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Avery stopped short as the woman turned towards Lila with a smile. Could he not get away from Colleen at all?
“Lila, I hope you like it,” Colleen said as the woman gushed over it.
“Daniel will love this,” Lila stated looking at the smaller groom’s cake. “Avery, come meet Colleen…”
Colleen felt her stomach tighten in dread as Avery came into view. This was not happening. She could not deal with another round with one of the Montgomerys.
“I take it you didn’t know Daniel was Daniel did you?” Avery asked her as Lila looked between them curiously.
“You know my fiancé?” Lila asked her when she shook her head, worry clouding her face.
“He was best man at our wedding,” Avery said and Lila gasped loudly.
“Oh lord…”
“It’s fine Lila,” Colleen assured her calming the woman down. “I only have the top layer to finish adding and then I’ll be heading out.”
Lila shook her head. “What about packaging the rest of the cake?”
“I will send someone to do that and it will be fine.” Colleen hoped to get out of the venue before she ran into anyone else, she might have once known.
“It’s not necessary for you to run off Colleen.” Avery steered her away from Lila for a private word. He didn’t notice the way her body constricted at his slight touch of her arm. “I will stay out of your way if you want me to; if you leave Lila’s going to worry about her cake instead of focusing on the wedding. Can’t you let them have a day to remember and put aside your hatred for me for a few hours?”
“I’ll stay,ifyou swear to not come near me, and never touch me again.” She knew the van would soon arrive with the rest of the sweets for the dessert bar they were serving after the dinner. “I mean it Avery. I don’t want anything to do with you.”
“Alright.” He conceded letting go of her arm seeing Lila fret about things.
“Colleen’s staying,” he told her making her relax as she began to smile.
“Good, I know with you here things will be perfect, just like this cake,” Lila stated smiling more at her before turning back to Avery. “You should get your bowtie fixed. We’re starting soon.”
Avery let her head out wanting to assure Colleen he wouldn’t mess with her business. “Colleen, I’m sorry if I upset you the other day. I didn’t know what to say but I would like to sit down with you and talk things through.”
“Not in this lifetime Avery,” she said as he stopped just out of arm length. She couldn’t believe she felt desire to reach out and touch him run through her. Where was her absolute panic and fear? Any time a man was this close to her she felt it, even with Father Mark at the parish, but all she felt was her heart pounding.
“Please, I need to explain what I did—why I did it.”
“I don’t want to hear why you decided to sleep with someone else while married to me Avery. I don’t want to know any of it.”
“Then perhaps I need to hear how you could go from us to a relationship with a woman? Did you send her to collect the check to rub it in my face?”
“Meredith is my assistant at the bakery. I was busy and didn’t want to see you again. I wouldn’t have taken on this wedding if I’d knownyouwould be here. I wouldn’t have taken on this wedding if I’d known that Lila’s Daniel was your friend Daniel. I thought getting out of Philly would sever that part of my life but unfortunately it’s simply coming to bite me here.”
Colleen moved to get the top layer of the cake. If she focused on her work perhaps she could stop herself from wanting to give into the insane need to touch him.
“This is a masterpiece Colleen,” Avery said seeing the entire design with the finished product.
“It better be, it took long enough to decorate after all.” She adjusted it until the design on the icing aligned perfectly with the rest. As she turned around, she found herself up against his chest. She prepared herself for fear, blackness, and panic to hit her, but that wasn’t what she found coursing through her. Her nipples hardened as he slid a hand over her hip and the tremble that hit her wasn’t the normal variety, it was the old variety that spoke of her desire.
“There’s no one like you Colleen.” He slid his free hand up to her face, cupping her cheek gently as her chest rose and fell against his quickly. “I never should have let you go.”
“Stop it Avery—please.” Colleen rested her hands against his chest instead of pushing him away. She knew she should push him away but the memories played through her mind, making her pulse race even faster.
“In a minute,” he assured her dipping his head down to taste her lips. He tilted her head backwards, his lips instinctually recalling just how to tease hers, to make her open her mouth to him. He was burning for her, his desire hard against her body as he pulled her even closer to him. His hand moving from her hip up towards her chest.
The instant she felt his hand against her breast she pulled back as the memories changed from their times together to the last time someone had touched her intimately. She walked away from him and the cake table trying to stop the blackness it caused from overtaking her.
“Colleen, please give me a chance to make this up to you—for causing us both such misery.”
