Sleeping with the Enemy (An Enemies to Lovers Collection)

I’m in a far better mood today than I was yesterday. After leaving Hal to find his way out, I circled the block a few times and went back to the bakery. I locked myself in and started working my magic in the back. This morning, I picked up my treats to drop them off for Sam.

As a special thank you.

I grin to myself like an idiot. It probably looks amusing to the people who happen to look at me as they drive past. I can’t stop smiling. Ahhh, god, I can just imagine all of Sam’s coworkers getting a good laugh when they crack the box and hand those cupcakes around, compliments of Sam’s sweet as punch sister.

I think they’ll find those red velvet cupcakes extra delicious. They’re a bakery special.

I even used cream cheese icing and took care to ensure the fondant was wonderfully tasty.

Yup. That’s four dozen cupcakes I don’t mind serving on the house—four dozen cupcakes with nicely designed brown and white corgi butt on the front. I loved the red writing the most. Emblazoned on each cupcake in a delicate scroll, I wrote, my brother is an asshole. It took me all night to finish up, but this one will go down in history as the best payback ever executed by yours truly.

I’m in an incredibly good mood, but it all deflates the second I pull up in front of the bakery and spot Hal’s car. He’s not even bothering with being discreet now. He just straight-up double-parked and did not pay the meter in front of my building, taking up spots that could be used for customers with his freaking sleek black sixties muscle car. I’m surprised he got it out this early. There are still rocks and gravel and salt and such on the road, leftover from winter.

Then again, what does he care if he wrecks it? Money, possessions, and things all probably mean nothing to Hal because he has over a billion dollars to replace them with.

I wish I could just turn my car around and bail, but Sarah and Marla are waiting for me. Sarah opens up and gets our orders going for the day. Because we don’t do bread and stuff, we don’t have to be at the bakery at an ungodly hour, so Marla joins her around eight, and I come in at nine. I’m a little bit late this morning, but I did leave a note on the prep table saying I had a drop-off to do.

I already know I’m going to walk in and find Hal flirting with the two sisters in his vile way, but I’m still dismayed to walk into the place and see them laughing and smiling while Hal entertains them with childhood tales involving myself and Sam. And not in any complimentary light either, I might add.

He’s currently in the middle of telling the story where my mom was driving the three of us to the outdoor public pool on a hot summer day. They were older than I was, but I’m pretty sure I couldn’t have been more than five. It was across the city, and all of a sudden, the transmission on her car went out. She didn’t have a cell phone, so she opted to walk to try and get help. We weren’t close to any businesses, and I guess she didn’t want to bang down someone’s door to use their phone, so we walked, and walked, and walked some more. I was so thirsty that when I saw a small puddle on the sidewalk, I threatened to get down and lick it.

“No!” I stalk forward, and before I can even think, I grab Hal’s arm and drag him away from the two sisters. They’re bent over double, laughing like hyenas. I have momentum, and my rage gives me extra strength, so I forcefully drag Hal back into what I like to call the customer zone of the bakery.

However, my hand slips on the sleeve of his black dress shirt when I tug too hard. It slides off like butter and slips down to something warm and soft and alive. Flesh.

Argh! I nearly let out a yelp as a shower of raging sparks zaps their way up my fingers and into my arm. What the farge was that? I cradle my hand against my chest as if I’ve just been injured. One time, Sam dared Hal to lick a car battery my dad had lying around the house. He didn’t do it because I guess he does have some smarts after all, but I imagine if I had come along and licked it, it wouldn’t hurt any less.

Or feel any less…weird with a dose of what the ever-loving fuck?

I cross my arms quickly while Hal eyes my hand.

Sarah and Marla scuttle up to the front. They stay a few feet back, but I hear Marla hiss something about getting the popcorn because there’s sure to be an old-fashioned showdown, which is some mighty fine entertainment. Sarah hisses back that they don’t have any popcorn, and even if they did, while they took the time to pop it, they’d miss the show, so it would defeat the whole point.