She looked down at the baked goods. “Thank you.” She stepped forward. “For stopping me from getting run over. It would have done terrible things to my medical insurance.” She placed the box on the desk. “I baked them all myself.”

  “I’m aware. You’re the cook, Rebecca is the brains.” He opened the box and she watched as he inhaled the scents coming up. “All of these are my favorites.”

  “Good. Good. So, I wanted to say thank you. Erm, does your dad know how to do Rebecca’s order for coffee? She wants me to bring it back.”

  “I think this is the first time you’ve stepped foot inside my place,” he said.

  “I get really busy.”

  “Go on a date with me.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I know you’ve given me the cookies and bars, but I want you to thank me in a different way.”

  “You’re asking for a new way for me to thank you.”

  “Yes. I love your cookies, but I want something a little extra.”

  She felt her cheeks heat. What exactly did he mean by a little extra?

  “I want to take you out to dinner.”

  “And I should take the cookies back in exchange?”

  He took a bite out the oatmeal raisin. She watched his eyes close. “If you’d like. I’ll pay for them.”

  “It’s okay. You can have them.” She really liked seeing the appreciation on his face. “I’ll go on a date with you. On one condition.”

  “What is it?”

  “Seeing as we’re dating for a thank you, I’ll pay. It’ll all come from me.”

  “You think I’m going to argue with you paying?” he asked.

  “Not at all. Do we have a deal?”

  “Yes.” He took her hand, and she felt the heat rising up inside her just from that touch alone.

  4

  God, could she really go through with this?

  Felicity stared at herself in the mirror, shaking her head, contemplating whether she should just call Hawk up and cancel. This was a bad idea, her going on date with him, Hawk using her gratitude as a bargaining chip to get what he wanted ... her.

  Maybe that was the craziest part of all of this. She didn’t miss the way he kept looking at her, his gaze raking up and down her body. She didn’t miss the low sound in his voice when he’d said he wanted something else from her, when he asked her out on the date.

  It had all been so arousing, and that’s how she knew this was a very bad idea.

  Him wanting more than she offered should infuriate her, disgust her, yet she found herself being turned on.

  “You’re insane,” she said to herself as she looked at her reflection in the mirror that hung on the back of her bedroom door.

  A knock on her front door had her heart jumping in her chest. She knew it wasn’t Hawk because she’d insisted they meet at the bakery when he asked to pick her up. But regardless, she was nervous.

  Felicity headed toward the front door and opened it. Rebecca stood on the other side with a garment bag in hand and a small handbag in the other. She grinned, lifting her eyebrows up and down in a suggestive manner.

  “Girl, let’s spruce you up for tonight.”

  Felicity rolled her eyes and shook her head.

  She stepped aside and let Rebecca come in, then shut the door and followed her back to her bedroom. When she was there, Rebecca had her sit on the bed as she took a step back and looked her up and down.

  “What kind a date is this? Fancy? Causal, or you have no damn idea?”

  Felicity grimaced. “Let’s go with the latter.”

  For the next twenty minutes, Felicity let Rebecca primp and prep her. This was not something she’d ever done … worried about how she looked before a date.

  Sure, she’d been on a couple in the past, but Felicity had never gotten close with anyone. She’d never wanted to get close.

  But then there was something about Hawk. He conjured something up in her, made her feel alive even though they hardly knew each other. And she felt crazy for it.

  She knew that it was most likely just a sexual thing for him. He was attractive and successful. She was plain and had been called homely. Not to mention he was in shape, toned, and she was … not. Surely this was really just a dinner for him, maybe him thinking he’d get a piece of ass afterward?

  No way would he want something more with a girl like her. She could only imagine the type of woman he went after.

  “Earth to Felicity,” Rebecca said and she realized by the expression on her friend’s face that what she’d been thinking about had been pretty loud and clear.

  “What?”

  “Are you okay?”

  She nodded. “Just nervous.” She sat on the bed and Rebecca sat beside her and grabbed her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

  “Hey, if you don’t want this you don’t have to go. If you want me to cancel for you, I’ll be more than happy to.”

  Felicity shook her head and smiled. “No, that’s the problem. I actually want to do this and that’s what scares me the most.”

  Rebecca gave her a confused looked, and then her eyes widened and realization crossed her face. “Oh. So you like, want to do this with Hawk? Like this isn’t just an obligatory thank-you date?”

  Felicity shook her head. There was no point in lying to Rebecca.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Felicity shrugged. “Is that really wrong?”

  Rebecca snorted. “I would’ve thought you were blind if you didn’t have a thing for Hawk.” They both started laughing.

  “So you don’t think this is the stupidest mistake of my life, that I’m not opening myself up to heartbreak?”

  Rebecca gave her a smile that was part sympathy and part uncertainty. “Listen, I don’t know how things will play out, and neither do you unless you go out there and experience them. But if you really like Hawk, then I say go for it. Who cares if we’re considered competitors? Who cares about any of that? You only live once and this life is so short.”

