Single Dad Baker: A Second Chance Romance Series (Book 1)

by Wood, Lauren

  I called her once I was home and changed. I wanted to see her, and I wasn’t going to take no for an answer. The first time I called, she didn’t answer, and I was immediately perturbed. I didn’t even want to think about the idea that I wasn’t going to be able to see her tonight. I wanted to, needed to and it just felt like everything was going downhill. There was no way that I was going to be able to let this go.

  So, I called her again a few minutes later, willing her to answer. When she did, I was sure that it was my need to talk to her that had made it happen. I was worried about how I felt when I was around her. As much as I liked to think that I wasn’t the type to fall for a chick, I felt myself falling pretty damn hard. Most likely, it was because it had been so long since I’d been with a woman. It was just the newness of it all.

  As soon as I thought such a thing, I knew that I was wrong. It wasn’t that way at all. What I did know for certain, was that I needed to see her.

  “Where are you?”

  “At home. Did you need something?”

  “Yeah, I want to see you.”

  “Oh, yeah. I bet you want to talk about what happened earlier. I am really sorry about that. Billy is an idiot and I can’t believe that he is here.”

  It took me a minute to realize that she was talking about the guy from the bakery. I wasn’t calling about him, but I could see why she would think that. I did want to talk about it, but at the moment, talking was the last thing on my mind. I wanted to discuss what was going to happen next between me and her. I wanted to get physical. Talking was overrated.

  “Why don’t you swing by? We can talk and do whatever else comes to mind.”

  “Well, you’re going to have to give me a minute. I am standing here in a towel, soaking wet. I need to get dressed.”

  She wasn’t helping my mood and now I was rock hard, just talking to her. Envisioning in my mind, her standing there with a towel on, dripping wet, was more than I could handle. A knot formed instantaneously in my throat and I couldn’t get it out.

  “How about I come to you and you don’t have to get dressed at all?”

  “I am staying in my parent’s pool house Jack. I don’t think that it would be the best place for anything like that to go down.”

  I can’t say that I wasn’t still a little turned on, but the idea of her parents just walking in wasn’t something I was willing to deal with. I was too old to be dealing with parents and so was Bella. I asked her how long she thought that she was going to be there.

  “Not too long, I hope. I need to find something else and then I will be out.”

  I knew that she had just moved here, but I was already ready for her to have her own place. With a kid at home, sometimes it was easier to sneak away, instead of sneaking someone over. At no point, did I decide that not being with her was an option.

  “Well give me a little while and I will meet you somewhere.”

  “I will pick you up in twenty.”

  I hung up before she could change her mind. She tried to call me back, but I didn’t answer. I wasn’t going to give her the option to get out of it. I had been thinking about her all day and it didn’t have anything to do with talking. I wanted to know about her boyfriend, but it didn’t matter. He didn’t matter. Bella was mine, whether she wanted to agree with me or not. It changed nothing.

  I got dressed and got in my truck, ready to go see her. I wanted to be there early, to catch her unaware. I liked Bella better when she wasn’t all made up. The makeup looked good, but her bare face was even better. I liked her all natural and I knew if she was given some time, she would make it on, and I wouldn’t get to see the real her.

  When I got to her place, Bella answered with a bit of a dirty look.

  “You said twenty minutes, which wasn’t enough time. We’ve been off the phone for less than fifteen.”

  I just grinned at her and moved inside of the little pool house. It was very small, but she didn’t have much in her here. It was strange to see her in this. It didn’t seem like a place for Bella. She was above this and for a moment, I remembered her ex’s words about how the bakery was beneath her as well. What was her life like in California? I didn’t even know what she did out there. It wasn’t baking.

  “Get dressed and I will watch, talk, whatever you want.”

  I was already taking in all of her body. She had a robe on that I would imagine she’d just put on. It looked good on her and I wanted more than anything, to take it off of her. I remembered every inch of her before, so there was no reason that she should be,ing herself up. I wanted to see it all again.

  Bella didn’t give me an answer one way or another, but she did turn her back once the robe came off. I made a comment about her being shy and she turned back around. It was another backfire moment, because I wanted to think that she would be shy and, up. No, instead, she turned back so that I could see every inch of her. Suddenly, there wasn’t a shy bone in her body at the moment.

  Bella was always one of two things, and right now she was being on the naughty side. I really was debating which side of her I liked more. While her innocence could drive me crazy, this did something else to me altogether.

  I tried to move towards her, and she put her finger up, waving it side to side, telling me that I could not come closer.

  “I am trying to get dressed and if I let you come over here, I never will be able to. We were going out remember?”

  I had told her that we could do whatever she wanted to do, but now I was really having second thoughts. She was standing there in her panties and I could remember well every inch of her that have been pressed against me last night. I wasn’t the type of person that wanted to fight over a woman, but if I was going to fight over one, it would be someone like Bella. She was just so beautiful, and my heart was slamming in my chest. I was rock hard. I couldn't just stop now.

  “We don't have to go anywhere, if you don't want to Bella.”

