Chapter 71

René glared at me. “Wrong answer.”

I leaned over and kissed him on the mouth, a lingering affair that melted all his ire. “Yes, I’ll be there. Noon on Saturday, right?”

“Yup,” he replied, sneaking another kiss. That was the benefit of being the first into the bakery in the mornings. No one else was around and we could indulge in each other’s mouths to our heart’s content.

“Who’s working for you here, then?” I asked.

“You know I’ll have the usual folks to help me out. It’s heading into busy season.”

“True.”

“Oh, by the way, Bryce has decided he wants to build a house from scratch, and he’d like to hire you to do it. Interested?”

I was sure I looked suspicious. “You didn’t force him to—”

“I would never.” That butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-my-mouth look didn’t fool me. I was getting to know René more intimately day by day, and I could tell he was up to mischief.

“I don’t believe you, but he’s your friend, so I’ll leave you to it. I just don’t want to get in the middle of something.”