Chapter twelve Astrid #3
Penn starts coughing. “Oh shit.”
I shove his back, pushing him toward the door. “You should really be going.”
Bentley looks around the kitchen, his brows drawn together. “Why is everyone acting so weird this morning?”
When Penn turns around, the grin on his lips is lethal. God, he’s so handsome. I want to kiss him, jump into his arms and let him make me talk to God again, but…kids.
“I’ll call you later,” he says, winking at me for good measure. “P.S. I told you not to be so loud the other night.”
“Go to work.” I open the door and push him outside as he laughs.
“Have a good day, Astrid.” He drags his eyes up and down my body and then he smirks at me before jumping in his truck and driving away.
And as I watch him go, I wonder if this is what it would be like every morning if I just gave us a shot to be together out in the open, if I could find the courage to bridge that gap between friendship and something more—because choosing to be more than friends is something different than what we’ve been so far.
This time both of our hearts are on the line, and I’m not sure that I’m ready for the chance to be hurt again.
***
“It is with great honor as the mayor of Carrington Cove that I get to celebrate the grand reopening of a landmark in our town.” Tyler Lexington, our longtime mayor, stands right beside me on the small stage right outside of my shop.
Tons of people from the town are gathered outside, making my grand reopening a much larger spectacle than I anticipated.
When I glance over at Willow standing proudly in Dallas’s arms, I have a feeling I know who to thank for that.
“The Sunshine Bakery fed the stomachs and hearts of our citizens for over forty years, but now it’s time for a new legacy to take shape. Smells Like Sugar is officially a new staple in our town, and Astrid Cooper has shown us all what hard work and a dream can get you.”
The crowd breaks out into applause as the mayor hands me a giant pair of scissors.
He motions for me to cut the pink ribbon stretched across the entrance to the shop.
When the metal slices through the fabric, the crowd goes wild and I feel my cheeks grow hot.
“Congratulations, Astrid. I wish you an abundance of success.”
Tyler shakes my hand, his eyes beaming with genuine excitement for me. Then, I find Penn in the crowd, clapping enthusiastically with those giant hands. We lock eyes, and the fierce look of pride in his expression sends my heart soaring. And in this moment, I allow myself to be proud too.
Brandon never supported this.
But Penn does. He always did. He encourages me to explore who I truly am.
God, why does this have to feel so good and awful at the same time?
As the crowd begins to thin out, many head to the bakery and form a line out the door. When I slip inside, I am instantly bombarded with people coming up to congratulate me, commenting on how much they love the new look of the place and the new menu items.
Willow came through for me with fresh marketing materials and my employees can’t hand them out fast enough. The tables are full, boxes are being filled to the brim with new cupcake flavors and muffins, and the fancy new cappuccino machine I bought is getting put to good use.
“Are you happy with the turnout?” Willow asks, stepping up to my side once I finish talking with a customer.
“This is insane. I’m going to sell out before noon.”
She nudges me playfully. “That’s not a bad thing.”
“I know.” I take in a deep breath and smile. “This is just so wild.”
“You deserve this, Astrid,” she says, just as Penn and Dallas walk up to us. “And you deserve him too.”
I smack her arm. “Shhh.”
“Still keeping things under wraps?” she whispers as Dallas pulls her into his chest.
“The place looks amazing, Astrid. Congratulations,” my former boss says, halting our conversation.
“Thank you. But it was all Penn.”
The man in question steps up beside me and I nearly gasp when I feel his hand on the small of my back.
Did I imagine that? He knows we’re trying to be discreet, so why on earth would he make a move like that in public?
“It was your vision, Astrid,” Penn says.
I glance over to see how Tanya, Anthony, and Vanessa are managing the crowd, but the distinct pressure of Penn’s fingers on my spine makes me jump.
“Uh, yeah. But you did the work.” I take a step away from him and brush my hair from my face.
“I need to go help out. I’ll catch up with you guys later, okay?
” But I don’t wait for them to answer before scurrying behind the counter, checking the display cases and making note of what we need more of.
I’m in the kitchen, grabbing an oven mitt to take a tray out of the warmer, when I feel someone behind me. And by the way my body responds, I know exactly who it is. Penn wraps his arms around my waist from behind, inhaling against my neck. “I’m so fucking proud of you.”
I take the tray out and set it on one of the metal counters behind me with him still attached to me. “Thank you, but this is not the place for you to be so affectionate"
He steps back, his brow pinched, and gestures to the empty room. “We’re all alone, Astrid.”
“Yes, but there are eyes everywhere and one of my employees could come in here any minute.”
