Sweet Spot Read Online Free

you didn’t even get them out the door. You’re not very good at the whole stealing thing.” She sighed when he didn’t smile. “Look, you worked hard today. I appreciate that. You earned this. Take it or I’ll get really crabby and trust me, you don’t want to see that.”
    He reached for the money. “You think you’re really tough, but you don’t scare me.”
    That almost made her laugh. “Give it time, kid. Give it time.”

    NICOLE LED RAOUL to the front of the bakery, where she filled a couple of bags with day-old pastries and baked goods.
    “You don’t have to do this,” he said, even as he stared longingly at the half-dozen cookies she scooped up.
    “You can handle the calories. Like I said—it’s a perk.”
    “Are there other perks?”
    That question didn’t come from Raoul. Nicole didn’t have to turn around or even think to know who’d been speaking. And in case there was any confusion in her brain, her entire body flushed a welcome.
    She straightened, braced herself for impact, then turned. Sure enough, Hawk stood behind the case, smiling that sexy, you-know-you-want-me smile of his.
    He was slightly more dressed than he had been the previous day. Today his shorts were longer and his T-shirt covered all of his chest and stomach, which was both good and bad. In theory she should be able to think more easily. In reality, she was just a little disappointed.
    “What do you want?” she asked, not caring that she sounded snappish.
    “Interesting question,” he murmured, then winked at Raoul. “I came to see how my star player worked out. He impressed the hell out of you, didn’t he?”
    Nicole found herself neatly trapped. She actually liked Raoul and had been happy to offer him a job. But with Hawk there, she felt the need to say nothing had gone well and she was happy to be rid of him.
    “He was fine,” she said and handed the bags to Raoul. Afraid she would see disappointment in the kid’s eyes, she added, “Better than fine. He did great.”
    “I knew it.”
    “This isn’t actually about you. I know that’s an amazing concept, so I should probably give you a minute to wrap your mind around it.”
    Hawk chuckled. “Raoul, you don’t have to stick around here. I’ll see you at practice in a couple of hours.”
    The kid nodded and left. Nicole watched him go because it was easier than trying not to look at Hawk. The man was like catnip.
    When they were alone, Nicole suddenly didn’t know what to do with any part of her body. She wanted to back up…or move much, much closer. Her arms felt funny just hanging at her sides. But crossing them seemed too hostile.
    She hated this. The man had the power to make her feel awkward in her own skin.
    “You don’t still need to be here,” she told him.
    “I want to thank you for giving Raoul a chance,” Hawk told her, easing closer without seeming to move.
    Quite the trick, she thought grimly.
    “He worked hard. That happens a whole lot less than I would like. I gave him a job.”
    Hawk raised one eyebrow. “He did impress you.”
    “He needs the work, I need the help. Don’t make it more than it is.”
    Dark eyes seemed to stare into her very being. “You want people to think you’re tough.”
    “I am tough.”
    “You’re a marshmallow inside.”
    She stiffened. “I could have had your player’s ass thrown in jail. Don’t think I wouldn’t have done it if he hadn’t shown up today. I’ve been running this place for years. I know what I’m doing.”
    “Do you like what you’re doing?”
    “Of course,” she said automatically because it was always what she answered. She’d known she would run the bakery from the time she was eight or nine years old. It had been understood…expected. Hers wasn’t to be a life of many surprises. Lately there sure hadn’t been any good ones.
    Wait. There had been Claire. Reuniting with her sister had been good. Watching Claire fall madly in love, get pregnant, get engaged and find total