Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
LYLA
I feel his eyes on me as I work. Part of me knows I shouldn’t be doing this, but the other half of me is enjoying not feeling like I’m all alone. I find myself laughing more than once at something he says, and it feels good…it feels really good.
Deep down, I know this friendship will never work long-term. The selfish part of me, though, isn’t ready to let it go just yet. I like the way he makes me feel. Even though we just met, and he’s still technically a stranger, I feel safe with him. It’s not something I’m used to feeling.
“You are killing me over here,” he moans. The sound of his voice curls its way around me, eliciting feelings that I’ve buried deep. I set the tray of muffins on the cooling rack before grabbing more from the oven. “Please tell me they smell horrible, and I’m not missing out on anything.”
“They smell horrible, and you are not missing out on anything,” I bite my cheek to hide my smile.
“You are a lousy liar,” he laughs, and I can’t help but join him.
“You're right. I am. Of course, they smell amazing. They have my secret ingredient in there. ”
“Which is?”
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret ingredient anymore, now would it?”
“I guess it wouldn’t,” he chuckles. His hand comes up to rub over the scruff on his face. He didn’t have any at the wedding, and I can’t help but wonder what it would feel like against my skin. His greys darken as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking about. I try to look away, but I can’t. It’s like I’m under a spell, and only he holds the power to break it.
“What are you thinking about right now?” His deep voice penetrates the air, sending tiny bolts of electricity throughout my body.
“Things that I shouldn’t be,” I whisper out the truth before I can stop the words.
“Maybe you should,” he says quietly. “You don’t ever have to hide what you want from me, Lyla. I know you’re scared, but I would never hurt you. I would rather die than cause any more pain in those beautiful eyes.”
I see the truth in his eyes, and more so, I feel it. It would be so easy to give in to what we both want so badly. I know he would make me forget…make me feel things that I shut down inside me. He would make me feel alive instead of this shell of a person I’ve been living in. His eyes drill into mine with such intensity that I feel it in every part of me. I force myself to pull my gaze away before I say something that I can’t go back from.
“I…I need more time.” I can’t afford to make the wrong choice. There’s too much at stake here.
“Then, I’ll wait.” I busy myself with wiping down the counter, anything to keep from feeling the emotions I’ve tried so hard to keep hidden.
“Lyla, look at me,” he says when I keep avoiding his gaze. I pull my eyes to him and see his greys soften. “I’m not going anywhere, so take all the time you need. Promise me one thing, though?” I nod my head, not trusting my voice to work. “My gut is telling me you are running from something.” I grip the countertop as fear edges its way in. “Just promise me if you feel the urge to leave, you come to me first.”
I blink as his words sink in. He’s figured out I’m running from something… he knows I’m hiding something from him, yet he still wants to get to know me. He wants to be the person I run to if I need help.
I lick my dry lips so I can speak. “On one condition.”
“Name it,” he says quickly.
“I promise to come to you if I need to leave, but you have to promise me you’ll let me go.”
I watch his eyes struggle with my words. I know it’s not what he wants to hear, but it's what I can give him.
“I want a compromise,” he says. “Friends do compromises.” His lip slightly turns up, and I can tell he’s trying to lighten the situation for me.
“What’s your compromise?” I bite my lip as my nerves hit me. His gaze drops to my mouth, and I immediately release my lower lip. I can’t help but feel I’m in way over my head already, and I haven’t even begun to dip my toes in the water.
“You have to hear me out on all the reasons why you need to stay.”
“That’s it?”
“There are quite a few reasons, so it may take a while, but yes, that’s it.”
“Okay,” I say, nodding my head. “I promise to come to you if I need to leave.”
“Good.” He breaks out into a grin, and my heart jumps at the sight. “Just remember, best friends don’t break promises, so it’s unbreakable.
“I won’t break my promise,” I laugh .
“I’m holding you to it. I would really hate to have to chase you again. If you are fast on sand, lord only knows how fast you are on pavement.”
“You wouldn’t come close to catching me,” I grin.
“Oh, I don’t know about that. If it’s something I want, there is no stopping me until I get it.”
His eyes have a gleam to them, and my body responds with such intensity that I have to grip the counter for support. Why do I get the feeling I just made a deal with the devil?
