Puffy & Precious

by Mary E Thompson

  “I know,” I agreed.

  “When you leave there, call me. I’ll meet you at SkinnyCakes and help you finish everything for tomorrow.”

  “You can’t-”

  “I can and I will. You can’t do all this on your own. It’s almost lunch which means you’re about six hours behind already. What did you get done yesterday?”

  “The fudge, the pound cake, and the cannoli shells.”

  “Good. We’ll tackle everything else today. Do you think Charlie would help?”

  “Yeah, but I don’t want to ask her.”

  “That’s fine. I’ll stop by on my way over and ask her for you. This is the time to pull together. Put your pride away and make it happen. Well, after you tell Brett to go to hell.” She paused. “What are you going to do about Graham?”

  I sighed. “I don’t know. He was right, again. And I screwed up, again. I don’t know how many chances he’ll give me.”

  “Do you still want a chance with him?”

  Emotion clogged my throat as I struggled to picture my life without him. “Yeah,” I said in a watery voice. “I do.”

  “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah,” I choked out.

  “Okay, then we’ll brainstorm how to win him back when we’re baking. He’s good for you, Abby.”

  I nodded. “I know. I was just too stupid to see it.”

  “Not stupid. Blind, maybe.”

  I snorted a laugh. “Thanks.”

  “Happy to help. Now call the mayor and tell Brett to fuck off. I’ll see you at SkinnyCakes in a few minutes.”

  “Hey Tara?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks.”

  I could hear the smile in her voice when she said, “Any time.”

  Chapter 22

  “Mayor Ramsey’s office, this is Olivia.”

  “Hey Olivia, this is Abby from SkinnyCakes.”

  “Oh, Abby, I can’t wait for tomorrow! How’s the baking going?”

  “Um, it’s good. I had a quick question for you. This is going to sound strange, but does Wyatt know my ex-husband?”

  “Who’s your ex-husband?”

  “Brett Bentley.”

  There was a pause on her end. “Mr. Bentley was the opposing counsel in a case I was a part of. I don’t think Wyatt knows him though.”

  “So he has no control over me getting this job or not?”

  “What? No, of course not. Wyatt was the only one with a say in it. Heck I didn’t even get to vote. Not that I would have wanted anyone but you. Did he tell you he did?”

  I sighed and laughed at myself. “Yeah, basically. He’s been requiring me to work for him since I came in for the first meeting. He told me if I didn’t he’d call Wyatt and tell him I was unreliable and shouldn’t get the job.”

  “Wow, he’s a piece of work. He was kind of slimey when we were in court. He kept looking at me like he wanted to get in my pants. Sorry.”

  I laughed. “Not your fault. He wasn’t that bad when we got married. There are a lot of good reasons he’s my ex. This is just one more.”

  “I’m sorry, Abby. I’ll mention this to Wyatt though. I don’t think he should be able to get away with blackmailing you.”

  “I don’t have any proof though. I never recorded any conversations or anything.”

  “He doesn’t need to know that. Get back to baking, Abby. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.”

  I hung up the phone and finally felt better. I could walk away from Brett. For good. I just wish I’d figured it out before I pushed Graham away.

  “I was going to grab some lunch,” Brett said as he walked out of his office. “Want to join me?”

  “I’d rather eat hot coals than share another meal with you.”

  He flinched but recovered quickly. “That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?”

  I shook my head. “Not at all, actually. Better yet, I’d only go if you were the one eating hot coals.”

  “What the hell has gotten into you?”

  “Gotten into me? You’re a piece of work, you know that? You have the nerve to blackmail me and then act like you’ve done nothing wrong. You’re trying to destroy my career and you think it’s nothing.”

  “I’m trying to give you your career. What has that other guy done? Did he get you a big contract? Did he get you in with the mayor?”

  I shook my head again. “He didn’t do any of that, no. But neither did you, so I guess you’re still even. In reality, he’s far ahead of you. He made my shop what it is. He was the one who turned it into the beautiful place I imagined. Not that you’d ever know or pay attention. You only care about yourself.”

