Love Unwrapped Read online

  Blake didn’t wait to see what she’d do. She’d either follow his directions or she’d walk away. He didn’t know which he hoped for. He took a deep breath and left it up to fate. When he redirected his attention to the group, three sets of eyes stared at him with something akin to curiosity. He didn’t give in to those non-verbalized questions. Hell, he wouldn’t give in to an outright question. Blake’s past would stay there, forbidden from invading his present. He’d made a good life for himself over the last ten years. And sure as the sun rose in the east, he didn’t need Ms. Priss giving him hell for the next four days. He hadn’t seen her in over a decade, but his response to her hadn’t changed at all, which pissed him off too.

  ~~~

  Not much startled Andi anymore, but the shock of seeing Blake Mangold, her sister’s ex-boyfriend, standing in this bakery might have been the top of the leaderboard. So startled, she could do little more than stare at him, her heart dropping to her knees as her eyes narrowed. Andi reached a hand out to stop the door from closing as she stepped back to view the address on the door’s frame Nope, this was the right place. Bree at the table, waving her inside, should have been verification enough, but seeing Blake sitting across the table from her had momentarily scrambled Andi’s brain cells.

  Reality had her breath pushing from her lungs at the same time the hammering in her chest picked up a beat. This was bad. What was her grandmother thinking? Did this mean her sister was back in town? She pulled her lip between her teeth, gnawing on the tender flesh in a straight up anxiety-filled moment as long-buried memories flashed through her head with record speed.

  Blake and Andi were in the same high school…same grade even. He’d dated Natalie, her sister, throughout his senior year. Nat had graduated the year before, but she’d worked as a waitress at a local bar, not sure what she wanted to do with her life. Nat and Blake’s relationship had caused her family so much grief. Blake had played a role in turning Nat against the family. The constant partying and trouble Nat had gotten into had turned Andi’s teenage years into a living hell. Her parents had fought with each other, then fought with Nat, trying to find the best way to calm their daughter down, to get her on the straight and narrow.

  But then Nat and Blake had been arrested for robbery, and that had been the end of her parents’ marriage and her home life as she’d known it. Her mother and father had disagreed on how to handle the situation, her father refusing to see what Nat had become. The battle had ultimately caused their divorce. Andi had gotten a scholarship to college, and headed off to the dorm as soon as she was able. Her family imploded, but her sister’s troubles hadn’t stopped. Luckily, through it all her grandmother had been there to listen. Try as she might, she never let go of the fact that everything bad that had happened to her family had started with that man who called her the pet name she hated most in the world—Princess.

  Like fingernails on a chalkboard, the memory of that voice, calling her “princess” every single time she saw him, grated on her last nerve. Men like him, all buff, rugged, and full of swagger, were exactly the formula that did women in.

  Andi stood there, tucking her chin to her chest, letting her long hair fall into her face. She’d worked hard on herself, no longer that same naïve, insecure young girl. What was he doing there? He’d gone into the military in lieu of serving jail time over ten years ago. Maybe the armed forces hadn’t worked out well for him. She could totally see the military kicking him out with his over-the-top, cocky attitude. She stiffened her spine as she brought her head up again.

  Maybe this was community service hours for whatever halfway house he’d landed into for his latest fiasco-causing stunt. She squared her shoulders and reached for the door handle again.

  Her past did not scare her, and she gave her foot a mental stomp to drive home the point. The visceral reaction she’d always had to that man no longer bound her. She practiced law, deciphering all the legalities of operating an airline in the United States. She could handle anything Blake Mangold dished out.

  Opening the door, she flipped her hair over her shoulders, her challenging gaze cutting right to Blake. His head swung around toward her again. Her training kicked in and she immediately assessed him. He’d grown into a man. She was self-aware enough to admit she’d crushed on him in high school, even if he’d been a huge jerk. Of course, he was still extraordinarily handsome. She suspected that would never change. His biceps were thick with muscle. As he turned her way, he stopped chatting with the group and crossed his brawny arms, letting those muscles bulge. The wariness in his green gaze showed his uncertainty of Andi, no matter how cavalier he acted or how much she wanted to smack that raised eyebrow off his stupid face. She took in those folded arms, noticing the tip of a scar peeking from under the rolled-up sleeve over his bicep. The bulging ripple of muscle had mostly hidden the obviously puckered skin.

