Sweet Sunshine (2 page)

“Hey Derrick,” I offered nervously. “Having fun?”

He lifted one sculpted arm and brushed a bead of sweat from his forehead. The strong muscles in his bicep bulged beautifully and I was hit with a wave of yearning to reach out and run my fingers over his tan, glistening skin. “Yeah, it’s been great.”

Looking down at the cold bottle in my hands, I picked at the label with my thumbnail as I garnered up the courage to say what I truly wanted to say.

I sucked in a deep breath and dug deep for courage. “So, I was thinking… I don’t know if you’re busy… it’s cool if you don’t have time, but…”
Jeez, Chloe, get your shit together and just ask him out already
! I berated internally.

Before I even had a chance to finish that thought, Derrick spoke. “Yeah, sure. Sounds good.”

My gaze shot up at his distracted tone to find that his eyes weren’t even on me. Looking over my shoulder to see what held Derrick’s attention, I saw Tammy Bradford, the town doorknob, smiling at Derrick seductively. When I looked back at Derrick, the corner of his mouth was quirked up in a knowing grin as he kept his focus pinned on Tammy.

A sharp pain stabbed through my chest as my stomach dropped. And standing there in front of my insane crush, I felt my hope die a slow, agonizing death.

Derrick patted my arm and moved to step past me. “’Scuze me, Cathy, I’ll be back in a few.”

Cathy? What the hell?

He didn’t call me
sunshine
out of endearment. He did it because he couldn’t remember my actual name!

“Uh... y-yeah. See ya,” I stuttered as I fought to keep from bursting into tears. I couldn’t remember a time in my life where I’d ever felt more humiliated than just then. And I’d had a boyfriend clean out my checking account in college, for Christ’s sake!

This was so much worse.

My bottom lip began to tremble as I made my way through the large backyard and along the side of the house. My vision swam with unshed tears that I refused to let fall. Embarrassment and heartbreak fueled each of my steps as I made it to my car, thankfully, undetected.

I was such a fool to think someone like Derrick would ever be interested in someone like me.

As I put my car into gear and pulled away from the happy sounds of the party, my tears finally brimmed over and fell. All I could think was that I’d never make that mistake again.

Chloe

One Month Later

MY FEET WERE
killing me. But that was par for the course when you started your day at four in the morning. Such was the like of a bakery owner. I rose long before the sun and spent hours baking away before ever opening the doors. It was exhausting, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I’d worked hard to build everything around me, and I was extremely proud of my little bakery, Sinful Sweets. I’d poured my heart and soul into the place, and it showed the moment you walked through the door.

The atmosphere was warm and inviting. I’d handpicked everything from paint color to décor all by myself and loved how it turned out. That didn’t mean I wasn’t dead on my feet come four o’clock.

And I still had three more hours until closing. The best gift I’d ever given myself was the massive, industrial espresso machine. Sure, I claimed it was for the bakery, and I made a mint off the coffee drinks the customers ordered. But mainly, it was my source of fuel for my long days.

I’d just finished filling my gazillionth cup of the day when the bell over the door chimed. I spun around, bright smile on my face, and started my typical greeting, only to have it die on my lips. Like all the other times I’d seen Derrick since July fourth, I felt the same prickly ache creep up my spine just like it always did. Luckily, his back was turned to the counter and I was able to secure the pleasant mask I’d been forced to wear in his presence for the past month in place.

“Eliza, what’d I say?” His voice held a hint of exasperation as he continued to hold the door open for his daughter as she walked through. Her face was scrunched up in a way that only nine-year-old girls were able to pull off, communicating her fury as she crossed her arms over her chest. I’d met Eliza a handful of times when Derrick would bring her into the bakery, but I couldn’t really say I knew the girl. I’d seen her around town with her father in passing glances more than anything.

“You’re not being fair!” Eliza declared, stomping her foot for dramatic effect. “Mom already said I could go!”

“Well it’s not your mom’s weekend,” Derrick continued as he stalked toward the counter, his own face reflecting the agitation coming through each of his words. “It’s my weekend, and your mom had no right to tell you that you could go to Cindy’s sleepover on my weekend.”

Eliza’s head fell back as she shouted, melodramatically, “You’re ruining my life!”

“Yes, that’s exactly why I’m doing this, Eliza,” Derrick replied dryly. “Because I want to ruin your life. It’s got nothing to do with the fact that I only get to see you two weekends out of the month.”

“Cindy Sanford’s the most
popular
girl in school, and she invited
me
to her sleepover two weeks ago! I have to go!”

My eyes bounced between father and daughter.

“I told you you’re not going, and that’s all there is to it. You wanna be mad at someone, be mad at your mother for making promises she couldn’t keep.”

“Gah! I hate you!” Eliza cried at the ceiling before trudging over and throwing herself into one of the chairs along the glass windows that made up the entire front wall of Sinful Sweets.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Derrick murmured under his breath as he turned to fully face the counter. He shot me a smile in greeting, but I could see the pain his daughter’s words had inflicted in the backs of his eyes. “Hey there, sunshine. Sorry about that. She gets a little dramatic every once in a while.”

“No problem,” I replied softly, looking down to break the hold his eyes had on me. Now that I knew the truth, every time he called be by that particular nickname, it was like a punch to the gut. Ignoring the pain in my stomach, I asked, “Uh, so what can I get you?”

