Page 44 of Enforcer

I laugh, shaking my head. “But she didn’t taste any of them.”

Alyssa sits straight in her chair, full breasts perking up at the shift. “Well, I have impeccable taste, and she trusts me.”

I think of how wet she’d been in my car, her creamy skin like ivory against the cherry-red leather seats. Tossing my arm over the back of her chair, I inch closer to her, my lips skimming the shell of her ear. “You, my dearest menace, have thebesttaste.”

She closes her eyes, trying to gain control of herself, when the doors in the back of the shop open, and the two bakers filter back in.

“Well, have we made our choice?” Sophie chirps, hiding her disdain for working for the Ricci family beneath her desperate need to stay afloat in this economy.

“We have. The missus will give you our choice,” I tell her, sitting back in my chair and stretching.

Sophie’s eyes go wide, even as she looks me up and down like a big piece of candy.

Usually, the interaction would make me happy. Even though I haven’t had many interactions with the opposite sex in the last few years, I do enjoy flirting now and again, and I’m good at it.

Now, however, it feels wrong to have another’s eyes on me.

Alyssa doesn’t give any tell she’s perturbed in the slightest.

“We’re going to go with the white cake with raspberry filling,” she tells them, gathering her phone and shoving it into her bag as she stands, kicking back her chair across the floor.

“Oh, timeless. I like that. Solid choice, and the design will still be the one you emailed me, then?” Sophie asks, rushing behind the desk to enter the information in her MacBook.

“Yes, it will be.”

Alyssa heads for the door as the second woman, who never gave us her name, eyeballs the fuck out of me.

I stand and replace the chairs under the table, giving her a curt smirk before following behind Alyssa to the desk.

“Here’s the total, and we’ll be in touch throughout the process. If anything changes, just let me know via phone or email. I’ve included my business contact info and my personal cellphone number,” Sophie tells Alyssa.

“Thank you. And thank you for doing this so late and getting us in at the last minute,” Alyssa adds.

“Of course, anything for you guys.”

It’s more like she’s happy to stay on the good side of the Reaper.

Once outside, I open the door for Alyssa to get in the car, noticing the shift in her mood before I shut it. I get in, turn the engine over, and let silence roar between us. I know she’ll tell me what’s got her riled if she wants to. I don’t want to poke the bear if I don’t need to.

“Did you see how that other girl was eye-fucking you? Jesus, I was about to batter her over the head with my bag.”

I hold back my snicker as I pull away from the curb. “You’d have done some damage with that fucking thing, too.”

She eyes me narrowly, but I keep my eyes away from her gaze.

“You ate it up.”

I shrug. “Can’t help my good looks.”

She scoffs, falling silent for a beat.

“Darling, are you jealous?” I ask her, sneaking a look to watch her reaction.

There’s denial, anger, and realization before she locks her face down into a stoic gaze and turns toward me in her seat. The leather buckles and creaks beneath her.

“Are you kidding me?” she asks.

“You seem a bit too bothered about it, is all. If we’re nothing, you and me...”