Love Unwrapped

by Kate Asher

  “I’m Ryan.”

  “I’m Bree. This is Andi.”

  “Which one of you has the past with my boy in there?”

  Andi’s back straightened right up again and she turned to the cookies, dismissing the man and the question. Her past, with Blake or anyone else, had nothing to do with today and was no one’s business.

  “I don’t. Do you?” Bree sucked in her breath and let it out in a whoosh of words. “That was your problem yesterday. Makes sense now.” Bree’s grin grew.

  She chose to ignore Bree too and took over the situation, redirecting the conversation using her most authoritarian voice. “We’re behind. If you’re going to be in here, start packaging cookies.”

  Ryan stiffened beside her for a nanosecond before he laughed so hard that the loose hair from her ponytail stirred in her face. She nearly groaned as he strolled to the seat catty-corner to her. He couldn’t have taken either of the open spaces across from her? No, of course not. “All right then. Can’t say it’s the first time I’ve seen people bristle at something Blake has done, but it’s usually not the ladies. He’s gotten some husbands pretty upset a time or two.”

  Oh God, how in the world had her self-lectured and forced positive mood this morning already taken such a freefall?

  “He’s pretty charming. I can see how the ladies like him,” Bree drawled, taking on Ryan’s Blake’s-a-ladies-man tone. “Did y’all work all night?”

  “Felt like it. He’s a slave driver,” Ryan said, resting his forearms on the worktable instead of donning gloves and packaging cookies. Andi wanted to scowl at him but refrained.

  “Hey, y’all are here early,” Chelsea said, coming through the door with a coffee in hand. “Blake kicked ass last night. With a little luck, we’ll have these cookies done by tomorrow.”

  “You got some new ink,” Ryan said, standing as Chelsea strolled over to the table to chat with them. Ryan hopped off his stool and gave her a big bear hug.

  She lifted her shirt sleeve when she stepped back, showing some flushed, freshly tattooed skin. “Blake’s design in memory of my dad.”

  Bree stood, going around the table to take a better look.

  “Like Blake, Blake? This Blake drew this?” Bree turned Chelsea for Andi to get a better look at the angel taking flight that was inked on Chelsea’s upper arm and encompassing part of her shoulder.

  “Yeah, he’s an artist. He’s in there now decorating a wedding cake. His baked goods are excellent, but it’s his cake designs that people pay the big bucks for. Better than so many people with formal training.” A ding from the front drew Chelsea’s attention and she scampered back through the doorway to the front of the store.

  A long-forgotten memory of one of the many times Blake had overdone all the attention he forced on her in high school and came to her with an apology note. He had skillfully drawn a blooming rose in the middle. There were no words written, just the beautifully drawn rose.

  “She’s a hard nut to crack.” Ryan’s words took her out of her musings. She looked down at her hands where she had absently continued packing the cookies, one right after the other, completely tuning them out. He leaned closer to Bree and whispered, “What’s her deal?”

  “She’s an attorney. I work for her at Rora Airlines. She never gives an inch. It’s why she’s so good at her job. I haven’t told her this before, but the COO calls to get me to butter her up before they talk. I even tried having some Manly Cakes cupcakes delivered.” Bree beamed at Andi. “They didn’t work. It never works. When she has a mission, nothing stops her.”

  Bree had told her that story before, but it still made her smile.

  “An attorney, huh?” Ryan said, winking at Bree. Thankfully, Chelsea interrupted them, coming inside the prep room again. “I think my boy’s shooting high with this one.”

  Chelsea laughed a commiserating little chuckle, giving Ryan a hand slap as she passed by. “Right? Do you guys want some music? We’ve got a system over here. I could crank up some tunes so you can bust these cookies out and make room to bake the rest. I want to get y’all home before midnight.”

  Midnight? That was sixteen hours away. Andi wanted to be home before noon. Yeah, the positive morning vanished in a sea of I-don’t-want-to.

