Sienna & Jacob: A Bioexpa Match

by Thayer King

  Still, for a few months, she’d been totally gone over him. If the pairing had taken place at that time, she would have been conflicted. And dumping Jon—even if it was for Jakob—would have seemed wrong.

  “I get your point.”

  Marie nodded. “Good. I don’t want you to make a decision you’ll regret out of spite, or injured pride, or because you’re afraid.” She clapped her hands. “Now I’ve had my say. Whatever your choice, you know you’ll have my full support.”

  “Thanks, Mom. I guess I’ll go home and have dinner with my husband.”

  “Excellent idea.”

  The door to the apartment slid open with an almost inaudible hydraulic hiss. Sienna took one step before a fit of coughing seized her. The den was hazy with smoke. From the vicinity of the kitchen, she heard a muffled curse and then the crash of a metal pan hitting the tile floor. Rushing in that direction, she called out, “Jakob, are you okay?”

  Standing in the center of the kitchen, wearing a flour-smeared navy apron sans a shirt, his hands propped on his hips, Jakob glared down at a still smoldering pan of burned…something. The remains were so badly charred she couldn’t venture a guess as what it was supposed to be. “I’m fine.”

  “Um, what is that?”

  “My mom’s special homemade brownies. She assured me that the recipe was foolproof.” He grimaced. “Apparently, she was wrong.” He shrugged broad, bare shoulders. With effort, she dragged her gaze away from his hard chest. Briefly, she wondered what happened to his shirt. “I was trying to surprise you with a homemade dinner. That,” he pointed a thick finger at the smoky black square on the floor, “was to be dessert.” Sighing, he added, “I’m not much of a baker, but the roast turned out okay.”

  Sienna melted a little inside at the thought of him going to so much trouble for her. No man had ever cooked for her before. Clearing her throat, she asked “Did you forget to set the timer on the oven?”

  “There’s a timer?”

  “Um, yeah,” she said and then coughed. Her eyes began to water and sting. She leaned over and turned on the fan over the stove to help the smoke dissipate. With a loud whir, it began to clear the air. “How did you manage to make the roast without using the timer?”

  “I was in the room while the roast was cooking. With the brownies, I was accepting delivery of our new entertainment system. You can see it when the smoke clears,” he added with a grin. Removing his apron, he revealed a lightly furred chest and tight abs. While she was still gaping, he continued, “I’ll go open a window.”

  Relieved that he left the room before noticing her goldfish impersonation, she fanned herself and quickly tried to gather her wits. She grabbed a towel off the counter and used it to pick up the pan of ruined brownies off the floor and dropped it into the sink to cool. “So where’s this roast?” she asked when he returned to the kitchen.

  Jakob pointed to the stovetop where a foil covered casserole dish rested on the burner. He tugged on a t-shirt. “Are you ready for dinner?”

  She smiled. “Yes.”

  “Help me set the table?”

  “Sure.” She opened a cabinet and selected two plates. Cloth napkins already rested next to silver placemats. Jakob got the cutlery and glasses. Within minutes, they had the table set. The smoke had cleared enough that they could close the window and turn off the fan. Jakob lit a set of candles at the center of the table before serving her. The roast did indeed turn out well. It was juicy and tender. Jakob had paired it with carrots and potatoes. He’d also sautéed asparagus and chilled a bottle of wine. “Wow,” she said, staring at him over the flicking candlelight. He’d really made an effort to impress her. “Thank you. You didn’t have to go to so much trouble for me.”

  “It was no trouble. I wanted to do it.” He shook out his napkin and placed it in his lap.

  She cleared her throat. “I talked with my mom…and I came to a decision…about us.”

  “Yeah?” he asked, his tone casual, but she caught a spark of hope gleaming in his dark brown irises.

  Taking a deep breath, she said, “I’ve brought over some more of my belongings. They’re in the car. I…thought I might need them if we’re going to make a go of this.”

  A slow grin stretched his lips. “You won’t regret this, Sienna.”

