4. Chapter Four

There were only a few stragglers left when Daisy returned with a small pink box balanced on the palm of her hand.

I cocked my head, aiming for casual, but probably sorely missing the mark. "My cupcakes?"

She held them out to me. "Just for you."

Forget casual. I whipped that box out of her hand and flipped the top. Six pretty mini cupcakes awaited me.

"Oh, hell yes." I closed my eyes to choose the best one and ended up with a finger covered in frosting. Fuck it. My finger had just become a frosting conveyer. I stuck it in my mouth, groaning when the salted caramel hit my tongue. I'd eaten at a lot of fine dining restaurants with Michelin stars. Sampled rich, decadent pastries from renowned patisseries in Paris. It had all been good. Memorable. But nothing in those places had made my knees nearly buckle.

I stuffed the rest of the cupcake in my mouth, groaning the entire time I chewed. Granted, it wasn't long since it was tiny, but a prolonged groan was a prolonged groan.

"I feel like I should throw dollar bills at you."

I opened my eyes. Daisy was watching me, one brow disappearing beneath her bangs. In the seconds I'd been sucking on my own fingers like a hungry baby, I"d forgotten she was there and could see me.

"Feel free. Like I said, my favorite charity can use more tip money." I pointed at the five remaining cupcakes. "I'm going to save these for later—to eat in privacy. I've never had anything as good and need the freedom to groan pornographically."

Daisy's eyes were a little too big for her petite face, which made them striking. It didn't seem like they should've been able to narrow into such tiny slits, but there she went, proving me wrong.

"Don't make fun of me," she bit out, stomping her foot to punctuate her demand.

I jerked back at the harshness of her tone. "I'm not. I wouldn't. You already know I'll resort to theft to eat your cupcakes. Why would I make fun of you and dry up my source?"

She glared at me warily, chewing on her bottom lip. It was cute as hell. I didn't know if I had a type. If I did, it wasn't her, but I couldn't deny I'd spent the last two nights looking at her. If I were in a different place in my life, I might've flirted with her with intent. For now, it was just to get a rise out of her.

Stomping her tiny foot like an angry elf was too adorable to leave alone.

She huffed, her hands fisted at her hips. "I don't know how seriously to take you, and it's bothering me."

"Fifty-fifty," I suggested. "Right now, I'm dead serious. You're going to have to give me your phone number so I can buy more cupcakes from you in the future."

"You don't need my number. You can just ask me."

I shook my head. "Haven't you been listening to me, Daisy? I'm only here as a favor for Nick. Tonight's my last night. If I walk out the door now, you may never see me again."

Something flashed in her expression, and it was impossible to tell if it was relief or disappointment. My ego wanted it to be disappointment, but the realist in me assumed this girl couldn't wait to be done with me forever.

"Wait, really?" She blinked a few times. "I was beginning to get used to you. You're telling me I adjusted for no reason?"

I chuckled. "Sure, I guess that's what I'm telling you. Though, I gotta say, I failed to witness any major adjustments. You've been a prickly little pear both nights."

Shoulders straightening, she looked down her nose at me. Considering she was a solid foot shorter than me, I had no idea how, but she managed.

"And you've been annoying both nights, so I suppose we're even."

I stopped myself from laughing, my mouth hanging open in mock-offense. "I've been friendly, Daisy. You probably don't experience that often with the ‘touch me and die, MF-er' vibe you give off, but that's all it is. Friendliness."

"Motherfucker," she muttered.

This time, my mouth really did fall open. What the hell? All I'd done was compliment her cupcakes and banter with her a little, and I get cussed out? Jesus. This girl needed—

Stepping closer to me, she pressed her finger to the underside of my chin, closing my mouth. "I never abbreviate my curses. If I'm going to call someone a motherfucker, I go all the way. In this case, I wasn't calling you one—I don't know you well enough to cuss at you. Even if I did, that's not my curse of choice."

I removed her finger from my chin and gave it a squeeze. "That's good to know. You had me spiraling there for a minute."

She snorted a dry laugh. "There are several people I would like to tell off. You're not one of them."

I sensed the silent "yet" at the end of her sentence.

"It's a good thing I'm out of here then. I'd hate to get on your bad side." I shivered. "Seems scary. Probably entertaining, though. By the way, if provoked properly, how would you cuss me out? I'd like to picture it."

She rolled her eyes. "I bet you pulled girls' ponytails on the playground to get their attention, didn't you?"

I'd done worse. Much worse. But she didn't need to know my sordid backstory. If this was to be my last impression on her, I'd rather she remember me as the over-enthusiastic bartender than the guy who'd once decided to crush dreams and ruin years just because he'd wanted to.

So, I put on my best show, bouncing on my toes and grinning. "Come on. Ponytails are just hanging there, asking to be yanked. You can't tell me you've never ever been tempted to tug on one."

"I have—had two sisters. Of course I've pulled a ponytail or two." She pushed up the bottom of her short hair. "Fortunately, I'm no longer in danger of that happening to me."

"It's a good thing you have the face to pull off short hair."

Her eyes swept over me, pausing on mine before moving on. "It's a good thing you do too, though your ears stick out a little."

My hands flew to my ears, which, until this moment, had been perfectly average. "What? No, I—"

Her smile was like the first ray of light shining through a crack of storm clouds. Full and radiant, chances were, it would disappear as quickly as it had broken free. But those seconds had brought me to a standstill and knocked me in the gut.

"I'm kidding, Miles. Your ears are unremarkable in every way."

Plop. That radiant curve of her mouth flatlined, falling off into a puddle, death by drowning.

Dropping my hands from my ears, I dug my phone from my pocket. "Give me your number. I want to text you whenever my ego gets out of control so you can put me in my place."

She dragged her silly hat off her head and ran her fingers through her sleek, mahogany hair. The look she gave me was…pitying? Could I have been reading her right?

She licked her lips, her eyes darting to the side. "Look, I'm sorry if I came off as flirtatious, but I'm not dating right now."

I wasn't either, but I couldn't say her rejection didn't sting. I had been thinking, maybe in a few months or another life, I would have liked to take this girl to dinner and then make out with her grouchy little mouth.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down on the proposals. I'm only after your cupcakes and insults."

She did that magic eye-narrowing thing again. Whatever she saw must have helped her make a decision because she stuck her hand out. I placed my phone on her palm, and she tapped on the screen before giving it back to me. I wasted no time texting her then changing her name to "Lydia-Daisy-Cupcake."

"Now you have my number too. If you ever want to hang out, strictly as friends, I'm up for it." I stuffed my phone back in my pocket, surprised at how sincere I was. "If you happen to be handy, I'm remodeling my house on the weekends and could use some help."

She palmed her forehead. "Oh my god, was this all some elaborate ruse for free labor?"

I nodded toward her delicate wrist. "Gotta tell you, if that were my goal, I'd aim slightly beefier, like Duke or Lloyd."

She tucked her hands behind her back, the force of her frown renewed. "Maybe you need someone who can fit in small places."

I tapped the side of my head. "I'll keep in mind you're willing to do that. There are definitely some crawl spaces you'd fit into. By any chance, are you scared of bugs?"

With a huff, she swiveled on her toes and marched into the back, leaving me smiling all by myself. I didn't mind, though. I had her number now. I could call her up for cupcakes anytime I wanted.