Sweet Heat Rising (Thoroughbred Men Series) (4 page)

6

Sarah continued to smile happily all the next day, and would catch herself giggling a bit when she thought of how it made her feel. She did not know when she would see him again, but was so giddy at the prospect.

Tyler took her happiness as an invitation. He mentioned that maybe she could attend a cookout with a few friends this weekend and was dismayed to see her expression fall. He had felt she had begun to avoid him. She had spent time chatting with customers instead of helping him at the case. Which really bothered him more than he realized, because by late morning he was growing testy with her and had snapped at a customer.

“What’s wrong with you today,” Sarah whispered angrily at him, after she apologized profusely to the gentleman at the counter. Tyler walked off into the kitchen, and she finished helping him with his purchase from the case. She threw in a loaf of bread as an apology for her employee’s attitude. Sarah walked into the kitchen and saw Tyler was washing a few dishes in the sink. “Tyler, what is going on? Are you all right?” she asked concerned. It was not like him to be so negative and lash out, especially to the clientele. They kept this shop afloat!

Tyler finished washing, dried his hands slowly and said, “It’s nothing that a little attention from you wouldn't fix,” looking pointedly at her. He had overheard her talk to her friend Carla about having a date last night with a new guy in town and it did not take a lot to put two and two together. Her date is what had her smiling all morning long and he was jealous. He could not help it.

Sarah drew a blank, “Attention? Like what?” she asked stupidly. What was he talking about? Attention from her? She had talked with him several times this morning! She had been so surprised with his attitude towards the customer, when normally he was quite congenial.

              Tyler walked over to her and plucked at a piece of imaginary lint off her shoulder, Sarah leaned back away from him and bumped into the workbench behind her. He decided maybe it was time to really make his intentions known.

He had tried the friendship aspect, but felt it was time to ramp up and make sure she understood he was interested in her, as a man wants a woman, not just as friends. He leaned in towards her, whispered, “A little attention goes a long way to making someone smile, and I could show you some,” in a very suggestive tone. He thought she was so pretty and she had no idea how attracted he was to her.

Sarah was distinctly taken aback. “Tyler, I think maybe you should go ahead and head home for the day and I will take over. You are a little too close for comfort and making me nervous,” she said trying to keep her voice calm. She did not like that he implied things or suggested things.

It bordered on harassment and made her think of when Josh had her by the throat. She had never suspected him capable of violence, now she was extremely cautious. She knew Tyler would never harm her, but it made her antsy all the same for him to be so very close to her. But then again, she never thought Josh would harm her, and look at where it got her.

Tyler shrugged, tried to play it off and told her to call if she need anything. He did not understand how she could play hard to get when he was making it obvious for her. He was interested… and frustrated. He swept up his keys and took off his smock, hanging it on the peg by the door. He turned and saluted to her with a smirk and walked casually out the back door.

It would be a cold day in hell before she went out with him, Sarah thought shakily. She had to find someone else to help her in the bakery, period. She had enough and would never allow herself to be cornered like that again.

7

Sarah spent the afternoon busy. She calculated what she would need for the shop, started new loaves, and made more items for the display case. She whipped up a batch of sugar cookies for tomorrow and frosted each one with purple and yellow royal icing, the high school’s team colors. Prom, picnics, band concerts and graduation was around the corner and themed items seemed to sell like hotcakes when events were coming up. She always tried to have those colors ready and waiting in the case. Sarah finished up and on her way home decided she would also do cupcakes tomorrow in the colors too. Easy profit maker!

Sarah’s week passed by fast and thankfully Tyler had been on his best behavior and seemed to be like normal. He was helpful around the kitchen, and was not pushy or demanding. He teased her and made her laugh. He chatted amicably and asked her if she planned on attending a function or had been solicited to cater, when he saw all the themed items. Sarah laughed, there was no way she would ever attend any school functions or reunions where she had graduated. Too many memories and she wanted no opportunity to run into Josh or anyone in contact with him.

Sarah confessed that she felt much older than the kids that came by her shop on the weekends. Tyler took that moment to tell her how pretty she was to him, and she cut him off quickly. “Let’s keep it professional since we work together, okay?” she asked sincerely.  She thought he had done so well and had not harassed her a bit over the last few days. It had been such a relief to not be on edge. Tyler took the hint and left her alone, but only after he squeezed past her behind the counter. Sarah could have sworn it was deliberate to get close to her or brush up against her.

Sarah then saw the delivery truck pull up and ran quickly to the bathroom to check her face for flour, smudges, put on Chapstick and brush her hair. She quickly moved back up front towards the counter, much to Tyler’s dismay.

Tyler was frustrated at the change in Sarah’s demeanor and dropped the bowl onto the counter loudly as the door jingled open. He wondered why she could not be excited or happy to see him too.

