by Ivy Smoak
Bryce laughed. "I've heard about this place that has great pastries down the street. Do you want to check it out?"
"My grandma's bakery had the best pastries."
He wrapped his arms around me. "It's going to be okay."
"I know. And I'm sure this other place is good too. I just..." I let my voice trail off.
He placed a kiss on my forehead.
"Let's go check it out. Maybe I can get a job there in the meantime."
He looked down at me and smiled. "Maybe I will too. It would be cool to be able to walk to work."
I grabbed his hand. "I didn't realize that you were so passionate about bakeries."
"Well, I'm passionate about you. And eating baked goods."
I laughed.
He kept his hand in mine as we walked along the sidewalk. It was a beautiful summer day. It was like we had walked along this path a million times together. I just felt so comfortable with him.
"Close your eyes."
"What?"
"I have a surprise for you."
"But I'm going to trip."
He laughed and picked me up in his arms. "Close your eyes now."
I followed his instructions. "You showing up was the only surprise I needed. Asking me to be your girlfriend and to move in with you was pretty great too though."
"I think you're going to like this one too."
"Well, you're whisking me off my feet."
"Keep your eyes closed." A few seconds later he placed me back down on my feet. "Okay, open them."
I opened my eyes and looked up at him. "You're very handsome, Bryce." I clasped my hands around his neck.
He smiled. "Turn around, Alina."
I looked over my shoulder. We were standing in front of my grandmother's bakery. Only, it had a fresh coat of paint. It looked amazing. Maybe the new owners were going to take good care of it. And then I realized that Kristen, Tim, Alex, and some slutty looking girl that I didn't recognize were inside, painting the walls.
"Bryce, what did you..."
"I bought it for you." He grabbed my chin and turned my face back to his.
I thought about his fancy new apartment. And how much money it was going to take to put into the bakery. "Bryce, you can't buy the bakery for me. I can't pay you back."
"I don't want you to pay me back. And the sale was final." He reached into his pocket and handed me the key. It was the same one I had been using ever since I was a little girl.
"Bryce." My eyes started to water. He really was my knight in shining armor.
"I was hoping to make you smile, not cry." He ran his thumb under my eye, wiping away my tears.
"I don't...I don't understand. I thought you were using your money from winning gold to help pay for your sister's college tuition?"
"I did. But I recently came into a lot of money."
"How?"
"Remember how I mentioned Rodrigo last night? Well, I got Isadora to steal his betting ticket." He nodded toward the window. I looked over my shoulder. He must have been talking about the girl that was currently making out with Alex.
"The one with Alex?"
"Yeah, Alex has a thing for Brazilian prostitutes." Bryce cleared his throat. "Shit, I wasn't supposed to tell anyone that."
I laughed. "So...she stole his ticket and...?"
"And split the winnings with me."
"What were the winnings?"
"Millions."
I laughed. "Right."
"No, really. It was a parlay. Rodrigo needed all these super unlikely things to occur in order to win. And the payout was huge."
"So, you're a millionaire?"
He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I am. But without you winning the tiebreaker, we wouldn't have won anything." His arms tightened around me as he smiled.
"That doesn't mean you had to buy my bakery back. Bryce, that's your money. I can't accept this."
"Well, I was kind of thinking we could run it together. My degree is in marketing, and I think I could help make it grow."
I shook my head. "You're the fastest man alive. You're a millionaire. Any minute, people are going to be calling you for endorsements and all sorts of stuff. Why on earth are you in Wilmington, Delaware hanging out with me?"
He laughed. "There isn't any other place in the world that I'd rather be."
"I don't understand it, but I am so glad that you're here." I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed him. "Why didn't you tell me last night?" I laughed. "I was so upset about losing the bakery."
"I wanted to make sure you wanted to be with me for me. Not just because of this. Despite what you seem to think, you're the one that's out of my league."
I laughed and moved my hands to the sides of his face. "Bryce Walker, I am head over heels for you."
