Before she could contemplate this too much, Dillon strode out of the store room. He was wearing the frilly Boucake apron over a casual shirt and an old pair of jeans. His hair was in a hairnet, and he looked absurd.
A grin split her face in two.
‘So I was thinking,’ he said, speaking as if they’d merely paused a conversation rather than started one, ‘that what one does to escape, is in almost every case, entirely justified. And not at all to be held up for someone else’s judgement.’
She took an incremental step forward. He was, inexplicably, carrying a bag of flour. ‘What are you saying?’
He nodded, because this was a reasonable question. ‘I’m saying, that faking an affair to escape an abusive relationship is completely understandable. And a little scary-clever, considering you were dealing with a raging crazy-person.’
That zinging, whirring heat was back again. ‘Who told you?’
Dillon’s expression softened. ‘You just did.’ When she looked puzzled, he said, ‘But I pieced it together too. The way you reacted to what I did after Circus … that was genuine intolerance for infidelity. We only got together after you insisted on exclusivity. And Mal?’ He scoffed. ‘Once I learned a little more about that situation, I pretty much understood the rest.’
He set the bag down on the workbench with a muffled thump.
‘I promise you,’ he said, ‘this is the absolute last time I beg you to be with me. If you tell me to piss off I will. But please don’t tell me to piss off until I tell you this.’
Abigail’s heart stuttered and swelled when he walked around the counter to be closer to her. When he extended his hand between them she took it so fast that he smiled. Encouraged, he went on. ‘We’ve had a rough start. I’ve known you a month to the day, but I want to know you for so many, many more of them. I truly came alive when I almost killed you with my car.’
She laughed nervously.
‘I’ve got a lot of problems.’ He nodded. ‘I do. We both do. And I’m going to be responsible for my own and I swear you’d be proud of me if you stuck around. But I want to share my problems the same way that I want you to share yours. You know, with me.
‘I’ve been really lonely, and I drank because I was lousy company. For a lot of other reasons too, but … I didn’t respect myself. I do now. And I’m going to keep respecting myself and my body. I figure, by extension, that’s kind of like me respecting you too.
‘I’ve got a sponsor now. I haven’t had a drop of alcohol since I looked in your eyes in my bathroom, and knew I’d never see you again if I kept going the way I was going. But I’ve got this thirst now. A new thirst. For this city. For adventure and for love and … For you.’
He stepped a little closer. ‘I want the kind of relationship that keeps me coming back to the bowl. I could have that with you. And I could make you crazy happy if you’d let me. We can take it slow if you want, but in the spirit of complete honesty: I fell completely in love with you when I was watching you take on that fire with that fire extinguisher. You were bad ass.’
Abigail laughed through tears she didn’t realise she’d been crying.
Dillon’s hands came up to cup her face. He thumbed away a tear on her cheek and smiled. ‘Can I take you to tea?’
It was the same question he’d asked her a month ago, she thought. Spoken with the same inflection. She couldn’t resist responding in same.
‘I’m really flattered. But hell no.’ She waited a beat. Then smiled.
He drew back a fraction. ‘Is that it? No pithy addition?’
Her laughter shook her entire body. ‘I couldn’t think of anything! You put me on the spot, it was the best I could do!’ She pointed at his smiling face. ‘You’ve had time to rehearse all that stuff you just said. Don’t pretend—it was too good!’
They didn’t stop laughing even when they kissed, and their eyes were shining when they drew back from each other at last.
‘Tea,’ she said. ‘And travel. And the theatre. You and me. All of it.’
He grinned. ‘O-cake.’
Thanks for reading Have Your Cake. I hope you enjoyed it.
If you liked this book, you can find a complete list of my titles at www.elisekackers.net.
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ISBN: 9781489299413
Title: Have Your Cake
Copyright © 2020 by Elise K. Ackers
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