Chapter Twenty
“These cupcakes are amazing Maggie!”
“No, Eric, you’re amazing. I can’t believe you fixed my window so quickly.”
The big man finished off the last cupcake on the plate she had set in front of him. “It was a simple job. Helped that I already had the glass you needed.”
And the luck roller coaster started uphill again.
“It should be fine, but if you have any problems just give me a call.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate it.” She handed him a check for the amount they had agreed upon.
Stuffing the paper in his pocket, he grinned. “It’s what I do.”
“Don’t forget to bring the kids by next weekend. I’ll be sure to make some Volcano Chocolate Chippers for them.”
They’d talked while Eric installed her new window. He told her about his wife and their twin, five-year-old boys with a fondness for chocolate and bouncing off the walls.
“Will do.” He grabbed his bag and headed out the door, waving a hand over his shoulder “Take care.”
The bell chimed as he left. It was an hour after closing. Eric had graciously waited until she was closed to do the installation so as not to disrupt her customers. In thanks, she made him half a dozen Chocolate Mint cupcakes. Which he gleefully accepted, ate two, and took the other four with him. It was evident from which parent the boys inherited their love of chocolate.
Locking the door and flipping off the lights, Maggie breathed a sigh of relief. She might have a crazy vandal attacking her shop, but at least some things were going right. The window was fixed, she felt prepared for the blogger, and Colton—
Damn.
Okay, not everything was going right.
Thinking of the way he had walked out that morning made guilt rise in her throat once again. She had not meant to make him angry by implying all they had was sex, but how was she supposed to know he wanted more? Yeah, he said he wanted to go on a few dates, but in her experience, men like Colton—flirty, outgoing men—tended to want to just have fun, keep things casual. Just because she felt something more didn’t mean he did.
Still, she didn’t have to be so rude to him. Shoot. She should probably call and apologize. If he would even take her call. He’d been pretty pissed when he left.
With a final check through of the shop, Maggie headed to the back door and up the inside stairs to her apartment. Always kept it on silent while she worked, her phone vibrated in her pocket.
Her breath caught as she fished it out. Was it—
Hope came crashing to a halt when she noted the name of the person wasn’t the caller she had wished.
“Hey, Lizzy,” she said, answering the phone.
“Wow, did I do something wrong? That was the most disheartened reception you’ve ever given me.”
Maggie winced. “No, I’m sorry. I was just hoping it was someone else.”
“Oh, how you wound me!” Lizzy affected a dramatic tone. “First you abandon me, and now you’ve replaced me. How will I ever go on?”
She laughed at her friend’s melodramatic antics. “You could never be replaced, you know that.”
“But you don’t deny abandoning me I see.”
“I—”
“I’m only joking, you know that.” Her friend cut off the protests. “So, who were you hoping to hear from?”
“It’s no one really,” she hedged.
“It’s your cowboy, Colton. Isn’t it?”
She stayed silent.
“Ah ha! I knew it!”
“I didn’t say it was him,” she objected.
“You didn’t say it wasn’t. Trust me, Maggie, after years of kicking your butt at poker, I can tell when you’re bluffing.”
“I beat you a time or two.”
She could picture her friend’s eyes roll.
“Only when I let you.”
Maggie was at the top of the stairs now. Using her key, she let herself into her apartment. The sun had just started to set, so she flipped on the lights. Her small apartment seemed larger without Colton in it. How weird was that? The man had only spent the night once, and she was already used to having him in her home.
Pathetic.
“Maggie? Did you hear me?”
“Sorry what?” She shook her head, focusing on the phone call.
“I asked how things were going.”
“How much time do you have?”
Silence, then, “That bad?”
“It’s a bottle of wine type conversation.”
She heard some scuffling over the line, a clink of glass, then a soft pop.
“Okay I’m ready.”
Laughing, she asked, “Lizzy, please tell me you are not sitting on your couch with a freshly opened bottle of wine?”
“Okay, I won’t tell you.”
