Sweet Chemistry (27 page)

“Carol, can you put Miles in his highchair? Dinner’s ready.” Heather winked at James.

Jeff and their dad talked about business during dinner, and more than once, Jeff had to remind him he was running the business now. James kept his mouth shut until his dad turned his attention to him.

“So, what about you? How’s
teaching
?” His dad asked with mock excitement.

Ignore it. It’s not worth the fight.
“Great, thanks for asking. I really like Bowman State. It’s a great community. One of my colleagues introduced me to the provost. We play racquetball together.”

“Is that supposed to impress me?” His dad took a sip of his beer and rolled his eyes.

“Joe, that’s enough,” his mom said under her breath.

“That’s up to you, Dad.” James pushed away from the table. “I’m going to get started on the dishes. Thank you for dinner, Heather. It was wonderful. As always.”

An argument between his parents erupted the second he was in the kitchen. James sighed. It just wasn’t Christmas without his dad being a dick. Last year, he succumbed to his dad’s goading and got into a shouting match with him, so this year he vowed to keep his mouth shut.

Things would’ve been different if Kate were there. His dad would be polite and the hole inside of James’ heart would be gone. Why did everything have to go to shit?

“Sorry Dad’s such a jerk. I think he misses working.” Jeff draped a towel over his arms, getting ready to help do the dishes.

“Dad’s always been like that. Work has nothing to do with it.”

“I’m impressed you could walk away.”

“I’ve lost so much. I can’t give him anything.”

By the time the dishes were done, everyone pretended nothing had happened. It was better that way, so they all sat in the living room together and exchanged presents. The lemon bars were a huge hit, but they didn’t taste as good as the ones he’d made with Kate.

Just as Heather predicted, Miles was the center of attention and even made his dad smile. Miles managed to keep the peace for more than two hours, and then as his mom was crawling around on the floor with Miles, she paused briefly and looked at James. “When are
you
going to give me one of these?”

James’ mouth went dry and his stomach churned.

“He’d have to get a girlfriend first. Unless he’s not interested. James, do you like girls or boys?” His dad was sneering at him, waiting for the fight.

“Joe, we talked about this. Be nice. I’m sorry James. Your father has had too much to drink.”

“It’s okay Mom. It’s getting late. I was just leaving.” James stood to leave and no one rushed to stop him. He hugged everyone except his dad. Jeff and Heather both apologized, and Heather assured him she would get his pan back to him on Sunday after dinner.

Alone in his apartment, his thoughts turned to Kate again. Maybe he should’ve quit his job and made a life with her. That certainly would have made his parents happy. But it wouldn’t have made him happy. He wanted it all. He wanted his dream job
and
Kate, but it was obviously not going to happen, and the sooner he accepted it, the sooner he could move on.

The next morning over a cup of coffee, James flipped through the pile of biochemistry tests that hadn’t been picked up before the break. His fingers went right to hers: Kate’s familiar letters rising and falling across the page. The paper slid under his fingers, revealing the spot on the table with the scratch from her belt.

How was he supposed to move on when everything around him reminded him of her? He couldn’t stay in his apartment anymore. He grabbed the bag holding the present Jeff gave him last night and got in his car. An errand would be the perfect distraction.

James drove to a shopping area near the university where he waited in the long gift exchange line. He had never been to this part of town, even though it was only a few blocks from the university. He walked down the street, passing a corner market and a bookstore, nearly tripping over a sandwich board advertising the daily special: lemon bars. Even away from his apartment, everything reminded him of her. His stomach growled and his mouth watered.

The bell chimed over his head and when he stepped inside, his mouth hung open. Painted all over the walls, were incredibly delicate chemical structures of sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, chocolate, coffee, vanilla, eggs, butter, and lemon juice. The long counter in front of him was dotted with glass domes containing a variety of baked goods.

A rustling sound came from the kitchen, followed by a familiar voice. “I’ll be right with you.”

In her bakery, surrounded by recipes and menus Kate could forget about her past and focus on the present. While making lemon bars that day, she wanted to linger on the bittersweet memories she had of James, but because she was working alone, she forced herself to put on a happy face and help customers.

As she was finishing up preparing for the next morning, the bell over her door chimed. Covered with cookie dough, she headed to the sink and called out, “I’ll be right with you.”

She smiled and walked out of the kitchen. “What can I help you wi—?” Her mouth froze mid-sentence as the man strolling down the counter turned to face her.

