Today, I woke up with a nauseous feeling in my stomach that caused me to rush to the bathroom. I felt like I have eaten something really bad last night although the last thing I ate yesterday was an avocado salad. When Nate found out that I had been vomiting in the bathroom, he made me Ginger tea that instantly made my feel better.

Soon, Liam came to pick me up for the bakery and when I entered the car, I gasped in surprise on finding Helena in the back seat.

"We have to drop her to the office first." He told me. Sliding in the passenger seat, I passed a teasing glance to both of them and Liam blushed under my gaze. Things were getting serious between them and they had started to spend the night at each other's places.

"So when is the wedding guys?" I teased them and Liam pinched me on hearing this, making me wince.

Helena chuckled from behind and leaned forwards through the space between our seats to wrap her arms around Liam's neck. "He is so adorable. I can marry him tomorrow." She said and kissed his cheeks.

"Adorable? That's the last adjective I want you to use for me." Liam giggled and angled his neck to kiss her.

"Okay, enough PDA for today. Focus on the road," I said.

"Okay, okay," Helena raised her hands defensively and leaned back in her seat. Liam first dropped her to her office and then we made our way to the bakery where a certain someone was waiting for us already.

"You're late than usual." Evan said when he noticed us and walked out of his car. Confusion filled me on finding him standing there and then I found Cara peeking through the passenger seat, trying to find her way out of the belt. "I came to drop Cara. She wanted to meet you."

"Oh." I said and smiled at Cara. She finally succeeded to unbuckle the belt and then made her way out of the car. Although she was still limping, her condition looked a lot better today.

"Wow, who made your hair today?" I asked, kneeling in front of her and noticing her hair that was styled into a braid.

"Daddy," she pointed towards Evan. I turned my head to Evan and found him smiling proudly at his effort.

"You look like a princess." I said and pinched her cheeks.

Liam took her inside by picking her up and I turned towards Evan. His dark sunglasses were hiding his beautiful eyes from me but the rest of him looked equally gorgeous. The dark blue suit hugged him perfectly and his sharp cologne filled the air around me.

"Look like you're taking quite good care of her." I commented.

"Well, I learnt from the best." He said and took off his sunglasses, flashing his piercing set of blue eyes to me.

"Have a nice day," I said, ignoring his remark and then made my way back into the bakery.

Inside, Liam had seated Cara on the counter and was now talking to her. I trudged towards them and stopped in front of Cara. "Have you had your breakfast?"

"Yes, I had cereal. But I am still hungry." She pouted.

Tucking a loose string of hair behind her ear, I asked, "What would you like to eat now?"

"Egg salad sandwich." She said, licking her lips.

"Aww, Cara wants sandwich? Eating healthy, are we?" I teased her and she grinned. "One egg salad sandwich, coming right up."

Leaving her with Liam, I made my way to the kitchen and made sandwich for her. I added some shredded boiled chicken and avocado in the egg salad to enhance the taste. By the time I went back into the dining hall, Cara was already sitting in a corner booth, reading a kids book that she brought with her. I placed the plate in front of her and she stared at it in excitement.

Watching her eat the sandwich filled me with satisfaction. I know Evan and everyone else in the house would be taking good care of her but I was still worried every minute that if she had taken any food or if she had brushed her teeth or if she took a bath today. I wanted to go back to her as soon as possible.

............

It was 10 in the evening. Everyone else had left the bakery and now I was alone inside, waiting for the last customer to go. She was sitting alone in the front seat, sipping her tea at a torturing slow speed. I used this time to clean the counters and wash the dirty dishes.

Before she could leave, another person walked inside the bakery and I cursed my luck for this. Sighing in distress, I walked out of the kitchen and peeked at the new customer.

The element of surprise filled me when I found Evan standing in front of the counter, glancing at his watch. Scrunching my nose n confusion, I walked out of the kitchen and reached him.

"Geena already picked up Cara." I told him.

"I know." He flashed his bright smile and my confusion peaked.

"Then what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I am here as a customer." He smirked and I cast him a suspicious glance. Why would he come to a bakery at this time of the night?

