Chapter 5
5
EMMY
I was getting pretty good at moving around on this boot. As I stepped out of my car onto Tobias’s driveway and opened my trunk, I couldn’t help but smile to myself. This had been the day from hell, but picking up groceries to make dinner had been the bright spot.
The driveway was empty, which meant Tobias was still at work. That would give me a little while to get dinner started at least.
Breakfast had been a bust. He wasn’t joking when he said he had nothing in his kitchen. No salt, no pepper, no milk, no eggs… Nothing. He did have a six-pack of beer—packaging included, with two beers missing. But that was it.
I’d just finished unloading the rest of the groceries into the fridge when I heard the key in the lock. Tobias had given me an extra key, which felt pretty serious, considering we’d just met, but I was only his guest. There was nothing romantic about it, aside from that kiss that had blown my mind.
Definitely the best kiss of my life. Nothing that came before even compared.
“I’m home.” He stopped just inside the doorway. “You went to the store? I was going to offer to take you to dinner.”
I paused, a carton of milk in my left hand, and looked back at him. He was covered in dust but still hot as hell. I’d forgotten just how hot he was in the nine hours I’d been away from him.
“I figured I’d treat you tonight,” I said. “I hope you like chicken. I bought a few other groceries too.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
I shook my head. “It’s for me as much as you. I bought some sodas and cereal for breakfast. But I also got ingredients to make cinnamon rolls.”
He was going to love my cinnamon rolls. They were one of my specialties. I planned to make them a big part of my bakery—if I could ever get the funding for it. That was looking more unlikely than ever.
“I’m going to take a quick shower,” he said. “I don’t want to come to the table dirty.”
With that he headed toward his bathroom, leaving me fighting to shut out thoughts of him standing naked in his shower, water flowing over that perfect body in streams. Last night I’d wondered if he’d thought that about me at the mention of a shower. Turned out, I was the one who had her mind in the gutter.
But if I focused on it too much, it would throw off my cooking game. I needed to focus—to make this the best piece of chicken he’d ever put in his mouth.
I was moving between the chicken and the Potatoes O’Brien when Tobias entered the kitchen. I didn’t even hear him, but I felt his presence. He just filled up whatever space he was in.
He breezed around me and opened the fridge, grabbing a bottle of beer. But he froze, bottle in hand, and stared at the fridge interior.
“You weren’t kidding,” he said. “You bought all this today?”
I nodded. “I thought I’d make a cheesecake after dinner. I would have made it earlier this afternoon, but I was running around all day, lining things up.”
“How did that go?”
“There are no apartments available on a quick turnaround in Adairsville, and the bank said I wouldn’t qualify for a loan. I tried to track down the people handling The Shoppes at Brighton Village. Did you know they don’t even have an office here?”
“I just passed the guys doing construction earlier today,” he said. “I’ll stop and talk to the foreman tomorrow.”
He closed the fridge door and leaned against it, propping himself on his right shoulder. Gratitude rushed through me. He’d really do that for me?
I had to remind myself not to look for an ulterior motive. I’d been trained over the course of my life to assume if someone offered to do something for me, they wanted something in return.
“Did they give a reason for not giving you a loan?” he asked.
“My credit score isn’t all that strong yet.” I sighed. “Plus, it’s a new, unproven business. I should’ve figured. They suggested I get a business partner or come up with some collateral. I don’t have a house, and my old car isn’t worth enough to make a difference.”
This was bringing the evening down. I wanted to have a fun, relaxing night, not rehash all my problems.
“Anyway, I’ll figure something out,” I said. “Maybe I’ll talk to some of the other bakers and see if anyone else is interested in opening something here.”
I’d pretty much shot myself in the foot with that. I’d been nothing short of antisocial throughout the competition, and I couldn’t explain why. I just saw everyone else creeping up and felt more comfortable staying on the outskirts of the crowd.
“I have good credit,” he said. “I could co-sign.”
I nearly dropped the spatula at his offer. That would have been bad too, because an entire chicken breast covered in cheese, mushrooms, and cream sauce rested on top of it.
“No way could I take you up on that.” I shook my head and carefully settled the chicken breast onto one of the two plates next to the stove. “It’s very generous of you, though.”
“I wouldn’t mind,” he said. “I’d stand to gain as much as you do.”
I frowned and glanced over at him, moving the spatula back to the pan to grab the other chicken breast. “How’s that?”
“I’d have a place to go for pastries every morning,” he said. “Although you could just stick around here and make me pastries. I may never let you move out.”
I shook my head. “I’m going to find a place. No way am I imposing on you more than necessary.”
“You’re not imposing,” he said. “Seriously.”
The strength in his voice told me he was dead serious. He didn’t mind me staying. Not only did he not mind—he wanted me to stay. And I loved being around him, so I didn’t want to leave.
