Page 57 of Feasting on Her Curves (Forbidden Fantasies)

Pacing, I considered everything that had just happened. Patrick was way off base. All this time, I hadn’t known what an animal he was. That he could go from logical objections to a straight-out brawl was illuminating. Gavin, Cory, and I were in for it if we continued to pursue Petra. But leaving her wasn’t an option. She was the best thing to happen to me in a long time, and I would fight for the privilege of getting to know her better. Patrick was going to have to see that we meant his sister no harm. If he wasn’t capable of stepping back, then maybe we were going to lose a friend. As sad as that was, I was determined not to let it deter me from what was potentially the most exciting relationship of my life.

Petra would have to be warned as well. I didn’t know how to break it to her. She would be horrified to know that Patrick had attacked me, but I couldn’t hide it from her. I decided to send her some flowers. She had enough to deal with without having a brother on the rampage. The bakery should be her primary focus, and then the three of us who were genuinely trying to make her life better. Patrick was an obstacle, nothing more. But he was her brother, and she would feel some responsibility.

I picked out a bouquet of roses from a local flower shop and scheduled them to be delivered that day. Hopefully, the gesture would take some of the sting out of what I knew I had to tell her.

After that task was complete, I finally managed to calm down enough to return to my work. I had a meeting with the mayor in which I was able to focus on the issues at hand. There was a staffing shortage at the municipal waste authority, and we were going over some of the details before a conference call with the manager. There were also a number of other smaller items, including a graduation ceremony for the new class of police officers, and a read-aloud event at one of the local libraries.

The meeting took an hour, but we were able to hammer out all the logistics and see the mayor off to the first of many public events that day. I returned to my office and spent some time going over my investment plan.

Petra’s bakery was in the works, as well as the art gallery across the street. I had yet to solidify my relationship with the older couple who owned the bodega, so that would have to happen soon. Things were finally getting off the ground, and I didn’t want to drop the ball. This project was going to be the centerpiece to my election campaign, and I wanted to execute it flawlessly.

Around four in the afternoon, I got a text from Petra. It was a picture of her holding up the flowers. Smiling to myself, I sent her an answering text saying, I’m glad you like them. I would have to tell her what had prompted the delivery, but not right then. It wasn’t the kind of thing I wanted to spring on her over text.

I had another hour left to kill, so I switched over to email again to answer any stray messages that might have come in. Patrick’s visit shuffled to the back of my mind, replaced by more important things. It didn’t occur to me that it was just the beginning of an ugly scenario that would consume more of my time and energy in the coming days.

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