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Her father was a manipulative bastard. From beating her where people wouldn’t see—most of the time—to creating stories that she hurt herself, so saddened by her mother’s death. And the disgusting part about it all was that everyone believed him. They thought she was the one with the issues. That she needed help. That she hurt herself because she was so distraught from losing her mother.
“Hey, where’d you go there? Come back to me.”
Jaxson’s soft hand sweeping across her cheek and his soothing voice pulled her out of her lapse down memory lane. Those weren’t memories she needed to relive anyway. There were good men out there. Jaxson was proof.
But it still terrified her to pieces to open her heart and give him a piece of it.
“Sorry, lost my train of thought. What were we talking about?”
He frowned, then his lips pulled into a grin.
“You were saying how I have to make you breakfast every morning. I said, you got it.”
“No, I believe you said your wish is my command. I like that much better. It’s like having my own personal genie.” She leaned closer and kissed him. “Genie, I need more syrup. Lots and lots of syrup.”
His infectious laughter that filled the room also filled the aching part of her heart. That’s just what she needed to escape the disastrous temptation of falling down the pity hole. She jumped down that hole way too much in her lifetime. It was time to stop.
Today would be the day.
Maybe.
Hopefully.
With Jaxson’s help, it could be possible.
He grabbed the syrup next to his plate and poured and squeezed until every square in her waffle was filled to the rim.
Yum! Now, she was ready to dive in and devour this perfection.
“So, first on the agenda, buy cake supplies.”
He nodded, chewing. Then after swallowing his food, he said, “Ingredients, sure. I have cake pans and whatever else I’ll need.”
“Seriously?”
She had no idea why this surprised her so much. Maybe because she had never met a man who baked—and enjoyed it so much. With how many guys she had dated, it was a surprise she had never dated a baker or chef of some kind.
His cheeks flushed red. “Yeah.”
She bumped his shoulder and chuckled. “I’m sorry if I’m embarrassing you—or hurting your feelings. I don’t mean to. It’s amazing. Sexy, actually.”
Especially if he baked while wearing an apron—naked.
Oh, maybe she could convince him to make her some sweet treats wearing his apron and nothing else on. Yep. She’d enjoy that show.
“You’re not hurting my feelings. I just get…weird talking about it sometimes. I’ve always enjoyed it. My brother, Mase, was always hanging out in the garage with my dad, and I felt bad leaving my mom alone, so I hung in the kitchen with her. She taught me a lot. I was proud of learning that kind of stuff, but I guess sometimes kids can be cruel.”
Oh, she was an expert at cruelty. There were a few kids in her school when her dad died who had choice words for her. Mean, nasty words that she was a cop-killer, murderer. They were kids whose parents had worked with her dad, so it made sense, considering the lies her father always told. But it still hurt. Defending one’s self didn’t make her a murderer. Although, sometimes it felt like it could be true. She did kill her father.
What surprised her was to hear Jaxson had been teased as a child. He was so confident and self-assured. She’d seen him take charge of situations—usually, a guy getting too heavy-handed with her or Gabby—and not blink an eye about what could happen. A fistfight. A gun being pulled. Violence of any sort. He seemed fearless.
“I’m sorry to hear that. They were dumb.”
He sent her a crooked smile. “They were. It’s nice to be able to share this with you. I don’t know why I never told you—or even Gabby—I enjoy it. Some days, after a really bad day at work, I like to make two dozen cookies. I eat about half and then bring the rest to work. It helps center me and erase all that…ugliness from life.”
She moved a piece of the waffle she had cut off from the rest as she debated her words. “We all have a few secrets we like to keep. I’m sure Gabby has some for herself she’s never shared.”
“What secrets are you hiding, Mia?”
