Friends to Lovers (Heart of Hope 6)

“You’re coming. That’s that,” April said. “If you like cupcakes, they’ll be some there too. Petal said she’d make some.”

Well, if Petal would be there, maybe I could manage to go. “Yeah, sure.”

“Oh good.” April smiled sweetly. “Now, I need to get home. I’m exhausted. Little Bertie is still waking up twice a night.”

“I’ll get you home. It’s okay if I take off the rest of the day?” Jude wasn’t asking for permission as much as he was making sure there wasn’t something pressing that needed his attention.

“I’ve got it all covered here,” I assured Jude.

When they left, I sat in my chair and finished going through and assigning the intakes. We’d taken on another of one of our SEAL brothers nearly a year ago, and had an intern working with us this year. When I completed the intakes, I checked my watch. It was coffee-cupcake time.

For a minute, I wondered if maybe I shouldn’t be so regular in my daily visit to Petal’s shop. Not if the staff was talking about it. But this was the time of day I needed a blast of sunshine. So, I stood, put on my coat to guard against the October chill, and headed out.

“See ya in thirty,” Dina said, knowing where I was going.

“Yep.” I walked out of the office and turned up the street toward the shop. I wondered if maybe Jude and April were right. Maybe I needed to get out more. Date a little bit. It had been a long time since I’d been with a woman. Part of that was because it had taken me awhile to adjust to the fact that Lora wasn’t going to be waiting for me when I got home from my last tour. She’d sent me a “Dear John” letter saying she’d met someone else, and included the ring I’d given her just as I’d left for the tour when I’d asked her to marry me.

I was hurt for sure, but also, left in limbo. I certainly didn’t want to go home and see her with someone else. I hocked the ring and along with my savings, decided to come to Bismarck, North Dakota to start a security firm with my Navy SEAL buddy, Jude Mason. For the last year, I’d been focused on ensuring the business succeeded because I didn’t have a plan B beyond moving home. I was sure my mother would have me, but I couldn’t bear the idea of having to fall back on my mother to live.

I took my tie off and shoved it in my pocket as I made my way toward Petal’s. I’d dodged a bullet, I realized, by not marrying Lora. Afterall, it appeared she hadn’t been faithful to me while I was gone. She insisted nothing had happened between her and the other man. Instead, she said she realized she had feelings for him, and felt it was unfair to lead me on. I suppose it didn’t matter what was true. The end result was that she didn’t love me enough to wait.

My pace sped up as I walked the last ten yards to Petal’s, and I had to concede that perhaps I wasn’t the committed type either. I mean, if I was married to Lora, would I have this compelling daily need to see Petal? Would I be fantasizing about Petal in her pretty pink apron and nothing else while making love to Lora? Because for the last year, Petal had been staring in my erotic dreams and shower fantasy jerk off.

I shook my head so I didn’t look like a horny asshole as I opened the door to her shop. She’s your friend, I chanted to myself over and over. I wondered if there was something wrong with me the way I was fixated on her.

I’d met her last year when Jude and April were planning their wedding. At first, we were friendly, which wasn’t to say I didn’t notice her fantastic curves or lovely smile, because I did. But at the beginning, we’d developed a friendship. I was the best man. She was the maid of honor. She was April’s best friend and I was Jude’s best friend. So it made sense we’d become friends too. But within a few weeks of meeting her and spending time around her, I realized my daily trips for a coffee and cupcake weren’t really because I needed coffee and cupcakes. I wanted to see Petal.

That causes all sorts of issues for me because she was Jude and April’s friend. I wasn’t sure how’d they feel about me and Petal, but I knew if it didn’t work out between us, they’d side with Petal and I’d be the odd man out.

Plus, at the time, I wasn’t sure Petal was even interested in me beyond being my friend. About eight months ago, I tested the waters with Petal to see if she might be open to being more than friends, but she’d put me squarely in the friendzon

e.

She asked me to reach up to get a bag of flour off a shelf. I trapped her body between me and the counter as I did, watching to see her reaction. Would her breath hitch? Would her cheeks turn rosy red from my nearness?

“I love having a big bad ass friend like you around, Cyrus,” she said, taking the flour and then hurrying off to mix up a batch of cupcakes.

Friend.

So, I accepted her friendship knowing it was probably the right relationship to have with her.

I opened the door to her shop and stepped in. She looked up behind her counter and smiled radiantly, her dimples fully bared. Everything inside me went warm, including my dick.

She’s your friend.

2

Petal

He’s right on time. Cyrus entered my shop like he did every weekday. And like every weekday, he made my insides flutter just to look at him. It wasn’t everyday a romance alpha male come to life walked into my store. Well, now it was everyday because of Cyrus. Today’s suit was charcoal with a light blue shirt. It was unbuttoned and he had no tie on, so I could see the hint of crisp dark hair on his chest. He was a businessman now, but there was no looking at him and not seeing the lethal soldier he’d once been. He was tall, with broad shoulders. His eyes were dark and observant.

He smiled at me, and because he was usually a dark, broody type, when he smiled it was like a gift. “Hello Petal.”

His voice flowed over me like cream. Velvety soft and smooth. It made my insides quiver to hear him say my name. I had dreams of dousing him in icing and licking it off him while he said my name over and over. Just thinking about it now made my nipples hard. Thank goodness I had my apron on.

“Hello Cyrus. The usual?”

“Of course.”