“Thank God you’re here!” Max cried out.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“That woman! I want to hit her in the face so hard she won’t remember her name for a month!”
My eyes widened as Liza laughed. “Oh yeah. Ms. Loft. She’s still here.”
“What?” I gasped.
“I’m telling you, Gabi. You need to ban her. Ban. Her,” Max said as he pushed his hand through his short brown hair.
With a moan, I replied, “All right, let’s go get this taken care of.”
Pulling my long, blonde hair up into a ponytail, I cracked my neck, popped my knuckles and got ready to deal with the worst customer on the planet. If she was in New Jersey, she probably would have been taken out by a friend who knew a friend.
I walked into the main area of the bakery. With a smile, I glanced around at the handful of people who filled the tables. I mainly served dessert, with a few options for salads and cold sandwiches, so it made my heart happy to know my creations were bringing people in. For years I was told I needed to add wine to the menu. It hadn’t been announced yet, but the second floor was being turned into an upscale wine bar. A dream of my father’s that I was making my own reality.
“Well, it’s about time you showed up.”
Ms. Loft jumped up and made her way over to me. “Where are the zeppoles?”
I was about to answer her when the bell on the front door chimed, I glanced that way, strangely drawn to see who was coming in. Everything stood still, as if time had ceased for a few brief moments. Opening my mouth to talk, I was stunned into silence. A burst of excitement and curiosity for the man who walked in caused tingles throughout my body.
Holy. Crap’ole.
I’d never in my life seen a guy so drop-dead gorgeous. My eyes roamed his perfectly fit body. Dark hair, sun-kissed skin, and stubble. Damn . . . I loved stubble. Then my gaze landed on his shirt.
Colorado SWAT.
Oh yes. A police officer. How I loved a man in uniform.
My eyes took another gander over his body. Black pants, black boots, and a gun strapped to his side.
Hot. As. Hell.
What would it feel like to be under such a guy like that? The thought alone made my panties wet.
Ugh. Stop it, Gabi. What in the hell is wrong with you?
He walked over to the counter where Liza was attempting to wipe the drool from her mouth. There was something about this guy that kept my attention drawn to him. I’d seen plenty of good-looking men, but this guy. He seemed . . . different. So very different.
That broad chest. Those delicious arms. I bet he could pick a girl up and fu . . .
“Did you hear what I said, Gabi?”
Ms. Loft’s voice pulled me from my naughty thoughts. Good lord. What is the matter with me?
“Is it hot in here?” I asked as I fanned myself and looked around. “Do we need to turn the AC on in here?”
Ms. Loft’s expression hardened. “What? Stop changing the subject.”
I really didn’t want to be dealing with crazy lady right now. I wanted to walk away, push Liza to the ground and finish helping Officer Dreamy.
Liza laughed and my eyes swung back to the counter. I was instantly jealous that Liza was talking to him.
Bitch.
Putting my fingers to my temple, I groaned. “What in the hell?” I mumbled.
“What was that?”
I lifted my head and glared at Ms. Loft. “I didn’t make zeppoles today. I don’t guarantee certain things to be made every single day.”
“But my Henry wanted zeppoles today! I need zeppoles!”
She raised her voice, causing the patrons in the bakery to look over at her. Including Officer Dreamy.
Great. That’s all I need is for crazy to draw the police’s attention to me. It’s one thing to look and dream about a police officer, but to actually draw his attention to me . . . not so much.
“You’re not listening to me! My man wants zeppoles! Gabi, I need you to make me zeppoles. Now!”
And that’s when it happened. I snapped. There was really no reason why I picked this moment to have had enough. Maybe it was because I was missing out on Officer Dreamy, or that Charity was right. I had wanted to call Ms. Loft a fucking bitch.
“What did you call me?” Ms. Loft asked as her face turned red.
“Oh no,” I whispered.
Max laughed and said, “Yeah, you didn’t think that in your head, darling. You said it out loud.”