  Chapter Six

  Day 3 of Cohabitation

  Sienna stifled a yawn as she applied buttercream frosting to yet another cupcake. After their dinner, Jakob had suggested they watch a movie. Because they’d spent precious little time together, Sienna hadn’t wanted to turn him down. Unfortunately, she’d fallen asleep during the first hour. She’d awakened this morning on her side of the bed fully dressed beneath the comforter.

  She sighed. During the movie, they’d sat on the carpet with a space between them. Jakob had made no move to close that distance. Despite his claim to the contrary, she was beginning to think that Jakob wasn’t attracted to her. Or maybe he was still harboring feelings for Ella. Whatever the reason, he had as yet made a move to so much as hold her hand. She discounted the mostly friendly kiss he’d given her that night in bed. It was utterly lacking in passion and thus had led to nothing further.

  Pausing with her pastry bag in hand, she counted the number of cupcakes she had left to ice. She’d baked and decorated four dozen on her own so far this morning. A glance at the clock above the door leading to the shop front confirmed her suspicions. Mika was very late. It wasn’t like her to be tardy and not call. Sure Mika was enthusiastic and oft times led by emotion, but when it came to the business she was the personification of responsibility.

  As soon as they’d graduated from college, Mika had been determined to go into business together. MBAs in hand, it was only a matter of determining what type of business to begin. The decision had come about as they were snacking on Mrs. House’s delicious cinnamon coffeecake. They jokingly agreed that they’d be willing to pay whatever was demanded to consume her desserts. That’s when it had hit them that, with Judith House’s permission, they could introduce her decadent treats to the world. Over the years Judith had taught them both to bake. Once the decision was made to open a bakery, they took culinary classes to expand their knowledge.

  As they put their educations to real world use, the first year and a half after opening The Honey Bun had been rough. Neither of them had been prepared for the amount of dedication it took to be business owners. At their lowest point, Mika had borrowed money from Jakob to keep the doors open. Their parents were retired and living on fixed incomes. They were unable to invest. Jakob had given them the money without any questions. But it had made them realize that they couldn’t continue as they’d begun. After that, they had buckled down and hired a business consultant. As soon as they could, they’d repaid Jakob. These days The Honey Bun operated squarely in the black.

  “Morning,” Owen, one of their part-time employees, drawled as he entered the back door. Sienna glanced up and was glad to see that he’d already pulled his shoulder length blond hair into a ponytail secured at the nape of his neck. Owen was a senior in college and a hard worker. He was reliable and always on time. His only issue was that he was very good looking and he knew it. Mika had hired him because she thought he would bring in business. And he did. Female customers loved him.

  “Good morning, Owen.”

  He dropped his backpack on the floor and took an apron off a peg on the wall. “Where’s Mika?”

  Sienna frowned and put down her icing bag. “I don’t know.” She pulled her communications slate from her apron pocket. “No messages from her either. I’ve already tried calling her.” She quickly tapped out another message. Call me. I’m beginning to get worried.

  “Didn’t she have a date last night? Maybe it went really well.”

  Considering Mika’s history with men, that did nothing to calm her. She attempted to call her business partner but got no answer. She left a brief voice mail. “Mika, are yo
u okay? If I don’t hear from you in the next ten minutes, I’m coming over.”

  Mika called exactly nine minutes later. “Where are you?”

  “I’m sorry. I should have called last night. I got…distracted. I’m not coming in today.”

  “What?” Sienna stared with dismay at the tray of cupcakes before her. She had more than a hundred left to bake and decorate. “Have you forgotten about the retirement celebration for Mrs. Kline?”

  “Crap! Yeah, I forgot. No worries. I’ll call mom and ask her to cover for me.”

  Sienna frowned. Mika didn’t shirk responsibility when it came to the bakery. Even for a man. “What is up with you?”

  “I’ll explain it later—tonight at dinner. I have a surprise for you. I’m going to send you an address. Be there tonight at seven.”

  “What’s the surprise?”

  “You’ll find out at seven. See you then.”

