Breaking All the Rules (11 page)

“Quite a bit,
actually,” she said, her mouth curving into a secret smile.

“Good things, I
hope.”

“Enough to know
you make her very happy.”

He couldn’t help
but feel a surge of satisfaction at her words. “I’m glad to hear that. Then she
probably told you about the other night.”

Her smile
slipped, a hint of sympathy entering her expression. “About you asking her out
on a real date? It only took you three years.”

“Evidently it
was still too soon,” he noted, unable to keep the frustration completely out of
his voice.

She nodded.
“Yes, from the sound of it, there never would have been a good time, not at
long as you’re in the Marines.”

“I’m kind of
hoping to change her mind, and thought you might be able to help me with that.”

Ashley’s
eyebrows shot sky high, doubt written all over her face. “Nina’s not that big
on changing her mind.”

He grimaced.
“Don’t I know it. But there’s a first time for everything.”

“I guess,” she
said skeptically. She glanced back at the shop. “I need to get back inside.
Come in if you want.” She automatically headed for the door. Bobby immediately
moved to follow, not about to give up now.

As he entered
the shop behind her, Bobby stopped inside the door to take in the place. He
hadn’t really known what to expect. As many times as Nina had mentioned the
bakeshop, he’d never given too much thought to what it looked like. In the back
of his mind, he guessed he’d figured it would be small, but—knowing Nina—nice
and well-run. So as he scanned the room, a sense of pleasant surprise washed
over him, his lips curving into a smile.

He’d been right.
It was nice. No, it was better than nice. It was pretty damn great. It wasn’t
huge, but it was bigger than it looked from the outside. Or maybe it just
seemed that way, the room arranged to make it feel spacious and airy. Afternoon
sunlight poured in through the large windows to give the room a warm glow. He
wasn’t surprised to see half of the small tables set against the window were
occupied, the customers taking their time enjoying their coffee and snacks
while busy on their laptops and phones. It was a place made for lingering and
passing the time, the whole room felt so comfortable and inviting.

It didn’t hurt
that the place smelled incredible, like something had just been pulled fresh
from the oven, the scent of it filling the room. The counter was on the far
wall. Both beside it and along the wall behind it were glassed-in cases
containing such a wide variety of baked goods that he couldn’t begin to
identify them all, even as his mouth began to water at the sight of them.

Well done,
Nina
, he thought, feeling a strange burst of pride at what she’d
accomplished here. She really was incredible.

“You’ve never
been here, have you?” Ashley said beside him.

“No.” He’d never
had a reason to. He and Nina had always spent their time at her apartment,
never needing to venture out anywhere else, finding plenty to do with each
other there. Last night was the first time he’d even seen the building.

“Hmmm.” Bobby
glanced over to find her studying him through narrowed eyes. She gestured
toward the counter with a jerk of her head. “Come into the back. We can talk
there.” She led the way, glancing toward the young woman who stood behind the
counter as they approached. “I’m just going to be in the kitchen if you need
me, Danielle.”

The younger
woman, a brunette roughly the age of the pregnant woman who’d left earlier,
nodded with a smile. “Sure thing.”

Ashley moved
behind the counter and through a doorway into the kitchen. Bobby followed close
behind, letting the swinging door fall shut behind him. The room was empty. It
didn’t matter. Somehow he could picture Nina here, hard at work. Somehow it
felt like her.

Ashley turned to
face him, bracing a hip against a counter in the middle of the room as she
folded her arms over her chest again. “How much has Nina told you about the
shop?”

“Not much,” he
had to admit.

“But I’m sure
she told you about everything she did before we opened it?”

He shrugged a
shoulder. “Nope.” Bobby couldn’t help feeling a little embarrassed. He knew how
weird it had to sound considering how long he and Nina had known each other.

“I know it’s
none of my business, but what exactly have the two of you been talking about
the past three years? I mean, it couldn’t have all been sex, right? You had to
take a break every once in a while and…recharge.”

