Protecting Her: A Romance Bundle

I went upstairs around eleven, now bored and a bit tired. I made myself come again, loving the feel of it before rolling over and falling asleep.

When the alarm went off, I thought to myself that we should be closed one or two days a week so I could sleep in. As great as it was having my own business, I could admit that part was a bit of a drag. I didn’t have to go in with Noel to bake but it didn’t seem right to send her in the building alone. It was faster with the two of us and we both owned the business together. Once I was up and around, I realized that I felt pretty good as I showered and pulled my hair into a low ponytail. I did the basic makeup and jogged quietly down the stairs to find Noel in the living room waiting for me. “How was your party?” I asked as she tilted her head at me.

“You are far too perky

for this early in the morning.” Noel spoke softly as she shook her head.

“I slept late last night,” I told her as she rolled her pretty eyes at me.

“The party was fun. His friends are so nice and I think I met one that would be perfect for you,” Noel told me as we walked into the garage. “Hear me out. He’s low key and so nice. He’d give you the room you need.” I looked at her in the dim light of the street lights. “I can’t stand seeing you just sitting at home when I’m out. This way, you could be with me and someone else in the same place. You wouldn’t be alone.” Lance never liked Noel and separated us using his control over me, slowly and thoroughly.

She had a point, but I needed to get my older man out of my system. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do that other than time, but I would. “Let me think about it.”

“That’s better than a no,” Noel said with a small smile as she pulled onto the main street. It was cold and basically empty now of day, apart from the police car in front of the cafe. Noel told him to come in today for a dozen pastries to take to the small station for the other guys since they all took turns doing this for us. He laughed and agreed before seeing us inside the building, leaving when we were locked safely behind the doors. We got right to it doing the usual routine with music playing loudly as we danced and sang to the new Paramore song. I loved the beat and she laughed at me as I shook my hips around before putting trays of muffins into the ovens. “You’re in a good mood. Are you sure something didn’t happen last night?”

“I stayed in and watched a movie. Nothing exciting. I think I just slept well.” I shrugged as I grabbed another tray to bake. “Coffee!! I forgot the coffee.”

“Says she who cannot survive without it,” Noel said dryly as I laughed and walked out to the counter. I made us each a fancy latte and brought it in with a smile as she mixed the raspberry scone mix. That cooked a little less so she could work on it as the last mix of the morning last as well as the large snicker doodles that she was baking this morning. “Yummy. What’s the special occasion?” She asked after she sipped the coffee. Her eyes were wide with the need to know what was up with me and I didn’t have much to tell her. Noel was my best friend, but I didn’t feel the need to tell her every detail about my life. I was shy when it came to talking about sex and it took me a few weeks to tell her all about Lance.

“I just wanted something different. We don’t have the fancy drinks enough.” I brought mine with me to go tidy up the dining room and start a fire before I turned down the music. Noel started loading up the display case and I went to unlock the doors at six, greeting Mike as he walked in carrying flowers. “Mike! You shouldn’t have,” I said as he winked at me.

"I’d love to take credit, but they were against the door, Molly.” He handed me the bouquet and I looked at it as I followed him to the counter. There were about two dozen flowers; a few different roses, lilies and even a few orchids. It was beautiful and clearly expensive, making me wonder if Nate dropped it off for Noel. There wasn’t a card. I set the flowers down and got Mike’s order ready as Noel came over to stare at them.

“Who are these from?” She asked, looking between Mike and me.

“He said they were at the door. No idea. Would Nate do that?” I asked as I gave him his cup of coffee and muffin.

“He was exhausted last night, so I can’t see him staying up just for this. Maybe, though. How sweet, right? They’re gorgeous. We need a vase.” Noel pushed the cart into the back for more pastries and possibly to look for something to put the flowers in. I thanked Mike for the tip as always and glanced at the door to see that I had some time before more customers came in. I got all the coffee brewing and set up the cream station with fresh supplies before going back behind the counter for a sip of my coffee.

Sundays brought a lot of the church goers in, both before and after the services. We even made muffins for the services most weekends. I liked that the day went by quickly even though today I was looking for dark hair and light blue eyes.

He didn’t come in today. I looked at the flowers, propped in a high metal mixing bowl behind the register, hoping that they might be from him. Maybe he was thinking about me as well, but dropping off flowers before the sun was up was insane. It had to be Nate.

7

Robert

I had to work on Sunday so I made a point of getting some flowers at the local flower shop to leave at the cafe late Saturday night. I wanted to leave them at the door so Molly would find them when she opened the doors since I sensed she hadn’t been romanced a lot in her young life. Men that age didn’t know what they were doing and I certainly didn’t back them.

I didn’t have the balls to leave a note with them once I jogged past and dropped them at the step. I liked the idea of her wondering if they were from me.

I got ready for work, trying to picture Molly’s face when she saw the flowers. I went big with them because the combination just caught my eyes when I walked in. She deserved that.

We were going over some flight training all day Sunday for the students coming in the following week. There was still some of the remaining gossip from the affair floating around and I sensed it when I walked down the hallway, my skin prickling at the vibe in the air.

Fucking immature children. That’s who worked for me. Nobody should ever get involved with colleagues because this is what happened. Is that why I was pursuing a local cafe owner? Was she separate enough for me?

I paused when one of the women stepped out of a room in front of me, her laugh throaty as she glanced at me with hungry brown eyes. “Good morning, Major Johnson. How are you?” I heard the inflection of her voice when she said my last name and I saw the way that she looked down my body.

It was Olivia, one of the instructors and I narrowed my eyes at her. “Just fine.” I didn’t bother to use her name and she flinched a bit at my tone. “You do know that this is a base where we work right? This is a place where we work for our country, not a fucking frat house.” I lowered my voice as her eyes widened, her skin paling. “I am not going to participate in these games and since you are one of the biggest gossipers in this building, I expect you to stop talking about the last incident here. I expect that to stop right now.”

Olivia stepped back and nodded mutely. I was done with this stupid, fucking scandal and I just wanted to focus on work. She disappeared back into her office and I continued down the hall to the room where I was meeting the others to discuss our plans.

Randy watched me walk in with a smirk on his face. “I guess you told her. Most men would consider that and have, you know.”

“I don’t shit where I eat. Isn’t that the saying?” I asked as he laughed. “I’ve worked for the air force for twenty years and never touched a woman here. I have everywhere but work, but never on the job. Look what happens.”

“Agreed. That was a train wreck and they both fucked up their futures. I hear that his wife is divorcing him and moving back to California with their daughter.” Randy shook his head. Neither of us were married but we would respect it if we were.