Looking over my shoulder to Max, I mouthed, shit. He smiled and said, “It’s about time.”
“You called me a bitch!” Ms. Loft exclaimed.
“I believe she called you a . . . fucking bitch.”
My head snapped over to the customer sitting at a table who had filled in Ms. Loft’s oversight. “I’m sorry, but this lady is rude every time she comes in. It was deserved.”
I lifted my hands as I gestured for everyone to stop. “Wait. Ms. Loft, I’m sorry, it slipped, but you seriously cannot expect me to make something your husband wants on a whim.”
She guffawed. “Boyfriend. Christ, do you even listen when I talk to you? Blonde bimbo.”
Oh no she didn’t. I’m finished with this lady. “If he wants them so bad, you could always . . . I don’t know . . . bake them yourself and stop lying about it.”
At first she stood there glaring at me. Then she started laughing, which made me laugh in a nervous way. Peeking over to the counter, Officer Dreamy was watching what was happening. His stare caught mine and my breath hitched. The way his eyes darkened had my insides flipping all about. I couldn’t help but wonder if his thoughts about me had gone just as naughty.
Don’t be ridiculous, Gabi.
“Listen, cupcake, get your ass back in that kitchen and make me my zeppoles!”
Focusing back on crazy lady, my hands went to my hips as I opened my mouth to tell this bitch off. I’d had enough of her kind of crazy. “Listen here you—”
“Excuse me, is there a problem here?”
Glancing up, he was standing there. Up close he was even more attractive. His muscles more apparent. His voice was smooth as silk and felt like a warm blanket wrapping around my body. I was instantly calmed. And then it happened. Stupid took over.
“Wha . . . ma . . . ba . . . prob . . . um . . .”
I seriously could not form a word to speak after hearing that man talk. He not only looked like a God, he talked like an angel. His hazel eyes sparkled as he tried not to smile. There was a touch of gold specks that seemed to shine a bit brighter.
Crazy lady spun around and went to lay into Officer Dreamy when she noticed he was a cop. She dropped her pointed finger and stared at him.
I know how you feel, lady.
He glared at her before speaking again. “Vivian Loft.”
Huh?
He knows her?
“Um, I was just leaving.”
My eyes darted back and forth between crazy lady and Officer Dreamy.
“I’m sure you were. And I bet you were telling this nice young lady that you won’t be coming back. Ever.”
Her eyes turned black. “You’re a real asshole, Nic Drivas! Ass! Hole! I hate you and I hope you get shot!”
All that could be heard were gasps across the bakery. I was pretty sure my eyes were about to pop out of my head from sheer shock. Not to mention I’d have to scrape my jaw off the floor. How could she say that?
What. A. Bitch.
He laughed as everyone watched Ms. Loft storm out of the bakery. The second the door shut, the entire bakery erupted in cheers. Turning to me, Officer Dreamy smiled.
Lord. I’m for sure going to have to change my panties.
Closing my eyes, I got a grip on myself. This was what happened when you didn’t have sex in forever. I took a deep breath and got my thoughts back in order.
Clean. Thoughts. Only.
My eyes snapped opened as I tried to shake away my wandering thoughts. I smiled as I l
ooked up at the tall, dark, and handsome man standing before me. “I take it you know her?”
Officer Dreamy’s smile faltered a bit as he narrowed his eyes at me and stared at my mouth. When his eyes slowly moved up and caught mine, I held my breath and prayed he didn’t recognize me. There would really be no reason why he would, unless he lived in New Jersey six years ago.
Then his smile grew bigger and my stomach dropped fast and hard.
Lord help me. The man could probably make a woman orgasm simply by smiling at her.
“I wish I could say I didn’t, but unfortunately I do.”
Huh. Interesting. Old girlfriend? Old lover? Either way . . . lucky bitch.
“She’s an old . . . family friend.”
Yep. Old girlfriend.
“That is a roundabout way of not saying she’s an old girlfriend.”
