Sweet Seduction by Daire St. Denis

dough from the warmers. Yesterday had been rough, but she felt different today. It was just like the time she’d been dumped by her first real boyfriend in her sophomore year of high school.
    There’s nothing wrong with a good pity party, as long as it ends in a reasonable amount of time and you come back stronger than ever.
    That’s what her grandmother had said then and this morning, Daisy had woken up at 4:00 a.m. with Nana’s voice in her head, saying the same thing. With renewed strength in her heart, she’d jumped out of bed and gone to work, even though Bruce was on the early shift this morning. If he was surprised by her presence, he didn’t say anything.
    Lizzie was another story.
    â€œYou might need drugs,” she said when she saw Daisy working away in the kitchen. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of—most of us need a little pharmaceutical intervention every now and then.”
    â€œI’m fine,” Daisy insisted.
    â€œNo, you’re not.”
    Taking Lizzie’s hands, Daisy said, “Honestly. I’m fine.” She forced a smile.
    Lizzie narrowed her gaze. “Okay, if you’re so fine, why don’t you go deal with stalker dude?”
    â€œJamie’s back?”
    â€œHe said he’s not leaving until you talk to him.”
    Squaring her shoulders, Daisy said, “Fine. I’ll talk to him.”
    She took two steps toward the door when Lizzie called, “Wait. Hairnet.”
    Daisy put a hand to her head. Her instinct to pull the net off, but she stopped herself. What did she care whether Jamie saw her in the horribly unattractive hairnet? It didn’t matter. She didn’t care what he thought. Except that there were other people out there, too, and Daisy did care about them, so she pulled the hairnet from her head at the last second and tucked it into her pocket.
    The fact that her stomach somersaulted the moment she caught sight of Jamie was probably more a product of her stomach being empty than anything. It was an eighty per cent probability.
    Okay, maybe sixty.
    Forty-three.
    She marched right up to the table where he was sitting and huffed what she hoped was a sound of exasperation.
    Jamie responded with a cool, appraising gaze. His voice was deep and annoyingly calm. “Hey, Daisy. Why don’t you join me?”
    If only the man was a soft piece of dough that she could chuck at the ceiling. Or better yet, if only she had balls of dough to use as missiles. “You need to leave or I will call the police.” There. That should do it. She tapped her foot.
    Unfortunately, his lips curved up—not completely, but enough so that Daisy knew he was suppressing a smile.
    â€œCall the police? What have I done?”
    â€œYou’re loitering.”
    He shook his head, pointing at the numerous empty plates on his table. “I’m a paying customer. Today alone, I’ve sampled your cherry strudel, a cinnamon twist and three cheese buns. I’m not loitering.”
    Crossing her arms over her chest, Daisy countered, “You’re harassing the staff.”
    â€œHarassing the staff?” Jamie leaned back in his chair, looking as if he was enjoying himself. Immensely.
    Bastard!
    â€œYou mean the staff member who threatened me yesterday?”
    â€œWhat? Who?”
    â€œThat one.” He pointed at Lizzie. “She threatened to stab me.” Jamie rubbed his chin in mock thoughtfulness. “Or maybe she was implying that you wanted to stab me. Either way, I was threatened.”
    Daisy groaned. “I don’t want to stab you. Stabbing is too messy. We don’t need Health and Safety all over us.”
    He might be able to keep his smile in check, but something that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle rattled around in that stupidly big chest of his. “That’s what she said. Sounds like collusion to commit violence to me.”
    Daisy growled, her hands fisting at her sides.