9. Chapter 9
nine
Sanctuary looked and felt like its namesake. The scent in the air was a mix of warm baked goods and freshly printed books. It was inviting anyone who walked past its threshold to sit in one of its cozy looking chairs or sofas with a favorite book and pastry.
So, this is what it looks like when a baker and a book nerd have a baby.
Gene admired how Amanda and Jo had blended the cafe with the bookstore into one cohesive space. Going into Sanctuary felt more like walking into the comfort of your own bedroom, without the bed. In fact, its coloring, little touches, and furniture pieces reminded him of Amanda’s duplex.
“Hello there,” a voice greeted him. “We’re about to close. Can I help you find something?”
Gene turned to face a woman with long pink hair. He recognized Jo Minami from the yearbook picture he’d browsed through earlier. Aside from the hair color and its style, Jo looked almost the same as her sixteen-year-old self. He wondered if her youthfulness was a blessing of her Japanese genes.
Jo’s smile brightened as she recognized him. “Dr. Gene Rowland, the man who saved my best friend the other night.”
Gene didn’t know why he blushed, but he did.
“She wasn’t in danger. So, not a lot of saving needed.”
“That’s not what I heard.” Jo stuck a hand out for a shake. “Jo Minami. Pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise.” Gene immediately liked Jo. There was an easiness in her vibe, and he could see why she and Amanda were close friends. While Amanda was busy taking care of everything, Jo was probably the one who reminded her to stop and smell the flowers once in a while. And vice versa, Amanda’s energy would help Jo focus on the tasks at hand.
Gene wondered how his personality would fit in with their dynamics.
Where did that come from?
He quickly said, “This place looks great. This was still Homestead Bakery the last time I was home.”
“You haven’t been home for a while then? Sanctuary opened over a year ago.”
Gene rubbed his temple with guilt. “Yeah, it’s been a while.”
“Glad you came home when you did, Doc,” Jo said. “Or Amanda might’ve been stuck out there for a bit before anyone noticed the wreck.”
“I doubt that.”
Jo turned the OPEN sign around to CLOSE and locked the door. “You’re being too modest, Dr. Rowland.”
“Please call me Gene,” he said. “I would hope anyone would stop and help when they witnessed an accident.”
“You’d hope, but not everyone would. And you did more than stop. You took care of my girl, Gene,” Jo said. “She doesn’t let anyone take care of her, except her mom when she was little. Not even me, her bestie.”
“I see that about her.” Gene almost said it was his job, but he wouldn’t be honest. Maybe he’d done it because he was a doctor at first, but had he stayed with her the next day out of his duty as a doctor? Was he there tonight as a doctor?
“She wouldn’t let me at first either,” he added with a smile. “Hardheaded, that one.”
“Whose head are you calling hard, doctor?”
Gene and Jo turned to Amanda, who was walking toward them from behind the cafe counter. Still sporting an apron around her waist, her hair twisted in the bun, her cheeks pink, she was alluring despite the cut on her forehead and the yellowish bruises around her left temple.
“Yours, Miss Amanda. Yours is categorically quite hard,” Gene teased. “Thank goodness.”
Jo laughed. “I think he got you pegged.”
Amanda looked at him with those green eyes of hers, and Gene’s gut tightened in response.
No, I’m not here as a doctor.
He might still be worried about her injuries, but he really didn’t want to or couldn’t be her doctor.
“Did she overexert herself today, Jo?” Gene broke away from Amanda’s gaze before he embarrassed himself.
Amanda cocked her fists on her waist. “Hello, I’m right here.”
“I don’t trust your answer.”
He gave her a side-eye.
Ignoring Amanda’s scoffs of disbelief, Jo chuckled. “You tell me. She came in around three, did a supply assessment. Then, with the help of her assistant, Rosa, did some baking.”
“It’s after eight.” Gene noted she’d been working for five hours, and probably most of it on her feet. “How are you feeling? Any fatigue, dizziness?”
“No. I let Rosa do most of the hard work.” Amanda rolled her eyes to Jo. “You see what a hard ass he is?”
“Takes one to know one.” Jo grinned, then turned to Gene. “It’s good to meet you. I’m gonna head out now. You make sure this one doesn’t work too late.”
“I’m all done,” Amanda said. “Gene’s here for some dessert, that’s all.”
“Uh huh.” Jo winked at her friend as she went out the door with a cheeky grin.
Amanda shook her head at her disappearing friend’s back and went to lock the door before spinning around to him. The skirt of her flowery dress billowed around her calves, drawing Gene’s eyes to her ankles.
Even covered, he knew well the shape of her legs. For the past thirty-six hours, he’d tried so hard to look at Amanda through a professional lens, but his sense of touch remembered too well the softness of her skin, the strength of her calves, and the alluring roundness of her hips. And he couldn’t ever forget her female scent. That night, it had teased him, tempted him to cast aside all the rules he religiously followed throughout his career.
