by Katy Kaylee
“Did you know my dad cheated on my mom?” I wasn’t sure why I shared that.
“As you said, it’s a small town. I heard rumors.”
I stood, staring at my paint job. “I hated the look on my mother’s face when she found out. She never looked at him the same again. Even after the counseling and his attempts to make amends. She stayed with him, but something between them broke, and couldn’t ever be fixed.” It was yet another reason why marriage made no sense. I’d helped people who once loved each other, hurt the other through a vicious divorce. And I’d seen my mother suck it up and stay with a man she no longer loved or respected. Both things were rotten and something I never wanted to experience.
“I’m sorry, Jake. I know you’re a good person. I’m just…I’m so disappointed in Tony.”
I nodded and started painting again. “That’s why focusing on your career and other goals is important, Sof. They won’t hurt you.”
17
Sofia
I watched Jake as he smoothed the pretty pastel green on the wall. I wanted to hug him and take away the pain of his father’s cheating.
That’s why focusing on your career and other goals is important, Sof. They won’t hurt you.
His statement was a reminder that his previous comments about his dick coming alive only for me didn’t mean anything except that he was attracted to me. Our arrangement was working, but it would come to an end. The fact that there was an expiration date was probably what helped make it work. Jake was clear that he wasn’t a man to make a commitment to a woman. He could be with me without fear that I’d get attached because we had a deal.
The problem for me was that I was attached. More than attached. I was pretty sure I was in love with Jake. I’d always been infatuated with him since the moment I discovered boys as a teenager. That feeling of excitement and attraction was there every time I saw him. But now there was something different. Something more, and I was scared to death that it was love.
The way he’d hold me at night, or give me a kiss in the shower as he was getting ready to go out for his morning run made my heart fill with happiness. I’d told him I wasn’t going to play some domestic, subservient wife, and yet, I found myself making dinner many nights, eager to see him after work and hear about his day.
Even when we argued or sparred, I loved that we could do that and still stay connected. He never dismissed my feelings or arguments, but he also never patronized me. If he thought I was wrong or silly, he’d say so. I felt respected by him, and there was a lot of power in that.
And all that, I told myself as I moved to a new section of wall to paint, we could still have when our deal was done. Not the sex or living together, but the friendship and respect we could maintain once our marriage was over. I’d spent much of my life yearning for him, so I knew how to live like that. When we went our own ways, that wouldn’t change. But he was right that having my bakery would soften the unrequited feelings as well as give me something more solid to invest my energy into.
Still, late at night, when he was sleeping, there was that little bit of hope that he’d wake up, pull me in his arms and say, “Let’s stay together.”
Inwardly I groaned. Even acknowledging that in my head was a bad thing. He wasn’t going to say that. He’d had plenty of opportunities to suggest it when I talked to him about the end of our deal. He never suggested that we go beyond the six months, even as a part of the marriage ruse. Instead, he was helping me fix up my bakery and new apartment so that when our deal was done, I’d have a place to live.
Deciding to refocus on my bakery, I said, “Do you think I could expand? Maybe franchise?”
“I love that about you, Sofia. Always thinking big.” He grinned at me and I was glad to see the sadness gone from his face. “I don’t see why you couldn’t open more bakeries if this one does well.”
“Oh, it will do well,” I said, standing back to admire my painting job. “I’m trying to decide what to do for the grand opening. Any ideas?”
“Have food. Food always lures people in.”
I smirked at him. “I was thinking a free cookie or a giveaway.”
“You just need to make sure you can fulfill your promise. If you give away a cookie, you need to make sure you don’t run out of cookies.”
“That would be bad.” I picked up the chalkboard paint and moved to the other side of the restaurant. “I want this to run in a band along this wall and behind the counter, where we’ll have the menu of goodies and coffees.”
“You’ll need tape to create the line before you paint.”
I went through my supplies and found tape and a level. “Jake?”
“Hmm?”
“Do you think people will come?”
“I come all the time.” He waggled his brows at me.
“I thought we weren’t going to talk about your dick anymore.”
He came to stand behind me, putting his arms around me. For a moment, I had that longing again that his sweet gestures meant more.
“When this is done, and the scent of your baked treats is wafting up the street, people will come.”
“There are lots of bakeries in New York. Am I foolish to try and compete?”
He turned me around, his hands holding on my arms and his eyes serious as they looked at me. “Do you know how many lawyers there are in New York?”
“A lot?”
“A lot. Competition isn’t bad, Sofia. It shows that there is a need for what you offer. It doesn’t matter if there is a bakery in every other shop. What matters is that you stand out from the rest of them. Pretty paint is nice and good food is necessary but the ability to stand out from the other bakeries, that’s crucial.”
I nodded. “How do you stand out?”
He laughed. “Apparently, I marry my best friend’s sister.”
“No, really.”
“I bust my ass. I have a list of people I want to represent, and I find ways to help them as a way to get to know them and build a relationship.”
