“No. I’m usually a champion sleeper. Not tonight though. I have a groom’s cake to bake. I want it to be really special. I thought I might as well come down and see what I could come up with that was fantastic enough for this guy.”

“I used to be pretty good at helping you come up with designs.”

“I remember.”

“Want some help?” Worst-case scenario she said no, but he found himself really hoping she wouldn’t.

“No thank you. I’ve got this. You ought to get home and get some rest.”

“Aw, come on. Afraid I’ll steal your ideas?”

She raised a brow. “Maybe.”

“I might be able to show you a thing or two. I’ve trained under—”

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “I know. I know.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t say anything was wrong with being self-taught.”

“You didn’t have to.” She cleared her throat. “And I happen to know firsthand that it wasn’t good enough for you.”

“That’s not fair. You know I’ve always thought you have amazing talent when it comes to baking.” And he meant it. She had to believe that. “I remember when you’d read that the hardest dessert to make was a chocolate soufflé. You worked on that skill until you nailed it.”

She broke into a grin. “You ate chocolate soufflé fails for a week.”

“I wasn’t mad about it. Even the flops were pretty fantastic. That’s my point. You figure things out. You’re a natural. I always wished I could do that. It took years of training for me to learn that.”

She looked away.

“Look,” he said, feeling a little desperate. He didn’t know how to break through the wall she’d put up between them, but it was now or never. He pushed past the lump in his throat. “I know I hurt you. I regret it, and I’m so sorry that my bad choices hurt you. Can you ever forgive me?”

Her shoulders lifted slightly, but she didn’t say no.

Even though they were standing not five feet away from one another, it felt as if they were miles apart.

“I’d like to spend some time with you.” He proceeded carefully. “Let me help you tonight. It’ll be fun.” If she’d let him stick around, then he’d even postpone his departure until Tuesday morning if he had to. He’d have to drive straight through, but he could still get there on time—maybe not as fresh as he’d planned, but then, he hadn’t planned to step right back into those feelings he’d once shared with Kelly either, and here they were tumbling upon him again. “Come on. Please let me help.”

“Andrew York, are you begging?”