Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 92474 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92474 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“Victor, you didn’t have to buy me anything.”
He shrugged, placing them beside her on the counter. “I wanted to.”
She opened the Victoria’s Secret bag first, her mouth dropping in shock as she took in the pile of panties and bras. There had to be ten matching sets—as well as two baby doll nighties.
“Victor! This is way too much.”
“You don’t like them?”
“Of course I like them. But you shouldn’t spend so much on me.”
He dumped the shards of the bowl into the garbage can, and after putting everything away, walked over to her. Spreading her legs, he moved between them and leaned his hands on the counter on either side of her.
“You’re worth it. And more.”
Oh. Lord.
She licked her lips.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say, thank you, Victor.”
“Thank you, Victor.” She put her arms around his neck and kissed him gently. “I love them.”
“Good. Open your other gift.”
“You’re spoiling me.”
He didn’t reply, just watched as she opened the next bag and pulled out the object. It was red and small with a silver tip at one end.
“It’s a safety hammer,” he explained. “Keep it in your car in case you have to break the window.”
“Oh, that’s so awesome. Thank you!” She kind of loved it more than the underwear. He was always doing whatever he could to keep her safe.
What had she ever done to deserve this man?
“I have news.”
Gracen looked up from where she was frowning down at an invoice from one of her suppliers. Why was it so big? Shit. Everything had gone up in price. She’d known it was coming, but somehow she’d naively thought she’d still be able to cover everything. Only thing was, her earnings were also down. What was going on?
“What? Have you cleaned up the kitchen?” Gracen asked. She’d holed herself up in the small office in an attempt to pay some bills. It had been a quiet Thursday afternoon and she’d figured Anita could handle everything.
That might have been a mistake.
Everything else in her life was amazing at the moment. She couldn’t ask for a better boyfriend than Victor. Not that they’d declared anything to each other. But he was thoughtful, protective, and kind.
And, also, secretive, stubborn and bossy.
She still didn’t know who he really was.
She pushed aside that nagging worry.
Sammy was away for work all week, so they couldn’t meet up tomorrow night. Which was too bad because she could really use a watered-down daiquiri.
Anita frowned at her. “You never listen to me anymore, Aunty G. All you care about is your own life. Don’t you care about what’s going on with me, anymore?”
She sighed quietly. Anita didn’t seem to get that she had a thousand things to worry about. But she knew that she was still a teenager, and everything seemed oh-so very important.
“I’m sorry. What was it that you wanted to tell me? Wait, is the shop empty?”
“Yes, the shop is empty. Aunty G, you care more about the bakery than you do me.”
She took off her reading glasses, pinching the top of her nose. She had a headache pounding in her temples, money worries out the wazoo, and she still hadn’t found the time to get someone to check her gas gauge.
The one good thing in her life at the moment was Victor.
But she needed more than amazing orgasms and cuddles to pay her bills and keep her afloat. She still couldn’t believe he’d bought her all that lingerie. And he’d replaced the bowl she’d dropped with a gorgeous bowl that had to have cost ten times what the old one had.
“That’s not true. I love you. I was just making sure that our customers were taken care of.”
“What customers? I swear we get fewer people in each day. You should really think about selling.”
“This bakery has been in our family for three generations, I can’t just sell it.”
“Yeah, but it’s not like you have someone to hand it down to, right? I mean, I’m your only relative, and I don’t want to do this all my life. Me and Ice have plans. Fact is, if you died tomorrow, I’d sell it.”
Great. That made her feel so good.
Why are you working so hard? You’re going to send yourself into an early grave to keep a bakery afloat that your niece doesn’t care about.
“Anyway, back to my news, even though you didn’t ask.”
“I’m sorry. What’s going on in your life,” she said woodenly.
Her headache was getting worse. How long was it until closing? She wanted to go home, have a bath, then go to sleep.
“Ice got a job!”
Okay. That wasn’t what she’d been expecting Anita to say. As far as she could tell, Ice was a career gangster wannabe, so this was a shock.
“A job? Anita, that’s great. Doing what? Is he going to train for a trade or work in a store or . . .” she trailed off as Anita cracked up.