Page 18 of Off-Limits Silver Fox Billionaire

Love isn’t perfect and it’s not as beautiful as the fairy tales painted it to be. Sometimes it gets messy, sometimes it doesn’t last, and one person ends up with an everlasting heartache.

I wanted to tell her those words, but I didn’t because what her idea of love was wasn’t supposed to concern me. She was a young, smart, and beautiful woman, she could make up her mind and decide to believe or to not believe. I didn’t need to burst the fantasy bubble she lived in.

So why was I still thinking of her? And wondering what her experience had been like. Bree was the love kind of girl. She loved fairy tales and happily ever afters. I didn’t believe those lasted even though I knew they were real.

For someone who believed so much in love, had she ever been in love? Was she in love with anyone now? I had to admit that the thought of Bree being with anyone else left a bitter taste on the back of my tongue.

I didn’t even want it to cross my mind. I didn’t want to imagine her responding the way she had with me to anyone else.

My territorial instincts must have kicked in while thinking about her. I suddenly couldn’t get her out of my head, so I decided to stop by Rue’s bakery to apologize for my rude behavior.

That decision was frankly because I also wanted to see her again. Maybe if I filled my mind with images of her, then I wouldn’t feel the constant need to be around her.

I parked in front of a florist shop went in and came out a few minutes later with a bouquet of lilies. Bree had to like lilies right? I didn’t know a thing about her, so I couldn’t tell.

The drive to Rue’s bakery was short, and I remained inside my car after parking in the over-filled parking lot for a few minutes. I contemplated driving back home with the flowers instead of going in to check on her.

What if she wasn’t in there? What if her father, or maybe Allison was?

What the hell, Josh,I thought, then combed my fingers through my hair before turning to look at the lilies on the front passenger seat.

I sucked in a deep breath, then got out of the car and went into the bakery to check if she was in there alone. Luckily for me, Bree was attending to the last customer inside and the minute she lifted her head, her lips parted.

“Hey,” she said and dropped the napkin she held onto the counter. “Cookies or brownies?”

I laughed and shook my head. “Actually, I’m here to apologize for yesterday,” I told her when I got to the counter. “I brought flowers too, but I had to make sure you were in here alone first. Didn’t want anyone asking questions.”

Bree’s lips curved upwards, and her eyes gleamed.

“Thank you,” she said, then walked around the counter so she could stand in front of me. Now that she was close, I noticed how beautiful she looked in the black dress she wore.

The pleats hugged her curves and highlighted them. Seeing her made me remember the heat from that night we spent together in my house. I wondered if she ever thought about it.

It was all I could think about.

“Would you still come around the art gallery?” I asked after a second of silence passed. “I’d love to have you around,” I told her.

“I would love to, but I can’t today,” she answered. “Allison’s out with my dad and I’m kind of boss for the day, so…”

“That’s perfect, I could stay here with you.” When she arched a brow, I quickly added. “I have nothing better to do anyway.”

She laughed and nodded gesturing for us to sit at one of the stools at the pastry bar. There was no customer inside for now, so since we were alone, I could relax. The other workers were back in the kitchen working, and no one would suspect a thing if they saw me sitting here and chatting with their fellow coworker.

“You enjoy working here at the bakery?” I asked.

Bree nodded. “Yeah … I love the smell of fresh pastries and I like that I can use my skills in the kitchen.”

“Why don’t you work in one of the big cities? New York maybe? Iris mentioned you used to live there. Why did you leave?”

My question must have struck a nerve in her because she averted her gaze from mine slowly and lowered it.

“Let’s just say I realized life in the city wasn’t for me. Besides, there was no reason to stay when my entire family is here. I like the island; it makes me feel alive in a way I haven’t in a long time.”

“So this means you might be staying a while?” I asked before I could stop myself. This was my second time asking her this question, and I realized while waiting for her answer that I wanted it to be positive.

If Bree was around for a long time, then I could get to see her, and spend time with her like this.Why does that matter?She had asked me to stay away and pretend like nothing happened between us, but that was difficult for me because each time I saw her, I remembered our time together.

It’s hard to forget something that made you happy. That was exactly what my memories with Bree were. Happy ones, and I couldn’t deny that, not even if she asked me to.

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