He knew he should help her, but he couldn’t do that either. Right now, the only thing he wanted was to crush her to him and hold on until the sun crept up over the horizon. It was the only thing he ever wanted to do, but if he did, Bailey would expect more from him. Unfortunately, Rafe couldn’t pullmoreout of a hat, which meant he didn’t have it to give.
“Okay, then,” she said. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” Her eyebrows rose. “Or today. Whatever.”
“Goodnight.”
She flashed a half-hearted smile. “Goodnight.”
Rafe waited until she was safely inside the bakery before he returned to his apartment, cursing himself the entire way.
Chapter Six
FourA.M. came faster than Bailey anticipated, but she managed to take a quick nap and stow her suitcase under the cloth-covered table in the prep area in the back room so her mother wouldn’t see it. To keep up the ruse of coming in early to get started, she started prepping the equipment so it would be ready when her mother arrived to start baking.
She was setting out the last baking sheet when she heard the bell over the front door. A moment later, her mother appeared in the kitchen.
“What in the world are you doing here so early?”
Bailey smiled. “Couldn’t sleep. Thought I’d help out.”
As usual, her mother regarded her carefully, likely trying to detect the lie in her statement.
It wasn’t that Bailey was prone to lying to her mother. Not about the important things, but she was good at keeping her feelings under wraps. For that reason, Ramona Weber was skeptical.
With a twitch of her nose, her mother said, “I’m glad to have you. I’ve got to work on that cupcake order for the Walkers.”
“Which Walkers?” There were quite a few, so it was always good to clarify.
“The ones with the most grandbabies. They’re having a big party for the July birthdays this weekend.”
Bailey grinned. Curtis and Lorrie had recently started a new birthday celebration trend due to the fact their family had gotten so big. Although they still had a special meal on the special day for the kids, they’d started coordinating birthdays by month, and July was a big one for them.
“How many did they order?”
“Three dozen.”
“That’s not too bad.”
“And a quarter sheet cake for Lorrie.”
“Is thatall?” Bailey laughed. “Well, I can do whatever you need me to do.”
“You can start by prepping the coffee pots.”
“Already done.”
Ramona looked impressed. “All right. Then why don’t you stock the front cooler while I start mixing batter and making dough? When you’re done, you can start today’s muffins. Then Shelly should be in to help.”
With that, Bailey got to work, thankful her mother didn’t look too hard. Had she, she would’ve surely noticed that Bailey was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
By the time the morning rush cleared and only a couple of people were hanging around to enjoy the free Wi-Fi, Bailey was exhausted. To the point her arms and legs felt like noodles.
The only time she took a break was to send Rex a text and ask if they could talk today. His reply was almost instant, with an agreement to meet up around noon. Bailey didn’t think she could wait that long since she hoped to be horizontal with her eyes closed at that point. If she wasn’t, there was a good chance she would be too loopy to hold a conversation. Since she had to work tonight, looking like a zombie wasn’t ideal, either.
The bell over the door jingled, alerting that someone was coming in or going out. Bailey stepped out of the kitchen to see Rafe walking through the door.
He looked good, but that wasn’t anything new. The man always looked good. Today he was wearing a black short-sleeve Henley and his Wranglers and boots. His ball cap was on his head, shielding his eyes but not the scruff growing darker on his jawline.
“What can I get you?” she offered, stepping behind the pastry case.
