Page 28 of Bad Boy Bakers, Vol. 2
“Oh, whatever. You’re gorgeous exactly as you are,” Candice put in. “But maybe you should step up your cardio. You know… up your endurance. Just in case.” She added an eyebrow waggle and a grin, in case anyone missed her meaning.
She was not going to stand here and imagine acrobatic sex with Grey. She was not.
“Remind me why we’re friends?” As her business partner laughed, Rebecca lifted the bowl and brush. “I’m gonna go rinse these out.” And if she happened to put a cold cloth on the back of her neck and her face while she was back there, nobody would be able to see.
Why hadn’t he texted? Was he still at the bakery?
Had Jonah taken it badly? Grey had mentioned he had an appointment after to go check out some property with Magnolia, so maybe he simply hadn’t had a chance to send the update.
She’d get through this cut and color, and if he hadn’t messaged her by then, she’d text him.
Hearing the shop bell tinkle, Rebecca dumped the bowl in the sink, stripped off her gloves, and hurried out, thinking maybe Grey had stopped by in person to let her know how it went. But it was her son who stood in the entry, hands shoved into his pockets, his shoulders stiff.
“Jonah! How was your trip to New York?” Candice sang out.
“It was good.”
“Did things go well with your future in-laws?” Donna asked.
“Yep. They’re nice folks.”
He wasn’t even making a pretense of sociability. He’d definitely been told, and it was equally obvious he wasn’t exactly happy about the whole thing.
Not wanting this conversation to be fodder for the grapevine, she set a timer on her watch. “I’ll be back in just a bit. Candice, in case I get delayed, Crystal’s got about half an hour left on that color.”
“No problem.”
She snagged her coat and pushed out of the shop, trusting Jonah would follow.
After a brief, “Ladies,” acknowledging the group, he joined her out on the sidewalk.
“Why don’t we walk a bit?” It would give them a modicum of privacy and keep her from wringing her hands in anxiety.
“Sure.” Jonah fell into step beside her.
After waiting an endless minute to see if he’d start, Rebecca took the leap herself. “I’m sure you have questions.”
“Really, only one. Why him? All these years, there’s been nobody. Or at least nobody I knew about. So why did you have to pick my former CO?”
That hadn’t been the question she’d expected from him, but given his relationship with Grey, it made sense.
“It has nothing to do with him being your CO. It’s because he’s a good man.
” And you’re just like him. The more time she spent with Grey, the more evidence she had that Jonah was just like his father.
But she was hardly going to bring that up on the street.
“And because now is the time we have. We had feelings for each other a long time ago, and we didn’t work out at the time because we were on different life paths.
Now those paths have crossed again, and we want to give it another shot. ”
At the mention of feelings, his shoulders hunched up toward his ears. “So you really have a… thing for him?”
Rebecca huffed a laugh. “Yes, I really have a thing for him. Is that so hard to believe?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know. It feels fast.”
“Baby, we’re dating, not running off to elope in Vegas.”
He shot her a sidelong look. “I mean… Sam and Griff did it. Twice.”
“So they did,” she conceded. “Look, Grey and I have a history, and we’re attracted to each other.”
Because he looked a little green, she had to press him. “Honey, would you honestly rather I be alone for the rest of my life, just to make you more comfortable?”
His eyes widened, and color crept up his throat. “No. It’s just weird. I’m gonna have to get used to it.”
You’re going to have to get used to a whole lot more than that.
It wasn’t the first time she’d considered how Jonah would react if he found out that Lonnie wasn’t his father.
But it was the first time she’d thought about it since the possibility of him finding out had become a probability, and one that would happen sooner rather than later.
She truly had no idea how he’d respond. He had immense respect for Grey as a commanding officer.
She knew his feelings about Lonnie were complicated, all wrapped up in what he’d believed all his life, only recently colored by the truth that had come out a few months ago.
But to find out that his father was someone else entirely—someone who was, by all Jonah’s measures, a better man—well, she hoped he’d take some comfort in that.
But she knew he’d be upset at the deception, regardless of her reasons, and she hadn’t figured out exactly how to deal with that.
She didn’t know how to explain to either of them that the choices she’d made at eighteen weren’t the ones she’d make now.
Could either of them remember being that young?
Enough to cut her some slack for acting out of fear?
Grey had to come first in this. She’d been telling herself she needed to get them on a more solid foundation, to clearly understand who he was now and where he stood in order to determine the right way to break the news to him.
There really was no truly good way, but there were a lot of bad ones, and she wanted to avoid as many of those as possible.
If a tiny voice in the back of her head told her she was just being chicken about the whole thing by putting it off, she dismissed it. This was the smart play for now.
As they turned the last corner to make the block, Jonah took her arm and shifted to face her. “I just want you to be happy, Mom. You deserve that. If he makes you happy, then I’ll get okay with it.”
Some of the worry she’d been carrying melted away. “Thanks, Baby. I appreciate that.” She drew him in for a hug and pulled his head down for a noisy kiss on the cheek. “I’m glad we sorted that out. I’ve gotta get back to work, and I’m sure you do too.”
“Yeah. And we’ll be by to pick up Otis this afternoon, to get him out of your hair. Thanks for keeping him. I hope he wasn’t too much trouble.”
She thought of the La Perla bra and thanked God that the puppy seemed to have a soft mouth. “He certainly kept me on my toes. He’s a sweet thing, but I’ll be glad to have my house back.”