Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
I stood in front of my closet for several minutes debating what to wear. After lunch, I had almost gone back to the bakery, still desperate to test out my ideas. I just wanted to be in the space. If Jared was there, I wanted to be there, but after our tussle and being caught by Joel, I was too frustrated and embarrassed. Besides, I had all kinds of ridiculous anxiety around dinner. When I got home, I couldn’t figure out why I had agreed, so I did the only thing I could think of to calm myself down—message PotatoBake888.
TheBakingChick: I agreed to a dinner with one of them.
PotatoBake888: Canoodling with the enemy?
TheBakingChick: The enemy of my enemy is my friend?
PotatoBake888: Are we going to have a conversation of only questions?
TheBakingChick: Maybe?
PotatoBake888: Lol that doesn’t count
TheBakingChick: You ruined it
PotatoBake888: Maybe you shouldn’t go to dinner with this guy.
I read PotatoBake888 message a few times. It was the first time he had shared a real opinion about anything. Even when it came to Jared, he stayed remarkably neutral, but now, he thought I shouldn’t go to dinner?
TheBakingChick: Why?
PotatoBake888: Why would you?
TheBakingChick: Now we are back to the questions? Maybe he could help me run his brother out of town. Or give me insight.
He waited a long time before he responded. My forehead scrunched as I stared at the too-bright screen, trying to guess what he might be thinking. We were in new territory. I wasn’t unhappy about it. In fact, little butterflies flapped around in my stomach. Was PotatoBake888 jealous? That thought sent warm fuzzies spreading through my veins. Not for the first time, I thou ght about my fingers moving slowly and purposefully over the keys to type out a message that would change everything forever. Do you want to meet? But I couldn’t. Not yet. Not now while my life was in utter turmoil.
PotatoBake888: I don’t want to see you get hurt.
My breath caught. We had chatted and flirted. Shared our favorite movies and even bitched to each other about mundane annoyances, but he had never vocalized anything close to real feelings—about me. Now I didn’t know how to respond. Did I make a joke? Did I tell him I was fine? Did I thank him for caring? I settled on being real with him—well, as real as I could be. If I was being completely real with him, I would have to tell him that I looked forward to every one of our conversations and would much rather being going out to dinner with him.
TheBakingChick: I’m already hurt. I waited too long to move forward with my plans for a bakery. I let them idle as fantasies that I convinced myself would happen “one day” without any real effort on my part. Somehow, I believed that it would all magically coalesce, and I wouldn’t ever have to take a risk or feel discomfort. Now, I am paying for that naiveté.
PotatoBake888: I don’t think you are naive. I think you are hopeful and optimistic and practical. There’s nothing wrong with getting your ducks in a row or taking your time. If anyone tries to tell you differently, they are an asshole.
TheBakingChick: Well, the Wallaces didn’t get that memo.
PotatoBake888: They should probably apologize then.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of demanding an apology from Jared Wallace for suggesting I move quicker toward opening my bakery. He was an impossible man to predict, so I had no idea how he might have responded. He would probably laugh and make a joke.
TheBakingChick: I won’t hold my breath. I’ve got to get ready. I’ll talk to you soon.
PotatoBake888: Jenna…
I was startled to see my real name in the chat. Had I told him it? I must have, although I didn’t know his, which felt unfair. I would have to remedy that the next time we spoke.
TheBakingChick: What’s up?
PotatoBake888: Nothing … have a good night .
Those damn ellipses again. I had no idea what the hell they meant, but they left me anxious. I shook my head and turned my attention toward my wardrobe again.
I didn’t know where we were going to eat or the purpose of the meal, so choosing an outfit was impossible. Joel seemed to wear polished looks even at his most casual. I had to look put together, professional, cute, and like I wasn’t trying too hard. A tall order, especially for a girl who spent her life in black jeans, t-shirts, and non-slip shoes.
I settled on a black crop tank top and a flowy high-waisted skirt that allowed a strip of my stomach to peek through along with an ample view of my chest. Staring in the mirror at my cute little outfit with my hair blown out in beachy waves and my winged eyeliner, I felt guilty. Here I was, getting all done up to go out with Joel, when I really wanted to spend more time with PotatoBake888. I also felt just a tiny bit bad that I was going behind Jared’s back. He clearly didn’t have a good relationship with his brother, and although he was my sworn enemy, he was still the source of a potential opportunity the likes of which would never come again. But that was all the more reason to go out with Joel. I had to assess my competition and get a handle on how much Joel knew or didn’t know about the deal Jared had made with me. Did Jared, in the end, even have the power to gift me half of the operation? Which was absolutely insane, when I spent more than half a second thinking about it. So I tried very hard not to. I tilted my head back and groaned at the ceiling.
With that out of my system, I walked out of my apartment to sit on the fron t porch. My place had once upon a time been a rich person’s mansion back in the 1800s. Somewhere in the '90s, it was turned into individual apartments, but it still had the amazing front porch that all the tenants shared. Over the years, various pieces of furniture found their way to the front for communal use. My favorite was a hanging egg-shaped wicker chair with comfy cushions and pillows that was perfect for reading or rocking or people watching. I curled my feet up under myself and waited.
