Page 26 of Win a Date with a Baker

I frown. “We’re clo?—“

The words die in my throat.

Elizabeth stands just inside the bakery with a paper bag in one hand and a chilled bottle tucked under the other arm.

She smiles.

“Am I too late?”

My exhaustion evaporates. “For you? No.”

She lifts the bag.“You mentioned that Russo’s makes the best pastrami sandwich in Vegas.”

My eyebrows climb. “I did.”

“So I stopped there.” Then she lifts the bottle. “And I figured getting through the concert deserved a celebration.”

Rachel slowly looks from Elizabeth to me then lights up like a Christmas tree. “Oh, this is adorable.”

I clench my jaw. “It is not.”

“It absolutely is.”

Elizabeth laughs. “I brought enough sandwiches for everyone.”

Rachel clutches her heart. “Have I told you I love her?”

I sigh.

She pats my shoulder sympathetically. “You’ve been replaced.”

I shake my head.

Elizabeth walks behind the counter without hesitation, setting the food on the prep table. Then, before I can even think to say anything, she washes her hands at the sink.

Not because anyone asked. Just because that’s what you do before touching anything in a bakery. I catch myself smiling.

She notices. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“You smiled.”

“I smile all the time.”

Both women just stare at me.

“...Fine.”

Rachel closes the register with a satisfied click. “I’m going to leave you two alone before Tyler combusts from having feelings.”

“I don’t have feelings.”

“Oh, honey.” She walks over, stealing a sandwich from the bag. “Thanks for the emotional support pastrami.”

Elizabeth is laughing so hard she’s bent over the prep table.

Rachel calls over her shoulder, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”