by Wood, Lauren
Alice’s eyes got wide and she looked at me. I just kind of shrugged and she closed the door, doing what Jack suggested. Now everyone was looking at me and then to John. I really wished that he would just get it out. I wanted to marry him, of course I did. I was about to have his baby and there was nothing else that I wanted more.
“Will you marry me, Dina?”
I knew it was coming, but I still felt a wave of emotions run over me. How could I speak, when the air was coming out of me, faster than I could have ever imagined?
“Well say something, Dina. Everyone is waiting.”
I sent a withering look to my brother to shut up.
“I do. I do love you John, and I would love to marry you.”
I heard a cheer go off around me, but it was tuned out when he touched me. How long had I been without being in his arms? The answer was too long. I felt like I was home, finally. Now, everything was going to be okay.
* * *
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SINGLE DAD BAKER (Excerpt)
Jack’s a billionaire baker, with just the right size buns…
I’m every woman’s dream.
I can bring all their desires to life. I can make it happen. Cream puffs, shortbread, and even ladyfingers. All can be turned into the naughtiest thoughts.
I’m the master of my trade.
Single dad, nothing can stop me.
But, there’s one recipe I can’t figure out.
An innocent girl that crushed on me.
Correction: She used to be innocent.
Now she’s back. Hot, sexy and all grown up.
With a touch of the same submission, I’d seen before.
After all this time away. We had a second chance.
Bella’s not the same though. Her eyes hold darkness that wasn’t there before.
This time, I am going to be her protector.
I’ll put everything on the line for her.
Even the bakery.
Can I really let her leave again?
***
Chapter One
Jack
“Jack. Are you really going to tell me that you can’t just give me one cream puff?”
I told Mona no again, but she wasn’t taking no for an answer. She was blonde, tall, and big-chested. I liked to flirt with her, but she was spoiled and far too high maintenance for me. I didn’t have time for everything going on in my life as it was, there was no way I was going to have time for a woman like Mona. She gave me that look, the one I knew well, but I kept telling myself to stay back. It wouldn’t do me any good to let the flirting get any further.
“Sorry, Mona. It’s for someone else. I promised them six. You are just going to have to get here earlier, if you want the spoils.”
“Or you could make more.”
I smiled and agreed. “That I can do. But today, I am going to have to push you toward something else. We have some eclairs left. You like those, full of all that white cream.”
Her lips were still pouting, but the small innuendo perked her up. Mona was easy.
“So, who is it that gets them anyways, if you are refusing me?”
I sighed and told her that it was for the most beautiful girl in the world, of course.
“Really? And who is that?”
The question was haughty, and she might as well of had her arms across her chest. She was mad that I had said it, but her reaction was priceless, when she heard the rest of it.
“My daughter is who they are for. Dana always gets some after school. It’s tradition and I can’t give them away. She’d kill me and possibly come after you as well.”
“I didn’t know you had a daughter.”
“Yea, little girl running around here in an apron some evenings. That’s her.”
“Oh well, I guess there is nothing that I can do to change your mind…”
“No, sorry. But I will put some back for you tomorrow if you like, Mona. You know that you’re one of my favorite customers and I want to keep that smile on your face.”
That got an even bigger smile on her face and I tried not to groan out loud. I would never understand women, even though I appeared to be good at getting them to like me. It was something that I didn’t even have to try with, Mona being one of those examples. All I had to do, was pay them a ridiculous amount of attention for a few seconds, and they were happy as clams. It seemed like most women just wanted to be noticed.
Mona left and I tried not to let her bother me. She had asked me out a couple of times, made it clear that she was interested, but something was holding me back. It was most likely because I knew that I didn’t have the time for her. Not to be with her properly and I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to go that far. Dating had been one of the last things on my priority list lately. I had a lot of things to worry about. I had to worry about Dana, as well as the bakery. Both were a handful, in and of themselves. Together, it was enough to keep me running.
I would have liked to get a girlfriend though. Women like Mona were out of my league, but I did miss companionship. When Dana’s mom took off without a trace, I thought that one day I would move on, but Dana was almost nine now and I was no closer.