It was James.

They stared at each other for what seemed like an hour. Kate clutched the counter and tried to talk, but her words were stuck in her throat. There was no way to forget about the past when it confronted her in person.

James seemed to be having a similar problem, and finally cleared his throat. “What are you doing here?”

Kate snapped out of her trance. “This is my bakery.”

“Yours?”

She pointed to the words on her pink apron that read: SWEET CHEMISTRY C12H22O11. “I own it. I tried to tell you, that night.” A tear streaked down her cheek.

James looked around with his mouth hanging open. “It’s so amazing. All that time when you had meetings and stuff going on, it was this, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, I didn’t want to say anything in case my contract or loan fell through, you know?” Kate wiped her cheek and sniffed. Her heart was trying to pound out of her chest.

“How do you have time for this?”

“I have all the time in the world now.”

“But what are you going to do in January?”

Kate shrugged. “Work just like I do now.” What was so special about January?

James frowned and tilted his head. “What about school?”

“I graduated. On the fifteenth.” Another tear fell down her face. A sharp pain dug into her heart.

“No.” He shook his head. “No. I was at winter commencement. You weren’t there. No one called your name. No one told me.”

She frowned. They had talked about graduation, hadn’t they? In light of how things ended between them, did he really expect her to walk across the stage and make a fool of herself? “I didn’t have anyone to invite, so I opened my bakery instead.” The tears were flowing freely now. She hated how pathetic her life sounded.

“But, I, I didn’t know,” he stuttered. “I thought I had to wait until May.”

A light bulb went off in her head. “So that’s why you said if not now it’ll be next semester.”

James nodded. “I thought it was months. That would’ve been too much to ask of you.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “I ruined everything.” He clenched his jaw as he turned and walked toward the door.

“James wait.” She rushed past the counter and her breath caught as she waited to see if he would stop, and only when he turned to face her did she start breathing again. “I don’t want you to go.”

His fingers slid off the doorknob and his arms hung by his sides.

“I thought you didn’t want me.” A sob escaped her lips.

“That couldn’t be further from the truth.” He took a step toward her. “I’ve missed you so much my body aches.”

She wiped her eyes. “I missed you too.”

“You moved.”

Kate nodded. “I have an apartment upstairs.” She pointed to the unmarked door.

“I wanted to call you.”

“Me too.”

“I didn’t know what to say.”

“Me either.” She took a long shaky breath. “I never meant to interfere with your job.”

“You didn’t.” He looked around again. “I’m so sorry I missed all this.”

“Meg and Tim really pulled through. Meg worked for me all last week.”

When James smiled, Kate’s heart melted. She had missed that most of all.

“It’s all because of you, you know. I need to thank you.”

“For what?” James furrowed his forehead.

“For encouraging me to open a bakery. And helping me make the menu,” she added with a smile. Every one of his suggestions was written in her planning notebook.

“You told me yourself it wasn’t a new idea.”

She shook her head. “No, it wasn’t, but you gave it power. Importance. I wouldn’t have had the confidence without you.” She jumped when his hand touched hers.

“I’m glad I could help.” He was smiling again, and then he shook his head. “I’m so sorry I’m such a fucking idiot.”

“No you’re not. I don’t fall for idiots.” Meg was right.

James took a deep breath. “Yes I am. I should’ve known you were graduating, I should’ve been here for you, and I should’ve told you the truth.”

“The truth?”

He cradled her face between his hands and looked into her eyes. He inhaled and exhaled slowly. “The truth is, I’m in love with you. I’ve known since November, but I didn’t have the nerve to tell you.”

Kate’s body shook as a ragged sigh escaped her throat. “I love you too.”

The moment their lips met, the past was forgotten. They held onto each other as they kissed and when they finally pulled apart, James’ eyes were brimming with tears. “I thought I lost you. I don’t want to lose you again.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Kate went to the door, flipped the sign and clicked the lock into place. She pulled her apron off and dropped it onto the counter then held her hand out to him and led him to the door to her apartment. “Not without you.”

The End

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September Roberts grew up all over the western United States. Her love of nature began at an early age as she explored the Rocky Mountains, the Mojave Desert, California beaches, and pristine glacier lakes. While she was getting her degree in botany, she met the love of her life. She took a break from being a science nerd so she could write the kind of romance stories she would want to read. Stories with love, humor, hot sex, and always a happy ever after.