Hot Sauce
Page 18
I feel the subtle pump of him as it syncs with my own natural throbbing. My entire body tingles, riding his orgasm as much as mine.
“Okay,” I say, catching my breath. “The old-fashioned way is so much better.”
He laughs. “I can’t say I disagree.”
“Holy shit.”
I drop my head back to stare at the ceiling. He leans over and kisses my cheek, drawing my lips toward his like a magnet.
“See you again in ten hours?” he asks, smiling.
I cup his stupid, handsome face. “Absolutely.”
We kiss again and he slowly slides out of me. I cross my legs tightly to lock-in every possible drop and slide a pillow under my hips.
Jake retreats into the bathroom to clean up, flicking on the faucet. I privately chuckle to myself, hidden beneath the sound of running water. A moment of bliss and passion for each other. Sounds about right.
He turns off the water and I bite my lips to kill my chuckle. I raise my head to look around as he walks back into the room.
He zips his fly. “Do you need anything before I head out?” he asks.
“No, I’m just gonna lay here for…” I glance at my alarm clock, “another half hour or so. Let the magic happen.”
“Well, I wish you all the bibbidi-bobbidi-boos,” he quips.
I sit up on my elbows. “Wish me?”
He straightens his tie. “Yeah.”
“Not wish us?” I ask.
“Well, my job is over,” he says, chuckling. “It’s literally all up to you now.”
I fiddle with a loose string on the comforter. “Hey, Jake.”
“Yes?” he asks, grimacing in the mirror at the uneven tuck on his shirt.
“Do you want this new baby?”
He pauses and turns around to look at me. “Do I want it?”
“Yeah. I just mean…” I hesitate, digging my nails into the bed. “You always said that you’d donate again if I decided that I wanted a second baby.”
“Right,” he says. “And I did.”
“You did. You definitely did.” I nod. “We just never really discussed what would happen afterward…”
He smirks. “You’d have a baby.”
“Uh-huh.” My cheeks burn. “And you would…?”
“I would…?” His lips purse, elongating his w-sound. “Wish you luck?”
“Oh.” I look down, hiding that crushing feeling taking over my eyes. “Okay, then.”
He puts his hands in his pockets and furrows his brow. “Is that not okay?”
“No, no. It’s okay. It’s, uh…” I force a shrug. “It’s what we agreed to.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t really planning on doing much more than that,” he admits.
I swallow the lump in my throat. “And that’s fine.”
His hand emerges from his pocket. “Or I can just give you this ring I bought and you can make an honest man out of me.”
He tosses the small box at me. My reflexes take over and I catch it with both hands before it hits the bed. It fits in my palm, completely covered in smooth, black velvet.
My mouth opens, stunned and confused. “Wait, what?”
Jake sits down on the edge of the bed next to me, grinning wide. “Open it,” he says.
I crack it open, nearly dropping it the moment I see the diamond ring resting inside.
“Jake, when did you…?” My throat clenches, cutting my voice.
“Last week after you said you were ready for another baby,” he answers. “I got up the next morning, drove straight to the nearest jewelry store, spent about a half hour pacing around outside of it until I got up the nerve to actually walk in, and then I bought it.”
I laugh, shaking my head. “Jake, you don’t have to—”
“Yes, I do,” he says. “You said so yourself. If you were going to have a second kid then you wanted to have it with a partner and, honestly, the entire time I paced around outside that store, I couldn’t come up with one damn good reason for me not to be that partner.”
My eyes water. “Not one?”
“Not one,” he repeats. “I love you, Anna. You bring out the best man in me and I’m kinda starting to like that guy.”
I bite my lip. “I am, too.”
He rests his hand on my belly. “So, to answer your question…” He leans over and kisses me. “Yes. Yes, I want this new baby. I want to watch it grow in you. I want to hold your hair back when you’re spewing your guts out.”
I recoil. “Don’t remind me.”
“I want to be there for everything I missed the first time around with Charlotte,” he says. “I want to earn being a father on day one.”
A tear escapes down my cheek and he wipes it away just as fast. “Really?”
“Hell yeah.”
I kiss him, holding his face and bursting with laughter. “I love you, too,” I say.
“Is that right?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“You really want me?”
“Yes.”
“This guy?”
“Yes.”
“You want this guy to help raise your kids?”
“Yes!” I laugh.
“Then, Anna Silva…” He pinches the ring and slides it out of the box. “Will you marry me?”
I watch as he slips the ring on my finger. My heart pounds so hard and I can’t stop the wave of tears from falling down my cheeks.
“Wow, it’s beautiful,” I say.
“Yeah, she is.”
I look at Jake and he’s smiling at me.
Epilogue
Jake
Years of running a popular food truck in Boston did not prepare me for running a bakery.
I thought it would. Hell, I thought the bakery would be easier. It’s just cupcakes, muffins, and a few brands of coffee. That couldn’t possibly be more difficult than the variety of choices and nit-picky requests associated with tacos, burritos, and all their fixings.
