Page 1 of Quarantined With the Soldier

Chapter One

“There’s no chance in hell.” Ava stood with her hands on her hips and glared at Dylan like he cared what she thought. She knew that he didn’t, but damn, if that didn’t just make her even angrier.

“You don’t have a choice,” he said carefully. “We’ve both been exposed to the virus, and it’s better for us to be locked up together than quarantined apart.”

“In whose fantasy?” She snapped, shaking her head at the soldier. He was handsome as hell: tall, dark, and gorgeous. She loved the way he looked. Really, she did. It was just that Ava wasn’t about to walk away from her bakery like it didn’t even matter.

Two weeks?

All because a customer had been coughing in her shop?

“It’s not forever,” Dylan said carefully, but Ava felt like crying. She’d spent her entire life working on creating this bakery. She’d been working her ass off and for what? To have to walk away during a pandemic because someone had been in her shop who had a viral illness?

It wasn’t fair, and she hated it.

This entire situation was horrible, and she didn’t want to walk away.

“I’m not going,” she said, and she planted her hands firmly on her hips. Then she stuck her chin out and looked up at him sharply.

There.

She’d done it.

She’d stood up for herself: something nobody ever seemed to think she was capable of, but she had. She’d told him right out that she wasn’t going to go with him, and she damn well meant it. She hadn’t stood up for many things in her life, but this was her now. She was taking a stand. She wasn’t going to let anything change that.

“Oh, sweetheart,” he said, stepping closer. “You’re coming with me.”

He filled her space. How could one person take up so much space? She didn’t understand. He seemed so much bigger than he actually was.

“No,” she said, but this time, her voice came out more like a whisper. Why the hell did it sound like a promise? Her words shouldn’t have sounded like that. Not to him. Not now.

But they did.

She didn’t know what her words meant. She was trying to say that no, she wouldn’t come with him. Instead, it sounded like she was promising him something else. Her tone sounded more like yes, I would go anywhere with you or absolutely, good sir, I’ll do anything you like. She didn’t want to say those things to him. He wasn’t buying it, though, and she wasn’t sure that she was, either. Not if she was honest with herself.

“Ava, grab your stuff,” he said. He turned and walked to the front door of the bakery. He locked the front door and flipped the sign to CLOSED. It didn’t matter. The shop was empty. He didn’t have to boot anyone out or cause a scene. Nobody was here to see him. Nobody was here to care.

But she cared.

More than she should have, Ava cared.

“This is my bakery,” she whispered.

Two weeks of no buns or croissants or cupcakes or muffins. Two weeks without cooking or creating. Two weeks without her favorite customers.

How was she going to do it?

“All of your team members have to stay home for two weeks, too,” he pointed out. They’d been contacted less than an hour ago by the health officials who wanted her to know that she’d had a customer earlier that day who had tested positive for the virus. Ava had spent the last 45 minutes on the phone with all of her employees explaining what they had to do next.

It involved a lot of cleaning and a lot of staying home and a lot of not working.

If they could stay home for two weeks, then they’d be in the clear, and that was all that mattered. Then she could open the bakery up again, everyone could come in, and they could pretend that none of this had actually happened. It wouldn’t be so bad, would it?

Only, she didn’t want to walk away. This bakery was her baby. It was the most important thing in the world to her, and she couldn’t stand the idea that she might not be able to go into work. She hated knowing that she was limited in this way. What was she supposed to do for two weeks? She had no other skills. She was a baker. She didn’t want to sit around the house and…knit. That sounded awful.

“I’m not doing it,” she said again, and she could tell the exact moment when Dylan’s patience snapped. He shook his head, marched over to her, and grabbed her around the waist. His hands tightened on her body, and she hated that her body’s initial reaction was…arousal. She instantly felt aroused and horny and excited. She thought about having him pull her closer. What would it feel like to have

“What are you doing?” She squeaked.

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