Stealing Taffy (Bigler, North Carolina #3) - Susan Donovan Page 0,91

Cheri. He wandered in at two-fifteen and kept all the way to the other side of the dining room, putting as much physical space between himself and Tanyalee as the square footage would allow. At least he’d shown up. Fancy that—they were in the same confined space and the world didn’t end! Tanyalee supposed it was a start.

But there was no sign of Dante. Tanyalee kept glancing up to be sure she hadn’t missed his arrival, scanning for a dark head of hair rising above most everyone else. She didn’t see it. She checked her phone for messages from him. There were none.

Suddenly, Tanyalee was hit by a wave of worry. Had she pushed him away? Was he so impatient that he couldn’t wait a couple weeks for her to sort out her life? And if that were the case, then why had he told her he’d see her here at the bakery?

Just before three P.M., the front door opened and a striking woman with glossy black hair entered under a man’s arm. Tanyalee was impressed that a gentleman held the door open for a lady like that.

The arm belonged to Dante.

Tanyalee froze, a thousand questions prickling at her brain. Who was the woman? Why was Dante with her? Could it be that she was actually … jealous?

Just then, Tater Wayne—Thomas—pushed his way through the clusters of customers to reach the woman. He kissed her hard and shook Dante’s hand, then swept her into the room and headed toward Turner, Candy, J.J., and Cheri.

Well, what about that? That woman was Tater’s—Thomas’s—girlfriend and Dante’s boss! Tanyalee felt her entire body flood with relief.

As if sensing she was near, Dante turned his head and his dark and intense gaze found her. Tanyalee couldn’t move. He didn’t look away and he didn’t blink, just strolled toward her, every inch the gorgeous man from two weeks ago and completely in command. Tanyalee suddenly experienced déjà vu—this was just how she’d felt at O’Hare airport the first time their eyes met. Now as then, the noisy environment faded to silence. No one else existed in the room, in Bigler, in all of North Carolina, or the entire world. He used his eyes to hold Tanyalee in place until he could get to her.

Dante reached the counter. He flattened his palms on the glass surface of the display case and leaned in. “I need something sweet.”

Lord-ee! Tanyalee felt her legs wobble and gripped the edge of the counter to stay standing. Knowing how Dante’s vortex of manliness could suck in the attention of everyone in a room, she gestured to the only remaining items in the bakery case—two poppy-seed muffins—and pretended to be just a cashier dealing with just another customer. “What a shame,” she said kindly. “I don’t think there’s a single thing I could offer you.”

The corner of Dante’s mouth twitched and his eyes flashed. “I beg to differ.”

Fern chose that moment to walk by with another tray of dirty dishes. She raised her chin at Dante and smiled. “Yo,” she said, slowing to a stop. “You know how to bowl? You free tomorrow?”

Dante smiled at Fern. “Miss Bisbee, lovely to see you after all this time. And yes, as a matter of fact I do know how to bowl. I was the Northeast conference junior champion and placed sixth overall at Nationals. And I’ve got nothing planned for tomorrow, why?”

Fern’s mouth went limp. “Are you shi … kidding me?” She wiggled her eyebrows at Tanyalee. “We’ve got our team! Sign him up.”

Oh, sweet Jesus. For the next couple hours, Tanyalee could barely concentrate as she and Fern tidied up and closed the register. Dante was still there. He occasionally glanced at her and smiled. He’d even introduced her to his boss, a rather uncomfortable experience as Tanyalee sensed she was being mentally frisked and arrested.

The crowd dissipated, but Dante stayed well past the end of the event, eventually joining a handful of people gathered around a few café tables. The group included Candy and Turner, Cheri and J.J., Aunt Viv and Granddaddy Garland, Bitsy Stockslager and her husband, Kelly O’Connor and Tater (Thomas, dammit!), and Temple and Laureen Smathers. Tanyalee kept an ear out during the chatting and laughing, making sure she did not hear her name. Wouldn’t that be a fascinating topic of conversation? That little group happened to have intimate knowledge of Tanyalee’s entire life from birth to childhood, marriage, miscarriage and divorce, assorted misdemeanors and felonies, conviction and probation, and