The Gingerbread Man (Sinful Sweets Book 1) by Erzabet Bishop

Author:Erzabet Bishop [Bishop, Erzabet]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Holiday Romance, Sinful Sweets, Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction, Forever Love, Bachelor, Single Woman, Sensual Story Theme, Hearts Desire, Lifetime Love, Life-Changes, Second Chance Reunion, Honesty & Trust, Home & Family, Romantic Schemes, Beautiful & Feisty, Love-Family & Forever, Action & Adventure, Adult Themes, Christmas Holidays & Celebration, Christmas Time
Publisher: Naughty Nights Press LLC
Published: 2019-12-17T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

"Celeste!"

Oh shit. He was following her.

"Leave me alone," she snapped, stalking down the walkway that led into the nature sanctuary. Trees broke the bitter chill, and she found herself in a small alcove with a bench. The late afternoon was turning dark with the weather and the time change, but she was too mad to care.

"I will not. You bailed on me once. You don't get to do it again." Charles trailed behind her, his eyes a veritable storm cloud. The apron was gone, leaving him in the gingerbread man tee shirt, a dark blue sweater with worn jeans, and brown work boots.

Thunder rang out across the leaden sky, and the first drops of cold rain splashed against her face.

God. How had he known she would come this way?

“Are you stalking me?”

“Hardly. If you grew up here, you went here to think. We all did.” He narrowed his eyes at her.

“Well, I’m leaving.”

“Don’t walk away from me, Celeste. I came here to talk to you.”

"Watch me. You come here and deliberately set up a bakery right down the street, wrecking my business, and have the nerve to get pissed when I walk out on you? Go to Hell." Celeste spun away and headed down the walkway.

"Are you insane? It's starting to rain, and it's getting colder. Let's go inside and talk about this." Charles eyed the alcove and glanced up at the brooding weather.

"Drop dead."

Celeste walked faster, the pebbled path treacherous as the fat drops of water began to pour down in earnest. There was a greenhouse a little farther along the path to the lake. They grew poinsettias for the carnival.

She blinked against the rain and wiped at her eyes. There. Ahead she could see the soft glow of the lights, and warmth.

She picked up the pace, but her foot slipped, her ankle twisting as she fell sharply into the shells and pebbles on the trail.

"Omfph!"

The jagged shells bit into the skin of her hands, and pain throbbed in her ankle.

"Are you okay?" Charles reached her, his eyebrows raised in concern, his jaw clenched tightly in irritation.

"Just dandy, thanks."

"Here."

He wrapped his arms around Celeste and eased her to her feet. The warmth of him through the sweater made her lady bits come to attention. Her nipples pebbled against the thin shirt she wore. The damp sweater did little to stave off the chill. It was Charles. Unconsciously she leaned into him and sighed.

"I can't believe how stubborn you are. I came out here to talk to you, not chase you into the woods."

"Don't worry. You can help me to the greenhouse and walk away. Even better, you can leave town and take your bakery with you. We were doing just fine until you showed up."

“See, that's where you're wrong." Charles lifted her into his arms, his lips thinning in exasperation. "Come on. Let's get out of this weather, and then we'll talk."

Charles carried her down the path and across the open field of wet grass toward the greenhouse.

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