The large black SUV that pulled up was a pretty good hint that Joel had arrived. When he got out, I saw he wore a suit. Oops, I thought. Perhaps, I miscalculated.
“Nice place,” he said.
“Thanks.” I couldn’t tell if he was being genuine, but my self-doubt filtered in and made me worry he was just being nice. His suit and car and general air of gravitas made me acutely aware that I had never left my tiny town. I spent my life working at a tourist trap lobster joint that still had wood paneling and plastic seafood for decor. Joel, on the other hand, had traveled the world and met famous people. My life paled in comparison. Standing next to him, my dream of owning my own bakery felt small and insignificant. Had my self-doubt always been this bad? Or was that only since the Wallaces shit all over my life?
“You ready?” he asked, holding out his elbow, which reminded me of the first time I met Jared. They really did have the same repertoire. My cheeks got warm, and my lips pulled into a smile all on their own as I looped my arm in his.
“Jenna?” We had gotten to the bottom of the porch, onto the uneven si dewalk when I heard Jared call my name. I turned and instinctively pulled my arm away from Joel’s. I wasn’t doing anything wrong by keeping the platonic—I think—plans with him. Still, hearing Jared’s voice reached somewhere deep into me and pulled at an unexpected heat that tried to throw me off guard “What’s going on?”
“I, well, we,” I was stammering like an idiot in my usual way when Jared was within a one-mile radius.
“We’re going to dinner,” Joel said, eyebrows raised in derision at Jared’s unexpected arrival.
“Why?” Jared asked incredulously.
“Because I asked her, and she said yes. Did we need your permission?”
“Jenna? I,” Jared swallowed hard and took a breath before continuing as if he was rewriting what he had planned to say. “I don’t think you should go to dinner with Joel.”
Joel just laughed in a deep bass that vibrated through me. “You know Jared, you never told us what you were doing here.”
“I stopped by to see Jenna,” he said.
Joel lifted an eyebrow. “Why?”
“I’m not answering to you.”
“You asked me what I was doing here. Only fair,” Joel said.
“Cause you give a shit about fair? I’m not sure what the hell you are doing here at all, let alone why you are taking Jenna out,” Jared said.
“Saving you from yourself, little brother. Like usual,” Joel said .
Both of them changed entirely when talking to each other. I didn’t know who I should fault for what assholes they sounded like, or if I could fault anyone at all. Maybe siblings just brought out the worst in each other. Still, it bothered me.
Jared shook his head. “Typical. You think unless I am following your perfect, prescribed footsteps, I am fucking up,” he said. “I’m a grown adult. I am perfectly capable of figuring my shit out.”
“Are you? I guess Daddy’s money makes it easier,” he sneered.
I cringed. Suddenly, I wasn’t all that keen on going to dinner with him.
“Alright, maybe I need to give the two of you some space,” I said, holding up my hands and backing away. “Clearly, there are some things to work out between the two of you.”
“Don’t worry about all of this. It’s why you should never go into business with family, right?” Joel said with a smirk.
I couldn’t exactly relate. Sure, my parents made me crazy sometimes, and I didn’t always agree with their choices, but it was nothing like this.
“Jenna,” Jared said, his deep brown eyes met mine and held my gaze as if he was trying to communicate something silently. “Don’t go to dinner with Joel.”
“Jesus Christ, Jared,” Joel said. “Stop being so dramatic. We are just getting a bite to eat.”
“Jenna, please,” Jared said. “Don’t go out with him. ”
“Why do you care? What are you even doing here?” I asked.
“I just wanted to apologize for the misunderstanding earlier.”
I snorted a laugh. “Misunderstand? Right. I’m not sure what is going on between the two of you, but I’m not really interested in getting in the middle. The two of you can fight this out another time. Joel and I are going to dinner, and I will see you at the bakery tomorrow.” Admittedly, I was surprised that he was apologizing. I had just convinced myself that I would never hear those words from him, and now, here he stood, proving me wrong.
“Jenna,” Jared grabbed my upper arm, wrapping his strong fingers around my bicep and pulling me close. A thrill of excitement that had no business being there shot like electricity over my skin. I could feel the warmth of his body radiating into me. If I stood there too long like that, all of my willpower might melt away. Memories of his lips on mine flooded my thoughts. “Stop being so stubborn. Joel has no interest in you. He is using you.”
That statement was a cold bucket of water that brought me back to my rational thought. “So now I’m stubborn?”
“I thought that was pretty well-established,” Jared said, the hint of a smirk peeking through his dark expression. Alright, maybe he had me there. But still. It stung that Jared thought Joel wouldn’t be genuinely interested in me as a dinner companion or maybe more.
“Using me for what?” I asked.
“To get to me,” Jared said .
“That’s a bit egotistical of you, brother,” Joel said.
Jared just glared in his direction before looking back at me. If there was any doubt about joining Joel, his insistence that Joel was using me clinched my desire to go.
“Goodnight, Jared,” I said, turning away from him. I felt his gaze heavy on the exposed skin between my shoulder blades. I itched to turn around and see his expression, but I forced myself to Joel’s car.