by Barbara Lohr
“How far away?” Her delicate brows knit together.
“Forty-five minutes, an hour. You could bring your little boy.” What was the kid’s name? He sucked in a breath, wondering what the hell he was doing. She might be married. But what guy would live above a bakery with his wife's grandfather? This called for some finessing. “My place is on the beach. He’d probably like it.”
The pulse in the hollow of her throat throbbed as she swallowed. “Bo may, uh, be with his dad,” she said slowly. “Besides, I thought this was a business meeting?”
“Of course it is. Your husband takes care of Bo during the day?”
“My ex-husband. D-David. Sometimes he takes Bo in the afternoon, if he can. But maybe Bo can come.”
“Whatever you're comfortable with, Vanessa. Too long a drive?”
“Not at all.” Sucking in a slow breath, she hit him with steely blue eyes, like Lake Michigan before a storm. “Give me the address. Let’s set a time.”
Then her nose wrinkled, shoulders slumping. “Oh, no.”
He sniffed. Something was definitely burning.
“The cakes!” Racing toward a back wall, she grabbed stuff from the counter as she ran. Hell with his back. He was right behind her, pain knifing through him with every step. When she flung open an oven door, smoke billowed out. An ear-piercing smoke alarm went off. The pans looked heavy, and Alex grabbed some towels and helped her lift them out, his back screaming in pain. Setting them on the wooden counter, he managed to burn a hand in the process. The cakes looked totally trashed.
“Anything wrong, Nessie?” Her grandfather appeared in the doorway.
“It’s all right, Grandpa. Go back out with Christine, okay?”
After raising his eyebrows at Alex, her grandfather disappeared. Vanessa snatched a towel and started waving it under the smoke alarm. But she was flexing one hand like it hurt.
“What's wrong?” He grabbed her hands, but she snatched them away.
“Nothing. See you Monday, okay?” Vanessa’s voice broke. The alarm stopped, and she tossed the towel on the counter. Looked like she couldn’t take much more.
Grabbing his suit jacket, he started backing toward the door. “Ten o’clock? I’ll text you the address.”
“Sure. Right.” Her smile wobbled.
Leaving wasn’t easy.
With a quick wave, he closed the back door behind him. Then he shoved it open again to check the lock. As he clicked the button, he got a glimpse of Vanessa, face in her hands. Just about tore him in two. He slowly eased the door shut.
The sun glared down on the cobblestone alley, and he slid his sunglasses into place. After opening the car door, he tossed his jacket into the back seat and eased inside. Mixed feelings pummeled his gut. His back was killing him and his hand throbbed. But those injuries weren’t what occupied his mind as he headed for the expressway.
He may have come for revenge, but he was leaving with regret.
Chapter 3
That night while Bo was sleeping and Grandpa was watching Storage Wars, Vanessa slipped downstairs. The silence and dim lighting cocooned her while she went through her set-up for the following morning. Glancing around, she saw everything through Alex’s eyes. Pretty shabby. Did he have second thoughts about stepping up to the plate on this business?
Vanessa had planned to help Grandpa finance some updates before Jillian’s diagnosis. His second mortgage on the bakery had been a surprise. He’d done everything to make Grandma Lottie’s final days pleasant. Even took her on a cruise to the Caribbean.
Their plans to update and expand with a shop up in Evanston had been put on hold. Then the whipped cream cakes, long a standard, had taken off when Vanessa and Jillian rolled out a new marketing plan.
Jillian made a doctor’s appointment when she couldn’t shake her fatigue. That one trip to the doctor had changed everything. Now Vanessa was struggling to pay off medical bills, the second mortgage, plus her student loan. The bank had sent her several warnings about late payments, threatening to foreclose on the bakery. That was not going to happen.
This bakery had to hum and fast.
Tamping down her frustrations, she set out the equipment for the next morning. After giving the warped table one more swipe with a sponge, she plopped down in front of the computer. Booting it up, she pulled up the spreadsheets she’d shown Alex. While the numbers scrolled, her stomach churned. How long would it take to get these numbers up?
