The Baker's Man (6 page)

“He’s huge.”

“Maybe a few inches taller than you,” she said with a slow smile, and Baron pulled her into a quick hug. “I don’t know how long he’ll be here. Not long?”

“Not long sounds like a good answer to me,” he said and kissed the top of her head. He stepped away and exhaled. “I’ll call you when I land.”

Anna nodded. “Be safe.”

She watched indecision ripple across Baron’s face. He didn’t seem to want to leave, but she assumed that had more to do with Eli waiting in the backroom than it did with him wanting to stay with her. She wanted him to stay, to tell her that he couldn’t imagine moving across the country without her by his side. But he turned and walked out. Anna watched him until he rounded the corner and disappeared. Sadness settled over her like poured molasses. Her shoulders sagged. She’d spent two years building a life on a foundation made of piecrusts. What was she going to do with Eli? He couldn’t possibly stay with her in her apartment, which suddenly seemed much too small to contain the two of them.

Eli startled Anna when he lurched out of the backroom with his eyes crossed, rod-straight zombie arms, and dragging his right leg behind him. His bottom lip looked like it was being pulled by a fishhook. “Master,” he moaned, “I am here to do your bidding.”

Unexpected laughter bubbled up her throat so quickly she nearly choked on it. “What are you
doing
?”

Eli laughed and straightened up. “I’m being Frankenstein.”

She couldn’t help but laugh again, despite the fact that her life had turned into a train wreck. “That wasn’t Frankenstein. That was Igor.” She tried to sidestep around him, but he blocked her entry into the backroom.

Eli pointed to his chest. “No. Me, Frankenstein. You, Anna.”

She snorted and poked him in the chest. “No. You, idiot. Me, hungover.” She skirted around him, feeling the heat from his body reach out and blanket her arms, beckoning her closer.

Anna walked into the kitchen and saw the rusted tin box sitting on the side counter. She lifted it slowly in both hands. Electricity danced across her skin. Static filled her ears. If the golden sand in the box was actually the reason for Eli’s existence, then it made sense that Grandma Bea had locked it away and told her never to touch it. Now it was too late. She was a modern-day Pandora, and what she’d done couldn’t be undone.

She held the box away from her as though it might be a ticking bomb. Then she glanced over her shoulder. Eli leaned casually against the archway, his arms crossed over his chest, watching her with his too-blue eyes and a smile. Looking at him, she found herself unable to deny the truth: Eli was hers.

4
Mudslide Cookies

The rest of the afternoon was a circus of activity. More women than Anna had ever seen in her bakery flocked in as though she might be giving away free samples from the Fountain of Youth. For the first hour or two, Anna wondered what drew half of the town’s women in for donuts or éclairs or dark chocolate truffles. When she finally noticed the way everyone seemed completely enchanted with Eli’s good looks and affable manner, she understood. Even the men in town, with the exception of Baron, were charmed. He talked about sports with the jocks, music and literature with the inspired. Anna spent most of the afternoon sweating like a pig in the backroom, baking and trying to keep the display cases stocked.

At least baking was a distraction from the hollowness she felt because of Baron. It was also a distraction from Eli, from the way she wanted to reach out and touch him just to feel the intensity that rushed up her arms and made her stomach feel like she was riding the thrilling drop of a roller coaster, hands in the air, screaming with pure glee. She knew the feeling was
wrong
, but it came so naturally that it frightened her.

She carried a warm tray of freshly baked mudslide cookies to the display case. Eli stood beside a table of four women, all held in rapt attention, and he laughed. One of the women reached out and playfully swatted him. A twinge of jealousy twisted in her stomach, and she looked away. Was the attraction a side effect of the secret ingredient? Did every woman in town feel the same magnetic pull to Eli? Did he turn them to pudding, too?

Anna closed the display case and groaned. Deciding if her feelings for Eli were abnormal or real or manufactured was the least of her worries. She had a man, who had sprung up fully formed from a ball of dough, and she had no idea how she was going to explain his existence at all, let alone figure out what to do with him at the end of the day.

Two hours later, when the bakery closed and she and Eli cleaned and put everything away, her stomach was in such a tightly wound knot that she felt as if she’d been spinning too long on the merry-go-round.

