Knead: Contemporary Romance (Creamy's Bakery Book 1)

by Aspen Drake

  Holding my breath, I seal my lips together and take a few steps back, trying hold it in a few seconds longer. I turn and bolt toward the hallway, not wanting to contaminate anything in the room. Unfortunately, Cody emerges from the cooling room, carrying a huge tray of freshly filled chocolate cream sticks. As I barrel past him, I catch the edge of the tray with my shoulder, flinging it out of his grasp. He probably could've saved it if he knew I was coming, but with my sudden appearance, he didn't recover from the shock fast enough. At least twenty-five perfect cream sticks fall, hitting the ground in a gooey pile.

  “Fuck…choo.” I sneeze into my hand, not once, but five times in a row. Thankfully, I'm able to slip off my chocolately gloves before embarrassing myself by smearing snot and chocolate all over my face.

  Then I remember that I've already embarrassed myself by ruining all the cream sticks Cody has been slaving over for the past half hour. I slowly turn around to inspect the fallout.

  “Oh my god, Cody. I am so sorry. That's completely my fault.”

  He stares at me, a little dumbfounded, for a full three seconds before he busts out laughing. “Damn, I didn't know you could move that fast. Looked like you had a bee up your ass or something.”

  I wipe my nose again. “No, just a tickle.”

  Looking at the mess at his feet, I groan, feeling awful. “Shit, Cody. That entire batch is gone. I'm so, so sorry.”

  Cody shakes his head and gives me a half smile. “It's okay, Becs. Accidents happen.” He drops into a squat in front of the mess. “Just means I'll have to be here a little bit later tonight to make up for those.”

  His eyes hold mine, not allowing my gaze to wander from his for even a second. I've always been drawn to Cody. Since the moment I met him, I wanted him. I followed him around like a puppy—watching his every move, straining to hear every word out of his mouth, desperate to know him better. When he finally asked me out, I was in heaven. We were only together for a few months, but they were the best of my life.

  Cody made me feel pretty and smart and funny—all things I don't normally consider myself. My heavy bangs and short bob give me more of a Velma look than Daphne. And my thick glasses don’t help the geeky appearance, though I’ve never exactly had the GPA to back it up.

  But when Cody and I made love, I felt like the most important person in his world. He could worship my body like it was made of fine china. Fragile and precious. Worth taking his time with. Worth loving.

  Then his ex started calling him, looking for attention. I couldn't deal with it. I'm too insecure to share my man. Even somebody as hot and out-of-my-league as Cody couldn't tame the envious bitch in my mind that wouldn't allow me to trust him. When he was out with friends, I had to keep checking in on him. When he was in the shower, I wanted to read his texts to see who he was talking to.

  I made a lot of mistakes in our relationship, and although I will probably always regret them, at least I know what not to do if another love-of-my-life shows up to whisk me away. Unfortunately, that's a pretty big if, and I'm not holding my breath that it'll ever happen.

  Chapter Four

  Beth

  We’re just sitting down with my Chai latte and Isla’s hot cocoa when I see JR pull up in an older BMW. Last time I saw him, he had a slammed Impala with hydraulics. I’m more than a little surprised he gave that up for something so…respectable.

  “Isla, baby, there’s someone coming here to meet you.”

  She looks around the store. “Who is it?”

  God, I don’t want to tell her who he is. But he’s gonna expect her to know when he walks in, so I can’t put it off any longer. “Well, it’s your daddy. He’s here to see you.”

  “But you said I don’t have a daddy.”

  “I know, baby. Actually, I didn’t explain it the right way. You do have a daddy, but he lives far away. And he’s coming in right now to meet you.”

  “He is?” Her eyes are big as she scans the coffee shop. Just then, JR walks in, a pink pony with a rainbow mane in one hand and a dozen roses in the other.

  Her attention locks on the stuffed animal then moves up to the light brown eyes I couldn’t stop staring into when I first met him. There was something about his “bad boy” persona that attracted me, even though I knew he was trouble. But one night with a busted condom was all it took to keep us connected to each other forever. I’ll never regret having Isla, but I sometimes wish I had her with someone else. Someone that would never hurt or disappoint her. Someone like Nate, my brother-in-law. His estranged ex dropped her kid at his doorstep two years ago, and he immediately stepped up to the plate.

