Wednesday (Timeless Series #3) (19 page)

“You can ask whatever you damn well please.”

“It’s about your sister…”

“Oh…that.” He tightened his arm around me. “That’s a very sad story. My mom will never get over that.”

“What happened…if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I don’t,” he said. “I never mentioned it before because it’s hard to swallow.”

I prepared myself for the worst.

She was living in the city like I was, getting her Ph.D. in sociology. She was always ambitious from a young age. She was walking home one night when…some guy grabbed her. He raped her and beat her to death.” Kyle said it without a single sign of emotion. “My father and I took the case and didn’t stop working until the guy was behind bars and Kylee had some justice. This happened five years ago.”

My hand moved over his and I squeezed it. Agony like I’d never known washed through me. It was such a tragedy that shouldn’t have happened at all. Kyle’s entire family had to suffer because of inexplicable violence. “I’m so sorry.”

“I know.” His lips rested near my ears. “Mom’s never recovered from it. Dad was worse. And I…I’ll never be the same.”

Now I understood why he was strictly interested in sexual assault cases. Those were the only ones that got him into court. When it came to anything else, he didn’t seem to care.

“Then Dad passed away and that was even worse on Mom. As a result, she and I became a lot closer. I try to see her as much as I can and make sure she doesn’t feel alone. That’s why I was so relieved when she started seeing Rick, who’s a great guy. She needs a companion to make life enjoyable.”

“She’s still so sweet…”

“Yeah. There were a few years when she shut down altogether. I try to forget about those.”

“I’m so sorry, Kyle.” If I lost Axel, I’d be a wreck. He and I spent more time arguing than anything else, but I couldn’t picture my life without him. And if he had a violent death, that would only make it worse.

“It’s okay. Kylee wouldn’t want us to grieve over her death forever. She’d want us to move on and be happy. So, I try to do that as much as possible. Mom follows my lead, but she can only do that so much. The reason she’s so excited about you is for grandchildren. I’m her only hope now.”

“That’s a lot of pressure.”

“I’ll have them someday—because I want them.”

I ran my fingers along his forearms, soothing him the only way I could.

He kissed my neck then pulled up my shirt slightly, exposing my ass in my panties.

No matter what kind of mood Kyle was in, he always had to get some before he went to sleep. I looked over my shoulder and watched him stare down at me. His hand pulled down my panties before he positioned himself up against me. “But tonight I want to practice.”

Back In Time

Hawke

My sessions with the therapist were surprisingly helpful. I bared the complete, honest truth to an objective person, and the feedback I received gave me a surge of hope. If I could fix myself, then Francesca might give me another chance.

Kyle was a serious problem but I didn’t know how to remove him. He obviously made Francesca happy and was stupidly in love with her. It was written all over his face anytime he was in her presence.

But she still wore my locket.

She’d never taken it off since I gave it to her, so she can lie to herself and me about her real feelings, but I knew what that really meant. She still hadn’t let me go—and she never would.

I had a chance.

Francesca erected her walls and wouldn’t let me in, committing to Kyle and completely shutting me out. I knew she really wanted to make it work with him because he was a safe haven to her. Without any emotional problems, he was a safe bet. He’d give her the life she wanted.

But I was her soul mate.

The only way I could spend time with her was if I asked for help. Otherwise, she would ask me to leave and she’d return to ignoring me. I didn’t want to abuse her generosity so I found something I truly needed help with.

I walked into her bakery just before lunchtime and pushed through the crowd of customers. The employees knew exactly who I was from my frequent visits so they never asked any questions as I walked directly into the back of the shop.

She was in her cake kitchen, working on a four-tier cake with zoo animals on top.

I watched her work the frosting with her styling aid, smoothing out the creamy sugar to perfection. Her small hands were perfect for intricate detail. Her eyes were focused on the task at hand, and the love she had for her work was written all over her face.

Francesca dipped the utensil in a cup of water before she moved her focus to a different part of the cake. A spot of frosting was on her right cheek, and a few strands of hair came loose from her ponytail. The sight made me miss her more than ever. If this was a year in the past, she would turn to me with bright eyes and visibly melt at my presence. Her arms would wrap around me and she’d give me a kiss that could floor any man.

But now all I’d get was a stare and an interrogation.

I slowly approached her and tried not to startle her. “That’s cute.”

