Free Sugar Rush by Donna Kauffman Page A

couldn’t possibly even imagine. He was no stranger to battle.
    Yet, one look at her intractable expression, and he felt at a slight disadvantage. If they ever created Iron Pastry Chef , she’d win the contest hands down on glower ability alone.
    “I do apologize,” he said, moving a step closer. “Heartily, in fact. I’d intended to talk with you this morning, but we got rather—”
    “You got,” she corrected. “I was working, minding my own business. Literally.”
    Baxter studied her more closely and realized she wasn’t angry—well, she was angry—so much as flustered, which probably explained at least a percentage of her annoyance. The woman he’d worked with, taught, and been consistently amazed by, had never once been flustered. Not that she’d shown outwardly at any rate. At that moment, Lani was anything but the serene Snow White, whistling, so to speak, while she worked. Rather more like the dark queen. With something to hide. Namely, the reason she was flustered.
    Interesting. And so unlike her.
    He walked toward the counter, determined to get to the root of it. “I was going to say sidetracked,” he finished, smiling and determined to simply brazen it out. If she really was angry with him, she was going to have to back it up with an explanation. And if he was making her nervous ... then he wanted to know more about that.
    “If you’d wanted a meeting, you should have called ahead and scheduled one,” she said, talking faster, with more heat, the closer he got. “You come in, unannounced, and throw off my entire morning schedule—”
    “I’m sorry,” he said quietly, and sincerely. He thought it was probably the latter part that abruptly ended her tirade. He had meant it. He wanted to be amused by her flustered demeanor, rattle her out of it, so they could both calm down and get on with things. Instead, he found it bothered him. More so because he was somehow the source of it.
    It truly was the oddest thing, this protective feeling he had. A delightful Snow White she might normally be, but with that steel in her spine, he was equally certain she could handle all seven dwarves and the evil queen, with one hand strapped behind her back, and a smile on her lovely face. In fact, she often had, he thought, when he considered what the kitchens had been like at Gateau during a service crush.
    “That’s why I came early, during prep. My intent was to get a word with you, in private. To discuss all of this before it became news.”
    “Odd then, that you planted a story announcing your arrival in this morning’s local newspaper. Dwight Bennett is a good editor, but even he’s not that good. He’s not exactly keeping his ear to the ground so he can break the latest news in television entertainment. Why bother being stealthy and discreet, when hitting me broadside, in front of my customer base, will guarantee you get what you want? Alva is out there right now, telling God and everyone—”
    “You didn’t stop her.”
    “The National Guard couldn’t stop her.”
    Baxter tried to stifle the smile, but having met the tiny tornado, he thought Leilani likely had a point. “Then I’ll apologize for making my intentions known to possibly the worst gossip on the island. I didn’t intend for that to pop out of my mouth as it did, but her enthusiasm was contagious and I simply—”
    “Got carried away? Baxter, ever since your show debuted, you have women screaming at you all the time—and not in a bad way. Entire throngs of women get more than a little excited just by being within viewing distance of you. You’re surrounded by adoring fans every single day. And night, I’d imagine. You come off as this unassuming but incredibly appealing guy, who is somehow sweetly earnest and passionately alpha all at the same time. Throw in the accent, and you’re like ... the Hugh Grant of baking. I get that they can’t help themselves. But surely you’re used to it by now. So, it’s a bit of a stretch