He pressed his forehead against mine. "I love you, Alina."
"Yo!" Alex said, poking his head out the door. "While you two were shagging all night, we've been doing all the work. Get in here."
Bryce laughed. "That's actually pretty accurate."
I lightly pushed his arm and laughed. "Is Isadora really a prostitute?" I whispered to Bryce before we walked into the bakery.
"Not anymore. I'm pretty sure Alex and her are together. She's a millionaire too. If there's one thing Alex wanted besides a prostitute, it was a sugar momma."
I laughed. "I don't know why that doesn't surprise me at all."
Everyone turned toward us with huge smiles on their faces when we walked into the bakery. Except for Tim, who was kind of hovering behind Kristen.
"Guys, thank you so much."
"Just hit me and get it over with," Tim said and stepped out from behind Kristen.
I glanced at Bryce. "Um...what? I was saying thank you."
He looked nervously at Kristen. "I was in Kristen's bedroom the other night when you two were talking."
Kristen nodded and put her hands about a foot apart. "He's huge," she mouthed.
Oh my God. "Wait, Kristen, did you know that Bryce was in Wilmington?"
"Yeah, but I couldn't ruin the surprise."
I laughed and walked over to Tim. "I don't want to hit you." Instead I gave him a huge hug.
"I knew it," he said, once I released him from my hug. "You did appreciate the perfect men I found. I was telling Bryce that you'd like their above average length and girth. You're welcome, Alina." He beamed at me.
"Yeah...don't push it."
"I told you it would work out, my love," Tim said and slapped Bryce on the back, completely ignoring what I had just said.
Bryce laughed. "Now when I tell you to stop saying that you should actually listen, or Kristen will get jealous."
"Nonsense. Kristen is fine with our relationship."
Alex cleared his throat. "You should listen to Bryce, man. Oh, and Alina, this is Isadora."
"It's really nice to meet you," I said and shook her hand.
"Nice to meet you as well," she said in English with a Brazilian accent. "And you never have to worry about Rodrigo again. I killed him. I love your bakery! It is so cute."
"Aw, thanks. Wait, what?" Did she just say she killed Rodrigo?
Alex laughed awkwardly. "English is her second language. I'm sure you didn't mean that, right Isadora?"
"No, that's what I mean," she said. "I shot him in the face."
We were all silent for a second.
"You're so funny," Alex said. He turned to Isadora and whispered something in her ear. "Anyway, back to painting."
She shrugged. "Sure...I'm just kidding," she said and grabbed a paintbrush. "That's what you all say when you make a lie?"
"Mhm. See, she was just joking." Alex picked up a paintbrush too.
When they were out of earshot, I turned to Bryce. "You don't really think..."
"I'm pretty sure she was serious. Look it up. Rodrigo was shot at Copacabana Palace the day of the tiebreaker."
I put my hand over my mouth. "Oh my God, I saw a news report about that."
"Anyway, let me show
you the new ovens." He grabbed my hand and pulled me behind the counter. "Aren't these great?" he asked.
My phone started buzzing. I pulled it out of my pocket. It was my agent. He probably wanted to terminate our contract. There was no point in delaying it. I lifted up my phone.
"Hey, Scott."
"Alina! The phones have been ringing nonstop. Why haven't you been answering my calls?"
"I've been out of town."
"Yeah, well, we need to talk. I know you wanted to retire after the ITAs, but you have a ton of offers for pro teams."
I looked over at Bryce. He was examining the new oven. He turned to me and put his thumb up. There was no way I was going to drop everything and move to some other city to play pro. I had never wanted to do that. And with Bryce right in front of me, the thought was even less appealing.
"Scott, I haven't changed my mind. I'm officially retired."
"Okay, well, there's other offers on the table too. Reality TV, endorsements for sex toys, adult films..."
Adult films? God no. "Actually, Scott," I said, cutting him off. "I think I'm good. Remember the bakery I told you about? It's all worked out."
