Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
The Manhattan Escapee Bakery
Two days later.
If there was one thing Aspen had which could potentially rival New York City, it was its food offerings. The coffee and freshly baked zucchini nut muffins from the aptly named Manhattan Escapee Bakery had become Matthew’s favorite breakfast place whenever he was in town.
And while his apartment offered an excellent meal delivery service, he much preferred to leave the hotel and soak up the town’s vibe. It was fun to get some fresh air and try to blend in. He liked to pretend he was just another Aspen local getting about in their black North Face jacket.
The late winter snow crowds were still about, but at this hour, most people were either sleeping in after a hard night of partying or else they were making their way toward Aspen Mountain ready for when the ski lifts opened at nine o’clock. Trying to remain incognito meant he couldn’t go and join the après ski set, and his current workload didn’t allow him the time to go hunting for fresh powder. His custom-made skis and poles were back home in his Manhattan apartment.
Inside the bakery Matthew joined the mercifully short queue, his regular coffee order ready on his lips. He noted the couple in front of him. They were arguing over what they should order.
May I suggest the breakfast sandwich, and a coffee to go? Just leave me the muffins.
The bell on the front door of the shop tinkled as it opened, and a blast of cold air rushed in. Matthew shivered into his black puffer jacket, silently urging the people ahead of him to hurry up and finish ordering their food so he could get back to the warmth of his apartment and peel off some of the winter layers.
The recently arrived customer joined the line behind him and let out a tired sigh. Someone must have had a hard night.
J?gerbombs seem such a good idea at three am. Until you have to face the morning.
The line moved forward, and the patron behind him let out another painful groan. Matthew turned around ready to offer his sympathies for their hangover. His gaze settled on a familiar face.
“Hello. We meet again.”
It was the young woman from the airport arrivals, she of the near disaster with the pile of suitcases. Their eyes met, and a flash of recognition crossed her face. “Oh, my god. It’s you. My airport hero. I was hoping I’d get the chance to see you again. You saved my life.”
His well trained eye for detail slowly took her in. You poor girl. There were several butterfly bandages on her forehead, along with a dark bruise which her makeup barely hid. She was standing putting all her weight on what had to be her good leg. The one she hadn’t smashed against the concrete.
Matthew had a sudden urge to hug her .
“I’m glad to see someone fixed up your head. But I can tell that your left leg is still giving you trouble. You did take quite the tumble. Please tell me you went to the hospital?”
She gave him a weary shrug. “No hospital, but I do know someone who has extensive first‐aid training. He managed to bandage the broken bits of me up. The knee and hip are just badly bruised. Sorry for the huffing and puffing as I came through the door. Every muscle is feeling extra stiff this morning.”
After witnessing her heavy fall at the airport, he could just imagine that two days later she would still be sore. His heart went out to her.
Matthew glanced back at the slow-moving queue ahead of him. The disagreeing couple were now at the front counter but still hadn’t made up their minds.
“We might be here for some time. How about you go take a seat and rest up. I can place your order. What were you going to have?”
His question got another shrug. “Um. This is actually my first time here, so I don’t know their menu. Is there anything you can recommend?”
She wasn’t a local. Good. That took care of any worry he might have with her wanting to know too much about him. He’d been warned by his father that people in small towns had a good nose for sniffing out strangers who’d come bearing secret plans.
It was all he could do not to sigh with pleasure as she slipped her blue striped beanie from her head and the rest of her pale blonde tresses tumbled down to settle about her shoulders. She’s pretty.
He looked again. No, she was stunning. A genuine beauty.
At the airport, he’d been so busy worrying about stopping this young woman from slipping into the road and under the wheels of a car, that he hadn’t had time to take in her appearance. Now as he studied her in the calm safety of the café, Matthew was captivated. Her blue eyes reminded him of the hot nights when he’d sat on the deck of his cousin’s yacht and stared out over the sapphire waters of the Aegean Sea.
Don’t rush out the door, stay with me.
“Well then if it’s your first time here at the Manhattan Escapee Bakery, I am obliged to buy you breakfast.”
He was sure he was about to melt, when she offered him a gentle smile. “Oh, you don’t have to do that. In fact after your heroics of the other morning, I’m the one who should be buying you food.”
Spellbound, Matthew shook his head. “I’m afraid it’s the law in this town. Since you are a newcomer, I must treat you to a full breakfast. You wouldn’t want to get me arrested now, would you?” He gave her a wink, and to his undisguised delight, her smile blossomed into a soft laugh.
She touched the sleeve of his puffer jacket, and it awakened something primal deep within him. The need to claim and keep.
“If you insist. We can’t have the authorities hauling you out of here in handcuffs, who else is going to save the town’s damsels in distress?”
“I’m glad you are starting to see things my way. What’s your coffee order?”
“A strong flat white please.” She glanced at the menu which was written in large letters on the wall behind the counter. “It all looks yum. I’ll eat pretty much anything … well, except for offal.”
He wasn’t much of a fan of offal either. “I don’t think they have it on the menu, but I’ll make sure not to order it just in case.” Her grateful smile sent an unexpected flutter of joy to Matthew’s heart.