Eli hung his apron on the hook and rubbed his hands together. “Finally,” he said. “You’ve been working like a machine today. Ready for a relaxing evening?”

Anna wanted to say something, but she was afraid if she opened her mouth, she might pull a repeat of the twelfth grade rum incident.

“You really are worn out, aren’t you?” Eli said. He crossed the room and untied her apron, pulled it over her head, and hung it on the wall. “How about you take a bath and I’ll make dinner?” he asked, pushing her toward the staircase.

As soon as he touched her, all the confusing, conflicting thoughts and fears in her head melted. She felt warm all over, like she’d already slipped into a drawn bath. Eli untethered something inside her, and her body seemed to float above them, looking down at the only two people in the world.

Eli grinned. “Your eyes just glazed over,” he said. He stepped away from her and turned off the lights.

Anna blinked a few times. “I’m tired,” she said defensively, and because she had no idea what else to do, she climbed the stairs to an apartment that she could already imagine bursting apart if Eli continued to touch her. Walls would not be able to contain the energy that surged when he came too close.

˜˜˜˜

Anna stood awkwardly in the open area comprising the living room and kitchen, hands shoved in her jeans pockets, and listened to Eli’s footsteps on the stairs. He walked straight past her and into the kitchen. He dug through the pantry and then rummaged through the refrigerator. Anna could do nothing but stand in the living room breathing in the scent of winter pine and hot chocolate.

Eli finally stopped and looked at her. “Go take a bath,” he said and made a shooing motion with his hands. “I won’t burn down the place.”

Anna obediently walked into her bathroom, but how could she relax in the bathtub when there was a stranger cooking in her kitchen? She sat on the edge of the tub and winced as she pulled the rubber band from her hair. Somehow Eli didn’t feel like a stranger. In fact, he felt
too
close, too much a part of her core. She skipped the bath and opted for a quick shower.

By the time she finished drying her hair and changing into her most chaste pajamas, she was tempted to drop onto her bed and sleep for a few hundred years. The entire apartment smelled spicy, and she found Eli grabbing bowls from the cabinet. She leaned against the doorframe and watched him.

“Spying on me?” he asked without looking at her. He ladled chili into the bowls. The room smelled like cumin and cayenne.

Anna pushed away from the door and stepped into the living room. “How did you know I was there?”

He glanced over his shoulder. “The air feels different,” he answered, grabbing two spoons and bringing the bowls to the coffee table. He motioned for her to sit and she curled up on one end of the couch, hoping to put distance between them.

She thanked him when he passed her a bowl. She cupped her hands beneath it and warmed them. “How so?” she asked.

Eli brought a box of Saltines and two Cokes to the coffee table and sat beside her on the couch, causing her to slide so close to the armrest she was nearly sitting on it. She couldn’t risk touching him, not when her defenses were weakening due to the sleepiness that crept in at the corners.

He smiled at her and scooped a spoonful of chili into his mouth. He swallowed and answered, “It’s easier to breathe, like a sigh pulled from way down here.” He tapped his stomach. “Plus you smell sweet, like sugar cookies and cupcakes.”

Her breath caught in her throat. It was a ridiculous sort of compliment, but it made her feel warm and gooey like a cookie straight out of the oven. She tried to readjust her position on the couch, and her knees bumped into Eli’s legs. He patted his thigh.

“Stretch your legs out,” he said.

Her eyes widened. An alarm blared through her brain, and the words
Danger, Will Robinson, danger
! echoed inside her mind. “I’m comfortable,” she lied.

Eli balanced his chili bowl in one hand and grabbed one of her legs, and then the other, with his free hand. Before she could argue, her legs were stretched across his thighs, and within seconds, she felt the white-hot pulse of Eli’s warmth radiating up her legs and causing her entire body to tingle. She could barely breathe, let alone
think
.

“Eat up,” he said. He popped the top on his Coke can and took a big gulp.

She shoved the spoon into the bowl, distracted. She filled her mouth too full and then spent the next few seconds trying to figure out how to chew without food spilling out. When she finally swallowed, she said, “It’s my favorite chili recipe.”

“I know,” he said and grinned at her.

“How?” she asked.

“I know lots of things about you,” he said with a simple shrug.

“How?” she asked again. The chili revolted halfway down, and Anna rubbed her fingers across her chest in an attempt to fight off the heartburn. Did the fact that she created him give him an insider’s guide to her memories, to her thoughts and desires?

