Knead: Contemporary Romance (Creamy's Bakery Book 1) (2 page)

Chapter Three

Becca

My stomach has been in knots since Mason told me Cody would be working with me today. I do need the help, and I'm grateful I won’t be spending the next twenty-four hours baking and filling chocolate cream sticks, but I really don't want to see Cody.

I wouldn’t say it out loud, but I've never gotten over him. I thought we had something pretty good starting, but his clingy ex was too much for me to handle. We broke up over my insecurities about him still being in contact with her. I want to say it’s because he wasn’t trustworthy, but I know that’s not true. I just have trust issues. And, because I didn't want to become a clingy ex myself, I cut all ties to Cody, including making it clear that he needed to leave Creamy’s Bakery.

The last time I saw him, he had some slut on his arm and was flaunting her in front of me. I guess he was trying to remind me of what I'm missing. Being the insecure bitch that I am, I saw red and told him off. I really did want to cut off his balls that night, but I’ve managed to avoid him for the past few months.

Until now.

When the deep rumble of Cody’s motorcycle vibrates in my belly, I have to take slow, deep breaths to keep myself from freaking out. I can do this. I can be a mature adult. I haven’t always been successful with the
adulting
thing in the past, but I’ll make it work this time.

For Mason.

He needs me to be a grown-up and focus on the job…not on my unrequited love and regret for giving up on Cody so easily.

Filling a large pot with water, I begin to set up another batch of pâte à
 
choux batter. This will give me something to occupy my hands with when he finally comes in. I move slowly so I don't finish before he even gets inside the building.

It’s not until I hear the quiet tap of his boots entering the back door and smell the scent of his cologne and leather that I start moving with purpose. When I feel his stare burning through my backside, I turn from the boiling water and flour mixture to nod in his direction. “Hey, Cody. Thanks for coming out.”

That was pretty good. I have to hold back a smile at how proud I am for managing such a cordial greeting.

“Becca, it's good to see you.” Cody slowly walks toward me, but I turn away, completely focused on stirring the flour to the perfect consistency. When I feel him step up behind me and place both of his strong hands on my shoulders, I want to melt into him. Just this simple touch is more than I’ve felt in months.

“I’ve missed you,” he says quietly against the shell of my ear.

My whole body freezes and I can’t respond. How do you respond to that? Feeling my throat tighten with emotion over those three words, I just stand there in silence.

Cody senses my discomfort and backs away. “So, where should I start?”

I breathe deeply then point to the cooling racks.  “Start with the unfilled sticks. Those all need to be filled with chocolate and dipped.” I glance in the direction of the walk in refrigerator. “There are several bowls of filling all ready. I need to get finished with today's orders before I can help you.”

“Sure thing,” he says, walking to the hand sink to get cleaned up. “I've got all day with you. Use me however you want.”

~**~

For the next few hours, we work in silent coordination. Cody knows what needs to get done, so I don't have to give him a lot of direction. He pipes lines of pastry while I fill the finished ones. He dips them in chocolate while I pack them up.

We’ve always been a cohesive team. It’s just another slap in the face after he choose his ex and her issues over staying with me. I never asked what she needed from him, and I still don’t want to know. It was obviously important if he put her needs above mine. Whatever.

After packing the boxed sticks to take to the Preston's party, I start working on the cake itself. The cake will be built from seventy-five cream sticks stacked up in tiers like a wedding cake with pink and black fondant separating each layer.

Cody doesn’t even try to help me with the cake. He knows I like to work alone on these things so he focuses on getting me cooled sticks for the stacking process and rolling out the fondant in the right sizes for each layer. When I’m on my third tier, I feel an itch in my nose. Not the kind of itch I can sate with a casual brush across my shoulder. No, this is deep in my sinuses, and I know what’s coming next.

Holding my breath, I seal my lips together and take a few steps back, trying hold it in a few seconds longer. I turn and bolt toward the hallway, not wanting to contaminate anything in the room. Unfortunately, Cody emerges from the cooling room, carrying a huge tray of freshly filled chocolate cream sticks. As I barrel past him, I catch the edge of the tray with my shoulder, flinging it out of his grasp. He probably could've saved it if he knew I was coming, but with my sudden appearance, he didn't recover from the shock fast enough. At least twenty-five perfect cream sticks fall, hitting the ground in a gooey pile.

“Fuck…choo.” I sneeze into my hand, not once, but five times in a row. Thankfully, I'm able to slip off my chocolately gloves before embarrassing myself by smearing snot and chocolate all over my face.

Then I remember that I've already embarrassed myself by ruining all the cream sticks Cody has been slaving over for the past half hour. I slowly turn around to inspect the fallout.

“Oh my god, Cody. I am so sorry. That's completely my fault.”

He stares at me, a little dumbfounded, for a full three seconds before he busts out laughing. “Damn, I didn't know you could move that fast. Looked like you had a bee up your ass or something.”

I wipe my nose again. “No, just a tickle.”

