Before I can utter an ‘I love you’ in reply, I hear the sound of another male taking the phone.
“Holly, is everything okay?” Bear sounds concerned. I guess hearing Clay’s side of the conversation hasn’t given him much information to go on, only that I am in distress.
“I’m fine,” I lie, feeling almost floored with the strength of my relief. “I was just worried about you guys. I thought you were supposed to come over last night. Why is the gym all locked up? Have you seen Elliot?”
My chest aches and a tightness grips my throat as I speak, making it pretty damn obvious that I’m not okay. I might know they are alive, but I still don’t know where they are or why they disappeared so suddenly and cancelled our plans.
“Woah, okay, slow down. Everything is okay.” His voice shifts, hearing how much I need him right now. That smooth, honeyed tone helps to break through my panic so I can take several deep breaths and focus on what he’s saying. “Clay and I had to sort out some business out of town unexpectedly, and we left Elliot in charge. Things were more complicated than we expected. By the time I realised, it was too late to drive back, and it didn’t make sense if we were just going to be here again tomorrow morning. We didn’t realise that our phones were out of range until we tried to call you to let you know. We sent you a message, and it seemed that it went through, but just in case we tried to call Elliot so he could tell you that we were safe.” Bear’slow laugh is full of mirth. “Of course, the call didn’t go through and to our surprise, Elliot showed up insisting he had to tell us something.”
Elliot is with them. What was it Bear just said? Elliot had to tell them something. Shit, there’s only one thing that could have been: the kiss. The only question is, whatexactlydid he tell them? I don’t think that he’d twist it into making it sound like I was cheating on them with him, or that I had made the first move, but I didn’t expect any of that conversation to happen, let alone him kissing me.
I await the accusations, Bear’s anger, but nothing comes and I’m greeted only with silence. Anticipation builds up inside me. I need to know what he thinks; I can’t hold back any longer.
“You know? He told you what happened?” I phrase it as a question, but we all know the truth.
Bear releases a long sigh and I can imagine him running a hand through his hair in frustration, something I’ve discovered he does often. “Yes. Elliot told us he kissed you.”
“How do you feel about that?” I ask in a tiny voice, expecting the worst.
“We’ve had words.”
I read between the lines. I hear his disapproval but there’s no anger in his voice towards me. In fact, I can’t hear any anger at all. How is it possible that he’s not angry? I can hear frustration and mirth, and I’m imagining those ‘words’ that they shared weren’t suitable for polite company, but there are no accusations or dramatic proclamations. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be any fighting at all. I’m just amazed at how calmly this is being dealt with.
“So,” I break off with a cough, my voice still scratchy, “what happens now?”
“We talk, and we decide what works best for all of us.” He sighs again and I can hear just how exhausted he is. “Elliotdoesn’t know what he wants, and at the moment he’s saying it was a one-off thing. However, Clay and I know better than to accept that as his final answer. It’s pretty obvious he wants more than that, but he’s got to come to that conclusion himself.”
Why does something feel alive inside me when he says that? That Elliot might want more. I shouldn’t want anything to do with him. He’s been a thorn in my side from the moment he arrived, and he’s made my life so much more difficult than it needed to be. Not to mention, how selfish and greedy does it make me if I’m saying that I want Elliot as well as his brothers? Where has this insatiable need come from? Will it ever end, or will I keep wanting to add men to the harem I’m apparently growing around me? The answer is instantly in my mind: I don’t want anyone else. It’s these three that I have a connection with, no one else. Even the thought of getting intimate with anyone else feels… wrong.
A shudder passes through me and I know Bear is right: we all need to talk about this, together. It won’t always be comfortable, and I don’t know what the final outcome will be, but we’ll manage it together. In the meantime, there’s something I want to say to one of them in particular.
“Can I speak with Elliot? Is he there?”
“Elliot’s already left, he’s on his way back now. Clay and I are almost done here and will come back as soon as we can.” He pauses and I feel the mood shift slightly, almost like a heaviness is weighing over the two of us. “I wish I had an answer for you about what will happen next, but this is a complex situation and it’s going to require a lot of talking.”
Before I can start to panic, which is exactly where my mind is starting to go, Bear quickly jumps in, his voice full of love and acceptance. “However, Clay and I need you to know that we’re not mad and you’ve not done anything wrong. We still love you, and we will sort this out.”
I don’t know what to say. They are too good to me and I wish this situation was easier. I’m full of conflicting emotions, so I say the only thing that I know for certain: “I love you.”
“We love you, too. Sorry to make you worry about us. We will see you soon, Holly. I promise.”
I hear Clay call out in the background as Bear hangs up, and I can’t help but smile, pressing my hand to my chest as a feeling of warmth grows inside me.
I’ve been so worried that I had messed everything up that I hadn’t allowed myself to actually think about how they would react. Elliot is their brother, and they know him better than anyone. With how hard Clay and Bear worked to get me back, they wouldn’t just abandon everything that we built together because of one kiss. Now I’ve spoken to them and I know they’re safe, my mind is able to think clearly on the matter, or at least as clearly as you can when you have so many conflicting emotions.
I return to the bakery with a smile on my face. It’s a fragile, gentle smile, but it’s genuine and reaches my eyes. Several of my colleagues glance over worriedly, but they smile in return as they see the change in me.
THIRTY-TWO
HOLLY
The bell above the door rings softly, and I continue with my current task, knowing one of the staff at the front of the store will serve the customer. It’s been several hours now since my phone call with the guys, and while there is still a weight of anticipation in my stomach, the fog of panic is lifted from my mind. Returning to work was the best thing I could do, not just to stay on top of my workload, but to keep myself focused while I wait for them to come home.
However, I become aware of a change around me and I tilt my head slightly, trying to identify what it is that’s so different. Silence, that’s what caught my attention – the lack of sound. Not to mention that there is a change in the atmosphere, the temperature dropping despite the heat of the ovens. The whole thing is unusual. There’s always some noise filling the store – my bakers are chatty people, after all – so why the sudden silence? Lifting my head with a raised brow, I glance to the front of the store to see what caused this sudden change.
Pure and utter dread freezes me in place, rooting me to the floor as I stare at the figure in the doorway. Jake, my ex-boyfriend – the one who left for a better life, a life that didn’t include me. What the hell is he doing here? When he left, heswore he’d never return here, that a place such as Hinton Grove was beneath him, and his future was in the big cities.
So why is he here, and why is he standing in my bakery?
