He shook his head. That wasn’t important. It was never going to be important. They were two different people who needed to make the best of this weird situation. Which was the only reason he was excited that she’d stopped by his office instead of leaving for the day. Yep.
He took another step toward her. Underneath the vanilla and chocolate scents that permeated the shop and now clung to her, he caught a hint of something floral. Something intoxicating. Lilies, maybe. “It is great, which is why I’ve given some more thought to your proposition.”
Her perfect eyebrows rose. “Is that why you declared that we were dating?” The mocking was subtle, but clear. He was amused. Whatever uncertainty he’d detected she’d felt had disappeared. This was the Jada who’d basically said his cupcakes weren’t all that the first time they’d met. The same woman he’d dreamed about that night, though he wouldn’t admit that to anyone, especially to himself.
He took another step forward. He couldn’t help it, really had no desire to try to stop himself. “Yes, and that’s why I want to continue to do it.”
Her mouth fell open. “You’re joking, right?” she sputtered.
“Now, Jada, I know we haven’t known each other long, but I get the sense that you think I don’t have a sense of humor. If we go with that premise, then of course I’m not joking.”
“But you said, and I quote, ‘I run my life to be orderly. I won’t be distracted.’” She’d put some bass in her voice in a horrible attempt at imitating him. He struggled to keep his lips from twitching.
Did he really sound like he had a stick up his ass? “I did say that. However, I can’t ignore the line outside that door. My sister tells me we’ve gained ten thousand fans on our Instagram account since yesterday. Online orders have increased three hundred percent since yesterday. All because of interest in our love life.”
“But we’re not dating. There is no ‘our love life.’” Her eyes were big and wide.
He couldn’t, wouldn’t get lost in them. This was a logical move, nothing more, nothing less. “I thought you’d be jumping at this opportunity. It was your idea, after all.”
“Yeah, but I’ve had time to think. I’m trying to turn over a new leaf. Not be so impulsive. Really take charge of my life.” Her hands twisted together at her waist, her perfectly manicured nails painted a pretty lavender.
He shouldn’t be noticing such a small detail about her, but he did. He noticed everything about her, if he was being honest with himself. “I understand that desire.”
Her head lifted. “You do?”
He nodded. “I didn’t grow up in the most stable environment, so I sought to make my life as stable as possible once I became an adult.” He spread his arms wide. “Opening a cupcake shop is the most impulsive thing I’ve done in years, even if I did run all kinds of analyses to make sure it was a sound investment.”
“Until now. When you want to date me.” Her lips, painted a deep red, curved. His blood stirred. He knew how that gloss tasted and had loved it.
“Fake date.” He needed to remind himself of that fact, if no one else.
She chuckled. “Yes, my bad. Fake date.”
“I need this shop to be a success, to stay on the stable train, and the only way to make that happen is to have more customers. I’ve thought this through.”
She crossed her arms. “And what evidence-based and orderly conclusions have you come up with?” Jada was back to silently laughing at him. You could knock her down, but she would always get back up, ready and willing to put him in his place. He ordered himself not to smile.
“That we don’t have to do much more than what we did today.” He ticked the points one by one on his fingers. “We work here together. We don’t argue.”
Her nose wrinkled. “Aww, really? That doesn’t sound fun.”
He continued like she hadn’t spoken. “We don’t deny it when someone claims we’re dating. We take photos when asked. If someone asks us to kiss, we decline like we did today.”
“No kissing, huh?” She tapped him on the chest with a single finger. It was the briefest of touches, but it sent his heart rate skyrocketing anyway. He needed to get a grip. Like right now. It was also a reminder why kissing was out of the question. He liked order. He liked to stay in control. And yesterday, he’d lost control temporarily when he’d kissed her back. He didn’t need any distractions, and she practically had a neon light above her head that spelled out DISTRACTION.