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I licked my lips. “Um, yeah.”
What happened this morning seemed like a long time ago.
“You scared me.”
“I’m okay.” I’d said that a lot today, but it wasn’t exactly true. I was rattled.
He drew me to him. “Is this okay?”
I nodded against his chest, allowing his masculine scent to wash over me. “It’s more than okay.”
His presence, his embrace, was exactly what I needed. I let him hold me tighter, hoping he’d never let go.
“I’m never letting you out of my sight.”
Relief had my muscles relaxing. “You can’t bake with me every morning.”
He grumbled. “I can still stop by after my run.”
I smiled up at him. “You don’t need to do that.”
“And I’m going to help you with construction. I already talked to Cade, and he can spare a team to get started right away. He said the town can’t lose its bakery.”
“Are you serious?” I couldn’t believe the town was rallying around me.
“The other shop owners are all asking how they can help, too.”
“My family has my back.”
“And now you have me, Kendall, my family, the shop owners, and the entire town. They want you to recover from this.”
I slowly shook my head. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Let me take care of you.”
My heart clenched at his sweet plea.
Mark gestured at the men who’d entered the room. “This is my crew. They’re all yours for the next few days.”
“Thank you.”
He stepped close, cradling my face in his hands. “I just want to love you. That was always the easiest part of being with you. It was everything else that got in the way. But not anymore. Nothing comes between us.”
“I like that.” I freaking loved that.
“We’re a team.”
“We’re a family.”
“Yes.” Then his lips were on mine, soft and comforting, while noise carried on around us. Suddenly, it didn’t seem so daunting. I’d come out on the other side, better than before, because I had so many people who had my back.
ChapterTwenty-Three
MARK
When Colton called this morning to say Sophie’s Sweets had been burglarized and Sophie had a run-in with the perpetrator, I was beside myself with worry. I needed to see her. To hold her. To see for myself that she was okay.
I hadn’t gotten a chance to tell her I wasn’t upset with her. That nothing was her fault. If something had happened to her, I don’t know what I would have done.
