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He planned to stretch that little out as far as he could. He’d get as much mileage out of that cheque as anyone else, and then some. He still couldn’t believe that once she found out she was going to be dealing with him, she’d actually taken the money. Ok, so maybe he played her a little bit but he seriously never expected it to work. Which meant she was either desperate for the business, really wanted a vacation for her mum, or he meant that little to her that she figured the extra money was well worth having to put up with him. If he had to bet on it, Trey would put his money on the latter. College was years ago. They were a couple for like, two seconds. Okay, it was almost a year, but still. Ambi had obviously moved on.
So why couldn’t he?
When he arrived at the giant freaking bakery, he felt like a pathetic puppy waiting. She was not there yet.
The bakery had that industrial feel, a small counter at the front with baked goods and a menu stating prices, but most of the activity was taking place behind the scenes. The building was large, a brick construction that extended far past the small frontage.
The hum of conversation, the clang of baking sheets and pans, and the delicious smells of freshly baked breads, pastries, and cakes reached Trey as he stood by the window, arms crossed over his thick black wool pea coat. He tapped one square-toed leather shoe in slight annoyance.
He hated lateness and Ambi knew it. It was always the one thing he couldn’t stand, even when they were together. Nothing picked his ass faster than someone not respecting his time. So of course, she showed up twenty minutes late.
Trey watched her nondescript black sedan edge into a parking spot that was huge, but she made it look too small. She’d always hated parallel parking. She got out, dropped some money in the meter, pulled out her phone with one gloved hand, and checked it.
He didn’t miss the secret smile that blossomed over her coral-pink lips or the puff of satisfied breath that wafted above her head after.
Ambi swept into the bakery like a queen. Her head held high, her glorious raven black hair cascading down her houndstooth coat in the front and the back. The coat was cute, so Ambi style that Trey almost choked on his own spit. It nipped in at the waist and flared out. She had a set of tight black skinny jeans on that were tucked into sensible winter dress boots with no heel.
“Trey.” She said his name in a neutral tone as soon as she spotted him, which was right away, but somehow the word hung in the air like it left a bad taste in her mouth and she was glad it was out.
Ambi’s eyes roamed over his figure boldly, and when she turned her nose up like he was nothing special and this was just another meeting, his chest compressed. Yeah. He knew her better than that. Her indifference was worth a thousand fucking words. She liked what she saw, that’s why she didn’t want to look at him. He jammed his hands in his pockets even though his coat hid any kind of repeat action of the embarrassing office incident from a few days ago.
“Well? Are we going to taste cakes or are you going to stand there all morning pretending that you hate me?”
Ambi didn’t look back at him. She kept her eyes trained on the bakery counter. “First of all, your arrogance knows no boundaries. Second, I’m here because this is a business meeting. Third, I figured you couldn’t be civil so I’m just going to leave instructions for several cakes to be set out. You can taste them and tell me what your final decision is.”
Fuck that. If Ambi thought she was walking out that door within the next hour, she was sadly mistaken.
“Actually, that’s not how this is going to work. I have this cold. Been fighting it for a few weeks now. I can’t taste a thing at the moment. Can’t smell anything either. You’ll have to do the honors and tell me which one you prefer.”
Ambi scrunched her nose at him. Her eyes swept over his face frankly, which made him want to press her up against the counter and let her get real up close and personal. He wanted to plunder her lips, to kiss off that coral lipstick until it was her much lighter, prettier lips below. They were already plump and full, but they’d be much more beautiful ravaged and swollen from his kiss.
“You look fine to me. Sound fine too.”
He shrugged. “Looks can be deceiving.”
“Right. They can be.” Ambi clutched her tote a little tighter, her knuckles whitening with the effort. She wasn’t as calm and composed as she was letting on. “For example, I know that you’re nothing better than a steaming pile of turds candy-coated with a pretty shell and expensive clothing.”
