Page 28 of Cakewalk

“It’s a good thing you’re pretty, Georgia. You’re not really good for much else,” Bradley had said, taking her face in his hand and pinching it, like he was holding a taco. “Life woulda been real tough had you been ugly and had to fend for yourself. Although your daddy’s got enough money that he probably coulda paid someone off.”

Swallowing hard, Gigi had continued to fight back the tears. They were what he wanted, but she wouldn’t give in to it. Wouldn’t let him know that he was getting to her. She might not be strong enough to fight back or even to leave, but that didn’t mean she would let him see her cry.

When he’d finally let her go with another shove, she let out a breath—one she hadn’t fully realized she was holding. The fear that had coursed through her veins was paralyzing, forcing her to remain right there in front of him, instead of running away like she knew she probably should. She didn’t need to give him any more reason to be upset, but she still couldn’t move. Bradley let out a loud huff, sneered at her, and then stormed out of the library, leaving her to collapse back into the chair she’d been sitting in.

Everything she was feeling now, resting against the bedroom door, was nothing compared to the apprehension and dread that she used to feel every time her husband walked into a room. But it also wasn’t the same excitement she had felt even just a few hours ago when thinking about Holden. Letting out a sigh, she took a deep breath, trying to figure it all out. She didn’t know what to do. She could pack up and go, but where? Colebury was a small town—it wasn’t like there were a lot of options. Not to mention, it was a holiday. She could take Audrey up on her offer for Thanksgiving, and see if she could crash on their couch, but that wasn’t a long-term solution. Plus it would lead to a lot more questions than she was prepared to answer.

More than anything, her heart was breaking over the thought that her newfound life was not working out the way she thought it was. Despite her serious attraction to Holden, the two of them had really started to build a friendship, or so she thought. And it had been a really, really long time since she’d felt that kind of connection with anyone.

Pushing up away from the door, she double-checked both doors to her room were locked and then lay down on her bed. It was way too early in the day to go back to bed, but there was always one thing that made her feel better. She reached under the pillow on the side of the bed she didn’t sleep on and pulled out her old paperback of At Midnight.

If nothing else, she had Caulfield Montgomery’s words to comfort her.

* * *

Holden

Holden hadn’t even made it all the way down the drive before he regretted everything. Just what kind of douchebaggery was that? If it had been at all possible, he’d kick his own ass for acting like that. No matter the reason, Gigi didn’t deserve to be treated that way.

The look of fear that had been on her beautiful face gnawed at him as he thought about what must have been going through her mind. She was always a little on edge, and after this, he couldn’t blame her if she never got near him again. She’d been so full of joy and excitement when he came down the stairs, dancing around the kitchen, and he’d killed all that with just a few words.

Turning right toward town as he reached the road, he replayed her words in his mind. “I asked you last week if you’d want to celebrate, and you said yes.” Had she brought it up and he just missed it? He really didn’t remember her talking about it at all. They’d talked about her cakes and how people wanted to special order them, so she was going to have to work longer hours, but that was it. Right? Nothing else had come up. Except, the reason people would have been special ordering cakes could only have been one thing.

Thanksgiving.

“Well, you really fucked that up, buddy,” he muttered out loud.

The feel of his phone buzzing in his pocket made his spirits perk up for a second. He reached into his running shorts, hoping to see Gigi’s name on his screen, however it was only his godfather. His heart sank, knowing that he shouldn’t have even thought that maybe it could be her after his horrible words.

“Uncle Field,” he said as he answered the call.

“Happy Thanksgiving!” the older man called from the other end of the phone.

“Yeah, that.”

“Why do you sound so dejected? I know this day brings up some tough memories, but you sound more crabass than normal.”

“It’s nothing,” Holden told him. He really did not want to talk about this with his godfather. He wanted to be able to wallow in his own feelings on the matter, even if he didn’t fully know what they were.

“Ahhhh, so it’s something,” Caulfield said. “This have anything to do with the pretty little roommate of yours?”

“How do you know she’s pretty?” Holden asked defensively. Had there been a conversation with Caulfield that he didn’t remember too? He couldn’t imagine having admitted his attraction to Gigi, but he also didn’t seem to remember a bunch of important conversations recently.

“It’s in your voice, my boy. You sound different when you talk about her. Just like you did with Hannah.”

The mention of his wife made his chest ache. Not only for the loss of her, but for his reaction to Gigi asking about her. The two of them had been building a friendship these last few weeks, opening up to each other about their late partners. He’d told her about Hannah. Well, mostly. But Gigi didn’t have to pry it out of him—he’d told her because he wanted her to know he understood her pain. Her asking about Hannah this morning hadn’t been anything other than her returning that sentiment. And he repaid her concern by losing his fucking mind.

“It’s not betraying her by thinking another woman is pretty, you know,” his godfather said after he didn’t respond. “So tell me, this Gigi, she’s pretty, isn’t she?”

“Beautiful,” Holden admitted. “Different from Hannah, but absolutely beautiful.”

“So, then…why are you talking to me and not putting the moves on her?” he asked with a laugh.

Holden huffed out a small laugh. His godfather had always been an instigator, and age was not slowing the man down one bit. “I’m not really sure she’s talking to me right about now.”

“What’d you do?”

“I badly overreacted when I found her cooking Thanksgiving.”