Slowly, Gene scanned his way up her length and back to Amanda’s face as she sashayed toward him. Again, the calling was strong, and he knew he couldn’t resist her allure much longer.
As if she knew of the internal battle he was fighting, the woman in question took his hand.
“Come with me.”
Amanda’s heart started a steady thrumming beat pumping through her veins as soon as she laid eyes on Gene. He shouldn’t make her drool dressed casually in a pair of chinos and chambray shirt, but Dr. Gene Rowland didn’t have to make much of an effort to turn her on, apparently.
That intense look in his eyes was the only thing he needed.
Maybe you’re imagining what you want to see.
She might have the ultimate crush on him, but Gene might still see her as he had all those years ago: a girl who needed his help. Nothing more. Those gray eyes of his had always felt intense when he focused them on anyone. They just had a major effect on her.
She remembered her skin tingling, abs clenching, breath catching when Gene had examined her ankle a gazillion years ago. These days, she experienced the same effect ten fold, plus her lady bits throbbed. Amanda blushed just thinking about it.
Putting herself on a tight leash, Amanda pulled Gene into the kitchen, where she had a sampler of the freshly baked goods she’d made earlier.
“Wow.” Gene eyed the display of cookies, brownies, cakes, and pies with a big smile. “You made all these today?”
“Some are our daily offerings, like the cookies and brownies. So we always make them. We mix up the cakes and pie flavors based on the season and what strikes our fancy.”
“Tell me what we have here.” Gene leaned his hip against the metal working table where she placed the goodies. “I see chocolate chip cookies and brownies. Do they have nuts or anything in them?”
“There’s the classic chocolate chip cookie. Maybe uninspiring, but always a favorite.”
Amanda broke off a piece of the huge cookie and handed it to Gene.
He took a bite and nodded his approval.
“Perfection. I love that it’s soft on the inside, but slightly crispy on the edges.” He finished half. “There’s a savoriness that cuts the sweet. What’s that?”
“Sea salt.” Amanda was impressed he noticed the nuance in the taste.
“I like that.”
She knew her cookies were good, but his approval made her night. He tried the other cookies and brownies and was just as appreciative.
“We also bake a number of pastries in the morning like pain au chocolate, croissants, and Danishes,” Amanda explained.
“So, you didn’t quite miss that pastry program after all, huh?” Gene said, nibbling on the last bit of brownies on his fingers.
“There are other ways to learn. I may not have the fancy certificate, but you can’t find better croissants around here,” Amanda said confidently.
“I believe it.” Gene studied her with a smile.
“What?” Amanda suddenly felt self-conscious under his scrutiny. She touched her face. “Do I have flour on my face or something?”
“No. You glow when you’re talking about baked goods.”
“Oh.” She flushed. “Probably sweat.”
Gene laughed.
“Anyway, do you want to try the strawberry cake with Chantilly cream?”
Amanda cut into the mini square piece of cake. She meant to give the fork to Gene, instead, he took the bite straight from her hand.
Oh, okay…
“That’s good. Fresh.”
He licked the remaining cream from his lower lip. Amanda couldn’t look away.
“Ah… yeah, fresh strawberries. They’re in season right now.”
“And what about the pie?” Gene glanced at the whole pie sitting on the counter. “What kind is it?”
“That’s banana cream pie.”
“Really? It’s my favorite,” he said.
“Is it?” Amanda said as if she hadn’t heard Martha Rowland mentioned that fact before.
She couldn’t remember when she’d heard it, but apparently little bits of info about Gene must’ve embedded in her brain somehow, as if it knew they might come in handy someday.
“It’s the vanilla pudding,” Gene said. “I just love it matched with a buttery flaky crust.”
“How about the banana part?” Amanda laughed.
“I like the combination, but the filling is the key for me. It has to be right.”
“Hold that thought.” She went to the refrigerator where she’d shoved the bowl of leftover filling she hadn’t packed away yet when she’d heard Gene come in. “Since you love filling so much, might as well help me clean this up. It’s not enough for even a small pie.” She offered the small heap of pudding to Gene. “Let’s see how you would judge my filling. I’d never peg you as a vanilla guy.”
“As opposed to what?” He eyed the filling with a chuckle. “How am I supposed to eat that?”
“Oh, just use your finger.” Amanda scooped some filling with her index and middle finger together and lifted them up. “See. Fewer things to wash.”
Gene looked at her fingers and shrugged. “Okay.”
But instead of using his own fingers to scoop the filling, he took Amanda’s fingers into his mouth and slowly sucked the filling off them. Her heart skipped a beat as his mouth replaced the cool filling.
Amanda must’ve gasped audibly because Gene looked up and held her gaze. She didn’t imagine the intensity in his eyes this time. They were asking if she wanted more.
Yes, I do.
Amanda threw the bowl aside as she let him pull her into his arms. He captured her mouth with his. If the feel of his lips around her fingers had sparked embers, the feel of them fully on hers ignited the simmering heat inside her to a roaring fire.