Chapter 27

Ally

I tapped my pencil on the side of the crisp, white page and stared at the red numbers. Like staring would cause them to turn black. I’d have the bakery up and running by tomorrow, which was great, but I couldn’t stop checking the clock, even though I had no idea what time Gabe would waltz through the door.

Codsworth ambled through the kitchen and meowed once, then headed for the stairs in the corner. He wasn’t bothered by the cold or the prospect of an impending visit from a sexy fireman with some Smoky the Bear bi-polar disorder. All he cared about was his bowl of kibble and a soft treat every now and again. What a life.

I rose and walked to the fridge, then pulled the door open and peered inside. “Yup, that’s enough butter,” I remarked, then closed it again.

“That’s a relief,” Gabe said, standing in the doorway with his hands on his hips. “A girl can never have enough butter. Or frosting.”

“How did you get in here?” I asked, ignoring the blatant innuendo. Earlier in the day, he’d been nothing but sparks and fire. The man needed to cease the Jekyll and Hyde routine.

“I used the front door. That’s okay, right?”

“I — sorry — I just didn’t hear the bell ring. There’s a bell over the door.”

Gabe’s lip trembled in one corner like he was holding back a grin. “Yeah, I know.”

Way to go, Allegra. I cleared my throat and gestured to one of the chairs beside the counter. “You want to take a seat?”

“Sure, but that might make this more awkward.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I have no idea why this is so damn weird right now.”

Probably because you’re like me and remembering what occurred the last time we were in this very spot. Chocolate frosting. And your tongue.

Gabe stared at me, then ran his hands down the front of his coat. He unbuttoned it and slipped it off his shoulders, then looked around for a place to put it. I hurried forward and took it from him. He caught my arm and stared into my eyes.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I breathed, even though my insides were on fire again. Being this close was more painful inside the bakery, where it’d all began. I wrenched the coat from his grasp, gave a nervous laugh, then hurried over to the counter and slung it over the back of one of the chairs.

Gabe stayed where he was, watching my movements.

I studied him out of the corner of my eye. The perfect slope of his shoulders, the tightness of his shirt around the biceps and the jeans clinging to his thigh muscles.

“What happened with the fire this afternoon?” I asked, turning to face him again. “Is everything all right.”

“Yeah, we managed to clear everyone out before there was serious damage. Nothing to worry about. You’ll probably hear about it on the news because in winter these types of fires look worse than they actually are. I think it’s because of the molten red against the backdrop of white.” He marched up to me, backing me up against the cold stainless steel of the industrial refrigerator. “But you didn’t really want to talk to me about the fire.”

I swallowed. “You’re giving me whiplash. Your mood swings, I mean. One second you’re desperate to talk this out and falling for me, the next you’re cold and pissed. Now, you’re pressing yourself against me again. Gabe, you’re confusing me and I need you to stop. I feel like I’m on an emotional roller coaster that keeps going around the track and I can’t get off.” I tried to shift his weight, but he held firm.

Gabe’s abs were hard against the soft flesh of my abdomen. His hard thighs pressed into my thin yoga pants. I gasped softly.

“I’ve been clear about my intentions from the beginning.”

“I still want answers,” I managed. My gaze fluttered from his face downwards and landed on his broad chest. “I need to know why you didn’t tell me about Faith.”

The mention of her name was enough to break the spell.

Gabe grimaced and shoved off as he ran a hand through his hair. He paused in front of the stove, his back to me. “Why would I tell you about her when it could ruin us?”

“What do you mean?”

Gabe spun on his heel and faced me again. “We were new. Brand fucking new. And I felt something, Allegra. I still do. It’s deep and it’s emotional and it’s scaring the living shit out of me. I wanted to protect it. Protect us. I couldn’t help thinking that if you found out about Faith, it would be over before it began.” He turned and the look in his eye was pleading. “Look me in the eye and tell me that you wouldn’t have left me if I’d have come clean right away about Faith.”

“I — I can’t say what I would’ve done. With the bakery and —”

“Yeah, exactly. So I was waiting until we were more serious to tell you. It might not have been the wisest idea, but that’s what felt right in my gut. As a firefighter, I always go with my gut and I’ve never been wrong. I’ve saved people’s lives because of my intuition.” He folded his arms and lifted his chin. With pride and strength.

“That’s really something you should’ve put on the table from the start. I deserved to know,” I replied. I sat down on the chair beside my pen and books and looked at him. What could I say now that hadn’t been said already? I still wanted him, but the implications of Faith and the baby… God, it terrified me.

“So, that’s why I didn’t tell you. But if I’d known it would end up this way, I would have told you from the start. I never expected Faith to wind up on your doorstep.” Gabe clenched his jaw so hard a vein pulsed beneath his skin. He walked over to me and sat down in the chair opposite mine, then traced a pattern on the granite counter top with his fingertip.

“Are you dating her?”

He blinked and shook his head. “I told you we aren’t together.”

“Then how the hell did this happen?”

“It’s a long story,” he said and scratched the back of his neck.

“I’ve got time.”

Gabe grasped my pen and clicked it a few times, then looked through to the front of the bakery and back at me again. “I dated her in high school. We were the homecoming king and queen. Our fathers are business partners. Really tight. It’s almost like we’ve been promised to each other since the cradle. She was supposed to be my sweetheart, but then we went to different Ivy League colleges and she came back different. She started partying more, doing drugs, hanging out with lots of guys I didn’t know. Man, Faith turned on a dime. Like all the sweetness got rung right out of her.”

“Okay,” I said, because I was knotted with jealousy inside. My arteries had decided to turn themselves inside out. Visions of Faith and Gabe together with their rhinestone crowns, dancing, kissing, making love. All the unwelcome images polluted my thoughts.

“Yeah, so I told her years ago that I can’t be with her anymore, not when she’s living a life I don’t want any part of.”

“I take it she hasn’t improved?” I asked.

“No, not at all. Frankly, I’m concerned for our baby.” He sighed and looked like he was afraid to say anything else. “Then, she came to me a few months ago and told me she was pregnant. That changed everything. I’m not the kind of guy who can walk away from something like that. We hadn’t been together in years. One night. One mistake.”

I respected that a lot, but it didn’t lessen my jealousy. I grabbed the pen from him and clicked it a few times, then placed it beside my ledgers. “How sure are you that the baby is yours?”

“What do you mean? She says it’s mine,” he said, shrugging.

“And you didn’t get a paternity test? No offense, but it sounds like Faith has a certain kind of lifestyle. Are you really going to trust her word on this? You should get a paternity test if only for your piece of mind.”

And mine.

“I trusted her.” Gabe scratched his chin. “Maybe — wait, yeah, you’re probably right. I’ve got to go.” He hopped off the chair and tugged his jeans down by the pockets. “I’ll be back later.”

“What? Where are you going?” I rose too and swallowed my nerves. How could he leave now?

Gabe pulled me into a hug and kissed my forehead, sending a spike of pleasure down my spine. “I’m going to make things right.”