“Is that how you got George?”
I smiled. “That and your less is more philosophy. The partnership makes me stand out too. It shows I have experience and results. Granted, I cheated a bit to get it—”
“No, you didn’t cheat. You’d earned it.”
He shrugged. “It’s just another example of being willing to do what it takes. Like you. You’re willing to put up with me.”
“That is so hard.”
“I thought we weren’t going to talk about my dick.”
I laughed.
“The point is, you entered into a marriage deal that your family doesn’t know about, and I know they’re important to you. You’ve had to live with me and help me deal with numbnuts at work.”
“It isn’t really that hard.”
“Oh?” He pulled me closer, and I felt his cock hard against my belly.
“Oh my God, really?”
“He likes you.”
If only sex and love always mixed. I slanted him a look. “I don’t have any frosting, but we could still Christen this place.”
“I could use a break from painting.”
I took his hand and led him through the swinging door into the kitchen. “Have you ever had sex in a bakery kitchen?”
“Not yet. Can you help me with that?”
“I can try.”
I wondered what the city health inspector would think about my having sex on the work table in my bakery’s kitchen? I’d leave that part out when he made his visit, although it would be difficult because Jake, as usual, rocked my world. I had three orgasms. From now on, every time I entered the kitchen, I’d think about his mouth sucking my pussy and then how he thrust inside me and had me screaming his name as my body convulsed in an orgasm as delicious as my baked goods.
We worked a little more and went back to his place, finally crashing into bed around midnight. He pulled me into his arms, and in the darkness, I allowed myself to settle against him and savor the warmth I felt
in his embrace without him seeing me and wondering if maybe I was getting too attached.
The next morning was Sunday. I woke sore from the work we’d done the day before, but Jake, like a superhero, got up and did his morning run, and then after a breakfast of lavender scones with a sugar glaze and dark coffee, we were back at the bakery painting and decorating.
“When is the furniture arriving?” Jake asked as he hung a picture I’d had framed of some of my baked goodies.
“Next week the bench will be installed. Tables and chairs should be in by the end of the week. So should the serving wear.” I let out a breath as I realized there was still so much work to do.
“What about your apartment? It’s clean but it could use some paint. And how do you want to furnish it? There’s not too much room.”
I didn’t want to deal with the apartment now. Not ever actually. If I put off preparing the apartment, I would be putting off moving. I felt like the silly teenager who’d manipulated my way into seducing Jake five years earlier. Only now, I was manipulating my way out of moving.
“I want to get the bakery done first. If I run out of time, I can just throw a mattress on the floor.”
He frowned. “We agreed to six months, but I’m not going to toss you out if you don’t have a decent place to stay. Or a bed.”
See, my plan could work.
“You haven’t made some sort of plan in your book like you did for the bakery?”
Guilt and a feeling of stupidity washed through me. It was wrong to try and prolong my stay with Jake. And dumb. I couldn’t let a man get in the way of my goal. A goal that was on the verge of being realized.
Still, why couldn’t I have both? The bakery and the man? Because the man doesn’t want you like that. Oh yeah.
“I know I should. I’ve just been so focused on the bakery. My dream is coming true right before my eyes.”
He smiled as he often did when I got excited about my bakery. He looked over the room, now clean, bright and pretty. “It’s going to be a success, Sofia. You’re going to be a success.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“When have I ever been wrong?” he asked.
“There must have been a time.”
“I know about people, Sof. You have the drive, the burn for success. Like me, you put it first, above expectations from your family or other nonsense.”
Was love nonsense?
“You just have to look at Tony to know what life is like when you let others plan for you.”
I sighed. “I would have been married to Joey, making cannoli in my parents’ restaurant my whole life.”
“At first you might have been okay with that, since you like to bake and your cannoli is the best.”
I waved a hand at him to let him know I got his point. “But I’d end up resenting it all and feeling stuck for not actively going after what I wanted.”
“Right.”
But what if what I wanted were him and my bakery? Was I supposed to actively pursue that too no matter what? I pushed that aside. Reaching for a career goal wasn’t the same as seeking a relationship. My bakery didn’t have any feelings or a say around what I wanted or did. Jake on the other hand, was a goal that did have a say, and what he’d already said was that he wasn’t the commitment type.
“Thank you for this, Jake. Really.”
“Ah, Sof,” he started as he put his arm around my shoulders and we took in all the work we’d done. “It was my pleasure.”
I laughed. “You like painting?”
“I like watching you as your dream comes true. I especially like that I’m a part of making it happen.”
I swallowed as emotion flared in my chest again. I shoved it aside, reminding myself he was being a friend. A goal-setting and achieving kindred spirit. I really needed to get a grip.
If only I could share this with my family, but until I was out of Jake’s place, I couldn’t. Only Gina knew what I was doing, but she was so busy with her work and night school, I hardly saw her anymore.
“I hope my parents will be proud when I’m finally all moved in and running a bakery.”
