by Karen Booth
Late that night, she was settled at Natalie’s. The couch was not as comfortable as Elana’s bed, but that was fine. Joy was sleeping on this couch with full permission, with no fear of anyone discovering her whereabouts. There was a lot to be said for the peace of mind of that. But she still had unfinished business.
Things with Alex had not ended the way they should have. As upset as she’d been about the fact that he’d called his private investigator, the truth was that he was absolutely right to have done it. If he’d gotten any sort of strange vibe from her, it was completely her fault. And for that reason, she had to call him and apologize one more time. This was part of making everything right with the world.
She got his voice mail. It wasn’t entirely surprising that he hadn’t answered. He had every reason in the world to hate her. And she had to take some comfort in the fact that he hadn’t blocked her number.
This is Alexander Townsend with Townsend & Associates Investments. Please leave a message. His voice filled her with so much regret.
“Hi, Alex. It’s Joy. I’m calling to apologize. It was never my intention to lie to you. I was in a jam, and I did some things I’m not proud of. But I’m out of the Marshalls’ house now and about to start working extra hours at the bakery to get my head above water.” It occurred to her that he might not care about any of this, but she had to keep going. She had to get it off her chest. “I want you to know that I will always fondly look back on our time together. You’re an amazing man, and any woman would be lucky to have you in her life. I hope you find happiness. I hope you live a good life.” And I love you.
The words were threatening to burst forth from her lips, but she couldn’t saddle him with that burden. This phone call was not about pulling at heartstrings. It was about making things as right as she could. “Goodbye, Alex.”
She pressed the button to end the call and muted her phone, stuffing it under her pillow. She snuggled up under the blanket, closed her eyes, and willed herself to sleep. Hopefully the tears wouldn’t last for long.
* * *
Joy and Natalie went into work together the next morning. Natalie took her break at eleven thirty. Joy took hers right after, just as the clock struck noon. She had to hurry. She had something important to do. Now that she was staying with Natalie, she had a brief reprieve on finding a place to live. And since her car had been fixed by Natalie’s brother, Joy could use her paycheck to buy back her grandmother’s necklace.
The bell on the pawn shop door rang when Joy pushed it open. It was just as dead quiet in there as it had been the first time she walked in. That seemed like a lifetime ago. When she was sure she knew how things with Alex would end. Her version would’ve had the same net result, but at least he would’ve thought well of her. He wouldn’t have known the truth, but hopefully a smile would’ve come to his face when he remembered her. That would’ve been the closest she and Alex could have come to a happy ending.
But it hadn’t happened like that, and she had to continue with the baby steps toward acceptance. That was the only way to heal.
“Can I help you?” the man behind the counter asked. He wasn’t really looking at her, preoccupied with polishing up an old pocket watch.
Joy pulled her paperwork out of her purse. “Yes. I’m here to buy back a necklace I pawned.” She scanned the glass case but didn’t see it with the other jewelry. That stuff was all more contemporary. Maybe he’d put it in another section. Joy whipped around and rushed to the other side of the store, hands on the glass, searching.
“I remember you,” he said. “It’s gone. A woman came in about a half hour ago to buy it.”
“What? A half hour? You told me you’d call me. We talked about it.”
The man shrugged. “Sorry. I guess I forgot.”
Joy closed her eyes and dropped her head back. The loss shuddered through her body. How much more could she possibly lose in this world? Alex. Her pride. The necklace. What next? “Do you have the woman’s information by any chance? Do you remember what she looked like or where she was going?”
“She was blonde. She mentioned something about the bakery.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Joy didn’t waste another minute, hitching her bag over her shoulder and bolting out into the cold. Around the corner and down the side street she ran, as fast her impractical brown boots would carry her. When she finally stumbled through the door of the bakery, the only customer inside was an older gentleman buying a loaf of bread.
Shoot.
Joy went back out on the sidewalk and looked both ways down the street. No sign of a blonde woman. Maybe this just wasn’t meant to be. She went back inside, feeling defeated, but deciding it was not the time to feel broken about anything. Her grandmother wouldn’t want her to do that. She’d figure out something. She’d go back to the pawn shop tomorrow and tell the owner to call her if it turned up again. People who bought things at pawn shops often ended up taking them back.
Just then she heard a man’s voice from the back hall. It made the hair on the back of her neck stand up, but not in a bad way. It was more like she was convinced that she was hearing things. It had to have been one of the bread bakers. Except that it was after noon, and they were usually gone by then. She shook it off and went in search of Natalie. The hall was now empty, just stacks of flour bags lining the walls, and the apron hooks half-empty. Natalie’s laugh rang out from the front kitchen.
When Joy pushed through the aluminum swinging doors, she nearly fell over from what she saw. Alex, standing there in a baker’s apron, sleeves rolled up, hair back in a bandana no less. When he turned and his eyes met hers, she thought she had died and this was the dream on the other side, the one where things work out and you get everything you always wanted. And that was before he’d said a single word.
“Hi, Joy.”
“Alex. What are you doing here?”