  Then again, maybe I should be a little more open minded with JR. It’s possible he’s grown up and made some positive changes in his life.

  He struts over to us, extending the pony to Isla. “Hi, sweetheart. This is for you.”

  “For me?” Isla accepts the gift and hugs it to her chest. Then she turns and whispers loudly in my ear. “My daddy gave me a present.”

  JR beams at her acknowledgment of his parentage.

  “I can see that, baby. And it’s just the kind you love.” I push a stray lock of hair behind her ears. “What do you say to him?”

  Her whole body flinches when she realizes what she forgot. “Oh, sorry. Thank you, Daddy.”

  “You’re welcome, sweetheart. I hope you like it.”

  Isla nuzzles her cheek against the soft fur. “I love it. It’s my favorite.”

  I can tell by the longing in his eyes that he wants to pick her up. Fortunately, he has the good sense to keep some distance. After all, she was just a few months old when she last saw him. He finally looks at me. “And these are for you.”

  I smile and take the bouquet from him. “Thanks, JR. They’re lovely.”

  “Like you, babe. You haven’t changed a bit.”

  That’s what you think… “Actually, I have. I’m a completely different person now. I’ve grown up.”

  He looks me over again and winks. “Yes, you have.”

  “I’m Isla.” My sweet girl holds out her hand the way she was taught when meeting new people.

  “I know, sweetheart. I was there when you were born. I signed your birth certificate.”

  “He was there, Mommy?” She turns to me with an almost accusing tone.

  “Yes, he’s your daddy. We lived with him when you were a tiny baby.”

  “Why don’t we live with him now?” She looks between me and her father.

  JR gives me a pointed look, challenging me to come up with a good answer.

  “You and I had to move away, but now you get to see your daddy again. That’s nice, right?”

  JR’s eyes narrow, but he lets Isla ask the question I don’t want to answer. “So Daddy will live with us now?”

  A wide grin spreads across JR’s face. Obviously, I ignore it while speaking as much to him as to my daughter. “No, baby. He’s going to visit us sometimes, but we live by ourselves now. No one is moving in with us any time soon.”

  “Babe, if Isla wants to live with me, she can. Either I’ll go to your house, or she can come stay with me.”

  His intense stare makes my heart beat faster, and my breath comes in short gasps. He can’t seriously be threatening me. But he is. That’s exactly what he’s telling me. I can’t keep him from seeing his daughter, so either I let him come to us or he’ll try to take her away. That is not an option.

  “We’ll take it slow and see how things go. No need to get all worked up about anything at this point.” I smile as sweetly as possible at JR, hoping to keep things civil.

  “Not too slow.” He winks and turns his attention back to Isla. “What are you drinking, sweetheart? Coffee already?”

  Isla nods her head. “Kid coffee.”

  “Hot chocolate,” I say loud enough to fend off some of the judgy stares from the few people around us. “With only half the syrup they usually use.”

  “Mmm, that sounds good.” JR is really laying on the sweet father routine
pretty good. “Maybe I should get some of that.”

  “You should.” Isla nods her head furiously. “You even get whoop cream on top.”

  “As soon as you finish up, we can go to the park for a while and play.” He really seems enamored with the little girl he hasn’t seen in years. My heart softens toward him just an inch.

  “You’ll play with me?” Isla looks shocked that this strange man wants to play with her. Truthfully, I am too.

  “Of course. That’s why I’m here. I want to get to know you again. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”

  Isla takes a deep swig of her little cup then hands it to me. “I’m full, Mommy. We can go now.”

  ~**~

  I sit on a bench and keep a close eye on JR. He seems to be really enjoying his time with Isla. That alone worries me. I hoped he might get bored or annoyed by dealing with a toddler. But he’s not. He pushes her on the swing then spots her on the monkey bars. With his strong arms under her, Isla is able to make it all the way across for the first time.

  He helps her down and she’s running to tell me about her accomplishment when his phone rings. JR looks at the screen and then up at me. I roll my eyes, knowing what's coming next. JR holds up one finger and turns in the opposite direction as he takes the call. “Yes.”