  Rebecca had a way of making things seem so much better. She could take someone down from an emotional ledge with a few perfectly spoken words.

  “Just jump in and be honest. Worst that can happen is he’s not on that same page with you. And it’s better to know that in the beginning than further down the road, you know what I mean?”

  Felicity nodded. Yeah, she knew exactly what Rebecca meant. And that’s the part that scared her the most ... that if she let herself really fall for Hawk, if she opened up her heart, he would end up breaking it.

  5

  “It’s not like you to be nervous, son.”

  Hawk looked at his father, who leaned against the doorframe of his office. With the parade coming up, they had kept the café open longer than usual. There were more tourists in the area, which is why he always made sure to participate. This was in his blood, and if his mother was still alive, she’d be all over it. It was a way to keep her memory alive for his father as well.

  “I’m fine.”

  “I see you’re not disputing you’re nervous.”

  “When you went on your first date with Mom, how did you feel?”

  “I was so scared I had to keep going to the bathroom.”

  Hawk burst out laughing.

  “It’s not a joke. It turned out I’d gotten food poisoning from one of those food trucks. It didn’t spoil the night one bit. In fact, I think your mother fell in love with me because of it.”

  “Really?”

  He nodded. “We went to see a movie together. It was one in a drive thru. Old fashioned like, and I had a bag, and she kept rubbing my back, but no matter how rotten I felt, I was determined to see the date through, and that’s exactly what I did. Every single date after that was perfect.”

  “Are you offering to give me food poisoning?” he asked, smiling.

  “Not a chance. You like this girl though? Felicity?”

  Hawk sighed. “Yes, I like this girl.” He’d been trying to get a date with her for so long now, although he’d been too much of a wimp to ask her. So when this situation presented itself, he hadn’t hesitated. It drove him insane just thinking about her, but he wanted her so very badly. They hadn’t really gotten on well, and he couldn’t figure out why.

  “So much, you’re putting a tie on all wrong.” His father entered the office and took over. “Well, I didn’t think I’d have to dress you as a grown-ass man.”

  “I’m fine.”

  He went to remove the tie but his father slapped his hands. Hawk laughed.

  “You’re nervous.”

  “I’m nervous.”

  “Well, don’t say anything stupid like her ass looks big or she picked the wrong color, and also don’t try and plan your life out in five years. Take your time. You’re still young, and you don’t need all that crap along with it. Just be yourself.”

  Hawk didn’t want to tell his dad he’d been himself since the beginning but Felicity hadn’t seemed to like him at all.

  Man, this was driving him crazy.

  Running his fingers through his hair, he stepped back the moment his father finished his tie.

  He had a plan for the next five years. An easy plan. Get Felicity to fall in love with him, marry her, have babies, merge their two businesses together, and live happily ever after.

  It was a work in progress and so far in the past few months, he’d only been able to get this one date with her. He was an optimist.

  “She’s the one, isn’t she?” his father asked.

  “She’s certainly something.” Hawk was always very careful about what he said. He was oddly superstitious and he tried to avoid jinxing himself. “I better go.”

  He had twenty minutes until he picked her up, but he didn’t want to be late. As per her request, Hawk was picking her up at the bakery.

  “Go and get her, son. She’s waiting for you.”

  Shoving his wallet into the back pocket of his pants, he took a deep breath and finally made his way out of the room.

  He could do this.

  It was no biggie.

  Leaving the café, he waited for his father to lock the door before turning around to face Felicity, and when he did, his heart started to pound.

  She looked so beautiful.

  Stepping across the road, he noticed Rebecca was nowhere in sight. Her friend seemed to have this knack of reading people.

  “Hey,” Felicity said.

  “Hey. You look stunning.”

  She glanced down at herself. “Thanks. I didn’t know how to dress for the occasion. I honestly didn’t know.”

  “You look perfect.” He held out his arm for her to take. “Come on.” The date in question wasn’t something elaborate or even fancy. It was simple and he hoped she’d consider it sweet. He had spent all afternoon working on it at his place.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Well, I didn’t have time to book any reservations. With the parade, all of the restaurants are full and so I figured now was as good a time as any to show you my mad skills.”

  Felicity paused. “You’re cooking for me?”

  “Yes.”

  “At your place?”

  He nodded. “You can text Rebecca. Tell her where you’re going to be. I won’t be offended. I believe in women taking care of their safety.” He let go of her arm and watched her.

  She didn’t reach for her cell phone.

  “I trust you. I just, am I overdressed?”

  “You look perfect.” The way his voice shook had him feeling like a teenager unsure of himself. He’d even dressed up and worn a tie despite the fact they would be at his place.

  “You’re nervous?” she asked with a hint of a smile in her eyes.

  “A little bit.”

  “Wow, I never thought you could be nervous.” She pressed her lips together, taking hold of his arm, and they walked toward his apartment. His hands were sweaty.

  He was normally self-assured, and never nervous.

  Hawk couldn’t remember a single time in his life when he’d been like this. Felicity, though, she did things to him. She made him want to settle down, start a family. Coming home alone to his apartment every night was no longer fun.

