Chapter 11

I'm a total mess. The past two days I've been a complete zombie.

Partly, of course, it"s from yanking my schedule back to waking up so early. For me, "bright and early" is seven am, maybe six. Getting up at four-thirty to be at the bakery for five is not something I"ve ever been able to get my body clock used to.

I can already hear the peppy music inside as I turn my key in the back door. Lisa glances over her shoulder to sing out, "Good morning! The coffee is on."

Lisa, unlike me, is a morning person.

"Thanks," I mumble. After pouring myself a mug, I join her at the pastry station. I check the prep list taped to the shelf, then start making dough for the tarts. Dad is on the other side of the space, half-hidden by wire shelving as he makes bread.

"He"s in a mood," Lisa whispers.

"What else is new?" I roll my eyes dramatically, making her giggle.

I"ve barely gotten the first batch of tart shells tucked into their pans when Dad appears at my side. "I need your keys."

I automatically dig out the ring with keys to the back door of the bakery and our house key, with a tiny metal version of Van Gogh"s sunflowers attached. "Here. What for?"

He slips them in his pocket, then looks back and forth between Lisa and I, his eyes two suspicious slits. "There was a voice message on our landline. Your spot at that damn college is reserved and they want payment within the week."

"You know I don"t have the money, because you don"t pay us enough," I snap. "What do my keys have to do with anything?"

"I don"t trust you, and you"ve been acting crazy." He shoots daggers at me. "For all I know, you might go into the house while I"m here and start selling things off."

My mouth falls open as I blink in shock. He shuffles back to his station, kneading another batch of dough as if everything were perfectly normal. Tears fill my eyes as I quietly go back to work. I don"t have it in me to fight him today, and it wouldn"t matter anyway. Even though I"ve saved every possible penny, I don"t have enough to pay tuition and dorm fees, plus who knows what else.

"I"m so sorry," Lisa whispers. "I don"t know why he"s such a dick to you."

I try to force a smile. "Because I"m not obsessed with baking." She frowns, her chisel-tipped icing bag paused in mid air. "Don"t get me wrong – I love that you"re so into this," I say quickly. "I love that you love Danishes and tarts. It"s just – no pun intended – not my jam."

Her eyes dart to Dad and she smiles sadly as he slides finished loaves of bread out of the oven. "Your life is not his decision," she says quietly. "We"re going to fix this."

I appreciate that my younger sister is on my side, but it"s the end of our conversation. Dad hears us talking and turns the music down a bit, so that he"ll pick up every word we say.

Once the bakery is open, I breathe a sigh of relief since it means that Dad is essentially chained to the front counter. I"m still stressed, but the meditative work of baking and decorating the afternoon"s cake orders actually calms me down.

"Wow," Lisa says, sliding several more sheet cakes in front of me. "I"ll never be able to do lettering like that."

"Sure you will. And you"re way better at the scalloped edges."

I expect her to laugh. When she doesn"t, my chin jerks up. She looks absolutely terrified. I follow her gaze to the back door, where Riggs is tiptoeing in with his finger over his lips.

"It"s okay," I whisper to Lisa. "I know him."

Riggs moves closer slowly, as if he"s afraid to frighten me. "I tried calling the store, but I kept getting the angry dude. Let me guess – Dad?"

"Yes."

He takes my hands in his, his gorgeous midnight eyes locking on mine. "Olivia, if you"re happy here, that"ll be the end of it. But if you want to go to college, if you want to move with me to Charlotte, I would be honored to take care of you. I"ve already found a great apartment that"s close to both the airfield and your school. I can transfer the funds to pay your tuition the second you give me their banking info."

"I… I can"t let you do that."

"Why not? I"ve been saving money for years because I"ve had nothing worthwhile to spend it on. Suddenly I do: my girl"s education for her dream career."

"I don"t know what to say," I whisper. His fingers tighten around my hands, and I realize I"m trembling.

"For fuck"s sakes, do it," Lisa hisses. "Get out of here already. Start your own life."

I glance at my sister nervously. "Can I leave you alone with him?" I tilt my head toward the front of the bakery.

She rolls her eyes, then grins. "Yeah. It"ll be fine. I"ve never liked the guy, but he"s never been an asshole to me like he is with you."

I turn back to see Riggs frowning. "Should I go speak to him, or would it be easier if we just went back to your house, grabbed your things, and took off while he"s here?"

Lisa digs into her purse, pulling out a single key triumphantly. "Spare house key. Don"t say I never did nothing for ya."

I slip it into my pocket. "Thank you. But what about?—"

"Lisa?" Dad"s voice booms down the hallway connecting the shop and the bakery. "I need you out front for ten minutes so I can start another batch of dinner rolls."

Crap. We"re trapped. To make it out the back door, we"d have to cross through Dad"s line of sight. "Coming!" Lisa calls out.

Riggs is already headed to the walk-in fridge. "Will we survive in there for ten minutes?"

"I think so. We might have to snuggle."

He beams, grabs an old sweater from a hook, then rushes me inside, giving her a nod. My sister grins from ear to ear. "I"ll tell him you ran to the store for eggs. That always takes about fifteen minutes. I"ll come back and knock on the door when he"s back in the front."

