GINA

 

One month later…

 

“What do you put in this?”

“It’s a secret.”

“Don’t give me that. Come on. Tell me.”

“It’s a secret.”

“You know, I could just look it up and figure it out for myself.”

“Then why don’t you do that?”

“Because you can just tell me right now.”

“If I tell you, I’d have to kill you.”

Ben cut a piece of the tiramisu with his fork and stuffed it into his mouth. The way he closed his eyes and savored it never failed to make me smile. He smacked his lips and let out a contented sigh.

“If you killed me after a bite of this, it’d be worth it.”

“Don’t say things like that now. Being a cop in this town is pretty dangerous.”

“That’s why being in a place like this is so nice. It gives me a chance to relax. It’s nice to see that Amy’s is back in business.”

He looked around at the newly remodeled bakery. It had been completely rebuilt after the fire. You would never have guessed that the place exploded a little more than a month ago.

“Amy’s will always be around,” I said to the cop. “I’ll always be around.”

“Just keeping making this tiramisu and I’ll always be around, too.”

He took another chunk of his dessert into his mouth. I giggled and patted him on the shoulder.

“Excuse me, Ben. It looks like the new employees need some help.”

I made my way back around the counter and clapped my hands.

“Let’s go, let’s go!” I said. “Lots of pastries for everybody! Get your sugar and caffeine fix right here!”

It was a sunny day in Ivory. The weekends weren’t usually this busy but with Amy’s grand re-opening, more townsfolk than usual had come out to celebrate.

Cakes. Cookies. Donuts. Coffee. People lined up out the door to the small bakery to grab a snack.

Thankfully, Lydia had hired enough new employees to help me deal with all of the customers.

“Smile, people,” I said. “They don’t just come to Amy’s for the treats.”

The enthusiasm of the customers and employees was infectious. Everybody was in a good mood. I guess that’s what happened when you were hopped up on sugar.

I lost track of time as I worked. It had been so long since I worked but I quickly got back into my routine. It was busy but nothing I couldn’t handle along with the rest of the staff.

A few hours went by but the line didn’t stop. I was in the kitchen baking another batch of pastries when a pair of familiar-looking faces came in from the back door.

“Lydia! Sean!”

I walked up to the two of them with a big smile on my face.

Sean was just as handsome as he always was. He wore nothing but a t-shirt and pair of blue jeans. His arms were decorated with the ink from his former life.

“There he is…”

I whispered and looked down at the small baby Lydia held in her arms.

“There’s my little man… How are you doing, Jake?”

The newborn writhed in his mother’s arms, his eyes completely shut. I stuck a finger out and playfully caressed the side of his cheek. He cooed softly, getting me to smile even wider.

“What are you two doing here?” I said as I looked up at them. “You guys should be at home. This is no place for a newborn.”

“We saw how busy it was,” Lydia said. “I thought I would check in and see how things are going.”

“You know her,” Sean added. “I can’t keep her down for long.”

I rolled my eyes as we all shared a laugh.

“Everything is going fine,” I said. “The customers are loving everything.”

“What about the new staff?” Lydia asked.

“Great! They seem like they enjoy working here.”

“You trained them well…”

Lydia smirked at me. I bit my lip and nodded.

“I’m proud of you, Gina. It looks like you’ve got everything completely under control.”

“I… I’m just doing what you taught me. And… I enjoy it. I love working here. I… I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”

“I’m glad you enjoy it. You’re just as much a part of Amy’s as anything else.”

“I bet,” Sean said. “Showing off that amount of cleavage, I’d be coming down here to get a donut every day!”

“Sean!”

Lydia slapped him on the arm and he laughed in response. I sighed then giggled right along with him.

“She’s taken,” Lydia said. “I think everybody in this town knows who he is… And speak of the devil…”

I turned around just as she said. Dorian stood there and knocked on the side of the doorway.

“Hey,” he said. “I’m not interrupting, am I?”

“Not at all,” I said.

Dorian walked up to me and greeted me with a kiss.

“Dorian, you know Lydia,” I said. “I don’t think you’ve ever met Sean before…”

Dorian held his hand out to the man. Sean shook his hand, his eyes glancing down toward the patches on Sean’s leather kutte.

“Sully,” he said. “I guess you’re the man who replaced me.”

“I could never replace another Reaper,” Dorian replied. “I’m just another man honored to wear the patch.”

“If you understand what it means to be patched in, then you’re the right kind of man to replace me.”

“Listen, guys,” I said. “It’s pretty busy out there. So, you two, need to get out of here and take care of little Jake.”

“All right, all right,” Lydia said. “We’re going. Take care of the bakery now…”

“You know I will.”

Lydia smiled at me before turning around and leaving with Sean. As soon as they disappeared, I let out a deep sigh of relief.

“What’s wrong?” Dorian asked. “It seems like you didn’t want them here.”

“It’s not that I don’t want them here. I love the both of them. But right now, they need to focus on themselves. I’ve got everything under control.”

“It seems that way.”

Dorian leaned forward and kissed me again.

“How are things?” I whispered, my lips near his.

“Couldn’t be better. I’m working short shifts at the station to get my rhythm back. No action at the clubhouse.”

“Logan?”

Dorian sighed through his nose. I put my arms around his broad shoulders and held him close.

“Twenty-five years,” he said. “He’ll be up for parole in 10 but…”

“That’s still a long time.”

“Yeah.”

“You’ll be there for him.”

“I will. I know I can be there for him. I haven’t forgotten him.”

I looked up and smiled at Dorian. Those gray eyes of his. I saw so many things when I stared at him. It was like the entire world stopped all around me.

“You’re a good man,” I whispered. “What did I ever do to deserve someone like you?”

“You didn’t do anything to deserve me. You’re just who you are. That’s all I want. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“You know… Seeing Lydia with her fiancé got me thinking—”

Dorian suddenly burst into laughter.

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he said.

“Do you?”

I raised an eyebrow at him. The half-smirk on his face told me that he did indeed know what I was thinking.

“Ivory has always been my home,” he said. “I’d love nothing more than to make it our home. Get married. Settle down. Have a family.”

“It’d be nice…”

“But I’ll always be with you. No matter where we are. There’s no need for us to hurry.”

“The big city is pretty nice. There are so many different places we could fuck.”

“Look at the mouth on you,” he said with a chuckle.

“You love it.”

“I do,” he sighed.

I pulled him close to me and kissed him. I enjoyed the feeling of his tongue swirling into my mouth.

“Gina?”

Our moment was interrupted when one of the employees walked into the kitchen.

“We just got a big order of tiramisu,” the young teenager said.

“I’ll get right on it,” I said with a nod.

The teen excused himself. I let out a sigh as I reluctantly released Dorian from my grip.

“Back to work,” I said. “Busy, busy, busy.”

“Need some help?”

I looked him up and down skeptically before giggling softly.

“Grab an apron,” I said.

Dorian put on the white apron over his leather vest.

“How do I look?” he asked as he held his hands out.

I admired him for a moment. Even with an apron on, he didn’t fail to make me smile.

“Perfect,” I said.

Dorian and I got to work in the back of the bakery.

We’d been in Ivory our whole lives but didn’t meet each other until now. I loved Dorian Sullivan and he loved me. Having him by my side now, doing the one thing I enjoyed more than anything else, in the town we loved, was everything I ever wanted. I couldn’t ask for anything more.