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A Little Bit of Sweetness

Page 17

by Tatum James

I had no direct answer for why I got up a little early so I could bake an extra pan of caramel pecan cinnamon rolls, other than I wanted to do something nice for him.

Quinton mentioned that he’d given away his cinnamon rolls and wanted to get more. The least I could do was give him a personal replacement box. It took less than an hour for the tow truck to show up at the lot where they’d had the food truck festival.

They moved my truck to his shop. Once it was locked behind the fence where there were security cameras surveilling the area, I felt better. I didn’t need anything crazy happening while it was out of my sight. After dropping my boys off at day care, I headed to the shop.

It was right at six in the morning when I showed up. My food truck was parked out front and center, making me smile. I wasn’t sure how much business I would get with it at the back of the building.

As I drove further onto the lot, I was surprised to see that Quinton’s truck was already there. That was perfect since I wanted to give him the cinnamon rolls while they were fresh and warm.

I parked my car and walked over to the office. Business hours at the shop didn’t start for another couple of hours, so I didn’t know if he was in there alone or not. Even though it was a business, I knocked on the door before letting myself in.

As soon as I stepped through the door, I saw Quinton standing behind the service window. His locs were whipped up in a messy bun on top of his head, making him look even taller than he actually was.

Casually, I let my eyes rake over him. The signature gray uniform top was unbuttoned and showing the white tank top pressed against the corded muscles of his chest and abs. How was the man this sexy in a work uniform?

“Good morning.” He greeted me.

“Good morning. I didn’t expect anyone to be here so early.”

“I wanted to go ahead and give your truck a full inspection before I moved it out front.”

I sighed. “Please don’t tell me you found something else wrong with it.”

He chuckled. I didn’t know why he found my misery amusing, but I got a sense of relief when he shook his head.

“No, it’s only the radiator. I just wanted to make sure.”

“Thank God. I have something for you.”

“What is it?” he asked. His eyes fell to the pink box in my hands.

“Well, since you said you had to give away your cinnamon rolls, I brought you some replacements.”

“Oh, damn. I planned on coming and buying some more later today.”

“These are on the house. It’s the least I could do. I wasn’t sure if you drank coffee.”

“I was actually about to ask you the same thing,” he said.

“I don’t, but I recently added it to my menu. How do you take yours?”

“One cream and three sugars, nothing fancy.”

“So, you wouldn’t want a mocha or anything super sweet, huh?” I asked.

“Coming from you, I’m willing to try almost anything.”

“Coming right up, but don’t get used to this.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” he said, winking and making my heart flutter.

He held my eye contact for a beat too long before I shook my head and moved a few steps closer and placed the box on the shelf in front of the window. Without another word, I turned and headed out to my truck.

I couldn’t get caught up in anything with the man who was offering to fix my truck and let me use his lot. There was no telling how ugly things could get if things went wrong.

I needed my truck fixed, that was it. My truck, my business, and my sons were my only concerns. With a broken-down truck and bills piling up faster than I could calculate them, a man was my last concern. Especially the one responsible for fixing my truck.

Once I was back in the truck, I popped a couple of pans of biscuits, turnovers, and pastries in the oven. I set timers for the various cooking times before starting the coffee pots. Making breakfast had put my business over the top.