He held up the rolling pin in his hand. “Learning how to make scones.”
Natalie smiled. “He just got here a little while ago. I told him you were at lunch, so he said he’d wait.”
“I tried to call you.”
“You did? I didn’t get any calls.” Joy slapped her forehead. She’d forgotten to take her phone off mute after last night. It wasn’t like she’d been expecting any important calls. She pulled her phone from her bag and sure enough, five missed calls, all from Alex. “I’m so sorry. I put my phone on mute after bed last night and totally forgot to turn it back on.”
Alex stepped closer to her and Joy did the same, until they were nearly toe-to-toe. “Can we talk?” he asked.
“I can leave you two alone, if you want,” Natalie offered.
“No. It’s okay. I know you’re busy,” Joy answered. “We’ll go out in the hall.”
She led the way and Alex followed. She wasn’t sure what to think right now. Had he listened to her message? Would he accept her apology?
He untied the apron and hung it back up on the hook, then removed the bandana from his head.
“Here. Your hair is a mess.” She popped up onto her tiptoes and brushed flour from his hairline. Their lips were so close. She could smell his warm cologne. This was too much like things used to be. It was starting to hurt to look at him, like her heart was being pulled out of her chest. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“I had to come back. I hate the way I left things on Christmas morning.”
She shook her head so fast she was surprised she didn’t dislodge some brain matter. “Don’t apologize for that, Alex. You were absolutely right. I’d left this gray cloud hanging over our time together and it wasn’t right. I should’ve said something as soon as I realized that I was romantically interested in you.”
That clever smile of his crossed his lips. “The moment down by the pool?”
“The moment
you didn’t kiss me. That’s when I should have told you that I wasn’t Joy Baker, the baker.”
“Which was the most adorable fake name you could’ve given yourself, by the way.”
“It was dumb. And terribly unoriginal. I was panicked. And it wasn’t fair to you.” She reached for his hand. “I’ll say I’m sorry every day if it means you’ll give me another chance. Even if it’s just one dinner.”
“One kiss?”
Was that all he wanted? Even if another goodbye might kill her, she had to take this. She gripped his shoulders and leaned into him, planting her mouth on his. The second his lips parted and his tongue touched hers, she flattened him against the bakery wall. It was too good not to keep it going. It was too perfect. She could’ve melted right into him then and there.
Alex was the one to end it. “Wow.”
She dropped down to her heels. “Sorry. I get carried away.” She gazed up at his eyes knowing this was the moment when she had to lay it on the line, again. “You do that to me. Nobody else has ever done that to me. I don’t know what made you come back, but I don’t want you to leave. Not until we’ve had that dinner and we’ve had a chance to talk everything out.”
“To start over?” His beautiful blue eyes nearly knocked the breath right out of her.
“That would be amazing.” She planted one hand on his chest, watching it rise and fall with his breaths. “What made you come back?”
“Well, I needed to get a grip. That was first on my list. Second was some shopping. For jewelry.” He reached into his pocket. Joy gasped when she saw what was in his hand.
“The locket.” She watched as Alex draped it into her hand. “But the guy at the pawn shop said a blonde woman bought it.”
Natalie poked her head out of the kitchen and waved. “Did I tell you I went to the pawn shop on my break? Not that I was eavesdropping or anything.” Just like that, she ducked out of sight.
“I called the pawn shop yesterday and gave them my credit card number so I could get it back. Then I called the bakery this morning after I couldn’t get through to you on the phone. Natalie answered and at that point, I figured I might as well make it a surprise, so I asked if she’d go pick it up for me.”
Joy shook her head in amazement. “You did all that for me?”
“I did that for the woman I love.” He smoothed back her hair with his fingers. “I’m in love with you, Joy. As crazy as that sounds, it’s true. The minute I walked out of that house, I only wanted to go back in. But I also had to clear my head. I needed some perspective. Luckily it didn’t take long for me to get it.”
Joy grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “I love you, too. As crazy as that sounds. I do.”
He nodded. “Okay. Well then, you and I have some talking to do and some decisions to make. I don’t want to ask you to leave your job here, but I think you know my whole life is in Chicago. We could try long-distance for a while if you want to.”
Joy looked at Alex and knew one thing—she was done making mistakes. “I love the bakery, but I love you more.”
“Yeah?” The happy lilt in his voice filled Joy’s heart with contentment.
“Yeah. I think that means your scone lesson is over, mister. We need to pack up my things and head to Chicago.”
Epilogue
Joy stepped on to the beach and curled her toes. She would never get over how soft the sand was in Fiji. “This is pure heaven.”
Alex took her hand, his flip-flops in the other. “Agreed. Let’s never leave. Ever.”
They embarked on their nightly post-dinner walk. Another thing she would never get over was how beautiful the Fijian sunset was, either. “Is it just me or is it a particularly perfect night?”
“I don’t think it could get much better, that’s for sure.”