  He wanted a family with her.

  He’d not only fallen in love with her baking, he’d fallen in love with her, and now he hoped luck was on his side so she’d fall in love with him, too.

  6

  The smell of tomatoes roasting had her stomach growling. Felicity took that time to look around Hawk’s small but cozy apartment, modern with accented decorations. She hadn’t really paid attention the last time she was here, but now she took her time, realizing how nice his place was.

  She didn’t know why she’d assume differently. Maybe because he was such a big guy with brute strength that she pictured a more rustic feel. But then again, he owned a café and baked.

  She sat at the kitchen table and watched as Hawk cooked dinner for them. She wanted to help, but he seemed pretty adamant on doing all of it himself.

  It was nice being catered to, and she couldn’t deny the view was pretty damn incredible.

  He’d ditched the jacket and tie, and now had his shirtsleeves rolled up his muscular forearms. He’d even pulled out an apron, a few tomato splatters covering the crisp white material.

  The dark slacks he wore were molded to his firm ass. His legs were muscular and big, like tree trunks.

  He was a big guy and she couldn’t help the dirty images that came to mind.

  It wasn’t too much longer before he started setting covered dishes on the table. She wasn’t ashamed to admit that the entire time she’d been checking him out, unashamedly liking the view, and thinking extremely inappropriate thoughts.

  He sat down and smiled, looking proud, which in turn had her smiling. She shifted in the seat, feeling desire start in her belly before filling her completely.

  The small talk had been pretty limited, and she knew it was because despite how confident Hawk acted, he was nervous.

  “Hopefully it’s edible,” he said and winked.

  “It looks so delicious.”

  He started taking the lids off. “I hope you eat meat.”

  She smiled. “I do.”

  “So this is a seared ribeye drizzled with a mustard peppercorn sauce.” He lifted the lid to another dish. “With chive mashed potatoes.” He opened a third lid. “And roasted broccoli and tomatoes with olive oil.”

  The scents coming from the dishes had her mouth watering and her stomach growling.

  “It looks incredible.”

  He grinned and stared dishing out the food. “Let’s dig in then.”

  For the next twenty minutes they ate, the small talk comfortable. She learned he’d wanted to own his own business and bake since he was a child. She also learned he’d gone into the military fresh out of high school. But after getting wounded he got an honorable discharge and had decided that life was too short to not follow his dreams.

  Felicity had told him that she too had wanted to be a baker since she was a child, but it had taken her until she was an adult to go after her dreams.

  She was actually surprised at how comfortable she was around him, and how quickly that had all transpired. For as long as she kept him at a distance, hated him because she thought that would be better in the long run, Felicity felt herself falling for him so fast and hard there was no way she could have guarded herself.

  The floodgates of emotions opened, and she didn’t fight it, didn’t try and stop herself from feeling them.

  He leaned back in the chair and smiled, the scruff along his jaw making him look so masculine. His shoulders were broad, his button-down shirt formed to all the hard planes of his chest, the masculine power coming from him in waves.

  There was no way she could’ve stopped the arousal that coursed through her veins.

  Felicity clenched her thighs together and hoped that it would help stem off the flow of desire, but all that did was add pressure to her pussy, making her crave him even more, making her think about all the things they could do together, in his bed ... naked.

  “Hawk.” His name come from her on a whisper, something that she hadn’t been able to stop. The air changed, shifted, and she felt the temperature in the room increase.

  He was close enough to her that she could have reached out and touched him, or maybe brought him in close. Felicity was hungry, hungry for Hawk, and she had never felt something so intense before.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked in a deep rumble.

  You.

  She licked her lips. “What do you what?” she asked in return, not answering his question, not trusting herself to be that honest.

  He was silent for a long moment.

  “I want you,” he said gruffly.

  The air left her and she picked up her glass of wine and took a long sip. A little liquid courage was what she needed right now.

  She was tired of fighting her desire for Hawk. She was so tired of it that she was ready to give in.

  Felicity set the glass down. “You do?” she asked, her voice shaking, breathless.

  He nodded. “I really fucking do. I have for a long time.” He leaned in a little closer to her and she held her breath.

  She felt her heart slam hard against her ribs, felt her pulse beating at the base of her throat.

  “Tell me what you want,” he demanded gruffly.

  Everything in her body was alive, lit up like she was on fire. “You.” The word spilled from her on its own and she gasped at the honestly that had just come from her.

  And then he leaned in and kissed her and Felicity couldn’t do anything but open her mouth, touch his tongue with hers, and moan in pleasure.

  7

  Hawk intended to go slow, real fucking slow, but being close to Felicity without anything between them or any distractions was turning out to be really hard. He wanted her so badly and he’d been denying his feelings for a long time. He was past that now.

  Cupping Felicity’s cheek, he sank his fingers into her hair, gripping the back of her head and holding her still as he ravished her lips. She kissed him back and her soft lips seemed to have been designed to be around his cock.