Chapter Eight

CHAPTER EIGHT

Barrett

A bel parks the truck in one of the parking spots around the square. "I'm gonna go get lunch over at Kara's. Do you want tacos today?" he asks, glancing over at me.

"No, I think I want a sandwich. Her spicy street tacos tore me up last night." Which is not a lie. I had heartburn that would've killed a lesser man. "Text me when you get done and we'll meet back here?"

"Sounds good. I told Dad we'd be taking the full hour today."

Sometimes we prefer to get off work early and don't take our full hour. This morning has been a practice in patience and neither one of us want to head back to the house we're working on. I nod, before getting out. "Agreed, see ya in a few."

As I'm walking up to Get Baked, Vaughn is heading toward me from the opposite direction. I hitch my chin up in a greeting.

"Hey." He waves. "How's it going?"

"It's going. It's fucking hot today and nothing has been going like it should be." I groan as we get to the front door.

He opens it, and grimaces. "I know, there's a cold front headed this way, which means I'm probably going to be working all night."

"We appreciate you." I grip his shoulder as we walk in. "I love my power, so you're one of my favorite people. I know you work hard."

Vaughn comes to a stop, and I crash into him. "Who are you?" Heh questions loudly.

Because he's taller than I am, I move around him to see who he's talking to. There's a girl behind the counter I've never seen before. Before I can say anything, Gabby rushes out. "Hey, y'all. How's it going? This is my new counter girl and part-time baker, Valentina. Valentina, this is Vaughn and Barrett."

She waves shyly at the two of us. Looking around the room, I smirk. "Your window looks good, but you know I would've put it in for you when I got off work."

A deep sigh escapes Gabby's chest, and a hand goes on her hip. "I'm sure you would've, but Colt was more than happy to come over and get it done. You don't have to worry about whether I'll need you for anything else later on, I promise."

I saunter over to the counter, and lean in. "Oh, I have no worry about that. There's plenty of things you'll need me for, Gabs."

She rolls her eyes. "Come back here real fast. Valentina, if you need anything just holler. Vaughn's going to be an ass, but he's really a nice guy." Gabby points at Vaughn. "Be nice to her."

I come back behind the counter, and she grabs me by my t-shirt, dragging me into the back of the bakery. "I didn't expect to see you today," she starts.

"After eating Kara's taco's and getting the worst heartburn I've ever had, I needed something a bit tamer today. If it were up to me, I'd be in here every day. I think you know that. So why did you bring me back here away from prying eyes?"

She swallows, causing my eyes to move to her throat. They feast on her as if she's a meal I haven't had in a long while. "I wanted to say a few things to you. Wanted to be super honest the next time I saw you and promised myself I would."

"Okay." I rock back on my heels, folding my arms over my chest. My heart pounds as I wait to hear what she has to say. "I don't know if this is good or not, but I'm nervous."

"It's not bad." She smiles. "I realized a few things. Last night after I finished working, I went upstairs and realized how lonely it is without you. In those short months we were together, everything was filled with such joy, and of course there were hard parts too. It wasn't like it was perfect, but we were together and you made me laugh. I didn't have to go through shit on my own, and if I needed you? You were there. I want that again." She stands on her tiptoes and kisses my chin. "I won't try to get you to do something you don't want to. I promise, but I miss the fuck outta you."

This is everything I've wanted to hear for far too long. Reaching forward, I wrap my arms around her waist, and hug her tight, before picking her up and spinning her around. Digging a hand in her hair, I pull her to me, dropping my lips onto hers. This kiss is sweet, but out of control from the beginning. I take her tongue, sucking, tasting butter cream she probably used earlier to cover a cake, or frost a cupcake.

"Gabby..." it's the girl up front, and then I hear Vaughn's voice. "Barrett, get your ass out here if you want to have time to eat lunch."

We pull apart, gasping for air. "He's right." I dip my lips down to the top of her head, placing a kiss there. "I need to eat, and I'm sure you have things you have to get done today, but this..." I bring my thumb up to her lip, and wipe away the moisture. "We're going to continue it after the day is over for both of us."

She lets out a shaky breath. "Okay, sounds good to me. I can't wait to see you. After work?"

"Yeah." I push her hair back from her face. "Why don't you come over to my place tonight?"

Her eyes drift downward. "Will your mom be okay with that?"

I knew this would be coming, and I know that I deserve it. My answer to this question is going to determine how we go about the future of our relationship. If there will be one, and what this woman is going to mean to me. "My mom doesn't pay the mortgage on my place. She doesn't tell me who can stay there. I realize you heard some shit you shouldn't have had to listen to previously, and I'm sorry you had to do that."

"Her opinion isn't yours," she whispers, pressing her forehead against my chin.

"You're right, it's not my opinion. I should've stood up for that." He holds my hand in his. "We'll talk about it tonight, though. You should get out there and help Valentina."

"I'll see you later." I hook my arm around her neck and direct her toward the front. Once we're there, Vaughn is being himself, flirting with the counter girl, but I also notice she's got two sandwiches ready to go. They look like my favorite.

"Here's yours." She hands me a plate. "I hope it's good."

"It looks amazing." I give her a grin, before taking my plate and going to have a seat with Vaughn. "What did you do to that poor girl."

"Nothing, I was being friendly is all. I was asking her about where she came from, why she wanted a job at Get Baked, if she had a boyfriend, or girlfriend. Normal shit, ya know?"

That's not normal, but everyone who knows Vaughn knows that he isn't normal.

"Jesus Christ. Finish your food so we can get out of here." The sooner I get back to work and finish this day, the sooner I can have Gabby at my house tonight.