  “Watch it, Abby. I wouldn’t want the mayor knowing he hired someone so vindictive that she can’t even be civil to her ex.”

  I crossed the room to him, getting right up in his face. It gave me a surge of excitement to see fear in his eyes. “I dare you.”

  He cleared his throat and stepped back. “Dare me to what?” he stammered.

  “I dare you to call the mayor. Right now. While I’m here. If you’re such good friends, maybe you can tell him all about how you’ve been blackmailing me into working for you after you ‘got’ me the job for tomorrow. I’d love to know what he had to say about that.”

  “Blackmail is a bit strong of a word.”

  “I don’t think it is. I’m pretty sure it’s fairly accurate.” The phone rang in his office. “And I’m fairly certain the mayor would feel the same way.” The phone kept ringing. “You should probably get that. He doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

  All the blood drained from Brett’s face. His eyes snapped to the ringing phone then back to me. “You’re lying. That’s not the mayor.”

  I shrugged. “Suit yourself. You don’t have to answer. I doubt it’ll help your case though.”

  “You answer it, Abby,” Brett demanded.

  I shook my head. “No, see that’s the thing. I’m not ever going to work for you again. I have a job, and I don’t plan to be blackmailed into doing a second one.” The ringing stopped. “That’s not good, Brett. Mayor Ramsey does not like to be kept waiting. It bothers him almost as much as blackmail.” The phone started ringing again. “I’d get it this time.”

  Brett threw me an eat-shit look before rushing back into his office.

  “Brett Bentley,” he barked into the phone. I smiled when I heard him say, “Yes, Mr. Mayor. No, Mr. Mayor. That’s not true. No! She’s lying!”

  I grabbed my purse and walked out, the sweet sound of Brett’s protests my soundtrack.

  When I made it back to SkinnyCakes, Tara, Charlie, and Carrie were already waiting for me. I hugged them all. “I can’t tell you guys how much this means to me. Are you sure you can be away?”

  “Mom was fine with it. Don’t stress.”

  “Drew and Xander are out on a job so I was alone in the office anyway.”

  “Kendall is already there. She didn’t have school today and was happy to get a few extra hours in. Addi is going to come too. Sam and Brady have a shift tomorrow, but she didn’t think she’d be much help baking.”

  “You guys are amazing,” I gushed, tears filling my eyes. “I never thought I’d get everything done.”

  “We’ll take care of it. If we have to work all night, we will. Let’s go get started,” Carrie said.

  I nodded and unlocked the front door. Then froze.

  “What’s that noise?” Tara whispered.

  “What’s that smell?” Carrie asked.

  “I don’t know. I think someone’s here.”

  “Baking? That doesn’t make sense,” Charlie argued. Then her face sobered. “Do you have a weapon?”

  I shook my head. “All the knives and pans are in the kitchen.”

  “What about a mug? Or a chair or something?”

  “Really?” Tara asked Carrie. “You want us to storm the kitchen with chairs?”

  Carrie snickered. “I don’t know. I was trying to think
of something heavy.”

  “Maybe we should throw you.”

  “My ass would bring down just about anyone.”

  We all laughed quietly, then fell silent again when we heard the clang of a pan hitting the floor, followed by a loud, “Shit!”

  “Graham?” I whispered.

  “That’s Graham?” Tara asked.

  I shrugged. “It sounded like him. Why would he be here?”

  The others shook their heads. “No idea. Why don’t we go ask him?”

  Tara led the charge into the kitchen, all of us stopping just inside the door. My eyes drank him in, desperate for the glimpse I got around Tara. I never thought I’d see him again, but there he was, in my kitchen.

  Tara cleared her throat, arms crossing over her chest.

  Graham spun around, his eyes going wide at the four of us. “Uh, hey.”

  “Hey?” Tara said. “That’s it?”