He had to grin.
“Yes, we did.”

“So what did you
talk about? Or did you just sit there in silence until you were ready to go
again?”

“No, we…talked.”
It had actually become one of his favorite parts, just lying there with Nina
either beside him or curled up against him, simply talking. Bobby figured he
knew what the ceiling above her bed—and living room…and kitchen…—looked like
more than any other part of her apartment. He liked listening to the sound of
her voice. Liked feeling the vibrations of it against his body. Loved hearing
her laugh, that full-bodied sound that seemed to come from deep in her belly,
especially when she threw her head back and just let it out, the sound as
unrestrained as the rest of her. Especially when it came out because of
something he’d said. The sound was better than music. It was...pure happiness.

At one point
he’d started to wonder when he’d become a woman, that he enjoyed lying there
talking with her just as much as anything else they did. Then again, Nina was
all woman, and she evidently had no interest in talking to him at all. She was
all about the sex.

“About what?”
Ashley asked, her tone more curious than insistent.

“Nothing really.
Small talk. We kept it pretty light.”

“Sounds like you
really don’t know much about each other at all.”

“Maybe not the
details, but we’ve spent enough time together that I feel like I know her, who
she is deep down. And I think she knows me. When it comes to everything else,
yeah, I’d like a chance to get to know all that. That’s why I asked her out. So
we can talk about…everything.”

“Hmmm…” Ashley
said again. The sound wasn’t exactly encouraging. He was starting to really
hate it. “I guess the reason I’m asking is, if you knew her better, maybe you’d
know what you’re up against.”

“What do you
mean?”

She sighed.
“Look, I’ve known Nina since college.” A small smile touched her lips, and he
could see her remembering. “I never thought I’d have to fight anyone for time
with the oven in the little kitchen in our freshman dorm, but there she was.
It’s actually how we first bonded. I was a little homesick and wanted to do
something to make myself feel better, only to find somebody else already baking
something that smelled amazing. Nobody else we knew was interested in baking—at
least nothing that didn’t come from a mix.” She wrinkled her nose with
distaste. “I guess it seemed a little too domestic for most people. But it was
something we had in common. Spending time in that little kitchen, we got to
know each other and became friends. The next year we ended up getting our own
place off campus—with a much bigger kitchen of our own.

“For me, baking
was just something to do for fun, but Nina already had bigger plans. She wasn’t
one of those girls who was in school to party or meet guys—or even just to
study. We had fun, sure, but she was always working on new recipes, testing
ideas for healthier baked goods. She was a business major, and she knew what
she wanted that business to be. In college she started selling her creations to
local shops. By the time we graduated, she’d created her own little network and
already had a thriving clientele. After college she continued selling her own
stuff, but she also worked in a few bakeries and cafes to get some practical
experience and learn how to run a shop. She knew she would need that kind of
experience to get a small business loan. That was the ultimate goal, to open her
own place. Because she wanted to work for herself, be her own boss. Just like
she lives alone because she wants to. It would have been cheaper for her to get
a roommate, especially right out of college and then in the early days when we
were trying to get this place off the ground. But nope, she wanted her own
home, her own kitchen.”

“Makes sense,”
Bobby said. “Especially since she was working out of the place.”

“Yep. Nina’s
always thinking ahead and she always has a plan.” Her smile turned sheepish. “Unlike
me. After college, I had this awful corporate job I hated that I took because I
thought that was what I was supposed to do. Nina finally got tired of hearing
me complain about how much I hated it and suggested I go into business with
her. She said I might as well be doing something I love instead of something I
hated. She was right. I’m good with money, and I had enough saved by that point
to buy in and make it possible for us to get this place. It was a great idea
for both of us, and it was Nina’s. And here we are.”

I want my
life to be mine
. That was what she’d told him last night. And she’d done
exactly that, made a life for herself that was entirely hers, where she was her
own boss and played by her own rules. He had to admire that. She was living the
life a lot of people could only dream of.

