“Yeah?”
“Thank you again.”
Her smile is soft, but I don’t miss the pink hue that rushes across her skin as she looks away. “You don’t have to say that every time I do what you’ve hired me to do.”
“Yeah, I actually do.”
With a shake of her head, she retreats down the hall before I focus back on my task, thinking about how normally I’d be finishing up things at the lodge and wondering which bar I would hit up to find my companion for the night.
Oh, how things have changed.
***
“Oh my gosh, I haven’t been here in ages.” Elodie’s entire face lights up the second we walk into Bites & Bliss Bakery, a staple here in Blossom Peak. The purple and white walls are bright and inviting, providing the perfect backdrop for the bakery, and the view of the mountain peaks surrounding our town is one of the best things about this place.
“I wonder if they still have that blueberry-filled donut…” Elodie muses.
“We do, but we’re almost out. If you want one, tell me now and I’ll put it aside.” Carolina, the owner of the bakery since I was a kid, wipes her hand on her apron as she watches Elodie survey the case of baked goods.
Elodie practically bounces on her toes. “Yes, please.”
Laughing, Carolina moves toward the case and takes out the donut in question as I adjust Remy’s carrier in my hand, drawing her eyes to the sight. “Henley Clark, is that…”
“What?”
She plants her hands on her hips, moving her eyes between me and Elodie. “I know it’s been a long time since I was in school, but if memory serves me correctly it takes nine months to have a baby, and I didn’t even know you were dating anyone.”
Elodie’s eyes snap to mine at the same time I look at her. “Uh, we’re not…”
“This is my nanny, Carolina,” I say a little too quickly.
“When the hell did you hire a nanny?” Carolina glances at the clock and then back over to me. “How did I miss this?”
“Probably when you were too busy making penis-shaped cakes,” I mutter.
“I heard that,” Carolina fires back.
Elodie’s eyes move between us. “I feel like there’s a story here that I’m not privy to.”
Sighing, I ignore Elodie’s comment and focus on clearing the air. “I just found out I have a daughter, Carolina. She wasn’t planned and I didn’t even know she was coming until her mom dropped her off with me. Elodie was interviewing for a job at the lodge, but I hired her to help me instead.”
Carolina snaps her towel on the counter in front of her. “Well, heck. She must be something if you hired her on the spot like that,” she says as she directs her gaze to Elodie. “If he gets to be too hard of a boss, come work for me. I could always use help, and the blueberry-filled donuts will be on the house.”
Elodie twists to face me, an impressed look on her face. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Now, now… No one needs to jump the gun here. Elodie, I’ll buy you all the donuts you want. And Carolina?” I say, leaning over the counter, “Stop trying to poach my nanny.”
There’s a sentence I never thought I’d say.
Elodie’s laugh bursts from her lips. “Never thought I’d see the day when people would be fighting over me. Hell, at my last job, I was just grateful if someone remembered my name.”
“Well, at least you’ll be working for someone who will appreciate you now,” Carolina says, winking at me. This type of repartee is normal anytime I pop into the bakery, but I don’t want to make Elodie uncomfortable.
I can’t lose her. Not yet, at least.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Elodie’s smile fall as she registers Carolina’s implication. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Hating to see her frown and alarmed by my own reaction, I return my focus to why we stopped here in the first place. “All right, I think we obviously know what Elodie wants, and I’ll take a breakfast croissant. Do you want a coffee too, El?”