  Four hours later, Andi’s fingers cramped, her back hurt, and she was just all-around tired of hearing Bree and Ryan chatting happily with music too loud to even think over. She hadn’t seen Blake other than when he’d popped in to see if they needed any other supplies. She swiveled around in her seat, letting out a giant yawn while getting to her feet. Thank goodness for today’s tennis shoes and stretchy blue jeans. Now all she had to do was loosen her back and shoulders, which had become sore from hunching over the table. She walked around the room to get circulation going again, stretched her hands to the ceiling, and rolled her neck. In one swing, she caught a glimpse out the cracked prep room door as the taco street truck rolled past the front window.

  “You hungry, Bree?” Andi asked, stopping their conversation.

  “Yeah,” she said as if that was a given.

  “How about you?” She didn’t want to ignore Ryan entirely.

  “I gotta see if I am,” Ryan said and slid off the seat, making no sense.

  “I’ll go to the taco truck, Bree. You get us a couple of water bottles. I’ll meet you outside.” Andi hung her apron, reached for her purse, and made a beeline for the door. The sunshine felt amazing and she reached for her sunglasses in the side pocket of her purse—their correct spot, solidifying the perfection of her world.

  Well, as perfect as it could get by still being in close proximity to the bakery.

  She took her place in the back of the line and lifted her face to the sun, letting its warmth soothe away the aches and pains in her body. It took several minutes to get to the front to order. When the guy leaned out the window and asked what she’d like, the wheels that had been spinning in her head stopped and tuned her in to the moment. She ordered, hoping she remembered Bree’s order correctly from the previous day. When she reached for her wallet to pay, a twenty-dollar bill came over her shoulder, placed with a slap on the counter in front of her.

  Ryan said, “I’m paying, and add two loaded beef tacos.”

  “No, I’ll pay,” she immediately argued and tried to hand her credit card to the cashier. Ryan’s gruff stance won out over her petite, hard-edged tone and the cashier ignored her and took the cash.

  “I hate when people bulldoze over me,” she said and stepped away from the counter without her food. Of course, any friend of Blake’s would think she was hilarious instead of serious, and she got a bark of laughter, much like he’d done to her all morning. The situation was entirely too reminiscent of the way Blake had treated her growing up. What was up with that type of man? Did they never outgrow it?

  She left him there to wait on their food, going for one of the empty benches lining the street. If he wanted to pay for it, he could wait on it and carry it over.

  “Hang on! Don’t be mad. Blake told me to pay for y’alls lunch for volunteering.”

  “Isn’t it funny how you made it all worse by saying that?” Andi took her seat in the middle of the bench, and Ryan came in right next to her, hip-bumping her to make extra room. She had no choice but to move as she refused to sit touching him in any way.

  For the first time that day, Ryan looked at a loss for words. His mouth hung open then closed again. Good, he’d finally stop talking, but was now holding the tacos prisoner in his lap. “I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a female say anything negative about Blake.”

  “You clearly haven’t known him long.” She looked pointedly at the brown sack resting on his thighs.

  “That I have a ready answer for. We met in boot camp ten years ago.” Ryan snapped his fingers, drawing her gaze up. “Instant friends.”

  “When did he get kicked out?” she asked. The question slipped out accidently, because no matter how much she wanted to know, she didn’t really care.
Finally, Andi reached over, taking the sack from Ryan and digging inside.

  “You don’t have the best opinion of him, do you?” he asked, and for the first time that day, the fun-loving guy hardened into something more serious. She could feel his gaze on her, and she refused to give an inch. She had promised herself while dressing this morning that she would stay strong and firm, no matter what.

  “Smarter than you look,” she said, trying for a cocky tone, eyeing two veggie tacos and pulling them out before handing the sack back to him.

  Ryan ignored the outstretched hand, leaving her to place the sack between them as he turned very serious. “He didn’t get kicked out. He had a bomb explode on him about three years ago. We didn’t think he’d make it. Another team member didn’t.”

  She stopped mid-motion of unwrapping a taco and took a good look at Ryan to see if he was lying.

