Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 138881 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 556(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138881 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 556(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
And maybe, just maybe, it’s time to let that rule go. Or, really, to break it.
Before I can get a word out, she taps my thigh. “Hey! What if we stop pretending it’s a one-time-only thing?”
Holy shit. Does that mean she wants more? My heart sprints. I hold my breath as she keeps talking.
“Maybe if we keep romance on the back burner, we can do this.” Ah, it’s clear this means sex, and I shouldn’t complain. “We’ve been able to navigate all these one-time-onlys without ruining the store or our business.”
There’s a part of me that wants so much more than just these moments. But I’d be a fool to turn her down, especially since that’s all we can have. “Mabel Llewelyn—are you asking to be my fuck buddy?”
She cracks up. “Business partners with benefits.”
There’s a lot riding on Afternoon Delight—so many moving parts and so many people who could be collateral damage if something went wrong. Even though I want more of Mabel—more than I’ve been willing to admit before, but I’m realizing now—I’ll take what I can get. “Sold.”
I’m about to seal it with a kiss when she holds up a hand and presses it to my chest. “But I want you to know something.”
Is this when she tells me this arrangement is all we could ever be? That business partners with benefits is the end of the line? I brace myself.
“I’m not asking my brother’s permission.”
I blink, jerk my head back. “For…what?”
She gestures from her to me. “For this. Whatever this arrangement is we just struck.”
I bark out a laugh, but I’m not sure it’s one of relief so much as surprise. We honestly haven’t talked about her brother much in relation to, well, whatever this has been with us.
Possibly because we’ve played the one-time-only game for so long. But maybe also because the real issue isn’t him. The real issue is us.
I school my expression. “I get it. I wouldn’t expect you to tell him.”
“It’s not because it’s secret,” she says, in that same tone she used at my house the other night, when she thought I was asking if she was on the apps. That tough, take-no-prisoners attitude. And goddammit. That’s another thing I like about her—her fortitude. The list is getting too long.
“It’s because I’m a grown woman. I don’t need his approval over who I—” She swallows whatever verb she was about to say, and I’m on the edge of my seat wishing it was date, especially when she sets a hand on my arm as she finishes saying, “Who I’m with.”
With.
It’s not quite a consolation prize, but I’ll take with for now. At least it’s something, along with her hand on my arm. The whole mood feels daringly girlfriend-y.
But it’s not.
I blow out a breath, and add, “I don’t like lying to him by omission, but I also get what you’re saying.”
Her expression softens. “I’m sorry. I’m sure that’s hard, and I don’t want to come between your friendship or cause problems.”
I shut her up with a kiss. A firm, quick kiss that makes my heart thunder more than it should. When I end it, I run my finger along her bottom lip. “You’re not a problem, Mabel. Not ever. Not one bit.”
Her smile warms my soul.
We’ve walked into one hell of a mess, but I can’t stay away from my business partner—and I don’t want to. I reach for her hand from my arm, take it, and thread my fingers through hers.
I sigh…happily.
Maybe giving myself away, but I’m not sure I care. My gaze drifts to our joined hands, and I picture walking through town like this someday, little touches, a swipe of food off the cheek, an adjustment of a shirt, a kiss on the nose.
My fantasies break apart when my phone buzzes.
For a worried second I think it’s Theo. That I’ll be explaining myself sooner than I’d expected—Hey, man I have it bad for your sister, and it’s just not going to stop. I snag it from the bench and swipe it open.
“It’s Lake,” I say, laughing, relieved, since I don’t want to have that uncomfortable conversation right now. I wag the screen at Mabel. “He changed the name of our group chat to The Lawn Men. It amuses him.”
“And me,” she says, as I scan the message that he’s sent to the guys.
Would you look at this? Our very own baking hockey player got a fantastic review today. I couldn’t be more proud of our teammate, and we must give him hell tomorrow at practice.
“Mabel,” I say, whispering so I don’t break a good news spell. “We got a great write-up in California Eats.”
Her lips part in a huge grin. “Really? Read it.”
I square my shoulders and adopt a newsman voice. “Who wants a cookie the size of their head? Not me. Give me a cookie I can actually finish—and that’s exactly what Afternoon Delight delivers. These aren’t oversized, novelty bakes that leave you with more sugar than satisfaction. They’re the kind of cookies that feel homemade in the best way—fresh out of the oven, warm on the counter, just-right sized for an after-school snack or a stolen bite before dinner. Afternoon Delight’s cookies hit that sweet spot: chewy centers, crisp edges, and flavors that taste both nostalgic and elevated. They remind you of childhood, but with the skill of a baker who knows their craft. In short? These are cookies as cookies should be. Three whisks up for Cozy Valley’s llama-loving baker and the baking hockey player.”