What?
I blink, then blink again, inhale, then exhale.
“You…you’re…I…”
I can’t think.
“Hey, Mr. Vanderwell,” she says, still looking terrified.
“Aiden, please,” he says to my boss. “The shop looks great, very well done.” She visibly relaxes as he goes on, “Listen, I need to steal the new baker away for the rest of the day.”
“Harper?” She asks him.
“Yes,” he smirks at me, then her, “Can you manage? When does the next shift arrive?”
“Sure, yes, any minute, go ahead.”
“Um,” I say, frozen.
Someone in the line, which now has four patrons, clears their throat.
“Right, sorry, I own the place, Janessa here will get you squared away on me, sorry for the delay.”
“No, I…” I start.
Aiden cocks his head with a smirk, “We had a deal, did we not?”
CHAPTER 43
Harper
I can’t even reply. In a blur, like I’m watching myself outside of my body, my boss dismisses me, I take off my apron and follow Aiden out front, where he grabs my hand and starts walking along the boardwalk. I look up at him, tanned and rugged and freaking beautiful. And smirking.
I pull my hand away.
“You bought her cafe? I don’t understand.”
“I bought the building. Buildings, plural. The tenant was a failing cafe. No theme, no warmth, no kitsch, you know?”No, I don’t know!He goes on, like he’s making any sense at all, “So, I bought the building, closed that shop, hired a GM with a vision for a new shop—Coffee Cabana next to a surf shack is brilliant, isn’t it?—and told her to post wanted ads for a good baker.”
“A baker…I…how did you know I’d be here?Ididn’t know I’d be here,” I start to pace.
“Right, yes, well, I bought quite a lot of buildings,” He says, his smug mask skipping just slightly. I stare, waiting, and he goes on with pink cheeks, “Once you were traveling up the east coastI figured you’d end up at a coffee shop or bakery or maybe a restaurant with a pastry chef. It was like any other deal, I looked at the options and played the odds. You’re an amazing chef, Harper. I knew you’d end up somewhere on the coast, making amazing things.”
“But I thought about Myrtle Beach, I—”
“And the Keys. Yes, bought a few spots there.”
I put my hands on my hips, “You just bought a bunch of buildings?”
He steps closer to me, “You are so beautiful, especially here. It’s like this whole town, this whole beach was made just for you to walk up and down it.”
“I…” my eyes sting but I turn away and blink hard to clear my head. “Aiden!”
“Yes. Yes, Sweetheart I bought a whole gaggle of buildings! After the first few weeks I went a bit mad, honestly. I’m glad I heard you weren’t in California anymore because the prices there are astronomical. In some towns, I just bought the business inside the building. Most places though I bought the wholepotof land and the buildings therein.”
“For me?” I squeak.
“Yes, but all of them were sound investments. All my risks are well-calculated, you know that.”
