A Moment on the Lips (A Whistle Stop Romance, #3) (19 page)

She glanced his way, but his gaze didn’t meet hers. Perhaps it was best to just let the subject rest as she felt totally out of her depth. She munched on the sandwich half, making short work of it.

Once finished, she brushed the lingering crumbs from her fingers. “I should go.”

When she went to stand, he placed a hand on her thigh. She hesitated, not sure what he wanted from her. Not sure if she should care or not.

She was tired. Tired of being hungry. Tired of the headache that plagued her. And tired of playing games with him. All she wanted was a cold shower, some watermelon, and her television remote.

“Please don’t go.” His voice was deep and rich like the rum cakes she makes for the holidays.

“Why?” she asked, her agitation bubbling up and giving her the courage to speak her mind. “You can’t even bring yourself to flirt with me.”

His head lifted, and his gaze met hers. A shocked look reflected in his eyes. “Is that what you think?”

Her indignation refused to let her walk away. “Listen, I know I’m overweight. My mother makes it impossible for me not to pretend otherwise—”

His eyes opened wide. “You think this has to do with those awful things your mother says? You think I agree with her?”

Piper would have crossed her arms, but they were too tired. “Don’t you?”

“Of course not.”

“Then what’s up with you? Ever since you told me about Fudge, you hardly look at me, much less speak to me. It’s because you’re afraid of becoming attracted to a fat chick, isn’t it?”

It all came tumbling out. The hurt. The embarrassment. The anger. All gates were down, and she stared directly at him, waiting for him to try to deny what she already knew.

“You’ve got it all wrong—”

“No, I don’t.” She wasn’t about to let him soft-pedal her. “I know what men think of me.” She got to her feet. She wasn’t going to just sit there and swallow his lies. “I’ve got to go.”

He jumped up in front of her, blocking her. “You have to believe me when I say you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known. And your beauty, it’s not just on the surface. You’ve got a big, generous heart.”

“Really?” She didn’t know whether to be utterly flattered and rush into his arms or to be upset with him for sending out mixed signals. She was so confused. “Then why do you act like I have the plague?”

“Because...because you affect me more than I ever expected. And I don’t know what to do about it or how to act around you.”

His words made her heart go pitter-patter. But could she trust him? Was he just saying what he thought she wanted to hear? She laced her fingers together. “Why should I believe you?”

His jaw firmed, and his intense gaze held hers. “Because all I’ve wanted to do since our first kiss was repeat it.”

The pitter-patter of her heart became a loud
thump thump
. She licked her dry lips. “It...I mean, you have?”

He nodded.

His gaze lowered to her lips. He really wanted to kiss her? Her heart leapt into her throat. She couldn’t breathe. She was stuck in a perpetual state of anticipation. Did he have any idea how much she wanted him to kiss her again?

She didn’t have to wonder any longer as he leaned toward her. His smooth lips brushed over hers. A moan swelled in her throat. She’d never wanted something so much in her life.

She stepped closer to him. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her the rest of the way until they were chest-to-chest. Could he feel the rapid pounding of her heart?

With one hand around her waist and the other on the back of her neck, he claimed her lips. This was so much better than her memories. Attraction and anticipation combined to create a heady combination. Why exactly hadn’t they been doing this all along?

Letting down her defenses and going with the moment, she savored the way his lips moved over hers and his tongue danced with hers. The moan in her throat grew with intensity as his kiss picked up its intensity. She hungered for him like a person who hadn’t tasted something so sweet and intoxicating in years.

Lifting onto her tiptoes, she trailed her fingers through his hair, enjoying the silky strands as they slipped between her fingers. She simply couldn’t get enough of him.

A gust of wind rippled over her skin, reminding her that they were out in the open, in the middle of town. Definitely not the place to get carried away.

She grudgingly pulled back, slowly. Her hands were still wrapped around his neck. A question reflected in his eyes.

“Not here,” she answered, hoping he’d want to take this back to her apartment.