Behind her, the door to the upstairs apartment squeaked open. “Hey, what are you doing down here in this heat? Don’t you think it’s time to chill out?” After flipping on the overhead fans, Jillian pulled up a chair.
“You know me, always saving on electricity.” Vanessa closed the document and rubbed her burning eyes. Nothing would change these figures, and she didn’t want Jillian to worry. “How are you feeling?”
Jillian was so pretty. Usually, her sister’s blue eyes sparkled. Not tonight. She hadn’t been herself since the treatments started. Vanessa had made sure Jillian’s shoulder-length wig matched the warm chestnut of her hair, even though it cost a small fortune. Just not an area where they were going to scrimp.
“I’m fine.” Lately, Jillian had taken on a gaunt look that bruised Vanessa’s heart.
Vanessa pushed back from the desk. “You shouldn’t be down here either. It’s so much cooler upstairs.”
Thin arms tight across her chest, her sister leaned closer. “Thought it might be time for a sisterly chat.”
Vanessa knew that look, and her heart sank. Had Jillian gotten another call from her oncologist? Whatever it was, they’d handle it. “What’s going on? Tell me.”
Her sister slowly shook her head. “Not me, you. Anything you want to fill me in on?”
“About…?”
“Look, Vanessa, I might have chemo brain but I’m not blind. You and Alex Compton have a history. Want to bring me up to speed?”
Vanessa expelled a tense breath. “As usual, you’re right, and you deserve to know since we’ll both be working with Alex.”
“Out with it. Can’t be that bad.”
“Four years ago, I met Alex at a convention in Vegas.” The words came out in a rush.
Jillian’s eyes softened. “And?”
Vanessa flinched under the weight of the memories.
Still mortifying, even after all this time.
“It was right after Ethan dumped me, Jillian. When he took me to Top of the Mark that night for dinner, I honestly thought he was going to propose.”
“Oh, Vanessa, honey.” Her sister squeezed Vanessa’s hand.
“Funny how stuff can reach back to bite you in the butt, as Grandpa always says. Heck, I’d even bought a new dress. Left work early to have my hair blown out. Got a mani-pedi. The works. Seriously clueless.”
“No, don’t. Ethan’s not worth it.” Jillian smoothed one hand over Vanessa’s shoulder.
She shot her sister a crooked smile. “I was so stupid, Jillian. Just wasn’t reading the cue cards. Ethan was so quiet during dinner, and I thought it was nerves. Thought he had a little velvet box tucked in his pocket and was just waiting for the right moment.”
“You’d dated for two years,” Jillian pointed out. “You had every right to think he might ask you to marry him.”
“All those business trips as a sales rep for the pharmaceutical company? He’d met someone else.”
“Cripes, Vanessa! You never told me this! You just said you’d grown apart. Had different interests or something.”
Vanessa watched the computer screen darken before her picture of sunset over Lake Michigan came on. “He said our sex drives weren’t a good match. I was working so many hours, Jillian.”
“What an asshole.”
Vanessa always loved how Jillian said that word, so plump and full of scorn.
“No contest there. Anyway, the Internet Innovations conference was scheduled for the following weekend. I was a wreck, but my boss at Sharkbytes insisted I go.”
“Right, you called me a couple times. I thought you were just nervous about the conference and your presentation.”
“Don’t I wish. I was half crazed. No small surprise that my PowerPoint locked up during my breakout session. Anyway, Alex stepped up. He was so sweet and hot, kind of like a salty caramel.” Vanessa smiled, remembering.
The corners of Jillian’s lips tilted. “He is that all right.”
“I’d noticed him earlier. The hot guy in the bow tie, working the aisles. Some of the sales reps are gorgeous…”
“You included,” Jillian interjected.
Vanessa rolled her eyes. “I mean, really gorgeous. Alex was catnip for this crew, if you know what I mean.”
She hadn’t seen Jillian’s sexy smile in a while. “Sure, I’ve known some catnip men.”
“When Alex helped me out and then hit on me, well, I was going to prove Ethan wrong.” Vanessa’s voice hitched in her throat and she kicked through it with a throaty chuckle. “Right, like Ethan would give a hoot.”
