Page 47

When he heard me, he glanced up and smiled, loosening the tension in my body. I hadn’t realized how much I missed him until that instant.

Carried by my momentum, I scooped Phoenix into my arms and sat, holding him tight against my chest.

The dogs huffed, but headed toward their respective beds.

I could breathe, especially after B joined us a few minutes later and snuggled against us.

“My actions regarding my father have worried both of you, and for that, I’m sorry. But it’s done now. Last night, Detective Sandoval released the surveillance on the evening news and announced that they were aware of the person who hired them, but they would not reveal his name until the end of the investigation.

“I’m going to give an interview in the next couple of days, not so much to implicate him, but for viewers and jurors to correlate my face and name with Hale’s. Detective Sandoval wants the information about Hale hiring them to stay a secret until he can prove it. When he does, I’m done with him.”

I nodded, but B asked, “Did they arrest the assholes who broke into your bakery?”

“Yeah, but despite evidence against them, they’ve remained tightlipped about the entire thing. The detective and his team are looking into tracing the money they received. Yesterday, Detective Sandoval got a warrant for all of Hale’s financial affairs, including overseas accounts, and their financial crimes unit is picking over it.”

Despite the overwhelming sight of the bakery trashed in the early morning at the start of a new year, it’d been rather easy to set it back to rights. Word got around the neighborhood and while we were there, making lists of everything we needed to replace, people came in droves to help clean up the glass, repot plants, and show Phoenix their support.

Before long, the windows arrived to replace the broken ones. An order of utensils and the heavy-duty equipment such as the bakery display were on order and ready to be shipped, and Arthur purchased a cash register from an antique store he frequented.

We replaced the doors and windows with stronger, shatter-proof materials, and we made the alarm system, along with a panic button, operational on the day we received them from the manufacturer.

“Are you doing okay, Petal?”

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but when he laughed, I held him tighter, wondering if this was the one moment in time that broke him.

He wiped at his eyes and said, “Yeah, I’m fine because I understood, deep down, it was coming.”

Making room between us, I searched his face and asked, “What?”

A flash of hatred marred his beautiful face before it passed.

“He knows my weaknesses; who and what I love. At first, he gave us what he considers a warning; finding out where I lived and popping up here and then at your landscaping business to make his threats. But it was his underhanded ways, not his straightforward ones I was worried about. He’s a snake and will take any opportunity to get his way. I wasn’t sure in the direction he would take his revenge, but I should’ve known it was my bakery. He despises it and me.”

Neither of us could dispute how Hale felt about him, but I couldn’t keep silent.

“I should’ve said something earlier, but I loathe the way Hale has affected you. I recognize you have every right to fight back, but I…”

Phoenix cupped my cheek and gave me a tight smile.

“I know, lover. The depths of which I want Hale to suffer overtook my reason since I walked in on the catastrophe he caused. I want justice, but wishing bad things to happen to him makes me just like him, and that thought woke me out of a dead sleep. I’m nothing like him. And I am finished with letting hisissues consume me. It’s affecting our relationship and I won’t allow it to continue any longer.”

His mouth brushed against mine, and when he sighed, relaxing against me, I devoured him.

When I pulled back to suck in a deep breath, Phoenix turned toward B and moaned into their caress as my heart swelled at the sight.

As the younger man leaned back against my shoulder, head tucked against my neck, I glanced at B and noticed his tranquil expression. He snagged a kiss from me, moaning when I was cheeky and sucked on his bottom lip, and smiled at him when he looked about ready to pounce on me.

“I want to change my surname,” Phoenix mumbled.

Not going to lie, my eyes almost boggled out of my head as my gaze shot up and I noticed B’s matching expression. Joy, hopefulness, along with a dreamlike quality I identified with. I tamped down my excitement until I heard what he had to say.

“To what, Sunshine?”

He gripped my shirt, and I knew his thoughts ran along the same lines, but it took him a few minutes to get it out.

“I know we can’t get married, which I don’t mind because I’d never pictured it for myself. But it would be nice, having our relationship defined, all without being the center of attention for an afternoon.”

Because he’d been up for a few hours before us, it wasn’t surprising to find him sagging against me, listening to my heartbeat, gripping B’s hand as though we were going to walk out of his life.