Sweet Do-Over by Melissa McClone

Author:Melissa McClone
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Indigo Bay Second Chance Romances, Book 2
Publisher: Cardinal Press, LLC
Published: 2022-06-22T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Von wasn’t sure what to make of Marley asking him out, but he wasn’t about to keep that or their lunch a secret. He wouldn’t risk hurting Hope, which meant he had to tell her—today. On his way home, he stopped by their neighbor Paula’s bakery to pick up half a dozen of Hope’s favorite cupcakes.

Not a bribe.

A way to soften her up because he had a feeling she wouldn’t take the news well.

At home, he set the cupcakes on the counter.

The door to her studio was closed. That had never stopped him from entering, but he would do a few things around the house first.

A housekeeping service came once a week, but he still cleaned the refrigerator. A task that took less than fifteen minutes, if that, so he did the dishes and wiped down the counters.

Von eyed the studio door. Hope must be in the zone since he had heard no noise coming from inside. Might as well let her keep painting so he swept the floor.

He’d teased Marley about procrastinating, but he was doing that himself. What was the worst thing Hope could say?

Strike that.

Von didn’t want to know. He leaned against the broom.

She would be unhappy with him. The question was, how unhappy?

The studio door opened. Hope stepped into the kitchen. Her gaze went from the broom in his hand to the sparkling clean kitchen.

She blew out a breath. “Okay, spill.”

His fingers tightened around the handle. Might as well get it over with. “I had lunch with Marley.”

“And?”

“We’re going out for dinner on Saturday night.” He rested the broom against the wall. “I was waiting for you to finish whatever you were working on to tell you.”

She motioned to the box from Paula’s bakery. “For me?”

He nodded. “Your favorite.”

Hope hopped onto a barstool and patted the empty one next to her. As he sat, she handed him a cupcake.

Okay, she was going to draw this out and make him sweat. At least she had shared.

She bit into the cupcake, practically moaning with each chew. “I don’t know how Paula gets this flavor combination perfect every time.”

Von ate his with the passion of a man consuming his last meal.

Hope took another bite before wiping her mouth with a paper towel from the nearby roll. “Let’s start with lunch.”

“The client is replacing Marley and her firm. She put on a brave face, but she didn’t want to go back to work so she asked if I wanted to have lunch. I said yes.”

Hope studied him as if he were a sample under a microscope. “So you were doing a good deed?”

He finished eating his cupcake. “I didn’t want her to be alone, but I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her, either.”

“And then you asked her to dinner?”

“She asked me.”

Hope’s eyes widened. She fumbled with the paper towel before dropping it onto the counter. “I’m not sure if I should hate her for putting the ball in your court or respect her for having the guts to do that.

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