He stiffened next to me. “They will be. Tony will be too. Maybe you’ll inspire him to take charge of his life.”
“I don’t know that he knows what he’d rather be doing.”
“I don’t think so either, but maybe he’ll start thinking about it.”
Jake was right. Maybe I could help Tony. I wanted to punch him in the face for being such a douche, but perhaps I could put that aside and help him find his purpose so he could be happy with his career and his family. I liked the idea of Tony living his best life with Vera and the kids, doing something he loved, and at the same time, a tinge of jealousy. If Tony achieved that, he’d not only have a fulfilling career but also love, something I wouldn’t have.
18
Jake
I’ve always been an impatient person. Nearly everything I wanted in life took longer to get than I’d have liked. Except this marriage. Jesus, had five months really passed? Just yesterday I was saying “I do” and embarking on this crazy scheme that I thought for sure would feel like an eternity. I liked Sofia, but I truly thought that in a few weeks, I’d be going stir crazy having her around so much. Especially after our disastrous honeymoon. I was pleased when we made up after that, but I still thought it would be a long six months. And yet, here I was, a month away from ending our agreement and it felt like we’d only just started it.
In four weeks, she’d be moving into her little studio over her nearly finished bakery. She’d go on to live her life and I’d go on to live mine. And the hell of it was that I wasn’t ready. The truth was, I liked having her around. She was funny and sweet. She could be a ballbuster, but even that was endearing in a sadistic sort of way. It would be weird to come home and not have the scent of cakes and cookies in my place. And, I’d miss having her in my bed.
I’d never spent so much time with one person. I’d never lived with a woman, and while I’d had a few all-nighters, I’d never spent night after night sleeping in the same bed with a woman like I’d done over the last couple of months, once Sofia and I figured out how to have sex as friends. The few women I’d been with that made an attempt to leave a toothbrush or hijack a drawer in my place were promptly dissuaded by my reminder that I wasn’t that type of guy. Was I?
No, I wasn’t. As much as I liked having Sofia in my life, eventually the thrill of it would be gone. It was just taking longer with her, that was all. I knew from all the couples I’d helped get divorced that eventually the passion subsided, love waned, and in its place grew hate and resentment. Look at Tony. He said he loved his wife, but he was fucking another woman. How long before Vera tossed his sorry ass out? I’d hate for Sofia and me to get to a place that we couldn’t stand one another. So, I needed to let her go when the time was up. But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t make the most of the next few weeks.
Her bakery was a few weeks away from opening, and then she’d be ready to finish the studio, which she put off until last. She’d tested many different cookies, cupcakes, pastries and other baked items on me and people at the office, and now had her menu selected. She learned how to use the fancy espresso and coffee machines. She’d agreed to take on a culinary student as an intern, and hired three people to start shortly. One was a pastry cook and the other two would work the counter. It was a joy to watch her excitement, as well as her business confidence, grow.
“Jake. Earth to Jake,” Val said as she walked into my office.
“What’s up?” I said, feeling a little self-conscious at getting caught lost in my thoughts.
“The Madigan case.”
“That’s not mine.” I stood and went to my stash of her brand of Kentucky whiskey. I poured her two fingers and handed it to her as she sat in one of the chairs in front of my desk.
“I know, but I want to give it to you.”
I poured one finger of vodka and mixed it with tonic and sat across from her in
the other chair. “Why?”
“Because he wants to start a foundation in the name of his beloved wife.”
I stared at her, not sure what she was talking about.
“She died, but not before doing all sorts of great things in education in this city. He wants to start a foundation to continue her work.”
“I’m more of a for-profit business lawyer, not foundations.” It was a strange request. We had very good associates who did non-profit set up and law.
“It’s a corporation, isn’t it? Speaking of which, did you set that up for Sofia?”
“S-Corp.”
Val nodded. “Mr. Madigan will be here in ten minutes. I’d like you to join us.”
“Ten minutes?” I was thinking Val had lost her mind.
“I checked with your secretary, and you’re free. Unless you want it to spend it having phone sex with Sofia.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Speaking of Sofia, isn’t your little agreement ending soon?”
I nodded. “A couple of weeks.”
Val cocked her head. “Is it in writing?”
I shook my head. “Only a prenup. Why would I have a marriage of convenience agreement?”
She sighed. “My point is, you don’t have to end the marriage at six months, do you?”
“No.” But why wouldn’t I? I began to think I should have poured my vodka straight because I wasn’t sure I liked where Val was going with this conversation. “I’ve got my partnership and her bakery opens in a few weeks. Deal done. You’ll be there for the opening, won’t you?”
“Yes, of course. We all will. Don’t change the subject. It seems to me, Jake, that you and Sofia have a good thing going. Why end it?”
There it was. Of all the people I knew, I thought Val would be the most resistant to the idea of happily ever after. So why was she trying to make me buy it? “Because that’s the deal.”
