Bad Boy Valentine (11 page)

A
fter a day managing
the most intense social event she’d ever experienced, Kate was finally alone in the bakery, sitting in her favorite booth by the window with her hands wrapped around a mug full of cappuccino.

It was ten o’clock on Valentine’s Day night, and across the street, the Irish pubs of Woodside were in full swing, couples stumbling out through the doors, arm-in-arm, laughing and kissing, the night young and full of lusty possibilities.

Kate leaned her head back in the booth. The only lusty possibilities that interested her at the moment were the three Gingerbread Bliss cupcakes she was about to slam her face into—the only dessert she’d managed to salvage after today’s blockbuster event.

She’d certainly earned those cupcakes.

“Happy Valentine’s Day to me,” she said, grabbing the first one and taking a decidedly unladylike bite. She snarfed it down, kid-style, cream cheese frosting all over her mouth and nose.

“Fuck yeah,” she said, her mouth full of cake. “Bring it on, bitches.”

She took a different approach with cupcake number two, delicately licking off all the frosting first, her tongue swirling around the cake until she was certain she’d licked it clean.

“I like my cupcakes how I like my men,” she said. “Lickable and naked. Ha!”

She stuffed that one into her mouth, too. She didn’t care that she was alone in a bakery on the so-called most romantic night of the year, amusing herself with cupcake jokes. She didn’t care that her bakery was still decked out in pink and red paper hearts that made her gag every time she looked at them.

Right now, all she cared about were her cupcakes.

She set the third one in front of her, eyeing it up, trying to decide how to devour it. Kneeling on the seat and leaning over the table, she opened her mouth wide, lowering herself over the cupcake, laughing at her antics. She could just imagine what Georgie would say.

You need some serious therapy, girl. The expensive kind. And probably some good drugs, too.

She was about two seconds away from deep-throating a cupcake of her own making when her phone buzzed on the table, jolting her out of her perverse mood.

Settling back into the booth, she glanced over at the screen, figuring it was another media call or someone wanting to book a party.

“We’re closed,” she snapped. But when she saw the name on the screen, her heart stopped.

She nearly knocked over her cappuccino to grab the phone, answering it after the first buzz.

“Hey,” Jagger said. “You still at the bakery?”

“Just sat down for some…” Kate looked around the table, crumbs and frosting everywhere. “…coffee. Are you in the neighborhood? Do you want to stop by? I’ll make night coffee.”

“Thought you were already having coffee,” he said.

“I’ll make more. I own a coffee shop. I can make pots and pots of the stuff.”

She knew she sounded desperate, but that’s exactly how she felt. She’d been wrong to let him go before, wrong to pretend that their night together hadn’t mattered. That all the words they’d shared hadn’t made a difference.

After that conversation, that wild night,
everything
was different.

“That’s okay,” he said. “Sounds like you’ve got your hands full over there.”

“No, I’m—”

“Listen, sorry to bug you so late, but I think I forgot my tape measure. Can you check the back room for me?”

Tape measure? He’s calling about a tape measure?

Kate’s heart sank like a stone.

No
. She
had
to talk to him. He might run away again, but that was a chance she’d have to take.

Jagger had told her that leaving her that night eight years ago was his biggest regret. Well, if she didn’t tell him the truth about how she was feeling, this would become hers.

Shoring up her courage, she took a deep breath. “Jagger, I want—”

“Two seconds, then I’m outta your hair again. Come on, Kate.”

Kit-Kat
, she wanted to say. But the moment was gone, taking her courage with it.

“Fine. Give me a sec.” She set the phone on the table and pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes, willing herself not to cry.

Everything will be okay
.
You got through it before, you’ll get through it again. You got your answers. Said your goodbyes. Move on. You’re free.

The platitudes didn’t help, but she took a deep breath and put on a brave face anyway, climbing out of the booth and heading into the back room.

“I lost my precious little tape measure,” she mocked, grumbling every step of the way. “And I really need it, too, so I can stand around all day measuring my—”

“Measuring my
what
?”

The voice stopped her cold.

“No, please go on,” he teased. “I’d love to hear the rest of your impersonation. It’s not that bad. Not that good, either, but still. Don’t stop making fun of me on my account.”

Kate couldn’t help herself. She cracked up, slowly raising her eyes.

And there, standing in the middle of the room holding a ginormous heart-shaped box of chocolates and a big bouquet of flowers still wrapped in plastic, was Jagger Barnes.

He looked completely, adorably, ridiculous.

“If you’re looking for a love match,” she said, “sorry to rain on your Valentine’s parade, but the event is over.”

“Well I
was
looking,” he said, taking a step toward her. “But it turns out there aren’t many girls in this city who can bake chai cookies, boss me around,
and
laugh their assess off after they come. Sorry, but those are deal-breakers for me.”

“Hmm. That’s a shame. So you’re single?”

“Unless you know anyone that meets my strict requirements.”

“I might. What’s it worth to you?” Kate took a step forward, then another, closing the distance between them.

Jagger held out the bouquet and candy, grinning like an idiot. The price sticker on the flowers said $8.99.

“Nine bucks?” she asked. “I see you spared no expense.”

