“Hey, sorry I’m late. Belle got a late start this morning.” I look up to find Ava, one of Isabella’s employees at Bake, Batter, and Bowl, approaching me with a large plastic container full of baked goods.
“Isabella had a late start? Did hell freeze over?” I ask blandly. Isabella Santo Garcia is well-known for being scheduled, routine, and pragmatic to a fault.
“Well, she seemed to be a little flustered when she arrived at the bakery, and certainly looked well-fucked, so my guess is her hot husband is the reason for the delay,” Ava remarks with a grin.
“I’d be fucking that man every chance I got if I were in her shoes, so I understand!” Whitley shouts from the café kitchen. I nod in agreement. Sebastian Garcia is absurdly attractive. He’s the epitome of the tall, dark, and handsome vibe, but even more appealing is how desperately in love he is. Sebastian pined for Isabella for a decade, complete with secret tattoos, all kinds of adorable nicknames, and lustful gazes.
“All of the Santo kids are married now, right? Except for Leo?” Whitley asks.
“Yeah,” Ava answers. “I tried to get Belle to set me up with Leo, but she refused. I also asked about Seb’s hot friend Trace, but she said no to that as well.”
“Girl, you’re basically an infant,” I blurt out. “You can’t go after men that much older than you.”
“Why not?” Ava asks flippantly. “I don’t want a blubberingdoofus who comes in his pants because he’s near a woman. I want a man who throws me around and tells me how much he wants to rearrange my organs. Once you’ve seen the sexual tension between Sebastian and Isabella, you realize that nothing less than that will ever be worth it.”
I sigh. She’s right, but I’m not going to tell her that. If she’s expressed any interest in Leo, I don’t want her knowing that he’s exactly like she described. In person, Leo is controlled, subdued, and observant. In bed, he was wild, feral, and intense. He had an insanely dirty mouth, manhandled me like I weighed next to nothing, and followed through on every single one of his promises. If he said he’d make me come so many times I blacked out, that’s exactly what would happen. If he commented he wanted to see if he could make me squirt, I would. Our sexual relationship was phenomenal. Well, I assume it was. I don’t have anyone to compare it to. From what friends have told me about their experiences, I know Leo was an exception.
And I’m pissed that Ava wants that.
“Girl, you’re kinda growling at me,” Ava whispers, her eyes wide. “Which one of them is off limits?”
“What?” I stammer. “No, nothing. Sorry. Just thinking about something else.”
“It’s Leo,” Whitley yells from the kitchen. “He’s off limits.”
Ava’s eyes brighten. “Oh, good. I want Trace more anyway. Didn’t you and Leo break up a billion years ago? You sure you’re ready to start back up with him?”
“How did you know that?” I ask.
She gives me a sly grin. “My mom went to high school with one of the Santo boys. The oldest, I think. Plus I love readingThe Eagle Has Landed.That family sure is featured a lot on there.”
I hum noncommittally as I continue sorting the shipment of books I received this morning. “I don’t really keep up with the town gossip. My life is a dumpster fire enough as it is.”
I hear Whitley snort, but she doesn’t call me out on my blatantlie. I read the town gossip website every day. I’ve done so for years. Even when Leo was thousands of miles away, there would usually be one article a week that would address his whereabouts. I was like a dog to a bone, inhaling any extra detail I could about his life without me. It became evident fairly quickly that I wasn’t the only one kept in the dark about Leo’s job, because nothing was ever breaking news in regard to him.
I bookmarked every damn article that featured a picture of him, though, and they became a lifeline for me when I finally found out he’d been injured and discharged.
“Ava, can I request a specific kind of muffin for next week? With the forecast calling for a winter storm, I want to bring in some hearty options for the menu,” Whitley asks as she joins us again at my checkout counter.
“I’ll run it by Belle, but she had already mentioned some thicker breads to have at Everlasting. I bet she’ll be on board,” Ava answers. Turning to me, she smiles. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll leave Leo alone.”
“I wasn’t worried,” I say defensively. “Besides, you’re acting like he’d fall all over himself if he knew you were interested. Maybe you’re not his type.”
Ava throws her head back with raucous laughter. “Girl, please. I’m twenty-two, I don’t have a gag reflex, and my boobs are insanely perky. I’m every straight man’s type.”
“And obviously quite humble,” Whitley mutters.
Ava shrugs nonchalantly. “I won’t apologize for having confidence. And if I’m not a man’s type? Fuck him. Billions of men on this planet. I’ll find one who wants me exactly as I am. Eventually, I will wear Trace down, though. It’s just a matter of time.”
As if he were conjured out of thin air, Trace walks into the bookstore, but stops dead in his tracks when his eyes find Ava. I watch as Ava’s gaze narrows, a smirk covering her porcelain skin, as she bites her lip. “Hi, Trace.”
“Ava.” He struggles to keep his eyes on her face, and she knowsit. Crossing her arms under her breasts, his gaze immediately drops to them. He looks at me, then at Ava’s chest, before back to me. It’s like watching a tennis match.
“Trace, how old are you?” I ask innocently.
“Forty,” he murmurs.
“Do you have any kids?”