Hurt flashes across his eyes, but I can’t worry about that right now. My body is on high alert. This day, this moment was years in the making, and I can’t risk ruining it with a scandal that tarnishes my reputation.
Not today.
“We talked about this, Penn,” I say when he continues to stare at me.
“This needs to stay between us for now. Bentley is finally getting back to normal, Lilly hasn’t asked any more questions, thank God, but I don’t want her to get more suspicious.
Today is a huge day for the bakery and I have that benefit to worry about. The last thing I need is added stress.”
I can see him struggle with wanting to fight me on this, but thankfully, he surrenders.
Smart man. “Fine. Just promise me you’ll take out your stress on my dick when you need to.
” I roll my eyes as he steps up to me again, gripping my waist once more and leaning his head close to mine.
“And while we’re on the topic, when were you going to tell me about this benefit, huh?
I had to find out about it from Willow.”
I scowl at him. “I’m sorry, but when was I supposed to talk to you about that? While we were fucking?”
The smirk he gives me makes me wet instantly. I’m annoyed, but I love that even though our relationship has shifted, we’re still not afraid to call each other on our shit.
“You could have told me that between all of the ‘oh my God’s,’ for sure.”
I push against his chest, but he just pulls me in closer. “Stop it.”
“I can’t. I love hearing you scream for me. It’s become my new favorite sound.”
I draw in a deep breath and let out a moan as he dips his head down and kisses my neck. “We can’t do this here, Penn. Please…”
“Fine. But tonight, you’re mine. Make time, call your mom. Hell, I’ll tell my mom to go over and watch the kids. But I need to taste you again. I need to hear you scream.” He lifts his head and looks me straight in the eyes. “I need a reminder that this is real.”
Oh, this is so real.
“I’ll try,” I whisper before he lunges for my mouth, tangling his tongue with mine.
“Don’t try, Astrid. Make it happen. I know you can make shit happen when you set your mind to it. I mean, hell…we are making out in the kitchen of your bakery, aren’t we?”
“Shut up.”
He huffs out a laugh. “I can’t. In fact, I have many more words to say to you that I think you’ll love.”
“Like what?” I ask breathlessly.
“You’ll just have to wait to find out.” When Penn lets go of me, I turn to grab the tray of Danishes, and that’s when I lock eyes with Richard Cockwell through the small window of the kitchen door.
Oh God. He must have seen us.
My stomach drops and the tray in my hands nearly does too. I scramble to steady it, narrowly avoiding a dessert disaster. I look back at the window and Richard is gone.
“I’ll see you later,” I tell Penn, and before he can respond, I hurriedly carry the tray out to the front, my heart pounding violently.
Richard steps up to the counter and I swallow hard. Before he can call me out on what he saw, I speak first. “Hi, Richard! It’s so good to see you!” My voice is about three octaves too high and my smile must look deranged, but I’m going to fake it till I make it.
“Congratulations, Astrid. You’ve done a great job with the place.” He returns my smile, giving me hope that maybe he didn’t see anything incriminating after all. But I’m still on my guard.
“Thank you. And thank you for coming.”
“You know I had to come in to sample the new cupcakes...and get a look around.” He winks at me, and a shiver runs down my spine. He rattles off what flavors he wants as I start filling his box. “How have things been?”
“Crazy to say the least, and I don’t expect things to slow down until we get through the holiday season.” I move to the register and he follows me.
“Well, I wish you all the success. You deserve it.” Just then, Penn returns from the back of the bakery, glancing in our direction.
Richard and I are both watching him as he heads back outside to join Dallas and Willow.
I clear my throat, but Richard speaks. “You know, I’m still disappointed we never got that date. ”
“I know…”
He hands me his card and looks me dead in the eye. “But at least now I know the real reason why.”
A lump lodges itself in my throat. “I’m sorry…I didn’t plan this,” I croak out, my voice low so other people don’t hear me.
“Your business is your own, Astrid. I guess I should just be glad I found out sooner rather than later. I mean, part of me always wondered about you and...” He shrugs.
“Whatever makes you happy, I guess. Wasn’t Penn your late husband’s best friend, though?
” he asks pointedly, rubbing salt in the wound.
I shakily hand his card back to him and slide the box across the counter. “Yes, but—”
“Sounds messy,” he interjects, cutting me off. “But good luck.” With a nod, he grabs his box and heads for the door, leaving me standing there in shock, wondering how I was truly na?ve enough to believe that Penn and I could stay a secret, and what the fallout’s going to be.