Love and a Latte

by Jamie Pope

  But he’d asked her to come here and she had. And selfishly he didn’t want to share her with the world.

  “Stop looking at me like that.” Amber gave him a sexy smile. “I can practically see your thoughts.”

  “I can’t help myself. You’re the sexiest woman in the room. How does it feel to be the sexiest person everywhere you go?”

  “It’s a trial, really. More of a cross to bear than anything.” She grinned at him as she put her champagne down and looped her arms around his neck. “I’m going to start a support group for sexy people. But seriously, I think you’re only saying that because I let you see me naked.”

  “I thought you were the sexiest woman in the room even before I saw you naked.”

  “Oh, really? You had a hard time remembering my name. I couldn’t have left too much of an impression on you.”

  He leaned in to kiss her and he had to make sure to keep his arousal in check. Memories of last night flooded his brain. The sex was more than amazing. It was emotional and powerful and made him feel raw. “I’m crazy about you, Amber.” But truthfully he was more than just crazy about her. He was in love with her. He wanted to tell her, but he knew it was too soon. It was crazy to fall in love with someone so soon, but it was love.

  “You’re too good to me, Chase.” She rested her head on his shoulder.

  “I’m glad you ended up coming tonight.”

  “Am I holding my own with your friends?”

  “Of course. Were you afraid you wouldn’t?” He had been afraid of that before. Afraid she wouldn’t fit in with his life and his friends, but that was his mother putting those thoughts in his head. She was smart and insightful and made him see things in a different way. Even if she couldn’t hold her own in this room of people he would still feel the same way about her.

  “I don’t know. Maybe. It was important for you to have me here. I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

  “You didn’t disappoint me.” He stroked his thumb across her cheek. “You can’t as long as you are yourself.”

  She leaned closer to kiss him and as soon as her lips pressed his he felt a hand land on his shoulder.

  “Hey, Drayson. Heard you were here.” He looked up to see one of the senior partners in his firm.

  “Hello, Robert. How are you?”

  “I’m fine. I see that you are better than me, judging by the way you can’t seem to pull yourself away from your lovely companion.”

  “This is my girlfriend, Amber Bernard. Amber, this is Robert Kelly, one of the senior partners at my firm.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Thank you. You, as well. I hope you’re trying to convince Chase to come back to us full-time. He’s on track to make partner. The man should be making millions every day. Not worrying about crullers and such things.”

  Amber glanced at Chase before she looked back to Robert. “I’m a firm believer in doing what makes you happy, Mr. Kelly, and if being a partner in your firm will make Chase happy, then he should do it.”

  “I agree.” He nodded with a grin. “And that’s why I have come over here. I think I have a few ways to make Chase happy at our firm. Would you mind if I stole him away for a moment?”

  “Of course not.”

  Chase put his hand on her arm, reluctant to leave her alone at this large party. “You going to be okay?”

  “I’ll be terribly afraid without you.” She grinned at him. “Go. I’ll be fine.”

  He nodded and walked away with his boss, remembering what his life had been like before he had been at the bakery. Long days, lonely nights, work hours that neared eighty a week. He’d thought he was content, making a great salary, moving up the ranks of his company, but he hadn’t been happy. These past few weeks he had been happy with Amber, and he didn’t think there was anything his boss could say that would make him jeopardize that.

  Chapter 13

  Amber studied the wall-sized painting that was displayed at the museum. It was a green square on a white canvas. Just a green square on white canvas. She had gone to art school and studied the greats, but she’d never understood modern art like this. It looked like something her little cousin could have done. But she would never admit that aloud. It would make her lose serious street cred with her art school classmates.

  “I heard that the green represents an island that the artist felt he was on, and the whiteness is the loneliness surrounding him,” a man said from behind her.

  Amber didn’t have to turn around to know who was speaking to her. She knew the voice. She had spent two years of her life listening to nearly everything that he said.

  “Steven.” She steeled herself before she faced him. He was a handsome man. He always had been, but there was an extra air of maturity floating around him. He was dressed in his signature all black, but his hair had gone white at the temples and in his beard, giving him a distinguished salt-and-pepper look. But unlike the younger girl she’d been when she met him, she didn’t get butterflies in her stomach. She’d thought she might feel anger when she saw him, or hurt, but she only felt foolish because she had let him rule her life for so long.

  “You are looking amazing.”

  “Thank you.” She turned back to look at the painting, done with the conversation.

  “Aren’t you going to ask me how I’ve been or what I’m doing here?”

  How had he been? What was he doing there? He was still all about him all the time. It was almost nice to see that nothing had changed.

  “I’m not going to ask.” She wandered to the next exhibit on display. A large gothic piece, but she could barely concentrate on it because he had followed her. She could feel his eyes on her back.

  “I’m surprised to see you at an event like this. When we were together it was like pulling teeth to get you out of the house and away from your little jewelry collection.”