Ashley’s story
was exactly the kind of stuff he wanted to know, but he would have rather heard
it from Nina herself. “Why are you telling me this?”

“So you know
what you’re up against. Nina’s the most strong-minded person I’ve ever met.
Always has been. She knows what she wants, she goes after it, and she’s been
really good at getting it. And she also knows what she doesn’t want. So if she
says she doesn’t want to date somebody in the military…”

“Then she
probably means it,” Bobby concluded. “Doesn’t mean I can’t try to change her
mind.”

“But it does
mean you might be wasting your time.”

“I don’t think
so. Whatever happens, I think it’s worth a shot. I think she’s worth taking a
shot for.”

Ashley stared at
him without saying anything. Again he had the feeling that she was trying to
decide if she believed him.

“Does that mean
you won’t help me?” he asked.

“I didn’t say
that,” she hedged, and he instantly perked up. “The thing is, I know Nina says
that what the two of you have going is purely physical. I’m just not sure I
believe her.”

Oh, he
definitely liked the sound of that. “What makes you say that?”

“Three years is
a long time. And in all that time that the two of you have been doing your
thing, she’s never really dated anyone else. I mean she’s gone out with a few
guys, but never anything serious, never anything more than a date or maybe
two.”

A surge of
jealousy rushed up from the pit of his stomach, tightening his muscles and
grabbing his body in a death grip. He had to clamp his mouth shut to stop
himself from asking for more details. Hell, he’d thought about her while he was
away, and yeah, he’d wondered once or twice if she was with another guy. She
was a woman. She had needs, just like he did. He knew that firsthand. And she
was in a better position to do something about it.

He’d had to make
himself stop wondering. He didn’t have any claim on her or any real right to
feel jealous. That wasn’t the kind of relationship they had. And it was a hell
of a lot easier not thinking about it.

Of course,
Ashley said Nina hadn’t really dated anyone else, not that she hadn’t
been
with anyone else. Everything inside him wanted to ask. Just the idea of another
man touching her, kissing her, even—

Don’t open
that door, man
.

He was making
his claim now. It was long past time. That was all that mattered.

The problem was,
she didn’t want to be claimed. At least not by him.

“She says it’s
because she doesn’t have time to date,” Ashley continued. “And she’s right,
we’re always busy—but not that busy. She could find time for a date if she
wanted to. Which makes me think she doesn’t want to. And I have a feeling you
have something to do with that.”

“Even though she
says she doesn’t want to date anyone in the military.”

“I’m sure she
believes that in general. I’m just not sure that you’re not the exception to
the rule.”

The tension
gripping him started to ease. He liked the sound of that a hell of a lot
better.

Ashley smirked.
“Not to mention, Nina has a low tolerance for idiots. She’s been involved with
you for this long, so I’m assuming you’re not one. Because no matter how great
the sex is, I can’t believe she’d keep coming back if you were an idiot.” She
paused, her eyes narrowing. “Unless you really are that good in bed…”

Bobby had to
laugh. “I’m not sure what the right answer is.”

“Me either,” she
admitted. She studied him again for a long moment before finally nodding. “All
right, Dellucci. I’ll try to help you.” She held up a finger. In an instant,
her face was deadly serious. “But I’m warning you. If you make Nina unhappy,
then you and I are going to have a problem. Understood?”

He shouldn’t
have considered it much of a threat. She wasn’t a very big woman, the top of
her head barely reaching his chest, and her face had an inherent sweetness that
made it hard to imagine her hurting a fly.

But looking into
that hard gleam in her eyes, he knew she meant every word. And he wasn’t going
to underestimate how far anyone would go to defend a friend. “Understood.”

She continued
staring at him for a long moment before shaking her head. “Who am I kidding? If
you make Nina unhappy, she’s more than capable of taking care of you herself.”

Bobby cracked a
grin. “I don’t doubt it.”

“And that
doesn’t scare you?”

“Not as much as
not getting my shot.”