Ironically, Hot Sauce was a cakewalk compared to Muffin Top Two.
Vincent is easing me in. We’ll run a half-schedule until I’m used to the ins and outs of bakery life and I’m now very, very grateful for his power of foresight. I’ve trained with that guy for weeks, watching as he gets up at three in the morning every single day like a fucking machine, all the while raising a cute son and caring for his very pregnant wife.
Not a bad role model, truth be told.
“Boss, you have a phone call!”
I look over at my employee, Trudy. That’s the other part of this that feels strange and unusual. I’m somebody’s boss. I’ve never been on this side before but it feels a lot more natural than I ever expected it to.
“Who is it?” I ask her.
She extends her hand, holding the landline phone in my direction. “It’s the big guy,” she says.
I take the phone from her. “Hey, this is Jake,” I say into it.
“You screw up yet?”
I chuckle. “No, Vincent. I have not.”
“It’s okay if you have,” he says, seriously. “You can tell me.”
“We are running smoothly,” I say. “Trust me. I just have to follow your recipes, right?”
“I would trust you, Jake, but you were fifteen minutes late this morning,” he reminds me. Again.
“Yeah, you can blame your sister for that, man.”
“Why?”
I clear my throat. “Anyway, thanks for calling and checking in, but I assure you, we’re fine. By the way, people are loving these new hot sauce-flavored sugar cookies I threw out on a whim today. They’re gonna be a hit.”
There’s a long pause. “Is that a joke?”
I smirk, jabbing his one weakness. “Bye, Vin.”
I hang up. The crowd has thinned out somewhat and I take a deep breath to try and relax. I glance at my watch again. This place seems to have the same spikes and lulls as Hot Sauce did. I’ll take the mini victory.
My cell phone vibrates in my pocket. I sneak a peek at it, hoping for a
nice, encouraging message from Anna.
Don’t screw this up.
Translation: I can kill you with a whisk.
I sigh, laughing softly. I wonder how long it’ll take before Vincent Silva actually begins to trust me.
Maybe I’ll fair better once he finds out we’re going to be brothers-in-law.
I bite my cheek, thinking back over the last few months of my life. Four months ago, my life was unrecognizable. I’m not who I used to be, not by a long shot. It wasn’t even a conscious choice, either, and it certainly didn’t happen overnight.
Still, there’s a piece of myself that feels incomplete. A loose end dangling from the edge.
“Hey, Trudy, I need to make a call,” I tell her. “Let me know if you get backed up, okay?”
“You got it, boss!”
I smile and walk into the back. I stop and lean against the sink, staring at my phone in my hands for a several minutes before building up the courage to just do it. Will it be different this time? Or will I feel that same regret and anguish I always did before?
Finally, I force myself to dial his number. The line rings twice, each sound burrowing deep into my brain as I keep it all together.
“Hello?” he answers.
“Lance, it’s me,” I say.
I hear a soft murmur on the other end, shortly followed by the sound of a latching door.
“Hey, brother.” He clears his throat. “It’s been a few months.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” I say. “I’ve been busy.”
“To be honest, I never expected to hear from you again. Thought maybe you were sitting in a cell somewhere, staring at a blank wall and talking to yourself,” he jokes.
I laugh. “Nah — well, almost, but I got lucky.”
“As usual,” he says with a chuckle. “So, what’s going on? You need more legal advice?”
“No, I just wanted to catch up.”
He pauses. “Catch up?”
“Yeah.” I bite my cheek. “How are things in Chicago?”
“Things in Chicago are good,” he says slowly. “Working on a big case that should make me partner if it lands in my favor. Fingers crossed.”
“Crossing all toes. What’s the case?”
“You’ll read all about in the press soon enough, I’m sure.”
“I’ll keep an eye out, then.”
“And you?” he asks. “I assume you didn’t call me up just to talk about me?”
I take a deep breath. “Actually, no. I wanted to extend an invitation to you. It’s a little short notice. Well, about a month out, but still, it’s all right if you can’t make it. You’re under no obligation to say yes.”
“Okay. Invitation for what?”
I close my eyes as I force the words out. “My daughter’s birthday.”
“Your daughter?”
“It’s a long story, Lance.”
“I’ll bet. You got a picture?”
“Yeah, hold on.” I look at my phone and swipe through the photos until I land on one I took the other day in this very kitchen. Little Charlotte sits on the counter with flour dust sprinkled on her cheeks next to Anna. Both smile right into the camera. Right at me.
I push send. “Should be coming in now,” I say into the phone.
Lance’s phone pings and my chest clenches for a few seconds.
“Well, she’s adorable,” he finally says.
I laugh. “Yeah, she is.”
“What’s her name?”
“Charlotte,” I answer, beaming. “She’s four going on twenty, man. It’s crazy how smart she is. I didn’t even know kids could be smart, you know?”
“And who’s the pretty lady?” he asks.
“That…” My heart skips. “That is Anna, her mother. My… my fiancée. As of this morning, actually.”
