Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Maisie
I couldn’t shake the funk I'd been in all morning. Not even Janie's bubbly personality was helping and normally she could perform miracles on me. I couldn't stop thinking about my brother and what his note meant. Why did he want us to stop looking into things?
I was getting ready to give up working in front of the customers for the day. No one wanted to be served by a broody individual whose head wasn't into the job. I even had to ask some people to repeat their orders earlier. That never happened to me before. Then Kati and Annalee walked in.
"Hey, ladies." I tried to inject some enthusiasm into my voice but it fell flat.
"Hey, Maisie." It was Annalee who responded. "I'm sorry I haven't stopped in before today. It took me a little time to work up the nerve to come back in here."
Shit! I mentally slapped myself upside the head. With everything going on, I completely forgot to ask Hendrix how she was holding up.
"Please don't apologize. I should've come to see you before this, I'm sorry. How are you doing with everything?"
"I'm good. Owen's been great about keeping my mind off things. I took a few days off work and just got back today. I refused to stay holed up there all day, so I convinced Kati to come here for a snack."
Annalee worked as the receptionist for Hendrix's company. She also dated Hendrix's friend and co-worker Owen. Kati was a nurse and dated their other co-worker Easton.
"So the guys didn't send you here to check up on me?"
It was Kati who scoffed. "Like we would listen to them anyway."
I laughed. They absolutely wouldn't listen to their men. They liked to give their guys as much trouble as I gave Hendrix.
"That's true. So what are we craving today?"
"Crumb cake for sure." Annalee was practically salivating at the mouth. "But you can't distract me with your yummy baked goods that easily. How are you doing? Owen told me what's been going on with you."
I immediately thought about Matty again and my mood shifted. I used the excuse of grabbing the crumb cake from the glass cases as a way of breaking eye contact. I didn't want either of them to see how badly things were affecting me at the moment.
"I'm okay. I'm sure the guys told you Hendrix kidnapped me two nights in a row. I guess he was tired of me avoiding him after Halloween."
"Wait, what happened on Halloween?" Kati leaned over the counter.
Well, crap. I forgot no one knew about that night.
"Uh . . ."
"Nope." I looked up and saw Kati shaking her head. "Don't try to backtrack now. What happened on Halloween between you and Hendrix?"
There was no use lying. If I didn't tell them, I was sure Hendrix would as soon as they asked him. He would be more than happy to get the girls on his side. Not that he needed it anymore. I already decided I was all in with him.
"Fine. We ended up hooking up at the Halloween party, but I didn't realize it was him at first. He kissed the ever-living daylights out of me and one thing led to another. I'm not proud to admit but I practically screwed a stranger until he revealed his identity. Then I ran away. Then I did everything I could to avoid him. Clearly it didn't work since we're now in some kind of weird relationship."
I was out of breath from spilling my secrets as fast as humanly possible. It was a good thing the crowds died down in the bakery, and we were currently at that time of day when no one came in. Otherwise the whole town would be talking about my one-night stand.
Both Kati and Annalee were staring at me with their jaws hanging open and eyes blown wide.
"I can't believe you didn't tell us this before," Annalee gasped.
"It wasn't my proudest moment and it was only supposed to be a one-time thing. I wasn't looking for anything serious, but Hendrix isn't exactly the kind of guy who takes no for an answer."
I rolled my eyes and Kati chuckled. "I can see that. He's a bit intense. So tell us, how's the sex? I mean, it had to be good if you were willing to bang a stranger."
My head dropped to my hands with a groan and I mumbled, "It's so good. I blame it on his pierced dick."
"Wait!" Kati practically whisper-screeched. "Hold the phone. He's pierced?"
"I can totally see that," Annalee added.
I looked at her. "You can?" I wasn't sure if I was surprised or slightly jealous she was thinking about his cock right now.
"Absolutely. He's got that dark-vibe thing going on. I could absolutely see him as the pierced anti-hero in a romance novel."
