by Ciz, Alley
When she escaped, she drove away from millions of dollars, and yet now, as a baker in a town in the middle of New Jersey, she had so much more to lose.
She linked her hands behind her back, bringing her elbows together to stretch out after being hunched over for so long. She needed a break before starting the intricate detail work of the actual design.
“Hey, Sweets.” Lyle held out a coffee to her when she made it out front.
“Hey, Ly.” She gratefully accepted the mug. A quick sip revealed it to be an eggnog latte, his holiday creation and one of her favorites. Starbucks had nothing on Lyle’s barista skills.
She spotted Maddey tucked away in her usual corner by the window and headed that way. It was still surreal that one of her favorite authors was quickly becoming one of her closest friends in real life.
She pulled out the Dobby-printed chair across from where her friend was furiously typing away on her laptop and sat down.
A minute later, Maddey lowered her headphones to wrap around her neck, pushed her glasses on top of her head, and blinked herself away from the scene she’d been writing.
“Hey, Hol.” She closed the laptop and moved it to the side.
“Hey, Madz.”
“So whatcha working on today?”
Holly pulled up the Pinterest photos for the cake’s inspiration. The bottom layer of the cake was designed to look like a pepperoni pizza, while the two towers rising from the "pizza" were the sewer pipes the turtles used to get to their underground home. On the sides, she would put the birthday boy’s name and the number 6.
The top was her favorite part. She was going to use fondant to create the heads of each of the Ninja Turtles and have it look like they were climbing out of the open manhole cover. It was so much fun to create.
“Oh my god.” Maddey squealed in delight. “You have to show this to Rocky. She’ll flip.”
“I’ll make sure to take a picture when I’m done.”
“Hell no.” Maddey gathered her things into her bag. “Let’s show her now.”
“Umm…” Her words trailed off uncertain. Though Vince stopped by to visit while she worked every day, she had yet to go by the gym while he trained. She may not know specifics about MMA yet, but she understood how serious his training and upcoming fight were. She didn’t want to distract him from that goal. Another thing her family could mess with.
“What?”
“Won’t we get in the way of the guys and their training?”
“Hell no. I write out of The Steele Maker all the time.” She looped the strap of her bag over her head. “Hey, Lyle.”
“What’s up, doll?”
“Wanna go objectify some hunky men?”
“Always. The answer is always.” He walked from behind the counter, paper to-go cup in one hand while he waited for them to join him at the door. When they did, he took her mug and dumped the remainder of her coffee in the to-go cup, before they all pulled on their winter coats and headed across the street.
As they stepped onto the sidewalk, the hairs on the back of Holly’s neck stood on end, the same way they had whenever she was in public that week.
Maddey, never one to miss anything, noticed how she tensed. “What’s wrong?”
She wanted to blow off the concern. She didn’t have any concrete proof, but at the same time, she’d never been known for being dramatic.
“I’m…not sure,” she hedged. “All week I’ve been getting this feeling like I’m being watched or something.”
Maddey’s eyes immediately started to scan the area, her icy blue eyes missing nothing, thanks to being raised by a former SEAL.
Was it better or worse someone else was taking her concerns seriously? That itchy, bugs crawling under her skin feeling flared full force now that she wasn’t hidden away in Espresso Patronum.
“Idiots.” Maddey cursed under her breath, then said, “Stay here.”
Neither she or Lyle listened, following a few steps behind Maddey as she approached a dark SUV parked down Main Street.
Maddey stalked to the driver’s side window and knocked on the glass for it to lower. Her hands went to her hips, and she said, “You boys want to tell me what you’re doing here?”
* * *
Vince dipped his shoulder for what felt like the hundredth time that day, shoving it into Deck’s armpit and hooking his arm up around his neck. Arms locked tight, he jutted his hip out to swing Deck around his body, dropping him to the mats in a textbook perfect judo hip throw.
“Again,” Papa Steele commanded, arms crossed over his broad chest, serious expression on his face as he waited for his directive to be followed.
This time Nick took up the position across from him as Vince alternated between him, Deck and Damon for practice.
Over and over, he tangled with his teammates, tossing them around his body and onto the padded floor. The move was so ingrained he could do it in his sleep.
He reached out a hand to Damon after another hip throw when movement by the reception desk caught their attention.
Lyle leaned back with his elbows against the desk like he didn’t have a care in the world, and Maddey and Holly stood next to him.
Vince instantly brightened seeing his girl. She never came to watch him practice. Except as he looked at her, really looked at her, she did not look like she reciprocated his feelings. No, she looked down-right pissed. And Maddey, well, yippie-ki-yay, she looked ready to go full-blown Die Hard on his ass.
Uh-oh.
“Oh, man. Someone’s in trouble,” Deck sing-songed.
“Shit yeah,” Nick agreed. “I don’t think I’ve seen an expression that fierce since the day after Tommy attacked Jordan back in college.”
“Oh, yeah, she was not happy to catch that team meeting, that’s for sure,” Damon added.
“If those girls are feeling even a tenth of what JD was that day, you are screwed.” Nick clapped him on the shoulder, backing away, out of the line of fire.
