by Té Russ
Tessa nodded and smiled. "Sure is. I don't know if you'll even be able to taste it since you're sick, but…"
Dana didn't hesitate to take a large bite out of the cupcake.
"Oh my god...oh my god! Tess! Did you taste one?"
Tessa scoffed. "What the hell kind of question is that? Of course, I did."
It reminded her of the extra mile she was going to tack on to her morning workout. Those cupcakes were so damned good.
Dana picked up the other cupcake, which had been her own creation and took a bite, laughing joyously as she did. "Shit!" she yelled. "These are the bomb! We have got to convince Mama."
"I know," Tessa said, a new determination growing inside of her. "We will."
"So," Dana said, picking at the cupcake. "I hear Isaiah Noble's back in town."
Tessa attempted to keep her features neutral at the mention of Isaiah's name, but the mere thought of him and their encounter earlier that morning caused her body to have a visceral reaction that she was almost ashamed of.
Almost...
Tessa swallowed hard before responding. "Yeah, I heard too."
"Oh, so that's how you're gonna do me, heifer?" Dana said, dropping the cupcake back into the box and pinning a glare on Tessa.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about you leaving out the fact that Isaiah Noble was in the bakery before opening hours trying to get all up in your goodies."
"Dana!" Tessa yelled. "He was not trying to get all up in my goodies." Though, if the looks he'd given her during their entire encounter were any indication...
"That ain't what Mama said," Dana mumbled.
Tessa gasped. "She saw?!"
"Mmhmm," Dana said, picking the cupcake up again to take another bite. "Said y'all were flirting with each other so hard, you didn't even notice her peeking from the back."
"Oh my gosh," Tessa said, letting her face fall into her hands. It was true. She’d been completely caught up with Isaiah during his visit.
"So now that you've been ousted," Dana said, with a smile in her voice. "Are you going to quit being a stingy heifer and give me all the juicy details? Don't forget, you have to cater to your sick baby sister."
Tessa lifted her head. "Oh, I think Aiden catered to you plenty before I arrived."
"Shut up. And quit trying to deflect. Now..." Dana said with a wiggle of her eyebrows, "...Does Isaiah look as good all grown up in person as he does on TV."
Tessa's lips slowly tilted into a naughty grin.
"Even better."
Chapter 5
Isaiah blew out a deep breath as he rode the elevator up to the executive suites of Noble Naturals' headquarters. Returning here, surprisingly, didn't feel like the noose he'd expected it to feel like. He walked down the corridor with purpose, not with the feeling of shackles on his feet. One of the reasons Isaiah and his siblings decided on going their separate ways when they'd turned eighteen was because they'd wanted to find their own identities as individuals. None of them wanted to forever be labeled as 'one of those quad siblings'. Another reason they'd decided to leave was as a sort of uprising...a mutiny against their father and his desire for them to take over the company.
None of them actually had a problem with working for Noble Naturals. They all loved the business. Their issue was that they wanted to join the company when they were ready, not when Isaac deemed them ready. And they all knew he would have wanted them working in the company as soon as he could get them there.
But they all had their own passions they wanted to explore, interests they wanted to pursue.
They'd never had a stronger united front than when they'd stood together, side by side, to let their father know that they weren't ready to work for the family business. Isaac was livid, but Irene...Isaiah couldn't remember a time when he'd ever seen his mother look at them with such pride. Not in pictures of them right after she'd given birth and they'd all been carefully placed around her on the hospital bed. Not when their IQ test results came back and were off the charts. And not when they excelled in music, so much so, that they got the opportunity to travel the country to shows off their musical talents at a young age.
No.
Irene's pride soared when her children stepped up to their father and told them the way they wanted to handle their lives.
And while, to this day, Isaac didn't necessarily approve of their choices, he accepted them.
Isaiah arrived at the reception desk outside of his father's office. When the receptionist looked up, her face lit up with a grin. Her eyes squinted, and she pointed the pen she was holding in her hand at Isaiah.
"Yoooooou're...Ian?"
Isaiah chuckled. "Close. But no."
"Ah!" she said, her grin stretching into a full blown smile. "Thought I had it all figured out."
Tessa knew exactly who you were.
The thought of Tessa sent a shiver down his spine. The fact that she automatically knew who he was...was kinda hot. He hadn't stopped thinking about her all morning. It didn't help that his mother had gone on and on about the Everetts, Tessa in particular. She couldn't say enough good things about her.
After they finished their breakfast, Irene said she needed to go in the house and get ready for work.
"The old man in?" he asked the receptionist, who couldn't stop staring at him.
"Oh...yeah. Go on in."
Isaiah gave her a short nod and a smile of thanks before walking towards his father's office door. He opened it slowly and found his father hunched over his desk, squinting at his computer.
"Mom's gonna kill you if she finds out you don't have on your reading glasses."
Isaac's head shot up and his eyes grew wide with shock. Then his face broke out into a beaming smile as he stood from his seat and came around his desk.
"I didn't expect you for a few more weeks," Isaac said, pulling his son into a bear hug. "When did you get in?"
