Page 2 of Merry Me Bad Boy
Not because this guy looks like he could’ve stepped straight out of a mafia movie with all those tattoos crawling up his neck and down his fingers, but because like how he is looking at the display case, his stare is solid.
LikeI’mon the menu.
Woof. Get your head out of the clouds, Abby.
Doesn’t help that I have to look up at the guy either. He’s a freaking giant who makes my bakery look like a dollhouse.
It takes a passing second before he pokes the glass with a thick finger. He’s pointing at a cupcake designed to look like Rudolf.
“Need two of those.”
Thatvoice.Oh my goodness Like simmering butter poured into cupcake mix. My insides are melting like an ice cream cone on a sunny day. Oh my.
Remembering that this is a customer and not a walking fantasy, I fumble with grabbing a box. The paper I grab next crinkles in my grip.
The guy needstwoof them. One for him and the other…probably for a girlfriend or wife. She’ll love the cute design, no doubt.
Without thinking, I look at his hands. He’s got a white line around his ring finger. A ringusedto be there at one point.
A divorcee? Doesn’t matter.
Seeing how tan he is, I know well enough that this guy isn’t from around here. Probably just here for the holidays, I push my feelings aside and ring him up for the two cupcakes.
“Anything else I can get you?” Keeping my voice steady, I gently box up the cute cupcakes.
I hope the second person enjoys theirs. I make all the baked goods here with loads of love.
The man looks from me back down to the display cabinet, pursing his lips together in a firm line. The way he looks over the selection, I wonder what’s going through his mind. If he stares any harder at the snowman-shaped cookies, they’re going to melt.
“One of those.” Pointing at the poor guys, I have to stifle a laugh. I struggle to imagine such a brutish-looking guy eating such cute sweets.
Without revealing my thoughts, I add one cookie to the box. Taping it off, I tap a few buttons on the register and check him out.
I can’t tell if the guy is awkward or doesn’t talk much, as he simply nods when I tell him to have a good day.
After he leaves, I’m once again surrounded by silence. Staring out toward the glass door, I watch snow continue to fall. For a moment there, it kind of felt like time stopped.
Taking a look at what sweets I have left, I lift my shoulders and return to the back.
I still have plenty of prepping to do for tomorrow.
Jason
Ten years ago, I left this town with the intention of never looking back.
Back then, I grew tired of living in a small town, one with hardly anything in it. I felt so stuck at the time. Leaving this place behind had been my best decision yet.
Now here I am, back where I started with hardly a luggage to my name.
Over the years, I’ve missed birthdays, holidays, and even funerals. When I heard my brother planned on getting married, I decided to come back with the hopes of seeing the only family I’ve got left.
Not because I felt the need to tell him that marriage is a mistake, but because I missed the guy.
Kade and I don’t have the best relationship, not since we were kids. Even as his older brother, the guy wanted nothing to do with me when I popped up in his bar.
The same place our Pops used to run before sickness got the best of him six years back.
If it weren’t for the woman he planned on marrying for stepping in, I wouldn’t be staying in the spare room they have right above the joint. I think those cupcakes I got helped sway their decision too.