Free Mr. Black's Proposal (Part Two: A Billionaire Erotic Romance) by Aubrey Dark Page A

quickly. “Definitely not serious. It’s nothing.”
    “You’re not going to get married in Paris next week?”
    “No!” My face burned with embarrassment. “It’s nothing. Really.”
    “Mmmhmm,” Andy said.
    I scrubbed the glass harder, ignoring the fact that the display was spotless. Andy ignored it, too. He crossed his arms and waited. Finally, I blew out an impatient breath.
    “Can you get the orange sugar set up in the back for the birthday cake?” I asked.
    “Sure,” he said. Before he left, his eyes flicked over to the front door. I heard the doorbell jingle.
    “Heads up,” Andy said. “Here comes your nothing .”
    “My what?” I stood up, confused, and looked over to the front entryway. I was met by the now-familiar sight of tousled gold hair and brilliant blue eyes. My mouth went dry.
    Lucas.
     
    I stared at Lucas.
    “Hello,” he said. His hands were in his pockets as he ambled forward. His white button-down was wrinkled, I noticed. “I’d like to order one chocolate cupcake, please.”
    “Why are you here?” I asked.
    “Why am I here? Why are you here?” Lucas asked. His eyebrows were blond, too, and they drew together into a frown.
    “I told you yesterday that I had to go.”
    “You told me that while I was in bed. I thought you were going to the bathroom.”
    Lucas leaned his elbows over the counter, propping his chin up.
    “Well, I wasn’t,” I said nervously. “I was going back home.”
    I’d raced out of the Paris hotel with my purse and left everything behind, including my dignity. Staying wasn’t an option. How could I stay in bed with a man I didn’t even really know? It had all been a terrible mistake, and my chest tightened when I thought about it.
    “You just decided to up and leave.”
    “I told you I could only stay one night,” I insisted. “And it was already getting late in the morning, so I took your plane.”
    “I know that ,” Lucas said, his frown deepening. “I found that out when I got to the airport.”
    “Sorry,” I said, although I wasn’t. I couldn’t have afforded a plane ticket, and I wouldn’t even have gone to Paris if Lucas hadn’t conned me into it.
    “I had to fly commercial. Do you know how horrible it is to fly commercial? They make you wear pants.”
    He looked distressed at the thought of wearing pants on a plane, and the image of his naked butt came unbidden to my mind. His gorgeous, sculpted, naked butt. I blinked it away.
    “How terrible for you,” I said in a sarcastic monotone.
    “Half the fun of being in a jet plane is being naked in a jet plane.” He picked up a business card from the front counter and twirled it in his fingers. I stood there watching him. I had no idea what he was doing here in the front of my bakery again. “Did you make the pilot do any dives?”
    “In the plane? No!”
    “I love doing dives. It feels like you’re floating.”
    “Lucas—”
    “Come back with me to my apartment.”
    His eyes met mine, and I felt a rush of sudden heat between my legs. I hated that he had the power to melt my body. I looked away from him, unwilling to let him bully me again.
    “Why would I go back to your apartment?” I asked, pressing my lips together.
    “I think you know why,” Lucas said.
    “Tell me.”
    Andy walked back to the front with a box of cupcakes in his hands and a sneaky look on his face.
    “For the party,” Lucas said. “I changed the apartment decor and I’d like you to see it.”
    “Oh, are you doing that today?” Andy asked me. I screamed a little on the inside as he continued. “I can run the shop, no problem—”
    “No.” I spun back to Lucas. “I had other plans for today.”
    “Change them,” he said. “This is important.”
    “All of my clients are important,” I said, with such forced politeness my eyes were nearly bugging out of my head.
    “It’s fine, Steph,” Andy said. He raised his hand to push a strand of hair aside and gave me an exaggerated wink from behind