A smirk plays on his lips as he lifts his arms above his head and rests them there. The ink swirls around every inch of his skin on his arms and chest. It would take hours to look at it all. He looks dangerous and sexy yet sweet and playful all at the same time. I finally meet his eyes again, and the sweet and playful disappear.
I have no doubt that Jake Montgomery always gets what he wants, and if the heat swirling around in those greys right now is any indication…I’m his next target.
“I look forward to working with you, Lyla. I think you will be a great addition to our menu.” Laura smiles at me from across the table.
Knowing my boss doesn’t come in until later, I had Laura meet me during my break at work. We decided on three items she would offer individually on certain days and went over a drop-off schedule.
“Thank you for reaching out to me,” I smile.
If I can get a few more orders like this on a weekly basis, I could finally quit this job and be able to just focus on catering for Clara and building my business on the side.
“Are you kidding? When Meaghan called me and raved about you, I knew I had to meet you. She was right,” she laughs, gesturing toward her empty plate.
I made her my favorite banana muffin and went with a slice of apple pie, knowing she might like it for a cafe menu.
“My customers are going to love these.” She stands up and puts her bag over her shoulder. “I need to get back to work, and I know you do, too, so I won’t keep you any longer.” She puts her dark-rimmed glasses on top of her head and pulls me into a hug.
She reminds me a lot of Clara, and I immediately took a liking to her. Her kids are grown now, and her cafe is her baby. You can tell she loves the town and the people in it. I’m excited to see the cafe in person when I drop off my first delivery.
“I’ll see you on Monday then.” I walk with her to the door.
“I’m looking forward to it. I’m going to start adding you to the menu today,” she winks at me and steps outside.
We wave goodbye, and I clean up our table before heading back behind the counter. Julia left an hour ago, so I’m the only one here. She’s an older lady and keeps to herself, which I prefer anyway. She and I usually bake in the early mornings in silence, and she takes off as soon as the last items are baked. I tend to stay later, picking up extra shifts at the counter when I can.
I get busy refilling the missing items in the display case from the morning rush hour. I set a chocolate chip muffin down on the plate and can’t help the smile that stretches across my face when I think of Jake’s sweet tooth and our phone call last night.
We ended up talking for hours, and the time just flew by. He did most of the talking since I was asking all the questions about his family and growing up in Florida. I could tell he wanted to know more about me, but he never pressed me when I diverted the questions back to him.
I shared what I could on a surface level. He knows I grew up in Alabama and am an only child. When he asked me about my parents, I told him they weren’t in the picture and left it at that. At an early age, I learned to share the bare minimum with people. If you give them too much truth, it can be used to hurt you.
“Mmm. Something smells good. Of course, it always smells good when you are in the room.” My hand stills at the voice behind me, and I force myself not to fling the tray at him and run.
With a shaky hand, I place the last of the muffins in the display before turning and facing Al. He’s in his fifties with grey balding hair. He’s under the illusion that if he grows his hair out on the side and back, he can cover up the areas that don’t have any. He always wears a suit. Today, it’s an ugly color grey, making his white pasty skin look more sickly. His pot belly hangs over his belt as the buttons of his shirt strain to hold him in.
I glance at his beady black eyes before quickly averting my gaze. He’s the type of guy you tell your children to stay away from. There’s just something about him that screams I’m a sick perv. I try to avoid being alone with him at work, but every so often, I get stuck like this between shifts. He’s never once crossed the line physically, which is the only reason I put up with his slimy comments.
I badly need this job, but I swore I would never let another man touch me again unless I wanted him to. If he ever crosses the line physically, no amount of money would make me stay.
I don’t bother responding to his comment, but instead, I walk past him to get more pies from the kitchen. His cheap cologne hits me, and I swallow down the nausea that immediately appears.
“Always running away from me,” he murmurs, following me into the kitchen. “You’ve been here, what? Eight months now? ”
I nod my head and grab the pies from the cooler.
“Don’t you think it’s time you start to trust me a little bit more? I’ve been good to you. You get any shift you ask for. I even let you make your own desserts when you want to. I pay you in cash just like you want.” He steps closer, and my body stiffens. “Don’t you think you owe it to me to be a little bit more thankful to the one who is taking care of you?” His stale breath hits my face, and I feel the bile rise in my throat.
I hear the bell ring from the front door being opened, and relief washes over me.
“I need to take care of the customer,” I manage to get out. His eyes roam over me, and my skin crawls from the look I see in them. He’s turned on right now. I can feel it oozing out of him as his breathing increases. He smiles and steps back, enjoying my discomfort.