“Wow…” he says slowly. “Sounds like things are really coming together over there for you, Milo.”
“Jake,” I correct him.
“Is that right?” he asks, audibly smiling.
“Yeah, that’s me,” I say. “Look, I’ll fill you in on everything some other time but you should come out to Boston next month, if you can. I’d really like for you to meet them.”
“Boston, eh?” he asks.
“Boston,” I repeat. “Been here a few years now.”
“Well, Jake, I’ll have to check my schedule, but I’m sure I can work something out.”
“Awesome,” I say, sighing quietly. “Thank you.”
“And if you guys are ever in Chicago, you should let me know,” he adds. “We’ll get dinner.”
I nod. “We will.”
“All right.” He pauses. “It’s good to hear from you again, brother. I’m happy for you.”
The entry bell chimes up front. I crane back to check and see if Trudy needs help and my tongue trips up when I see Anna walking in. Charlotte follows by her side with her little hand nestled in Anna’s and my heart skips all over again.
“You, too,” I tell him. “Bye, Lance.”
I hang up and drop the phone back into my pocket as my girls step up to the counter.
“What are you ladies doing here?” I ask, smiling wide.
Anna lifts Charlotte up and sets her down on the counter between us. “We didn’t want to miss your first big day. Did we, Charlotte?”
“No!” she answers.
I poke the edge of her cheek just beneath her eyes. My eyes. “Well, I could not be happier to see you. You want a cookie?”
“Yes!”
“Half a cookie,” Anna says to her. “No spoiling your lunch.”
I tisk. “Oh, come on, Mom. One cookie ain’t spoiling nothing.”
I reach into the case by the counter and grab a heart-shaped chocolate chip cookie off the pile. Anna glares at me with hidden amusement but she doesn’t stop me from handing the whole cookie to Charlotte.
“And how about you?” I ask, leaning over the counter. “Would you like some sugar?”
Anna leans in with a smile but halts an inch away. “Still full from this morning, I think,” she says, backing up. “But thank you.”
I cringe in playful disappointment. “Well, you let me know. I’ll be happy to donate more. Any day. Any time.”
Her eyes roll. “Speaking of which, don’t forget that we have Evey’s baby shower tonight at the bar.”
“Already prepared,” I say. “A dozen bright pink cupcakes are in the fridge. Baked them myself this morning.”
She smiles. “Well, you’ve been keeping very busy.”
“I have.”
“Too busy to have some coffee with me?” she asks, grinning at Trudy.
Trudy shrugs. “I don’t mind. Go nuts.”
“You’re a true professional, Trudy,” I tell her, flashing a wink.
“Tell it to my paycheck, boss,” she quips.
I turn around and fill two to-go cups to the brim with coffee and a third cup with milk for Charlotte. Anna claims the table in the corner and we each take a seat on either side of Charlotte as she devours her cookie.
“Thank you,” Anna says as I set her coffee down.
“Decaf,” I say. “Just in case.”
She rolls her eyes. “Vincent is teaching you some very bad things.”
I laugh, taking a soothing sip from my cup. My eyes fall to her left hand, instantly seeing that ring on her finger. It looks just as good on her as I pictured in my head.
Anna motherfucking Silva.
She looks at the ring, too, and smiles at me. Her eyes flick suddenly toward Charlotte and she silently nudges twice in her direction.
I read the gesture and nod.
Anna takes a deep breath. “Hey, Charlotte,” she says, pausing, “we have something to tell you.”
Charlotte looks up from her cookie, her little, multicolored eyes flicking between us.
“Charlotte, Jake and I are getting married,” she says. “Do you know what that means?”
She shakes her head.
“It
means,” I say, smiling wider, “that your mother and I love each other very much and we want to spend the rest of our lives together.”
“And,” Anna says, looking at me, “that he is officially going to be your daddy and he’s going to spend the rest of his life with you, too.”
For a second, my heart stops. My throat tightens and it takes everything in me not to break down in front of them.
“Yeah,” I say, getting lost in Anna’s soft, brown eyes. “That, too.”
Charlotte turns back to her cookie. “Oh, okay,” she says, taking another large bite.
Anna looks at me and shrugs. “Well, I’m excited for us,” she jokes.
I set my hand palm-up on the table and Anna takes it, flashing her ring finger with pride.
“So am I,” I say.
I bring her hand to my lips to kiss her knuckles. Anna smiles at me and I sit back, wondering when that regret and anguish is going to take me over. But it never does.
So, this is what family really feels like.
Sweet Cravings Series
Sugary sweet. Sinfully dangerous. Stand-alone romances.
#1: Muffin Top
#2: Hot Sauce
Also by Tabatha Kiss
SWEET CRAVINGS SERIES
Sugary Sweet. Sinfully Dangerous. Stand-alone Romances.
Muffin Top
Hot Sauce
THE SNAKE EYES SERIES
Stand-alone romances. Interconnecting stories.
One unforgettable adventure!
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