His eyes danced across the menu boards hanging along the top of the wall behind the counter. I’d decided to go old school and bought chalkboards. The first one contained our daily specials that I wrote out by hand each morning, taking the time and care to make sure the handwriting was pretty as well as legible. The other three boards were the standard menu that only changed with the season.

“I don’t know.” He smiled at me, and seeing as I was still harboring an unrequited crush, the beauty of that smile actually physically hurt. “What do you suggest for winning over a nine-year-old whose life is over because she can’t go to a sleep over?”

“Um…” I licked my suddenly dry lips, looking anywhere but his face. “Maybe a chocolate croissant,” I told his chin. “Or I have some strawberry cupcakes cooling in the back I was just about to ice if you don’t mind waiting.”

“Strawberry is Eliza’s favorite. You might have just saved me from an entire weekend of a pre-teen’s silent treatment. You’re a life saver, sunshine.”

I wasn’t sure why I did it, or what even possessed me, but my head snapped up and I met his hazel gaze head on. “My name’s Chloe.”

His head jerked back in surprise, his brow furrowing in confusion as he asked, “What?”

“My name, it’s Chloe.”

“I know what your name is,” he informed me, the befuddlement growing on his face. “What I’m not sure of is why you’re telling me something I already knew.”

“Oh, well,” I was back to staring at anything other than his face as I told his shoulder. “I just figured you didn’t know since you always call me ‘sunshine.’”

“Chloe—”

I continued, “And you know… since you called me Cathy at Noah and Harlow’s Fourth of July barbeque, and all. I just figured you didn’t know, so I told you.”

“Chlo—” he started again, but the incessant need to escape proved to be too strong to ignore.

“I’ll just go frost those cupcakes really quick so Eliza doesn’t have to wait. Be back in just a sec.”

I shoved through the door to the kitchen and collapsed back into the wall next to it, releasing the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding until my lungs began to ache. I felt like such an idiot. Not that it was all that surprising. I typically lost all brain function when Derrick was around, anyway.

I made quick work of the cupcakes, taking extra care with Eliza’s for some reason I refused to acknowledge. Putting the beautifully decorated cupcake on a tiny china plate, I pushed through the door that separated the kitchen and dining area, grabbed a chocolate croissant from the pastry case for Derrick, and made my way to the table where both of them sat in complete silence. Eliza was staring out the window, pretending to be oblivious to her father’s presence, while Derrick regarded his daughter with that same pain in his eyes I’d seen just minutes earlier.

“Here you go,” I told them as I sat their pastries down on the table.

“Thanks, Miss Chloe.” Eliza smiled. “Strawberry’s my favorite.”

And once again, I let my mouth get the best of me.

“I know.” I smiled back. “Your daddy told me.”

Eliza’s eyes darted to her father in surprise. I wasn’t sure if it was surprise that he’d do something so nice after how she’d just acted, or surprise that he’d remember his own daughter’s favorite cake, but either way, it broke my heart.

I made sure my voice and expression were both gentle as I spoke to her. “You know, you’re really lucky. You have a dad that really cares about you and wants to spend time with you. That’s a really special thing, sweetheart. And I know you love him just as much, and would never want to cause him pain, but when you tell your parent that you hate them, it hurts. I know, because I did the same thing when I was your age. I didn’t mean it when I told my mom I hated her, and I’m sure you didn’t mean it when you said it to your dad, right?”

She stared up at me with wide eyes, the same hazel as her father’s, and shook her head. “No ma’am.”

“I didn’t think so,” I whispered on a grin as I reached down and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “A girl as sweet as you would never want to hurt someone on purpose. Your heart’s too kind for that.”

I let myself glimpse in Derrick’s direction just long enough to see him looking back at me, something I couldn’t quite recognize in his eyes, but I wouldn’t allow my gaze to linger.

“You guys enjoy the treats, they’re on the house.”

“Chloe,” Derrick started, but I cut him off once again.

“I’ve got something in the oven back there, but if you need anything else, Ellie behind the counter will be more than happy to help you guys out.”

I spun on my heels and disappeared into the sanctuary of my industrial kitchen. Wondering for probably the millionth time why I couldn’t just be
normal
around Derrick Anderson.

Derrick

I SAT OUT
on the deck that ran along the back of my house as the sun began its descent, looking out on the Tetons. The way Chloe had looked at me earlier when she told me her name kept replaying in my head. I wasn’t sure why the conversation was bothering me so much, but, for some reason, it sat like a brick in my stomach, leaving me feeling unsettled.

“Daddy?” Eliza called, her head full of long, dark brown hair just like mine, sticking out the back door.

“Yeah, baby girl?”

Taking a hesitant step onto the back deck, she wrung her hands in front of her. “I, um… I just… wanted to say sorry,” she murmured in soft embarrassment, her eyes downcast. “You know, for what I said today. I don’t hate you.”

“I know, angel,” I told her softly, my heart stuttering in my chest at her apology. An apology I wouldn’t have gotten had it not been for a certain little baker. A sense of appreciation washed over me when I thought about what Chloe had done. The sweet, gentle, yet unmistakable way she set my little girl straight. That had definitely been something I wasn’t used to seeing. The only woman in my life who’d ever really interacted with Eliza was her mom, Layla. And the cold, manipulative way she acted was a juxtaposition to Chloe’s caring demeanor. I had to admit, it threw me off a bit.