  I tried to make a move towards her, and she made it clear that it wasn’t happening.

  “I know we don't have to go anywhere, but if we don't leave now, we never will. I was starving this morning because you never fed me.”

  “I am a baker. I'm sure that there is something that I could give you, if you're hungry.”

  I didn't want to wait until after dinner. I hadn't even asked if I was going to have another opportunity with them. It was just a given, as far as I was concerned. In no world, had I had considered that I would not be able to have her again. I had already decided in my mind that she was mine.

  “Come on Jack. Are you telling me that you can't wait this out a little bit longer?”

  It felt like I had been waiting a century and I knew that it had only been a few hours.

  “After getting attacked by your ex-boyfriend, don't you think that I deserve a little something?”

  Her face had a mix of emotions and for a moment, I wished that I hadn't even said anything. It really wasn't a big deal, but I needed an advantage. Many of my techniques that would work for any other woman, where making me fall flat with Bella. I just never knew what angle to take with her.

  “Fine, if you have no problem using such a situation to your advantage.”

  “If it means that I can kiss you and touch you a little sooner, then I will use any advantage that I can think of.”

  “That doesn't seem like the most honorable thing to do.”

  “Sometimes honor doesn't matter.”

  She leaned in and gave me a kiss, but it wasn’t the sort of kiss that I was looking for. I wanted something that involved our two tongues moving around in her mouth and her body being pressed against mine. I wanted to feel those beautiful breasts as they smashed against my chest. It was like no other feeling that I'd ever felt before and I couldn't help but want it again and again.

  Bella let me feel a little bit and let me kiss her a little bit. But that was it. Instead of giving me everything that I needed, all she did was whet my appetite and then stand back.

&nbs
p; “Now I'm going to get dressed. Thank you for fighting for my honor today with Billy. I really appreciate it. But that's all you get right now.”

  I wanted to protest it, but I knew that it was unwise to do so. I hadn’t done it to get a prize. It was nothing like that. I had done it because that stupid guy was talking about my Bella, in a way that I didn't like. It was my pride and jealousy that had made me go towards the man, not much else than that.

  I watched her get dressed and it almost killed me to see her body being,ed up the way it was. For all the times that I had turned down woman after woman, of course I was going to find the one that was going to give me a run for my money. Of course, Bella was going to be the one to break me.

  Not sure if she was doing it on purpose or not but Bella took forever to get ready. I was practically vibrating where I stood, by the time she finally got dressed. She asked me to zip up the dress she was wearing, and I was sure once again, that the only reason she was wearing it was to completely drive me crazy. I don't know if I was being paranoid or not, but she was playing with my mind and my emotions and it was coming out in my body.

  “Are you ready to go?”

  I shook my head and told her that I was. I was more ready than I think I've ever been in my whole life.

  16

  Bella

  “So, are you going to tell me what happened between you and Billy?

  “I don't think there's much to say. He came in looking for you and said some pretty crude things about you.”

  There was no telling what Billy had told Jack. I wanted to know, but I was actually afraid to ask. Because if he did tell me what he said, then I was going to have to make a comment about it one way or another. I was going to have to defend myself if it was a lie or if it was just something, I didn't want him to know. Either way, it didn't seem like a good idea. But the curiosity was killing me. Billy had come a couple thousand miles to find me, so I'm sure he had to say something. It also would help me to understand what was going on in his mind. I really have no idea.

  “Billy never was one to be very nice.”

  “He doesn't seem like your type.”

  “I hadn’t really dated enough people to know if I had a type or not, but I would agree, if I did have one, it wouldn't be Billy.”

  “And you were with him for several years?”

  Billy had said something. Why wouldn't Jack just tell me what he had said? Why didn't I have the balls just to ask?

  “Yes, we dated for almost three years.”

  “And you lived with him?”

  “It seems like you already know the answer to these questions.”

  “I’m just shocked about its Bella. The guy that I met today; I could never see with something like that. I thought at first, he was just bullshitting. I couldn't believe that you would actually be with someone like him.”

  And before I knew it, I was getting defensive. I didn't even know what to say to that. I certainly didn't want to defend the fact that I dated Billy. Especially since I broke up with him, I realized how much of an idiot I was. But at the same time, it wasn't any of his business and I didn't feel like he had a right to speak on my life. He didn't know me well enough. We had sex one time, but that didn't mean that he could now make comments about my life. Not part of it that I didn't like.

  “Well, I'll tell you what Jack. If you took all the girls that you have ever dated and line them up, I'm sure that there's a few of them you would wonder what the hell you were thinking. It's the same thing with Billy. At the time, I don't know, he was something that I was looking for obviously. But I grew up and realized that bad boys sound better, than they are in reality.”

  “And you think that's what I am? You think that I'm a bad boy?”

  “I think that the whole reason I wanted you for so long, was because you always were a little naughty. I think if we ever would have gone out back then, it probably wouldn’t have turned out well. You were a little too fast for me. I think you still are, but now you have been grounded a little bit.”