In some ways, it felt as though the sun was putting on a command performance just for them, in ultra vivid shades of orange and gold, nothing else but the big blue ocean stretching out beneath it. She and Alex had watched the sunset every night from the deck of their private bungalow, holding hands, savoring their time together. Joy couldn’t recall ever feeling so lucky, not even the day she’d landed the job with Harrison Marshall.
Colorado was a distant thought now, although it would always be in the back of her mind. She’d gone there, not realizing she was trying to escape her life, and ended up finding an entirely new one.
“It sure doesn’t make me miss Chicago in January,” he added.
“I don’t know about that. As beautiful as it is here, I’m eager to get back home.” Home—that was a concept which Joy had only toyed with over the past few years. Now she was living with Alex. His penthouse apartment in the River North neighborhood of Chicago was unbelievable—spacious, elegant, and most important, it felt like home. Of course, she’d added some of her own touches, mostly to the kitchen, but it was otherwise perfect. Every night, Joy would experiment with new recipes, they would enjoy a lovely meal together, and they would, of course, end up falling into bed. Alex had quipped about how Joy was really helping him get over his bad habit of watching too much TV. Apparently she was enough of a distraction.
Being in Chicago had also brought Alex’s family into their lives. His father, Alexander Townsend II, was pretty much what Joy had expected, and he’d been kind, but she wasn’t sure how much warmth she’d ever get out of the man. There wasn’t a lot there, and that made her sad. Alex deserved better. Alex’s brothers, Matthew and Jonathan, helped to fill that void, though. Affable and nearly as handsome as their big brother, they both clearly idolized Alex and gravitated toward him for everything from jokes to advice. Joy could see that the sibling bond fed Alex’s soul, and that Alex wouldn’t be leaving Chicago anytime soon.
And that meant she’d had to start looking for a job. Yes, Alex had more than enough money and hadn’t asked for a cent from her, but they were a committed couple with only six weeks of togetherness under their belts. It was still early days, and Joy didn’t want to be caught without a safety net if things didn’t stay as wonderful as they were right now. Luckily, her career prospects were shaping up nicely.
Alex had introduced her to several friends who owned restaurants, and Joy would be going for interviews when they returned to Chicago in a few short days. He’d also touched base with a friend who worked for a big New York publisher. He was keen on her getting her foothold in the world of cookbooks if she was ready to do that as well. It was all moving so fast, but she was trying to sit back and take her good fortune as it came. She figured she’d saved up her whole life for it.
They’d made one final weekend trip before getting on the plane for Fiji, a trip for which Joy had been extremely nervous. Alex had taken her to Ohio so he could meet her parents. Of course, Joy hadn’t worried about whether or not her mom and dad would like her new beau. They took to him right away. Alex was such a down-to-earth guy, he’d had no problem grabbing a beer with her dad and hanging out in the TV room watching football. He’d been very sweet with her mom, as well, complimenting her cooking and commenting that she was clearly where Joy got her beautiful, long hair and her equally long legs. Thankfully, Ben had not made his presence known, although that was likely due to Alex. Overkill or not, he’d hired two off-duty police officers to stand sentry outside her parents’ house the entire time they were there. When she’d wondered aloud if it had been too much, Alex had replied that it had done the job and that was all he cared about.
It was all like a dream, but that did not mean she’d suddenly retired to the land of zero worries. She had big news for Alex, and she had no idea how he was going to react to it. Keeping secrets from him the first time had backfired and she wasn’t about to do it again. The question was when the right moment would arise. Alex had been on edge all night.
“Let’s get our feet wet,” she said.
“Okay.” Alex kn
eeled down and rolled up his pant legs. She’d told him one hundred times she didn’t care if he wore shorts to dinner, but he’d insisted that it didn’t feel right.
“Ready?” She grabbed his hand and flitted down to the water, moaning softly when her feet reached the gentle waves. “It feels so good tonight. Maybe we should go swimming.” She pulled him closer and kissed him gently. “I doubt anyone would notice if we went skinny-dipping.” Indeed, the resort they were staying in was so private, they could go for hours without seeing a soul.
“Maybe later. Okay?”
Joy twisted her lips and stifled a sigh. There was definitely something up with him. The man did not turn down an opportunity to be naked together. “Is everything okay? Did you not enjoy your dinner?”
“Dinner was great. It’s not your food, but it was really, really good. And I’m fine. I just have a lot on my mind.”
“Did your dad call you or something?”
Alex shook his head and they resumed their walk, ankle deep in the warm and tranquil water. As the sky darkened, the moon came into view, casting a moody glow. “No. I haven’t dared turn on my phone. I’m here to enjoy my time with you and nothing else.”
“Good. I’m glad.” She felt a little better now, but only a fraction. There was still an awkward silence between them, which was not their normal dynamic. Usually, the words flowed freely. Maybe she just needed to come out with it. Tell him what was going on. Maybe that uncomfortable feeling was coming all from her. “I have something to tell you,” she blurted out, surprising even herself.
Alex came to a stop. “I have something to tell you.”
Oh. Was that good? Or bad? “Do you want to go first?”
“You said it first. You can go.”