I thought he was going to fall over laughing. “Now that made my day, agapiméni. Vivian and me? No. Not a chance in hell. She’s honestly an old family friend who wanted more with me than I wanted with her.”
Agapee what? I had no idea what he called me, but it made my insides melt and I was pretty sure if he told me to drop to the ground and get ready for him, I’d do it willingly.
Nodding, I lifted my brows. “Ah. I gotcha. Anyway, thank you for stepping in. Dessert is on me. Pick anything you want.”
I didn’t think his smile could get any better, but I was wrong.
Cue the dimples.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure I just moaned out loud.
WHAT. IN. THE. Fuck.
I just called this woman sweetheart. I never called women pet names and I certainly never said it in Greek. She showed no reaction which confused the hell out of me.
My heart was racing, and I had to fight to pull my eyes away from hers. Her smile about knocked me off my feet, not to mention the angelic way she spoke.
What is this weird feeling in my chest? Jesus. Snap out of it, Drivas.
It finally dawned on me she asked me a question when she tilted her head and scrounged her nose in the most adorable way. Fuck. All I could think about was having her under me.
“What was that?” I asked.
She laughed, and it hit me square in the chest. The warmth that spread through my body was something I’d never experienced before. It left me feeling both confused and turned on as fuck.
“Dessert is on me.”
Fuck yes. I’d lick dessert off of this girl’s body any day. I could only imagine the beautiful body hidden under all those clothes.
Nodding, I motioned for her to lead the way back over to the display.
“How long have you been open?” I asked while I examined the treats before me. Everything looked amazing.
“Four years.”
My head snapped up. “What? You’ve been here for four years? Always as a bakery?”
She giggled. “Yep.”
I ran my hand over my stubble as I thought about how I’d never seen this little bakery before. “How have I missed this?”
Shrugging, she replied, “Do you live nearby?”
“Not really. I just got back from looking at a little house over on Twenty-third and Kiowa St.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “The blue one?”
“Yeah, some asshole keeps outbidding me. I went to look at it again to see if I wanted to put in one more offer.”
Her cheeks blushed and I couldn’t help but notice how her blues eyes lit up. Chewing on her lip, she mumbled, “Um.”
The corners of my mouth rose into a smile. “You’re the asshole, aren’t you?”
Pressing her lips together tightly to keep from laughing, she nodded. “I am.”
“Damn, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to call you that.”
She waved me off. “It’s okay, how would you have known, right? Besides, I pulled my offer earlier today.”
My eyes traveled her body again. Well, what little of it I could see now that she was behind the counter.
“What? Why did you pull your offer?”
Another customer walked into the bakery, but the other girl who was helping me earlier walked up to them.
“I’m opening a wine bar upstairs on the second floor. With the amount of work going into that, there was no way I could put time into another project.”
“A wine bar, huh? I like wine.”
What the hell? I like wine? Where in the hell is my game?
Her brow lifted. “Well then, you’ll have to stop by on opening night.”
“I’d like that.”
We stared at each other for a few seconds before she broke away and looked down to the desserts. “So, do you have a favorite Italian dessert?”
Glancing again over the desserts, I saw the panna cotta. I loved panna cotta. The creamy custard-like dessert was one of my favorites.
“I’ll give your panna cotta a shot.”
She smirked. “You’ll never look at panna cotta the same again. It was my great-grandmother’s recipe.”
“Don’t you think before I taste your panna cotta I should get your name?”
Seriously?
If I could, I’d punch my own face right now.
What is this girl doing to me? Everything I say makes me sound like an idiot.
There went that radiant smile again. Her blonde ponytail swung around as she turned her head to cover the blush in her cheeks. Peeking back at me, she answered. “Gabi Mandola. And yours is Nic Drivas.”
I smirked. She had remembered.
Her teeth sunk into her lip and my dick instantly strained against my pants. I couldn’t help but imagine those lips wrapped around my dick. The thought of grabbing that ponytail while sinking my cock deep inside her from behind had my heart racing and all the blood rushing to the only thing that was thinking right now.
