Chapter 14
Brittany
“Can I get you anything else?” I ask the elderly lady as I pour more coffee into her mug, and she gives me a small smile, replying, “No, thank you, dear.”
Giving her a polite nod, I walk back to the counter, trying my hardest not to trip over my own two feet because yeah, I’m that tired.
Bailey was up most of the night, according to Meghan, with colic, so I am exhausted.
I’ve been at work for five hours, and my feet hurt, my back aches, my boobs are sore and my head is still throbbing from yesterday.
It’s giving me one of those horrible migraines behind your eyes making it difficult for me to concentrate let alone walk in a straight line.
All night, I thought about those brothers that came in, the familiarity with them, how they didn’t scare me.
It was weird.
I felt like I knew all of them but one, the one with dark gray eyes and who had ‘enforcer’ on his cut.
He’s the only one I didn’t feel a familiarity with but I still felt safe in his presence which just doesn’t make sense.
I mean, I felt safe with all of them, and more importantly, I felt an underlying connection with the guy who had dark brown eyes, the one who walked in first and I was right. They do look exactly like Bailey’s.
My body wanted to gravitate towards him. My heart raced every time we locked eyes, yet he never addressed me as if he knew me from before I lost my memories, none of them did.
I would admit, I did maybe entertain that he was Bailey’s father but again, he didn’t address me like he knew me.
I sigh as I round the counter, my migraine getting worse with my thoughts all over the place as Annie brings out a tray of baked goods, and I give her a smile but it soon drops.
“One date….”
A muffled voice whispers, and I flinch at the sharp shooting pains and quickly rub my forehead like that would take the pain away.
“Bell, are you okay?” Annie asks suddenly at my side, and I swallow hard and nod. “Was it a flashback?” she questions.
“Yeah,” I croak as I rub my forehead harder, “It’s weird though, I hadn’t had one in two weeks, but since those brothers that showed up yesterday my head has been throbbing, like I know them but they didn’t address me like they knew me.”
Annie clears her throat and asks, “Did you see anything, or is it just voices?”
“Voices,” I admit as I squeeze my eyes tightly, trying to picture a person to the voice, but I just can’t, it’s all blurry.
Blinking, I give Annie a small smile and lie, “I’m okay,” but she raises a brow, not falling for it.
“Maybe you should take your hour break, Sky can bring Bailey in,” she says, and I go to shake my head, not wanting to take the out. Especially after everything she has done. The bell above the door dings and my whole body tingles.
What the...
I look and see the guy from yesterday walk in with an aura surrounding him, and my stomach flips as his eyes lock with mine, holding me in, and my mouth parts.
Everything inside me wants to rush into his arms, and I don’t understand why.
“Hey Annie,” he says, and Annie replies, “Hey D….you.”
I look at her with a confused frown – d-you?
The man chuckles, which sends a shiver down my spine, causing me to look his way again. Annie’s strange behavior suddenly at the back of my mind as the guy smiles at me, a dimple popping out, and oh my… I think my knees have just gone weak.
Amnesia, you have amnesia.
Right, yeah, I can’t even remember my name, and I have a daughter whose father could have potentially put me in this predicament. Though something deep down inside is telling me he didn’t, either way, I can’t even remotely try and flirt with this man. I’m full of lost, broken baggage.
Yet my body still wants to gravitate towards him, like he’ll make everything better.
So fricking weird.
“Can I get a coffee?” he asks Annie, who replies, “Of course, go take a seat, I’ll bring it over with a blueberry muffin I’ve just made.”
“The ones without laxatives?” the man asks with a raised brow and a smirk that literally can melt panties and I can’t even laugh at his words because I’m spell bound.
Annie sighs and says, “Yes, without laxatives.”
He grins, but I don’t even smile. Instead, I just look at him with confusion and fear. The pull I’m feeling is so strong, it’s scaring me.
Do I know him?
The man looks at me, our eyes locking, and I don’t know what he sees in mine, but his eyes soften.
So much confusion fills me. I’m beginning to feel sick.
“Join me?” he asks quietly, and my mouth parts in shock.
“I-I’m working,” I stutter, but Annie interjects, “Nope, you’re now clocked out,” and I look at her in shock.
She just said I could have an hour break and now she’s clocking me out?
I cannot sit with this man, and not because I’m scared of him, but because I’m afraid of what he represents to me, to my subconscious, which seems to want him with everything.
He’s familiar, and I don’t know how because he hasn’t made it clear that he even knows me but everything in me is telling me that I know him.
