Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
RACHEL
Y ou are so fucking sexy when you come.
I shiver again, thinking about the way Nick had growled that in my ear, floating on a cloud of endorphins from the intense orgasm he gave me.
Even over a day later, I’m riding high on his words, unable to get them out of my head.
Nick has been so respectful so far, keeping to the parameters I set.
I hadn’t yet considered what he’d be like in bed.
But with the way he took charge, masterfully touching me, working me up like he knew exactly what to do…
I can’t wait to find out what other surprises he has in store.
I bite my lip, remembering how sexy he was unzipping my jeans, how much I wish I had touched him, too. I want to see his eyes light up with desire as I do the same for him, to hear what sounds he might make.
To have him tell me how sexy I am again.
By the time he dropped me off at my house, I was too tired to invite him in, and it’s a shame my day off yesterday had been a day he worked. I need to make sure our days off align from now on. That’s one perk of being the one to do the schedule.
“Earth to Rachel.” Sydney waves a hand in front of my face.
I startle, looking down at the dough in my hands. It was supposed to be cinnamon rolls by now.
Sydney leans her elbows on the workstation, a smirk on her lips. “You going to keep manhandling that dough, or should I give you two a moment alone?”
Over on the other side of us, Hailey snickers.
I scowl and roll out the dough, ignoring the heat creeping up my neck. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Sydney snorts. “Oh, please. You’ve been staring off into the distance all morning. And you burned a whole tray of muffins. Muffins, Rachel.” She pauses for dramatic effect. “That’s basic level baking. If you don’t want me to be suspicious, at least mess up something more complicated.”
I exhale slowly. “Okay, maybe I’ve been a little distracted.”
“Did you finally get laid?”
Hailey’s jaw drops at Sydney’s crass question, but she eyes me curiously, as if she wants to know the answer, too.
“That’s none of your business,” I tell them both.
Sydney and Hailey look at each other. “That means yes,” they say in unison, then crack up in laughter.
I can’t help but huff out a breath of laughter, too, at their ridiculousness.
“If you must know,” I say in a voice even I recognize as bordering on puritanical, “I did not technically have sex. Though we may have done other things that were equally good.”
“Equally good, you say?” Sydney looks intrigued. “Do tell.”
“Absolutely not. And it’s not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal? It’s a major deal.”
My brow lifts in question.
“You finally have a guy who’s good for you,” she says in explanation.
Hailey nods in agreement, and I look between the two of them. “You guys like Nick?”
“Of course we do,” Hailey says.
“Duh,” Sydney adds, as if I’m the idiot. Maybe I have been with the way I never saw things clearly.
“Do you…” I pause, collecting my thoughts. “Are you still upset about what he did to the bakery?”
“The fire?” Sydney asks, and I nod.
Hailey says, “I’ve never held it against him.”
Sydney says, “Me, either. I mean, we all made mistakes as teenagers. Do you remember that awful teal eyeliner I used to wear?”
I chuckle, glad she’s trying to lighten the mood with silly things. “He apologized the other week about it. I told him I’d never blamed him, but I guess I never asked you guys your feelings about it. Or if you’re cool with me dating him.”
“Of course we are,” Hailey says. “He seems like a great guy.”
“And he’s helped us out how many times here now?” Sydney adds. “Preparing for Mother’s Day would have been even more brutal without him.”
I nod, my chest feeling lighter.
“Besides,” Sydney continues, “if I held a grudge, don’t you think I’d have brought it up by now? You know I love a good guilt trip.”
I grin. That’s very true.
“So, are you two dating?” Hailey asks. “Like officially .”
I open my mouth to answer, then realize I don’t have one. We’ve been out on dates, but nothing’s been said about boyfriends or girlfriends or exclusivity.
“I think so,” I say. “I mean, I want to. But we haven’t had an official talk.”
“You need to lock it down,” Sydney says, getting back to work on her tray of danishes. “He’s waited for you long enough.”
How is it that everyone else seems to have recognized he liked me? I didn’t have the first clue.
We finish preparing for opening, and when it’s near seven, I let Desiree in through the back to man the register for us today. Oh, that reminds me.
“How would you feel about us hiring another baker?” I ask Hailey, explaining to her my idea.
I admit, I’ve been reluctant to talk to her about it, knowing she’s the closest with Mom and most likely to spill my secret. But after talking to Nick about it, I’m more confident about the decision.
She pauses, thinking about it. “Are Mom and Dad okay with that?”
I shrug. “They’re not here. We obviously need the help, and we can afford it, too.”
Indecision plays over her face. Hailey’s always been a rule follower.
Sydney slings an arm over Hailey’s shoulders. “Come on, live a little. You’ll have two days off again.”
“Two days off is nice…” She chews on her bottom lip. “Maybe I shouldn’t be involved with it. That way, I won’t have anything to say to Mom when she calls.”
“Plausible deniability,” Sydney says. “I like it.”
“All right,” I announce. “It’s decided. Sydney and I will handle all the details. You won’t even know what’s happening until someone new shows up saying they work here.”
Sydney rubs her hands together in excitement. “So clandestine. It’s like we’re spies.”
Hailey still looks uneasy, but heads to the front to put a tray of muffins out in the display case. Almost immediately, she returns to the back. “Uh, Rachel? Kyle’s standing outside.”
Sydney’s quicker than me, poking her head through the double doors to see. I look over her shoulder, and yes, Kyle’s there, leaning against the glass doors out front, hands tucked into the pockets of his coat as he waits.
“That rat bastard,” Sydney mutters. “As if we’re going to sell him anything here. I wouldn’t even give him day-old bread. He can go rot in hell.”
