Chapter 32

Ally

I walked across the street and clutched my coat to my chest to ward off the frigid air. A mother with two children met my gaze and smiled. The little boy, around two, batted his eyelashes and flirted. Staring into my eyes and then looking away. I loved kids so much, but the wound of the previous night was still so raw, I just wanted to get away from the sweet toddler.

I’d spent another Christmas alone since Kelly and Pat had traveled to Madison to be with her extended family. As a kid, I’d loved the season, because it was the only time my mother could peel herself away from her latest fuck to spend time with me. Until she hit the eggnog. She’d hang mistletoe and bring out a gift, specially wrapped by Macy’s in vibrant gold foil with a red velvet bow. Those precious Christmas gifts were the only things I ever received from her. I still had the Sega Game Gear she’d splurged on in 1991.

I’d always unwrap it as I sat under the tree, inhaling the lush, evergreen scent. I still loved a live tree more than anything, even if I couldn’t afford one or drag it up to my tiny apartment. Let alone have a place to put it up and decorate it. The unwrapping of my solitary gift was always the best part.

I cleared my throat and kicked at a snow drift. My mom called from prison on Christmas Day. Collect. I’d denied the call, unwilling to accept the charges.

“Are you going to stand out there all day?” Kelly called from the doorway of her coffee shop. “I’ve got a hazelnut cappuccino with your name on it.” She paused and giggled once. “No seriously, Allygator’s written in Sharpie on the cup and it’s getting cold.”

“I’m coming,” I answered with a wave as I trudged through the snow and slid through the door.

“Who peed in your porridge?” Kelly asked, then beckoned me to join her behind the counter.

“Ew, gross reference,” I replied. “I’ll tell you about it in your office, if you’ve got a minute.”

“For you? Anytime.” Kelly waved to her husband, Pat, and he nodded and winked at her.

They were such a perfect couple, it actually hurt. Maybe not perfect but perfect for each other and that’s all any self-loving woman could hope for. I’d fantasized that I might get my happy ending too. Turned out I was delusional.

Kelly pushed into the office and waited for me to enter, then shut the door behind me and shoved the cappuccino into my hand. “All right, spill it. What’s going on? I’ve kind of been expecting you.” She demanded with a laugh.

“Gabe,” I said, by way of explanation. “Actually, it’s more Matthew this time.”

“I thought that might be the case after that last showdown at the OK Corral, also known as my place of business. You were the one who didn’t want to get involved and now you’ve got them both eating out of the palm of your hand. Of course, one is a peacock and the other’s a vulture,” Kelly said, nudging me with a wink. She’d never liked Matthew. Now, I started to wonder if anyone liked Matthew. God, I’d been such an idiot in my past choice of men.

“I’m fed up with both of them. Okay, that’s a lie. I’m only semi fed up with Gabe and his boyfriend bi-polar disorder. I want him like crazy, even though I shouldn’t.” I scratched my forehead at the base of my hairline, then slipped out of my coat and dumped it over the back of one of the chairs. I deliberately left out the part about the crazy good sex in my kitchen. “Am I crazy to be so upset?”

“Ally, you just called Gabe your boyfriend. Please go back and start at the beginning. You know I’ll be honest if I think you’re being crazy.” Kelly moved to perch on the end of the desk and tilted her head to one side. “Tell me the truth and don’t sugar coat it.”

“I never told Gabe that Matthew and I had been serious, or that I can’t get pregnant. He found out last night.”

Kelly’s face paled. “Matthew told him? Were you there?”

“Yeah.” I told her about him crashing in my apartment like a crazy person, scaring me half to death then pissing Gabe off to the point that my fireman savior had taken a run at my ex. How he’d destroyed a perfectly good evening. Like he always destroyed everything.

“You seriously need to take a restraining order out against that irrational stalker. That kind of harassment is illegal. Cop or no cop. Actually, it’s even worse because he’s in law enforcement. Whatever happened to protect and serve?” Kelly sipped from her own cup of coffee and shook her head. “I’m sure you could get one.”