Looking at the mess at his feet, I groan, feeling awful. “Shit, Cody. That entire batch is gone. I'm so, so sorry.”

Cody shakes his head and gives me a half smile. “It's okay, Becs. Accidents happen.” He drops into a squat in front of the mess. “Just means I'll have to be here a little bit later
 tonight 
to make up for those.”

His eyes hold mine, not allowing my gaze to wander from his for even a second. I've always been drawn to Cody. Since the moment I met him, I wanted him. I followed him around like a puppy—watching his every move, straining to hear every word out of his mouth, desperate to know him better. When he finally asked me out, I was in heaven. We were only together for a few months, but they were the best of my life.

Cody made me feel pretty and smart and funny—all things I don't normally consider myself. My heavy bangs and short bob give me more of a Velma look than Daphne. And my thick glasses don’t help the geeky appearance, though I’ve never exactly had the GPA to back it up.

But when Cody and I made love, I felt like the most important person in his world. He could worship my body like it was made of fine china. Fragile and precious. Worth taking his time with. Worth loving.

Then his ex started calling him, looking for attention. I couldn't deal with it. I'm too insecure to share my man. Even somebody as hot and out-of-my-league as Cody couldn't tame the envious bitch in my mind that wouldn't allow me to trust him. When he was out with friends, I had to keep checking in on him. When he was in the shower, I wanted to read his texts to see who he was talking to.

I made a lot of mistakes in our relationship, and although I will probably always regret them, at least I know what not to do if another love-of-my-life shows up to whisk me away. Unfortunately, that's a pretty big if, and I'm not holding my breath that it'll ever happen.

Chapter Four

Beth

We’re just sitting down with my Chai latte and Isla’s hot cocoa when I see JR pull up in an older BMW. Last time I saw him, he had a slammed Impala with hydraulics.  I’m more than a little surprised he gave that up for something so…respectable.

“Isla, baby, there’s someone coming here to meet you.”

She looks around the store. “Who is it?”

God, I don’t want to tell her who he is. But he’s gonna expect her to know when he walks in, so I can’t put it off any longer. “Well, it’s your daddy. He’s here to see you.”

“But you said I don’t have a daddy.”

“I know, baby. Actually, I didn’t explain it the right way. You do have a daddy, but he lives far away. And he’s coming in right now to meet you.”

“He is?” Her eyes are big as she scans the coffee shop. Just then, JR walks in, a pink pony with a rainbow mane in one hand and a dozen roses in the other.

Her attention locks on the stuffed animal then moves up to the light brown eyes I couldn’t stop staring into when I first met him. There was something about his “bad boy” persona that attracted me, even though I knew he was trouble. But one night with a busted condom was all it took to keep us connected to each other forever. I’ll never regret having Isla, but I sometimes wish I had her with someone else. Someone that would never hurt or disappoint her. Someone like Nate, my brother-in-law. His estranged ex dropped her kid at his doorstep two years ago, and he immediately stepped up to the plate.

Then again, maybe I should be a little more open minded with JR. It’s possible he’s grown up and made some positive changes in his life.

He struts over to us, extending the pony to Isla. “Hi, sweetheart. This is for you.”

“For me?” Isla accepts the gift and hugs it to her chest. Then she turns and whispers loudly in my ear. “My daddy gave me a present.”

JR beams at her acknowledgment of his parentage.

“I can see that, baby. And it’s just the kind you love.” I push a stray lock of hair behind her ears. “What do you say to him?”

Her whole body flinches when she realizes what she forgot. “Oh, sorry. Thank you, Daddy.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart. I hope you like it.”

Isla nuzzles her cheek against the soft fur. “I love it. It’s my favorite.”

I can tell by the longing in his eyes that he wants to pick her up. Fortunately, he has the good sense to keep some distance. After all, she was just a few months old when she last saw him. He finally looks at me. “And these are for you.”

I smile and take the bouquet from him. “Thanks, JR. They’re lovely.”

“Like you, babe. You haven’t changed a bit.”

That’s what you think…
“Actually, I have. I’m a completely different person now. I’ve grown up.”

He looks me over again and winks. “Yes, you have.”

“I’m Isla.” My sweet girl holds out her hand the way she was taught when meeting new people.

“I know, sweetheart. I was there when you were born. I signed your birth certificate.”

“He was there, Mommy?” She turns to me with an almost accusing tone.

“Yes, he’s your daddy. We lived with him when you were a tiny baby.”

“Why don’t we live with him now?” She looks between me and her father.

JR gives me a pointed look, challenging me to come up with a good answer.

“You and I had to move away, but now you get to see your daddy again. That’s nice, right?”

JR’s eyes narrow, but he lets Isla ask the question I don’t want to answer. “So Daddy will live with us now?”

A wide grin spreads across JR’s face. Obviously, I ignore it while speaking as much to him as to my daughter. “No, baby. He’s going to visit us sometimes, but we live by ourselves now. No one is moving in with us any time soon.”

“Babe, if Isla wants to live with me, she can. Either I’ll go to your house, or she can come stay with me.”