  Sienna sighed and put her phone back in her apron pocket. Poking her head out front where Owen was arranging cookies in the display case, she said, “Mika’s not coming. She’s going to see if she can get her mother to help.”

  “Did she say why?”

  “No. Just that I would find out tonight. In the meanwhile, it’s just you and me.”

  Sienna parked behind Jakob’s jeep in the unfamiliar driveway. She recognized Mr. and Mrs. House car in front of his. A couple of luxury sedans were parked closer to the two story brick home.

  Her heels clicked on the concrete as she made her way to the door. She barely avoided twisting an ankle on the porch steps. Other than the occasional jaunt to church, she didn’t have many opportunities to wear heels. Per Mika’s instructions, she’d gone home after work to shower and change into a sexy dress and cute strappy shoes. The apartment had been empty and she had no idea where Jakob was. A strange creature, their marriage was. The two of them had yet to learn to communicate as a couple.

  As his wife, she should have known where he was. Or at least a general idea. But she was hesitant to make demands of him. She didn’t want him to think that she was controlling or a nag. But he knew she was at the bakery. It would have been considerate of him to keep her informed of his whereabouts.

  The state of their marriage could lead to a potentially awkward evening. She had strong suspicions that Mika was throwing them a surprise party in celebration of their marriage.

  She raised her hand to knock on the wide mahogany door. When it suddenly swung open before her knuckles could connect with the wood, she released an involuntary yelp.

  A tall redheaded man with twinkling turquoise eyes looked momentarily surprised to see her. But a second later a grin curved his lips. “Well, hello there.” His gaze travelled from the top of her head to her hastily polished gold toes. “Who might you be?”

  “Um…” She glanced around him, hoping to see someone she recognized but the foyer was empty. “I was given this address by my friend Mika.” Once again taking note of his fiery close cropped hair, she added, “I suspect she had a date with you last night.”

  “She belongs to my twin, Declan. Lucky for you, I’m still available.”

  She stumbled back a step as he crossed the threshold, leaving no room for her to skirt around him. “Um…”

  “I was just on my way to my car to retrieve a gift for the happy couple. But now I’m thinking I’ve got better things to do than stand around listening to lame toasts.” His words confirmed her suspicions about the nature of this evening. She still wondered why they weren’t having this at the House’s residence or her parent’s home. And where were her parents? “How about the two of us blow this party and go out to grab a bite to eat? I know this place-”

  “There you are!” Mika greeted her with an enthusiastic hug. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

  She returned her friend’s hug. “Listen, this is so nice of you, but you didn’t have to do this.”

  “Do what? You look fantastic, by the way.”

  “Thanks. And I mean all this.” She indicated Mika’s shimmery green dress, the hem of which barely covered the essentials. “Throw a party for Jakob and me.” She gestured to the redhead. “He sort of let the beans spill.” Dropping her voice so that he wouldn’t overhear, she asked, “Who is he anyway? And whose house is this?”

  “Well,” Mika drawled, biting her lip before a huge grin broke free. “You could say that this is my house. Mine and my husband’s.” She released a squeal and began to jump up and down.

  “What?” Sienna asked, stunned speechless as Mika stuck out her left hand to display a Bioexpa wedding band with a white stripe circling its circumference. “Oh, my God! When did this happen?”

  “Last night.” Mika linked her arm through hers and ushered her into the house. “That’s Liam, my brother-in-law, by the way. Isn’t he cute? Terrible flirt though,” she added, raising her voice so that he was sure to hear her. She closed the door behind them. “Like Owen, he’s too handsome for his own good.”

  Mika led her through the foyer and into a spacious family room where the other guests awaited them. Judith and Christopher House were talking to Mika’s husband by the fireplace. Sienna didn’t need to be told who he was. He and Liam were identical. They even wore their hair the same. If Liam didn’t have on a black shirt and this man a pale gray one, she would have thought they were one and the same. Jakob sat on a couch with an older couple. Mika introduced them to her as her new in-laws, Moira and Seamus O’Shea.