  Little jewelry collection. The condescending words struck her in the chest, but she said nothing, refusing to give Steven the satisfaction of knowing that he had gotten to her.

  “But I guess when you’re with a man like Chase Drayson, real art and culture become more of a priority.”

  “Excuse me?” She quickly turned around to face him.

  “What’s the matter? You’re surprised I know who your new man is? Everybody who is anybody knows who the Draysons are. They are prominent members of the community. I’m just surprised that he’s here with you. Maybe I’m not. Chase has been known to date women who are after his money and status.”

  “Are you suggesting that I am one of those women?”

  “Am I saying you’re a gold digger? No. But I do know that it must be getting tiresome working in a coffee shop and paying for grad school on your own.”

  She ignored the implication, holding on to her temper by a thread. “How did you know I was in grad school?”

  “We still have mutual friends.”

  “You were asking about me. Does it bother you that I continued to better myself after we broke up?”

  “You could have bettered yourself when you were with me,” he said sharply.

  She stiffened slightly at his tone, memories of their last year together flooding her. “I’m better without you.” She stood taller, forced herself to look him in the eye even though she saw disdain there.

  “Better? You call hanging off a rich man better? Don’t you think he knows your end game?”

  “There is no end game. I want nothing from Chase. I haven’t taken a cent or gift from him.”

  “You don’t have to get all self-righteous with me. I understand. It’s easy to see why you would latch onto him. You’re not dumb. You realized that the jewelry-making was just a hobby and that grad school is a waste of time. Chase Drayson is your way out of all that mess. You know if you settle down with him that
you’ll be set for life. But, baby girl, you should probably know that a man like him is never really going to marry a woman like you. You should know that he wouldn’t want you to be the mother of his children. He needs someone on his level.”

  “And what level would that be?” She clenched her fists to stop her hands from shaking.

  “You know. You’re just not on it. But don’t worry. Neither am I. Not yet at least. That’s why we were good together. We could lift each other up. Especially if you have decided that your role should be that of wife and mother.”

  “You used to dazzle me,” she said calmly. “When I was still a girl I thought you were worldly and sophisticated and had everything going for you. But I’ve grown up since then and all I see you as now is a needy, pathetic excuse for a man, who can only lift himself up while tearing others down. I actually feel sorry for you. I do know my role. My role is to finish my MBA. My role is to make my business a success. My role is supporting myself and to not let any man think he has any sort of hold over me. And your role... Your role is to get out of my face before I smash yours into one of these very expensive paintings.”

  “Is there a problem here?” She heard Chase’s voice behind her.

  She turned to face him and her heart leaped as her stomach sank. He looked so dashing in his evening wear. So like he belonged here when all evening she had felt out of place, like a poseur. As though she was pretending to fit in.

  She loved him. She was in love with him. But how long could the finance guru and the poor jewelry designer really be together? She’d known when she started things up with him that they had an expiration date stamped on them.

  “There’s no problem here. Amber and I were just catching up.”

  “Really?” Chase stepped closer and wrapped his arm around her. “It seems to me that Amber requested that you leave her sight. If you don’t get the hell out of here, I will make sure you follow her request.”

  “You’re threatening to call security on me?”

  “Who said anything about security? I’m threatening to kick your ass.” He looked down at Amber. “I thought I was pretty clear. What do you think, baby?”

  “You were perfectly clear.”

  “Fine. Goodbye, Amber.” Steven stomped away.

  Chase watched him go, shaking his head. “Are you okay?” He kissed her forehead.

  “I am.” She leaned into him, taking comfort in his closeness. “I’m just a little hot.”

  “Come on. I know a place where you can cool off.”

  He led her to the dimly lit atrium, which was nearly breathtaking in its beauty. It was filled with lush, green trees and little gurgling ponds with elegant water features. Chase led her to a bench in front of the koi-filled pond and for a moment all Amber could do was watch the colorful fish swim in circles.

  “Who was that guy?”

  “A nobody.”

  “A nobody wouldn’t make you want to smash his face.” He took her chin between his fingers. “Should I be embarrassed to admit that seeing you threaten that guy turned me on?”

  She grinned at him. “You’re not very hard to turn on.”

  “Only when it comes to you. Tell me who that man was.”

  “My ex.”

  “Oh,” he said after a moment. “I think it might be time to tell me about him.”

  “It’s over. That’s all that’s important. I don’t really want to talk about him.” She didn’t want to talk about him, but she kept thinking about what he’d said. He accused her of being a gold digger, of using Chase. She knew if Steven thought that about her, then other people were probably thinking the same thing. The truth was, she wasn’t on Chase’s level. They weren’t in the same places in their lives and the last thing she wanted to be thought of as was needy, as someone who needed a man to get by. As someone who needed to be supported instead of treated as an equal partner.

