say honestly. Wanting to know everything about her. “What do you do for fun, Jessa?” I close the first aid kit and stow it under the bathroom sink.
She smirks. “Fun? I’ve been so busy with Treat Yourself that I haven’t done anything truly fun in ages.” We walk back into the front of the shop, and I see a line has started to form again. I pull out my wallet, but she waves it off, handing me my massive box of goodies. “My treat,” she says. “You played doctor today.”
“I actually am a doctor,” I tell her.
Her eyes widen. “Really?”
I chuckle. “I am. But not a medical doctor — I’m a therapist.”
She nods slowly. “Right. Okay, well, nice to meet you, Dr. Josh.”
A couple behind me edges closer, and before I can ask Jessa out on a date, they are asking for slices of cherry pie.
At the door, I turn to get another look. She seems to be waiting for another look, too, because our eyes meet, and she bites down a smile.
It might not be a yes, but it certainly isn’t a no.
Jessa
The bakery is busy all day and there should be no time to think about Josh, yet it’s impossible not to glance up at the window… hoping that maybe he will come back around.
It’s out of my character — I’m never looking for a guy to pay attention to me. But there’s something about Josh that made me feel cared for. Yes, maybe it’s because he literally cared for me by tending to my burn — but it’s more than that. He made my heart feel light. And that isn’t something I have felt from a man before.
Most men I’ve known have only tried to tear me down. But just talking to Josh seemed to lift me up. And I want that feeling again.
I want to see him again.
By the time I close the doors for the day, my feet ache and my eyes are blurry. I ran out of nearly everything, which means that tomorrow I’m going to need to wake up even earlier so I can get a bigger head start on baking. I wish I had the capital to hire someone to help me, but I only managed to get a loan that covered the cost of the commercial kitchen and six months of rent. Eventually I hope to get help, but until then, it’s a one-woman show.
After wiping down the counters and turning off the lights, I walk to the front entrance to lock up for the night. As I reach it, I see Josh jogging toward me.
I bite back a smile, wondering where this giddy girl came from. But I don’t have time to overanalyze my feeling — Josh is here.
I open the door for him, and he steps in, a plant in hand.
“I caught you,” he says. “I didn’t know when you closed.”
“Three, for customers. Took me another hour to close everything up.”
“Well I’m glad you’re still here. I just finished with a client and had time to make it to my buddy’s garden shop.” He hands me a succulent. “This is for you. A grand opening present.”
“It’s… lovely.”
“It’s aloe vera.”
I smile. “I’m not a green thumb by any stretch. But I do know about aloe for burns.” Lifting my arm, where I was burned this morning, I realize how cute this gesture was. “Do I just rub this on the burn?”
Josh runs a hand over his smooth jaw. “I’m honestly not exactly sure. I think we’ll need to YouTube it over dinner.”
“We?”
He smiles, shrugs. “Yes. We. I mean, unless you’re busy?”
My eyes go wide. “Like right now?”
“Did you have somewhere else to be?”
I shake my head, setting the plant next to my cash register. “I guess not. I honestly would love some vegetables, though. I think all I’ve eaten today are carbs.”
“Same, and I got my butt kicked at CrossFit by my buddy, Matt,” Josh says. “Probably because I finished off that entire box of pastries.”
My eyes go wide as I lock the door. I must have put two dozen items in that box. “No you did not!”
He laughs, taking my hand and leading me out the front door. I have to admit my fingers slip next to his perfectly.
“My secretary helped. As well as everyone I saw today.”
“Well I hope my muffins helped them talk through their problems.”
“I think your muffins could solve all the world’s problems.”
Heat rises to my cheeks. Maybe it’s the simple, sure way he talks,