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ChapterTwelve
Sera
Iwas watching my new hire, Carlos, with eagle eyes as he piped macarons, when my phone rang. It was Cash. He had taken to calling me every day after he left the gym just to touch base. At first, I had to admit, I had been impatient with the concept. I was busy. He had nothing in particular to say. Why was he calling? But now I had started to anticipate and look forward to hearing his voice. No matter what was going on, Cash made me feel centered, calmer, happier. I would miss it if he didn’t call.
“What are you up to?” he asked.
Also something I found annoying because every day when he called I was at the bakery, so the general nature of that question irritated me. What did he think I was up to? I was working. But I was determined to appreciate what he was trying to do. He wasn’t saying it to be irritating. It was just an ice breaker. “Training Carlos on macarons. What are you up to? You’re on speaker, by the way, don’t be dirty.”
Which was a real possibility at any given moment. I washed my hands and dried them off.
“That’s disappointing,” he said. “I just left the gym and I was talking to my mom. You know I need to go to Faith’s graduation next week.”
“Yes.” I was a little disappointed he was leaving, which also surprised me, but I had gotten used to seeing Cash almost every day. It didn’t bode well for how I was going to feel during football season. Which was ironic for someone who had been flying solo for three years and who found being asked what they were doing to be an irritating question. Sometimes I was a mystery even to myself. “What day are you leaving?”
“Next Saturday. I think you and the kids should go with me.”
“To Louisiana?” I was surprised. “That’s short notice.” Not to mention terrifying. The idea of meeting Cash’s parents and the rest of his family was a little overwhelming.
“The kids are out of school. It will be great for you to meet everyone.”
I had a sudden suspicion. “You’re not planning some kind of surprise, are you?” Like a proposal or a wedding. “I don’t like surprises.”
“I think I know that about you. No surprises, I promise.”
We had yet to talk about Cash’s casual announcement that we could get married if I wanted to. I was afraid to broach the subject because I didn’t know what I wanted to say. “I have the bakery. With such short notice, I don’t know if I can put that on my assistant manager.” Who was twenty-years old and only worked part-time.
“Can you take me off speaker?” Cash asked.
Carlos reacted slightly by looking up at me, then immediately looking back down.
“Sure.” I picked my phone up and put it to my ear. “What’s going on?”
“Training camp starts June fourteenth. I’m going to be really busy after that. I think you should move in before then.”
I pushed my hair back off of my forehead and looked around at the kitchen. It felt like my brain was going in seventeen different directions. I had payroll to do and purchasing and tons of Mother’s Day orders to fill in the next two days. I had my first doctor’s appointment the next week and Cash wanted me to go to Louisiana and move in the next few weeks?
“I don’t have time to pack the house that fast. Especially not if we go out of town.”
“The movers will pack everything, sweetheart. You don’t have to do anything.”
“What are you talking about?” I pulled the broom out of the corner and started sweeping, because apparently I did not know how to be still.
“I mean, they’ll pack everything. They’ll probably need two days before the move to do it.”
“What do you mean by everything?”
“Everything. Clothes, toys, dishes, food in the pantry. Whatever’s in your garage.”
“Do they do a good job?” I asked, highly suspicious that anyone would be able to pack my stuff with the care I would.
“I would assume so or they would have bad reviews.”
“Hmm.” I wasn’t committing to that just yet. I felt like I needed to oversee that massive of an undertaking.
“Hmm, nothing. You’re exhausted. The movers can pack,” Cash said. “Don’t be stubborn.”
“I’m not stubborn. I’m just used to doing things on my own.”
“But you don’t have to now.”
“Hmm,” I said, phone propped on my ear as I bent down with the dustpan.
Cash gave me a sound of exasperation. “I swear, Serafima, you’re going to relax if I have to tie you to the bed.”
I sucked in a breath. “Oh, no, don’t do that,” I protested flirtatiously, thoroughly intrigued by the very idea of doing that.
“Damn. When am I seeing you again?”
I bit my lip, turning my back to Carlos as I dumped out the dustpan. It was hard to sweep and hold a dustpan while simultaneously talking on the phone, but I had succeeded. “I don’t know if I can this week. Johnny has baseball and Ava has eighth grade graduation stuff and a dance and this Sunday is Mother’s Day so we’re slammed here at the bakery. Tuesday I have my doctor’s appointment.”
“I’m calling the movers as soon as we get off the phone. We’ll go to Louisiana and move as soon as we get back.”
Someone had woken up in an alpha male mood. I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see me. “And you have the nerve to label me bossy?”
“I’m not trying to be bossy. I just can’t spend days and days at a time without seeing you. That’s not happening. I’m sorry.”
That made me smile. That was about as sincere as his apology had been for having a big cock. “You don’t sound even remotely sorry.”
“I’m really not.”
