Sweet Beginnings Bakery (Sweet Tea and a Southern Gentleman #9)

Prologue

Noah

I ducked my head to prevent the rain from pelting my face as I slammed my car door and jogged across the parking lot to the front door of Harrington’s Bar. As soon as I was inside, I shut the door behind me and stepped to the side to keep from blocking the entrance.

I took my time brushing the water off my arms and face, and then pushed my hand through my hair, spraying droplets around me. By the time I was done, I was a smidge drier.

I glanced around at the patrons of the bar in search of Chris.

He’d insisted we go out tonight even though I was perfectly content to spend the evening unpacking what little I had into the shoebox-sized apartment I’d just rented.

He rejected my plans and told me that we were going to spend the night drinking and playing pool.

Unpacking was going to have to wait until tomorrow.

It was a small bar, packed even for a Friday night, but Chris’s buzzed head and wide smile would be hard to miss. When I came up empty-handed, I pulled my phone from my back pocket and swiped it on. Just as I’d anticipated, there was a text.

Running late. Be there in a few.

And a second text sent moments after.

DON’T LEAVE

I sighed as I dropped my phone down to my side. This was not how I wanted our meetup to go, but Chris’s text was a testament to how well he knew me. Given the choice between a crowded bar or the solitude of my home, I was going to take solitude any day.

With anyone else, the moment I discovered that they were running late, I would have turned heel and sprinted out of the place like a bat out of hell.

But it was different with Chris. That man had saved my life more times than I could count.

We met at Naval Special Warfare Preparatory School as two wide-eyed kids ready to save the world.

We formed a friendship as we went through the grueling process of becoming Navy SEALs.

Three years in, he was discharged for a fractured vertebrae while I continued my service. He was the first to meet up with me when I was discharged due to a shoulder injury to help me acclimate to the civilian life. I wished I could say I was adjusting as well as he had, but I wasn’t.

I missed having a purpose. I missed being part of a team. Out in the real world, I was alone. Floating from place to place, looking for meaning but never really finding it.

I sighed as I scoured the bar for a free table.

Just my luck, a couple stood up and were pushing their chairs in.

I crossed the room and grabbed the back of a chair moments before another man did the same.

I didn’t say anything. I just stared at him with my eyebrows raised.

For a moment, he looked as if he were going to put up a fight, but after he studied me, he lifted his hands.

“All yours, buddy,” he mumbled as he walked away.

I plopped down on the chair and leaned back, closing my eyes as I took a deep breath. I hoped Chris knew what he was asking of me. I wasn’t a people person. I liked to keep to myself. Forcing me out with civilians was a gamble.

“Can I get you a drink?” a soft feminine voice asked.

I glanced over to see a blonde woman, about twenty, with an apron wrapped around her small waist. She was holding a notepad with a pen poised above it.

I shook my head. “I’ve got someone coming.” I nodded toward the empty chair across from me. “I’ll wait until he gets here.”

She nodded and said something that sounded like, “I’ll be back,” but I didn’t try to clarify.

Alone again, I glanced around. I was going to give Chris ten minutes to show up. If he didn’t get here by then, I would leave. My friendship had limitations. I set a timer on my phone and then left it face up in front of me so I could watch the time tick down.

At exactly nine minutes and fifteen seconds, Chris’s booming voice could be heard over the music and chatter around me. I glanced up to see him pushing through the crowd headed in my direction. When his gaze met mine, he broke out into a huge smile.

“Noah,” he bellowed.

The crowd parted and he closed the gap between us with a few strides. As soon as he got to the table, I pushed my chair back and stood. We clasped hands and pulled each other into a one-armed hug. When we let go, Chris pulled out the chair next to me and plopped down.

“Sorry, man,” he said as he sunk into his chair. “Business is booming, so I’m constantly putting out fires.”

The waitress must have taken Chris’s appearance as her cue because she was back. “Can I get you two boys a drink?” she asked as she set down a few napkins and a bowl of pretzels.

“I’ll take a beer,” Chris said as he grabbed a few pretzels and popped them into his mouth.

Her gaze shifted to me. “I’ll take a rum and coke,” I said.