"You know what? You're right," Kati readily agreed. "But now I want to know, what kind of piercing are we talking?"
I could feel my cheeks warming. I wasn't prone to blushing, but I also never had girlfriends to talk about this stuff with. This was all new to me.
"A Jacob’s ladder," I finally confessed.
Kati fanned her face and Annalee's eyes doubled in size.
"Does it feel as good as they claim?"
My mouth fell open in shock at Annalee’s question. She always seemed so sweet and shy.
"I'm not sure what the books say, but I can attest it's probably better. I've never felt anything so good in my life."
"Then why the hell did you spend so much time staying away from him?" Kati swiped at my hands in a friendly swat.
"Because he's intense and I knew he would never agree to a sex-only situation. I wasn't ready for anything more."
"But now you are?" Annalee was definitely the romantic of the group. Even if I didn't know she read all those romance books, I could see it in her eyes.
"Yes, now I am."
I couldn't tell them why I hadn't been ready before. It didn't matter how close I was to them. I wasn't sure I would ever be ready to tell them about the man I killed, or the fact that Maisie wasn't my real name.
"I'm happy for you guys. I know I've only been here for a few weeks but Hendrix seems like a great guy, and after what you did for me, I know how great you are."
I wasn't so sure she would think that if she knew everything about me but I smiled anyway. If we were ever in the same situation, where a gun-wielding individual was after her, I would definitely stab another man for her.
"Well, thank you. Now here are your crumb cakes. On the house of course, because the two of you managed to brighten my day."
"Oh no, we couldn't do that," Kati insisted.
"Oh please. After what happened in here, this place was so damn busy that I could close for a week and still be fine. I insist."
"Well, thank you." Annalee smiled sweetly. "I better get back to the office before Owen sends out a search party. I swear he was more traumatized than I was."
I waved bye to them and then went back to checking the stock in the cases. Now that my friends were gone, the good mood they had put me in went with them. I wished they’d come back just so I could take my mind off things.
Janie emerged from the back where she had been making a batch of cookies. I was slowly handing over my responsibilities and letting her make some of the desserts. I had to give her credit, she was pretty damn good. I hired her solely to work the counter but it was nice to see she could bake as well. It made me feel better about giving her more responsibilities.
"Oatmeal raisin are all done and I see your melancholy mood hasn't improved since I left." She gave me a stern look.
"What can I say, I'm having an off day." I didn't look her in the eyes as I focused back on what I knew best.
Baked goods.
"I can tell, and so can everyone else in town. I know you prefer to stay out of the gossip but I heard more than one customer today talking about it. They all want to know what happened between you and Hendrix. Is the honeymoon phase over already?"
I stood up and blinked rapidly. "Are you serious?" I huffed and plopped my fists on my hips. "Why does my mood have to do with Hendrix? Can't I just be having an off day all on my own?"
Small towns were no joke when it came to the rumor mill. I knew they meant well, but I swear sometimes no one thought about a person's feelings when they chatted amongst themselves.
Janie put her hands in the air. "Don't shoot the messenger. I'm just telling you what I heard already."
"Well, next time keep it to yourself," I snapped. "I'm going back to the office. I don't want anyone else gossiping about my mood or making up more ridiculous stories."
I pushed through the swinging door with more force than necessary but I didn't care. The nerve of these people. Thinking my mood had to do with Hendrix. Small-town folks would find anything to talk about, even if they had to make it up.
Guilt ate at me as I got closer to my office. It wasn't Janie's fault. She was just being a good friend and telling me what she heard. I needed to remember to apologize after I calmed down. She would brush it off anyway but it was the thought that counted.
I was so caught up in fuming over the rumors that I nearly missed someone standing behind my desk. When my brain caught up to what my eyes were seeing, I gasped.
However, I couldn't move my legs. Or my body for that matter. I was frozen solid when the male finally spoke.
"It's good to see you, Marmar."