His brothers would have laughed if he’d told them that. They would have said she was throwing out all sorts of signals and he should have gone for it. Dove in like a man being handed the key to the sex heaven.

  But he wasn’t his brothers. Or his cousins.

  He was Bryce. He was different. And he was a bit softer. A bit more cautious. A bit more respectful, he might add.

  He hadn’t missed how she showed him her apartment, mentioned her bedroom, but didn’t move toward it. He felt like it was a test and since he was so good at taking tests, he knew right away to just let it drop and not make a comment about wanting to see what her bed looked like.

  That also meant not pushing it too much past kissing on the couch...maybe even for his own sanity.

  So he’d let himself into his apartment, taken a cold shower, then flopped facedown on his bed and fell asleep. He woke up harder than a steel rod after dreaming of her hands on him, then stared at the ceiling the rest of the night.

  On Sunday he desperately wanted to reach out to her. Say he had a good time. Make plans for another date.

  He didn’t. Why? Because he kept thinking it might be...desperate. And for someone that never really asked a woman out, or made the first move, thinking of making the second one was scaring him more than he thought.

  He’d never been one to lack confidence in his life. Not even in dating. He’d been right when he told his brothers he never had to ask anyone out, that women came to him. Even if it wasn’t the kind of women he really had much interest in.

  Sometimes putting more effort into something was scarier than he thought and he wondered if that was why he had such bad luck with dating and relationships.

  But when he didn’t hear from Payton on Sunday, he wondered if she thought maybe he was blowing her off.

  He didn’t want that either. Then he remembered she’d said she went into Millie’s a few hours on Sunday to prep for Monday. She was probably busy. He’d bet she didn’t even give him a second thought.

  So why was he walking into Millie’s on Monday morning at six thirty-five? Because he was hungry.

  And he couldn’t help himself.

  He opened the front door, saw that she was by herself and walking out with a big tray of muffins. There were already several dozen donuts in the case.

  “Good morning,” she said. “You’re bright and early.”

  “Not as early as you by the looks of it. What time do you get here?”

  “Between five and five thirty. I need to get the muffins and donuts made.”

  “It smells so good in here. I can’t figure out what I might want.”

  “How about a kiss first?” she asked, moving from around the counter.

  “Definitely,” he said, loving that she made that move even though he was the one to come in. Equal in his eyes.

  “So what are you in the mood for for breakfast?” She was filling the muffins up and they sure did look good.

  “I was thinking pancakes, but are those cinnamon swirl muffins?”

  She pulled one out and handed it over to him. “They are. And I’ll go start pancakes for you too.” She put a cup on the counter for his coffee.

  “Are you going to ring me up?” he asked when she started to walk away.

  “It’s good.”

  “No,” he said. “This is your business. We aren’t playing that. I come here to support your business and I’m paying.”

  She stopped and stared at him, he could see that maybe his voice was a bit harsher than he wanted, but he wasn’t letting her give him things for free. They weren’t even close to that stage.

  “It’s not a big deal, Bryce,” she argued.

  “It is to me. Ring me up,” he said, crossing his arms.

  She moved back to the register and did what he said. “I didn’t expect you to be this stubborn.”

  “The Fierce men are known for stubbornness. It’s one of the strongest genes we’ve got besides our coloring.”

  She laughed, like she thought he was joking. He only partially was. “Are you happy now?” she said when he swiped his gift card.

  “Not yet,” he said. He handed over cash. “Add this to my card.”

  “Bryce,” she said, sighing.

  “Payton. Come on. Maybe it’s my excuse to come in and see you.”

  She took the cash and his card, pushed a few buttons and handed the card back. “You need the excuse of my cooking to come see me?”

  The fluttering of her eyelashes had his stomach doing flips on the mat like Marylou Retton. What the hell was it about this blonde beauty that had him all twisted up inside?

  “How is this for an answer?” he asked, moving closer and putting his lips to hers. He could initiate a kiss just fine.

  “That is answer enough. Get your coffee and eat your muffin. I’m going to bring out the rest of the donuts and get your pancakes started. Are you in a hurry?”

  “No hurry. Take your time,” he said, then went and sat once his coffee was filled, watching her work while he ate. Part of him wanted to get up and ask to help—all those years his mother drilled into his head about never sitting around while a woman did everything—but he had a feeling Payton might just bite his head off if he offered. Surprisingly he found that sexy.

  Instead he enjoyed the muffin and wished there were some cookies already made to grab for the road but knew that wasn’t the case. She’d told him that she baked them in the morning once Kelly came in and the morning rush was gone.

  Another customer came in while Payton was putting what he assumed was the last tray of donuts out. It looked to be at least five dozen of each. They were all gone the one day he came in to get a sub to take home for dinner, so she must have no problem selling out. Even her cookies were pretty much gone by the end of the day, but he doubted she made as many.

  Once she was done with that customer, she went to the back, saying, “I’m putting your pancakes on now. Just a few minutes.”

  “No rush,” he said, enjoying the fact the two of them had the place to themselves for the moment. “So are certain days busier than others?”