Sarah glanced around the door frame, surprised at the noises she heard from behind her in the kitchen and turned back towards the front door with a smile. “Hey there, Matt, how are you?” she asked happily with a smile. The whole room seemed to light up when he walked in and only had eyes for her. She could not believe how happy she felt just because he was there.

Matt smiled widely at her expressive face. “I am much better now that I have seen you,” he said with a wink. She was gorgeous with big, soft brown curls in a ponytail, a few curls had come free around her face. Her warm eyes looked up at him.

Sarah blushed and flirted with him. “I bet all you delivery drivers say that to the ladies,” she said playfully and thought for a moment, ‘
Dammit! I wonder if he does say that to the ladies
?’  maybe she had misread him? It would not be the first time she had misinterpreted someone’s actions or emotions.

Matt laughed, “Nope, just the pretty ladies who have all my attention and make a helluva coffee cake,” he said teased her back just to get her to turn a few shades pinker in embarrassment. He thought she was adorable when she blushed like a young girl and he was thrilled he could do that to her.

He set her package on the counter and reached under his arm for the clip board. “Now if you will sign here,” he started, then continued on smoothly “and let me know what time you get off work, I will be out of here,” he said grinning widely, his eyes crinkled at the corners. He wanted to kiss her again as he watched her lick her lips.

Sarah beamed and played along “Well, here you are, sir,” she said with a flourish and signed her name, “and I might just be headed out of here around four o’clock, unless I have a reason to hang around,” she said softly to him with a sideways smile. She was thrilled he wanted to see her again and adored the attention he was giving her.

Matt leaned forward over the counter, tucking a curl behind her ear and replied back suggestively,  “Sounds like we have a date again, pretty lady.” He tucked his clipboard back under his arm and waved as he headed out the front door back to his truck to finish out his day.

One of the ladies sitting at the small table having a cupcake, mockingly fanned herself. “Oh my goodness, Sarah, he is divine and single! You should snatch him right up!” she cackled. The other ladies at the table all chimed in with talk of how he was ‘new in town’ and ‘tanned like you wouldn't believe’ and how ‘they had seen him jog down Main Street with a few fellows and he was welcome to jog by her place and she would give him some exercise.”

Sarah could feel the heat in her cheeks climb up to her hairline. She wasn't a prude but sometimes the ‘ladies’ in town could really shock her. They knew everyone’s business, who was dating who, what was going on in town, and the latest gossip. Sarah listened to them a bit longer, catching every word, until they turned to a new subject.

She went to check on Tyler and saw the bowl on the counter, but he was nowhere to be found. Sarah’s phone beeped at that moment, and she saw Tyler had texted that he had to go home, he did not feel good. Sarah rolled her eyes and put her phone back in her pocket.

8

Late in the day, Sarah flipped off the open sign, ran down to the small grocery market and picked up a few items. She returned to the shop and threw the deadbolt on the front door. Quickly setting to work, she scrubbed the potatoes, sliced them thinly, put a dollop of butter and salt on them and wrapped them in foil, tossing them in the double oven she had heated up for her cheesecakes tomorrow. 

Sarah whipped the bricks of cream cheese that she had set out. She greased the spring form pans and dusted them with cocoa powder, added some to the cream cheese in the mixer. She methodically added the eggs, vanilla, and powdered sugar. She poured each pan about three-fourths of the way full and stepped back. She gave the pan a gentle pounding to get any air bubbles out of the concoction and placed them in the oven.

Sarah then grabbed a skillet, placing it on the burner and letting it get good and hot. She picked up two small steaks and proceeded to tenderize them. She was hitting them so hard with a mallet that she barely heard the knock on the front door. She wiped her hands on her apron, tucked her hair behind her ear and raced around the front counter to unlock the door. Matt stood patiently, a single red rose in his hand.

“Come on in. I am sorry it took me a minute to get to the door. I did not hear you.” Sarah explained in a rush as she held the door open for him. She caught her breath as she saw him lean down and kissed her gently. She held the door knob for support as her knees melted away. Sarah could not stop smiling as she thanked him for the flower.

Matt was happy to see her eyes alight when she saw him. He had hoped the afternoon would pass quickly today, and thankfully it had. “Thank you for joining me tonight,” he said politely, watching her face. “Where would you like to go for dinner?” he asked. He had thought about her all afternoon, tried to think of different things to do around town with her. Did she like to bowl? Should they do dinner? Would she care to see a movie? It was a small town and his choices were limited. He hoped she had something in mind.

Sarah was nervous. She thought she would treat him to dinner here instead so they could talk more and stay away from the town gossips.  Especially, after this afternoon’s conversation she had overheard. “Well, I thought I would fix us a little something here, if that is okay with you? Do you like steak?” she said as she put the rose in the vase on the table.