This woman was playing havoc with his body, and they hadn’t even touched skin. As his cute, breakfast companion headed off to grab them a table, Matthew was left trying to figure out what was happening to him. He liked women, had a great appreciation of them, but until this morning no female had ever had him wondering if he’d just been struck by lightning.
Shaking his head in disbelief, he turned back to the counter. The argumentative couple had finally decided on their order. As soon as they were done, Matthew stepped up to the counter.
His original plan had been to pick up his coffees and a muffin, then head back to the apartment. Mia had sent word overnight that his final notes for the design were being incorporated into the model and it would be ready for him to collect when he returned to New York on Monday. He’d intended to keep reading through his draft presentation for the planning meeting, but this unexpected encounter with the woman from the airport had him happily changing plans. He was in the mood for something different.
I have time to share a meal with a beautiful girl. I need to make time.
The server at the counter greeted him. “Good morning. Coffee and muffins?”
“Actually no. My friend is just getting us a table over there.” He pointed in the direction of his new breakfast partner. “So we’ll be dining in this morning. Could we please have two full American breakfasts, and two large flat white coffees. Oh, and could you also bag up some of your zucchini nut muffins to go.”
Rachel was beyond pleased to have met up with her hero from the airport. She’d been worried that he hadn’t realized just how close to disaster she’d come. And how grateful she was that he had stepped in when he did and saved her.
The last two nights had seen her wake up in a sweaty panic. She’d dreamt about a mile high pile of suitcases which had fallen and crushed her under their weight. And despite all the best endeavors of a man with chocolate brown eyes and black rimmed glasses she’d remained stuck under them, the breath in her lungs slowly seeping out.
It was pure serendipity that she happened to make her way to the bakery this morning. Kellie had an early stock delivery coming at the gift shop which she owned, and Dan was somewhere up in the back country helping with the search for a missing skier.
Rachel had been left to her own devices. And she being the adventurous sort, had decided that this morning was as good an opportunity as any to see just how far she could walk in her new chain boots.
Half a mile was the answer. By the time she’d come across the oddly named bakery, her calves were screaming, and her bruised hip and knee were threatening to take out an intervention order. She’d staggered inside Manhattan Escapee only to find herself standing in line behind her airport rescuer.
And now he’s buying me breakfast. My day is looking up.
There were some old-fashioned red vinyl upholstered booths along one side of the bakery come café. Rachel ran her finger along the top of the cushions, pleased that someone had recently gone to all the effort of having them properly stitched and re-covered.
On the exposed brick wall above the booths were various photos of celebrities taken while they were dining at the bakery. Aspen was popular with the rich and famous. Quite a few of them seemed to be regulars of the Manhattan Escapee Bakery. Sliding into the booth, she noted a number of the photographs had been signed by the people featured in them. It was all a bit cheesy, but it was fun. A great conversation starter.
I wonder how many famous people have stayed at the Green Tree Resort? It would be cool if Dan’s parents had some of these sorts of photos hidden away somewhere.
Rachel stirred from her thoughts of the ski lodge as her hero stranger moved away from the counter and headed in her direction. He was still smiling as he dropped into the bench seat opposite hers and held out his hand. “I should introduce myself. I’m Matthew Jones.”
She took his hand, and they shook. “Rachel. Rachel Little. It’s lovely to meet you, Matthew.”
It was still strange to use her grandmother’s maiden name, but after deciding that she needed to start her life again outside of Georgia, going through the complicated legal process of changing her name had made sense. Rachel Davilla now only existed on old documents and cancelled Netflix subscriptions. Over time she would slowly erase her past.
Matthew’s smile lifted at one corner. “Can I take it from your easy Southern accent that you’re not from around here?”
She nodded, then shyly replied, “Yeah, y’all can take the girl out of Atlanta, but you won’t ever be able to steal her Georgia tongue. I’ve just moved to Aspen. Like a whole two days ago. That’s why I had all those suitcases at the airport. My sister, Kellie, lives here. How about you, are you a local Aspenite?”
Matthew hesitated. He wasn’t a local, and he wasn’t a snow‐hound tourist. He was going to have to lie. I meet a really cute woman and I’m forced to pretend to be someone else.
He fell back on the vague story which he and Mia had cooked up on the off chance that someone wanted to know a bit more about him. “I’m doing some work with one of the local hotels. Helping out with the busy season finance stuff. Nothing exciting.”
He didn’t like lying to people, but Rachel didn’t need to know who he really was, or why he was in town. If she’d moved here to be with family, then it wouldn’t take long for her to get to know other locals. And if she happened to mention a guy, she’d met … and yeah, it was better he kept the truth of his identity a secret.
I’ve come too far to risk people finding out who I am and sinking my plans for the old ski lodge before I can get the deal approved.
There would be some people who didn’t share his vision. Who might have serious reservations about his glass and steel ultra-modern design. It had taken a long time to get traction on this project, and at the eleventh hour he couldn’t risk the town taking a stand against him at the planning meeting.
But Rachel had just moved to Aspen. Making a connection with someone like her would be a good thing. A safe thing that would help to ease his sense of isolation.
I’m going to take a risk and make a friend.