  Hmm. Maybe he hasn’t changed at all. I remember these moments all too well. He’ll give me the “sorry, babe, but I’ve got to take care of business” story that I’ve heard a hundred times. I don't know how many car salesmen can do business in the middle of the day when they're out of town. But I can’t wait to hear what he comes up with.

  Handing Isla her water bottle, I ask her to sit with me while we wait for JR to come back.

  When he finally does, I’m surprised by his expression. He seems truly happy to be with us. Not annoyed and anxious to get going.

  “Who was that?” I ask, waiting for his story.

  His tight smile does nothing to hide his annoyance. Honestly, it really isn't any of my business who he’s talking to. I certainly wouldn't tell him who I was talking to. But I know he can hear the suspicion in my voice, and that's enough for now.

  He hasn't won this game yet.

  Ignoring my question, he kneels down to look at Isla instead of me. “Maybe we can go to dinner?”

  “No, thanks. I think we're okay for dinner. We have plans with my sister.” I gently nudge Isla’s shoulder back to my side. “It was great to see you. Maybe we can do this again sometime.”

  JR slowly smiles, seeing right through me. “Yeah, okay. We’ll do this again. How about tomorrow?”

  Isla bounces on her toes. “Yes, please.” She lifts her arms for him to carry her.

  My jaw drops to the ground as JR scoops her up and wraps both of his arms around her back, squeezing her to his chest. “It's so good to see you, mija. You're such a pretty girl, just like your momma. I’ll go to your house tomorrow, and we’ll have dinner together….like a family.”

  His declaration to her is clearly a challenge to me.

  “Okay,” Isla easily agrees.

  “Oh, actually, I think we might be staying at Auntie Amy's tonight, baby. We’ll just meet Daddy here if you'd like to play at the park again.” I raise an eyebrow at her playfully. “But only if you're good tonight.”

  “I will be. I’m always good.” Isla turns to her father and holds his jaw between her little palms. “Mommy says I'm always a good girl.”

  JR smiles and his cheeks bunch up beyond the tight hold of her fingers. “I'm sure you are, sweetheart. You’ve been a very good girl today.”

  His eyes shoot to mine, making it clear I have not been a good girl. That's fine with me. He needs to know I’m not a scared little girl anymore. I will not be intimidated by him, nor will I allow him to hurt me or my daughter.

  “Yup.” I don’t mean to be dismissive to Isla, but I’m not going to play this game of talking to JR through riddles to my daughter. After gathering up her sweater and water bottle from the bench, we start walking toward the lot where I left my car. “We can meet here at three tomorrow.”

  “That works. But, I want to have dinner after. Anywhere Isla likes to go.”

  “Can we have pizza?”

  “Absolutely. Anything for my baby girl. We’ll go for pizza after we play, okay, sweetheart?”

  “Okay, Daddy.” She leans forward and gives him a kiss on the cheek. My jaw clenches at the sight. She doesn't even know him. Isla has always been an affectionate child, but this is starting to scare me. If she gets attached to JR, it's gonna be much harder to keep them apart if he is still as screwed up as before. He’s going to have to jump through a lot of hoops for me to trust him again.

  Chapter Five

  Mason

  As soon as the cake is set up and the extra guest sticks are plated in the butler's pantry, I seek out Mrs. Preston to say goodbye. Out on the huge back patio, I hear someone calling my name. Turning toward the familiar voice, I see Amy waving at me with her full belly protruding and Nate right beside her.

  “Hey, Mason. What are you doing here?” She gives me a hug from about two feet away. Apparently, she can't get any closer with that belly in the way.

  “I did the cake.” Looking down at her stomach, I smile and resist the urge to pat her. “Wow. You look just about ready.”

  She blows her bangs off her forehead. “I'm so ready. Been ready for about four months.”

  Nate pulls a face and silently agrees beside her.

  “Hey, Nate. How's it going?” I offer my hand. He shakes it firmly then slides his arm back around Amy’s waist.