“I love steak. Can I help with anything? That sounds perfect to me.” He really enjoyed her company last time he had met her. He, in fact, had thought about her smile all week long and when he saw the delivery route sheet today, he had looked forward to seeing her again.

Sarah waved, “Oh no, I have it... and no worries! I just needed to know how you like your steak cooked,” she said over her shoulder, and headed into the kitchen. She could smell the potatoes cooking and wanted to check to see how close they were to being finished.

Matt asked politely, “Do you mind if I join you?” He did not want to intrude on her space. He was touched that she had gone through a lot of effort to make this special, or so it seemed based off the steaks and potatoes she had planned on cooking. It did not seem that she kept steak in the bakery fridge often, or so he assumed.

Sarah threw the steaks in the pan with some butter and wiped her hands again on her apron. She came back around the corner with a laugh. “I am sorry, cmon back. You do not need an invitation, remember? I am pretty casual,” she said. She opened the door on the oven and felt the potatoes to check for tenderness. She grabbed a hot pad and pulled them out, placing the cheesecakes inside and setting a timer.

Matt stood back impressed. “That is a lot of cheesecake you just put in there, how many do you sell in one day?” he asked curiously. Maybe her bakery was better off than he imagined? It was a tiny little place, but seemed to be very busy the few times he had come to deliver a package to her.

Sarah said openly “Well, if I am lucky and it is a good day? I would sell them all. I usually end up freezing one or two and slicing the others. A full cheesecake is expensive, whereas people will pay four dollars for a slice. If I sell it by the slice, I end up making more money than on the entire cheesecake alone. People will not pay thirty-five dollars for a cheesecake unless it is for a party or a custom order, but if I can slice one of those into eight to ten slices, then I can end up with approximately forty dollars for a cake.” She said honestly. “I’m not trying to trick them, it is more like marketing strategy so I can clear out inventory,” she explained.

Sarah had a good head on her shoulders for business and it showed. Her little bakery had been very crowded earlier and the case looked like it had been cleaned out. There were several trays that had been empty and he saw a few people leave with several boxes as he pulled up.

Sarah flipped the steaks and grabbed two plates. She placed a foil packet on each plate, carefully unwrapping it and sprinkling cheese on top of each potato. She went back to the glass case, grabbed two bread knots with the tongs and put one on each plate. She served up one steak on a plate and moved to serve in on the table.

Matt wanted to help and offered, “Allow me,” he said taking the plate from her. “I can help, after all you have done all the cooking.” Matt put the plate on the table, and headed back to the kitchen to get knives and forks.

Sarah was digging in a grocery sack and jumped guiltily. “I was getting candles” she said embarrassed. “I meant to have them set up earlier.” She had intended to set out candles for their dinner to make it special. It was a last minute item she grabbed, an idea that had struck her as she stood waiting to checkout in line at the grocery.

Sarah watched Matt smile at her as he took the candles from her, along with the utensils she had set out. Sarah finally moved her steak from the skillet to the plate, removed her apron she had on, and joined him at the table out front.

Matt had flipped off the lights in the front entry and had the candles set on the table, one on each side of the rose. He held out a chair for her and stood next to her as she sat down. “This is perfect, thank you,” he said gratefully. “This was probably better than any place I could have picked in town, I just feel a bit guilty that you worked so hard on it.” The candles were decidedly a nice touch. He had thought she was lovely before, but in the candlelight she had a very sexy appeal to her.

Sarah never intended to make him feel ashamed or guilty, in fact, she had wanted the exact opposite. She wanted it to be a special night for them to get even more acquainted. “I do not want you to feel bad. I wanted to have a nice meal so we could get to know each other.  If we go somewhere in town, it tends to be a bit noisy and it’s tough to not get interrupted. Small town life,” she explained with a shrug, and assumed he would understand her desire for privacy.

Matt agreed. “Next time my treat?” he asked with a smile “I will either treat or cook for you, okay?” He certainly understood the pressures of a small community. There was never any privacy, in fact, he someone ask him about Sarah at work already. Word had spread like wildfire.

Sarah smiled happily, that he said, ‘next time’ to her! As in ‘next time they were alone together or on a date.’ She had never felt so relaxed with someone and every time she felt anxious, he effortlessly made her feel relief. “Sounds perfect. Shall we?” she said, gesturing at the plate full of steaming food. The scent of the steak was mouthwatering.

Matt eyed the steak and his date, not sure as to which he wanted more currently. He let his stomach decide. “Of course! We cannot let this go to waste. It looks amazing.” Matt said and took a bite. They both ate leisurely and talked about how each other’s day was. They talked about movies they had seen recently, what they did for fun, favorite foods and most hated foods. They talked about pet peeves and dreams that each had.