They were probably right. Maybe a little charm could get him out of whatever trouble he now found himself in.
“Hey, Cupcake.” He gave her the smile he knew she loved because it showed off the dimple in his left cheek.
“Oh, no.” Holly crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t you hey, Cupcake me.”
Okay, so charm isn’t going to work.
Swallowing hard, he started to try again but was cut off by her slashing a hand through the air.
“What did you do, Vince?” Her voice cracked.
“I’m not quite sure I know what you mean, babe,” he hedged.
“Don’t play dumb, Vin. It doesn’t suit you,” Maddey cut in. “She’s talking about the SUV filled with a security detail she had no idea about.”
Welp. This wasn’t good.
“They were there to keep you safe.” He spoke directly to Holly. Sure, having a Covenette mad at him was never ideal, but he could handle Maddey. Having his girlfriend pissed at him, that wasn’t acceptable.
“How long?” Holly asked.
“How long what?” He moved in her direction, his long legs eating up the space between them until he stood directly in front of her.
“How long have you had them watching me?”
He didn’t want to answer the question but had to.
“Since Monday.”
Her whiskey eyes flashed like fire at his admission.
“So for almost a week, you’ve had people…what…tailing me? And not once did you think to bring it up to me?” The wounded tone of her voice gutted him.
“I needed you safe.” Maybe he went about things the wrong way, but he wouldn’t apologize for taking steps to make sure nothing happened to her. She was too fucking important to him.
“Safe?” she cried. “Safe from what? My family?”
He scrubbed a hand over his face, the cotton wraps absorbing some of the sweat beaded on his forehead. He cast a glance around the gym as he tugged on his hair, every eye locked on them. The middle of the g
ym was not the place for this conversation.
Taking Holly by the hand, he pulled her to the back. He needed privacy for the groveling he was about to do. He led her through the open door of his sister’s office, shutting and locking it behind them. He wasn’t risking any interruptions.
He nudged her until the back of her legs hit Rocky’s desk, caging her against it with his body. His hands lifted to her face, his wraps preventing him from cradling it the way he wanted. His thumbs put pressure under her chin until she lifted her face to his, her eyes watery when they locked onto his. The sight damn near broke his heart.
“Vince, what the hell is going on?”
“I hired a few of Jamie’s security guys to keep an eye on you and make sure you stayed safe.”
“From my family?” Her voice was resigned as if she already knew the answer.
“Of course from your family.” His fingers flexed against her face.
“Oh, Vince.” Her voice softened, and her forehead fell to his chest.
He scoffed, her head snapping up at the sound.
“They can’t have you back.”
“What do you think they are going to do? Kidnap me off the street?”
“How the hell am I supposed to know?” He threw his hands up, pacing away from her. “All I know is there’s a threat out there. A threat I can’t see, and if I can’t see it, how am I supposed to fight it?”
Anger and discontentment bubbled under his skin in a way they never had before. He was one of the jokesters of the group, a good time guy, things rolled off his back like water off a duck. If the threat was against him, he could shrug it off, but that wasn’t the case here. Holly was being threatened. A fact that was completely unacceptable.
“Look.” She cleared her throat as she watched him pace. “I understand why you did what you did. What I don’t understand is why you didn’t tell me about it. Do you have any idea how freaked out I’ve been this week, feeling like I had a target on my back? That someone was watching my every move?”
The way her voice broke at the end pierced his heart. He was back at her side, lifting her onto the desk, arms holding her to him as he dropped his forehead to hers.
“I’m sorry I had a hand in making you feel that way. It was never my intention. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about hiring security, but I’m not sorry I did it.”
He placed a finger over her lips, stopping whatever protest was about to come.
“I want you safe. No, I need you safe.” He linked his fingers behind her neck. “You have become an essential part of my life. I need to know you’re safe even if I’m not with you.”
Her breath hitched.
“If anything happens to you, and I could have prevented it, I would never be able to forgive myself. So no, I won’t apologize for taking the steps I deemed necessary in protecting you when I couldn’t be there.”
“It wasn’t your decision to make.”
“The fuck it wasn’t.”
“Don’t you dare go all growly alpha man on me right now.” She leveled him with a hard look. “I understand why you did it. If you had asked me about it, I would have agreed. But that’s the thing, Vince…you didn’t ask.” She pulled back from him. “You never ask.”
Well, shit. He fucked up.
“If this”—she flicked a finger between them—“you and me is going to work, you need to learn to ask me. When you just act without asking, you’re taking away my consent.”
He was like her douchebag father. He may not have put his hands on her, but she was right, it was like he was trying to control her. That was never his intention.
“I’m sorry.” He pressed his forehead to hers again, took a deep breath and prepared for what he was about to say.
Because once he did, there was no taking it back.
“I love you, Holly.” His head dropped as she ripped hers away to lock eyes with him, mouth slack in shock. “I don’t care if it’s too soon or if people think I’m crazy, but I do. I think I’ve loved you since that first day I caught you dancing around in the kitchen at EP.” His thumbs caressed her cheeks. “I love you and I’m going to marry you one day. And I don’t give a fuck how much money your family has, or how much power they think they have, there is nothing that will keep us apart.”