“Hey, Dad. Daydreaming again?”
I smiled at Dana as she walked in. Her shirt was smudged with paint and I asked her how art was.
“I can’t believe you remember my schedule. I don’t even know it that well.”
“It’s not memory, but the paint all over your shirt that got my attention. What masterpiece did you do today?”
Dana paused for a moment. “I did one of Mom.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t be mad, Dad. I didn’t know who else to do.”
Her mother left when she was little. I don’t even think Dana actually remembered her at all. If she painted her mother, it wasn’t going to be from memory, but most likely from one of the many pictures of her that I kept up in the house. I hated the idea of Dana not knowing what her mother actually looked like.
“Well, show me. I bet it’s beautiful. Did you do the one in the hallway? I know that it’s your favorite.”
“Yes, I did. You really do know me too well.”
I smiled at her and I looked at the painting. It was really good, and I told her so.
“Do you want to hang it up next to the picture when we get home?”
She beamed and I got her the mandatory after-school cream puffs.
“You should be happy I didn’t sell these. A lot of people wanted them.”
“Well, I know you won’t, because you promised. And you never break a promise.”
I smiled back at her and went to get her some milk. It was a small promise to make, but even that one, I took to heart. When I got back, she already had out her books from school.
“Do you have a lot of homework tonight?”
“Not too much.”
“Well we close early tonight for the parade. Did you want to go?”
She wrinkled up her nose and declared that it was for babies. I took it that she didn’t imagine that she was one of those babies, but I would have imagined she would have liked it.
“Dana, it’s free candy. Are you really going to turn down free candy?”
“My dad works at the biggest bakery in town. I don’t ever have to worry about sweets. They are going to throw them on the ground anyways. You know that’s gross. I don’t know why people do that.”
Instead of arguing with her, I had to finish cleaning up, so we could drop off the leftovers to the food pantry and then make our way home. I still had to make something for dinner, and I was beat.
“Did you find someone else to work
here yet?”
I sighed and shook my head no. “I put another ad in the paper. Maybe someone will come tomorrow.”
I didn’t believe my own words. Coloma was a small town and there wasn’t a lot of people here that I didn’t know. No one was up for the task it seemed like. I needed to find someone though, or I was never going to get another day off.
Then maybe, I could have that love life I kept hearing everyone talk about. It had been so long; I think I had forgotten how it really was.
Chapter Two
Bella
It was hard to come back to Coloma. It wasn’t like I hadn’t been back before, but this time it was different. This time, I knew I was here to stay and for one reason or another, I didn’t like the idea of it at all. I wanted to think I would be leaving again soon, like I had every other time. But not this time.
I was here for good, back home to live in my parent’s guest house by the pool. It was embarrassing, but I found myself out of a bad relationship and I wanted to put some space between us. It didn’t matter now that I had left everything behind, leaving in the midst of the night. Now I was back at Mom and Dad’s and I didn’t have to worry about not having a bed.
There was a part of me that wished I had stayed out in LA. It was always a dream of mine to live out there. I wanted to record music, become a famous singer, just like everyone else that came out there with stars in their eyes. I wanted to think I was different, but it turned out I wasn’t.
I did learn a thing or two about life while I was out there though. I learned about relationships and how badly they could turn out. I had a couple relationships while I was there, and it certainly wasn’t all that pleasant. I should have left sooner, but I was naïve. Now I was walking into life with my eyes wide open. Pulling up to the bus stop in the middle of town, my eyes were open too far. Everything was as it had been before.
Getting my bag, I got out and grabbed the one that was underneath the bus. Everything looked drab and it was like even the sun wasn’t going to shine right while I was standing there. It all looked so familiar, yet so foreign. Had it always looked like this, or was I seeing new dirt and vines growing up the buildings? I don’t think that Coloma changed, but my perception certainly had.
I had been gone for almost seven years. I sort of wished that I had come back more. Maybe I would have realized that Coloma had changed some. I should have kept in touch with the people I used to know, because only Kayla, my lifelong friend, was someone that I had talked to since I left. Now, everyone was like a stranger to me and I didn’t recognize any faces when I got off of the bus. I felt like a foreigner in my own hometown and I can’t say that I liked the feeling all that well.
