Semi-Sweet On You (Hot Cakes #4) - Erin Nicholas Page 0,92

saw her now in a way he hadn’t in the past.

Maybe because there was more to see now. Maybe because he was more mature and more able to see it. She wasn’t sure. But they were not the same people they’d been ten years ago. This man she had very much had a huge crush on was not the same guy she’d crushed on in high school.

It all felt new and exciting and scary.

Scary because now they were adults and it could actually mean something now.

She took a deep breath and focused on her phone and Piper.

This was something else she needed to work on. If she wanted to have friends, she had to be a friend. That meant paying attention when people needed her.

Are you sure you can’t get away for a drink? Whitney asked. We should talk now. I’m concerned.

Don’t be concerned, Piper texted back almost immediately. This isn’t about Ollie.

Whitney took a breath. Something she knew even less about than girlfriends was romantic relationships. Cam had been her only one. And they’d been kids. And now, in retrospect, it was clear that a lot of that excitement had been about a whole series of firsts—her first boyfriend, her first kiss, first sex, first defying her parents—and the rush of sneaking around and breaking her family’s rules.

She hadn’t done that. Not before Cam. And not really since.

Her parents had been married for thirty years. They’d been high school sweethearts and, well, they’d just done what they’d been expected to do—go to college, get married, take over the family business, have kids.

Her grandparents had been married for fifty-one years. But she knew it hadn’t been all that happy. Her grandpa hadn’t been abusive. At least not physically. She was realizing now that both her grandfather and father had been emotionally abusive, and her grandfather had been financially abusive toward her grandmother, making all of the money decisions and doling money out to her like she was a child, requiring her to get his “permission” for the things she bought. And he’d taken over her company. The thing she’d first taken a chance on. The thing she’d lost her best friend over.

Yeah, Whitney didn’t know much about strong relationships. Except with her grandmother. And she wasn’t going to win any granddaughter of the year awards over the past couple of years.

I can come over to your house, Whitney finally typed to Piper. Piper was a woman she wanted to be friends with. Because she had a feeling Piper could teach Whitney how to be a good friend. Piper would tell Whitney when she was falling down on the job and she’d tell her exactly what she wanted Whitney to do to make her feel better. I can bring cookies or liquor. Your call.

The cookies were ones Cam had made but she didn’t think he’d mind if she swiped them for this.

In fact, she smiled thinking about telling him that she was “borrowing” the caramel-and-toffee oatmeal cookies he’d made last night to have some girl talk with Piper.

He’d approve. He’d like that she and Piper were getting close. He’d like that she was developing a friendship. He’d like that his cookies were a part of that.

Whitney felt a wave of heat sweep through her.

He was so damned sweet. And she wanted him so damned much.

She’d always been attracted to him and they’d had some hot moments over the past few weeks. But it was the freaking cookies and the dusting and the way he was caring for Didi and—more than any of that—the way he seemed so happy to be doing it all. He truly seemed to be happy to be doing all of it with the knowledge that Whitney could then focus better on work.

It was the weirdest turn of events.

And it made her want to strip his clothes off of him and cover him in cookie dough and lick every swirl of every tattoo on his body.

She really hoped he had some she hadn’t seen yet because they’d been covered by his jeans and shorts and…

Her phone pinged, pulling her attention back to her texting conversation with Piper.

The woman she wanted to be friends with.

Man, she really sucked at this.

Cookies and liquor both sound awesome. But honestly, it’s not like that. I’m out here talking to Drew about a project. It’s truly about alpacas. It’s not a date. Rain check on the drink? And the cookies?

Whitney sighed. A project with Drew? About alpacas? Okay, well, she was launching a