Shane: One Night with a Rock Star

“Can I get you anything else?” I slipped a paper sleeve printed with pink and white hearts onto a large coffee cup, then slid it across the counter to the guy with the killer smile.

“How about one of those honey buns?” He nudged his chin toward the last honey bun in the case.

“Good choice.” I picked up the pastry with a pair of tongs and dropped it into a paper bag. He’d been coming in the past couple of mornings. If I hadn’t sworn off men forever, I might be tempted to figure out if it was more than my grandma’s secret honey bun recipe that kept him coming back.

He wasn’t my type. Tall and built, he had dark brown eyes the color of the chocolate glaze I dribbled over our eclairs. Even though the hint of scruff on his jaw made me want to reach out and slide my palm over his cheeks, his eyes were too kind. And his smiles came way too easily.

I tended to go for the tatted, muscled, broody bad boys who treated me like shit. But I was done with that. Done with all men. My heart needed a break and my head needed to focus on building my little bakery business into something bigger.

My bestie Abby and I had just opened the Corner Bakery a couple of weeks ago in our hometown of Silver Creek, Texas. So far, we’d been selling out of our specialty honey buns within an hour of opening each morning thanks to the students who attended the college in town. It had taken everything we had to move from idea to reality. I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize our future.

“Don’t look now, but your ex is on his way in.” Abby nodded toward the front door.

My stomach churned, making me wish I hadn’t downed half a pot of coffee for breakfast. I looked up in time to see Tad, my asshole of an ex, push his way past the customers who had been waiting patiently in line. He must have had a job in the area and decided he wanted to talk. I’d been ignoring his texts and voicemails for the past month. Ever since I found out he’d been offering a lot more on his emergency plumbing house calls than unclogging sinks.

“Britt, we need to talk.” Tad stepped up next to the honey bun hottie who didn’t move out of the way.

“I told you, I’m done talking.” I handed the guy his change and pasted on my biggest, brightest smile.

“Thanks so much, I hope you enjoy your bun.”

His smile faded as he side-eyed my ex.

“She’s my girlfriend.” Tad crossed his arms and puffed out his massive chest.

“Don’t you mean I was your girlfriend?” I hated it when he spoke for me and was about to give him a real piece of my mind when Abby sidled up next to me.

“I can take over the register if you need a minute.” Abby glanced from Tad to the line of people behind him.

“Fine.” I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction, but I also couldn’t afford to have him run all our customers away. “I’ll be back in two minutes.”

I could have suffocated from the smothering, sympathetic smile Abby gave me. She knew how much I’d given to Tad over the years. I’d supported him while he went through HVAC school. Then he decided he wanted to work for his dad’s plumbing business, after all. What he really wanted was for someone to take care of everything for him, so he didn’t have to grow up. And stupid me, that’s what I’d done. Until I couldn’t take it anymore.

I left the honey bun hottie standing at the counter and headed toward the back door. Tad followed me into the parking lot.

“What do you want?” I whirled around to face him, prepared to hold my ground.

He stepped close, crowding me toward the side of the building, his broad shoulders blocking my view. “I said I’m sorry, baby.”

“Don’t baby me.” I was done. Truth was, I’d been done for over a year. But being done and taking action were two different things. “We’re over, Tad. We’ve been over for a while.”

“That’s not what you really want.” He wrapped his giant paw around my arm.

“Get your hand off me.” I tried to jerk my arm away, but he held tight.

Someone came around the corner of the building. I recognized the rich, smooth drawl of the guy who’d just ordered the honey bun. “You sure everything’s okay?”

“We’re fine. Mind your own business.” Tad barely even glanced over his shoulder before turning his attention back to me. “It’s Valentine’s Day. I thought maybe we could go out tonight, try to get a fresh start.”

“I don’t think so.” He’d sucked me back in too many times over the years. Maybe I was finally learning from past mistakes. I pulled my arm out of his grip.

“Why not? You can make dinner at your place. I’ll bring over some flowers and a bottle of that wine you like so much.”

I got to my tiptoes and peered around Tad’s shoulders. The honey bun hottie cocked his head. “Gosh, that sounds super tempting, but I already have plans.”
Tad’s forehead creased. “What plans?”

Honey bun hottie stepped next to Tad. “I invited her to a concert. Hey, before I forget, I’ve got the tickets right here.”

“I told you to mind your own business, asshole.” Tad’s shoulders bunched up. Then he swatted the cup of coffee and brown paper bag out of the guy’s hands.

“Hey, that was the last honey bun in the case,” I said. Great. Why did I always seem to go for the major douchebags? Tad hadn’t seemed like such a jerk when we first started dating. But even then, the signs were there. I had no one but myself to blame for not putting an end to things sooner.

The guy didn’t look worried. In fact, he almost seemed to enjoy the building frustration simmering from my ex.
“You wanna get into it?” Tad balled his hands into fists.
Someone had to be the voice of reason. I stepped between the two men. “Cut it out. Tad, don’t make me call the cops.”

“Get out of the way.” Tad moved around me, his eyes intent on the stranger who’d come to my defense.
“Stop!” I grabbed onto Tad’s arm, but he jerked it away, sending me reeling.

I stumbled forward, and the stranger caught me. He snugged an arm around my midsection and pulled me against his chest.

He smelled fresh, like he’d just stepped out of the shower. This close to him, I could see the individual whiskers that made up the scruff along his jaw. I could feel his warm exhale on my cheek. My lungs seized, and I struggled to take in a breath.

“Are you all right?” He set me upright and risked a quick look at my face.

“I’m fine.”

“This isn’t over.” Tad narrowed his eyes, rolled his shoulders, and stomped toward his obnoxious, blinged-out truck.

“So that’s your ex?” Honey Bun Hottie asked.

“Unfortunately.” I grimaced. Now that I’d left Tad, I could see what a dick he actually was, something Abby had tried to bring to my attention multiple times over the years. “I’m sorry you had to get involved.”

He bent down to pick up the now empty coffee cup and crushed paper bag. “I didn’t have to. I wanted to. It’s not my MO to stand by and do nothing when someone’s being mistreated. Especially someone like you.”

“Someone like me?” The pressure in my chest let up. I gazed into Honey Bun Hottie’s dark brown eyes, not sure if I should be flattered or offended. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

His lips split into the kind of grin that would make most women throw themselves at his feet and offer to have his babies right there on the sunny stretch of sidewalk. But I wasn’t most women, so I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for clarification.

“Doesn’t mean anything, really. He’s got what, a hundred pounds on you? Seems like he ought to pick on someone closer to his size, that’s all.”

The tension in my shoulders eased. “I’m sorry about your breakfast.”

“I’m not.” He flipped the trash into the dumpster. “About that concert…”