Erin slapped Nate’s hand away.
“Would you quit it?” She widened her eyes in warning. “Do you have any idea how long it takes to decorate one of those? And it’s not like you’re aiming for one of the simple ones…”
Aiming for anything simple had never been his style, but Nate didn’t say that. He figured she knew by now. The bigger the challenge, the more he relished it. It was probably part of his continuing fascination with her. It sure as hell wasn’t because he made a habit of pursuing a woman who held him at arm’s length physically for two long weeks and counting. But considering their conflicting work schedules and the fact that their nightly phone calls had allowed them to learn more than they probably would have otherwise, he supposed it all evened out.
Not that he planned on the lack of physical contact continuing for much longer.
When he tossed a lazy smile her way, she caved. “All right, fine, you can try some of the ones that aren’t decorated….”
Reaching over a tray of cupcakes adorned with intricate curls of pink icing and topped with perfect miniature daisies, she lifted one of her ‘spares’ and handed it to him. Then she watched as he peeled the case back on one side and bit into it, her gaze lowering to his mouth as he chewed.
The intensity of that gaze was distracting enough for it to take a moment to think of anything but kissing her until neither of them could breathe. But then what had looked like a completely innocent cupcake caught him by surprise—proving to be superrich chocolate with a taste of cherries and the slightest hint of red wine.
His brows lifted as he looked down at his hand. “Wow. What’s in this?”
An answering smile lit her up from the inside, bringing back the sunshine he always sought out. “It’s a Cabernet cupcake. Secret recipe. Want to try a different one?”
Nate nodded. “Is this a Great Aunt Carlotta recipe?”
Carlotta was more than the family’s spinster aunt, Nate had learned. She’d been Erin’s godmother, and had taught her to bake when she was a child. During one of their phone calls, Erin had talked about how the ritual had bonded them together. Nate suspected she’d needed that when it would have been easy to feel lost inside her large, gregarious family.
“One of them. I’ve embellished some over the years and played with different flavors. Try this one.”
Miniature chocolate chips dotted the rich pumpkin and cream cheese cupcake, and it tasted just as good as the last. So Nate enthusiastically worked his way through a chocolate ganache and then a mocha while wondering how in hell Erin managed to stay so slim while doing what she did for a living.
His gaze slid leisurely over her from head to toe as she continued adding finishing touches of icing roses, pretzel-winged butterflies and swirls of creamed icing depending on the orders. It wasn’t hard to see why she’d been chosen as a last-minute stand-in to wear the diamond. But now that he knew her better, he knew she was completely unaware of how beautiful she was. Another first. The majority of beautiful women Nate dated or had been around had invested a lot of time and money in how they looked, viewing themselves with either harsh criticism, massive ego or a high-maintenance combination of both. But not Erin.
Whether she was in a designer evening dress, soft sweater and tailored pants, jeans and a Yankees T-shirt or the white shirt/black skirt uniform she wore when she helped out at her family’s restaurant, she never obsessed about how she looked. And she was equally sexy in everything as far as Nate was concerned.
When she caught her lower lip between her teeth and narrowed her eyes in concentration, he smiled. “How many of these do you make in a week?”
“A lot more than I used to thanks to word-of-mouth recommendations.” She glanced up at him and he saw the softened green in her eyes. “It’s why I have so many early starts. I’ll have to hire help when I open the bakery.”
“How long till you open?”
The question lit her up again. “Few weeks. Since I moved back to my parents’ place, I’ve saved the deposit a lot faster. Helps take the sting out of living with your mom and dad at twenty-seven if it’s for a good cause…”
Nate knew how much the bakery meant to her. She’d talked about it during their phone conversations and the enthusiasm in her voice had made him smile. It was her dream. She’d spent years working toward it and had a hunger for it he understood. She was lucky. It had taken him a lot longer to find something he got as much pleasure from work-wise; one of the disadvantages of being born into money was everything could be too easy. But then one of the advantages of having money was he could do what he wanted with it….
“I’ll put up the deposit for you.”
What had been intended to make her happy had the opposite effect, her inner light snapping off as if a switch had been pulled. “No. You won’t.”
“It’ll give you more to invest in the business.”
There was a moment when it looked like she might revert to defensive mode, but she took a calming breath and turned away. “I appreciate the offer, but no. Thank you.”
“Why not?” He folded his arms.
“Because it’s nothing to do with you.”
“It’s not a partnership offer. I have my hands full running a half dozen companies already. It’s a gift.”
“It’s not the same as flowers and chocolates, Nate.”
Which was exactly why he wanted to give it to her. Flowers and chocolates didn’t feel like enough anymore. He’d gift-wrap the whole damn store and hand it to her if it made her light up from the inside the way she did. “Not like I can’t afford it.”
“I know. But that’s not the point.”
“Then what is the point?”
Turning again, she lifted a brow at his determined stance. “Can we drop this? If you want to spend the day seeing what I do then we need to get going…”
There hadn’t been raised voices, but it still felt like an argument to Nate. What bugged him most was he knew there was more to it than the issue of money. She was still trying to stop him from becoming entangled in her life. And it was getting to him. But if he pushed too hard she’d run, wouldn’t she?
Nate stared into her eyes as it hit him. As far as he was concerned, her days of running were done. Maybe it was time she understood that, too.
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