Chapter 7

I stood behind the counter and stared at the door, breathing through my nose to calm myself. I’d been tense the minute I’d come down to start work, and being out front made it even worse. After the incredibly vivid sex dream about Gabe, it felt like it was inevitable that he’d materialize into flesh and blood man. In my bakery. Or my bed.

I couldn’t afford anyone to take my place, and Tess was best in the back, working on the baking and icing. She wasn’t the friendliest woman on the planet, and I didn’t want to drive customers away with her bristly demeanor. Tess was a back of the house employee, and she was great at what she did in the kitchen. Someday, I might be able to afford a part-time cashier. Someone like the person Kelly had. Pamela with a head for organization and a heart for the customer.

“No,” I murmured to myself. “Don’t worry about Gabe. Because he’s never coming back here.” I lowered my head and stared at the rows of cupcakes beneath the glass of the counter. They were like sugary little cherubs, sweet gifts for any occasion.

I loved what I did. I’d loved designing the recipes for them. Creating the names.

The door over the bell rang and I snapped my gaze back to the front.

No, no, no.

After last night, there was no way I could ever look this man in the eye again.

Gabe stood in the doorway, one hand on the glass, the other hanging loosely at his side. “Nice to see you again,” he said, then ambled in and let the door swing shut behind him. More confident than he’d been the last time he’d arrived.

I stared at him in utter disbelief. “What are you doing here?” Way to go, Ally. Insult the man. Just because he scares you doesn’t mean you need to be rude.

But, I didn’t want him to come any closer. I wanted him to go away. I needed to focus on work. Like a professional. Like a real businesswoman.

Gabe walked right up to the counter and leaned on it. He had a blue button-up on today, and the same jacket thrown over it. “Now, is that any way to greet your best customer?”

“Hello,” I breathed, trying again. I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to draw myself back to reality. I couldn’t stare into his eyes for too long, because I would get lost in them. “How can I help you?” I put on my winning ‘welcome to the best bakery in Minneapolis’ smile.

I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me flustered anymore.

“I think you know how you can help me,” he replied. He inched his fingers closer to mine.

“Two Red Velvet Raptures?” I bent to get the box.

“No, just you,” he replied, cocking his head to the side to expose his perfect jaw line again, his blue eyes alight with pleasure. At seeing me. Me with my fat ass and masses of wavy hair that wouldn’t quite behave. This was a man who would look perfect standing next to super-models. This couldn’t be happening to me. What did he want with me?

The bell over the door tinkled and a group of ladies entered, pushing strollers, some of them with toddlers on their hips. Way to ruin the moment, soccer moms. They looked like they’d just come from yoga.

He crossed his arms over his broad chest. “I’m coming back every day until you agree to go out. Got it?”

“No, not in the slightest,” I said through my forced smile. The other customers drew closer, chattering about downward dog. One of the kids started wailing and his mom cuddled him close and stroked his hair.

“I can make you understand.” Gabe leaned in closer, forcing himself into my personal space, even with the counter between us.

“That’s enough,” I hissed, then raised my voice and yelled back into the kitchen. “Tess, come out here please.”

She bustled out, dusting off her apron and scowling. She spotted the mothers and their offspring, and her distaste only grew worse.

“Take care of them, will you? I’ll be back in a few minutes,” I said, gesturing to the women.

“Fine, but you know I don’t like to be out front,” she muttered under her breath. “Customers suck.” Tess clapped her hands to draw attention, and the women froze. The toddler kept crying, his sobs filling the uncomfortable silence.

I swept around the counter and grabbed Gabe by the wrist. He seemed amused at the gesture, but he let me lead him out into the crisp winter air.

He stood in front of me, and I turned my back on the bakery so I wouldn’t have to witness Tess dealing with the women inside. It wasn’t five seconds before I started shivering, my warm breath filling the air between us in grey puffs.

“This has to stop.”

“I told you, Allegra. I won’t stop until you agree to see me,” he said as he stepped towards me. Ominous. His physical presence a danger to my equanimity. And sanity.