She flinched slightly when she recognized my voice. She pulled her utensil away from the frosting and looked at me. “This couple went to the zoo on their first date.” Her voice contained enough indifference to make me weak.

“Very nice.” I put my hands in the pockets of my suit. The last time we spoke, I called her out on the locket around her throat. How could she ever truly belong to Kyle when my claim hung around her neck every day?  Even after that conversation, she hadn’t taken it off.

She still loved me.

“Is there something I can help you with?” She wiped the frosting off the metal with warm water.

I did my best to ignore her coldness. “I was hoping we could talk when you have a chance.”

The irritated sigh she released was loud enough for the entire bakery to hear. “I’m tired of talking, Hawke. I just want silence from now on. Unless you have something important to say, something that has nothing to do with us, then just don’t.”

“I do have something important to say. And no, it doesn’t have anything to do with us.”

She set her utensil down then crossed her arms over her apron. It had The Muffin Girl logo on the front. “Why do I not believe you?”

I wanted to kiss the frosting off her cheek. I wanted to kiss the frosting off her entire body. “I need to gather my mother’s things and figure out what to do with the house. I was supposed to do it months ago but I haven’t gotten around to it.”

Her hostility immediately waned.

“I don’t want to walk into the place again. I don’t want to look through her things and try to decide what to keep and what to throw away. Axel offered to come with me but…he’s not the right person for the job.” I silently asked her without saying the words. There was only one person I wanted by my side.

Francesca could hide her thoughts from everyone but me. Her eyes formed an indistinct sheen when she was emotional. It was invisible to anyone’s naked eye beside my own. When her eyes shifted, she was trying to make a decision. And when she hugged her waist, she was plagued with indecision. My abilities hadn’t developed with time. They were innate, present since the moment we met.

And she had the same abilities toward me.

“I want to help you but I don’t think I should.”

“Why not?”

“Kyle won’t be happy with the thought of me spending time with you—not that I blame him.”

“Since when did you let a guy dictate what you do and don’t do?” She sure as hell never listened to me.

“It’s not about dictating.”

“If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. I’d only want you there if you wanted to be there. And if you don’t…that’s fine.” I took a step back to the door then turned around. I knew Francesca wanted to be there for me—no matter what. When I was in pain, so was she. It didn’t matter what happened between us. She would always be there.

“Wait.”

I stopped and felt gratitude wash through me. I slowly turned around, my hands still in my pockets.

“I’ll go with you.”

Triumph didn’t blare in my heart. There was no victory when there was no battle to begin with. I’d always known what her answer would be. “Tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

***

I parked at the curb and waited for her to come downstairs. I was in my Jaguar, my fancy car that I never used. It sat in the parking garage most of the time. Only when I had a meeting with a new client did I drive it.

She came downstairs with her bag over her shoulder. She wore denim shorts and a pink razorback top. Her hair was in a long braid over one shoulder, and brown sandals were on her feet.

I wanted to grab her and never let go.

She tossed her things in the trunk before she got into the passenger seat. I didn’t bother trying to help her with anything because I knew she wouldn’t like it. She shut the door then buckled her safety belt. “Hi.” She looked out the front window or her passenger window, never looking directly at me.

“Hi.” My eyes immediately went to the locket around her neck. It was a beacon of hope for me, a sign that our everlasting love still burned hot like the sun itself.

Her eyes turned to my center console and she looked at all the gadgets. Then she looked out the window again.

“Are you ready to go?”

“That’s why I’m sitting here buckled in.”

I ignored the resentful jab and took off. She hated the fact she was manipulated into spending time with me, but she hated the fact it was her own decision even more. Despite her free will, there were certain things out of her control.

I was one of them.

I turned on the radio so there was something to listen to besides the building tension.

She looked out the passenger window, watching the skyscrapers slowly disappear until we left the city.

“How are the plans coming along for the second business?” Talking about The Muffin Girl was always a safe bet with her. It was a passion that never caused her any discomfort.

“Honestly, I haven’t done much work. There’s a space available in Brooklyn and I think I might take it.”

“Why Brooklyn?”

“Because it’s not Manhattan and it’s close.”

“Why not open another one here?”

“In the same city?” she asked. “The Muffin Girl may be popular but it’s not a Taco Bell.”