  She immediately wondered what had happened to him.

  No, she didn’t. She didn’t care in the least.

  His apron held remnants of flour and dough, as did his jeans. He obviously worked at the bakery, which added to the mystery of why he’d shown up back in this town to begin with. Even her brazen sister hadn’t been back in all these years, though Nat had argued the small town on the outskirts of Sacramento only served to stifle her.

  “Hey, I’m Andi.” She stuck out her hand to shake with the two people she didn’t know. “I guess I’m another volunteer for the Christmas Bazaar this weekend.” Andi took the seat next to Bree, who gave her a questioning eye. Of course, Bree wouldn’t understand what had just happened or why she was using the clipped, forceful tone she reserved for the boardroom. She’d never let anyone in enough to catch a glimpse of her past. She winked at Bree before looking directly at Blake. “Sorry I’m a little late. I had trouble finding a parking space. What did I miss?”

  She’d get this show on the road and deal with Grams when she had a chance. Grams knew the family’s history with Blake. Why would she do this to her?

  Chapter 3

  Two of the volunteers flaked within the first hour. Babs had told him not to be surprised. She’d sent four people in case a few disappeared or weren’t super helpful. He grunted as he pulled another tray of cookies from the oven. When she said she guaranteed at least two would stay for the long haul, she’d obviously been talking about her granddaughter and her friend. What was the cagey old woman up to? He shuffled the cookies onto the cooling rack with a scowl, remembering his first interaction with Babs.

  She hadn’t pulled any punches with him when she’d solicited donations from his business the previous year. She’d walked right in, grasped his hand in a firm shake, and introduced herself as Nat’s grandmother. Some days ten years felt like a whole lifetime, but in that moment, he’d been that scrawny kid getting ready to ship out for boot camp, a little scared, a lot unsure of what the future held. She’d stared at him as if waiting for his reaction. At his cringe, she’d smiled and pulled him in for a quick hug. He hadn’t even said a word, but when she’d let him go, she’d said, “That’s what I thought. You didn’t even know what you were getting into with my granddaughter, did you?”

  A weight he hadn’t know he’d carried all those years had lifted slightly. Then they’d spent an hour talking about how he’d left town, and how the military had given him structure he hadn’t had before. He’d succeeded in the Navy, advanced, and chosen his own path by joining the SEALs. He’d earned a family. Even now, after being out for a little over two years, he and his brothers were still close. They stayed in contact as often as they could.

  The potential for running into people from his past life hadn’t been lost on him when he’d chosen to open the bakery in the town where he’d grown up on the outskirts of Sacramento. He certainly hadn’t anticipated a direct attack by Nat’s grandmother within the first two months, but she didn’t blame him for Nat’s issues, which surprised him. She believed him when he told her he’d had no idea Nat had robbed that store until she’d hopp
ed in his car and demanded he drive. No one, not even his own parents, had believed him at the time.

  As odd as it seemed, though he’d been all over the world, this town called to him in some weird way. He hadn’t been in contact with his dad in years. His mom was long gone…across the country with some dude she’d hooked up with. Maybe there was some truth in the saying that a person will always be drawn to where they grew up. He had a lot of good years here, the stellar bad year with Nat notwithstanding. Whatever the reason, he was here now.

  He shuffled some cooled cookies onto another tray and carried them into the prep room with Andi and Bree. He’d set them up in his cake decorating room. Andi had grumbled at the hair cover, gloves, and apron she’d been required to wear, but had put them on. He had to admit, she looked adorable, like those old shows of Lucy in the chocolate factory. Granted he could have let them just pull back their hair, but he’d still been reeling from her arrival and had felt less than accommodating.