“Of course. Go take care of the customer, and we can finish this conversation when you are done.”
I quickly move around him on shaky legs and barge through the door, desperate to get away from the sick look in his eyes.
“Lyla?”
I whip my head up to the familiar voice. A voice that instantly has me fighting back the tears that are threatening to spill.
“What’s wrong?” He immediately scans my body like he’s trying to see any evidence that I’m hurt. “Lyla, talk to me.”
“I’m…I’m fine.” I take a deep breath and will myself to calm down. “How? How did you find me?”
He eyes me warily, and I can tell he knows I’m lying about being fine when I’m clearly not. “You really want me to answer your question and not address the fact that you’re shaking and look like you're two seconds away from either bursting into tears or bolting out that front door?”
“I’m fine, Jake…really.” His eyes hold mine, and it’s all I can do not to run into his arms just to feel that comfort that I know he will give me…that he wants to give me. Then I remember why I need this job and force myself to stand still.
I feel the air change when Jake glances behind me. His eyes change in an instant as they harden to steel.
“You must be Al.” Jake’s voice is lower than I’ve ever heard it, and there’s no mistaking the dislike rolling off his tongue. I glance nervously between my boss and Jake.
“I am.” Al puffs out his chest like it somehow will make him more intimidating than the tall, muscular man covered in tattoos in front of me. “And you are?”
“I’m Lyla’s boyfriend.” My mouth drops open.
I start to correct him, but he shoots me a look that has me keeping quiet. Maybe he’s thinking if Al thinks he’s my boyfriend, he will back off and leave me alone. Al’s has got to be stupid to do anything to piss off a guy who looks like Jake.
“She never told me she had a boyfriend.” His eyes dart to me.
“You never asked.” I stand up straighter and look him in the eye. He looks between us, and I can tell I just put a dent in whatever plans he had in his head. This just might work.
“I’ll be in my office if you need me,” he straightens his tie. A sheen of sweat now covers his forehead and scalp, causing his hair to plaster to his bald spot. “And no giving out free stuff to your boyfriend, or it will come out of your paycheck.” I watch him walk away, and I start to smile.
“Thank you for doing that. That was brilliant. There’s no way he will try anything now.” I turn to Jake, and my grin vanishes when I see him. He’s gripping the counter so hard his knuckles are white. The storm in his eyes is directed at me. “Why do you look so mad? I thought you would be happy. You scared him so bad, I’m surprised he didn’t piss himself.”
“What happened before I came in? ”
“What? Nothing…I mean, I got creeped out for a second, but he didn’t touch me if that’s what you were wondering.”
“What did he say?” His jaw is clenched tight as he forces the words out. “For fuck sake, Lyla, tell me,” he pleads, his eyes look tormented as he struggles to keep it together.
“That it’s about time I be more thankful to the one who is taking care of me,” I say quietly.
“Get your things. We are leaving.”
“I can’t leave. I need this job, Jake. I can’t just quit. Not until I have something else lined up.”
“I am not leaving you here with him. I saw the way he looked at you. God only knows what repulsive thoughts are going through his head. It’s only a matter of time before that fucker puts his hands on you, and I’m not taking the chance that it won’t happen.”
“Well, you don’t have a choice.” I place the pies on the counter and begin setting them up on the rack.
“Jesus, you are so stubborn.” He runs his hand furiously through his hair and begins pacing. “What if I told you I want to hire you? Would you quit then?” He stops and stares at me.
“You want to hire me?” I ask, shocked.
“Yes. My brother and I have been wanting to hire someone to do some light cleaning around our house and cooking. I can’t think of a better cook than you. You would be perfect.”
“You want to hire me as your personal chef and housekeeper?” Dumbfounded, I raise my eyebrow at him.
“Yes, it’s the perfect solution.” He walks around the counter, invading my space.
“You don’t have to do this, Jake,” I say, shaking my head.
“And what exactly do you think I’m doing?” His hand comes out to brush a piece of my hair. When his fingers graze my cheek, I feel that same familiar pull that I felt the night on the beach .
“You are making up some fake job position. I don’t need you to save me,” I whisper.
He steps closer and weaves his hands into my hair, grasping my cheeks with both hands and resting his forehead against mine. “Maybe it’s you who’s saving me…”