My lips lifted into an automatic smile. “Manhattan is a huge place. If you put one on the opposite corner of the city, it’ll attract a whole new world of people. And it’s still close by so you can walk to it.”

“I don’t know…”

“The people who live near The Muffin Girl aren’t going to walk all the way to the other one. Plus, there’s a whole new district of offices and business. That’s a crowd of workers that will need a lighter-than-air pastry at lunchtime.”

“You really believe that?”

“Yes.” My business was completely different than hers but I had experience. “And I have a ton of clients over there. I can have our meetings at the second shop to introduce them to it. By word of mouth, they’ll tell everyone else how amazing it is. Then you have a new whole stream of revenue.”

“Opening a business in the food industry is hard. You make it sound like it’s a walk in the park.”

“Actually, you’re the one who made it look like a piece of cake—no pun intended. You opened that shop and people just started pouring in. The day you opened you were packed.”

She slowly turned my way, looking at me for the first time. “How do you know that?”

Even though we weren’t together, I always watched her from a safe distance. “I was there.” I stood across the street at the coffee shop and watched her cut the ribbon with Marie and Axel. Then I watched her small business become a powerhouse success.

“I don’t remember that.”

“I was across the street.”

She kept staring at me, questioning me.

“You were wearing a Muffin Girl apron with those dark jeans that have a hole in the crotch. The ribbon was yellow, and you cut it with a pair of pink scissors that looked like they belonged to an enormous Barbie.” If there was any doubt I was lying, it was now gone.

“Why were you there?”

“I always watched you even if you couldn’t see me. I wasn’t keeping tabs on you. I just wanted to know you were happy, that I made the right decision when I walked away from us.”

She turned her gaze back to the window.

It was tense all over again.

“Did you have a good weekend?”

“It was okay,” she answered. “Yours?”

Every day of my life without her was a living hell. “It was fine.” I assumed she spent every weekend with Kyle, and I didn’t care for the details. But I had to ask her something to keep the conversation going since we had a long drive.

“How’s work?”

“Good. The past few months have been unusually good.”

“Why?”

“Stocks have been doing well.” I didn’t want to go into more detail because it became complicated and boring really fast. “The Muffin Girl?”

“I can never keep up with that place.”

“Then why are you opening a second one?”

“Since the business has been doing well, I have money sitting aside. I thought I would invest it in something else.”

“That’s a good idea. But how do you expect to be in two places at once?” Francesca was superwoman and could do anything, but she couldn’t do the impossible.

“I’ll have to hire a manager for the other place. I’ll probably pick my best worker from the shop and have them transfer over.”

“Have anyone in mind?”

“A few people, actually. I’m really lucky that I have some incredible people working for me. The college kids that work in the evenings give the place a fun atmosphere, and my morning workers are like worker bees. They operate well together.”

“You’re lucky.”

“I pay them twice the minimum wage.”

“Really?” For selling muffins and cakes?

“Yeah. When my workers are happy, productivity really increases. And that happiness and loyalty infects the air and gives it a good atmosphere. I think that has a lot to do with my success.”

“I don’t know. I think it might be the delicious muffins.”

Finally, a smile spread across her face. “I think that has something to do with it. But your service should be as good as your product.”

“Where did you learn all of this?”

“I got my degree in business. Or did you forget?”

I never forgot a single thing about her. “Money well spent.”

“I think so.”

I kept my eyes on the road but desperately wanted to look at her instead. My hand rested on the gearshift but I wanted to move it to her thigh. When we started talking, everything felt the way it used to. Our conversations flowed like water, and the ever-present chemistry sparked.

If I noticed it, so did she. Maybe if it looked her in the face long enough she would stop ignoring it. Her heart would cave and she would forgive me for the way I hurt her.

And I could have one more shot of getting this right.

***

We stopped in front of the house.

I stared at it, remembering my childhood home. The last time I was there, I had a loaded pistol and was ready to blow my father’s brain out of his skull. The place had an eerie look to it, like it was a haunted house more than a home.

Francesca patiently waited for me to get out of the car. She sat in absolute silence and gave me all the time I needed to make a move. Like always, she was in tune with my feelings. She knew I was battling demons from the past, the ghosts that haunted me every day.

I walked into that house when I was ready to murder someone, but now that my purpose was to dig through all my mom’s possessions, I wasn’t as determined. The visit would just bring back painful memories, the kind I’d spent my life suppressing.