Unable to Resist by Cassie Graham Page B

love—or like. But still.
    The past set my future in stone a long time ago.
    “True. So, no chance of you and Mr. Delicious getting together, then,” Liv adds solemnly.
    Having Liv say it out loud makes the sting a little worse. “Nope. Guess not.”
    No chance of it now.
    She wipes her hands on her apron and pulls me closer for a hug. I wrap my hands around her, thankful to have someone who understands that, even though I wasn’t going to pursue him, he’s the first guy in a long time to make me feel any sort of—anything. She may not know exactly why I hurt so much, but she could tell, even in her drunken state last night, that I was pretty taken by him. I’ve never blatantly sought out a man. Ever. So, this debacle really comes as a hit to my heart.
    Liv releases me from her arms. “So, what else happened?”
    I brace myself for the long haul and tell her everything. From the fact there’s nothing in the report about Dad supposedly being followed to the odd coincidence that there’s still no suspects.
    “You’re kidding me,” she spews. “This just keeps getting more and more out of hand. What are you going to do?”
    “Hell if I know. Duane is going to look into it and we’ll get together once he gets some answers.”
    Biting her nail, Liv nods and pats my shoulder. “It’ll be okay. Mia and me are here, and Jason is just a phone call away.”
    “I know. Thank you, but let’s get through the day, and have a fun night with Mia. I could use the distraction.”
    We fill the glass cases with cupcakes, cookies and pieces of cake, and get back to our routine for the day.
    With happy customers and a good time, we laugh and drink coffee with everyone.
    This is the exact reason why I opened a shop like this. I wanted people to come here and have a relaxing read while eating delicious pastries. I wanted the place to resemble someone’s living room. Somewhere people feel safe—comforted.
    I want this to be a second home.
    Once the last customer leaves, I flip the OPEN sign to CLOSED and sigh. Mia went home to pick up some movies and candy, and I decide to make a couple batches of cupcakes before she gets back. A head start is always smart, especially if today was any indication how tomorrow will be.
    Turning on my heel, I head to the back of the shop to my kitchen. I feel so blessed to have a top-of-the-line kitchen. Five ovens, a walk-in refrigerator, two sinks and tons of space to create anything I want. It’s no wonder I spend most of my time here, tweaking recipes and testing new creations. Just being here relaxes me.
    I feel a smile slide onto my face.
    Duane would make it better, though. It’s easy to picture him sitting on the island in the middle of the kitchen, with his feet dangling off the edge, smiling at the flour on my face. His legs crossed at the ankles while he balances his laptop on his lap looking over some case that he’s working on.
    Oh, wait. That case he’s working on is mine and that fantasy can’t happen.
    Ugh. I need to stop picturing him in my life, get a handle on my emotions and move past this.
    Chastising myself, I add the ingredients into my industrial sized mixer and wait for it to finish working its magic. I get a few dishes cleaned before I need to pour the batter into over-sized muffin tins and put them in the oven.
    Our monster-sized cupcakes are a big reason why I’ve made a good name for myself. Two people could easily share one and still have some left over. Hey, this is America and we like more—the bigger the better, Super Size it. Especially in the South. They love it.
    I prop myself up on the island and pull my glasses out of my purse from under the counter. Opening my eReader, I dig into my latest novel. It sounds cliché, but romance is my favorite genre. I love reading about love. It gives me hope that one day I can get over my shit and have love in my life again.
    Not likely if you shut everyone out.
    But, that being said, today I need to keep my mind off of