For a moment, I’m reminded of Jae also cursing Kyle’s existence. In a way, it’s kind of nice to inspire that level of loyalty from them.
“What do you think he wants?” Hailey asks.
“Maybe Autumn has a craving.” Sydney’s voice is pure snark. “I’m going to find the moldiest—”
I cut her off. “Stop it. I’ll go find out.”
The clock turns to seven and Desiree opens the front doors. Hailey rushes to put the muffins out, and I walk outside, crossing my arms in the cool morning air.
“What are you doing here?” I ask him. It’s been nearly two weeks since our weird encounter outside the bistro.
There’s a flash of annoyance in his gaze. “Nice to see you, too.”
I’m silent, waiting for him to answer my question.
His golden boy smile returns, polished as ever. “I wanted to continue our conversation from the other week. We were interrupted.”
The one where he claimed he misses me? “It’s funny how you only want to talk now that I’m with someone else.”
He scoffs, shaking his head. “Come on, Rach. Nick?” He says his name like it’s something dirty beneath his shoe. “He set fire to your family’s bakery. He’s a criminal.”
The last time we spoke, I think I did a pretty good job of staying calm. But the second Kyle tosses out the word criminal , something shifts in me. Especially since my sisters were just singing Nick’s praises in there.
“Excuse me?” I say, attempting to keep my voice measured, even as my arms cross, my nails digging half-moon indentations into my arm.
Kyle shrugs like he didn’t throw a match on dry kindling. “He’s not exactly what you’d call a stable choice. How could you ever trust him?”
My gaze narrows as I take a step forward, anger boiling over in my chest. “You want to talk about trust? You cheated on me. Lied to me for who knows how long. And you think you get to stand here and warn me about Nick?”
His expression flickers again. It might mean something if it was contrition or shame. But it comes across as annoyance. As if reminding him of what he did is tiresome.
“I apologized for that,” he says in a way that makes it seem like the matter has been taken care of and it’s time to move on. “I was an idiot, and I know that. I shouldn’t have thrown what we had away.”
“You didn’t only throw it away. You set it on fire.”
A fire worse than anything Nick ever did.
He flinches for a moment before forcing a chuckle. “Fair. But people make mistakes. You seem to have forgiven Nick for his. Why can’t you forgive me?”
I hold my hands to my temple so my brain doesn’t explode. “Your mistakes and his aren’t anywhere near the same level.”
“We were good together,” he says, his voice softer. He moves in closer and I step back an equal distance.
“No, we weren’t.”
His lips press together tightly for a moment. “What can I do to make up for things?”
Good lord, it’s like I’m talking to a brick wall. “You can’t. There’s nothing left of us.” I motion between us. “This is over. It has been for a long time.” I move back toward the bakery door.
“Rachel—”
“Your baby’s due soon, right?” I ask, interrupting him. “Autumn is, what? Almost eight months pregnant?”
His gaze narrows, silently staring at me.
“Is that what this is? The reality of what you’ve done is finally hitting you and you want a do-over?”
He still doesn’t answer, which speaks volumes on its own.
“Don’t come here again,” I tell him. “You’re not welcome.”
I enter the bakery, finding Sydney and Hailey both out at the counter. “Shouldn’t you be in the back?”
“We were making sure you were okay,” Hailey says, worry on her face.
Sydney punches her fist into her hand. “We’re your muscle.”
Hailey shakes her head. “I had my phone in case I needed to call Jae. She’s pretty scary.”
Yeah, she can be. Especially when she starts shouting in Korean. Even so, I should give them both Nick’s number in case… In case what? Kyle’s not bothering me again. I don’t know how much clearer I could have been.
I usher them both to the back, praying Desiree doesn’t repeat any of this morning’s events to anyone else.
When the three of us are safely out of sight, I sigh, hanging my head in my hands. “Why didn’t you guys tell me what a douchebag Kyle is when I was dating him?”
Sydney makes a disgusted sound. “I never liked him. I think I was pretty clear about that.”
She’s right. But I thought that was in a my sister’s boyfriend is so lame kind of way.
“What did Kyle say?” Hailey asks.
“He wants to get back together.”
Sydney snorts. “Typical man. Realized the grass isn’t greener on the other side, huh?”
“Something like that,” I mutter. It bothers me more than I like that he would so easily abandon his pregnant girlfriend. That I was with a person who would do that. It was one thing to cheat on me, but she needs his support…
Oh my God, am I feeling sorry for Autumn now? What’s wrong with me?
“What if he comes back?” Hailey asks, glancing worriedly toward the double doors.
“We’ll call the cops,” Sydney answers before I can. “Get a restraining order—”
“Just tell him to leave if he shows up again,” I interrupt. “It doesn’t have to be a big thing.”
Sydney frowns. “You never let me have any fun.”
The two of them move on to their next tasks, but I head into the office, resting for a moment.
The last of the adrenaline from our confrontation is leaving me, and my hands shake.
I don’t believe for a minute Kyle is actually interested in me again.
Like I suggested, it’s likely only jealousy that I’ve moved on or his impending fatherhood is rearing its ugly head. Maybe a combination of both.
Either way, I don’t want any part of it. I have better things to do.
It’s Nick’s birthday in a few days, and though he said he didn’t want to do anything special, I promised him a cake. We also still need to go over final details for the chili cookoff next weekend.
I take my phone out of my pocket, wondering if I should tell him about Kyle showing up, then decide against it. I don’t want to worry him unnecessarily. I handled it.
Kyle won’t be a problem anymore.