  “Uh, what are you doing here?”

  “I think the better question is what are you doing here? How did you get in?”

  He cleared his throat. “Abby gave me a key. A few weeks ago. I never gave it back and just sort of used it this morning.”

  “Why?” Tara demanded, clearly taking control of the situation. For once, I was perfectly okay with someone else speaking for me.

  “I, uh,” he paused and ran his hand over his head. “I knew you couldn’t get everything done tonight,” he said directly to me. “So I came over here to help out. I was there when you made everything and you said you had recipes so I figured I’d get started. I was planning to be gone before you got here. I know you don’t want to see me.”

  I pushed past my friends and walked over to him. His back straightened as I approached. He watched me, but I could tell he was bracing himself. When I leapt into his arms, it took him a few seconds to wrap them around me. He buried his face in my hair and breathed deep.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered against his neck. “I was such an idiot. You were right about everything. Brett was lying and I fell for it. I never should have said all those things I said to you. I was scared. I knew I’d fallen in love with you and the last time I fell in love it ended… Well, you know. And I was scared so I pushed you away.”

  “It’s fine,” he said, but I could tell it wasn’t.

  I pulled back and looked up at him. “What’s wrong?”

  He shook his head and let go of me. “Nothing.”

  “Cut the shit. You’ve never held back before.”

  “Yeah, and we both know where that got me.”

  I sighed. “You’re right. You have no reason to trust me. I shouldn’t have assumed that you being here meant everything was going to be okay between us. I am sorry though.”

  He nodded. “Thanks. I guess I’ll, uh, get out of your way. It looks like you have enough help.”

  “No!” Tara exclaimed. “We could definitely use your help. You know, lifting the heavy stuff and stirring and what-not.”

  Graham smiled at her and I felt like I was kicked in the stomach. I waited for Graham to answer and wasn’t sure if I was happy or not when he said he’d hang around.

  Graham and Tara took one station, Charlie another, and Carrie and I worked at the allergy free station. Everyone had a different recipe to work on. It amazed me how well we all worked together.

  I heard Graham and Tara talking but couldn’t make out their words over the hum of the mixers and ovens. Carrie smiled at me. “That didn’t go how you’d hoped, did it?”

  I shook my head. “Not even close. I thought, when I heard his voice, that he was making some grand statement about being in love with me and not letting me go. Or at least that he believed in me and wanted to be a part of it.” I shrugged. “I guess I was wrong. Not that I should be surprised. I’ve never been able to figure out men.”

  Carrie laughed. “None of us can. Drew and I had our share of struggles. You know I lost our first baby, right?” I nodded. “Did you know I lost it when we were broken up and I thought he was back together with his ex? Or that no one else knew we were together?”

  “What?”

  Carrie laughed softly. “It sucked, but it all worked out. It will for you guys, too.”

  I glanced over at Tara and Graham. His eyes were locked on me, but as soon as I caught them, he looked away. “I’m not so sure about that.”

  “So you make the grand gesture you thought he was making. Let’s face it, he’s not the one who screwed up here, you are.”

  “Hey!”

  She shrugged. “Sorry, but it’s the truth. How would you have felt if he was working on a project at his ex’s house? If he was remodeling her kitchen or something like that. Would it bother you?”

  I rolled my eyes and nodded. “Of course it would.”

  “So why was he not allowed to be upset you were working for your ex? Especially since you were doing it at the expense of your business. He’s in here trying to save your career. I’d say that a pretty big gesture. He might not have been ready for your apology or willing to accept it, but he’s here, Abby. That’s about as big as it gets.”

  “But if it was, then why did he basically push me away?”

  Carrie shrugged. “I can’t answer that one, Abby. Sorry. One thing I do know is that when Drew first told me he loved me it was right after I lost the baby. I was already hurting because I saw him with his ex and then I lost the baby and having him tell me something that huge felt like he was saying it for all the wrong reasons. Like he was telling me because he felt bad, not because he really loved me and wanted to be with me. Could Graham be feeling the same way?”