  She had already set aside some of her needs to be with him. It wasn’t his fault. He hadn’t asked her to, but he was a distraction. She thought about him instead of the next step in her plan. She spent time with him instead of working on her jewelry.

  She loved him, but he wasn’t her goal. And when she left her last relationship she’d made a promise to herself never to choose love over her dreams. She didn’t want to be like her mother, who gave up so much for so many others. She didn’t want to look back on life and have any regrets. She didn’t want to wonder what if...

  She felt Chase’s lips brush over her cheek. “Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours. I can see so much in your eyes.”

  “I love you,” she said, the words just kind of slipping out. “I didn’t mean to fall in love with you. It’s too soon. It’s too crazy.”

  “It’s not.”

  She looked up at him. “It’s too much for me.”

  “What?”

  “I can’t afford to fall in love right now. I had this plan, Chase. These goals, and falling in love with you wasn’t a part of them.”

  He shook his head. “What are you saying?”

  “That I love you, but I’m not ready for a relationship right now.”

  “You have one conversation with your ex and you’re ready to throw out what we have?”

  It was Amber’s turn to shake her head. “I’m not really sure what we have.”

  He looked hurt by her words. She hadn’t meant to hurt him, but she could see it plainly on his face.

  “You know this is real, and special. You know you have never felt this way about anybody before. I know how you feel because I feel it in you when I kiss you, when I touch you, when I talk to you. I’m not sure about many things that don’t have to do with numbers, but I’m sure of this. Of us.”

  “Chase.” Her throat burned. Her vision became blurry, but holding back tears proved impossible. “This is already hard as it is. Please, don’t make this harder for me.”

  “I’m not making it hard. You’re the one who is giving up on a good thing.”

  “I love you.” She kissed his cheek and then ran off, unable to stand how much she had just hurt him.

  * * *

  She’d walked away from him. Chase couldn’t believe Amber had just walked away from him last night. One conversation with her ex and she decided she didn’t want to be with him anymore.

  It felt as though someone had shot him in the chest. He wasn’t sure why he was surprised, though. She had always been the one to keep distance between them. There was always something blocking him from being with her completely. From loving her the way he wanted to. From loving her the way she deserved to be loved.

  He tried to call her, to talk to her, to reason with her, but his calls had gone unanswered, and frankly he wasn’t sure why he bothered. He had done all the chasing in this relationship and he was tired.

  He didn’t need to be with anyone who didn’t want to be with him.

  As he walked through the back door of the bakery, Jackson came out of his office. “Whoa. What happened to you?”

  “Nothing.” Chase walked past him and into his own office, shutting the door. He didn’t want to be bothered with anyone today. He just needed one last look at the numbers before he created a report listing the expenses they would generate for the upcoming Bite of Seattle.

  “Don’t tell me nothing is wrong.” Jackson barged into his office. “You never wear jeans to work and while you’re never really all that pleasant, you don’t usually act like somebody ran over your dog. What happened?”

  “Nothing. Get out. I’m working.”

  “It’s Amber, isn’t it?”

  Chase looked up at his brother, the lie ready on his lips, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. “It’s over.”

  “Why?”

  “You’ll have to ask her why.”

  “Fix it.
She’s good for you. You need her in your life.”

  “I didn’t break it. I can’t fix it.” He shook his head, not feeling like discussing her anymore. “I have to get back to work, Jackson.” He booted up his computer. “We’ve got a lot to prepare for with the Bite of Seattle coming up. I need to know the marketing budget and supplies that need to be ordered if we are going to be selling the new products there. You and Mariah are going to have to get together and come up with some estimates. Plus I’ll need to know the layout of our booth so I can instruct the crew.”

  “So it’s going to go back to this?”

  “To what?” He looked up from his computer screen.

  “To you working all the time. To you not having anything to say that doesn’t have to do with numbers.”

  “I have to think about all of this stuff. You can’t expect me to leave all the practical things to you and Mariah. You all are too busy dreaming up new cake ideas. Somebody has to do the real work.”

  Jackson went quiet for a moment. His body stiffening. “I’m going to let you take that back,” he said quietly. “I’m going to let you take that back because I know you are mad that your girl broke up with you. And I know that you really appreciate the amount of work Mariah and I do around here, running the front of the house and making our guests feel at home. Because if it were up to you, we would have a cold, sterile place with vending machines serving third-rate crap.”

  “Hey!” Anger tore through his stomach. “Don’t—”

  “I won’t hold your comments against you,” Jackson said, cutting him off. “I know how much you liked her. I know this must be hard.”

  “It came out of nowhere,” he admitted.

  “What happened?”

  “I don’t know. I took her to a work function last night and her ex was there. They exchanged words, and the next thing I knew I was going home alone. She won’t even talk to me about what happened.”

  “Do you think she still loves him?”