Chapter 18 Stella
EIGHTEEN
STELLA
I woke up to Axel peppering my skin with kisses. We were in my bed—the first time we’d slept at my place in nearly two weeks since our foray into strip poker. He felt his place was more secure, so we had chosen to stay there most nights.
“Good morning,” I whispered, my voice still thick and heavy with sleep, as I arched my body back into him.
“It is good, but I think we can make it even better.” His voice was deep, scratchy, and so damn sexy.
He did make it better. Two orgasms better. Which meant I was in a great mood as I walked into Scandinavian Sweets’s kitchen when it was time for work.
“Hmmm… I’d ask how your day’s been so far, but I can see it written all over your face.” Luna was grinning widely at me with a coffee in her hand.
I started to tell her about my night last night, but she cut me off. “Nope. Save the juicy stuff for later because I haven’t had my caffeine yet, and if you want me to actually talk with customers today, I need coffee pronto. You can tell me about it later. All the details.”
Luna and I went our separate ways—her working the register out front and me in the kitchen finishing up a few things Isabel hadn’t finished before her shift ended earlier that morning.
It was nearing lunchtime, and I was rolling out some dough when the door swung open and Luna’s voice called out. “She’s in the back, stud. By the way… do you have any single friends?”
I looked up to see Axel walk through the door holding a bouquet of flowers, chuckling as he spoke to Luna.
“I will ask around.” He smiled at her and then turned to me and the smile grew bigger.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” I asked, not that I wasn’t happy to see him.
“I saw these and wanted to stop by and give them to you.” He held up the flowers, but set them on the desk in my office before walking back to me.
“Plus, according to Ruthie, the baby is very upset I didn’t bring treats to work today,” he grumbled, but with a smirk on his face.
I laughed as he made his way to me. “Well, thank you. The flowers are beautiful, and I think we can find something to make the baby happy.”
He knew me well enough to know that when I was knee deep in rolling dough, I couldn’t stop. It was one of the things that was done best when the consistency was perfect, and interruptions could throw it all off.
So instead, he walked behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and kissed my neck. “Mmmm…you always smell so good.”
I giggled. “That’s the sugar and flour and everything else in here, not me. Someone” —I emphasized that last part and turned my head toward him accusingly— “didn’t give me enough time to shower this morning.”
“So fucking worth it.” His lips were still pressed to my skin as his mumbled words came out.
It was. I would much rather spend that extra time wrapped up in Axel’s arms while he did delicious things to my body. Hence, no shower today.
Because his front was flush against my back, I felt the vibration of his phone as it buzzed in his pocket. He kept one hand wrapped around my waist as the other pulled his phone out.
“It’s Ruthie,” he said, letting go of my waist and taking a step to my side. “Probably a list of snack demands.”
I chuckled, knowing he was likely correct in his assumption. “Alright, read the list to me, and I’ll tell you if we’ve got any today.”
He leaned his side against the table as he opened the text, but he remained silent for several moments.
I looked up to see his face go from a grin to confused to very serious in a matter of moments.
“Is everything okay? I asked, realizing this may have to do with his job rather than treats.
He didn’t respond right away but typed away on his phone a little more before finally speaking.
“Apparently my parents are here.” His voice was solemn but not really upset.
“Oh,” I said stupidly.
Had he told me and I forgot?
“I’m sorry. Did you tell me they were coming?”
“No…because I didn’t know,” he responded, but his focus was still very much on what he was reading on his phone.
“Oh.” Wow, Stella, way to sound intelligent.
“Ruthie said they stopped by the office, but she told them I was picking up necessities.”
I snorted at Ruthie’s priorities.
“Apparently, they are headed back to their hotel to nap since the jetlag is hitting them hard. I am supposed to meet them for dinner.” His voice was very monotone, as though he was reading from a script.
I didn’t know what to say because I knew he didn’t have the best relationship with his parents.
“Do you want to have dinner with them?” I asked.
“I’m not sure,” he said, finally looking up at me. “Do you want to come with me?”
“I will if you really want me to, but I’m guessing if this was a last-minute trip, it might be for an important reason, so I don’t want to intrude,” I told him.
I didn’t want him to think I didn’t care, but I was worried there was something wrong, and since they didn’t know me, I might make things more awkward.
