“Just go. I’ll kick your ass later.”
The older man chuckled. “As if you could. Later.”
When he was alone, Kai realized just how much of an ass he had been over the last week. He had grown nastier every day. So much so, his crew was barely talking to him, and May had said she disowned him. Evan had taken pity on him and taken him out drinking the night before. There had been more than one willing woman there. Tourists with time on their hands, wanting a good memory of the islands. With each and every one of them he had wanted to snarl. He thought he might have at the last one.
With a sigh, he realized he didn’t have a choice but to go see Jocelyn. It was that or drive himself and everyone he cared about insane. He checked his watch, then decided to call someone who knew Jocelyn’s schedule and would help him out.
Jocelyn finished decorating the cake and stood back to admire it. The cake was simple, just a child’s birthday cake, but it had been fun to start decorating again. She loved everything in baking, but decorating cakes had been a joy she’d had since she was a girl. As she progressed through school, she had realized that not many people had the innate ability to handle cakes. They weren’t hard, but there was a thin line between gorgeous and trashy. Most people didn’t know how to handle it.
“That is so cute,” Cynthia said as she stepped up beside her. “Winnie the Pooh was always one of my favorites.”
Jocelyn nodded. “Mine too. I hope they like it.”
“Are you kidding me, they’ll love it. I think we are going to gain more and more business with you around, especially after my wedding. That is going to get you tons of referrals.”
“I thought it was going to be small.”
Cynthia smiled, her dimples in full force. “It will be, but you are still learning about living here. It is all one little big town. Everyone knows everyone else.”
“May said something like that.”
Cynthia nodded. “By the end of July, you will probably be so booked up I will have to hire another baker.”
“Why don’t you go home and check on Chris.”
While Cynthia’s morning sickness hadn’t been too bad, Chris’s was getting worse. Something that most of the people who worked for him were taking great joy in.
“I think I’ll take you up on that. They already paid and they know to knock on the front door. She should be here in the next thirty minutes.”
Jocelyn shooed her out of the bakery a few minutes later and smiled at the silence. She had been busy since she’d had started working a week ago and she loved it. Every day she was up before the sun rose, but she had spent her afternoons enjoying Hawaii. There was nothing like walking on the beach every day, taking in the scenery, smelling that sweet sea air.
It was more than that. At first, she had issues with personal space. Hawaiians tended to stand closer than some other nationalities, and she had been bringing her pills with her to work, just in case. She did not want to have a breakdown in front of everyone. But she hadn’t needed it. Most of their customers were some of the sweetest people she’d met. They were open and friendly, but not prying as many of her friends back in New Orleans had been.
Jocelyn was bagging the plastic pieces for the cake when she heard a knock at the door. She turned, a smile on her face, and froze. Kai stood there. It had been a week since she had seen him. She walked to the door and unlocked it. “Hey, we’re closed.”
He gave her an odd look. “That’s good because I didn’t come here for the food.”
She felt heat fill her face. “Come on in. I’m waiting for someone to pick up a cake.”
He stepped inside, then around her as if trying not to touch her. It embarrassed her that he was acting like she might jump him if he touched her. Just because it was true didn’t mean she would act on it.
After relocking the door, she turned and found him watching her. Those green eyes hid secrets that she wasn’t sure she would ever know.
“What did you want?”
His lips curved. “I know you have tomorrow off, so I wondered if you were up to a beach day.”
She frowned. “How do you know I’m off tomorrow?”
His cheeks reddened. “I might have called Cynthia.”
For a moment, she couldn’t respond. Seeing a big, strong guy like Kai blush boggled the mind. Then, in the next instant, she realized what he had said.
“Cynthia didn’t say anything to me about it.”
“Yeah, I asked her not to.”
She crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “I meant what I said the other night. I don’t need anyone taking pity on me. I can make my own friends.”