Before she could utter the invitation, her cell phone buzzed. The temptation to ignore it outweighed her business sense. She didn’t want anything or anyone to ruin this moment. Her need for Joe with his amazing hands and arousing kisses thrummed through her veins.

A frown filtered across his face as he stepped back. She could feel the moment slipping away, and she didn’t want that to happen.

“Wait. I’ll turn it off.” She reached for where she had clipped the phone to her waistband. However, when she saw the caller ID, everything changed. “Um...I really need to get this.”

Joe sighed. “Don’t let me stop you.”

“It’ll just take a second.”

That may be true of the phone conversation, but she knew it was the end of their romantic interlude. She answered the call, finding an anxious bride on the other end.

“I can’t believe tomorrow’s the wedding. Can I see the cake?” Laney asked, nervous tension lacing each syllable.

See the cake? Not a chance. She should have been working on it instead of going out for a second run that day and then sharing a PB&B, as well as a kiss that was the sweetest treat ever.

“Well, um...you see, it isn’t done yet.” Honesty without details. Because there was no way she was admitting that the cake layers were bare.

“Not done! The ceremony is in fifteen hours and thirty-nine minutes. It has to be done.” Nervous tension took a sudden turn into flat-out panic.

“It will be. In fact, it’s mostly done.” Liar. But it was only a little white lie, and it was for a good cause. The bride was already on the edge of a meltdown the night before her wedding. And if that happened because of the cake, the entire town would blame Piper.

“Mostly done?” Laney’s shrill voice shook.

Piper made eye contact with Joe. His eyes were alight with curiosity. Piper turned her back to him. Even though he couldn’t hear the other end of the conversation, it was extremely uncomfortable spinning a white lie in front of a witness. She definitely wasn’t an accomplished liar.

“It’s just that I’m a perfectionist.” That part was not a lie. “And I don’t like people to see my work until I have every detail worked out. Trust me. You’ll love it.”

“I will?” There was a long sigh, as though Laney had been holding her breath, waiting for Piper’s reassurance. “You had me worried. I mean, what’s a wedding with no cake?”

“It’ll be everything you imagined and more. I’ll deliver the cake first thing in the morning.”

“Great!” The bride sounded chipper now. “I knew you wouldn’t let me down.”

Piper’s stomach knotted as she thought of the naked four-tier cake waiting to be dressed in a cloak of smooth off-white fondant and royal icing string art in snow white. The finishing touch would be a bouquet of violet fondant flowers.

“You don’t have a thing to worry about.” It was a promise she intended to keep, even if she had to stay up all night. If nothing else, her word had to mean something to people.

She rushed off the phone, knowing that every minute counted now. How could she have let herself get so distracted that she forgot about her priority—her business?

“I take it from the frown on your face that there’s a problem with the cake?” Joe asked.

She turned to him. “Problem? Oh yeah. A big one. I’ll be up all night in order to get it done for the morning wedding.”

“Can’t you take some shortcuts?”

She shook her head. “No way. This cake has to be perfect.”

His head tilted to the side as he studied her. “What’s so important about this cake?”

“You mean, besides my entire professional reputation being at stake?” When he nodded, she decided to tell him the rest. It wasn’t like it was a secret or anything. “I don’t want anyone to think I’m still hung up on my ex. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

“Wait. I don’t understand. What does this have to do with your ex?”

“It’s his wedding.”

A look of dawning filled Joe’s face. “And you agreed to do the cake? Why?”

He wasn’t the first one to pose the question. “The truth is, in the beginning I was totally opposed to the idea, but then his bride-to-be stopped by the bakery. She was nice. And...and she apologized. That’s more than David ever did.”

“Apologized for what?”

Oops. She’d skipped over that part of the story. “I caught her in bed with my then fiancé.”

“And now you like her?” Disbelief reflected in Joe’s eyes. “No one can be that nice. Not even you.”

“David can be quite charming and manipulative when he wants to be. He’s an attorney with his eye on a political future. And Laney swears she didn’t know about me when they got together.”

“Did you ever stop to consider this woman might be lying to you?”

