Chapter Twenty-Five
I blinked to clear my head and focus my eyes. I wasn’t hallucinating. My boss, and barely suppressed man crush, was at my house.
This entire day wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.
muI would wake up and tell Alicia about the completely bananas dream I’d had.
On the lawn before me, Lucas stepped forward, running a hand through his mussed hair, and my thoughts quieted again. “Hey, I know I shouldn’t just show up on your doorstep, but—” He frowned. “Did you just pinch yourself?”
“Nope.” I turned away, focusing on unlocking the door. “It’s nice to see you. Come on in.” I jumped inside and dropped my purse behind the door. Then I turned to face him with what was probably a maniacal smile.
He dragged his gaze over me as he climbed the porch steps. “Are you okay?”
“Good as a goose.” I nodded, determinedly not reacting to the stupidest thing I’d ever said. “How about you?” I scanned the street over his shoulder, wondering if any of the onlookers from this morning were peeking through their windows now.
“Great as a snake,” he answered, with a furrowed brow. “You seem a little shaken.”
“Not at all,” I promised. “I just need a minute to—” I waved one arm in a circle, then pointed at my couch. “You know what? Have a seat. Please. Make yourself at home. I’ll get us something to drink. Do you want coffee?”
“I don’t think you should have any more coffee,” he said.
I ran for the kitchen. I needed time to collect my thoughts and lower my heart rate, but of course, that was impossible. This was the absolute worst time for Lucas to show up on my doorstep.
Raisin passed me on my way through the dining room, then sat in front of his bowls.
I pressed a palm to my chest. I was in the middle of a breakdown. Did the cat not care? If I had a heart attack, who would feed him?
I pulled a bottle of water from my fridge and chugged it.
“I really don’t need anything,” Lucas called. “I won’t stay long.”
Slowly, my pulse fell back in the direction of normal, and I set the water aside.
Raisin bit my leg.
“Ow!” I bent to pet his head and redirect his frustration but something else grabbed my attention.
All around me, stacks of pink bakery boxes covered every flat surface. “Shit!”
“Sophie?” Lucas called. “Are you sure this isn’t a bad time? I can come back. Or we can talk tomorrow. I didn’t mean to blindside you like this. I had good news and I wanted to share it.”
I flung myself in the direction of the nearest boxes and heaved them into my arms. I ferried the stacks to the open pantry and tossed them onto the floor inside. “Almost done!” I spun back for another stack, then another, until the boxes toppled and collided over one another in an ugly heap.
“Really,” Lucas said, his voice scarily closer. “No coffee for me.”
I yanked the pantry door shut, and the whiteboard on my refrigerator came into view.
A list of upcoming orders for the Invisible Baker written in pink marker filled the space.
“Ugh!” I whipped the magnetic board off and turned it face down on top of the fridge.
Then I smacked my laptop shut, hiding the customized Invisible Baker wallpaper. Good grief!
Lucas was in the doorway when I turned to see if the coast was clear. His gaze drifted around the room, to the laptop, then me. “Do you know your shirt is inside out?”
My lips pressed tight, and I nodded remorsefully. “I had a stain and didn’t want anyone to see it.”
His expression turned bland. “Whose truck are you driving?”
“Alicia’s son’s.”
“Why?”
My last nerve screamed audibly before dying, and I pulled two glasses from the drying rack. “I’m having a glass of wine. Would you like a glass of wine?”
He didn’t respond, so I poured two glasses of merlot. He accepted when I passed one to him.
“Are those your parents?” he asked, motioning to the photos taped to the refrigerator, a few inches below where my whiteboard had recently hung.
“Mm-hmm,” I said, willing my racing heart to settle again. “They met in France when my mom was on a college trip. She never said where, specifically, but she gave me a few photos. Well, she gave me one, and I found a few others. His name is Bastien Allard.”
Lucas’s brows rose. “He didn’t raise you?”
I shook my head. “He didn’t know about me.”
“A shame,” he said, stepping close and looking more carefully at the image. “They seem happy.”
His words were a kick to the heart, because he was right. They appeared young and in love.
“I’ve tried finding him, but I haven’t had any luck,” I said. That truth suddenly felt like one more failure in an epic pile of failures. “Let’s sit in the living room.”
I led him back in the direction he’d come. I was deeply grateful he hadn’t seen the place a few months ago. Tonight, I realized I’d achieved a level of boho chic I didn’t know I loved until all the details were in place.