That was what scared me, though. Was I already getting attached to him? What if, in the end, he made it clear he didn’t want a relationship? That the kiss last night had been a mistake? That he didn’t see me that way?
I would be devastated. Heartbroken. But I’d still have a place to stay for free until I figured out what I was going to do. How could I turn that down?
As I headed toward the table, a plate in each hand, I decided I was staying. If my heart was broken in the end, so be it. But I couldn’t walk away from here without knowing what I might have missed.
Tobias grabbed silverware and a roll of paper towels, then headed over to the table. I couldn’t help but smile. I’d worked hard on my presentation, and he plopped down a roll of paper towels. His silverware was pretty basic too. It looked like it had been with him a while. There were scratches, and the shine wasn’t quite as bright as it should have been.
I made a mental note to hook this guy up with some better silverware. Maybe I’d even help him by keeping the place clean and doing his laundry if he’d let me.
“So, how was your day?” I asked as we settled into our seats across from each other.
It was weird, sitting at his table, talking like we were an old—or, in this case, young —married couple. This was the sort of dinnertime dynamic I’d hoped for growing up. Only back then, I wanted to be the kid watching her madly-in-love parents talking about their day.
“Average,” he said. “This is the second-best part of my day.”
“What was the best?”
“This morning, eating that egg sandwich in my truck before I dropped you off at your car.”
He didn’t look at me as he said those words. It was a good thing he didn’t. I was pretty much melting at how romantic it all was.
I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could say anything, he slid a bite of chicken into his mouth and let out a groan. “Holy shit, that’s good,” he said around a mouthful of food. Then he covered his mouth and looked at me. “Sorry.”
That last part was intoned through closed lips, so it came out more like, “Mm-mph.” I didn’t mind, though. He had manners. He just liked my food that much.
I smiled. “I’m glad you like it. I guess I didn’t mention I also like to cook. That’s more of a hobby, though. I don’t want to make a career out of it.”
“So, are they going to help? The competition people?”
I wasn’t sure what he meant. He obviously got that from my expression, which was more than a little confused.
“The prize was fifty thousand dollars and help setting up a bakery,” he reminded me. “Since the competition was held here in Seduction Summit, and that’s where you want to start your bakery, that should make things easier, right?”
All my movements stopped as I took in his words. He was right. Somebody was supposed to be helping me get a bakery set up, but they just handed me a check and went on their way.
“I guess I should have gone to the dinner,” I said. “Maybe they wonder what happened to me. I don’t know.”
“Can you get in touch with them?”
I did have the host’s email. I could reach out to the other contestants, but I didn’t want to do that. The host would be the way to go. I didn’t want to suddenly be all friendly with people I had distanced myself from.
“If you need help getting in touch with anyone, let me know,” he said. “I’m sure I can reach out to someone who knows someone on the events team at the lodge.”
This guy was amazing in so many ways, but I doubted I’d take him up on his offer to help. It wasn’t my way to depend on anyone. If I had to go back to the lodge and ask around, I could. But I definitely wouldn’t be more trouble to him than I already had been.
“Thank you,” I said.
“You don’t like to ask for help, do you?”
I was in the process of slicing off another chunk of chicken, and I nearly dropped my fork and knife at that question. A series of responses went through my mind, each one aimed at denying the truth. But he’d already seen through that. That was why he’d mentioned it in the first place.
“I don’t,” I said. “I never ask for help. You have to be pretty self-reliant when you don’t have parents to rely on.”
Chewing quietly, he watched me. I waited to see pity in his eyes. It would come as soon as he processed the words I’d just spoken. But it didn’t come. Instead, he seemed to be studying me. Then he said something I definitely hadn’t expected.
“And that’s why you’re going to be a big success,” he said. “In everything you do. You had to go through some hard times. Lots of hard times. That’s what makes you stronger and more likely to succeed than people who always had it made.”
Sure. But it wouldn’t hurt to have some parents who could hand me over some money to start my business. Or offer to co-sign. That was exactly what Tobias had offered to do, though, and the idea had me saying no.
“I want to do it on my own,” I said. “I mean, I know I was trying to get a bank loan, and that isn’t completely on my own. And the money I won puts me ahead of people who don’t enter a competition like that. But it will just mean so much more if I do all of this without any help from anyone.”
“Everyone needs help,” he said. “Even if it’s just support from friends and family.”
Yeah, I knew that. And it was something I had to work on. Accepting that some people wanted to support me and get to know me with no ulterior motive was not going to be easy.
But now that I’d met Tobias, something had shifted in me. I wanted to be normal. I wanted to go beyond the hurts of my past so that I could achieve all my dreams.
And that wasn’t just owning a bakery. It was having a family. The family I’d never had. I wasn’t sure I could be a good mother, but I was damn sure I was going to give it one hundred ten percent—maybe even two hundred percent. I wasn’t going to let the mistakes of my parents define me.
No, I was better than them, and I was determined to prove it…if only to myself.