She nodded, tucking her notepad into her apron as she hurried away.

Now alone, I glanced over at Chris, who had settled back against his chair and was methodically tossing pretzels into his mouth as he studied me. I narrowed my eyes as I met his gaze, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

As if he realized that I had no intention of speaking first, he shifted his weight as he straightened and then leaned on the table, bringing himself closer to me.

“How’s the move going?” he asked through the pretzels.

I folded my arms. “Fine.”

He paused. “Moving to New York with no job was a bold move.” He raised his eyebrows. He knew what he was doing.

I deadpanned. Here we go again. “I can find a job,” I said.

This was not the conversation I’d wanted when I agreed to meet him for drinks. To the outside world, selling my mom’s house and packing up my few belongings to move to New York City was foolish. And if you didn’t know the context, it seemed reckless.

I’d made a promise, and I was dead set on seeing that promise fulfilled.

I wasn’t certain how I was going to get close to Emery Torres, the CEO of Torres Investments and widow to my high school best friend, Carson, but I knew being a couple states away wasn’t going to help.

If I wanted even a slight chance of finding an opening, I needed to be close—hence the move.

“Why don’t you just come work for me?” Chris sat back against his chair and folded his arms. “Heavens knows, I need you.” He sighed.

“It’s been a struggle finding good people.

Security is a rough game. Lots of guys think they can hack it, but only a rare few last.” He scrubbed his face with his hand. “I need guys I can rely on.”

It felt good to hear him say that about me. I was a hard worker when I had direction. I’d spent my life proving my worth to the world. It was nice when my efforts were recognized.

“Listen, man, I appreciate it and I’m sure Blackridge Security is a great place to work.” The waitress set down our drinks, so I reached out and started to slowly turn my glass around on the tabletop. “But I have something I need to do here.” I glanced up and gave Chris a weak smile.

I didn’t talk about Carson often. We’d been inseparable as teens before he met Emery.

He was royalty at Sterling Heights Preparatory while I was the charity case with a scholarship.

I was the project that the board let in to pad their ego so they could feel like they were helping the less fortunate.

By all accounts, Carson and I shouldn’t have been friends, but he wasn’t entitled like the other kids.

Carson had been down to earth. He made my time at school bearable.

We’d made a pact to be there for each other no matter what. Even though it hadn’t been spelled out, that promise extended to his wife and son. Now that I was discharged, I was going to fulfill that promise, even if it put my civilian life on hold.

Chris was still staring at me when I brought my focus back to him.

He had questions, and I didn’t blame him.

But this wasn’t the time or the place to get into the details.

He was just going to have to trust that I had a plan.

I appreciated that he wanted to look out for me, but I didn’t need his help.

For the first time since getting out of the Navy SEALs, I had a purpose. For the first time, I felt free.

“Hey, boys.”

A sugary sweet voice had both of us turning to the two women standing next to our table. The one who had spoken was short, and her dark brown hair was cut into a blunt bob. The other was a tall blonde whose gaze was trained on me.

“You two looked lonely, so we thought we’d come over and cheer you up.” She tucked her hair behind her ear as she ran her finger over the empty chair she was standing behind.

I parted my lips to tell them that we weren’t interested, but Chris spoke first.

“I think that’s a lovely idea,” he said as he turned to me and wiggled his eyebrows.

She took Chris’s words as permission to join us because she pulled out the chair and sat down. The blonde woman walked around me, running her fingers across my shoulders as she went, before pulling out the other empty chair and plopping down.

Chris was all smiles now, apparently oblivious to the daggers I was throwing his direction. My life was already a mess. The last thing I needed was the chaos that these women would most definitely bring.

“What are you lovely ladies drinking tonight?” Chris asked as he turned in his seat, looking for our waitress.

“I’ll have a strawberry daiquiri and Nina’s drinking a peach bellini,” the brown-haired woman nodded toward her friend, who was holding up her almost empty glass and pouting, her attention laser-focused on me.

I was about to tell this woman that I had no interest in buying her a drink or continuing this conversation. If Chris wanted to flirt, he had my blessing, but I had neither the interest nor the time to deal with women or the dating world in general.