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OPAL
The digital timer on the counter ticks away as I wait for my pastry puffs to rise. The kitchen smells of warm confection and butter, making my stomach growl with impatience.
These are going to be delicious. The crew will give me a hard time, claiming I’m trying to fatten them up like the witch inHansel and Gretel. But it doesn’t stop them from eating them. Though, they have been putting more time in at the gym to compensate.
My love for baking has turned into an obsession. Gauge surprised me several weeks back with a pastry cookbook he thought I’d enjoy. Even though I don’t ask for anything, it touches me that my biker knows me so well. Today, I’m finishing the last recipe.
I’ve been slowly compiling recipes I’m fond of, adding my spin on them. When one notebook was filled, I bought another, filling it just as fast.
Before Gauge left on assignment, he gifted me a laptop. “Start typing these bad boys out. Everything you make is way better than anyone else’s. It should be your cookbook people are buying.”
Of course, I cried. This was the most beautiful gift anyone had ever given me. The laptop is nice too, but Gauge’s encouragement and belief in my ability to make something truly unique is the most precious thing anyone could ever give me.
I’m in the middle of typing a recipe when Candy enters the kitchen.
Long gone are my hunger pains as my stomach tightens uncomfortably. Things with Candy have not improved since my arrival. She loves to point out Gauge still hasn’t claimed me publicly. Today will be no different.
With a little snigger, Candy sits across from me at the pine kitchenette table. I ignore her as I type, but I feel her eyes boring into me. As hard as I try to take no notice, my mind and fingers seem to have disconnected. I make mistake after mistake as I continue typing, my nerves getting the best of me.
Candy leans forward, resting her elbows on the well-worn table. “The guys are on their way home. Looks like the assignment finished early.”
“Oh, wonderful.” I look up from my laptop. “I didn’t know that. How did you hear?”
“Gauge texted me.” She pauses, her lips turning upward in a cruel smile. “Didn’t he text you?”
Gauge texted her? Why?
Flushing, I stammer, “M—my cell is charging. I’m sure Gauge messaged me. He always does when they’re on their way home.”
Candy’s smile turns into a smirk as she slips out of her seat. “Whatever you say. Only passing on the information.”
More like rubbing it in my face.
Get a grip, Opal. Gauge sent her one message saying they were on their way home. He’s allowed to speak cordially with other women, even ones who actively pursued him before your arrival. Stop being so insecure. You know he’s yours.
Before Candy turns to leave, she gives me an amused look. “If the VP is your man, why would he be texting me?”
Insecurity rears its ugly head as Candy’s hurtful words sink their claws into me. “As I said,” my tone clipped, revealing my emotions—which I totally hate, but keep on going, “my phone is charging. He probably sent me a text.”
Her little laugh has my jealous bone straightening my spine. “You know, Gauge may text other women. I trust him.”
“You think this is the only time he’s sent me messages?” Candy taunts, attempting to dig holes in my assurance.
“Since he’s been with me? Absolutely,” I say with the utmost confidence. I know my man. Every free moment he has, he spends it with me. She’s trying to mess with my head, but I won’t let her.
As far as I’m concerned, this conversation is over. I turn to the oven, removing the pastries as the timer goes off.
“Whatever you say, Opal,” she jeers. “Maybe if you weren’t such a closed book, he would’ve already claimed you.”
Gauge and I have excellent communication. Shows how much Candy knows.
“Nobody knows anything about who you were before, aside from the little you’ve shared. Do you think a man like Gauge will fully commit to a woman who keeps secrets from him? He’s not a fool, Opal. He won’t sign up for a lifetime with someone who can’t be honest about her past.”
Oh, my God. She’s right.
As much as I hate admitting it, Candy’s given me the answer for why Gauge won’t claim me as his old lady. He has asked me multiple times as gently as possible to share my story with him, and I’ve turned him down every single time. If the shoe were on the other foot, I’m not sure I’d want to be invested with a man who wouldn’t share his past. I would guard my heart.
As painful as it’s going to be reliving the memories, I have to tell Gauge what Levi did to me.
