Page 35 of All the Ugly Things
Damn it. Had she not liked me touching her?
“Welcome to Crème, what can we get for you this evening?” A perky, high school aged teenager grinned widely.
“I would like one of everything you have left in your case.” Other than the three-dozen selection of cupcakes available, there were rows of pre-sliced cakes and plates filled with cookies.
“What?” Lilly turned to me, mouth gaping in shock. “You can’t be serious.”
The hell I wasn’t. If she hadn’t had these kinds of treats in so long, I’d let her try everything.
“You can try whatever you want so you know what you like next time.”
The cashier choked down a laugh before her grin stretched from ear to ear. “To go, I take it?”
“No. For here.”
“Hudson—”
I looked down at Lilly.
She had her head tilted back; lips parted in surprise. It was fucking cupcakes. A hundred dollars max, and no skin off my nose to give her something decadent. “Don’t argue. It’ll turn me into a dick, and I was trying to be nice.”
“You were?” Her nose scrunched in the most adorable way.
And hell. She was teasing me again. It was a blink in attitude she lost quickly but was probably so similar to how she used to be, before she was abandoned and tossed into the system.
Good God. I might do anything to bring that out more often in her.
If only there was time before whatever this was I was doing with her turned to utter shit.
“I can be nice,” I muttered and handed my card to the girl at the counter. “A glass of chardonnay too, please.” Looking to Lilly, her smile had vanished. “Do you want a glass?”
“Just water,” she mumbled. Her eyes scanned the glass container, but she’d lost her luster. “Thanks, though,” she finally said, as if she was remembering manners and how to use them. They tripped over her tongue on the way out and she turned, her focus now on the windows and the streetlights and passing cars.
Due to her reaction when I touched her earlier, I gestured for her to choose a table and followed her to one at the far side. She put her back to the wall facing the small eating area with only a few tables. Outside were tables with umbrellas, strung fairy lights and not much more room.
Once seated, I tapped my fingers to my knee. I’d done something wrong. Blown out the first shimmering light I’d seen on her and that made something sour curdle in my stomach.
“This was nice of you. To invite me here,” she said. Her hands brushed down her arms and she scanned the small dessert bar, never stopping on one thing for too long before moving on. “I can’t believe you bought everything.”
I shrugged and looked at the dessert trays being loaded. It was ridiculous. “What can I say, I have a sweet tooth.”
“You did that for me.”
I shrugged. No point in arguing. “So?”
She blinked then and pushed her lips to one side. “It’s been a long time since anyone’s done something nice for me.”
The urge to pull her into my arms and comfort her until she never felt any more sadness threatened to unravel me.
“Your chardonnay and water.” I jolted from the interruption. “We can either bring out your order at once, but it will require to set up a stand of trays, or in shifts. Do you have a preference?”
Hell yeah, I did. I grinned at Lilly and I swore she read my mind.
“All at once please,” she said.
When the server left, Lilly eyed my glass with a look I could only translate as desire.
For wine?