  “I have another tray of gingerbread men you can ice. How did the first batch go?” He set the tray on the table near them and walked around to the far end to look at what they’d accomplished. Yikes. These were for Christmas, not Halloween.

  “This one looks great. Who did that one?”

  Bree beamed at him. “That’s mine. Isn’t he cute?”

  “The little green trousers were a nice touch. And this one?” Blake pointed to the demented gingerbread man with one bulging eye and two noses.

  Bree giggled then sucked her lip between her teeth to hold back her smile and pointed to Andi.

  “So sue me. I volunteered. I never said art was my forte.” Andi’s brow furrowed so far down that she had to give herself a headache. He’d love to walk out and leave them to their own devices, but these were Manly Cakes cookies. He had a standard to keep. He took a deep breath.

  “Here. Let me show you. It’s just a few dots and a few squiggles. No real artistic ability required.” Blake ambled over to stand beside her stool. He put on a pair of gloves from the nearby box and set a fresh gingerbread man on the table in front of them.

  He ignored her scowl. She hadn’t willingly said two words to him since she’d arrived. He smiled at her to show he meant no harm. He needed her to take this seriously or he’d never make the deadline for the bazaar. Blake wasn’t about to break his promise to Babs…to those underprivileged kids. Not if he could avoid it.

  “Steadiness is the key. Once you have that, you can master just about any frosting technique.” With the piping bag, he showed her how to hold the bag to get a steady stream of icing. “Let’s give this one two eyes, a mouth, and three buttons down the front.” After that, he picked up the piping bag with the smaller nozzle. “You can use this one to give him those squiggles on his arms and legs. Use the same pressure and you’ll do fine.” He angled the cookie so she could see exactly what he was doing. “And voila, one gingerbread man, ready to go. Now you give it a try.” He moved the finished cookie to the other tray and gave her a new gingerbread man to ice.

  Blake remained hovering over her, but not touching her as she heaved a sigh before picking up the bigger piping bag and squirting out two lopsided eyes.

  “No. Like this…” Blake wrapped his arm around her, holding the piping bag with her, so he could show her the pressure she needed to use to get the desired result. When he touched her hand, she stiffened and sucked in a breath. He breathed in her scent and nearly groaned out loud. She smelled amazing. He’d noticed it before over the strong aroma of ginger and molasses that hung in the air. But this close, he could detect hints of…papaya. Maybe it was her shampoo or some type of lotion. It took all his effort not to lean in closer and breath deeper to find the source. But the stiffness of her spine let him know his attention wouldn’t be welcome.

  When she finally gave in and let him guide her hand on the bag, he said, “Great. Just like that. A gentle, consistent squeeze.” They finished the cookie, and it didn’t look half bad.

  “That looks great, Andi,” Bree said and then groaned, adding, “It’s taking all my will-power not to gobble these little guys up.”

  Andi cleared her throat and tilted her head toward him with a back-up gesture. He let go of her hand as if she were a tray he’d grabbed from the oven without his mitts. What was he thinking, holding on to her that way? She hated him and made her animosity quite evident. And here he was getting a hard-on over papaya and proximity. He’d never learn. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and focused on Bree’s statement.

  “No eating the merchandise.” He wagged his finger at her. “But it’s about time to take a break. We can grab lunch from the bakery or there are a few food trucks nearby. Whatever you’d like. Then get back to icing these little guys. What do you say?”

  “Sounds like a plan!” Bree gave Andi an odd look before she hopped off her stool, removed her gloves, hung the hair cover and apron on the hook by the door, and dashed through the door toward the front of the bakery.

  “What was that all about?”

  “Who knows with her?” Though it looked like it took all her effort, she turned toward Blake and said, “Thank you for the lesson. It’ll help a lot.”

  “Not a problem,” Blake said hesitantly. “Your grandmother didn’t tell me you were coming today.”