  “I suspect you’re the sister,” Ryan said and shook his head, dismissing some memory or thought before reaching for his lunch.

  “I have a sister, Nat,” she confirmed, not really understanding the direction of Ryan’s thoughts. “She had a relationship with Blake many years ago. What makes you say that?”

  “He’s not ever that surly with anyone.” Ryan held his taco like a burrito and took a big bite. “Except you.”

  “Ha! One thing about Blake is he’s consistently aggressive since the first day I met him freshman year of high school.” Andi’s tummy rumbled, drawing her back to the food in her lap. She opened her taco and took a bite, seeing Ryan staring at her as if he wanted to say something more. “What?”

  “Some things aren’t what they seem.”

  Before she could question him further, Bree came forward, plopping down on the concrete sidewalk in front of her and handing a water bottle to Andi. The silence had Bree looking between her and Ryan. “Am I interrupting something?”

  “No, not at all. The more beautiful women, the merrier.” Ryan’s humor was back in an instant. He laughed then laughed again like he’d said the most hilarious thing when he glanced at her expression.

  Chapter 7

  Just after lunchtime, he and Wyatt had finished the day’s orders and prepped whatever they could for tomorrow’s special-order items. As he stood in front of another tray of cookies, he said, “Thanks, Wyatt, for staying and getting the last of these cookies iced, so they’ll be ready for packaging tomorrow.”

  “Not a problem. Happy to help. We actually finished the orders earlier than I thought we would, so Janie doesn’t expect me home until later anyway.” Wyatt shuttled another finished tray back to the rack and brought out a fresh un-iced batch for them to work on.

  Laughter from the prep room drew Blake’s attention.

  Wyatt said, “They seem to be having fun in there.”

  “Yep.” Blake scowled at the cookie in his hand. If he were in the other room, he doubted he’d get to hear Andi’s laughter up close. The trio—Bree, Andi, Ryan—had the bagging for Saturday under control.

  While he’d been busy the entire day, he’d never been unaware of Andi’s presence just a door away. On one level, it annoyed him that not seeing her for a decade hadn’t changed his attraction to her. He’d convinced himself over the years that it was nothing more than a childhood crush. That befriending Nat had been a stupid way to get closer to Andi. That if he could do it all over again, he’d not do that. But standing in the main kitchen icing cookies with Wyatt and unsuccessfully eavesdropping on Andi in the other room, he had to admit, at least to himself, that he’d do it all over again. Granted, he’d have figured out Nat’s game earlier, but he’d still have done whatever he could to get closer to Andi.

  Blake sighed and set another iced cookie on the tray. He didn’t know how to break down the walls they’d developed over the years. Who was he kidding? They’d built those walls in high school and they still held strong. But there had to be a way to see if his attraction could be more. Though he was more attracted to the woman she’d become than even the girl she’d been, she didn’t take crap from him or anyone else. He grinned to himself. He loved antagonizing her to get a response, but that wasn’t working for him. He could see that now.

  “What’s up with you and the blonde one?” Wyatt set down his piping bag and met Blake’s gaze.

  “Nothing at all.” Blake rolled his shoulders and continued his task.

  Wyatt snorted. “You keep telling yourself that, but nothing isn’t what makes her gaze shift from annoyance to disappointment when I walk into the room to deliver another set of cookies or refill their bag supply. Her face tells me she’s annoyed by you but would rather see you walk through the door, for whatever reason. It’s weird. So what gives?” Wyatt made a hand gesture as if to hurry him along with the story.

  Blake sighed. “We’ve got history, most of it not good. I didn’t know she was a volunteer. She didn’t know I owned the bakery.” He set down the cookie and the piping bag and put his hands on the table. “It’s complicated.”

  “Hmm…interesting love stories usually are. So what’re you going to do about it?”

  Blake laughed. “Nothing to do. That annoyed look only escalates to animosity when we exchange words.”