“He was wrong, okay?”
“Maybe. The girls at Immaculate Heart of Mary might be horrified.” Vanessa left it at that.
“Jealous, more likely. Alex is easy on the eyes. Besides, come on, we’re not in high school anymore.” Jillian’s eyes turned warm blue, a bubbling jacuzzi that could ease any ache.
“Okay, it was crazy. Crazier than you can imagine, especially for a girl who never took gymnastics. As soon as Alex fell asleep, I left. No names, no phone numbers. No regrets. Who was I kidding?” Every time she thought about that night, horror sent a warm knife through her gut, the kind they used on their whipped cream cakes. “Three or four weeks later, I realized I was pregnant.”
Jillian sucked in a sharp, noisy breath. “Oh, my God. You don’t think…”
Vanessa waved the thought away. “No, Alex is not Bo’s father. Timing was close but Bo is Ethan’s child. We’d been together the weekend before. Of course, I didn’t know I was on probation with Ethan, didn’t know I was failing the test. He must have been assessing my skills. Making comparisons.”
“Vanessa, don’t.”
Her sister was right. Past history. “Anyway, I had one of my sinus infections. How had I missed the articles about the pill failing if you’re taking antibiotics? At least Alex and I used protection.”
Jillian didn’t look convinced.
“When I gave Ethan the news, he wanted me to have an abortion. Some father he’d make. Asked if I could put it on my already overextended charge card, like the baby was a dress I could return.”
When Jillian gasped, Vanessa shot her a rueful glance. “Told you this wasn’t going to be pretty.”
“That leaping, screaming asshole.” This time, the word was super plump.
“A DNA test wasn’t in the cards. My insurance wouldn’t cover it and Ethan didn’t care. A packet came in the mail. Some legal papers he probably bought online for twenty dollars. He waived all rights to the baby.” The hum of the refrigerator was the only sound in the room. “It was worth it,” Vanessa finally said. “Bo is so amazing.”
“Totally.” They shared a smile.
“Just so you know,” Vanessa added, “I told Alex that Bo is two. I just don’t want there to be any question in his mind.”
“Understood. Still, he’s not going away. I think he’s interested in you.”
“Not going to happen.” Vanessa wrapped her arms around her waist and sat back. How to explain her nonexistent sex drive? “Jillian, I haven’t felt anything for a man in a long time. The breakup with Ethan took care of that.”
But her reaction to Alex at the TV station made her wonder. Had he tripped some triggers?
“Nothing will happen with Alex if you don’t want it to. Vanessa, what Ethan told you was only the world according to Ethan.” Jillian always had so much common sense. “Face it, you’re hot. The girl every guy in the hardware store wants to help.”
Vanessa pressed a hand to her sister’s forehead. “No fever. Just deranged.”
Jillian pushed her hand away. “You’ll see. Alex and Jack Delamerced? Both interested and not strictly business.”
Vanessa laughed. “Time for bed.” Standing up, she did a slow stretch. Gosh, it felt good to confide in her sister. The secret had been locked away in her mind for too long.
~.~
Alex’s address was etched on the sedate bronze plaque on a stone pillar. The wrought iron gate looked forbidding and downright snooty.
Over one hour in the car and Vanessa’s brain was fried. She was late. The traffic from Chicago had been horrific. Way too many trucks for her. At least she’d made it. She’d called Alex twice from the road.
When she opened her window, the sounds of Lake Michigan rolled over her. A breeze rustled through the trees, and gulls cawed in the distance. Although she couldn’t see the lake, she heard the waves, steady and relaxing.
Vanessa sure needed relaxing. But today wasn’t that day. Stabbing at the entry button, she sucked in a deep breath that tasted like a pine breath mint. With a subdued creaking, the gates swung open. Gravel crunched under her tires as she followed the driveway through towering pine and birch trees. A huge house loomed ahead.
Massive lines. Sun glancing off glass. Not exactly a cottage. Time had been good to Alex Compton.
