He slightly flinches when my hand hits his shoulder. “Don’t you dare say that! You are not a sad excuse of a person, Rich. You’ve been nothing but nice to me since the day we met.”
“You’re the exception.”
“Why?”
He laughs. “Because you baked your way into my cold, dark heart.”
“My grandmother always said that even the grumpiest of people can be sweetened by pastries and chocolate.”
His smile spreads. “So that’s your secret, huh? You used chocolate to woo the monster.”
Smiling shyly, I move in to steal another kiss, loving how soft and accepting his lips are in that moment. “No, Rich. I used chocolate to woo the man of my dreams.”
Even in the fading sunlight, I can see his blush warming a face he’s so desperate to hide.
“We should head back.”
“Okay.”
“We’ll head back to your place and pick up your things.”
I’m not sure what kind of response he expected, but he definitely didn’t expect me to pull away so abruptly. “What are you talking about?”
“Your things. Did you really think I was going to let you go back to your bakery and stay there, knowing what Moseley has planned for you?”
“I can’t leave my bakery, Rich.”
“Sure you can. If that’s what keeps you safe—”
I cut him off before he could finish his thought. “This is my dream, Rich. I can’t just abandon my bakery when things are going so well.”
“You’re in danger.”
“And? I’m in danger anywhere I go. I’m not leaving my bakery. I have too much money invested.”
“Mindy, think about this. Moseley has the keys to your bakery. He can come in anytime and—”
“So what? I can handle myself. I have a Taser.”
“And they have guns. Don’t be stupid. Let me protect you at my club.” He reaches out for me, but I slap his hand away.
“I’m not leaving the bakery.”
“Mindy…”
“Just drop it, okay? Moseley doesn’t scare me, and either does his shady friends. I’ll get the police involved.”
“He owns the police. Well, most of them.”
“Then I’ll find a cop who will listen to me. I’m not just going to stand by and live my life in fear all because some pudgy Italian mob boss wants me to marry his hired gun.”
“Hired gun?”
“Yeah, he told me that Mr. Nostra is his hired gun.”
“Fuck, this is worse than I thought. Yeah, I’m definitely not letting you go back there now.” When he tries to grab my hand again, I move around to the other side of my bike, putting distance between us. “Mindy, come on, be reasonable here.”
I’m reaching for my helmet before he can stop me. “You act like you have some kind of say in my life. You’re not my husband. Heck, you’re not even my boyfriend. You’re just some guy who bought a lot of pastries from my shop.”
