Series: Little Cakes Series by Pepper North
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Lark felt her cheeks heat. “I’m so embarrassed.”
Wyatt—still holding her hand—gave her another squeeze. “Don’t. Really. I’m sure it was very scary. We see things like this all the time. Loud crashes—even ones that can later be explained away—are frightening. Especially in the dark. And with the echo in this empty house, I’m sure you jumped out of your skin.”
Lark was grateful for the way he put her at ease, not making her feel foolish for calling. It did feel awkward that he was still holding her hand though, so she tugged it free under the pretense of bending down to pick up the shelf.
“Let me get that. It might have splinters. It’s a rough board.” Wyatt bent faster than her and lifted the board off the floor. He leaned it against the wall next to the washer instead of putting it back in its place. “Might want to let the new owners know about the loose shelf. Someone should secure it to the brackets. If the cat was a regular inside the house, she might have liked that shelf and spent some time on it.”
“I’ll make a note.” Lark stepped back, bumping into the wall.
“Careful.” Wyatt steadied her by the elbow. “You’re still shaking.” He led her back to the kitchen.
She was trembling, though at this point she wasn’t sure if it was because of the crashing-shelf incident or the fact that she was alone in this empty house with a man she’d secretly been lusting after for some time.
“I’m fine.” To busy herself, she bent down to pick up the business cards that had gone flying all over the room when the shelf had scared her senseless.
Wyatt bent to help her of course. The man was so thoughtful. “The women who work at Little Cakes are taking one of my self-defense classes. We start this coming Monday. You should join us.”
“Oh. I don’t know.” She stood as she snagged the last card.
“Why not?” His brow was furrowed. “Self-defense is empowering, Lark. I’m not sure it would have helped against a harmless kitten,” he joked, “but at least you would have felt more confident in case of a human intruder. You have a dangerous job, working alone in an advertised empty house.”
“I guess. We’ve all heard horror stories.” She busied herself again by righting the stack of cards so she could put them in the holder.
Wyatt handed her his pile and then wrapped his hand around hers. “Lark?”
She lifted her gaze to his, her heart beating faster again. The man had no idea what he did to her, and she didn’t fully understand it either. “Yeah?”
“Talk to me. That’s twice now I’ve offered to get you into a self-defense class. You’ve balked both times. I’m going to get a complex soon.” He winked.
She flushed. “Oh. It’s not you. I just…”
“You just what?”
She shrugged. “I’m not very coordinated. Sounds kind of like a kickboxing class. I tried that once and made a fool of myself.”
He frowned. “I promise no judgement. Besides, it would be a private class comprised of people you know from Little Cakes and Daisy from the florist shop.”
And you. Her lack of coordination was only half the problem. The thought of taking a self-defense class—or any other kind of class—with Wyatt as the instructor made her palms sweat. She was awkward enough in such situations without adding lusting after the instructor.
“We’ll see. I’ll think about it.”
“I really wish you would, Lark. I don’t like the idea of any woman I know being unprotected, but the truth is I’m not offering the class to you as some random act of kindness.”
Her breath hitched. What was he saying?
He swallowed, looking vulnerable for the first time since she’d met him. Not so vulnerable that he looked away from her, but enough that he shifted his weight to the other foot. “It’s true that I do private classes for women, but in your case, I’ve intentionally made this happen because I like you, Lark. It’s important to me to help you be the safest possible.”
She swallowed hard. Was he serious? She had no idea what to say.
He stepped closer. “If I’m way out of line, tell me and I’ll back off, but I think you’re interested in me, too. You don’t have to admit it. I’ll earn your trust. I’m up to the challenge. Just say yes to the class.”
She blinked several times.
He gave her a half smile. “Say yes, Lark.”
“Yes.”
Chapter Two
At six o’clock the following morning, Wyatt finally gave up the idea of getting any sleep and climbed out of bed. He strode across the room to grab workout clothes, shrugged into them, and used the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, he was jogging down the street. He often went for an early morning run before his shift at the station, but he was off today, so he could have slept in. It was a Saturday after all.