I groan, banging my head on the headrest. Hartley laughs at that.
“No, really! I really like your parents. Your mom is hilarious.”
“Well, she certainly loves you,” I say as I pull up outside of the bakery. “I’ll walk you up,” I tell her as I shut the car off and jog around to help her out of the passenger side.
The night is clear but even though it’s not snowing, it’s still below freezing out. We hurry up the stairs and I wait as Hartley digs her keys out of her pocket and unlocks the door.
“Did you want to come in?” she asks me and I’m not sure what to say.
“Uh, sure,” I say awkwardly.
I follow her inside and watch as she takes off her jacket and winter wear and hangs it up on the hooks by the door.
“Did you want something to eat? I’ve got a bunch of baked goods. I meant to bring some over for dessert tonight, but I forgot all about it.”
“I can take some back with me, if you want.”
“Great! I’m starting to lose counter space with all of this lying around.”
I help Hartley package up some of the cookies, brownies, and cupcakes that are stored in Tupperware all over the place. I try to sneak a few cookies, but I know that Hartley sees me. She just smiles to herself and stuffs some more cookies into the container.
“They’re good. Your place is going to be a huge success. Nothing left but crumbs.”
“Thanks,” she says shyly.
“Have you figured out a name yet? Did our brainstorming session help?” I ask her as I shove another cookie into my mouth.
“No, not yet. I’m narrowing it down though. I think,” she says with a soft laugh.
“If you need any more help, just let me know.”
“Thanks. I might take you up on that,” she says sweetly.
Her accent makes everything that she says sound like honey and hot tea. It slides over me, coating my skin, filling me with a sense of ease.
“Do you think it worked?” Hartley asks, leaning against the counter.
“Do I think what worked?”
“Tonight. Do you think they believe that we’re really together? Is there anything that we should do at the wedding or at the other dinner later this week?”
I try to think if I saw any suspicion on either of my parents’ faces, but they both just seemed happy and excited.
“No, I think they believed it.”
Hartley nods, glancing down at her shoes.
“Maybe… maybe we should touch more? Or kiss?” I say.
As soon as the words leave my mouth, I wonder where the hell they came from. I need to get out of here before I embarrass myself further.
“I’ll let you know if they say anything about it when I get home. See you later,” I say, practically bolting for the door.
“Thanks for the ride home,” Hartley says, following me back to the door.
“No problem,” I say as I grab the doorknob.
Something makes me pause though and before I can second guess things, I lean down and brush my lips gently against hers.
The kiss is barely a whisper, there one second and gone the next. It shouldn’t be a big deal, but for some reason, it feels monumental to me.
I don’t say anything else, just pull the door open and hurry down the stairs and back to the safety of my truck. It isn’t until I’ve started the truck and started to pull away from the curb that I realize that I left the Tupperware of desserts back in Hartley’s place.