Baked With Love 2

by Tina Martin

  “Yeah, now imagine how hard it is for Gianna.”

  “And what about you, Ramsey? I assume this must be difficult for you as well, considering what you’ve been through in the past.”

  Ramsey slid his hands in his pockets, glancing down the lighted street, then focused his attention back on Harriet. “It’s definitely not easy, but since I’ve been through this before, I figured I could help her.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, Harriet. Really.”

  “A woman you just met?”

  “We didn’t just meet. I’ve known her for two weeks now.” He smirked when he realized two weeks was nothing to brag about considering how hard he was going in for this woman.

  “And I bet Bernadette don’t know a thing about her.”

  “No, but she will.”

  “Well, I agree…if anyone can help Gianna, it would be you, but helping Gianna involves more than just helping Gianna. It very much involves the care and well-being of her sister.”

  Ramsey nodded. He was aware that Gianna’s happiness was directly linked to Gemma’s health. She practically raised her sister and wanted her to thrive, grow up, fall in love, get married – all that.

  “But you don’t need an old lady telling you what to do, I’m sure.”

  “No, Harriet, I appreciate the advice. I’m actually glad you can see how close they are. Gianna adores her sister.”

  Harriet nodded. “And I have a hunch that you adore Gianna.”

  Happiness glowed in his eyes. “Your hunch would be correct.”

  Harriet patted him on the arm. “Let me get on out of here. I’ll see you later.”

  “Drive safe, Harriet.”

  “I will.”

  She drove away and Ramsey walked back inside of the house. Now, he could concentrate on his girl. He found Gianna in Gemma’s bedroom, hugging her, then helping her settle comfortably underneath the covers.

  “Hey, I didn’t get my goodnight hug,” Ramsey said.

  “Okay, bring it in,” Gemma said.

  Gianna stood back while Ramsey embraced Gemma. Then he stood upright again. He brushed the back of his index finger across the tip of her nose and said, “Goodnight, Gem.”

  “Goodnight, Ramsey,” she said softly with her eyes closed.

  Gianna smiled, then she and Ramsey walked out of the room and headed back for the kitchen.

  “How about breakfast for dinner tonight?” Gianna asked. “It won’t take me long to whip up some breakfast food.”

  “No. I don’t want you to do that. You’ve already been working hard today.”

  “I don’t mind. I’ve been working hard my whole life. Now, how do you like your eggs?”

  He hesitated to answer. He really didn’t want her to cook after she’d been standing on her feet all day baking. But he watched her take a frying pan from the bottom drawer of the stove. Then she removed eggs, cheese and bacon from the refrigerator. “Do you have a preference?” she asked.

  “No,” he said reluctantly.

  Gianna mixed the eggs in a bowl, cut up cheddar cheese then fried strips of bacon. She cooked the cheesy eggs last and made two whole wheat, buttered toasts. She served him a plate then sat down with her own.

  “Thank you, Gianna.”

  She glanced up. “You’re welcome, Ramsey.”

  She took a fork full of eggs to her mouth and said, “I really didn’t expect you to come to the bakery today.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because of your work emergency.”

  He watched her for a moment, his own mouth watering at the sight of her biting into a strip of bacon. “What makes you think it was an emergency?”

  “I just assumed it was.”

  “Why?” he asked, sitting up taller, anticipating her answer.

  She smiled nervously. “Well, you said you’d taken a month off of work. I knew you wouldn’t go back into the office if the situation wasn’t an urgent one. I could be wrong though. I’ll admit…I’m not all that good at reading people.”

  “You’re right. It was an emergency of sorts.”

  “What happened?”

  When he finished chewing the fork full of eggs he’d taken to his mouth a moment ago, he said, “We ran into an issue with one of our designs.”

  “What kind of issue?” she inquired.

  “A zoning problem. Seems Charlotte doesn’t want a particular tower we designed built close to an Uptown hotel unless it’s twenty floors. The developers wanted thirty floors.”

  “Oh,” Gianna said realizing the extent of his dilemma. “I don’t know the ins and outs of it, but it sounds like a pain.”

  “It is, but we’ll get through it. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve run into issues with plans and developers and city officials. It’s a never-ending battle. Trust me.”

  “So, how do you fix it?”

  “Well, we had to come up with plans ‘B’ and ‘C’ to present to the developers tomorrow afternoon.”

  “You don’t seem stressed out about it at all.”

  “I’m not. My brothers are handling most of the leg work. My job is to sell it to the developers, and that won’t be easy. People want what they want…nothing less. More maybe, but definitely not less.”

  Gianna nodded.

  Ramsey finished the last of his food and thought now was a good time to ask her a question he wanted to ask yesterday. Felicity would be meeting with her in the morning and he wanted her as conditioned as possible. “Gianna?”

  She glanced up briefly but not long enough for their eyes to connect and hold.

  “What do you think about me?” he asked.

  “As a person?”

  “Yes.”

  “I think you’re a decent person. Kind. Caring. Of course, I realize it could all be a scam.”

  He chuckled. “A scam?”

