He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. What the woman curled in the seat across from him right now needed was clam. Keeping her unaware of his anger, he counted the drawer and wrote up the deposit slip. The thought of anything happening to her made him sick to his stomach. She’d crept into his bloodstream and been carried throughout his veins. There was no walking away, and denying the depth of his feelings was a waste of time.
Finishing, he allowed her to sign the slip, and they placed everything into the safe and walked back to her apartment.
“All I want to do is curl up in bed next to you and try to shut down my brain.”
He squeezed her hip. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”
Lying beside her in bed, he wrapped his body around her, holding her as she broke. The gut-wrenching sobs tore at his heart.
“I’m never going to let anyone hurt you, sugar.” Now wasn’t the time to admit his love. He wouldn’t allow that blond asshole’s memory to taint the first time he said those three words. Soon.
Chapter Nine
Rosaleen
Waking up in Alaric’s arms the morning after her incident with Ryan felt like coming home. The storm had passed, and though she continued to process the horrific situation, her trust in him never wavered. She would never forget the sight of him bursting through the front door like a true hero.
They kept the events of the night between themselves. She spent a tense couple of weeks anticipating blowback before she stopped looking over her shoulders and waiting for an assault charge. Calmed significantly, she threw herself into preparation of the bake off. They kept their baking competition life and couple life completely separate. The secret put a strain on their normally open relationship. Not being able to share everything with her best friend had dampened the situation slightly. She’d forgotten how much she truly enjoyed creating and experimenting with flavors.
Holding her breath, she placed the two batches of risen dough into the oven. All the hard work came down to this span of eight hours. The first turn in was nine o’clock. She wanted everything fresh, so she’d gotten up at three this morning to get things started to create a new batch of her pumpkin spice latte bread.
She closed the oven door, set the timer, and carefully backed away. Tapping on the back door drew her attention. Who could that be at this hour? Her body tensed. Did Ryan come back? Grabbing a knife, she walked to the back door and peered out the peephole and screamed. After unlocking the door, she flung it open.
“Julie!” Her friend’s hazel eyes widened as she opened her jacket to reveal her Team Rosaleen T-shirt. “Expecting a robber?”
“Oh.” Rosaleen put the knife behind her. “Just a little safety precaution. Ryan has been skulking around, popping up like a mole you can’t kill.”
“Ego maniac.”
She gestured for Julie to enter. “Come in. I can’t believe you’re here.”
“Like I was going to miss your big day. Alex and the girls send their love. He’s on daddy duty this weekend for me.”
“I’ll be sending you home with an extra-large helping of thank you goodies,” Rosaleen said, setting her knife down on a counter.
“They’ll love that. The girls made you pictures, too.”
“I love my little nieces.” Rosaleen smiled, thinking of their cherubic faces and big, hazel-colored eyes.
“The feeling is so mutual.”
“Come on, let me take you upstairs and show you around. The building is older but beautifully done. The tile designs and colors are to die for.”
“So right up your alley,” Julie said.
“Oh, totally. There are things I’d like to update later on down the road, but for now I’m as happy as a clam.” Walking up the stairs, she unlocked her door and led her inside.
“Oh look at this vaulted ceilings, crown moldings, and that tile is gorgeous.” She spun around as they walked through the entry and kitchen area. “I love what you did with the breakfast nook.”
“I use it all the time. You know I’ve always wanted that booth-style seating.” Rosaleen led her from the white and turquoise styled area to the main living space.
“Shut up. You have a fireplace?” Julie turned to her, shaking her head.
“I do. I can’t wait to use it!”
She offset the cream-colored carpets with rose-colored velvet furniture, a floral love seat with pops of pink flowers, and white accent chairs with green leaf patterns. Dark wood accent tables balanced out the bright colors.
“I love this. It’s so Bohemian chic, and you!”