Pulling up in back of a wide garage built into the hill, she got out and grabbed her white jacket. Sun glanced off the hood of her Toyota in merciless rays. Way too warm today for linen with a polyester lining, but she wanted to make a statement. Alex had told her to bring a bathing suit, so she did. But this meeting? Strictly a strategy session. Her heart stalled when she remembered Jillian’s warning about Alex’s expectations.
Grabbing her portfolio, she sprang toward the steps.
“Hey, you finally got here.” Broad smile a bright contrast to his tan, Alex loped down the steps in bare feet. Her heart spiraled into her stomach. In an open blue shirt and khaki shorts, he was heart-stoppingly handsome. The breeze played with his dark hair.
“Sorry I’m late. Traffic was heavy.”
Leaning forward, he scanned her car.
“Um, Bo’s with my sister.” Jillian felt well enough today to work on some of her accounts during Bo’s nap. “He was coming down with a cold.”
The excuses got easier each time.
Alex’s eyebrows peaked. “I thought he might be with his father.”
“Not today. Nice place.”
“Thanks. Only had it a couple of years.” Taking the steps two at a time, he led the way and circled around to the front. She tried hard not to stare at his muscled calves, remembering the prickle of that short, coarse hair against her own legs.
Mental head slap. That was then. She had to stay in the now.
Black-eyed Susans and daisies bordered the walkway in wild clumps, but the lake was the real attention-getter. Talk about breathtaking.
“Pretty great, isn’t it?” Alex viewed the scene with obvious enjoyment.
“Amazing.” The blue green waters of Lake Michigan wrinkled with waves, continually changing colors. Cotton candy clouds drifted overhead.
“You get to the beach much?”
“No. Just no time.” Looking down, she could picture Bo playing in the sand. Maybe she’d ask her high school friends to go to Oak Street Beach with her and Bo. She hadn’t seen Amy or McKenna in a while, and Jillian could come too. Imagining that golden sand squishing between her toes, she felt her shoulders loosen. Bo would love this.
An infinity pool ran the expanse of the front of the house. “Isn’t this overkill?”
His deep throaty chuckle awakened every nerve in her body. “What’s the point, right? Came with the house. Watch your step now.”
When he took her elbow to guide her around the pool, she stumbled. He tightened his hold. Breaking contact, she pretended to adjust her shoe.
Snap out of it. Feeling overdressed and overheated, Vanessa followed Alex through a glass door into a living room w
ith soaring ceilings. The cool air was a welcome relief. “How gorgeous.”
“Thanks. I like it. How about something to drink? Lemonade, iced tea?” he asked, skirting the casual grouping of caramel leather chairs and sofa. A long granite-topped counter separated an ultra-modern kitchen from the seating area. Stainless steel appliances gleamed, and copper pots hung from hooks over a stovetop.
“Lemonade, please. Nice kitchen. You actually use these pans?”
He grinned, cracking open the refrigerator. “Most of it came with the house.”
Modern paintings in bold colors hung on monochromatic walls. Brass and marble sculptures adorned tables and the shelves of a large bookcase that held few books. A huge TV screen hung on one wall. Electronic gadgets lay all around.
“What can I say? I like my toys.” Handing her a tall glass, he blushed.
“Somehow I didn’t take you for an art collector.”
Alex shrugged. “A lot of artists have studios up here. I pick stuff up.”
“Uh, huh.” Like her? She couldn’t even go there.
He lifted his glass. “To partnership and new beginnings.”
“Business partnership.” Those words held comfortable limits.
When Alex swallowed, the muscles in his throat worked. She remembered kissing that throbbing pulse, wishing he were Ethan. Soon she discovered there was no comparison. Ethan had never made her body hum. Good looking guy and a good provider, as Grandpa would say. But Ethan had never made her feel…like that.
Lifting her glass, she took a deep gulp that made her teeth ache. Maybe the icy lemonade would slap some sense into her.
“Want to spread out in the office upstairs?” A small smile teased one corner of his mouth.
“What?” Her hold on the glass tightened.
“I mean, spread our work out there.”
Her muscles released. “Sure. Right. Upstairs?”
Grabbing his glass and looking like he was enjoying this, he headed for a free-form staircase. “Office it is, then.”
