Free Kate's Kisses (Sweet Treats Bakery) by Mary Manners Page B

and a dozen bottles of assorted flavors. He didn’t go for the fancy stuff with names as long as his arm, but a hit of strong brew might ease the throbbing that had set in at the base of his skull. “How about you pour a couple cups of coffee and we sit for a while?”
     “No, Logan.” Kate’s eyes narrowed as she shook her head. “Whatever business you have here in Mount Ridge, it doesn’t include me.”
    “OK, if you say so.” He rocked back on his heels. “But I want to talk to you about a new library. It’s what brought me into town.”
    That got her attention. He knew books were a passion of hers and that she’d lobbied hard for a new library in Mount Ridge for years before the project finally came to fruition, thanks in part to a generous donation from his parents. They’d always been fond of Katie.
    “You—you’re—oh, no.” The color drained from her cheeks, and for a moment, he thought she might topple over. There wasn’t much to her…still the same willowy beauty with curves in all the right places he’d fallen in love with so many years ago. The passage of time had been more than kind to her.
    “Oh, yes.” He undid the bow on the cute little white box she’d filled and lifted the lid. The chocolates almost spoke to him as he took one and popped it into his mouth. The blend of cherry, cream and chocolate was pure heaven. He leaned into the counter and licked chocolate from his fingers. “I’m supervising the project. We break ground tomorrow, nine o’clock. So, like it or not, I’m going to be around for a while.”
    “Well, let’s just get one thing clear—I don’t like it, and nothing will change that, Logan.” Kate took the box from him, added another cherry to replace the one he’d eaten, closed the lid, and double-knotted the twine before sliding it across the counter back to him. “I’ve got work to do—orders that need to be filled—so I think you should leave now.”
    “Is that so?” He grinned and forked five crisp bills onto the counter. “I’ll see you again soon, Katie.”
    “Don’t hold your breath.” She grabbed a spray bottle and a roll of paper towels and busied herself scrubbing the showcase glass. The doorbell jangled, signaling someone had come into the shop behind him.
    Logan dipped his head and tapped the little white box. “These kisses are good, Katie,” he whispered, “though nothing rivals the sweet kisses I remember…from you.”
    She gasped and a flush of color returned to her face before she turned her back to him. She ripped a paper towel, wadded it, and scrubbed the display glass as if she meant to bore a hole right through it. “Goodbye, Logan.”
    “For now.” He winked. “I’ll be back tomorrow for some of that coffee…and a few more kisses.”
     
    ****
     
    “Was that Logan Daniels?” Grace strode into the bakery with her four-year-old son, Adam, in tow as Logan sauntered out. Adam watched him pass, mesmerized by his height and the sheer power of him, Kate imagined. Logan had always had that effect on people—a kind of charisma that left others gaping as he walked away. She was doing it now—staring at him—and, disgusted with herself, she drew her gaze away and glanced at her sister.
    “Yes, it was.” Kate tossed the wad of soiled paper towels into the trash. “And he’s still the most insufferable, egocentric man on the face of the earth.”
    Grace let go of Adam’s hand and he raced to press his nose against the pastry case glass. Tiny fingerprints smudged the window she’d just finished scrubbing, but Kate didn’t mind.
    “It went that well, huh?”
    “And then some.” Kate stomped to the foot of the staircase. “You can come down now, Mattie,” she called, “so I can throttle you. Thanks for leaving me alone with him.”
    “You used to love being alone with him,” Grace chided as she eased to the counter to sample one of the cherries.
    “That was before he…dumped me.”
    “That sounds so crass,