Riggs and I rush into the ten foot by ten foot fridge. After the door shuts, it"s pitch dark. He turns on his phone"s flashlight, pointing it at the back wall, then wrapping me up tightly in the sweater. "It"s not so bad in here. Although, as you say, snuggling might be wise."

I suppress a giggle as we creep to the back of the space. Because of all the shelves, we barely have enough room to squeeze together, but Riggs leans against the wall, holding me tightly against him.

"You"ll really come with me?" he murmurs, rubbing up and down my back gently.

"Are you serious about paying for everything?" I asked. "That"s…way too much."

"Nothing is too much for the love of my life."

Even in the dim light of the phone, I see his eyes blaze. "You heard me, Olivia. I love you. I think I loved you from the second I first looked into your magical eyes. I want to take care of you forever."

My bottom lip trembles, then he captures it in a feather light kiss.

He stops, watching my eyes carefully. "You"re at a point in your life where you need to spread your wings, baby. Become your own person. I don"t want to interfere with that. So if you"re not ready?—"

"I"m ready."

My mind is reeling. I"m about to be free of my father and the bakery. About to take the course I want to set me up for my dream job. More importantly, Riggs loves me and wants me to be with him.

The warmth in my heart makes my voice crack. "I love you, too."

"Good. Now, about those snuggles…"

His eyes glow as his rugged face ignites with a grin. Quickly untucking his t-shirt, my hands slide up his rippled abs to caress his chest.

His hand slips under my shirt, into my bra, caressing my breast just roughly enough to make me moan softly into his lips. "Is there any chance your father might come in here right now?" His voice is almost hoarse, and I love how hungry he sounds.

"No. The dough has been proofing, and now he"s quickly kneading it into ovals and flinging them into the oven."

Riggs turns us so that his back is toward the door. We"re mostly hidden by the center shelf, as he fiddles with the button of my jeans. "I can"t wait to get you truly alone, gorgeous," he breathes. His hand pulls away. "Damn. You"re so tempting."

My giggle is muffled by his chest. Then his head dips to capture my lips, kissing me deeply. Time stops as we lose ourselves in each other. I grasp his shoulders tightly, sandwiched between the chilly wall and his hot, muscular body. I swear the man gives off more heat than the ovens just outside.

The fingers of one hand rake through my hair while his other hand trails around my breasts, teasing me perfectly. My breath stutters against his lips as I try to stay quiet.

"Olivia," he murmurs, pulling away slightly. "I swear, if you don"t stop being so hot, you"re gonna melt everything in here." His smile is dazzling. "Let"s think about our great escape."

We shuffle my shirt back into place and I take his hand. "What happens after we get back to my house?"

"We pack up everything you want to take with you, and drive off into the sunset. Well, the sunrise, actually."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. If that"s what you want, of course."

For the first time in my life, I have absolutely no fear of going so far outside my comfort zone. "That"s what I want."

He pulls my mouth against his neck before I laugh, muffling the sound. He stiffens as the door clicks open. Then we turn to see my sister"s hand waving for us to come out.

I stick my head out first, double checking the coast is clear, and toss the sweater to Lisa as I mouth the words, "I"ll call you." We sneak out the back door and into a rental van.

Riggs drives to my house, and helps me pack up in record time. "Dammit," he grumbles. "I should have picked up some storage boxes on the way here. I hate putting your things in garbage bags."

"No stress." I flash him a grin as I grab the bag with my favorite pillows. "You"ve arranged my escape. That"s all that matters."

As soon as we start driving, he hands me a paper map. "I"m appointing you navigator. We lose service occasionally on this side of the mountain, and it"s a ten-hour drive, so it"s safer to have an old school backup."

"Ten hours?"

"More like twelve since we"ll be stopping for meal breaks, and to shake out our asses." He winks. "You don"t want me to get a flat ass, do you?"

"Please. Your toned, tight ass is anything but flat. But good point. I wanna keep it that way."

Half an hour later, we"re making incredible time, since the rental van has more power than he expected, even when going up the mountain slopes. I finally ask, "How did you get to me?"

"Hitched a free flight with an associate company of Cufflinks, then rented the van from a company that also has a branch near Old Hemlock Valley for the dropoff later." He shoots me a glance. "Benny"s aunt is setting us up with that apartment in Charlotte that"s right near your school, and close enough to the airport. But we can"t move in for a while. We can live at my house till then, and I"ll drive back and forth to work."

"I hate that you"ll have to commute."

"Benny understands the situation, and he"s not going to schedule me too much until I"m living closer." Riggs reaches out to squeeze my hand. "In a few days I"ll introduce you to a few people in town. I"m not leaving you out there alone. I"ve asked my friends Jace and Barrett to check in on you whenever I"m away for more than forty-eight hours. And I have a truck that you can drive into town for anything you need."

"Oh, I won"t be shopping."

He shoots me a sideways glare. "Yeah, you will, using my credit card. I want you to have everything you need, and I demand that you buy it."

"I can"t believe you"re real."

He pats my knee. "I can"t believe you are. Now, how about you find somewhere for us to have lunch in about two and a half hours?"

I open the map app on my phone, ignoring the multiple voicemails from Dad. It doesn"t matter what he thinks anymore. He used me and controlled me, thinking only of himself.

Riggs possesses me, worships me, and has completely changed his life to create a home for us.

He"s the best man I"ve ever had in my life.