Page 45 of Sweet Rivals

“Maybe we just compliment each other,” he said with a lift of his shoulders.

“No, we don’t. Opposites don’t actually attract. It’s a myth perpetuated by romcom movies. Lasting relationships both platonic and romantic are founded on commonalities.”

“Well, we have those too.”

I turned to glare at him. Making sure he saw just what I thought of that idea.

“We both grew up in family kitchens. We both love to bake. We both like the beach at night,” he ticked items off on his fingers. “And most importantly, we both like to kiss each other.”

Chapter Thirty-One

“All of those things are superficial,” I protested while my cheeks burned red. “And who said I liked kissing you?”

I felt his eyes on me while I kept mine trained on the door, willing someone to come find us and save me from this agony.

“Not exactly a staunch denial,” he said, and I heard the smirk in his voice. That damn, annoying smirk that had permanent residence on his face.

“Can you stop being obnoxious for two seconds? What is the real timeline for opening?” I asked.

I felt Jared’s shrug as a brush along the length of my side body. “I’m hoping in the next week. My construction guys can move fast. News is obviously out. The only thing that would hold us up would be the menus.”

“Mine will be ready,” I said, finally turning to him so I could glare at him. The effect of my angry eyes was diminished slightly by my chattering teeth. I wrapped my arms around myself and pulled my legs in tight.

“Let me warm you up,” he said.

“No way,” I said.

“That came out creepy. I meant it genuinely and platonically. You are freezing. I’m not terribly warm myself. We may be in here for a while. We can use body heat to warm up.”

“I would rather lose a goddamn limb to frostbite than let you warm me up,” I said.

Maybe that was an exaggeration, but I didn’t want to be any closer to Jared than I already was. It was hard enough remembering how much I hated him with his body pressed against the side of me. Maybe it was stupid to resist it so much, but I wasn’t interested in mixing business with pleasure or entangling myself romantically or otherwise at this point in time. I had my goals. The last few relationships I had crashed and burned. I had to get my life in order before I let myself get involved. And getting involved with such a messy man would be worse than finding a stranger on the street for a one-night stand. Although a little voice in the back of my head nagged quietly that this was the same mindset that had left me bakery-less, competing for Jared’s crumbs.

“Don’t be so stubborn. Let me warm you up,” he said, wrapping his hands around my waist and dragging me forcibly into his lap.

My eyes fluttered momentarily at the sensation of being manhandled into his arms. Once he had me settled into his lap, he wrapped his thick, firm, muscles arms around me, trapping my arms underneath his.

“You know you are supposed to wait for consent, right?”

“Not when hypothermia is involved.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re the one who was worried. Just being proactive,” he said, his lips pressed close to my ear and his voice barely above a whisper.

Nothing he said was in any way sexual, and yet the feeling of his breath on my neck pulled my eyes closed as I leaned into his warmth and the sensation of him, all of my protests quickly leaving my mind. Even I had to admit, it was pretty nice to feel warm. I took in a deep, cold breath as I settled back into him. My butt was still cold on the floor with his legs on either side of me. The length of my back pressed against him while his legs and arms cocooned me.

We sat quietly curled up together in the hum of the refrigerator, not talking. My body moved gently up and down with the rise and fall of his breath. A calming peace washed over me that I hadn’t experienced in a long time, maybe ever. I had been especially frantic over the last few days, and it felt amazing. I could have lived in that feeling forever. The cold air blasting onto us was still uncomfortable but more bearable with Jared’s body pressed close to mine.

“See,” his deep voice rumbled through his chest vibrating my whole body. “This isn’t so bad.”

I shrugged. There wasn’t any fight in me at the moment. I just wanted to snuggle into his warmth. Which I did. I scooched my butt backward, wiggling into him. He let out a quiet, involuntary moan against my ear, which sent an involuntary shiver through my body, unrelated to the cold of the refrigerator before quickly being replaced by a growing warmth that ended with a blush on my cheeks. The peace from just a moment earlier gone, never to return again, as my heart thundered at the sudden and unexpected tension. I worried he might feel my heartbeat and know that his nearly imperceptible show of desire had an effect on me.

I sat, rigid and unmoving, waiting. For what, I couldn’t be sure. But I waited for something, anything, to break my panic so we could move on. I could forget the heat of his body pressed against me, or the feel of his breath on my neck, or the sound of his low moan when I shifted my body. How the hell had I gone so quickly from disdain to this acute awareness of our skin touching?

His thumb moved gently along my arm where he held me, emptying all thoughts out of my mind. As usual, I caught myself overthinking. This was fine. We were fine. Nothing to see here. Just Jared trying to warm me up, a rare kindness in the midst of our rivalry.

“You know what, I think I’m warm enough now,” I said, thankful my voice didn’t betray either my panic or the inappropriate feelings burning their way through my skin. I leaned forward, trying to pull away, but his strong arms tensed and held me firm before he pulled me back forcefully against him, locking me in place.