Stud Muffin (Donner Bakery #2) - Jiffy Kate Page 0,74

friends, I can’t. She obviously needs that from me and I’m willing to be what she needs.

For now.

“You came to the right place,” I tell her with a smirk, hoping to set her mind at ease—giving her a safe place to land.

The hesitant smile on her face tells me she really needs a good session. And by that, I don’t mean with my dick. So I walk over and set the muffins down, grabbing her new gloves I bought in Knoxville.

“Try these on,” I instruct, handing them over.

She takes them and her green eyes go wide. “What are these?”

“Your new gloves,” I tell her, walking over to grab a roll of tape. “We’re sparring today.”

“You bought these for me?” she asks, disbelief in her tone as she slides one of them on and flexes her fist. When she looks back up at me, there’s pure adoration in her gaze. You’d think I gave her a new car.

She looks down at the gloves and I see a soft smile on her lips… those fucking lips. When she laughs, I ask, “What’s so funny?”

Shaking her head, she replies, “I can’t remember the last time someone bought me something. How sad is that?”

My heart clenches and I have a sudden desire to buy her the world.

“What do you mean?” I ask, sure I’ve misunderstood what she’s saying, but she simply shrugs.

“Just what I said.” Looking back up at me, her eyes are a little shiny. “Usually for my birthday, my parents take me out for dinner, but they stopped buying me gifts when I was in college. For Christmas, we agreed to not exchange gifts a few years after Asher and I got married. I think…” she drifts off, but then continues, her voice an octave lower. “I think they thought we’d have kids… and that they’d start buying for them, but…”

That never happened.

Instead, her fuckwad of an ex went and knocked up someone else.

I feel that gut punch for her. My stomach literally hurts when I think about what she’s been through.

“Wanna know something?” she asks, almost absentmindedly, her gaze fixated on the black leather of the gloves as a finger on her ungloved hand traces the flames. “Asher came into the bakery today to buy a dozen muffins… Back in Baby’s Arms.” She laughs, but this time, it’s empty of humor. “I took the order and had no idea who they were for.”

“So, I’m assuming,” I start, but she finishes my thought.

“It’s a boy.” Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes and even though I know she’s over Asher, this hurts. “Mindy went into labor two days ago.”

The fact that he intentionally brought her even more pain makes me want to go find him and make him wish he’d never been born.

“Wanna put those gloves to good use?” I ask, thinking of another gift I can give her.

When she nods her head in agreement, I take her hand in mine and wrap her knuckles in tape, taking care to not make it too tight, but tight enough to protect her hands. They are, after all, extremely valuable. The Duchess of Muffins couldn’t make her magic with damaged hands.

“Just like shadowboxing,” I instruct as we start to bounce around the mats. “Except now, you’re going to make contact.”

Her eyes grow wide. “I’m going to hit you?”

“Yep,” I tell her, knocking together my gloves, which are just for show, because there is no way in hell I’m going to actually spar with her. All I’m going to do is let her blow off some steam and take her new gloves on a test drive.

“Hard?” she asks, still unsure of what we’re getting ready to do.

“As hard as you want.”

I hit my stomach for show, raising my shirt and flexing my muscles. When her eyes darken, I raise an eyebrow in challenge. She wants me… I know she does… as more than a friend. If only I could get her to see that we can explore this heat between us and still be friends.

The best relationships are built off friendships, after all.

“It’s all about getting comfortable in the ring,” I instruct. “This is your ring.” I spread my arms wide to the mats around us. “Stay on your toes… stay moving.”

She nods and begins to bounce around like when we’re shadowboxing.

“Most importantly, breathe,” I tell her, making eye contact and holding her gaze. “Breathe.”

I watch as she inhales deeply and lets it out.

“Relax,” I say, dropping my voice and raising my gloves up. “Eyes on