We took seats on opposite ends of the couch, a foot and a half of space between us. Then I told him about my SUV’s recent, public repossession thanks to Robert.
“Ah,” he said. “That helps explain your strong feelings against marriage.”
I toed off my shoes and pulled my feet onto the cushion beneath me.
I’d briefly forgotten he’d witnessed my comments to Camilla on the subject at lunch the day before.
I took a long, slow pull on my wine and savored the robust flavors of cedar and clove.
“She’s not speaking to me because of that outburst. We’ve never been in a fight, and I don’t know how to manage this,” I admitted.
Lucas stole a few looks at me before setting his glass aside without taking a sip. He bent forward, resting both elbows on his thighs. “You’ve seemed on edge lately. I guess you have more on your shoulders than I realized.”
I nodded and sipped again.
“You could’ve told me,” he said. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”
I took another drink and let my head fall back against the couch. This was my chance to tell him about my secret small business and the big fat omission of that information on the day he hired me. Now that the opportunity arrived, however, I still wasn’t ready.
“How about you?” I asked. “I barely saw you at work. You were in your office all day, but when I went to see you, you were gone. Is everything okay?”
He stared at me, jaw clenching and releasing. “I was looking into something.”
I took another sip as silence stretched between us. He didn’t elaborate.
The wine warmed my stomach and eased my tension.
I turned my focus to the handsome man seated one cushion away. It seemed so strange to see him there, in my space, at my home. He was a work person. Those people only existed when I went to the restaurant. Yet here he was.
Why was he here?
Did he already tell me?
Lucas cleared his throat. “I’m sorry about your ex-husband,” he said. “It’s too bad he’s making things more difficult for you than they already are.”
“That’s Robert,” I said. “Always reminding me I made the right decision.” I set my empty glass on the coffee table, and Lucas passed me his.
“I have a long drive,” he said. “You look like you need this more than I do.”
I accepted and raised the glass slightly in cheers. “I’m guessing you didn’t come here to talk about my problems.”
“No.” He chuckled and clasped his hands where they hung loosely between his knees. “But we can. If you want.”
I considered him a long moment. I wanted to tell him everything, and I wanted him to share his life and concerns with me as well. Would he, if I asked? “What were you looking into?”
His brows rose. Then his expression pinched. He seemed to debate something before finally speaking again. “Virginia Bonnie Black,” he said.
I froze. “And?”
“I don’t understand her interest in the Invisible Baker,” he said. “So I looked that up too.”
Is that why he was here? He found out I lied, and he came to fire me, quietly, I thought. A kindness, so I could preserve my dignity. Maybe he even planned to keep my secret, but he couldn’t trust me anymore, so he had to let me go. “And?” I asked again.
Lucas watched me closely, still debating something, it seemed. “I think it’s a good story, but it’s not hers to tell,” he said.
I sucked in a short, shaky breath. “You think it’s the older man’s place to tell,” I said. “The one you told her about?”
He rubbed long fingers against his right eye, then dropped his hand back to his lap. “I guess,” he said. “I stopped by tonight because I have a business opportunity.”
I wanted to talk more about the Invisible Baker. Perhaps long enough for me to collect my nerve and confess, but a business opportunity with Lucas wasn’t something I could easily ignore. “Tell me more.”
Lucas picked invisible lint from his pant leg, looking more nervous than I’d ever seen him. “I’ve secured the loan I need to expand the menu and change my business’s evening model. A new position comes with that change.”
I sat up straighter and let his words sink in. “You got the loan.”
He nodded, and the edges of his mouth slanted upward. “Yeah.”
A burst of excitement rocketed through me, and I leaned forward, careful not to spill my wine as I set it on the coffee table.
“That’s amazing! Congratulations!” I scooted over and my arms went around his shoulders in an instant embrace.
This was the kind of news I needed. Good things still happened to kind people.
“You deserve this,” I said, giving one final squeeze before setting him free.
No wonder he’d been so distracted today. His dream was coming true.
Lucas’s expression was cautious but slightly amused.
“Too much?” I asked, sitting back on my side of the sofa. “I’ve recently learned that I’m a hugger,” I said, smile growing. “I hug everyone these days, and I’ve had a rough one, so I think I needed this news as much as you.”
He smiled back, and we stared at one another for several long moments.