Isaiah smiled as he pulled away. "Last night, I stayed at my place on Lake Tahoe."
"And you didn't call us? Your mother would have cooked the good stuff!"
Thanks to high blood pressure, Isaac's diet had become restricted over the last few years. But he'd gotten it back down and was probably in the best shape of his life. Thanks to rigorous exercising and Irene's no-nonsense diet, Isaac Noble's body rivaled those of men twice his junior in age. The women in town all chattered about how those 'young Noble men' clearly came from good stock.
Isaiah, Ian, Isabella and Ivy were fraternal quadruplets and the boys of the group seemed to take a bit more of their father's height. When puberty hit Isaiah and Ian, both of them had shot up. But their facial features were so similar that people would assume they were identical.
Isaiah chuckled at Isaac's disappointment over the missed opportunity for 'the good stuff' food.
"You know Mom still would have made you eat right, whether I showed up last night or not," he said closing the office door and turning to his father.
"What are you doing here?" Isaac asked. "Not that I'm not glad to see you."
"You summoned me," Isaiah said, trying to be respectful by keeping the sarcasm out of his voice. "So I'm here."
Isaac waved his hand. "I've summoned you before, and you've blown me off, saying you were coming home, then calling to say you had something 'more important' to do."
Isaiah couldn't deny that he had, in the past, told his father that he would come home to visit Noble Naturals and see how business was going but then cancel.
But he wanted to clear one thing up...
"I've never said anything was more important than Noble Naturals."
"Yet you've flaked out on me multiple times."
He was man enough to admit that he, along with his siblings, had in fact, flaked out on their parents a few times, as Isaac said.
"You're right, sir," Isaiah admitted. "And for that, I apologize. But they were all work related and they were all important."
"More important than your legacy?"
<
br /> "I didn't say that."
"You said it without saying it."
Isaiah blew out a breath. "Look, Pop. I'm here now. I'm not here to argue, I'm here to help make sure Noble Naturals doesn't flounder in the wake of Chic and Sleek trying to bogart their way into our lane. So, can we get down to business?"
"About that..."
Isaiah looked up at his father and was shocked to see a look on his face that he'd never seen before...contrition.
"What's going on?" Isaiah asked, suddenly alarmed. "Has something bad happened already?"
The stocks still looked good the last time Isaiah had checked. According to his mother, things weren't bad...yet.
"No," Isaac said, quickly. "We're holding steady. It's just...we haven't exactly started meeting about the concepts for the commercials we want you to shoot yet."
Isaiah could already feel the steam building in his ears. He balled his fists, digging his nails in his palms to keep his composure in front of his father.
"I cancelled my vacation trip to Europe. My chance to see both my sisters for the first time in over six months...I put everything aside to come here to do business. And you mean to tell me that you have no business for me to conduct."
"I merely said we were 'toying' with the idea of doing commercials," Isaac said. "When you got so excited about it, I decided to run with it."
Isaiah turned away from his father, running a frustrated hand down his face. He should have known...
"I can't deal with this right now."
"I didn't think you'd actually come," Isaac admitted. "But since you're here now, you can help come up with the ideas."
Isaiah sighed as he went for the door.
"I'll call you when I'm ready to set a date for a meeting with marketing. We'll need to find a production company to bring on for the commercials."
As he opened the door, his father called out, "Where are you going, Isaiah?"
"I'm taking my vacation."
The truth of the matter was, he'd been doing too much in L.A. between producing music, directing music videos and his short film. Then the unexpected success of it at Sundance had earned him the opportunity and honor of having the film shown in a limited amount of theaters for special engagements across the country, so he'd suddenly been thrust into a nationwide tour.
When he returned home to L.A., he jumped right back into the music producer role. He'd owed a few of his clients who'd been willing to wait on his expertise, while he was traveling for his film. He was grateful for their loyalty.
He had half a mind to call his travel agent and have her book him a flight to Italy. He and his siblings tried to make a habit of visiting each other regularly. Their bond was tighter than most siblings since they'd shared a womb. Going too long without seeing them had always put Isaiah in an odd rut. He saw Ian more often because of his negotiations in L.A. for his cooking show.
Despite his desire to go to Europe to visit Isabella and Ivy almost out of spite now, Isaiah still couldn't deny that being home in Sweet Rapids felt good; and...right.
Plus sticking close to home meant he could return back to a certain bakery and visit a certain gorgeous baker, whose buns were seared into his brain, he thought, remembering how she looked bent over the display case when he'd first entered Everetts’ Bakery.
Isaiah decided if he was going to stay in Sweet Rapids and help the company, he was going to do it on his terms, and on his time.
And he was taking his much needed break.
As he walked out, he saw his mother coming towards him with a bright smile on her face. He slowed just enough to kiss her on the cheek.
"Can't stay, Mama," he said. "I'll come by for dinner soon."
As he continued toward the elevator, he heard Irene's stern voice before the door to Isaac's office slammed.
"What the hell did you do, Isaac Noble?!"
Chapter 6
"Sssss...haaah..."