"Great. What would you like to have?" I asked him and picked up the notepad to write his order.

"Two cups of cappuccino," he answered and rested his elbows on the counter.

He was alone yet he was asking for two cups of coffee. I knew he was in mood of messing with me but I can't refuse him. It would go against the ethics of my bakery.

"Anything else?" I asked and wrote the coffee on the notepad.

"No. I will be waiting in there." He said and motioned over to a corner booth.

I walked back to the kitchen to prepare the coffee for him. With the coffee, I also placed few leftover cookies in a tray to feed him. When I went back outside, the woman had already gone with the bill placed on her table.

I first changed the sign on the door to 'close' so that no more customers would come in. Then I made my way through the seats to the last booth where Evan was sitting, scrolling the screen of his phone.

"The cookies are on the house." I said and placed the tray in front of him. I was about to walk away when he wrapped his fingers around my wrist, stopping me.

"Sit with me." He whispered, looking deep into my eyes. I was going to refuse him when he added, "Please."

His voice was so soft and pleading that I couldn't say no. With my heart pounding inside my chest, I seated myself beside him on the bench, maintaining reasonable distance between us. He passed one cup of coffee to me and placed the other one in front of himself.

"I missed your coffee." He asked, taking a long sip.

"Just coffee?" I muttered under my breath but by his reaction, he heard it. A subtle smile appeared in his face that was covered with a hint of a stubble. The stubble made him look many times hotter than his usual shaved face.

"What do you miss about me?" He asked.

"I don't miss you." I lied blatantly. I missed him, too much that it would be embarrassing to admit.

"Lie." He said with a smirk. "I know you miss me, especially when you are alone in bed." He said the last part in a whisper.

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes and tried to act normal although my heart was racing at an alarming speed now. Warm blood rushed to my cheeks as I imagined us together, in bed, kissing, doing other things.

Shut it, Scarlet.

"Do you know why am I here?" He asked, tracing the edge of the cup with his finger.

"No." I replied and took a sip of the coffee.

"I want to take you back with me." He said and my heart fluttered.

"I... I told you I am not---"

He cut me mid-sentence my placing his finger on my lips. I sucked my breath and struggled to keep my eyes open when he was this close to me.

"It's my turn to speak now." He said. "You already told me what you want that night. Now you have to listen to me."

I tried to speak but his gaze held me captive. For a moment, I stopped breathing and nothing else mattered at that moment. "I want to take you back, but not because you make good food or because you keep Cara happy or because you bring order in my house." He said and cupped my face with his palm.

"I want you back because I am addicted to you now. You keep me sane, Scarlet. You keep my demons away. I want to take you back because..." He took a long pause. "I love you, more than I have loved anyone in a long time. Is it enough reason to give me another chance?" He mumbled the last part with closed eyes.

His words brought tears in my eyes that blurred my vision. I blinked hard to clear my eyesight and smiled briefly. "I thought I'd never hear these words out of your mouth."

"You didn't say it back." He asked, brushing his fingers over my lips.

"Do I need to? If I didn't love you, why else would I deal with all your tantrums this whole time?" I grinned wide.

"Figured," he said and leaned his head to place a kiss on my mouth. The kiss started innocent but soon, our impatience and the longing for each other dominated the innocence and it turned wild in no time.

His hands that were once on my face held the nape of my neck and angled it to deepen the kiss. His tongue traced the inside of my mouth and all my senses heightened at the wonderful feeling pumping through my body. The heat in my lower belly increased and I shifted into his lap to decrease the distance between us.

Somewhere between the kiss, his hands travelled down my torso and then inside my linen shirt. His warm fingers caressed the skin of my waist in a teasing manner and I moaned into his mouth. I was longing for his touch for so long now that it felt like a dream. And if it was a dream, I didn't want to wake up anytime soon.

"Is there a room here?" He said, breaking the kiss for a moment.

"Y... Yeah. There is a lounge for rest behind the kitchen." I replied breathlessly. With me in his arms, he stood up and guided my legs around his waist. Once again, his lips clung to mine while his legs took us to the lounge.

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