Chapter 9
Reina
All of a sudden, Morgan was home more often. In the mornings, I found him in the kitchen brewing coffee and making eggs, shirtless. He wore low slung gray sweats that left nothing to the imagination. I could see every outline and ridge of his well-defined body.
He stood at the counter to eat so that my view was his etched chest while I tried to swallow down my eggs and coffee. It wasn't easy. By the time we were done with breakfast, I felt like I needed another shower.
I came home in the late afternoons and took a nap. Morgan usually woke me up when he came home and started cooking dinner. After we ate, he excused himself to go to his home gym in the basement where he worked out shirtless in mesh shorts.
By Friday, I couldn't even nap because I was so revved up thinking about Morgan's body. I wanted to touch his chest and lick every ridge of his muscles with my tongue. The problem was that I wasn't home by myself much anymore so that I could take care of my needs.
I went downstairs when I heard the front door open.
Morgan raised a brow when I entered the kitchen. "You couldn't sleep?"
"No."
At least he wore a shirt to cook dinner, but I wouldn't put it past him to claim he was hot and toss it over a nearby chair. "Do you need help with dinner?"
He winked at me as he opened the package of raw meat. "You sit down and relax. I've got this."
I slid onto the stool, needing the counter between us as a boundary. "We're roommates. I feel like I should contribute to meals. You've been cooking breakfast and dinner."
"Did you get the lunch that I sent yesterday?"
He'd ordered lunch from the deli and had it delivered. "That was really nice, but you don't have to feed me."
He shrugged. "I figured you get so involved in baking that you forget to eat."
He was right about that. But how did he already know so much about me? He'd barely been around. He'd asked a lot of questions about my routine during breakfast and dinner this week though. "Did you finish your jobs?"
"I got a lot done when I worked overtime last week,” he said simply.
"Maddox completed the fire investigation and said we can start renovations."
Morgan glanced at me. "He talked to me about it. It was an electrical fire. Exactly what I suspected."
"Thankfully it wasn't something worse." Maddox freaked me out with his talk of foul play. I didn't want to think that someone had sabotaged my business.
He flashed me a smile. "Now we can make the kitchen exactly what you want. I thought we'd talk about the design tonight."
I felt a little foolish thinking he was hanging around half naked to get some sort of reaction out of me when he really wanted to discuss business. "That would be great."
"Have you thought about what you want?"
"I need more cold storage and shelves for my supplies and ingredients."
"I can stop by the kitchen to get a feel for what you're working with now. But we can draw some options tonight based on what you think might work."
"I really appreciate you pausing your other jobs while you get the bakery reopened."
He flashed me another smile. "The town is our first priority."
"I don't know what I would have done without you these last few weeks."
He put the chicken on a platter. "Thought we could grill outside."
I followed him outside.
"How is everything going with your temporary bakery?" He opened the grill and placed the chicken breast and drumsticks on the rack.
"I had to bring back an employee to help me sell things. We thought we could get by with one table, but now we have several. Our regulars came in first, and then word spread, and more people have stopped by, curious to see what happened with the fire and asking when we'll be open again."
He closed the top of the grill. "Let me get into the bakery and see how long it might take."
I nodded, happy that we were finally given the green light to start repairs. "I'm worried about the smell of smoke. Will we ever get the stench out of the shop?"
"We're bringing in a company that specializes in fires. They clear everything out, and clean everything from top to bottom. Getting rid of stains and smells is part of their job."
I sat on one of the cushioned chairs. "I didn't even now that was a thing."
"We've needed them for several fires now."
"I'm glad I have you to navigate this for me. I'd be lost if I had to do it myself."
He braced his hands on the back of another chair. "Now, that's not true. Anytime you've needed to figure something out, you do. It took you no time to secure a kitchen and sell your products. You didn't need anyone's help."
"Eve gave me the kitchen."
He raised a brow. "You know what I mean. It was you that made it happen. Another person might still be wallowing in despair, thinking the fire was a sign that their business wasn't salvageable."
I frowned. "I worked so hard; I'm not giving up now."
"See? You don't need me. You would have figured it out."
"I guess so. But you being here has made things easier.
" I had a place to stay, a truck to drive, and a kitchen to bake in.
And he was taking care of the renovations of the bakery.
I could relax knowing that he knew what he was doing, and he wouldn't skip any steps in the process. I could trust him.
It might have been because he was Tom's friend, but I think I'd gotten to know him better the last couple of weeks. Anyone who would risk their life to save someone else's was a good guy.
So why was I trying to tamp down this desire for him? Should I pursue it? See if he felt the same way? But I probably shouldn't sleep with the contractor who was going to renovate my bakery. It would make things messy when I wanted easy and uncomplicated.
"I'm going to grab the veggies." He ducked inside and returned with chopped veggies.
"This is a nice setup." He had a small kitchen and an outdoor fireplace.
"Maverick built me this when I moved in. Outdoor spaces are his specialty."
"I love what he did with Belle's bookstore. The patio area is a great place to relax, and that fountain is the best."
"He said the girl was based on Belle's drawings."
"It was a very sweet gift."
"You should see if Maverick could add something small for your shop. You have a larger sidewalk area; you could turn that into a small space for tables and chairs, a few flowers and shrubs by the building itself, and maybe a small water feature."
"I hadn't even thought about doing something like that at my place. You think there's enough space?"
"We can ask Maverick to take a look. He might have a design in mind for you."
I chewed my lip, wondering if I had enough in savings to cover the addition. Or whether that was something that the town covered. "I'd love to make the space more inviting."