  He remembered talking to her in high school. The one time they’d been alone. He’d been hanging out with some friends near the field and stayed behind kicking a soccer ball around…but mostly watching her as she studied in the bleachers after school. They’d missed their last bus option. They could have walked home, but rain had started to fall in torrents and they’d run to the front of the school and sheltered under an awning. They’d made their calls and huddled there while they’d waited on rides to arrive. It had been the best conversation he’d had in high school, hands down. He’d known in that moment that she was the one for him—smart and sassy and full of life. He’d tried to get close to her after that, but she’d only scowl at him. Then he’d pick at her to get a response and on and on they’d gone.

  Nat, her sister, was a year older. She’d approached him, offered him a chance to be closer to Andi. Offered to befriend him so he could work on getting her sister to go out with him. That idea had gone up in flames like the Hindenburg.

  Wyatt dropped the conversation, which was one of the many things Blake appreciated about the guy. Ryan—hell, any of his brothers—wouldn’t have let that topic go unexplored until they’d unearthed every shred of data. They all knew his story, but that story was long complete. Seeing Andi now, though… He’d been fighting with himself all day about what to do about it.

  A few hours later, Wyatt had gone home and Blake had finished the cookies and avoided joining the group in the other room as long as he could. His cell rang, giving him yet another reprieve.

  He picked it up and glanced at the screen before connecting the call. “Hey, Babs.”

  “Blake, how goes the great cookie assembly? Is my granddaughter giving you a hard time?”

  Blake laughed with Babs. “Not at all. She’s a hard worker. We should be more than stocked for tomorrow and at least part of Sunday before we leave tonight. And with the volunteers coming back tomorrow, we shouldn’t have a problem with Sunday either. Do you need for me to do anything at the venue to set up?”

  A rustling sound and Babs’s voice muffled before she came back on the line. “Sorry about that. It’s always crazy here coordinating the event the day before. That’s why I’m calling. We’ve got the table up and decorated. We could actually get the cookies displayed this evening if you want. If you deliver them today, you could even meet and explain the products to the volunteers who will be working the table. They’ve been helping me get organized today. The bulk of the vendors will be here tomorrow morning, but we secure the venue the night before to allow for early set up. I thought it might be easier on you than waiting until the rush in the morning.” More rustling sounds as Babs gave directions to other people.

  When she stopped talking and the line rustling cleared, Blake said, “That’s a great idea. I’ll get the
van loaded and head over to you in about an hour. I made up a list of cookies we’ll have for sale and an ingredient list. The packages have warnings for major allergens, but you’d be surprised how many people will want to know exact ingredients.”

  “You’re so thoughtful, Blake. And you’re a godsend for doing all this. I’ll text you the map of the facility, so you’ll know where to come in closest to your table, but text me when you get here. I’ll probably drag your table volunteers off to help me with other things until then. Gotta run.” Babs clicked off without waiting for a response, and Blake shook his head and smiled. That woman had more energy than ten twenty-year-olds. He had no idea how she managed it all every year.

  He went to his storage closet and pulled out the boxes he used for catering events. He’d use those to transport the finished cookie assortment. He pushed through the doors to the prep room and set two containers on the counter by the wall. The group had gone silent over the last little while. They were still hard at work, but he’d bet the afternoon slump had hit them.

  “Babs called and said I could deliver the cookies for tomorrow. I know we’re not finished yet, but if we pre-stock the table, we can make an easier run tomorrow to fill in where product’s been sold.” Blake waved a hand at their table. “So if you want to finish up the one you’re working on and help me load these containers, I’d appreciate it.”

  Bree finished tying the ribbon around a two-pack set of gingerbread people and hopped off her stool. She followed his lead as he took one of the cookie trays now filled with packaged cookies and started carefully loading it into the delivery container. She worked on the second container. Ryan and Andi weren’t far behind. He had Ryan bring in more boxes to fill. Before they knew it, they had eight large containers ready to go, probably sixteen hundred cookies or so. Everyone carried the boxes to load into the back of the delivery van, and he went back in to grab his ingredient lists, ready to head out.