  “We’re great.” His free hand cups the bottom of Amy’s swollen abdomen. I don’t know if he’s staking his claim on her or if it’s an instinctive gesture. Either way, it’s sweet.

  “I’m happy to hear it.” Honestly, there is a bit of a longing in my gut to have that. I love kids and hope to have one of my own someday, but any attraction I once had for Amy is long gone. I could never compete for her affection with Nate around. She’s beyond just smitten. She’s like his second half. It’s almost painful to watch them together when I’ve been alone for so long.

  “So we have cream sticks to look forward to?” Amy sounds giddy.

  “Only the best for the Preston princess.”

  Amy rolls her eyes and glances around to make sure no one else is within ear shot. “God, I know. I soooo didn’t want to come, but Natey has a crush on Bella…so here we are.”

  “Well, have fun with that. I don’t know if I could handle them as in-laws.”

  Amy visibly shudders then leans into Nate’s shoulder.

  “Don’t even joke about that.” Nate runs his hand over Amy’s bare arm.

  “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask…” My hands slide in my pockets, unsure if this is an appropriate time to bring it up. But I don't see Amy very often anymore, so I just go for it. “Um, how is your sister doing?”

  Amy’s eyes are suddenly brighter and more excited. “Beth is good. She and Isla are great.”

  “Cool. Good. She, uh, seemed really nice when I met her at Olivia's wedding.”

  “She is really nice, Mason.” The smirk on Amy’s face is a little cute but mostly annoying. I can just see cupid’s arrow aimed directly at me from those turquoise eyes of hers. “As a matter of fact, she's coming over tonight. She had to come over the hill for something so she’s going to visit us then head back tomorrow.”

  Nate raises his eyebrows and looks at her. “She is?”

  “Oh, I'm sorry, babe. I've forgot to tell you. She just called a few minutes before we left. She's in San Jose right now and wants to come over later. That's okay, right?”

  “Yeah, of course.” He resumes rubbing up and down her spine with his palm. “It’ll be nice to see them.”

  “It will be. I miss her, and I know Isla will be so excited to see Natey.”

  Nate chuckles. “Yeah, that boy is already turning into a ladies man.”

  Amy shudders. “
I know. It's terrifying. I don't know if I want another boy or a girl. They both seem scary.”

  I chuckle and take a step back. “Well, I'll let you guys get back to the party. It was great seeing you.”

  “Wait.” Amy reaches out to grab my shoulder. “Do you have dinner plans?”

  “No.”

  “Why don’t you come over? We’re having the usual suspects over. Carly and her men will be there. It’s just an informal dinner.”

  “Are you sure?” I haven't seen my twin sister in about a month, so it would be nice to catch up with her and the two guys she's dating.

  “Of course. We’d love to have you.”

  “Yeah, okay. That sounds nice.”

  “Great. Come by around seven.” Amy looks at Nate for confirmation and he nods.

  “Yeah, I think that's what we told Carly and the boys.”

  “Great. I'll see you then.” I take a few steps toward the house then stop and turn back to them. “Hey, should I bring anything?”

  “No, no.” Amy waves off the idea. “We have several wine club deliveries piling up for the past eight months. We've got plenty to drink and the food will be catered. Just bring yourself.”

  I tilt my head. “Come on. You’ve got to let me bring dessert.”

  Nate laughs. “I think we’ll be all cream sticked out by then, but everybody else would probably appreciate that. Thank you.”

  “Cool. See you at seven.”

  “Looking forward to it.” Amy’s singsong voice is a clear indicator that she’s got something planned that I’m either gonna really love or really hate.

  I duck into the house and find Mrs. Preston inspecting the cake. “So what do you think?” Standing beside her, I wait for her response.

  “It's lovely, Mason. You did a great job.” Her long fingernails graze across my elbow as she clasps on to me and leans forward. “Your reputation of having a beautiful stick and knowing exactly how to wield it was not exaggerated.”

  Gross. Her cheesy innuendo might be flattering if I hadn’t already heard some variation of that line from fifty other horny housewives in this town. They’re all so used to getting everything they want except their husbands’ attention, they use opportunities like these to either make the hubby jealous or make themselves feel desirable. It’s actually more sad than annoying.