Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
AVA
Five minutes after I put on my apron at No Name Bakery, Austin walked into the kitchen, startling me and Cindy.
He wore a dark puffy coat and jeans, looking like a model for some fashion magazine.
His hair was a perfect mess, reminding me of when I used to run my fingers through it.
It should be illegal for anyone to look this gorgeous.
Cindy and I exchanged curious glances.
What was he doing here at the butt crack of dawn? Wealthy men like him didn’t need to start their day this early. Even if they did, they’d be on their computers in the comfort of their home office. The plumber fixed the leak already, so he couldn’t be here checking on it.
“Morning!” He smiled as though he’d been up for hours. His eyes slid over to me and stayed. Heat bloomed all over me.
“Morning to you too.” Cindy waved. “Is there a meeting we don’t know about?”
“No meeting.” He took off his coat, hung it on the hook on the wall, and walked up to our table. “I want the baker’s experience.” He looked at me. “Teach me?”
My mouth dropped open. He should direct that question to Cindy, who had been his employee far longer than I had.
What was Austin trying to do?
Cindy looked at me, then him. “Sure! Grab an apron from the wall.” She pointed to where all the aprons hung next to a rack of bowls.
Austin pulled on a green apron and stood next to Cindy.
He watched and listened intently to her demonstration of pouring batter into the muffin mold.
From across the table, I studied him as I prepared my bread, for which I had to double the recipe.
The shop sold out of my sweet bunny bread yesterday.
Austin looked over and met my eyes. “Once I graduate from Cindy’s training, I’m heading to yours.”
Cindy laughed, and I smiled.
When the rest of the crew arrived, all were surprised to see Austin in the kitchen.
Everyone got to work, and the hours flew by.
I knew the shop was crowded from all the customer chatter that traveled back into the kitchen.
Cindy ran out to help Bianca, Rosie, and Donna, leaving me with Austin. My body became aware of his presence.
“Business has been great since you started.” Austin stepped over to my table, standing beside me. A smear of batter clung to the side of his chin.
Should I tell him? Or should I be naughty and leave it?
Though a part of me wanted to embarrass him, the better side of me knew I’d want someone to tell me if I had something unattractive on my face.
“You have a smear on your face.” I tapped my chin.
“Where?” He touched his forehead, cheek, nose, and neck, missing the smear on his chin.
“Right here.” I wiped the batter from his chin with my finger. “See?”
“Oh, thanks.” A smirk flashed onto his lips before I cleaned the dough off my finger.
I narrowed my eyes at him, and a silent conversation exchanged between us. This was what we used to do. We just had to look at each other and know what the other was thinking. I’d never been able to read anyone the way I could him. More so, no one had been able to read me the way he could.
Ava: You did that on purpose.
Austin: Did what?
Ava: Pretend you didn’t know where the smear was.
Austin: Don’t know what you’re talking about.
“I’m ready to learn from the best.” He flexed his fingers, changing the subject.
We both knew what had just occurred. Despite that, an icicle in my heart melted a little. Was I being too soft on him? I still hadn’t answered him regarding his explanation. Yes, I wanted to know everything. But I feared it would drag me through hell again.
I sectioned off a portion of dough and dropped it in front of him. “Knead it.”
He watched me knead the dough and mimicked my hands as I rolled it into a ball. But his dough looked oblong.
“Sorry about that,” he said.
The words drew my attention to his face, but he was talking to the dough.
“I’m so sorry.” He pressed the heel of his palm into the dough. “I knead you to forgive me, okay?” His attention focused on the dough. “Please forgive me.”
Normally, I talked to dough, ingredients, and supplies when I baked, but that was me. He didn’t bake or cook when we dated.
Was he indirectly talking to me? Was he asking for my forgiveness? My heart hammered as I pretended not to notice his conversation with the dough.
But sarcasm sparked in me. “Love is made of kneading, stretching, cutting, and shaping.”
“Sounds painful, doesn’t it?” Cindy asked.
“No pain, no gain,” Austin replied.
I should have stopped commenting, but my rebellious inner self was unstoppable today. “Love is an extraordinary pastry made of happy flour and sweet ingredients. Too bad some people add too much salt, yeast, and other distasteful things to the mix and ruin everything.”
The room grew quiet for a moment. I could almost feel Cindy and Austin holding their breaths.
What was I doing? I shouldn’t let the past be the damning ingredient to this day. “Love is a special ingredient the heart savors.” I looked at Cindy and then Austin. “Right?”
“Absolutely!” Cindy cheered.
I returned my attention to the lesson. “The next technique is rolling it into a smooth ball.” I demonstrated, and he followed with ease. We continued until we filled a baking sheet and covered it with plastic wrap, letting it rest for fifteen minutes.
While waiting, I busied myself with other tasks. Bianca entered, asking for Austin’s assistance.
When he stepped out of the kitchen, the room temperature dropped immediately. The sensation was probably in my head. Somehow, he still had a powerful effect on me.
Austin returned to continue learning how to snip the dough to form the ears. He beat an egg to coat the bread and slid the baking sheet into the oven.
For the next three days, I took paid vacation days from my main job to acclimate myself to the daily routine of the bakery. He showed up on those days to help out. On Thursday, I returned to my day job and stopped by No Name after work. Austin showed up thirty minutes after my arrival.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, knowing the bakery would close in three hours.
“I like it here.” He shrugged. “It makes me happy to see baked goods.”
“Oh yeah?” Bianca smirked as she carried a tray of cookies. “It’s always good when the boss loves what his shop sells.”
Standing next to me, Rosie elbowed me and whispered, “I think he means you—a lovely pastry.” She licked her lips.
Oh my god. I shook my head and laughed.
Donna and Cindy slid me a smile as they opened boxes and put supplies away.
“I don’t think so,” I whispered to Rosie.
Austin grabbed another tray of pies and followed Bianca to the front.
“Wanna bet?” Rosie wiggled her eyes. “The winner buys dinner.”
“No.”
“Why not?” Rosie asked. “I heard he was your ex.”
Curious, Donna and Cindy huddled around to listen.
“If I were younger, I’d date him,” Donna said. “But my Mikey wouldn’t like that.”
“What happened?” Cindy asked. “Why did the relationship end?”
I didn’t want to talk about my personal life with my new coworkers. Austin was the owner—their employer. Whatever happened between us should remain private. I didn’t want my negative experience to give an unattractive portrayal of him.
Austin seemed like a dedicated boss who cared for his employees.
“It’s the past.” I shrugged. “I just want to focus on the future, you know?”
“Understood.” Donna patted my back. “That’s a great outlook.”
Time flew by when I worked at the bakery. My shift ended, and I slid on my coat and waved to Cindy. Rosie and Donna were inside Bianca’s office.
I didn’t see Austin around. He had probably gone home already.
Wrong.
He was outside waiting for me. “Want to have dinner? It’s my treat for the bread lesson.”
“There’s no need. I’m a part-time employee. So you basically paid me to teach you.”
“Yes. But you did a phenomenal job.” His smile turned serious. “Have you considered hearing my explanation?”
No more dodging. I had to face this.
“I have.”
“And?” His eyes bore into me.
“Yes, I want to hear what you have to say.”
His eyes beamed. “Wanna go now? We can talk over dinner.”
“No. I’ll let you know when I’m ready.”