The Baker's Man by Jennifer Moorman Read Free Book Online Page B

first hour or two, Anna wondered what drew half of the town’s women in for donuts or éclairs or dark chocolate truffles. When she finally noticed the way everyone seemed completely enchanted with Eli’s good looks and affable manner, she understood. Even the men in town, with the exception of Baron, were charmed. He talked about sports with the jocks, music and literature with the inspired. Anna spent most of the afternoon sweating like a pig in the backroom, baking and trying to keep the display cases stocked.
    At least baking was a distraction from the hollowness she felt because of Baron. It was also a distraction from Eli, from the way she wanted to reach out and touch him just to feel the intensity that rushed up her arms and made her stomach feel like she was riding the thrilling drop of a roller coaster, hands in the air, screaming with pure glee. She knew the feeling was wrong , but it came so naturally that it frightened her.
    She carried a warm tray of freshly baked mudslide cookies to the display case. Eli stood beside a table of four women, all held in rapt attention, and he laughed. One of the women reached out and playfully swatted him. A twinge of jealousy twisted in her stomach, and she looked away. Was the attraction a side effect of the secret ingredient? Did every woman in town feel the same magnetic pull to Eli? Did he turn them to pudding, too?
    Anna closed the display case and groaned. Deciding if her feelings for Eli were abnormal or real or manufactured was the least of her worries. She had a man, who had sprung up fully formed from a ball of dough, and she had no idea how she was going to explain his existence at all, let alone figure out what to do with him at the end of the day.
    Two hours later, when the bakery closed and she and Eli cleaned and put everything away, her stomach was in such a tightly wound knot that she felt as if she’d been spinning too long on the merry-go-round.
    Eli hung his apron on the hook and rubbed his hands together. “Finally,” he said. “You’ve been working like a machine today. Ready for a relaxing evening?”
    Anna wanted to say something, but she was afraid if she opened her mouth, she might pull a repeat of the twelfth grade rum incident.
    “You really are worn out, aren’t you?” Eli said. He crossed the room and untied her apron, pulled it over her head, and hung it on the wall. “How about you take a bath and I’ll make dinner?” he asked, pushing her toward the staircase.
    As soon as he touched her, all the confusing, conflicting thoughts and fears in her head melted. She felt warm all over, like she’d already slipped into a drawn bath. Eli untethered something inside her, and her body seemed to float above them, looking down at the only two people in the world.
    Eli grinned. “Your eyes just glazed over,” he said. He stepped away from her and turned off the lights.
    Anna blinked a few times. “I’m tired,” she said defensively, and because she had no idea what else to do, she climbed the stairs to an apartment that she could already imagine bursting apart if Eli continued to touch her. Walls would not be able to contain the energy that surged when he came too close.
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    Anna stood awkwardly in the open area comprising the living room and kitchen, hands shoved in her jeans pockets, and listened to Eli’s footsteps on the stairs. He walked straight past her and into the kitchen. He dug through the pantry and then rummaged through the refrigerator. Anna could do nothing but stand in the living room breathing in the scent of winter pine and hot chocolate.
    Eli finally stopped and looked at her. “Go take a bath,” he said and made a shooing motion with his hands. “I won’t burn down the place.”
    Anna obediently walked into her bathroom, but how could she relax in the bathtub when there was a stranger cooking in her kitchen? She sat on the edge of the tub and winced as she pulled the rubber band from her hair. Somehow Eli