Page 29 of Emma and the Grumpy Baker

Just as her eyes fluttered in the way I remembered they always did before we kissed, a sharp yell frightened both of us. I dropped my hold on her and we jumped apart.

“Are you okay?” Emma yelled, darting to the back. The sound had obviously been Anne dropping something or falling, and our moment was shattered.

But that was fine. There would be more.

23

Emma

“Go home! Oh, my Ganache! Don’t you ever know when to stop!” Liam teased, pushing me towards the door.

“Just one more!” I begged, fighting against him. We were both on the verge of laughter, but I continued battling him. I needed to make just one more set of pastries tonight to prepare me for tomorrow.

“It’s a Saturday night, Emma. You’ve made as much as you can and it’s time for you to take a break. I’m positive that you’ve been here way more than you’ve been at home this week.”

“Well, I wouldn’t have to be here so often if you weren’t always distracting me when I’m working!” I retorted, trying to wrestle my way out of his grip. He was right though. Actually, I should probably just start sleeping here.

“Distracting? I’ve been helping!” He defended himself, but the same smirk I’d gotten so reaccustomed to was already on his lips. He did help me bake every Sunday and Monday, but he was also the most distracting man I’d ever met. He was constantly throwing flour at me, untying my apron, or just finding any way that he could to get my attention. It felt like we were in high school again when he would find me walking in the hallway and steal my body just so that I would have a reason to talk to him.

I not only liked it, but I loved it. It felt as though nothing had altered between us, and the passage of eight years had vanished into thin air.

“Tell that to the batch of burnt cookies tonight!” I finally broke out of his grasp and ran across the kitchen. Exhaustion was definitely telling me to go home, but I knew that the more I baked today, the less I would have to bake tomorrow.

For the last four weeks, I’d closed my store Sundays and Mondays just so I could dedicate that time to making the internet orders. I’d hired a new employee, Maddie, who was amazing at all things pastries, and she’d been an amazing addition to the team. Anne, Maddie, Liam, and I would bake all day each day to finish the orders, and it worked pretty well. The website opened orders Saturday nights at eight p.m. and they’d sold out every week since the beginning.

So Saturday afternoons, when the bakery was slow, I would prepare by baking as many things as I could ahead of time, just to lessen the load for the next two days.

And I could have gotten a lot more done right now if Liam would stop interfering.

“In my defense, the cookies weren’t actually burnt.” Liam grabbed my bag off the hook by the door and shook his head at me, trying to hold in laughter.

“Anything cooked over eleven minutes is burnt. You baked them for thirteen!” I lunged for my bag, but he stepped away.

“Come on, Emma. You’re going home.” Suddenly, Liam’s face was serious, his hand outstretched for mine. I stared at that hand for a second before finally huffing and taking it.

“Fine.”

Hand in hand, he walked us back to my apartment, as he did every night that we stayed too late at the bakery. Though my safety was the last thing that I was concerned for in this part of town, he insisted that I shouldn’t walk home in the dark.

I, of course, would find reasons to stay at the store when he was there until the sun set just so that he would walk me home. And maybe that motivated me more today than actually getting baking done. But I would never admit it.

After our almost-kiss last month, we’d fallen into a sort of rhythm. Liam would help me whenever he could, but he would always pop in to say hello if he was too busy with his own bakery.Midnightwas doing just fine, if not better, now that I had so much foot traffic to my store, and I was happy about it. Both of us could thrive in this city without choking the other out, even if we were in direct competition.

Aside from his constant presence, there wasn’t much else exciting between us, much to my dismay. He had made no clear indication that he wanted anything more with me than just a friendship, and I hadn’t exactly done so either. Even though more than a friendship was exactly what I wanted.

But after so long of being apart and feeling the loss of our relationship, I didn’t want to feel that loss again if we dated and it didn’t work out. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder if it would work this time. We were older and could make decisions for ourselves, without the oppressive thumbs of our fathers.

I always circled the idea of us being together, and almost always landed on the conclusion that I was gaining feelings for Liam. Again. And wanted to be with him. Again. Rarely did I reach a different conclusion.

“What movie will it be tonight?” Liam asked as we strode down the street. Usually, he would have dropped my hand before now, but his grip was firm, unmoving.

“Huh?” I looked up at him, seeing a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Yeah, what movie are we watching tonight?” He grinned as he finally looked down at me.

“We’re watching a movie?” I was still confused, though the idea of watching a movie together tonight was exciting. Firstly, I needed a break from life to just veg out on the couch and watch something funny or cute. Secondly, and more importantly, he was implying that we would be watching together.

“Yes.” He opened the door of my apartment building and let me walk inside first, but still never relinquished the hold he had on my hand. He followed me into the building and we took the stairs all the way to my sixth-floor apartment. Liam finally let go of my hand as I fumbled to grab my keys out of my purse…which was still on his shoulder.

---