Chapter 12—Aspen
“You crushed it,” Miabounced on the balls of her feet in excitement as she helped Aspen load the back of her Rav-4 with the totes containing the samples from her catering presentation.
“You think?”
Aspen nibbled on the corner of her lip, looking for more input after her first-ever in-person catering pitch.
“Are you kidding me?”Mia slid the last plastic bin into the vehicle and placed her hands on her curvy hips.“Josh was searching for muffin samples like a kid snooping for hidden Christmas presents.”
Aspen had tallied quite a week.Between prepping for the catering pitch to hopefully land the gig to feed forty kids for a week as part of theFun4Summerhockey camp, and baking non-stop for her shop, exhaustion seeped into her bones.Yet she felt like she could soar.
A few days passed since dinner at her place and the smoking-hot kiss Connor claimed as his prize following their tv gameshow puzzle bout.Yes, she’d been running crazy this week, but the buzz of their kiss continued to be felt long after the actual event.His confidence, his assertiveness pushed buttons she didn’t know existed.What she found the most intriguing were the small acts of kindness like clearing their dinner plates, and the slight, genuine smiles he sometimes shared with her.
How did she reward him for his generosity and his electrifying kisses?She conked out on him on the couch.Even that didn’t deter her brutish prince from carrying her to her bed and tucking her in, making her feel delicate, cherished.Or showing up at the bakery to offer the space more TLC then she could ever reimburse in three lifetimes.
While she felt woefully indebted to the effort Connor was putting in around her shop, she couldn’t hide the fact she loved to see him work around the bakery.Just being in his presence fed a loneliness she hadn’t realized was part of her soul.And his body...
There were times she literally stopped mid-stir to watch his wide shoulders covered in a Van Halen t-shirt flex and twist as he worked various small and big projects around her shop.One of those big projects included Connor’s efforts to tweak the dastardly air conditioner that threatened to stop working at any moment.
He’d offered to buy her a new air conditioner on several occasions, but there was only so much she would allow him to do for her.The manual labor he provided around her bakery had to be enough; she had to draw the line at purchasing big ticket items for which Aspen was ultimately responsible.
In addition to admiring his body, honed to perfection, while he worked, their banter flowed easily.They teased, they joked, but they hadn’t kissed since the epic couch moment at her place.
Aspen appreciated the space but found herself more conflicted the more time they spent together.He was right, there was indeed some crazy connection between the two of them, but she had far too much going on in her life to explore anything other than a shared smooch.It all may be a moot point anyway.Maybe Connor’s lack of physical contact with her in the last week meant that he wasn’t interested in pursuing anything other than friendship.
She pushed thoughts of Connor from her head and focused on Mia, who had been talking non-stop.
“...and seriously I would expect you to be rewarded the contract for the hockey camp at any moment,” Mia nearly squealed with excitement.“Any.Moment.”
Aspen so appreciated Mia.She helped her get her foot in the door with this potential event and gave her the chance to dig deep into this new and exciting chapter in her business.A business that would allow her to compete with the big brand coffee store down the street that took away from her literal bread and butter.
With her supplies loaded, Aspen shut the back door to her vehicle and turned to hug Mia.
“I can’t thank you enough.I won’t let you down if I get this job.”
“Pfffft.As if,” Mia waved-off Aspen.“I think you had the camp leaders at the‘Abracadabra’muffins filled with zucchini and carrots that taste as good as any fruit-filled treat you make.You’re going to take the Denver catering scene by storm, Aspen.Just you watch.”