Beauty and the Brooding Boss / Friends to Forever: Beauty and the Brooding Boss / Friends to Forever

It felt like he’d verbally squeezed her hand. A blush warmed her cheeks. She gave him a half smile of her own. “You must really want those apricot turnovers.”

“Hey, never underestimate the lure of coffee and pastry. Where does Farley stock the beans?”

“There’s an entire display at the back of the store. You grab a couple bags and I’ll get your baked goods.”

He gave her a nod and headed off while she made her way to the crowded bakery counter, trying to shake off the weird domestic sensation surrounding the task.

“It’s only coffee and turnovers,” she reminded herself.

Farley was running around behind the counter, grumpy as ever as he accommodated orders and questions. When he saw Kelsey, he gave her a quick wave followed by a dramatic roll of his eyes when a customer asked if he used organic flour. Kelsey waved back. “Popular today,” she commented.

“Big fund-raiser’s kicking off at the Music Center this weekend. Everyone and his second cousin’s in for it. And every one of ‘em’s got special orders,” he added, slapping the cutting board with a loud, overly enthusiastic whack of his knife.

Kelsey shared a smile with the young girl at the counter. “I’ll take a half-dozen turnovers,” she said.

“Kelsey, is that you?”

She was taking her bag from the clerk when she spotted Tom Forbes coming towards her, charming smile firmly in place. “What a pleasant coincidence. I was going to call you this afternoon.”

“You were?”

“I’m here for the concert this weekend. I thought maybe you’d like to join me.” The smile got a little wider. “You still owe me that rain check.”

“Right, rain check.” She thought that had been a way to save face, she didn’t really think he would follow up.

“So what do you say? Think you can get away?”

“Well, I …”

“Please don’t say no.” He flashed her an exaggerated pout. “My poor heart won’t take a second rejection.”

Kelsey laughed. Somehow she doubted that was the case. “Are you trying to make me feel guilty?”

“Whatever it takes,” he replied. “Do we have a date?”

One dinner wouldn’t hurt, right?

She was about to say yes when suddenly she caught sight of Alex at the other end of store. Dark and serious, he was studying a bag of coffee beans like it contained the secret to life incarnate. A small piece of her insides tumbled.

Dragging her attention back to Tom, she gave him a polite smile. “Flattering as the guilt trip is, I’m going to have to pass.”

“Even if it means breaking my heart?”

“Fraid so.”

Tom shook his head, and shook off the rejection like she expected he would. “Guess I’ll simply have to drown my sorrows alone.”

“Somehow I don’t think that’s going to happen,” she replied with a smile.

A shiver of awareness passed over her. Looking up, she saw that Alex was looking in their direction. “My boss looks ready to go,” she said. “I better catch up.”

Tom glanced over his shoulder. “Alex Markoff? That’s your boss?”

“Yes.” His instant recognition took her aback.

“You said you worked for a writer, but I had no idea….” Tom drifted off in thought for a second, before adding, “I thought he was holed up somewhere like a hermit.”

“Never underestimate the lure of coffee and turnovers.”

“He doesn’t look happy that we’re talking. In fact,” Tom said, pursing his lips, “if I didn’t know better, I’d say he looked jealous.”

As if. More likely it was his suspicious nature coming home to roost. “Impatient,” Kelsey answered. “I told you, he’s ready to go.”

“Is he the reason you can’t have dinner?”

Although asked with a smile, the question had a pointedness to it that she didn’t like. “I have to go,” she said. “Enjoy your concert.”

Alex was lost in thought on the drive back to Nuttingwood. So lost, Kelsey wanted to squirm from the uncomfortable silence. If it weren’t so Alex-like, she’d think Tom was right and he was jealous.

The silence was deafening. A hundred and eighty degrees from the rest of their day. Do not chatter, she chided. Just go with the silence.

“Turnovers smell good. The clerk said they were fresh out of the oven and still warm. Maybe I should have gotten more than a half-dozen.”

So much for going with the silence.

“That guy from the store a friend of yours?” Alex asked.

“Acquaintance.” She could hear the suspicion in his voice.

“Your rain check from the other night.”

“Yes. He wanted to know if I would attend the concert at the Music Center with him.”

They reached the large pine tree. Kelsey turned to the right, pleased she was finally recognizing landmarks.

Too bad she didn’t feel as confident regarding the man beside her. “Would that be a problem?” she asked.

“What you do on your spare time is your business,” he replied with a shrug.

Her insides tumbled again, only this time the fall was heavy and hard. Of course he didn’t care. Why would he? Tom’s comment simply put thoughts in her head. “Thank you for respecting my privacy.”

“No problem.”

They drove the rest of the way home in silence.

Kelsey assumed Alex would disappear as soon as she put the car into Park. To her surprise, he didn’t. He stayed in the passenger seat, his long fingers tracing the hem on his hiking shorts. “You going straight to work?” he asked suddenly.

What work? She still hadn’t gotten any new notebooks. “Why? You need me to do something?”