  Slipping under his arm as though she’d been doing it for years, Mika curled her arm around her husband’s waist. “And this is my Declan.”

  Declan smiled down at Mika, his eyes full of warmth, and extended his hand out to Sienna. “You must be Sienna. I’ve heard so much about you.”

  She shook his hand. “Unfortunately, I can’t say the same. How did this come about?”

  “It’s the story we’ve all been waiting for,” Liam announced as he sauntered into the room with a case of champagne.

  “We wanted to wait until everyone was here,” Mika explained. “That way we didn’t spend the evening retelling the same tale.” She took a seat in a dark blue arm chair. Declan stood at her side and held her hand. “Well, you know I had a date last night.”

  Sienna recalled Mika’s description of her date and her mouth dropped open. “It was with Declan?”

  Mika laughed. “No. Actually, I’d met Liam and he asked me out. We’d gone to this seafood restaurant he picked and were halfway through our entrees-”

  “By this time, we’d already figured out that we were totally wrong for each other,” Liam interjected.

  “And then, I hear the chimes,” Mika said. “It was just like when it happened to you guys. It was so amazing and exciting.”

  “Unless you’re the date being humiliated,” Liam pointed out in a droll tone. Everyone laughed.

  “Anyway,” Mika continued with a roll of her eyes, “when it came to the part where they tell me the name of my new husband, Liam’s mouth drops open. He called Declan right then and I was so eager to meet him, I came right over. Since then, we’ve been inseparable.”

  “I’ve lost both my babies in such a short time period,” Judith said with a sniff.

  “Mom, you’re supposed to be happy.”

  Judith smiled though her eyes were still suspiciously bright. Christopher put a supportive arm around his wife and she rested her head on his shoulder. “Oh, I am. And as far as I can tell, Bioexpa has earned their excellent reputation.”

  “Now, don’t start weeping or I’ll become a blubbering mess,” Moira said. “That’s an ugly sight none of you wants to see.”

  “Moira, you’re always lovely,” her husband contradicted.

  “Mom, you’ve got no reason to cry,” Liam said. “You’ve still got me.”

  “Now I’m going to cry,” Seamus said drily.

  Liam rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Time for th
e champagne?”

  Mika dragged her into the kitchen ostensibly to check on the lasagna. The door had barely closed behind them before she asked, “So how are things with you and Jakob?”

  Sienna laughed. “You get married and that’s the first thing you think to say to me?” She grabbed her friend’s hand and ran her thumb over the wedding band with its white stripe. “What does this mean?”

  “What do you think it means?” Her tone was brazen but her cheeks turned crimson. “Look, we’re married. And the heat between us…” She broke off and fanned her face with her hand.

  “So does the stripe turn white immediately upon consummation or-”

  “Can’t say that I was watching the band,” Mika interrupted with a sardonically arched brow. “Back to you.” She pointed to the pink stripe in Sienna’s wedding band, an indicator that her marriage was unconsummated. “When do you plan to shed this virginal pink? And I can’t believe I’m asking about my brother’s sex life!”

  Sienna bent and peeped at the lasagna. A thick layer of cheese bubbled on top. “This looks delicious. And I love this oven.” The appliances were a deep burgundy and contrasted nicely with the gray countertops and tile floors.

  “Declan’s a general contractor. He had help from an interior decorator with the design. The entire house is amazing.” She waved an impatient hand. “Stop trying to change the subject.”

  Sighing, she leaned against the cabinets. “I’d like to hear more about your marriage. Please, I want to know what it’s supposed to be like.” Even she could hear the longing in her voice. Though she was truly happy for her friend, she couldn’t help being a little jealous. In only a day, Mika and Declan were closer than she and Jakob.

  A soft smile curled Mika’s lips. “When Liam introduced us, and our eyes met, it’s as though the rest of the world ceased to exist for a moment. I know the two of them look exactly alike, but there was something more to Declan that drew me in. He makes me feel safe to be myself and excited to be with him. Granted, we’re just starting out, but there’s this connection between us that I’ve never felt before.”