His intense stare makes my heart beat faster, and my breath comes in short gasps. He can’t seriously be threatening me. But he is. That’s exactly what he’s telling me. I can’t keep him from seeing his daughter, so either I let him come to us or he’ll try to take her away. That is
not
an option.

“We’ll take it slow and see how things go. No need to get all worked up about anything at this point.” I smile as sweetly as possible at JR, hoping to keep things civil.

“Not too slow.” He winks and turns his attention back to Isla. “What are you drinking, sweetheart? Coffee already?”

Isla nods her head. “Kid coffee.”

“Hot chocolate,” I say loud enough to fend off some of the judgy stares from the few people around us. “With only half the syrup they usually use.”

“Mmm, that sounds good.” JR is really laying on the sweet father routine pretty good. “Maybe I should get some of that.”

“You should.” Isla nods her head furiously. “You even get whoop cream on top.”

“As soon as you finish up, we can go to the park for a while and play.” He really seems enamored with the little girl he hasn’t seen in years. My heart softens toward him just an inch.

“You’ll play with me?” Isla looks shocked that this strange man wants to play with her. Truthfully, I am too.

“Of course. That’s why I’m here. I want to get to know you again. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”

Isla takes a deep swig of her little cup then hands it to me. “I’m full, Mommy. We can go now.”

~**~

I sit on a bench and keep a close eye on JR. He seems to be really enjoying his time with Isla. That alone worries me. I hoped he might get bored or annoyed by dealing with a toddler. But he’s not. He pushes her on the swing then spots her on the monkey bars. With his strong arms under her, Isla is able to make it all the way across for the first time.

He helps her down and she’s running to tell me about her accomplishment when his phone rings. JR looks at the screen and then up at me. I roll my eyes, knowing what's coming next. JR holds up one finger and turns in the opposite direction as he takes the call. “Yes.”

Hmm. Maybe he hasn’t changed at all. I remember these moments all too well. He’ll give me the “sorry, babe, but I’ve got to take care of business” story that I’ve heard a hundred times. I don't know how many car salesmen can do business in the middle of the day when they're out of town. But I can’t wait to hear what he comes up with.

Handing Isla her water bottle, I ask her to sit with me while we wait for JR to come back.

When he finally does, I’m surprised by his expression. He seems truly happy to be with us. Not annoyed and anxious to get going.

“Who was that?” I ask, waiting for his story.

His tight smile does nothing to hide his annoyance. Honestly, it really isn't any of my business who he’s talking to. I certainly wouldn't tell him who I was talking to. But I know he can hear the suspicion in my voice, and that's enough for now.

He hasn't won this game yet.

Ignoring my question, he kneels down to look at Isla instead of me. “Maybe we can go to dinner?”

“No, thanks. I think we're okay for dinner. We have plans with my sister.” I gently nudge Isla’s shoulder back to my side. “It was great to see you. Maybe we can do this again sometime.”

JR slowly smiles, seeing right through me. “Yeah, okay. We’ll do this again. How about
 tomorrow?” 

Isla bounces on her toes. “Y
es, please.” She lifts her arms for him to carry her.

My jaw drops to the ground as JR scoops her up and wraps both of his arms around her back, squeezing her to his chest. “It's so good to see you, mija. You're such a pretty girl, just like your momma. I’ll go to your house
tomorrow, and we’ll have dinner together….like a family.” 

His declaration to her is clearly a challenge to me.

“Okay,” Isla easily agrees.

“Oh, actually, I think we might be staying at Auntie Amy's
tonight,
baby. We’ll just meet Daddy here if you'd like to play at the park again.” I raise an eyebrow at her playfully. “But only if you're good tonight.”

“I will be. I’m always good.” Isla turns to her father and holds his jaw between her little palms. “Mommy says I'm always a good girl.”

JR smiles and his cheeks bunch up beyond the tight hold of her fingers. “I'm sure you are, sweetheart. You’ve been a very good girl today.”

His eyes shoot to mine, making it clear I have
not
been a good girl. That's fine with me. He needs to know I’m not a scared little girl anymore. I will not be intimidated by him, nor will I allow him to hurt me or my daughter.

“Yup.”
I don’t mean to be dismissive to Isla, but I’m not going to play this game of talking to JR through riddles to my daughter.
After gathering up her sweater and water bottle from the bench, we start walking toward the lot where I left my car. “
We can meet here at three tomorrow.”

“That works. But, I want to have dinner after. Anywhere Isla likes to go.”

“Can we have pizza?”

“Absolutely. Anything for my baby girl. We’ll go for pizza after we play, okay, sweetheart?”

“Okay, Daddy.” She leans forward and gives him a kiss on the cheek. My jaw clenches at the sight. She doesn't even know him. Isla has always been an affectionate child, but this is starting to scare me. If she gets attached to JR, it's gonna be much harder to keep them apart if he is still as screwed up as before. He’s going to have to jump through a lot of hoops for me to trust him again.