  “Yeah, she didn’t tell me about you either. If I’d known, I’d have gone with the hot glue bookmarks,” Andi muttered.

  He had no idea what she was talking about but figured it was safer to leave it alone, stick to other topics. “Well, I’m glad you’re here. It’s nice seeing you again.” Surprisingly he meant it. He’d obviously never gotten over the crush he’d had on her in high school. Hell, the only reason he’d agreed to hang out with Nat and her friends was because she’d assured him they’d run into Andi. Nat had used his interest in her sister to get him to do whatever she wanted. He’d learned that lesson on who to trust the hard way.

  “I can’t say the feeling’s mutual. I take my responsibilities seriously though, so I’m here for the duration.”

  “Oh, Princess, you have no idea how serious I can be.” Blake turned toward the door to the bakery’s main area, leaving her sitting at the table. He had no control over his mouth where Andi was concerned. He’d have to figure out something or the next four days would be miserable for both of them.

  Chapter 4

  With great effort, Andi pushed aside the past and forced herself to concentrate on the here and now. By doing so, she eased the headache building from how ramrod straight her spine had been for much of the morning. For the last half-hour or so, she’d actually de-stressed enough to not totally freak out when Blake had come around the table and put his hands on her.

  The seconds he was there felt like eons. The rigors of law school had taught her how to bury her emotions in order to complete a task. Even then, with Blake’s arms wrapped around her, his chest brushing against her back, her body ran the gamut of reactions. But she could say with all certainty that he was no longer the young boy who had been the adorable class clown, always cracking jokes and testing the patience of every teacher and administrator in their high school.

  Any easing of her feelings vanished as she remembered the teasing torture he had inflicted on her from the very first day of high school. She had always had long blonde hair. Back then, she’d talked herself into believing the braided pigtails were the height of fashion. The first moment he had spotted her, standing outside the school waiting for the doors to open, all nervous and excited about the prospect of starting high school, Blake had mocked and teased her about the little-girl look. Her cardigan and topsiders were the next target of his humiliation. He kept going until everyone around her was in on his joke. All day long, she had someone pulling on her braids and it seemed like that hadn’t stopped until she’d graduated from high school.

  Years had passed since that time, yet every one of her accomplishments meant nothing compared to the little girl who had believed in fairytales and unicorns, w
ho had just wanted to please her teachers and make the cute boy at school like her—not tease her mercilessly like Blake had done.

  “I was kidding, Andi.” Lost in the memories of the past, she zoned back into the here and now as Blake turned back toward her in the doorway at the other side of the room. She lowered her gaze, which caught on her horrible design on the gingerbread cookies. How could drawing a face be so difficult to achieve? Frustrated, Andi picked up the cookie and somewhat aggressively bit off the ginger man’s head as she scooted off her stool and got to her feet.

  This was so much more than packaging cookies. She looked down at her freshly ironed black skinny jeans and high heels, seeing the apron she wore hadn’t caught all the flour. Her clothes were a mess, much like her attitude.

  “I’m going to take that break.” She pulled off the hair cover, wishing like anything for ponytail holder, and tugged off the apron.

  “I’ll stop,” Blake said, interrupted by the buzz of the oven’s timer. She already had her purse in hand, heading toward the door. She needed air…now. She hightailed it through the bakery, just shy of a trot, and stepped outside, soaking in the warm sun as she started for the health food store across the street. Even that left her unsatisfied. Nothing compared to the taste of a freshly baked piece of cake to get her through a hard time, but even that had been tainted. She was a traitor for even enjoying his cakes at company celebrations. She’d been so excited to volunteer at what had quickly become her favorite bakery in town. She’d had no idea he had anything to do with it.

  “Andi, where are you going?” Bree called out. “Want me to grab you something here?” Her assistant stood about midway through the line leading to a street taco truck, apparently having decided on grabbing something more substantial than a croissant. Andi nodded then lifted a finger, asking for a minute as she dug through her purse to find her cell phone. Times like these, she wished she had her grandmother on some sort of instant speed dial.