  Smiling, she said, “Yes. When people meet, oftentimes they show the very best of themselves. Put their best foot forward. Then, further down the road, you see the worst—the red flags—the big, ugly foot.”

  “Wow.”

  “It’s true.”

  “So, I’m one big red flag waiting to happen.”

  “No, that’s not what—”

  “You should learn to focus on the good in people, Gianna—not the bad,” he said.

  “I do focus on the good.”

  “How, when you, in one breath, said I was a kind scammer? How do you even use the words kind and scammer in the same sentence?”

  She giggled. “Okay. I apologize. I don’t think you’re a scammer. You’re generous—too generous for me, and I honestly feel that you’ve given me more than what I deserve.”

  “That’s not your call to make,” he said standing, walking over to the refrigerator to get water. He handed her a bottle and sat down again.

  “Here’s what I don’t get,” she said. “If you are really the way you present yourself to me, why aren’t you taken by now?”

  He was glad she asked that question. It would give him an opportunity to explain his position – a crucial point she needed to know before meeting with Felicity. “Remember when I told you about my last relationship…my fiancée, who passed away?”

  “Yes.”

  “That was fifteen years ago, and I haven’t loved a woman since. Five years after Leandra passed, my mother begged me to go to therapy, and I did just to appease her, but it didn’t fix me. I could date a woman but never develop feelings for her. The therapist told me I was broken.”

  Gianna frowned, “What does that mean?”

  “She explained that it was normal for me to experience a broken heart after losing Leandra, but she said I never rebounded, and I probably never would.”

  “That’s awful,” Gianna said, frowning. She couldn’t imagine being with a man who couldn’t love her.

  “Is it?” he asked.

  “Yes. Everyone deserves love.”

  “This coming from the woman who told me she didn’t have time for love.”

>   “I don’t, but I didn’t close my heart off to it. That’s what it sounds like you’ve done.”

  “Maybe, but you wanted to know why I wasn’t taken. That’s why.”

  “Right,” she said, then took a sip of water. “Now I see why you have all the time in the world to take on a charity case.”

  His brows furrowed. “You’re referring to yourself as a charity case?”

  “Well, yeah. You’ve done things for me that I wasn’t financially able to do for myself.”

  “That doesn’t make you a charity case. You own your own bakery, Gianna. You should be proud.”

  A small smile touched her lips. She should have been proud, and she was in the beginning, but then Gemma got sick and her passion became work. Something she loved to do became something she had to do.

  “Tomorrow, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to stop by the bakery,” he told her.

  “That’s fine. My friend Felicity is coming by in the morning…said she had to talk to me about something.”

  Ramsey knew what that something was. He turned up the bottle of water to his mouth. “Thanks for cooking. The food was delicious.”

  “It was?”

  “Yes. It was.”

  “Sorry I couldn’t prepare something a little more dinnerly.”

  “Dinnerly?” He chuckled. “You know that’s not a word, right?”

  “But you know what I mean, don’t you?”

  “Yes.” He laughed. “I know exactly what you mean, but don’t worry about it. This meal was perfect.”

  “I know you’re just trying to make me feel better.”

  “No, I really do appreciate it. You didn’t have to cook anything, but you did. Thank you.”

  She smiled. “You’re welcome.”

  Ramsey yawned, stretching his arms up in the air. “I know you’re ready to kick me out so you can go to bed, but I’m not ready yet.”

  “Well, since Gemma is all taken care of, I have an hour or so to entertain you. Would you like to go sit in the living room and watch TV or something?”

  “Sure,” he said, standing, following her lead. She sat on the couch, leaning forward to take the remote from the coffee table then powered on the TV.

  Ramsey sat next to her, angling his body in her direction. He took the remote out of her grasp, powered the TV off and said, “On second thought, let’s just talk. Me and you. No TV.”

  Gianna tried to conceal her nervousness, tried to pretend the warmth from his hand hadn’t sparked a flame that made her suddenly crave a bottle of thirst-quenching water. “Talk about what?”

  He shrugged. “Whatever. We talk a lot about you. Why don’t you ask me something?”

  “Oh. Okay. Um...okay. Tell me about your brothers. I know we talked about them before…how none of them are married. So, um…what do they do for a living?”

  “They all work for St. Claire Architects. I’m pretty sure I told you that, too.”

  “You probably did.” I’m just a nervous wreck right now.

  “Regal is an architect as well. We actually graduated college together.”

  “How old is he?”

  “He’s thirty-five. Then there’s Romulus. He’s thirty. He’s our land finder. And Royal, the youngest, is the troubleshooter. Any issues that prohibit the progress of a project funnels through him.”

  “And how old is he?”

  “Twenty-five.”

  “Awesome. I like how you all are spaced apart in age.”

  “I’m sure it wasn’t planned. In fact, my mother will tell you the only reason Romulus, Regal and Royal are here is because she wanted a girl…ended up with three knuckleheads instead and never did get that daughter she always wanted.”

  Gianna laughed.

  He watched her intently, studying the dimple in her jaw, the shape of her lips when she laughed and the joy in her eyes.

  She looked away from him, trying hard to think of another question to ask. “Um…so any kids?”

