Chapter 9

FREYA

It took Gia exactly one second to sprint away from me the moment I held the door open.

“Hey!” Avery rounded the shelf before crouching down for Gia to jump into her arms. “I was waiting for you.”

She smothered Gia with kisses, and Gia giggled, enjoying every second. They always acted as if they hadn't seen each other for a year.

Avery, an extremely cheerful and outgoing woman in her mid-fifties, had worked for me since the beginning. Meringue hadn't found its rhythm back then. She deserves as much credit for getting it up and running as I do. Avery had seen me through some of the most difficult times, and she was the one person besides Reyna who I knew was always in my corner.

Gia was almost like her grandchild, and I was glad my daughter felt the essence of a grandparent's love, something my parents could never provide.

“Did you make the tarts?” Gia asked, looking up expectantly at Avery. Every other day she'd place new demands, and this sweet old lady never failed to deliver. In fact, she loved making sweet treats for Gia.

“I did! They're in the kitchen, waiting for you.” That was all the invitation Gia needed to run off to the kitchen. Gia loved Avery's tarts. Not gonna lie, Avery was a little too good at making them. The lemon tarts were a bestseller at Meringue.

Avery spared me a glance before walking back to the counter. “I know that look. You think I’m spoiling her.”

I smiled and joined her behind the counter where she was arranging the pastries. “Well, there’s not much I can say. After all, you’re the closest she has to a grandparent.”

She put down the tray and pointed one short, dark finger at me. The gesture was meant to look intimidating, and it would have, but I'd known her too long. Beneath that exterior, she was a softy.

“Oh, no. Don’t do that!”

“Okay. I won’t tell you that I’m grateful to you for giving Gia what I couldn’t provide.” I pressed my lips together to suppress a laugh. She hated it when I acknowledged her importance; now it was a way to annoy her. It was fun teasing Avery.

She rested her hands on her waist and glared at me. “Great! Now you’ve made me emotional.” I swear I saw her eyes dampening. Jesus! This lady could cry!

“Oh! That’s no big deal. You’re always emotional.” I shrugged. It was true. The slightest thing could make her teary-eyed. She narrowed her eyes and playfully glared. “Don’t make fun of me, young lady!”

“Okay.” Chuckling, I gestured that I was backing off. The bakery was less crowded than usual, probably because it was the first workday of the week. I was removing an empty tray of brownies when the door opened. I straightened up to greet the new customer, never expecting to see him here.

Aiden walked in, his steps sharp, an air of command surrounding him, almost as if he owned the place. It felt like someone had paused everything except him. Crisp white shirt, buttons undone on his gray suit jacket. If he looked handsome with stubble, he was devastating clean-shaven.

But before I could drool any more, the reverie broke.

I'd been so busy checking him out that something far more concerning had slipped my mind: Aiden and Gia were in the same place—under the same roof, less than twenty feet apart. If he looked closely enough, he’d recognize how much she resembled him.

“Fuck.” I muttered, realizing the depth of my predicament.

“Yeah, I was thinking the same.” I turned to find Avery staring at Aiden.

“Avery!” I hissed. She shrugged nonchalantly, as if she wasn’t ogling a man young enough to be her son. But before she could launch into her speech about admiring beauty, Aiden had closed the distance.

He was standing before me, looking straight into my eyes. I needed to say something. Say something, damn it!

“Mr. Knight.” Yeah, great job.

“Freya, what a pleasant surprise.” He couldn't have been more insincere. His tone was flat, without a trace of surprise.

11:59 AM

Chapter 9 (continued)

I raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Surprise?”

“Yes, I came here to grab a quick bite on my way to the office. Didn’t think I’d find you here.”

That was bullshit. If I hadn't known better, the humor in his eyes would have been proof enough.

“On the way to the office? You mean you coincidentally came here for a bite on your way to the office, which is about a forty-minute drive from here, not to mention your house is in a completely different direction?”

Jesus! It was easy to get me talking, wasn’t it? I ended up acknowledging that night. Pretending to forget wasn't fooling anyone; some things are better left unsaid.

“Yeah. I mean exactly that.” I detected mirth in Aiden’s voice. He tilted his head and assessed me. “Why? You don’t believe me?”

The corners of his lips twitched with amusement, and for some absurd reason, I wasn’t offended. But I knew better than to answer. I couldn't prolong this conversation. With Gia in the next room, the sooner he left, the better.

(SEND GIFT is irrelevant and should be removed)