Page 80 of Between Love and Loathing
Me: I apologize. I’ll definitely get you up to speed, but he just started.
Dominic: Just started what?
Me: Assisting me with designing the bakery.
Dominic: Rita’s a fucking designer, Clara. So am I.
Me: Right, but he knows what I like and does well with Rita.
Dominic: Oh really?
Me: Honestly, he just brought flowers to the bakery, Dominic. They’re beautiful.
I didn’t hear back. So I started baking while Valentino asked me questions about what dessert I was working on. I was five minutes into stirring the cupcake batter when I turned to see Dominic stalking toward the bakery.
The man didn’t look happy at all.
DOMINIC
So, she’d been serious. I really hadn’t believed her. What did she need him for?
Didn’t she knowIwas the damn designer? I was an architectural engineer. I’d studied at Cornell and had been awarded more than one Pritzker Prize.
I didn’t even consider texting back once she said he’d brought her flowers. Instead, I shoved away from my desk and stood. “Let’s reschedule this meeting.”
No one in the room waited for an excuse or reason because they knew I wouldn’t give one. “Of course,” Rita chirped, standing with me. “Please, everyone, stay while Mr. Hardy attends to this urgent matter, and I’ll work with you all on setting a new date.”
I was out of the room before anyone could even say goodbye. I’d never have told them what this urgent matter was. Admitting that my fiery redheaded fake girlfriend, located at the opposite side of the resort, was causing my heart to palpitate wasn’t something I was going to do.
I smelled the scent of her and the bakery before I even got there. Sweet, vanilla, sugar and spice. Immediately, my mouth watered, my cock twitched, and my heart lurched in a way it shouldn’t. Then I saw her right as I turned the corner. Outside the shop, positioning pink and purple peonies in huge flower pots.
“Clara.”
She pivoted around, still bent over the peonies. Her deep-red hair was loose and flowing today, and she hadn’t straightened the waves out of it. It fell over her shoulders and landed on her full breasts. That was a perfect indicator that she wasn’t wearing anything professional. The sundress dipped low enough that I could barely look at anything else, and even still, her smile looked innocent along with the sparkle in her eyes.
“Peonies, Dominic. Aren’t they beautiful? Valentino said he knew exactly the thing that would work here. And he found them so fast. I think the white planters are a nice touch, and they smell so good, don’t they?” She clapped her hands together and then looked lovingly down at flowers another man had given her.
The sentence didn’t even feel right in my head. Then, Valentino walked up behind her and draped his arm around her shoulders. Instantly, my hands fisted. Even if the man was just acting as a friend, the interaction was overstepping. I hadn’t approved him assisting anyone with designing one thing.
Still, Valentino stood tall in a collared white shirt, his maroon pants that hit just above the ankles showcasing that he spent too much time getting ready for this meeting and not enough time in his own damn restaurant. “Mr. Hardy! So good to see you. I hope you don’t mind. Clara wanted to brighten the atmosphere and the scent of florals always does that for me. A small but genius trick in designing, no? Rita approved.”
Of course she had. He’d probably been fucking her when he asked about it. What did I think of the flowers? They were going in the trash as soon as I could convince Clara of it. “Valentino, we don’t want flowers in this walkway as it obstructs the clean view from one end of the resort to the other where there are floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ocean.”
Valentino immediately looked confused as he glanced back and forth before he snapped his fingers. “We will move them into the bakery.”
“The bakery?” I questioned and folded my arms over my chest. “Clara’s bakery will be busy. And we’re strategically placing as much seating as possible. If anything, we’ll hang the flowers from the ceiling so as not to take up space as I believe Clara was already working on.”
“Ah, but there’s no way to keep flowers alive up there.” He tipped Clara’s chin up to look at him and it took everything I had not to grab his hand and break every one of his fingers. “These flowerpots are perfect for you, Clara. Let’s keep them for now, huh?”
Clara’s frown was an indication that she didn’t know which way to go or what to do.
“This is your change, Clara?” I asked, waiting for her to stand up here, knowing it wasn’t the right move for her or her bakery.
She took a step back like she finally wanted out of this situation. Good, she understood another man helping her in front of me was a bad idea.
“Maybe we should wait on the flowers,” she said softly, frowning at Valentino. “Sorry.”
“No. You’re not sorry. Valentino, we’re never sorry about protecting what we’ve built,” I corrected her. “Now, Clara and I have something private we need to discuss. We’ll be back soon.”
