. Now, turn around. Walk through that door. Disappear.” She released his shirt and shoved him toward the entrance, putting her weight into it. He stumbled back a step. “You are done insulting me.”
The cautious vulnerability that entered his eyes stopped her from knocking him across the head. The man was hopeless—a cynic and a clueless idiot—but she could tell he’d been used that way before. Well, tough shit. He was still an asshole.
“But the fact is we did sleep together,” he continued as though she hadn’t spoken. “If I write a favorable second review and someone finds out about that night, our reputations will be wrecked beyond repair. No one will believe it was a coincidence.”
“How will anyone find out?”
“Writing an unprecedented second review alone will raise suspicions. And…” He cringed a little, the tip of his ears turning pink. “And I’ve had some paparazzi ambushing me lately. They seem overly interested in my private life.”
“Is this about you being one of the most eligible bachelors of the year? Oh, my God. It is.” She had to choose a celebrity food critic and most eligible bachelor to have a one-night-stand with. What shitty luck. “Can’t we just deny it? I don’t think anyone has proof that we slept together, right?”
“And we don’t have any proof that we didn’t sleep together. It’s impossible to prove a negative. Besides, we did sleep together.” He threw his hands up in frustration. “Gossip spreads like wildfire on social media and gossip sites. Unfortunately, celebrity gossip is presumed true until proven false. We won’t be able to convince anyone otherwise until it’s too late to salvage our reputations.”
Exhausted, Aubrey sat down once again. She