  “Monday mornings are pretty busy. I think most people are running late and come in for breakfast. Egg sandwiches, donuts, muffins and so on.”

  “Do people ever get pancakes or waffles to go?” he asked.

  “Not often, but once in a while I’ll get a call for pick-up. If you’re ever running late but want something, just text me and I’ll have it ready for you to pick up.”

  “So I get special treatment?” he asked, liking her offer.

  “If you give me a kiss, you can get all the special treatment you want.”

  He laughed. “You sure do like to kiss, don’t you?”

  “When I can get my lips on yours...heck yeah.” She let out a little giggle and then blushed, but he found it endearing. Sweet. Sexy again.

  Everything she did was sexy in his eyes and he started to feel bad about that thought. Was that why she thought so negatively about herself and her looks? Was he just adding to it by thinking those things?

  The pancakes were slid in front of him and he decided to take a moment to ask her about another date before someone else came in and pushed those sexy thoughts from his mind. “So how about a Friday night date?”

  “That sounds good. What do you want to do?” she asked, moving away and making sure all the sugars and creamers were set up just right. She multi-tasked like no one he’d ever seen before.

  “My place, pizza and a movie. No cooking on either one of our parts, or dealing with people.”

  “Now that sounds like the perfect way to end the work week.”

  He hadn’t been thinking of anything more than he just wanted to have some privacy with her. Get his lips on her some more. Maybe not have a time limit on things.

  “So it’s a date,” he said. “I’ll text you my address.”

  Another customer came in and he knew that their little interaction was pretty much over with. She had work to do and he wouldn’t hold her up.

  “Sounds good,” she said, moving to the register and waiting on the person who walked in. She filled up the bag of donuts and thanked the lady.

  “Looks like you need to get ready for the rush,” he said, going back to his own breakfast. He wanted to just sit here and enjoy it, but two more people walked in.

  “Yeah. Once Kelly gets here I’ll start prepping and getting the egg sandwiches ready so they are pumped out fast.”

  He liked that about her. That she was always prepared and had a plan. He couldn’t say that about a lot of people, but after talking to her on Saturday he realized how meticulously organized she was. How everything was lined up just right and timed perfectly.

  “I’ll talk to you later,” he said and watched her wait on the rest of the customers, trying not to feel any jealousy that he didn’t have her undivided attention.

  It’s not like he’d ever gotten undivided attention a day in his life. Not in his family, so why did he want it now?

  Flirting With Each Other

  “What has you smiling brighter than normal today?” Kelly asked her when she walked out with the last little bit of pasta salad left over from yesterday. That would be gone before noon, but she’d have the new batches all done well before then.

  “What do you mean?” Payton asked.

  “You’re always in a good mood. Always cheerful—which I have to say is kind of sickening—but today your smile is brighter than a comet flashing through the sky.”

  “Oh, nothing,” she said, humming as she walked back and grabbed the other salads. The pastas and potatoes were almost done cooking for her to assemble and get them ready. She had cookies in her oven too. She loved this routine she had every day. It was soothing and calming and brought back memories of being with her aunt.

  “Why don’t I believe you?”

  Payton moved to the back behind the grill, peeked in on her cookies, knew she had five more minutes before her last batch of monster chocolate chip were done and she could slide in the pan of peanut butter cup brownies that she’d tested out on Bryce on Saturday. Three to five dozen cookies or brownies total was all she did each day. She found having less kept them in demand.

  “Maybe it’s just a beautiful day out and I’m enjoying it,” she said.

  “Or maybe it’s that hot guy that’s been sitting at the counter the past few weeks in the morning. I’d have to be blind and knocked unconscious to not notice how much his eyes follow you around.”

  “Really?”

  “You know he is watching you. You’re watching him just as much. He waves. You wave. He smiles, you smile. Good grief, it’s like watching two kids in school flirting with each other. I’m waiting for you two to start passing notes next.”

  She laughed. She couldn’t remember flirting like this with anyone in school.

  Sure, she’d dated, but not anyone serious. Most guys wanted her for the way she looked not for anything else. Dumb blonde jokes were thrown her way more often than lob balls during a home run derby.

  She’d long since given up trying to argue or fight them. Nothing was going to change. She was dumb in many people’s eyes and it was trying to fight an uphill battle on a mudslide to get anyone to see her differently.

  Kids were harsh and judgmental and she wasn’t outspoken enough to change things. Why bother when it only caused more grief and heartache for her.

  She’d even stopped telling her mother about it. Her mother had her own issues dealing with her father when he’d been drinking. It was the same reason she’d never repeated all those things her father used to say to her.

  Dumb blonde jokes. Stupidity comments. Being an idiot. Yeah, they started at home. Didn’t everything in life start at home? The good and the bad.

  “So maybe we’ve talked a few times,” she said just testing the water.

  She wasn’t sure if she was ready to announce that she and Bryce had been on one date and would be going on another. Not yet.

  “What’s his name?” Kelly asked, then paused when someone came in. Payton let her wait on the customer while she dumped the pasta into the sink to cool for her pasta and macaroni salads. She always enjoyed the talks the two of them had between the window.

