Page 56 of High Stakes

Bella

“It’s been a month,” Cal reminds me as I sit in the passenger seat of his car, across from the bakery. “Of course you feel anxious. But it’s normal.”

I give a stiff nod, gripping the door handle so tightly, my fingers hurt. “But what if he turns up?” I ask. Ididn’t get a wink of sleep, which is making my anxiety about returning to work, ten times worse.

“He found out you were living at mine over a week ago according to Aria, and he hasn’t shown up yet.”

He’s right, I know he is, but I can’t help worrying. I’m not ready to face him, I don’t even know if I’m quite ready to see Aria face to face, which is shit, because she’s my best friend. “Aria isn’t going to grill you,” Cal adds, giving my arm a reassuring squeeze. “She’s fully up to date on everything and she’s just excited to have you back at work,” he says. I know he’s been updating Aria on my behalf, mainly to stop her worrying. But still, I know her too well and she’s going to ask questions.

“Okay,” I say, taking a deep breath, “I’ve got this.”

“You have,” he agrees.

I get out of the car, leaning back in, “Thanks, Cal, I appreciate you.”

He grins. “Go be a bad ass boss bitch. I’ll pick you up later.”

When I enter the shop, Aria squeals in excitement, and runs over, wrapping me in a hug. “I have missed you so much.”

I smile, “I’ve missed you too, Ari.”

She holds me at arm’s length and assesses me. “You’ve lost weight,” she notes.

“The joys of living with a PT,” I say, shrugging out of my coat. “Cal is a great cook, and he force feeds me vegetables.”

She takes my things from me and heads into the back room to hang them up. “Well, you look great, not that you needed to lose weight.”

I move behind the counter, running my hands over the cool glass. “It feels weird being back after so long off,” I say.

She returns, “It’s been so quiet without you. I saw the website, it looks great.”

I smile, “Yeah, it’s really happening isn’t it. I thought Cal was talking crap, but I’ve made some sales and even had a commission.”

She grins, “Oh my god, that’s amazing. Which brings me to a business proposition,” she says, and I eye her suspiciously, “Of sorts,” she adds, heading for the door and turning the sign to closed. “Let’s get a coffee and talk about it.” Aria never closes the shop, which just makes me more suspicious.

We sit out the back with a coffee and she takes a deep breath. “What if we made the wedding cakes?”

I frown, “The shop isn’t big enough, and the kitchen certainly isn’t. It wouldn’t work.”

“Next door is for sale,” she says, her eyes search my face for a reaction.

I laugh, “Have you won the lottery, and this is your way of telling me?”

“No.”

“Next door is a florist, Aria. It would cost a fortune to kit it out.”

“We could knock through,” she continues, ignoring me, “Extend the kitchen. Then have one side for the bakery and the other for wedding cakes.”

“Have you hit your head?” I ask, shaking my head with a smirk.

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a crumpled piece of paper. “A few weeks ago, your dad came to see me.”

I inhale sharply, she’s caught me off guard and feel my anxiety dial up a notch. “He gave me this,” she adds, holding out the paper.

I shake my head. “Whatever it is, I don’t want it,” I snap, making no move to take it. She opens it out and I stare at the cheque, it’s signed Aiden Tremos, which instantly makes me feel sick. “What the fuck is this, Aria?” I snap.

“Your dad insisted that Aiden make the cheque to you,” she says.

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