Tessa continued the relaxed inhale and exhale as she lay on her yoga mat in Savasana, also known as the dead body pose. The heat of the classroom seeped into her pores, loosening her muscles as she mentally prepared herself for the ninety minute Bikram yoga class.
Tessa liked to arrive to the room early so that she could snag her favorite spot for the hot yoga class. She also liked to take some time to clear her head of all of the stresses of the day.
He hasn't come back in two days.
Tessa blew out another breath; this one was more forceful than her previous ones. She'd tried not to think about Isaiah or the fact that he hadn't returned to the bakery. She tried not to think about how every time she heard the stupid bell over the door ring, she'd look up with anticipation, hoping to see him walk in with that sexy gait of his.
Maybe he went back to L.A. already...
Tessa shook her head. He said he'd be returning to the bakery, and for some reason, she believed him. His mother had come in for her regular bear claw order in the mornings and even came one evening for one of their cupcakes. But there was no sign of Isaiah Noble, much to Tessa's disappointment.
She let out a sigh as she decided to put the man out of her head, at least for the next hour and a half.
Class wouldn't be starting for another few minutes yet, but already her body was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. She knew by the time the class was over, she'd be drenched, but she didn't care. She didn't come to class to look cute, she came to class because she enjoyed it and it helped her unwind. Already, she felt her body slipping into a tranquil state.
She blew out another slow, calming breath; her lip twitching as she felt the cool breeze of the door opening as other students entered. One of the reasons she enjoyed being near the door was occasionally during the class, the teacher would come to the back of the class, open the door and allow a burst of cool air to flow into the room, giving the class a brief reprieve from the heat that could go up to one hundred and four degrees.
Tessa recognized the shift in her atmosphere instantly. A familiar tingle began to slowly dance across her skin. As of late, only one thing had caused her body to react in such a way.
One person.
There was no way...
Slowly, Tessa opened her eyes and gasped when she found Isaiah Noble standing over her, holding a rolled up yoga mat under his arm, wearing compression shorts and nothing else.
"We meet again, Miss Everett," he said in a hushed tone, his head tilted slightly as he flashed a disarming grin.
She looked around and realized the other students had filed in during her moments of meditation. The classroom was now nearing capacity.
She noticed how he'd kept his voice low, out of respect for the other students who were in the Savasana pose preparing for class. Only people who attended the class on a regular basis knew to be courteous in that way.
She opened her mouth to respond, just as the door opened again and the yoga teacher entered.
"Good evening, yogis," she said. "Let's get ready to do some work tonight."
Isaiah grinned at her. "I'll catch you later," he whispered, before moving around the classroom to an empty spot. Which happened to be a few rows across from where she was.
"Shit, I barely made it!"
"Ssssh!"
Tessa smiled as Dana cut her eyes at one of the other patrons with a glare. Dana had decided to join Tessa at the hot yoga class in an attempt to 'sweat out' the rest of her cold. She wasn't a regular attendant like Tessa was. She'd asked Tessa to save her a spot, so Tessa brought one of her extra yoga mats from home for Dana.
Tessa sat up slightly as Dana sat down and it gave her the perfect vantage point to see Isaiah. The man was beyond gorgeous. His milk chocolate skin was smooth. His chest was broad, his abs were tight. She watched as his large biceps flexed as he unrolled his yoga mat. His defined calves made her wonder if he was a runner. His strong thighs sent her mind in a frenzied state. They were peppered with fine, wiry hairs. What they must feel like against soft skin...
Her skin...
He chose that moment to look in her direction and smile again, and all Tessa could do was swallow and nod.
"Well hell," Dana said with a sly grin on her face. "It's about to be off the charts hot in here."

Puppies...
Beethoven's Symphony No. 5's first movement is an allegro con brio...
The square root of four thousand seven hundred sixty-one is...sixty-nine...
Shit! Don't think of sixty-nine...
"Feel the twist in your spine," the yoga instructor advised as the class sat in a position with one leg crossed over the other, with their upper body twisted in the opposite direction as they looked over their shoulder.
Which happened to allow Isaiah to watch Tessa's lithe body in the second to the last pose of the class. All evening he'd been stealing glances of her from across the room, watching her with rapt curiosity. She did every move with ease, telling him that she was obviously a regular in the class.
And now, he was sitting here admiring the glossy curves of her cocoa kissed skin, trying to think of any and everything he could to avoid an erection he would be unable to hide in his compression shorts.
But he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Once again, he got an eyeful of those two round globes in her tight shorts. Her hips were wide, her tummy was toned and her breasts...
She picked that moment to peek over her shoulder in his direction. When she realized he caught her gazing in his direction, her eyes grew wide and her cheeks grew even more flushed than they'd been from the heat in the room. She quickly turned her face away from him.
"And now for the final pose: Kapalbhati in Vajrasana, the blowing in firm pose..."
Everyone moved to their knees, sitting back on their heels and placing their hands on the tops of their thighs. The yoga instructor began counting and clapping in a syncopated pace and everyone exhaled in time with the teacher. They repeated the exercise once more and then the instructor smiled.