She was in the middle of typing a thank-you email to the owner of the bakery when Joe, her regular delivery man, came rushing back into her office. “I can’t believe I forgot to give you this.” Though she assured him that no harm had been done, there was something about the handwriting on the note he handed her that had her wondering if that no harm sentiment was really going to be true.

Because, as she slid her finger beneath the flap of the envelope, she had the strangest feeling...

Kerry,

You know how many siblings and cousins I have, so I’m sure you can guess how many weddings I’ve been to in the past few years. I’m sure you already work with all the best bakers in Seattle, but I figured I’d send over something from one of my favorites.

I’ll email you my changes to the gazebo drawing later today.

Enjoy the cake,

Adam

Her heart started to pitter-patter before she could stop it. Romance was her job. She often found herself giving gentle tutoring to her grooms on how to continue wooing their brides both before and after the wedding. She knew all the tricks, and yet this wooing was just subtle enough, and sweet enough, to get over even her walls.

Walls that were supposed to be particularly high and thick when it came to men like Adam.

Walls that suddenly looked like they might need some reinforcements to make sure they stayed strong.

He’d given her his email address during their meeting, so she quickly deleted the email to the bakery and sent him one instead.

Adam,

Silver’s Bakery is one of my favorites, and the miniature cakes were delicious. Thank you for sending them to me.

I’m looking forward to receiving your new sketch of the gazebo.

Best,

Kerry

There. Done and dealt with in a professional but gracious manner. Surely the fact that she’d thanked him for his surprise without gushing like a teenager with a crush would show him that she’d meant it when she said she wasn’t interested in dating him.

* * *

Alas, she’d known it wouldn’t be that easy to shake off a man like Adam Sullivan, hadn’t she, even though their email correspondence throughout the rest of that day about his changes to the gazebo—which she thought were great—had been perfectly professional. Because when the next little box came the following morning, hadn’t a part of her been waiting, and secretly hoping, for it?

Perhaps she should have refused to accept this second delivery from Joe, who remembered the card this time. At the very least, she should have told Joe to stop looking at her as if he knew there was romance in the air.

There most certainly was not any romance heading Kerry’s way.

But when she didn’t recognize the company logo on the pretty sea-green box, her curiosity got the best of her. She’d never be able to stand not taking at least a quick peek to see what he’d decided to send her today. Another delicious baked treat? Or...?

When she lifted the cover, she was more than a little surprised to see that Adam had mailed her candy this time. But not just any candy—gorgeous sugared, sparkly seashells and starfish and even one mini-meringue shaped like a wave about to crash onto the shore. Some looked to be sour, others sweet, but they were all beautiful.

And, as she soon found out when she popped one into her mouth, incredibly delicious, too.

She knew she was going to eat the entire box of candy by the end of the day. Unfortunately, the threat the candy posed to her hips wasn’t her biggest problem. Not even close.

No, what had her truly worried was the fact that, as curious as she’d been about the contents of today’s gift box, she was much more curious about what Adam had written in his second note to her. Especially when his gift was so perfectly spot-on for her tastes that it was almost as though meeting her only once had been enough for him to see through to all her secret delights.

Kerry,

You know that big family of mine? One of my cousins out in Maine is a genius with sugar. It’s just a hobby for now, but I’ve been trying to convince her to go pro.

What do you think?

Adam

Seriously? He was not only sweet enough to volunteer to build the gazebo for Rafe and Brooke’s wedding, but he was trying to encourage one of his cousins to turn her candy-making hobby into a career?

Kerry pushed back from her desk and walked out into the garden her mother had planted a little more than two decades ago. The roses were in full bloom, but today Kerry was so caught up in her spinning thoughts that she barely noticed them. Especially when she was still licking crystallized sugar from her fingers.

From the first moment she’d seen Adam standing across the room, she’d known he was a lady killer through and through. Now, however, she saw the error of her thinking—she’d assumed he used the same tired moves every other player did. Compliments, flowers and, of course, those ridiculously hot bedroom eyes.

But he was too smart for that. No, the game he was playing was on another level entirely.

He wasn’t just trying to charm her with his gifts, he was also managing to help her source her business and showing her yet again that his family was important to him.

What was he going to send tomorrow?

The question jumped into her head before she could stop it, and that was when she knew that she needed to put a stop to his gifts. She’d call him up and say—

From the garden, the bell rang, announcing her first appointment of the day, and also snapping her out of her wild thoughts.

She was being silly. Adam Sullivan was one of the most successful architects in Seattle, with beautiful women constantly vying for his attention. He hadn’t actually asked her out again. She was just jumping to conclusions because a secret little part of her wanted him to be pining for her.