  “Do I have kids?”

  “Any of you.”

  “No,” Ramsey answered. “There are no kids.”

  “None?”

  “Zilch,” he responded.

  “Your brothers don’t have girlfriends?”

  “No. They date, but I don’t think they’re looking for any attachments at this point in their lives.”

  “Right, because of you.”

  “Not necessarily. I told you that’s what my mother thinks, but my brothers have their own strong, individual minds. If they wanted a relationship, they’d have one.”

  Gianna nodded, glancing at his hand and admiring his well-manicured, clean, even-clipped fingernails. She could tell he was a man who took extreme care of himself. “I have to say, Ramsey…I’ve never met a guy like you.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment. Means I’m not ordinary.”

  “Oh, there’s nothing ordinary about you. Crap!” She covered her mouth. “I just said that out loud, didn’t I?”

  He laughed. “Yes, you did, and by the way, there’s nothing ordinary about you either, Gianna.”

  Gianna’s eyes flashed amusement. “Like you had to tell me that…”

  After the longest minute ever of awkward silence, Ramsey sighed and leaned back, resting his head on the back of the couch.

  “I know you’re exhausted, Ramsey.”

  “I am, and I still have to workout when I get home.”

  “Seriously? After everything you’ve done today?”

  “Yes. Exercise relieves stress.”

  “And what do you have to be stressed out about?”

  “You’d be surprised. Everything in my life isn’t perfect just because I have money.”

  “Okay, so what do you have to be stressed about then?” she asked again.

  Still leaned back, he adjusted his position so he could look at her. He casually lowered his hand to her knee and responded, “Well, I got that issue I’m handling at work tomorrow.”

  “Right.”

  “And then, my girlfriend is stressed out because she has so much on her plate and her sister is sick, so I worry about her constantly,” he said palming her knee.

  Gianna’s eyes twinkled. He just referred to her as his girlfriend. Maybe he was just joking though. She couldn’t tell. “What else?”

  “Oh, you’re just going to skip right over the girlfriend comment, huh?”

  Gianna smiled.

  And he smiled too, flashing a relaxed, laid back smile that made her want to scoot closer to him and feel comfortable in his arms. But she didn’t. “I heard the comment. I just—I’ve never been anyone’s girlfriend.”

  You’ve never been anyone’s wife either but I want you to be mine. Girlfriend doesn’t make you mine, but a marriage license does. You moving into my home does. You letting your guard down with me, wearing the beautiful ring I’m going to pick out for you and trusting me with your life does.

  And then his hand moved from her knee to her thigh and she jumped.

  He didn’t like that. Well, he did like it but he wasn’t okay with her still not being comfortable with him. Felicity was due to drop a bombshell on her tomorrow about his proposal and if she wasn’t comfortable enough, she probably wouldn’t accept it. That bothered him because she couldn’t say no. She just couldn’t. He needed her to be that missing puzzle piece in his life. There’s no way he could walk away now.

  He stood up.

  “Are you leaving?” she asked.

  “Yes. I should go.”

  “Why so soon?”

  “I have to prepare for tomorrow.” In more ways than one.

  Gianna stood up and walked with him to the front door.

  “Maybe I’ll see you on Saturday,” he said, extending his hand to her. He wanted to grab the woman, pull her in to him – hold her right up against his body and never let go. Instead, he had to settle for a measly handshake.

  Gianna reached for his hand.

  He clutched hers, squeezed it firmly as if they were closi
ng an important business deal.

  By the way he gripped her hand with a firm amount of pressure, it only made her turn to mush. And his eyes…they were gradually getting darker she noticed. She caught herself from falling into the deep abyss of his soul.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, slowly releasing her hand.

  “Yes. I’m fine.”

  “Okay. Goodnight, Gianna.”

  “Goodnight, Ramsey,” she responded.

  He released her hand slowly, then walked away, wondering if this would be the last time, the last visit, the last interaction he would have with this special, quirky, refreshingly awesome woman. After her meeting with Felicity, she would probably think he was a flake and avoid him like the plague. He hoped for the opposite reaction, because he was a man who knew what he wanted, and even though that didn’t include love, it did include Gianna Jacobsen.

  Chapter 8

  “Hey, Felicity!” Gianna said darting from behind the counter to greet Felicity with an all-encompassing bear hug. “Long time, no see,” she said, squeezing harder.

  “Girl it ain’t been that long. I do need to breathe.”

  Gianna released her. “You look good. I love the whole ensemble,” she said, her eyes rolling down to Felicity’s black heels, black pencil skirt and fun, flirty red wine-colored blouse.

  “Thanks. Now, where’s my cupcake?”

  “Do you want the chocolate fudge?”

  “You know it. Hey, by the way, I’m diggin’ the updates you’ve made around here. The chalkboard looks awesome. Ooh, lookey…you even drew a cute little cupcake on there.”

  “Well, I can’t take the credit for that.”

  And Felicity had an idea why…

  Gianna came back to the table with two coffees – regular for Felicity, decaf for herself. Then she walked back to the showcase to get a chocolate fudge cupcake. She placed it next to Felicity’s coffee cup.