Page 15 of Callahan

I technically had three employees. Paulina and Marie worked the front counter, while Kristy helped me with the baking Wednesday through Friday, and sometimes Saturday if she didn’t have plans.

Right now, I closed the bakery at noon on Sunday and didn’t reopen until Tuesday morning. But I still had to work Monday evenings to bake for Tuesday’s customers.

The goal was to eventually hire enough help to be open seven days a week and allow me to work on my passion projects—like making wedding and other specialty cakes.

But I had to turn a profit before I could even start to consider that.

I wasn’t in the red, but I wasn’t able to pay myself yet either. Although, I’d only been open for three weeks, so I was optimistic.

“Why don’t I help you until she gets here?”

“Honestly, just you holding him is a huge help.”

He gave me a sexy smile that made butterflies take flight in my belly.

“Say no more.”

****

Adam

I watched in awe as Lainey measured, mixed, and kneaded. After she had all three of the kitchen ovens full and firing, she washed her hands and took Conor from me.

“He needs to eat,” she explained, then covered herself with a receiving blanket as she put the baby to her breast.

It was the fucking sexiest thing I’d ever seen, and she wasn’t even showing anything.

But I could see it clearly in my head, making my goddamn cock move—again.

I guess now that it’d decided to come back to life, it was going to do it with a vengeance.

Hopefully other,attainable, women would have the same effect. The reason I was here was to give her a damn diamond ringmy Marine brotherhad bought her. Not to daydream about playing house with her.

I’d felt bad about how I’d handled her tears earlier. I’d learned a few things in therapy, and I knew I hadn’t validated her feelings. She was entitled to feel like life was unfair, and I hadn’t honored that.

I needed to apologize before I gave her the engagement ring.

Shawn’sengagement ring.

And I needed to find a place to sleep tonight. I was far too comfortable hanging out with Lainey and Conor.

Chapter Eight

Adam

Little Conor had fallen asleep in a milk coma after Lainey nursed him, so she put me back to work washing dishes while she took him upstairs to his crib. Once I was done with those, I stood around and watched as she and her friend, Kristy, made several batches of croissants and turnovers.

“They’re our best sellers,” Lainey explained as she pulled another pan of flaky goodness from the oven.

My mouth watered a little at the sight, and I realized I hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

“I can understand why, they smell incredible. I think the only place I’ve ever had a real homemade croissant was in Paris.”

“That’s where Mrs. Riley, the lady I bought the bakery from, learned to make them.”

I glanced at my watch and saw it was five minutes after seven. Even though they weren’t quite finished, I said, “I’m going to head over to the pizza place and place our order. Can I get you anything, Kristy?”

The cute young woman about Lainey’s age smiled as she looked up from where she was rolling out the dough.

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