“Because we’re friends,” he said and ate another spoonful of chili. He put his bowl down on the coffee table and rested his hands on her shins. “But we’re different, too.”

Anna knew she wouldn’t be able to eat any more. She stared at his hands on her legs, and rational thoughts fled the scene. She felt the uncontrollable urge to reach out and touch him. Eli took the bowl from her hands, which was a mistake because her fingers began to twitch, itching to find out what his skin felt like. Would he feel real? Would she be able to feel his heartbeat? Would she feel a pulse at his wrist, against his neck?

“I don’t know what we are,” she whispered. When his blue eyes locked on hers, she could feel her hand lifting. Even though she knew she should jam it beneath the couch cushions, she couldn’t stop the movement. And then her fingertips were against his cheek, tracing the shape of his jaw line, slipping down his neck. Eli reached up and grabbed her hand, and a volcano exploded inside of her. Her vision tunneled, and she couldn’t inhale enough air into her lungs. She felt herself leaning forward, her eyes closing, wanting nothing more than to see what Eli felt like up close.

The Turtles’ ringtone “So Happy Together” blared from Anna’s cell phone in her bedroom. Her eyes jerked open. “Baron,” she gasped. She jumped up so quickly her forehead slammed into Eli’s, knocking his head into the back of the couch. He groaned, and Anna scrambled over him. “Sorry.”

The cell phone vibrated off the dresser. She snatched it from the air before it hit the floor. “Hello? Hey, you made it? Oh, I was in the other room. Had to run for the phone. How are you? It ended up being a super busy day. I’m lucky I had help… Yeah, he’s…eating.” She shielded her mouth with her hand and whispered, “Of course he isn’t going to sleep in my room. You know my bedroom door doesn’t lock, and that’s crazy. He’s not like that.

“Tell me about where you’re staying,” she said, easing onto the edge of her bed. An evening wind drifted in through her open window, causing her hair to tickle her face. Anna sighed. “Sounds really nice. I guess the firm will keep you busy while you’re there. Oh, okay, well don’t miss your ride. Call me later. Or text if that’s easier. Talk to you soon.”

Anna stared at the phone until the screen went black. Guilt, viscous and raw, churned in her stomach like boiling simple syrup. She dropped onto her bed, arms splayed at her sides. Less than a minute ago she’d been a breath away from
kissing
Eli. She draped her arm over her face and groaned. When she inhaled, she breathed in the rich scent of Eli, all dark chocolate and passion. Anna pushed herself up on her elbows. He leaned against her doorjamb.

“I can’t do this,” she finally said when the silence dragged on too long. “You know I can’t.” She averted her eyes. “I love Baron.”

“I know,” Eli said as he stepped into her bedroom.

“Then you know why I can’t do this,” she said, waving her hands in front of her, “whatever
this
is. You’re doing something to me, and it’s messing with my head.”

Eli smiled. “What do you want me to do?” he asked, sitting beside her on the bed.

Anna slid away. “Just stop what you’re doing. I can’t
think
.”

Eli’s smiled faded. The air around them shifted. Anna held her breath.

When Eli spoke again, his voice was low. “I can’t stop,” he said seriously. He moved his hand across the bed until their fingers touched. “Can you? Tell me you don’t feel it too, and I’ll try to give you what you want. I’ll leave right now.”

Could he really leave? Was he free like everyone else to do as he pleased? The thought of Eli walking out the door made her mouth go dry. He wrapped one finger around one of hers, and she looked down at their hands.

“Do you want me to go?” he asked.

She shook her head, and the sight of his slow smile had her holding her breath.

“I’ll give you some space. Why don’t you go on to bed, and I’ll clean up.”

Anna nodded and Eli rolled off the bed. She scooted farther up the bed until she lay on her pillow and stared at the ceiling. He couldn’t possibly stay, but she couldn’t bear to send him out the door. Where would he go? What would he do for money?
How
would he get anywhere without transportation? He was wearing borrowed clothes and living off memories that weren’t even his own. Anna squeezed her eyes closed. It was worse than that; she didn’t
want
him to leave. Even now she wanted him to walk back into her room just so she could feel the intensity that rippled off him and washed over her.