Chapter 5 Stella #2
“I’m adopted,” I told him. “My mother died when I was three years old, and I moved in with a foster family. My social worker never found any relatives living here, and I didn’t have a father listed on my birth certificate.
I was adopted by an older couple, and they loved to cook and bake with me. It was one of the ways we bonded.”
I knew this was some deep information and probably more than he really wanted to know, but he stood there attentively as I continued on.
“When I was sixteen, I begged my parents to let me do one of those ancestry kits so I could learn more about my heritage. They were reluctant at first, but eventually let me, and I found out I was over ninety percent Swedish and Danish.”
I smiled, thinking back to how happy I was to know about that part of myself.
“My adoptive father is also Scandinavian, though he’s just Danish, and it was his grandparents who moved to this country, so he’s never been there, nor does he have any real insight into his culture, but it still gave us something to bond over.”
“That is awesome that you shared that and didn’t know it,” Axel said.
“Well. In my new quest to learn more about my ancestry, I started looking up how to bake traditional Scandinavian desserts. I became mildly obsessed with it and decided to go to culinary school. After that, I worked for another bakery in Chicago, but I had always wanted to own my own. When my dad got sick a few years ago, I decided to move back home to be closer to him and also chase my dream of opening my own bakery.”
“Damn, girl, that’s a great story,” Tammy said, making me realize she had been standing there the whole time, and I hadn’t noticed because I was so caught up in reminiscing.
“And I’m really happy you decided to move back here, because I’ve had several of your desserts, and they are sinfully delicious.
They also go straight to my butt, but totally worth it! ”
“Thanks, Tammy.” I laughed self-consciously at what she’d said. I often felt awkward at people’s praise or compliments, especially if I didn’t know them all that well.
“Okay, but listen…hear me out,” Tammy said, holding up her hands. “I think if we put some of your desserts on our menu here, they would do really well. Have you ever thought about doing something like that? Partnering with a restaurant?”
“Umm, no, not really,” I responded.
I hadn’t actually thought of that before, but I wasn’t opposed to it. She gave me a couple of suggestions, and we tossed around a few ideas on how to make it work, with plans for me to get back to her in a few days.
As Axel handed a check to someone else at the corner of the bar, I looked down at my watch and was shocked to find I had been here for almost three hours, just talking and gabbing away with Axel and Tammy.
While I didn’t have to get up super early since Isabel took care of all the early baking, I also didn’t want to stay too late. When Axel walked back, I asked him for my check so I could head home.
“You don’t owe anything. I took care of it,” he replied, causing me to sigh.
“Axel, the whole point of me coming here was to repay you in some way for looking into Braden and helping with that whole situation,” I rebutted. “You won’t let me pay you for that, so I wanted to come here and be a paying customer while helping you with our weird English terms.”
“You are not going to pay me to keep you safe,” he replied.
“Axel, that’s literally your job. People pay you to do exactly that. Why can’t I?”
He stared at me for a few moments as though trying to choose the right words. “I will use a phrase to answer you that Ruthie often uses…Because I said so.”
I stared at him while saying nothing, partly in disbelief, and partly because I was giving him more time to add more in case he wasn’t done talking. When he said nothing, I realized “because I said so” was all he was going to give me, and that made me agitated.
Who said that other than a child?
I crossed my arms and repeated his words just to make sure that is what he meant to say. “Because you said so?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “Ruthie often says that to Jack when she does not want to justify her answer but needs him to trust her reasoning anyway.”
Tammy chuckled next to him. “Damn, I wish Ruthie and Jack were here right now to hear you say that.”
“Why?” Axel asked her.
“Never mind that.” She waved her hand dismissively at Axel before looking at me. “How about we do this. You can pay him by bringing more desserts…which I will eat for him…and his punishment is him watching me eat them in front of him.”
I chuckled at Tammy’s suggestion.
“That could work,” I told her.
“Problem solved!” She clapped her hands together loudly.
“I’m going to head out,” I told them both, leaning over to grab my jacket and purse.
“Wait, I will walk you out,” Axel offered, looking around to see if he’d had any new customers show up.
“It’s okay. You have to work. But thank you for the offer.”
“It is dark outside, and you have a man who sends you creepy letters,” Axel countered.
“You can just call it a night if you want,” Tammy interrupted. “We’re slow tonight and well past the dinner rush. I’ve got it from here.”
“You are sure?” Axel asked her.
“Yeah, you walk my favorite baker to her car and get her there safely,” she replied, grinning at me.
“Stella, stay here and wait for me to grab my phone and keys, please,” Axel asked me nicely.
As much as he didn’t need to do it, I still did as he asked and stayed in my chair for two more minutes as he gathered his things, typed something into the computer screen, and said goodbye to a man named Chuck who worked in the kitchen.
“Night, you two,” Tammy said from the other side of the bar, just as Axel walked around to my side.
“Thank you for waiting,” Axel said, putting his hand at the small of my back and guiding me toward the front door.
It wasn’t necessary, but it still felt nice.
We walked in silence through the restaurant and out the front door. I had scored a great parking space only three spots from the front door, so we didn’t have to walk far.
“You didn’t need to do this, but thanks anyway,” I told him as I unlocked my door.
“I know, but your safety is very important to me.”
“Why?” I asked him, genuinely wanting to know if it was simply because I was a client or if it was more.
He said nothing in response, but just stared and held my eyes for a long moment.
“Let me guess…Because you said so,” I teased, giving him a small smirk.
His face remained silent and stoic as he took a step closer, effectively boxing me in between him and my rear driver’s side door. He reached up to gently cup my cheek with his palm as his gaze raked over me, and I swore he was about to kiss me.
“Because you deserve to be safe,” he replied quietly and then used his hand to open my door. “Get home safely, Stella. I’ll talk with you soon.”
Okay…I guess no kiss.
“Goodnight, Stella.”
“Goodnight, Axel,” I replied, getting into my car.
He walked up to the sidewalk as I buckled in and turned on my car.
I had no sooner pulled out of the parking lot and was sitting at the red traffic light, waiting for my turn, when my phone pinged. My car read the texts out loud to me.
Axel: You never did answer my question about whether you think I am hot.
Axel: The sexy kind, not the temperature kind.
I chuckled at his clarification and smiled to myself.
I shot off a quick reply text.
Me: I’ll think about it and get back to you.
I even included a winking emoji at the end to tease him.
Then I made my way home, where I proceeded to think about this man the entire rest of the night, including in my dreams.