Piper glared at him. “Of course I did. But I heard her out, and what she said made sense. Besides, it’s best this way.”

Joe shrugged. “If you say so, but I could never do it.”

“Maybe you could—”

“I can promise you that the day I found Denise in our bed with someone I’d foolishly considered a close friend was the last time I spoke to that friend. I have no room in my life for either of them.”

At last they had something in common, but why did it have to be this? No one should ever be betrayed like that. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

Joe’s lips settled into a frown. “There’s still no reason to put yourself through the trouble of making a cake for your ex’s wedding. It can’t be easy for you.”

Piper shrugged. “I’m long over David. The fact that I tried to make myself into something I’m not bothers me more than him moving on.”

Her last statement struck her. She was doing it again with all of the dieting, exercising, and agreeing to bake this wedding cake. She was trying to transform herself into what she thought other people wanted her to be. In the process, she was losing focus on her own dream.

Her thoughts strayed to the bare cake layers waiting for her. Instead of doing her job, she’d been out running for the second time that day. She had a chance to gain some free press coverage, and she was about to blow it. After all, this wedding was a chance to make a name for herself and the bakery.

If only she wouldn’t lose her focus by trying to make herself into the sort of woman who would interest Joe. She’d tried doing that with David, and it’d blown up in her face. She needed to do things differently this time around.

“This thing between us, it shouldn’t have happened,” she said, knowing she could never fit his image of the perfect woman. “I’m sorry. I’ve got to go.”

“Will I see you in the morning for a run?”

This was where she had a choice to make: continue trying to impress the people of Whistle Stop and a man who wouldn’t loosen up enough to make room for her in his life. Or break her Joe addiction and concentrate on the one thing in her life that had never judged her or made her feel not quite good enough—Poppin’ Fresh. Her heart said one thing, but her mind said another.

She’d followed her heart once before, and it had gotten her in the worst sort of trouble. This time she’d go with her mind, with the only answer that made sense. After all, they’d shared only a couple of kisses...a couple of soul-stirring, toe-curling kisses—

No, she wasn’t going to change her mind.

She pressed her hands to her hips. “I’m done running. I need more time to focus on my business.”

“But, Piper, you can’t spend all of your time working.”

“I’ve made up my mind.” Had she truly given up on running? She wasn’t so sure, but in her moment of frustration, saying it eased her stress a bit.

She turned away, unable to meet his gaze before she rushed off across the town square. She sensed Joe’s gaze burning a hole in the back of her head, but she resisted the urge to turn around. She knew if she did, she’d crumble. And that couldn’t happen.

J
oe had no idea what had just happened. One minute they were sharing the most arousing kiss on the planet, and the next, Piper was walking away from him. The determination in her steps told him that she wasn’t going to come back. But why?

He’d swear she wanted that kiss as much as he had. There had to be something he was missing, but for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what. Women remained an utter mystery to him.

He turned back to the bench and started to collect the remnants of his meal—if you could call it that. He’d been lazy when he threw together the PB&B. He really hated cooking for one.

As it was, he was still hungry. He smiled, recalling how Piper had made short work of the other half of his sandwich. Then a thought struck him. With all of her exercise, she was probably hungry. Maybe that accounted for her mood change.

Certain he was on to something, he rushed off to his apartment.

♥♥♥

N
ot even a refreshing shower lifted Piper’s sinking spirits. She didn’t know who she was more upset with. Joe for toying with her when he obviously didn’t want to start anything serious with her, or herself for letting her defenses down with him.

The more she thought about Joe, the more she slammed the items she needed to decorate the cake onto the counter. The good news was the cake was baked and cooled. And the fondant was rolled. There was still a lot to do before it fulfilled the vision the bride had in mind. The intricate string design would take all of her concentration, which was good. She wouldn’t have time to think about anything else.

The back door squeaked open. Who in the world could that be? She wasn’t expecting anyone. However, this was a small town, and people had a habit of dropping by without an invitation, which, on any other occasion, would have been fine. Tonight was a totally different story. She should have locked the door. She didn’t have time for socializing.