“Why don’t you meet with them tonight and see what they want to talk about, and I can meet them for breakfast in the morning after you’ve had a chance to see why they are here,” I offered.
“That sounds good. Thank you.” He brought his arms back around my waist and kissed my cheek. “Are you staying late tonight?”
“Yes, and I think since you are going out with your parents, I will have a girls’ night with Luna. We haven’t had one in a while. But if the conversation with your folks goes bad, call me, and I can come meet you somewhere.”
“Thank you. I’m sure it will be fine, but I will call you if I’m wrong,” he said, a small smile played at his mouth. “I’m off to get some necessities for Ruthie’s baby. I’ll talk to you later, ?lskling.”
God, I loved it when he called me that. It was such a simple thing, but it made my heart soar.
One of my favorite things was when he would switch back and forth between Swedish and English when we made love.
His endearments and sweet words were like food for my soul.
I only wish I knew what he was saying at the time and I didn’t have to ask him later.
“Okay, just text me later to let me know when and where to meet you for breakfast,” I said as he walked back toward the front of the bakery.
It took me a few moments to realize that I had just been standing in place, my hands covered in sticky dough, staring off into space and thinking of Axel. There was also a smile on my face that seemed to be there way more often nowadays.
It wasn’t that I was a sad person before by any means. I enjoyed my bakery, loved my friends and coworkers dearly, and was happy I had moved closer to home, but being with Axel brought out a happiness in me that I had never truly felt before.
I loved that I didn’t have to wonder where I stood with him. He wasn’t fake. He told it like it was—as long as he understood what it was—including telling me how he felt about me. He was open about having a future with me, which was why he hadn’t wanted to spend our nights apart.
I found myself daydreaming about him often, especially while I was baking or creating things in the kitchen, and I loved it. I realized I loved him, but I still felt it was too early to tell him. We’d only known each other a little over a month.
Half an hour later, I was out front with Luna, loading more almond cakes and Napoleonbakelser into the display case, when Milo walked in.
We both waved and greeted him as he came to see what items we were stocking.
“So, what are you and Axel up to tonight?” Luna sing-songed her question to me.
“His parents are actually in town, so he is going to have dinner with them,” I told her, hesitating whether to share more.
I wanted to ask her thoughts on the situation but decided I would wait until I had met them tomorrow morning so I could get more information.
“I was actually thinking we could catch up and have a girls’ night tonight,” I told her. “Facemasks, some wine, maybe paint our nails?”
“What, no invite to paint my nails too?” Milo asked with mock offense. “I see how it is. Well after this snub of the year…guess who’s not invited to my Dungeons and Dragons party next week?”
He paused and then held out both pointer fingers at each of us. “Boom! You two!”
“Ohhhhhh…noooooo… How will I ever live a full, meaningful life now?” Luna drawled sarcastically, making her voice sound like Ben Stein.
He rolled his eyes at her, shaking his head.
“Not that you wouldn’t rock a good bedazzled nail, Milo, but girls’ night is for girls,” Luna told him. “Plus, I have to fill Stella in on all my recent dates, and I don’t want your tender ears to hear some of those details.”
The look on his face displayed his confirmation that he did not, in fact, want to hear about Luna’s recent sexcapades either.
Milo groaned. “I’m going back to the kitchen.”
The second he turned to walk away, Luna turned to me. “However, I’m going to have to take a raincheck until tomorrow because I have the train wreck party tonight—also known as my sister’s wedding planning festival of spreadsheets.”
I cringed, knowing that Luna’s description was sadly not an exaggeration.
Luna’s sister Terra was the epitome of a bridezilla.
Terra was a decade younger than Luna and me at twenty-five years old, and her goal in life was to be a trophy wife—something she could not understand why we didn’t want as well.
“You want me to call you halfway through and fake an emergency so you can leave?” I offered.
“I appreciate it, but my mom knows all of our tricks and would totally kill me if I left her alone at this circus tonight, but thanks, bestie.”
“Okay, but call me if you change your mind,” I told her, feeling bad for her.
“I brought three bags of clothes for you to look through though,” she mentioned, reminding me of the giant bags she had planned to bring in this morning.
Before we donated them, Luna and I would raid our closets and offer each other our clothes we didn’t want anymore.