"Wait, what? Alina, this is a huge opportunity. Any one of these would get you a signing bonus in seven figures."
I looked over at Bryce again. He was pulling ingredients out of the fridge. He hadn't stocked his own, but apparently this one had everything we needed. I never thought whisking eggs could look so sexy. But everything Bryce did was sexy. "I'm exactly where I want to be," I said into the phone.
"Alina, you're making a mistake. You have to ride this wave. People are going to forget all about what happened soon."
"That's actually what I'm hoping for. I really appreciate everything you've done for me, Scott."
He sighed into the phone. "Just think about it. I'll call you again in a few days."
"Sure," I said and hung up the phone. But I had already made up my mind. I was standing in my dream, right beside the man of my dreams.
"Everything okay?" Bryce asked as he turned on the stove.
"Everything's perfect."
"I almost forgot!" Tim said as he joined us behind the counter. "I have the perfect picture of you and Bryce to hang up on the wall in here." He lifted up a framed photo of me crawling on all fours in front of the eight backup dancers with their erections all over the place. "Where should we put it?"
"What is wrong with you?" I grabbed the frame out of his hands. "This is a family friendly establishment."
Kristen laughed and leaned against the counter. "I tried to stop him. But he insisted that you'd want the memento."
Bryce took the picture out of my hand and placed it face down on the counter. "I have a better idea," he said and wrapped his arms around me. "How about we get a picture of all of us together?"
"See, Tim? Now that's a good idea," Kristen said.
Tim shrugged and pulled out his phone. "Fine, but I don't see how it will be as good as the one from the tiebreaker. Everyone get together in front of the counter." He put the camera on his phone on a timer and set it against a ladder. "Ten seconds, people!" He ran over and started moving everyone around so that we'd be in perfect formation.
But all I cared about was the fact that Bryce's arms were around me. I smiled up at him. Yeah, I was exactly where I wanted to be.
THE END
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Temptation (The Hunted Series Book 1)
Indulge in the temptation in the breakout series THE HUNTED by Ivy Smoak.
When Penny Taylor runs into a handsome stranger in a coffee shop, she believes her luck has finally changed. After having her confidence unwound by her ex, she falls hard for a true gentleman. But once she realizes that her crush is her communications professor, her world is turned upside down.
Haunted by dreams of the alluring Professor Hunter, Penny can't seem to dismiss her fantasies and the temptation to have him grows deeper. Will the excitement, danger, and mystery surrounding Professor Hunter bring her to her knees?
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The Tutor
Let your imagination run wild...in the new sexy short story THE TUTOR by Ivy Smoak.
Sophia has had a crush on Wyatt every since they've met. Tutoring him at the library once a week has been the highlight of her semester. But their sexual tension has been slowly torturing her. Wyatt is sexy, funny, flirtatious, and as far as she can tell - completely unattainable.
When it is time for their last tutoring session, she worries it will be the last time she will ever get to see him. She's determined to not let that happen. Dreaming about him and watching him from a distance at his baseball games isn't going to cut it.
But will she have the confidence to confess her true feelings?
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Also by Ivy Smoak
Like this book? Want more? Check out these other books by Ivy Smoak!
Novels
Temptation (The Hunted Series Book 1)
Addiction (The Hunted Series Book 2)
Eruption (The Hunted Series Book 3)
Playing a Player
City of Sin
Going for Gold
Novellas
Emergency Plan F
Layla's Forecast
Blue Parrot Resort
A Christmas Wish
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Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is purely coincidental.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system without the express written permission of Ivy Smoak.
ASIN: B01EKNMIJI
Cover art copyright © 2016 by Ivy Smoak
Cover photos:
American flag photo by AXL/Shutterstock.com
Man photo by Petrenko Andriy/Shutterstock.com
2016 ebook Edition
Copyright © 2016 by Ivy Smoak
All rights reserved