"I told you we'd make the bakery better than it was before."
"Yeah, but I hadn't even thought about upgrading the outdoor space."
"Now that I'm working with the rest of my brothers and Cooper, I think about all the possibilities. We want to make every job better than the last. It's not something I can turn off."
"I think that's great."
He smiled. "And you thought I was just an electrician. All of us know the ins and outs of construction, installing floors and securing drywall. Cooper made sure of it."
"I can see why Natasha and Eve hired you to renovate the town."
"It's our first large contract, and we want it to be successful. But so far, we've had a pipe burst and an electrical fire before we could get to the repairs."
"It's a large town like you said. It can't be easy to do it all at once."
"Eve and Natasha wanted to renovate the inn first and then inspect the other buildings for plumbing and electrical issues later. Then when an issue popped up, that's what prompted them to take a look at the repairs sooner."
"I'm sure no one blames you or Hudson for those emergencies."
"Some of the shop owners would say otherwise."
I sighed. "I know how some of them can be difficult. But it's just not possible to please everyone."
"We try to do our best. We want to have a good reputation."
"And you do."
"Dinner smells good already."
"I'm happy to be home more this week and to have someone else to cook for."
"Me too." But his presence set me on edge.
I couldn't avoid him. It made me confront these growing feelings I had for him.
He'd been so accommodating, offering me a place to live and a vehicle to drive.
He was taking care of me, and I needed to remind myself that he was only doing this as a favor to Tom.
It had nothing to do with how he felt about me personally.
"You'll be happy once we start work on the bakery."
"I'm able to bake and sell my products, so I'm okay with doing this renovation the right way. I don't want to rush. I want to use this opportunity to make the space more usable and exactly what I want going forward so that it feels like an upgrade."
He grinned. "I like how you think."
"You're the one who helped me see that this was an opportunity, not something to feel bad about."
"You'll need to talk to Eve about the outdoor patio area."
I chewed my lip. "Belle's was a large one. I'm not sure if they'd want to do another project so soon after hers. Especially since they're performing costly repairs on the plumbing and probably electrical now in every building."
"Eve and Natasha want to invest in the town. They want it to be the best it can be."
"Speaking of which, they're talking about doing a Christmas in July event this summer. I hope it brings new visitors."
"That should bring more people in. A lot of people love Christmas."
"Why not enjoy it year-round?" My shoulders lowered. "The only problem is that we don't have snow this time of year or that magical feeling you get during the season."
"I don't know. I think there's a place for a Santa in swim trunks."
"I can offer Christmas-themed cakes for that month and bring back gingerbread." We were supposed to offer holiday-themed products year-round and keep the holiday decorations hung.
"How has business been now that we're far from Christmas?"
"I'm insulated from that issue only because people who live nearby will come to the bakery, coffee shop, and now the bookstore regardless of the season. Those are stores you can shop at year-round."
"I suppose that's true."
"I've generated a loyal customer base of people who live nearby, take walks, or stop at a few of the stores. I was worried I'd lose them after the fire, but I put a sign on the bakery door, telling everyone that I'm in the town hall from seven to two."
"That was really smart of you to make that move."
"It was either think of what I could do or dwell on everything I'd lost."
"Have you told your parents about the fire?" Morgan asked.
I let out a breath. "No, and I feel bad about that. But I don't want them to tell Tom."
"You think they would?"
"Not intentionally. Maybe by accident."
"I'm sure they'd want to know."
"If I do let them know, I'm not going to tell them you had to rescue me."
Something flashed across his face. "Why not?"
"They'd worry. They'd show up here, insisting I rest, and reconsider reopening. That maybe this is a sign that I'm not supposed to be a business owner."
"Why would they say that?"
"I think they'd rather I worked a steady job, one that has health insurance benefits and stock options. Owning a business is risky, and the fire will only prove their point."
"You let them have that kind of control over your life?"
"I don't want to, but they are relentless when they get an idea about something. I just want to be further into the renovation before I talk to them. Then they won't be able to talk me out of it."
"I would hope not. I think you're stronger than that. And anyone who knows you can see that this was what you're meant to do."
It was nice to see that he knew me after such a short time. "I think so. But it doesn't stop the ones who love us from trying to keep us safe."
Morgan gave me a face. "What fun is that?
I took a risk going into business with my brothers, but so far, it's paid off.
I make more money than ever, and it's only increasing every day.
Each time one of us is successful, it benefits all of us.
When Maverick's patio at Belle's bookstore was in that magazine, we were inundated with job requests.
Some of them weren't even in the area. Now Maverick designs spaces in faraway places he'll never see. "
"That's amazing. I've never thought about something like that. Right now, I have to be the one that bakes. I'm the face of the business."
"You might want to start thinking of ways to make it easier for you in the future. Is there anything you can delegate to make your job easier? If you burn out, you won't be able to create new bakery items to sell. You have to take care of you. You're the business."
"I don't like the sound of burning out." I didn't want to overextend myself. But at the same time, I felt the pressure to come back bigger and stronger than ever. I needed to maintain the same level of production during this period of instability to show everyone that they could depend on me.
Nothing slowed me down. But was I doing too much? I was the only one who could bake. I'd never trusted anyone else to recreate my recipes. Was that something I should look into?
"It's scary to trust someone else in your business."
"It's a little easier for me because I trust my brothers."
"I don't have that." My parents and brother had mainly been unsupportive, telling me of the risks and trying to talk me out of everything. But Morgan supported me.
It was a good feeling.