  Jack did not like the sound of that.

  “You're making me sound like a wild animal, that’s been tamed.”

  “I would use the word housebroken, instead of tamed. Women tame men, so that they are more enjoyable to live with.”

  He gave me a dirty look and I couldn't help but smile and laugh. Jack was holding on to this hope or thought, that he was actually in charge, but he wasn't. A good woman could change everything and even though my mind was jumping there, I had to keep reminding myself to rein it in. He was not thinking about the same thing said I was. Surely not.

  “Nonetheless Jack, Billy was definitely a mistake. One that I regret, but I can't change. I can't believe that he's here. I tried very hard to make sure that I left nothing behind, but he knew where I lived. My mother thought that he was a friend of mine and gave him the information about the bakery. If there was any damage...”

  Jack waved me off and told me that he wasn't worried about the damage.

  “He didn't break much of anything. He was more upset than anything else. I don't know what you did to him, but he does not seem to quite be over it yet.”

  I shrugged and told Jack that I didn't do anything, because I really didn’t. All I did, was finally have my eyes opened and left. I knew that whatever was going on between me and Billy, wasn’t right. I didn't want to continue on. He wasn't ready to let go, but I was. I already have.

  “We broke up. That’s it. He was always too angry and violent. Not at first of course, but after time he would lose his temper. I should have left him a lot longer ago than I did, but I finally left. I left California because I knew that Billy wouldn’t let it go. I thought I had moved far enough away, but I guess I was wrong on that front.”

  He looked concerned. “You’re not thinking of leaving, are you?”

  I wasn’t sure if I was thinking about that or not. I did know that I was done with Billy and now that he knew where I lived and worked, it definitely felt like I needed to put some time and distance between the two of us, again.

  “I don’t know what I am going to do yet Jack, but I am not going to wait around to deal with his crazy ass. He doesn’t strike me as someone that is going to give up easy.”

  “You don’t have to worry about him. I will not let anything happen to you.”

  He meant it and I thought that it was one of the sweetest things that anyone had ever said to me. There was just something about the seriousness that he was using. I wanted to believe that it was because of what was going on with him, but I had a feeling that Jack meant it with all aspects. Something had changed in him.

  The truck stopped and we were in front of a restaurant I didn’t recognize. We were in the next town over, but I had never seen this little Italian place.

  “Thought you would like this. It’s about six months open, but I figured you hadn’t been here yet.”

  “That’s sweet. I was thinking you were going to get fast-food, so that we could get back home soon.”

  I liked the idea of it, but he hadn’t thought of it. I don’t know why, but that certainly saddened me that it was the case.

  “We don’t have to wait. I was thinking this place because it’s dark and there are long tablecloths.”

  I looked puzzled and finally asked him what he meant. All Jack would do was grin and say, “You’ll see.”

  17

  Jack

  Bella was jumpy and of all of the ways that she could act, I think I liked this way the most. There was none of the weirdness that came with being together for the first time. We had been together now, and it was as good as I had imagined. So now, it just floated in the air as a possibility the whole night. Apparently, that made Bella quite nervous and I really liked her that way. Good or bad, I'm not really sure. But I liked Bella jumpy.

  I got us a table as far in the back as I could possibly find. No one was going to pass by to get to the table. Bella looked at me with an anxious expression and I just smiled at her.
I don't think it calmed her down much, but that wasn't really my intention.

  I offered to order for us, and she didn't even look at the menu. Her hands were shaking a little bit and I put one of my own on hers.

  “There is no need to be jumpy Bella. We are in public. It’s not like we can do much here.”

  “I don't think that would matter too much to you Jack. You’d find a way.”

  “You are probably right Bella, but I'm trying to pretend like I can be good. Is that what you want? Do you want me to be good?”

  She bit her lower lip and that was all of the answer that I needed. Bella was quick to show her needs, even if she didn't want to.

  “I think that would be best Jack. I think it would be good, if we were both on our best behavior.”

  “Well good thing that we are the next town over, huh? I can imagine the gossip that would be flying the next morning, if they saw us together like this.”

  “Like what?”

  I leaned in and gave her a kiss. It was all I could think about since the last time I had saw her. For one reason or another, Bella brought out all kinds of needs that I didn’t even know that I had before. It was relentless, the way I felt for her and I knew that nothing was going to be complete, until I had her back underneath me.

  I didn’t want to be at the restaurant. It wasn’t at all what I desired. What I wanted, was to have her in my arms and for me to be pushing deep inside of her. It was all that I could hope for and when the waitress got to the table, I ordered and tried to convey to her, that I was in a rush. I didn’t want to make it obvious, but it wasn’t that hard to figure out either.

  “Why are you in such a rush?”

  “Because I want to get the food out here, so that we can go back to my place.”

  “But why are you in such a rush for that?”

  I had just answered the question, but she wanted something else. I wasn't really sure what it was that she wanted, but I could definitely give her a little bit more truth if she could handle it. I knew that the reason I gave her was valid, but at the same time, there was more to it than that.