All right. Down boy.
“Is that Greek?”
My heart felt like it dropped in my chest. “Yes. I’m impressed.”
She chuckled. “Don’t be. When I was little and visiting family in Italy, we went to visit one of my father’s best friends. Their last name was Drivas.”
“Huh. That’s interesting. Could be a relative of mine.”
“You never know,” she said with a smile and a wink.
Yep. I needed to get this girl under me. On top of me. Anywhere the fuck on me.
Holding up my plate, I said, “Thank you for the panna cotta.”
“Sure. I hope you enjoy it.”
I made my way over to a little table. The lady sitting one table over smiled then ran her tongue along her dark-red lips. With a polite smile, I made sure to sit with my back facing her. Plus, that gave me a better view of Gabi.
Glancing down at the panna cotta, I smiled when I saw the raspberry sauce on it. I popped the single berry into my mouth and let the flavor burst inside while I slid my spoon into the custard and took a bite.
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
I wanted to moan. Hell, I wanted to pick up the plate and devour the heavenly dessert in front of me. I’d never in my life tasted something so amazing.
Closing my eyes, I let the taste linger. It was amazing.
“If your mother saw you with that look on your face, you’d be dead right now.”
My eyes snapped open. “Cole?”
He sat down and placed his plate of tiramisu on the table. “You finally discovered my favorite bakery in Colorado Springs.”
Anger raced through my body. “You asshole. Why have you never told me about this place? We eat at Telly’s all the time.”
He shrugged while he took a bite. “I only found it about six months back. And maybe because I’ve been trying to get the owner to go out with me for the last month. If you walked in, she’d be all over your Greek ass.”
I laughed and took another bite. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, she didn’t go all crazy over me. Well, she did stumble on her words when I first walked up and talked.”
Cole rolled his eyes. “And there you go. She’s pr
obably been dreaming of you ever since. Tell me the other hot chick who works here hasn’t seen you yet.”
“The young girl?” I asked in shock. The first girl who originally helped me couldn’t have been more than nineteen.
Cole laughed. “No, not Liza. Her name is Charity and fucking hell she is gorgeous.”
Glancing back over, I watched Gabi moving behind the counter. “I can’t imagine this other girl being as beautiful as Gabi.”
“Yeah well, they’re both knock-outs.”
I turned my attention back to Cole. “I still can’t believe you kept this from me. You know Italian food is my favorite.”
“That’s blasphemy in the eyes of your mother, you know that, right?”
Laughing, I stared down at my dessert. There was one more bite of panna cotta left. Maybe I should get a to go box and bring it home. Savor it later while I thought about Gabi naked and waiting in my bed for me.
“How are the desserts, gentlemen?”
I glanced up and my stomach dropped at the sight before me. Cole and I both answered at the same time.
“Great!”
“Good as always!” Cole added.
I glared at him while he ignored me and kept smiling up at Gabi.
“So, you seem to know everyone today, Nic?” Gabi said with a chuckle.
“Nic?” Cole asked as he shot me a dirty look. “We’re on a first-name basis already, huh?”
There was no way I couldn’t hide my smirk. That’s what the bastard got for keeping this place a secret from me.
“We work together,” I replied. “Cole here is on SWAT with me.”
I watched as Gabi turned and smiled at Cole. It wasn’t the same smile she gave me earlier. It was a polite smile. One I figured she gave to all her customers. For some reason that made me feel good. Really good.
“I didn’t know you were a police officer. Well, thanks for telling Nic about the place, Cole.”
“Sure, of course. I tell everyone about . . . ouch!”
I kicked him under the table. “He didn’t tell me. He’s been keeping it a secret.”
Gabi lifted a brow. “Why?”
“Would me telling you I’ve been sharing your bakery with my friends make a difference in you going out with me?”
Only With Me Page 2
