I watch her struggle briefly before realizing this is a great opportunity to get close to her again. Getting off my bike I take one step and am in front of her. Inches separate us. She freezes. I reach under her chin, and slowly undo the helmet. I make sure to brush her neck with my fingers.
She shivers as I take the helmet off and hang it on the handlebar. Shaking her head again, I watch her pivot on her converse to head to the back door of her cafe. I follow behind her. I grab her hand before she goes to unlock the door.
“Let me go in first, I want to check it out,” I explain to her shocked face. She just nods quietly and hands me her key.
“Stay behind me at all times,” I tell her seriously. I am having a hard time believing that she forgot to shut the door yesterday afternoon. It may be my line of work, but I never take anything at face value. She nods once in agreement. In that moment, I realize she hasn’t said anything since I walked out of her bedroom this morning.
“You okay,” I ask. Pausing for a second. I need to check in on her. She nods again. I take my right hand and cup the side of her face. My thumb starts moving back and forth along her soft cheek.
“Words, Piper,” I say quietly. She swallows audibly and I can see her cheeks turn pink from the glow of the streetlight.
“I’m good,” she manages to get out and looks away from my gaze. Satisfied with her answer, I unlock the door and flip the light on inside. Slowly, I make my way in. I do a quick sweep of the kitchen, feeling Piper sticking close behind me.
We move quickly through the rest of the building and in 5 minutes I feel confident that we are alone. I have no plans to leave Piper here alone. I will wait until the first few customers come in.
Chapter 11
Piper
My nerves are shot. Spending all of this time with Holt is making my head spin like it is on a tilt-a-whirl. I normally have no issues carrying on a conversation, but Holt scrambles my brain. Not to mention I am trying my best to remind myself that Holt isn’t interested in me, romantically. Which is getting more difficult by the second.
Holtcan’tbe interested in me. It would defy all the laws of attraction. Don’t get me wrong, I would love it if this were an alternate universe where that was the truth. Hope is a dangerous thing, and I need to squash it. I have a tendency to live in a fantasy land and I can’t do that where Holt is concerned.
He will break my heart and it will be my fault. He won’t even know it because he won’t realize that I have built this up in my mind to be something it isn’t. I will not allow that to happen here. Holt is going to be in my life indefinitely if Meg and Sterling last—which they will— and I am going to have to keep my mind and heart in check.
I realize that I have been having this internal conversation with myself throughout the entire walk through of my cafe. Everything seems to be all clear. It is a good thing he didn’t need me to be paying attention. I roll my eyes at myself.
“Looks like everything is good here,” Holt shares with me on our way back to the kitchen. I flip the coffee pot on and sigh when the scent of the strong brew starts wafting from the machine. Holt is turning lights on, like he opens my cafe all the time. I head towards the ovens. I have some pre-made doughs that I’m going to bake off this morning.
I pre-heat the oven and start prepping the cookie sheets. I can hear Holt moving around behind me. I am doing my best to act normal—whatever that is.
“Can I help,” Holt rumbles behind me. I jump a little. I hadn’t realized he was practically at my elbow.
“Can you grab the two silver bowls that are in the refrigerator,” I manage to get out after clearing my throat. He doesn’t respond but I feel him move away. He approaches me and sets both bowls down on the counter. I hand him an ice cream scoop.
“If you want you can scoop 24 servings out onto your cookie tray,” I am getting a bit more comfortable. I know it is because we are working and I am in familiar territory. He nods at me and watches me do a few, before he gets to work.
In no time I have the trays in the oven baking off. I take a minute to pour both of us some coffee and hand him one. He takes it wordlessly and brings the cup to his lips. I try to avoid looking at his perfect mouth.
“Thanks, I definitely needed that,” he says after a few swallows. He is right, it does hit the spot. I am so tired today, that I just need caffeine injected into my veins.
“Piper, do you have nightmares a lot,” the question catches me off guard and my shoulders immediately tense.
“Off and on,” I answer vaguely. I don’t want him to think he needs to help me even more than he already has, and I don’t want to lie to him either. I’m walking a fine line. He arches his eyebrow at me and smirks.
“Off and on…sure,” he repeats disbelievingly. His arms fold across his chest again. At some point he lost his leather jacket, and I can see the outline of his biceps through his long sleeved shirt.
I choose to ignore his response and move to check on the ovens. I know, based on smell, that its almost time for me to pull the trays out of the oven. My timer is set to go off in two minutes. I occupy myself with pulling on my oven mitts. Holt continues to watch me.
“Once the cafe opens, I am going to head out and get a few things. I also have to check on a property for a client, so I may not be back till around lunchtime,” Holt explains. I nod in response.
“Okay. Holt, you don’t need to explain yourself to me, I can always get an Uber ride home if you get caught up. You don’t need to worry about me,” I try to sound as if I am unbothered. I don’t want to be a burden.
“You will not be getting an Uber,” Holt grits out through clenched teeth. I step back a bit and he stalks forward. My back hits the counter and I have no where else to go.
“Tell me you understand me, Piper. Haven’t you been taught not to get in cars with strangers,” he asks me. He is so close to me, that if I breathe too deeply, my chest could brush his. I nod my head.
“Piper, I need you to say it— if you ever get in a car with a stranger there will be consequences,” his eyebrow is raised and my mind immediately rewinds to this morning. My stomach is fluttering and my mouth is dry. He leans forward and places a hand on either side of my waist, trapping me against the counter.