“At least get a glass.”
“Pssshaw! Glasses are for asses with classes.”
Typical Lizzy response. Damn, she missed her best friend.
“Now, spill it, sister. Before I die from curiosipation.”
“That’s not a word.”
“It should be.”
Pouring her own wine—in a glass, like a sane person—Maggie then sat on her loveseat and dove into the events of the past few days. The gas leak, the rock, the fight with Colton. Lizzy listened without interruption until she was finished. “So, that’s how it’s going. You?”
“Oh no, we are still on you, my dear.”
Uh oh. Lizzy’s angry voice.
“So, what you are telling me is some crazy whack-job is after you and you don’t even think to call your best friend?”
Why was everybody so obsessed with her calling for personal updates lately?
“What could you have done? You’re over a thousand miles away.”
A sound of frustration came through the phone. “I care about you, Maggie. You’re my best friend. I need to know when someone is messing with you so I can fly out there and kick their butt!”
“Love you, too, Lizzy.” Laughter shook her shoulders. “Anyway, everyone keeps telling me to close up shop until this guy is caught.”
“They must not know you very well.” She chuckled. “Still, and you know I hate to agree with the majority, but I have to agree with Colton on this one.”
“I didn’t say it was just Colton.”
“No, but he’s the one whose opinion you care about.”
“I never said that.”
“You slept with him, Maggie. You would never sleep with someone unless you cared about them and what they think.”
Embarrassment heated her cheeks. “I never said I slept with him.”
“You said he came over for dinner and then you had a fight the next morning. I read between the lines.” A pause, then, “So, how was it?”
She sighed, downing the rest of her wine. “Amazing.”
“Yee haw! Are you seeing him again?”
She hoped so. He said they had a relationship. Mentioned they would have sex again.
“I don’t know. He seemed pretty angry when he left.”
“He’ll get over it. Men just get their boxers in a bunch when a woman doesn’t run to them with every little problem. Hurts their frail, little egos. If he really cares, he will realize he’s being stupid and come back.”
But who was really being stupid here…Colton or her?
She could take care of herself. The saboteur hadn’t attacked her yet. Not directly anyway. On the other hand, if the situation were reversed, she’d be angry if Colton was having problems and didn’t confide in her. Maybe they were both being stupid.
“You should also stop being stupid and cut the guy a little slack.”
Leave it to Lizzy to speak what was on Maggie’s mind.
“Then when you’ve made up, saddle that horse and ride him all night long.” There was a snort followed by uncontrolled laughter.
“How deep are you into that bottle?”
“Hmmmm, too deep to drive, not deep enough to invite my new sexy neighbor over to help me fix my plumbing.”
She laughed at her zany friend. “Put the bottle down, Lizzy.”
“Oh, you’re no fun.”
“And you’re not serious about the neighbor.”
Her best friend chuckled along with her. “No, but it’s fun to think about. He’s a bit player on the new crime drama.”
Then she really wasn’t serious. Lizzy never dated anyone in the industry. It was one of her rules. The tall, beautiful woman hardly dated at all, in fact.
“Put the bottle down and back away slowly. Drink some water, go to bed, and dream of Johnny Depp.”
“Oh, Johnny.” A soft sigh sounded over the phone. “The only man I’d ever break my rule for. Fine.” Her voice took on her managerial tone. “I’ll be responsible and go to bed unfulfilled. But you have to call your cowboy, work things out, and get fully filled. Then call me in the morning with all the dirty details.”
“Lizzy!” She doubled over with laughter.
“Love you, Maggie.”
“Love you, too.”
Hanging up, she smiled. Her friend always knew how to make her feel better. She really did miss her. Maybe she could convince Lizzy to come out for a few weeks in the summer. They could paint the town crazy.
Heading to her kitchen, Maggie decided to have one more glass of wine before following instructions and calling Colton. She needed a bit more liquid courage to help her grovel. And she would grovel, because he had been right. She did promise to call him and hadn’t.