Annie’s eyes soften, and she says, “You haven’t stopped since your shift started. I messaged Sky, she’s on her way.” She nods to the man, “Go sit with him.”
I swallow hard and look at the man, and he smiles softly at me.
I chew on my bottom lip, trying to gather all my thoughts and see what my instincts are trying to say, but nothing is making sense.
Everything is all jumbled up making my migraine throb worse and worse.
“Okay,” I finally relent, and the grin that over takes his face, dimples popping on both cheeks, my heart flips.
Damn.
“I’ll bring you a hot chocolate, Bell,” Annie says, and I whisper, “Thank you,” as I walk from behind the counter, and the man holds his arm out for me to go ahead.
I walk to the back table where he sat yesterday and take a seat in the booth, expecting him to take the chair opposite me. I suck in a breath in shock when he sits right next to me. His arm gently brushes mine, and tiny little electric sparks fly up my arm, and I look at it with a furrowed brow.
What was that?
“Asher,” the man says, gaining my attention, and I look up, our eyes instantly locking. He smiles and, sensing my confusion, he says, “My name is Asher.”
“That isn’t a road name…” I murmur, my eyes racing between his, the spark between us pulling me, the familiar feelings suddenly settling my nerves, which confuses me even more.
“It isn’t,” he admits, “but uh, Axel mentioned your amnesia, so I don’t want to confuse you.”
Huh, I look at the table. That’s sweet, I guess and kind of makes sense, I think.
“Are you scared of me?” he asks, and I look at him again, our eyes connecting, his showing concern.
“No,” I whisper before admitting, “You, I don’t know how to explain it without sounding crazy.”
He smiles and says, “I’m surrounded by brothers, I can take crazy.”
I smile a little and confess, “You feel familiar and not like I know you in passing or something like that, but like you were regular in my life, but I know that sounds weird.”
Asher opens his mouth to say something as the bell above the shop door dings, and we look.
I smile as Sky waves at me and makes her way over and says, “She has been an absolute angel. She slept so well while I painted a portrait of her which I will be framing for you.”
A throbbing pain shoots through my head, and I squeeze my eyes tight as I gasp at the flashes of a black and white kitten going through my head.
“Bell, are you okay?” Sky asks with fear and quickly grabs my hand as my daughter murmurs from her car seat.
“Angel,” I choke as I rub my forehead.
“Did you have a memory?” Asher asks, and I look at him but wince at the pain in my head at the sudden movement, and I quickly rub it.
“I saw a flash of a black and white kitten,” I reluctantly admit, “It doesn’t help me figure out who I am though.”
I feel a rough hand on the back of my neck, sending those small electric sparks through my body, causing me to shiver and catch the hitch in my breath as I look at Asher. He rubs the back of my neck, a frown marring his face handsome face.
His touch, it’s so… familiar.
“It’s good though, Bell,” Sky says, gaining my attention, “You're getting flashes, which means you're improving.”
“Maybe,” I whisper, my mind not able to concentrate on how easy Asher’s touch is settling me.
Bailey makes a noise and I smile softly despite the pain in my head and I bend down, causing Asher's hand to drop. I carefully unclip my daughter, who's looking at me with tears in her beautiful chocolate eyes, and I gently pick her up, ensuring I don’t bang her head.
“Hey, sweet girl,” I whisper as I cradle her in my arms, and Sky passes me her soother.
“She had her bottle twenty minutes ago, but I’m out of breast milk in the freezer, so you’ll have to pump some more,” Sky says, and I look at her and smile.
“I don’t know what I would have done without you and the club,” I admit, and she grins.
Asher clears his throat, and I look at him to see him looking at Bailey.
“She’s beautiful,” he rasps, and I hum as I look back at my daughter because yeah, she is. He asks, “Can I hold her?”
I look at him to see his focus on her, and I don’t know why, but I allow it, even though I don’t know him. My whole body leans forward without my mind even catching up as I gently pass my daughter over to him.
He nestles her in his strong arms, and I have to swallow the lump forming as he gently runs his finger over her features.
Why does this feel so right?
“She’s perfect,” he whispers, and I look at her to see her whole attention on Asher.
She is.
“Whose her father?” he asks, and I look back at him to see his eyes on me.
I shrug and admit, “I still don’t know, but I think it could be whoever this is,” I show him my tattoo, “Hopefully I’ll remember someday.”
He nods before looking back at Bailey, and my eyes tear up.
I wish she had her father in her life. I wish I could remember, and for some reason, I don’t know why, I want to say it was this man, which is just ridiculous.
He probably has a wife and kids, a life, while mine is in shambles, with my memories not coming back anytime soon.