  I shrugged. “How would I know?”

  Carrie laughed. “You’re the one dating him. Has he ever been in love? Lived with someone? Been married?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What do you mean, you don’t know?”

  I shook me head. “I don’t know. He doesn’t talk about his life. I only found out where he lived this week. About his ex, too.”

  “Okay, I think we’re getting somewhere now. You’re nervous about trusting him because he’s not opening up. You don’t think he trusts you. You need some answers.”

  “Yeah, but how do I get him to talk to me?”

  “You ask.”

  I sighed. “I tried that. He brushed off my questions.”

  “And what did you do.”

  “I gave up.”

  “So what are you going to do differently this time,” Carrie asked, sounding like she was talking to a child. Bad thing was, I felt like it.

  “I’m not giving up. I’m going to find out what’s going on. I need to know.”

  “Good, now go find out.”

  “What? Now? No! We have too much to do.”

  “And you’re distracted. Solve this and we can make some progress. Go ahead. I’ve got it for now. Talk to him.”

  I knew she was right, but I didn’t like it. I took a deep breath, brushed my hands on my apron, and opened my mouth.

  But before I could say anything, I heard, “Abby, we need to talk.”

  Chapter 23

  I followed Graham into the cafe. The whirring of mixers became a faint buzz in the background, but I had no doubt Carrie, Charlie, and Tara would be eavesdropping from the door.

  “I’m sorry,” we both said at the same time, then chuckled.

  “You first,” Graham said.

  I took a deep breath. “I should have trusted you. You were right about Brett, and I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you when you told me he was lying about his connection with the mayor.”

  “Thank you,” he said. “I’m sorry for being such an ass about it. You have a history with him. It couldn’t have been easy to figure out what he was doing.”

  I shook my head. “It wasn’t. But Brett isn’t going to be a problem anymore. He’s out, but we need to fix things between us.”

  “I agree.”

  “I need to know a few things. I need to understand why you’re here. Why you ca
me. Why you stayed. What happened with your last relationship. What’s going on between us. What-”

  “Whoa,” he said, holding his hands up. “Can you give me a minute?” I nodded. “You’re right. I owe you all those answers.”

  “I am?”

  He laughed softly. “Yeah, Ab, you are. Because if you know everything you’ll understand why I got so upset. Let’s sit, okay?”

  I nodded and let him guide me to the purple chairs. His hand on my lower back felt like a balm, soothing the ache that had settled in my heart since he walked out the day before.

  “My mom always needed help. You know this. She was constantly telling me to do everything around the house. The only time she paid me any attention was when I helped. It became a habit for me. I was a good kid growing up because if I wasn’t, it didn’t matter. If I helped her, she acted like she loved me.”

  “I’m so sorry, Graham.”

  He shrugged. “I had a long talk with Travis last night. He told me he was always jealous of me because I was the one who’d get the praise. I was the one who did everything. He was ignored. I never realized how bad it was until he said that.” He sighed. “It carried over into my relationships. I always dated women who needed help from me. Who needed me. If I could do things for them, they’d love me. I never wanted a woman who could think for herself.” He chuckled. “I know how that makes me sound, but I’m going for truth here.”

  He paused and looked out the window. “When I met you I was fascinated with your strength, but you still needed me. You needed me to fix this place up. By the time I was done, I was a little hooked on you. I couldn’t stay away even though you didn’t have more work for me to do. I needed to keep coming over. Of course, I became almost as addicted to your baking as I was to you.”

  I laughed softly.

  “I’ve always looked for something to do to help you. The shelves. The bookshelf. The coffee cart. I have a display for tomorrow in my truck. I felt like I wasn’t doing enough and that was why you didn’t want me. Why you kept going back to him. Because I wasn’t enough.”

  “Oh, Graham, that’s not true. I went back to him because he was forcing me to-”