I waited around for my mom to pick me up, it was getting late or I was early, because twenty minutes later, I was still waiting for her to come get me. The house was only about a mile away, so I figured that I might as well get used to my new life. This was apparently how it was going to be now.
I didn’t have much with me and for the first time, it was a blessing. I put the backpack on the way it was made for and carried the duffel. They were rather heavy together, but I figured that it could have been worse. My wardrobe in LA alone, would have surely taken my back out.
I grinned at the thought, picturing myself about to topple over. I was just looking up, when a truck with several bags of flour stopped on the side of the road in front of me. I got to the passenger side and peered in at the man that was sitting behind the wheel. No introductions were needed.
“You need a ride?”
It was Jack and he was smiling at me in a knowing way, but I don’t think that he recognized me all that well. I had let my hair grow out and I had finally let it go back to the dark brown that it was naturally. I had tried to pull off being a blonde for a while, but it hadn’t worked well.
My eyes were taking in the hunk of man in front of me. He was dark-haired and dark-eyed. I had always loved the look of his face and his square jaw was even more defined than before. It was hard to tell where else he had aged in the last seven years. He really didn’t look that different than he had before.
Jack was a bit bigger I noticed, and when he leaned in to open the door for me, his biceps flexed, and I found myself shaking a bit inside.
“Do you mind if I throw my bag in the back?”
He agreed and looked me up and down. I had wanted Jack for years, made my feelings known, but he had always let me down. It hadn’t been gentle either. The first time I told him I liked him, he was a year ahead of me in school and had pushed me down on the playground. The crush I had on him hadn’t changed, but I had.
Now I could see him really looking at me and all I could do, was blush at all of the attention that he was giving me. I really shouldn’t have let it bother me so much. I knew I had changed. I knew I was pretty, but seeing Jack react to me, just topped all of that for some reason.
I got in the open door and sat down next to him. He was smiling in such a way, the same way that I’d seen him do a million times to other girls. But now it was directed at me and I couldn’t help but look at him the same way. He didn’t realize how much I had liked him. Hell, he didn’t even know who I was at the moment.
“So where are you headed?”
“The white house on Smith.”
It took him a second to really put it together. “Well that’s where the Reynolds live.”
“I know.”
He looked back over at me and then the grin wasn’t as big. He was confused more than anything else. Was it that hard to see that I had changed? I hadn’t realized I had changed that much. I had grown up, but I was still the same girl.
“Bella?”
I nodded and he looked astonished. He actually was looking so hard that he missed the road and had to turn down the next one to do a U-turn.
“Well, damn, Bella. You sure have grown up. I would have never guessed. I didn’t recognize you.”
That much was obvious, but it didn’t seem like the time for my smart remarks. I liked that he was attracted to me, but as soon as he knew who I was, it became clear that he was a bit more hesitant. I almost wished I hadn’t told him. I didn’t like the change in the air. It had certainly cooled off.
“So, what in the hell are you doing here, Bella? I heard you went to California.”
I agreed that I had, but there was a part of me that wanted to tell him all of it. I didn’t of course, but I was always ready to spill my guts to him. It was just something that he had always done to me. I had learned to hold it in now. Oversharing was one of many things that I had learned not to do because of Jack. Getting my hopes up and falling in love in general, seemed to be a bad idea all the way around. He was the first to show me that.
“I did, for a while.”
“Not everything you thought it would be?”
He pulled into the driveway and I hopped out before anything else could be said.
“Well, here I am, so I guess not. Thanks for the ride, Jack.”
“So, are you here to stay?”
I agreed and he smiled back at me. “Good, I will see you around.”
He was gone and I was left replying to the wind. My head was spinning, so much so that I had forgotten the duffel bag. It would just give me a reason to see Jack again. That didn’t seem so bad, but I was more hesitant than before.
“End of Preview”
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Also by Lauren Wood
Most of my books are a part of the series and can read as a standalone too. These are full-length novels for readers who love alpha males big and bad.
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