A sob escaped. Her arms wound around his neck as her legs went around his hips. She crashed her mouth to his in an all-consuming kiss. No, kiss was too tame a word for what was happening. It was more like a blending of their souls.
Fuck. Love was turning him into some sort of weepy poet.
Whatever, it didn’t matter.
Nor did the fact that she didn’t say the words back.
He didn’t need them.
Her kiss said it all.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Hours later, Holly put the finishing touches on the Ninja Turtle cake. She was the last person in the coffee shop since Espresso Patronum had closed a half an hour earlier. It was super rare for her to be there that late, but after everything went down with Vince earlier, she'd spent a few hours decompressing with Maddey before returning to finish the cake.
Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, tangled together like Christmas lights at the start of the season. Even singing along to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” wasn’t doing anything to help process all the emotions.
First, there was the threat of her family.
Then there was the whole going behind her back and hiring a security detail. She'd confronted Kyle about it, but he and Lyle both claimed ignorance. They had no reason to lie, and Lyle looked just as shocked as she and Maddey when they made the discovery.
It wasn’t that he hired security. What hurt the most was how he kept it from her, not once thinking to include her in a decision that directly affected her. For twenty-three years that was her life, she wasn’t going back to it—at least not willingly.
The cherry on top of the emotional maelstrom of the day was hearing the three words she never expected from him. And holy Buddy you’re not an elf, talk about delivery. The way he declared not only his feelings but his intentions, she was floored.
Though she felt the same—there was no doubt in her mind, she did love him—she didn’t say the words back. A part of her was too pissed about being kept in the dark to allow them to pass her lips. It was also why she didn’t text him about working late. She told Becky and Gemma, knowing they would pass along the information, but avoided reaching out to him directly. It was petty, but she was ticked off enough not to care.
She ran the fondant trimmer down the long rectangle of white fondant rolled out on the counter. All the other layers were done, now she worked on the finishing touches of the pizza base. A group of red speckled fondant cut out to resemble pepperoni, as well as the dime sized black donut shaped circles for olive slices waited for her to place the cheese of the pizza down. Though the cheese pieces were the easiest to cut, it took the longest because she needed so much of it.
Section by section she sprinkled her “cheese” on the pizza, letting the pieces fall like they would before it melted flat inside an oven. As she placed the last of the “olive slices” on the pie, she wasn’t at all surprised to see a large shadow fill the doorway to the kitchen. It took him longer to show up than she'd thought it would.
Ignoring him, she concentrated on lifting and balancing the heavy cake to move it to the fridge until it was picked up in the morning.
“Vin.” She turned to face him, wiping the remnants of sugar left from the fondant on her leggings. She ate up the sight of her sexy AF boyfriend leaning against the doorjamb, black joggers, white henley, backward Yankees hat, sheepish expression on his face. Why did she have to be so taken with him? She wanted to stay mad, she really did, but how the hell was she supposed to do that when he looked like that?
He tried to hide the wince from her not calling him Muffin, but she caught it.
“Hey, Cupcake.” He didn’t enter the kitchen like usual. As if waiting for per
mission to enter like a vampire needing to be invited inside.
“What are you doing here?” She started to wipe down her work station, needing to look away before she jumped him. She may be mad at him, but the sight of him was enough to have her wet.
“I came to apologize.” His deep voice rumbled through her body, and her nipples stood up in attention.
“You already did that.” She tossed the last of her tools in the sink to be washed.
“I did. But this time, I’m going to apologize properly.” With her back to him, she couldn’t see but heard him push from his post and head in her direction. His hands went to her hips, spinning her around and lifting her onto the freshly wiped counter. He spread her knees as he stepped between them, crowding into her space.
His silvery eyes were the deep charcoal color they turned when supremely turned on, the thick fringe of black lashes around them only adding to their intensity. For such a fun-loving guy, he was intense with her. It was a heady thing to experience.
He stroked a thumb across the arch of one of her brows, continuing down, following the line of her jaw, not stopping until it came to rest on her bottom lip.
“Fuck, I’m sorry, baby.” His eyes stayed locked on her mouth. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I only hoped by not telling you it wouldn’t add to the stress of the situation.”
I know.
Her fingers played with the ends of his hair exposed underneath his hat.
“I really am sorry, baby.”
“I know. And I forgive you.” And she did. Deep down, a part of her knew that, though misguided, his actions came from a place of love, not control.
“Good.” A mischievous gleam entered his eyes. “Now…time for me to apologize properly.”
“Isn’t that what you just did?”
“Sure. With my words.” He reached for something behind her. “But haven’t you ever heard the phrase, actions speak louder than words?”
He tunneled his fingers underneath the hem of her 'It is NEVER too early for Christmas music' t-shirt, lifting it from her body and tossing it over his shoulder. Deftly he popped the clasp on her red bra, giving it the same treatment as her shirt.
