Page 33 of Bear in a Bakery
“Dead puppies?” Allie finished with a small grin.
Becks waved her fork. “Exactly. What kind of woman marries a man who doesn’t care about dogs?”
Her friend wasn’t wrong. Blake had always been self-centered. But it had been easy to overlook because she’d loved him. Because she thought he was the kind of guy she was supposed to marry. And when he started saying unkind things to her, she overlooked that, too. When the unkind comments turned into outright derogatory insults and talking down to her, Allie tried to rationalize why he was doing it.
She tried to fix herself, so he’d be happier with her and stop.
She tried to change.
She tried to be better.
And she’d allowed the whole thing to continue because Blake was familiar, accomplished, and successful. He was prime mate material. Isn’t that what every girl wanted? She’d thought so, until she woke up one day and realized what he was doing was verbal abuse. And then he’d snapped in anger and shoved her into a wall with a hand on her chest, preventing her from slipping away.
And now there was Dax, and he was... different.
With a wan smile, she grabbed the fork from Becks and took a bite of cake. Her hips were already cushy, so what was one bite of cake? She owned a bakery, for crying out loud.
“That’a girl.”
Figuring she’d better see how things were going, Allie gave Becks a kiss on the cheek and headed out front. The bakery had quieted with only a couple of people milling around the coffee bar. Dax stood under the front window, looking up with his hands on his hips. Her heart skipped a beat, as it always did when she saw him. He turned as if he sensed that she was there. For a moment, their eyes caught and all she could do was stare at his golden beauty. Was this gorgeous, strong man really interested in being hers?
He was everything that Blake wasn’t. He was everything her soul and body and heart craved. How Dax had managed to get so deep inside her mind and emotions in such a short time confounded her. He could have any woman—Jesus, just look at him! — yet, he said he wanted her.
“Come look at this.” He nodded for her to come over. She sided up to him as he pulled a folded paper from his back pocket.
“Good news. What you’ve got up here isn’t anything harmful. Some heavy duty cleaner and fresh paint, and it’ll be good as new. Here’s a rundown of what I’m going to do for you.”
His arm bumped into hers and he stayed there, resting his skin against hers. This was how it was supposed to be, she thought. Her, beside him, side by side. Dax handed her a paper. She tried to look it over, but she couldn’t concentrate on anything but him and the emotions unfurling inside her. All the doubts were starting to fade. What if she really was his fated mate? What if she was supposed to have a lifetime with him?
He gave her a curious look. There was a handful of hope there, too.
“What?”
“Nothing,” she replied. She needed more time to figure out her thoughts before she dare say anything to him.
“So, we’re going to fix up the pipes in the ceiling that caused this mess, replace the part of the frame it damaged and seal up around the entire building to stop the raccoons.”
Right. She’d forgotten about the raccoon.
“I’m going to get rid of this little strip of harmless mold and give the affected areas a new coat of paint. I’ll fix the walls and the woodwork. Most of my men will be involved in my family’s gathering, so we’ll start the day after and be done in less than two weeks.”
The heavy, comforting weight of his arm slipping around her shoulders was unexpected, but she welcomed it by leaning her head on his shoulder. The strong lines of his neck begged her lips to cruise its length.
“Hey,” he said while giving her a squeeze. “I’m going to make everything just as it should be, okay?”
“Even me?”
The words slipped out as they formed in her mind. Where had that thought come from?
“You don’t need fixing, Allie. You’re perfect the way you are.”
He turned her to stand in front of him and took her arms in his hands. Her eyes began to burn as tears tried to push their way through. How many times had she longed for a man to understand her for exactly who she was? It seemed as if she’d waited a lifetime to have a partner who accepted her as is.
“I need to go slow, Dax. I need time to let this do whatever it’s going to do.”
Doubt flagged in her mind. Dax was the kind of man used to getting what he wanted, and he’d made it abundantly clear that he wanted her. Maybe he wouldn’t want to wait.
Allie was about to throw her arms around his neck and lift herself up into his kiss when the bell over the door jingled. The man coming in had to duck to avoid smacking his head. Behind him, a not much shorter version followed suit. Dax jerked away from her, one hand sliding down her arm to grasp her hand and entwine their fingers together.