  When the customer was gone, Payton looked back out to see Kelly refilling all the coffee supplies. She liked that Kelly didn’t need to be asked to do anything. She just knew. “Bryce Fierce.”

  “Nice strong name. Oh la la. I guess it goes with his body. Nice and tall, big hands, strong features.”

  She frowned. “What are you doing looking at him so deeply?”

  Kelly laughed. “I sense some jealousy. No worries. I’m not interested. I can tell you are though and that is why I noticed as much as I have.”

  “We went on a date Saturday night,” Payton said.

  “And you’re just saying this now?” Kelly asked, turning with her hands on her hips. “You’ve been playing me all along. And I noticed him in here again this morning, so I’ve got to assume the date went well.”

  “It did. We’re going out again on Friday. Or rather we are going to his place for pizza and to watch TV.”

  Kelly wiggled her eyebrows. “And do what else?”

  The buzzer went off, so she turned and pulled out the cookies from the oven and set them aside to cool, then slid the pan of brownies in. The first two dozen of the cookies were cooled enough so she brought them out and slid them into the case, moving the remaining muffins to the side. There were about a dozen donuts left and she’d bet they’d be gone by the end of the day even though it was pushing eleven and the lunch crowd would be in soon.

  “No clue. He’s really nice. Sweet. He isn’t pushy and we know how much I hate that.”

  “And I bet he doesn’t call you sweetie or honey even though I’d put a week’s pay on the fact he’s had his lips and hands on you.”

  She laughed. “You need your paycheck and I’m not doubling it up, so you know the answer to that.”

  “So what does he do for a living?” Kelly asked.

  “He’s a professor at Duke. Chemistry.”

  Kelly stopped and stared at her. “Seriously? He sure the heck doesn’t look like any professor I’ve ever seen in school.”

  “Yeah, I know. I mean I thought he looked smart to me, but I never expected that he was a doctor.”

  Kelly started to cough. “Now that is smart.”

  All the more reason to make Payton feel self-conscious.

  “I’m crazy, aren’t I? I barely made it out of high school. What could I be thinking dating someone like him?”

  “Whoa,” Kelly said. “Don’t think of it that way. First off, you are plenty smart. I couldn’t stand school either. I started college because I was pushed but hated it. I’d rather work with people like you. It’s what I’m good at. What is the use of spending my time doing something I hate every day?”

  “I understand that more than most. But I worried so much we’d have nothing in common.”

  “Do you have anything in common?”

  “Actually we do. More than I thought,” she admitted.

  “Then what is the problem?” Kelly asked. “You two sure do look pretty together.”

  “Looks aren’t everything,” she argued. “And there isn’t a problem. At least not at the moment, but what about in a few months or longer? Would he get bored with me? My life is all about Millie’s and cooking.”

  “It didn’t occur to you that his life is all about teaching and science?” Kelly asked. “What if you get bored with him? Why do you always knock yourself down so much?”

  She couldn’t help it. Too many years of being told how worthless she was or she’d be. That she’d never make anything of her life.

  As much as she loved her father and knew it was the drugs and alcohol talking, it still hurt because she knew deep down that many of the things he said were the truth.

  That she wouldn’t make much of her life. That she’d never find anyone that would love her enough or accept her for what she could or couldn’t do.

  “I don’t know. It’s hard to change it now.”

  Someone walked in and Payton went to the back to finish putting her salads together. One of these days maybe she’d accept herself for who she was, including her limitations.

  If she couldn’t, she wondered if anyone else would ever be able to accept her.

  My Plan

  Bryce glanced up when he heard a knock at his office door to see Justin standing there. Just the student he was telling Payton about a few days ago when they were out to dinner.

  “Come on in, Justin. What can I do for you?”

  “I’m struggling on the last lab that you assigned and wanted to make sure I understand it before I finished it up. No use trying to do all the work only to find out it’s wrong.”

  “Let me see what you’ve got so far and we’ll go from there.”

  He liked when his students thought that way. When they were efficient and not just rushing to get their work done and not bothering to worry if it was right or wrong.

  They’d spent a few minutes going over the assignment, Justin not being nearly as far off as he thought he was, then thanking him for his help. Again, not a lot of students did that either. Thanked him.

  Most probably figured it was expected and part of Bryce’s job. Which it was. And he never wanted thanks, but it was still nice to hear.

  “So have you found a job yet for the summer?” Bryce asked.

  “I’m still looking. I shouldn’t have waited as long as I have. There’s nothing on campus, which would have been nice since I could have taken the bus here.”

  He knew Justin commuted but didn’t realize he didn’t have his own transportation. How many kids would have just given up at this point? Wouldn’t have wanted to ride a bus and be stuck to that schedule?

  “It’s hard to find opportunities on campus. I do know of something if you’re interested. Nothing glamorous or in your field, but it’d be steady.”

  The minute those words were out of his mouth, Bryce felt bad voicing them. It made him ashamed to say what Payton did was nothing glamorous when she worked harder than anyone he’d ever seen. Harder than him, for sure, and that was saying a lot for the Fierce kid that the family dubbed the one never to put a book down long enough to even go to the bathroom half the time.