“Oh, that’s not even the best part. When I told the deli guy the whole story, he threw in the chocolates for free.”

“Yeah? What story was that?”

“The one about how I had to come charging over here to get my girl back. Convince her to give me another chance. See if I could get her to fall for me all over again.”

Kate swallowed the lump in her throat, her eyes blurring with tears.

Jagger leaned in closer, crushing the flowers between them. In a conspiratorial whisper, he said, “I really, really hope you don’t have a Valentine already. Deli guy said no refunds.”

Kate laughed, the sound bubbling up out of her throat, tangled up with a sob. She was so happy, so blown away, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. So she did both.

“I already told you,” she said. “I hate Valentine’s Day. You do, too. I thought we talked about this?”

“I know. But I was so damn nervous coming back here, I couldn’t keep my hands from shaking. Needed something to hold on to.”

Kate took the gifts from his hands and set them on a nearby table, then turned back to face him. With a gentle touch, she took his hands and placed them on her hips. “Better?”

“Getting there.”

She moved in closer, feeling his hands slide up her back as her chest pressed against his. They fit perfectly, all their lines and curves and muscles aligned. “How about now?”

“Almost.”

“You seem pretty steady to me,” she said. She could feel him growing hard against her.

“Only when I’m with you.”

“So what happens now?” Kate held his gaze, their mouths just a breath apart, hearts banging wildly.

“I want another shot at this, Kit-Kat. You and me. Me and you. Tell me I’m not crazy.”

Kate nodded, looking deep into his amber-brown eyes. She didn’t have words for what she was searching for, but she knew it the moment she found it—that connection, that unguarded honesty, the pure hope. He was her mirror, feeling everything she felt.

Sure, they had some issues. Major ones—things they’d only begun to scratch the surface on. But who didn’t? Besides, both of them had changed a lot since their twenties. Grown up in some ways. Maybe they weren’t doomed to repeat the same mistakes again.

And even if they were, something told Kate that this time, they’d find a way to work them out. No running. No pulling away. No shutting down.

“You
are
crazy,” she said. “But I like crazy.”

Jagger smiled, his dimples out in full force, completely disarming her yet again.

“You have a little frosting right…” Jagger pressed his mouth to hers, licking the corner. “…there. And also here.” He kissed the other corner, his tongue sliding across her bottom lip. “There’s also some on your nose.” He kissed the tip of her nose, his lips warm and soft. “And in your hair. What the hell were you doing today?”

Kate shook her head. “You don’t even want to know.”

“No, I do. Really.”

“Let’s just say that I’m glad you’re here now, because no matter how hard I tried to convince myself otherwise, making out with cupcakes is
so
not the same thing.”

“So not,” he said. “Then again, you do make a damn good cupcake.”

“Yeah? You want some?” she asked. “We sold out of a lot of stuff today, but if you give me half an hour, I can whip you up a batch of… pretty much anything. Name your favorite flavor. Cherry, chocolate, vanilla…”

“You know my favorite flavor, and it sure as hell ain’t vanilla.” Jagger grabbed her hips and spun her around, pushing her against a table, biting the back of her neck. “Bend over, Valentine. I’ve got another present for you. Way better than flowers.”

Kate melted beneath his touch, shivering and laughing as he nipped at her neck, her ear, his hips grinding against her ass, teasing her, seeking her warmth. They’d only had one night together since he’d come back—they hadn’t even
begun
to explore each other yet.

A rush of hot desire flooded her core as she thought back to that night, thought about what else was in store for her this Valentine’s Day, and all the days and nights to come. Her legs were already trembling, her insides turning into boneless goo.

How did this even happen? Cupid’s damn arrow?

Kate smiled. She didn’t know if she believed in Cupid, but she believed in second chances. She believed in the way Jagger made her feel, inside and out. And above all of that, she believed in love—real love—no matter how hard, how challenging, how impossible it sometimes felt.

It was like some of her best desserts—the ones she’d invented from scratch, honed over time. You couldn’t always follow a recipe. Sometimes you had to improvise. Add more sugar. Toss out the whole batch and start again. But if you believed in it, if you were willing to try again and again until you got it right, you could create something magical.

That’s the kind of love she once had with Jagger Barnes. Wild. Crazy hot. Intense. Sweet. One-of-a-kind. Perfect and imperfect, all at once.

And now that they’d found their way back to each other, she couldn’t wait to fall in love with him all over again—one day, one night, one sinfully delicious, frosting-covered kiss at a time.

F
irst and foremost
, I’d like to send a ginormous, chocolate-dipped THANK YOU to all of the amazing, generous readers out there who love bad boys as much as I do, and who keep messaging and emailing me, asking for more! I wouldn’t be able to write these stories without your support, and I’ve got so many more hot and dirty bad boys planned for you this year… just you wait!

Thanks and cupcakes also go to my friends and colleagues in the Boneyard—Jessie, Michelle, and Eva; to Janice Owen, a dedicated reader like none other; and to the bloggers and book reviewers who continue to share their love of books with the world.

Finally, the biggest hug and kiss of them all (and whatever else you desire **wink wink, nudge nudge**) goes to my husband, who is just crazy enough to keep me around.