“I doubt it. Who would believe me? I mean, there’s no proof that he’s been harassing me. No texts or calls or anything. It’s just him, showing up whenever he likes and making me and Gabe miserable. I think he’s trying to harass Gabe into physically assaulting him so he can get Gabe fired. Or worse. I guess I never realized that a police officer could be so corrupt. It reminds me of that movie, Safe Haven.”

“I guess,” she said, scratching her head. “Do you really think Matthew’s behavior would escalate to the point that he’d try to harm you? Or, Gabe?”

“I think it could. But who really knows. He seems completely off the rails. After Matthew ran out, missing a chunk of his cheap button down, Gabe just left and he —” I broke off and tried to swallow past the lump in my dry throat, “he hasn’t answered any of my calls.” I pressed my lips together and shook my head. “Things were going so well. So well that I thought maybe I could be more than a friend and trust him again, but now …”

Kelly tapped her teeth with the edge of her cup. “This isn’t making any sense. Like there’s more to the story. Something else he’s not telling you.”

“I know. My gut tells me something isn’t right.”

“What are you going to do now?” Kelly asked, narrowing her eyes.

I lifted a shoulder. “I’m not sure. I need to talk to Gabe but I can’t do that if he’s avoiding me. I wonder why he’s avoiding me?” I asked with a grimace.

“Well, I’m going to pray for some closure for you. You’ve been all over the place since Gabe came into your life. You need to get your head right so you can focus on the bakery. I have a feeling about that place. In fact, all of the cupcakes you gave us to sell here flew off the shelves in record time, as well as all your business cards. People can’t seem to get enough of them. And that makes Pat really happy.”

“That’s so exciting,” I said and couldn’t help but give Kelly a quick hug in celebration of our joint success. “The bakery’s doing really well and business has been picking up each day. I even have some special orders for winter weddings. I’m so glad that trend for an individual cake for each wedding guest took off like wildfire. If it continues, my summer is going to be explosive. I stopped long enough to take a sip of the cappuccino. “Oh my god, this is good. Have you ever thought about selling one or two of your specialty coffees in the bakery? I know my customers would love it. Especially, my bridge club ladies.”

“Extra hazelnut syrup and real organic cream from my home state,” Kelly said with another wink. “I figured you’d need a little extra pick me up for our chat. By the way, that’s a great idea about the coffee. How about I talk it over with Pat and get him right on it? I’m sure he could bring over a large urn every morning with a different flavor. We could drive business to each other since the two stores complement each other so well.”

I blushed and bowed my head. “You’re right. Let’s focus on business. I’m behaving like a child over this guy. Not the savvy, self-sufficient woman I am.”

“I don’t blame you because he’s sexy as hell. First time I saw him, I wanted to lift up his shirt and lick …” Kelly licked the foam off the top of her cup suggestively, then chuckled. “It will all work out in the end. Have faith.”

“You did not just do that.” I grabbed her in a one-armed hug and rested my head against hers for a second. “In spite of your suggestive play on words, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“You’d be seriously lacking in the cappuccino department. And that, sister, would be a tragedy.”

I laughed with her, but I couldn’t kill the creeping dread in my stomach at the mere thought of losing Gabe. Before I even actually had him. “I’d better get back to the bakery. Work to do.”

We shared another quick hug and I was out of the coffee shop and into the cold street a few minutes later. I grasped the cappuccino in my leather gloves and looked at my bakery just a block down the street, my dream come true. Then I reached into my pocket and brought out my phone.

I stared at the screen for two minutes as I sipped Kelly’s addictive brew. Blank. Nada. What was wrong with him? What else was he hiding? Then I swept my cold thumb across the screen and searched for Gabe’s number. I dialed and pressed the phone to my ear.

My stomach leapt at the sound of ringing on the other end.

But he didn’t pick up.