“Oh, sure, Nanna.” I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thank you once again for everything.”
“Stop worrying, princess. The store will be fine, and you’ll have your Prince Charming very soon.” She winked at me. “He may even be in this store.”
“No, Nanna.” I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
“I know so.” She looked back at Nick and Jeff and smiled contentedly. “That man loves you with all his heart. I recognize true love when I see it. He will be your husband, you will see.”
I stared back at the two guys, and all I could see was Nick grinning at me, while Jeff scowled into his phone.
“The eyes, the eyes tell the whole story. You can’t lie with your eyes. Yes, yes.” She patted me on the shoulders. “Look at his face, dear, and look in his eyes.” And then she walked back to the two men. “It was great seeing you both. I hope that you both have a great week. Nick, take my granddaughter on a date, you will both have fun. And Jeff, stay safe.” She turned back and gave me a small smile. “Bye, my love.”
And with that, she was walking out of the store and I was left with the two men.
Jeff strode over to me with a glare on his face, his fist clenched. “We need to talk,” he hissed.
“I can’t talk right now.” I shook my head at him. “I have customers.”
“You have me and Nick.”
“Sorry.” I bit down on my lower lip. “Not right now.”
“Betsy, I’m not asking you. I’m telling you.” He pushed his shoulders back and stood tall. He looked intimidating and very hot as he stood in front of me. “You’re going to go and give Nick a cupcake and cup of coffee, and then he’s going to leave and you’re going to close the store and we’re going to talk.”
“Um, excuse me? I’m not closing the store. You already know the store isn’t doing well. I need all the money I can get.”
“I will buy out all the cupcakes you have left, and I will order coffees for all the staff and officers working at the station today.” He stared at me. “I don’t care about the cost. We can deliver everything before we talk.”
“I-I can’t do that,” I stammered as I glanced at him. “That’s crazy. You’re not rich, Jeff.”
“Betsy.” He blinked at me. “We’re doing it. Go and serve Nick.”
“You’re so infuriating.” I glared at him.
“You know you don’t want Nick.”
“You don’t know what I want.”
“I was in your bed last night.” He grinned at me. “I know what you want.”
“My nanna thinks Nick is going to be my husband,” I blurted out at him. True, Nanna hadn’t said Nick, but I was pretty sure she had been talking about him. I mean, he had been the one staring at me the entire time she had been in the store.
“Is that what you think?” He pinned me with his gaze, and I pursed my lips. How the hell did I answer that question with Nick standing right there? I wanted Jeff to be my husband. I wanted him to be my everything, but if he was never going to want to give me a commitment, then I was going to have to move on. I was going to have to find someone who would really and truly love me, and if Nanna thought that that person was Nick, who was I to disagree?
Chapter 13
Jeff
“You had no right to tell Nick to leave.” Betsy’s voice was sharp as we walked to the police station with four boxes full of cupcakes. She continued complaining to me about my need to be a dominant alpha male and how she couldn’t believe I had escorted him out of the store. I just grinned to myself. She hadn’t been willing to take care of the issue, so I did what I had to do. And I had no qualms about being high-handed and telling Nick it was official business. It wasn’t like she had disagreed with me when I’d said that.
“It’s fine, Betsy,” I said finally as we stopped outside the station. “He’ll live, and I’m sure that you will get a chance to talk to him again soon.” I stopped myself from rolling my eyes or banning her from ever seeing him again.
“Hmm.” She glared at me, her breasts heaving as she studied my face. “What is it you want to talk about then?”
“Can we deliver the cupcakes first?”
“Sure.” She looked up at me. “It must be a pretty important conversation if you were willing to pay seven hundred and forty dollars for it.”
“With no discount, I might add.”
“I can’t give discounts anymore.” She smiled at me then, and I felt myself releasing a breath I hadn’t known I’d been holding in.
“Understandable.” I grinned at her. “I’ll survive without the hookups, but will Jules be able to?”
Betsy groaned. “You’re horrible.” She laughed, and all I wanted to do was kiss her. “What?”
“What what?” I asked as I stared at her lips.
“You’re looking at me funny. Do I have some frosting on my face or something?”
“Nah.” Then, because I wasn’t going to be able to stop myself from kissing her much longer, I added, “Let’s go inside.”
We walked into the station, and, of course, Max was standing at the intake desk chatting with Maria, one of the clerks. He looked up and burst into a grin when he saw Betsy behind me.
“Hey, sexy panties.”
“Max,” I growled at him, and he laughed.
“So gone, so gone.” He shook his head and raised an eyebrow at me. “What’s in the boxes?” He nodded his head toward my hands.
“I bought out the cupcake store, but you’re not having any, man.”
“Daammmn.” He let out a low whistle. “What sorta spell you put on my boy, Betsy?”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Officer Fernandes,” she
