Page 68 of Tasting Sin

Ronan sighed. “I know,” he said. I lifted a brow, tilting my head and scrunching my nose. How did he know? “Nikki has been feeding them information. Come with me.” He took my hand, leading me around the counter toward the door.

“Where are we going?” I looked over my shoulder at Ava, who nodded—a silent promise that she’d keep an eye on the bakery like she had all week. I hoped she would frost the cupcakes I was leaving on the counter too.

Ronan held the door open for me. “I’m going to show you something.”

“You’re sure you’re okay?” Ronan broke the silence once we were on the road. I nodded. “What did they say to you?”

I turned in my seat to face him, tugging my seatbelt away from my chest and hooking it under my arm. “They told me I’m in danger, that they can help me if I tell them what I know about you.”

“What did you say?” He was guarded, watching me from the corner of his eye.

“I told him I don’t know anything.” I reached out and grabbed his arm, leaning towards him. “I told them I’m fine.”

When we pulled up to a red light, he looked over to me. His stare was intense, like it carried the weight of a statement not yet spoken but had been swimming in my mind since Grace came over. “Did you believe them? That you’re in danger?” I thought about it. It had only been a week since I was kidnapped from my own bakery and held hostage by someone apparently mad at the mafia.

“Not really.” I shook my head. “Maybe I should be scared, like he said, but I’m not. I don’t know why.”

“My life is dangerous, but I’m not a threat to you. I will never hurt you.” He sighed, ignoring the traffic around us. “I never meant for Dickie to get hurt. I tried to keep him out of it.” Ronan grabbed my hands, squeezing them between his. I couldn’t look away from his stare, even when the light turned green. “I’ll spend the rest of my life keeping you out of it too.”

The car behind us honked, and Ronan turned back to face the front, taking one of his hands off mine and putting it on the wheel. He continued to hold my hand with the other when he went through the intersection, brushing his thumb over the back of my knuckles. I watched the yellow and white lines on the road start to blur.

“I still wonder what he’d say about us,” I said, trying to picture the look on Dickie’s face if he saw me and Ronan holding hands—or more.

Ronan laughed, throwing his head back in a carefree way that made him look less intimidating. “Oh, he’d try to kill me, no doubt about it.”

We were laughing when he pulled the car over a few blocks later. I took a deep breath, fighting away the last of the giggles while I looked out the window. “What do we do now?” I asked when he put it in park.

“I was thinking about you expanding the bakery.” He smirked, licking his lips, and I wondered if he was thinking about the cupcakes he now loved so much or me. Maybe both.

I laughed. I could barely keep the bakery I already had going. “Are you serious?”

He shrugged, pointing at the building next to us. “Why not? Sugar & Spice could have two locations. It could be a small chain.” I noticed the for sale sign in the window and the sold sticker pasted across it.

“What did you do?” I asked, pursing my lips to fight back the smile.

Ronan lifted a brow, and I couldn’t resist the playful smirk on his face that sent butterflies dancing toward my throat. "I already bought it.”

“You might have actually lost your mind!” I looked from him to the dark building and back. “You bought another building?”

He nodded. “I did. Want to go inside?”

Ronan didn’t wait for me to say yes before he turned off the car and climbed out, quickly rounding the front to open my door for me. I took his hand, getting out. The brick building looked less worn than the one the bakery was already in, and the street was busier. There were more cars flying down the road, and people were milling about on the sidewalks. I imagined a sign hanging above the door.

“Come on,” he said, opening the door and letting me walk in first. The tiles were all black, and the wallpaper peeled from the walls. It reeked of dust and moisture that had sat too long, and a stack of realtors’ business cards littered the counter. Still, there was potential.

I could picture large display cases lined with cupcakes and tables filled with customers. A fresh layer of paint on the wall and hanging lights would brighten it. The more I imagined it, the more I pictured myself behind the counter.

“What do you think?” he asked, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. Ronan nuzzled my neck, and I leaned back against him.

“I think I can’t believe you bought another building.” I spun in his arms so I was facing him. “Did you really do this for me?”

He nodded. “I did. It’s yours, and I’ll buy you anything you need to get it up and running.” I giggled when he kissed my cheek. Was this really happening? “Under one condition,” he added.

“What’s that?” I flattened my hands against his back.

Ronan lifted a brow. “You have to be mine.”

I laughed, pressing my chest closer to his.

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