I refused to take a step back, partly because I longed to be close to him, partly because I didn’t want him to see the extreme effect he had on my body. It was probably too late for that, though. I’d literally gasped when I’d seen him the first time. And I’m sure my attraction for him was written all over my face.

Gabe raised his hand and reached for my shoulder.

I smacked it away. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

He grinned. “Nothing. I just can’t get you out of my mind. Like an apparition. You visit my dreams. And my fantasies.”

My jaw dropped. Of course, I would never admit to his nightly visits in my own dreams.

“And you think pursuing me this way is going to win me over? You’re being creepy, Gabe. Like a stalker. Coming into my bakery like you own the place, demanding dates, and, uh,” I said, but I’d run out of steam as the frigid air almost froze my blue lips shut and my teeth started chattering. He took his coat and wrapped it around my shivering shoulders.

Rhetoric flew out of my mouth, but I was spitting lies. Falsehoods based in fear and shame. Lack of self-confidence. Self-esteem. In myself and my desirability. I didn’t think he was creepy and I wanted him to demand more. More time, more physical proximity, more me.

Just more.

He acted like a real man, and he smelled like one too. Familiar and warm, and his cologne was…Why did these damn Gucci men always seem to like me? Make me weak in the knees with their expensive scent?

“You’re beautiful when you’re angry.”

“I swear to God, you’re like one of those cheesy dudes out of a movie.” I tapped him on the chest with my finger and instantly regretted it. It didn’t deter him, only made me itch to run my hands down the indents of his abs and then head straight south.

Heat colored my cheeks a rosy hue. Hopefully, he’d think it was from the cold.

“You’d better leave me alone. I’m never going on a date with you. Ever. Do you get that? It’s never going to happen,” I said, not sure who I was trying to convince with my little tirade.

He moved closer, the body heat radiating from us both in the cold temperatures serving as two halves of a magnet. Drawing us closer. Closer. The warmth drove me wild; my mouth went dry. I stared up at him, dwarfed by his size, by his silence.

“Are you done?”

I swallowed. “Yeah.”

“Thank God. I can think of only one way to shut up a woman who talks too much.” He swooped down like a hooded viper and captured my lips in a kiss so searing it bordered on wild. God, those full lips of his, so soft and warm controlled the pace and the pressure. He started to possess my lips with long, drugging kisses, then sucked my bottom lip in his warm mouth as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

I pushed against him, pretending for a second to resist, when really I was already gone. Long gone.

He marched me backwards, out of sight of the door and pressed me against the brick wall of my bakery. Cars sped by in the street; some of them honked their horns at us. Noise barely registered. Like time had stood still for this perfect moment. This perfect, unruly kiss.

I tried to break away and break the spell, but he held me captive. To his smell. To the feel of him pressed against me. To everything.

He parted my lips and captured my tongue, twisting it with his as he increased the pressure, passion overtaking him. Overtaking us both. I tilted my head right and kissed until I gasped for breath.

He stroked my cheek with one hand, then ran it down my neck onto my breast and cupped it, feeling for my nipples under the fabric of my shirt with his thumbs. My nipples erect from the cold or from the man. Or both.

“Wait,” I commanded as I pushed him back an inch. It was like trying to use force to move a mountain. A mountain of muscle and sinew. Through the haze of passion, I slapped my hand against his shoulder. Those eyes, blue orbs of desire, finally focused on my hand. Then on my face.

“I’m sorry. So much for going slow to earn your trust. But when you dragged me out here …”

He leaned his palms against the building and pressed his forehead against mine. I was trapped between his arms. Finally, he pushed off from the bricks and stepped back, the fresh snow crunching beneath the soles of his boots.

“Can we agree to go out now? I promise this won’t happen again.” He winked. “Unless you can’t resist me.”

Resist him? Holy mother of God.

“Yeah. Pick me up at the front door to the bakery at eight,” I replied, handed him his coat, then turned and sashayed into the bakery, giving him a view of my round behind and proud of myself for not looking back, even though I wanted to. Damn, did I want to.