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“Don’t you think you should ask me?”

He leans in, cups my face in his hand and slams his lips down on mine before pulling back. “No.”

I watch as he walks over to the drawer by the fridge and pulls it open. There are takeout menus in there that I assume Calvin keeps stocked in this place but how in the hell would he know that? He pulls them out and sets them down on the counter, picking up one and opening it.

“What sounds good?” he asks as he looks over the menu and leans back against the counter like he doesn’t have a care in the fucking world. “Pizza? Burgers? Chinese?”

“Dalton… how the fuck did you know there were takeout menus in that drawer?”

He looks up at me, his brows furrowed and then looks down at the drawer and winces. “Uh, well… I used to live in this apartment.”

“What?”

“Um, yeah,” he says, tossing the menu down on the counter. “I ended up in Baton Rouge. I didn’t know a single soul and didn’t have a dollar to my name. Calvin found me digging through the dumpster out back for food and let me stay here until I got on my feet.”

“You know Calvin?” I ask, shaking my head. I can’t wrap my mind around the information he’s giving me now. What the hell else do I not know about this man? He scrubs the back of his neck and nods.

“Yeah, I do.”

I stare at him, my mouth opening and closing like a goddamn fish but I can’t think of anything to say to him. My mind is running in circles, connecting dots that I didn’t even know existed.

Dalton came into the bakery for the first time after I left Owen.

Calvin was worried about me but he didn’t pry.

Because he didn’t need to.

He had Dalton keep an eye on me.

Tears sting my eyes. “Is that why you’re here?”

“What?” he asks, his face blank as he stares at me.

“Are you here because Calvin asked you to be?”

“No,” he says immediately and then his face scrunches up. “Yes, but also no.”

He takes a step toward me and I take a step back, my hip hitting the counter behind me. I have nowhere else to go and he knows it. He closes the distance between us and his hands twitch at his sides to touch me but he doesn’t even try.

“Calvin did ask me to keep an eye on you.” His body is practically vibrating with tension. “But I called Calvin the day I first saw you here in the bakery because I wanted to know more. I’m here for you, baby. Calvin just… gave me an excuse.”

“When?” I whisper and his brows furrow. I’m suspended in this place where I can’t decide if my world is crashing down around me right now or if I’ve found something I can believe in. It’s maddening.

“When what?”

I suck in a stuttered breath. “When did you see me? And why did you call Calvin?”

“Can I touch you, please, baby?” he asks. He looks like he’s about three seconds from imploding and I weigh his question as I stare at him. Something in me screams ‘yes’ and despite the new information I’m receiving, I decide not to fight it.

I nod.

He rushes forward and cups my cheeks in both hands, pressing his forehead to mine, his eyes shutting as he releases a breath. My body sags against him and I close my eyes.

“I saw you for the first time the morning after you moved in,” he admits, not pulling away from me, both of us locked in this embrace with our eyes closed. “You came down the stairs and talked to Mila and there was just something about you…”

He shakes his head.

“I can’t explain it. It doesn’t make any fucking sense but I just needed to know more. So, I called Calvin.”