Before she could grab the bottle of wine off the counter, a knock sounded at her front door.
Who could that be?
It couldn’t be a delivery. All her orders arrived in the morning at the shop, never to her apartment.
Reversing direction, she went back to the door and glanced through her peephole…at a pair of piercing, blue eyes.
She should have downed the whole wine bottle while she’d had the chance.
****
“Colton.”
Judging by the shocked look on her face, Maggie was surprised to see him. That burned his ass. Did she really think so little of him? Had she just expected him to walk away after one little fight, leaving her all alone when she had a crazy vandal after her?
Not likely.
“What are you doing here?”
Without responding, he grabbed the back of her neck, pulling her to him for a deep, thorough kiss. She melted into him immediately. She may not have expected him, but she was obviously glad to see him. That was good. It soothed his ragged nerves a little.
Her hands fisted in his shirt, and her lips opened at the gentle probe of his tongue. Exploring the depths of her mouth, he groaned. It’d just been meant to be a simple hello kiss. He should have realized with this woman, nothing was ever simple.
Pulling back, before he took her there in the open doorway, he stared down at her. Face flushed, eyes closed, lips swollen from his kiss. Beautiful.
“Hi.”
Her eyes opened with hazy lust. “Um, hi.”
“May I come in?”
The haze cleared as she realized they were standing in her open doorway, pressed close together where anyone could see. A blush rose, making her already pink skin turn rosy.
“Oh, yes, of course.” She stepped back, allowing him to enter before closing the door behind him. “I was, uh, just about to make some dinner. Are you hungry?”
He turned to her and gave his best bad boy grin. “Starved.”
“Casserole okay?” she asked, deftly ignoring his innuendo. “I have one in the freezer. I made it a while back. I was just going to pop it in the oven.”
“Sounds great.” He tossed his duffle bag on the couch.
Her gaze darted to it then back to him. “What’s that?”
Colton didn’t look at the bag, instead joining her in the kitchen. “We’ll talk about it in a minute. First, I want to apologize.”
“Apologize?”
He stopped right in front of her. “Yeah, for this morning.”
The tight lines around her mouth and eyes loosened as she shook her head. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
Wasn’t expecting that.
“Yes, I do.” Reaching out, he cupped her cheek. “I know I acted like an ass. I realize how important your shop is to you. I know how hard you work, and if anyone can take care of herself, Magpie, it’s you. I was just worried and upset. I care about you, and it would kill me if anything happened to you.”
Her eyes had widened as he rambled through the speech he had been practicing all afternoon.
“Colton…”
He pushed on. “I already had to see you half-frozen and then sick from gas poisoning. There’s only so much a guy can take in a span of barely two weeks.”
She shook her head. Strands of soft, brown hair, which had escaped her braid, fluttered about her face. His fingers itched with the need to brush those strands away and take her lips once more, but he stopped himself.
“No, I’m the one who should apologize. You were just trying to look out for me, and I did promise to call you if anything happened. I’m sorry.”
An apology from Maggie Evans? Now, there was something that didn’t happen every day. He should probably mark this momentous occasion in his calendar or something.
Placing an arm around her waist, he pulled her closer, instead. Nose skimming her cheek, he pressed a soft kiss to the shell of her ear and whispered, “So, now that we’ve apologized to each other, wanna kiss and make up?”
She leaned back with a knowing grin. “The casserole should take an hour to cook.”
“An hour huh?” He ground his hips into her, letting her feel how hard he already was for her. “That’s enough time for an appetizer I think.”
Pulling from his grasp, she started twisting her hands. “I didn’t think you were coming over tonight. I—I didn’t have time to go to the pharmacy…”
He thought about teasing her, but she looked so disappointed, he couldn’t. Turning from her, he went back to the living room where he had left his bag.
“Colt?”
Unzipping the duffle, he pulled out a one hundred-count black box and waved it in the air. “I stopped by the drug store today.”
Her smile turned wicked. “Then why are we still standing out here?”