Hyde and Seek (29 page)

Sad.

“Enjoy the wild ride while you have it. You can’t give him what he likes. And since he’s been talking to me all week, he obviously knows that. Once he gets bored of you, he’ll be back with me where he belongs, doing what he should be doing. No more being stupid. No more wasting his life with these losers and this fuckin’ bullshit.”

I punched her. Right in the face.

She crumbled to the ground with a pained cry.

Bending down, I got in her space as I vibrated with anger. “Don’t you ever, and I mean
ever
, talk shit about
my
man or
my
boys,” I bit out, my voice low and raspy. “You wanna lash out at me? Fine. But if you ever talk like that about them again, you’ll regret it. And that’s a promise.”

I rose up as Chloe stood and then took a tiny step towards me. “Who—”

“You wanna keep going, feel free. I used my last shred of control not pulling you up so I could hit you again. Since
Jake
went through all the work of setting up this spot so he could see me more, I’m thinking it wouldn’t be a good idea to get blood all over the place. But if you’d like to push this, I’ll be happy to.”

Stepping back, she turned to face Jake. “I hope you’re happy with your choices, Jake. Not only is she too young for you, she’s crazy. You can’t seriously want to be with someone like this.”

“Fuck yeah, I do,” Jake rumbled. “I told you to leave. Multiple times. I should call Frederick and have him come remove you, includin’ tellin’ him why you’re here in the first place. But if you’re like this when you’ve got a man, I hate to think how you’d be when he dumped your ass. Now I’m more inclined to let my woman remove you herself.”

“You’re making a huge mistake, Jake.” Chloe looked my way, her eyes going wide as I stepped towards her. Turning, she rushed from the room.

“I’m gonna make sure she leaves without making another fucking scene,” Z said, following her.

Jake came over to me but I turned away.

Placing the scones and sweet cream on the table, I asked, “Anyone want coffee?”

“Sweets, come here.”

“Now is
not
a good time, Jake.”

“Piper, what she said about you—”

Putting my hands on my hips, I let out a humorless laugh. “I don’t care about that, Jake. Biker bitches might do it well, but rich bitches do it better. Her running her mouth? That was nothing. That was white noise. I didn’t care ‘til she started talking shit about my boys.
No one
does that.” There was a fierceness in my voice that I hoped they heard. “I’ve gotta get to work. I’m running behind schedule.”

“Okay.” Jake lowered his lips to mine.

For the first time since we became us, I let him without returning the kiss.

Like most everything else, Jake didn’t miss it. Pulling back, he looked down at me. “I’m… I’ll… See ya, babe,” he muttered. His body was stiff as he turned and walked out the door.

Key grabbed a scone. “Thanks, Piper. These are my favorite.”

“I know.” I attempted a smile. “That’s why they’re here.”

He gave me a wide smile before heading to the garage.

Best compliment ever.

“You okay, Pipe?” Kase asked when we were alone. His eyes searched my face.

“Yeah, I’m good. The adrenaline wearing off means my hand hurts now, though. How do people do that all the time?” I wiggled my fingers to try to ease the tightness at my knuckles.

As I pulled ingredients out, I began second guessing my decision to bring so many of my supplies.

First day working in the kitchen here and I already wish I had an exit strategy?

Awesome sign.

Coming up next to me, Kase fixed himself a cup of coffee. “Didn’t know he was talking to her this week, did ya?”

“Nope.”

“Jake’s a dumbass sometimes but he’s nuts about you. He wouldn’t do anything with anyone else, especially not Chloe. You know that, right?”

“I wouldn’t be here if I thought differently.”

If I honestly thought Jake was cheating on me, I’d leave behind everything I had. Even if that meant going to my mother for a loan to replace it all, I wouldn’t bother sticking around to pack a single box.

Still, he’d lied to me. So while I wasn’t making a run for my car, I also wasn’t happily skipping across the hall to fool around.

“Nah, didn’t figure you would be.” Kase headed for the door before pausing. “Hey Pipe?”

“Yeah?” I looked over at him when he didn’t continue.

His dreads were pulled back and up for work. His work stained jeans were loose and hung way low from his hips. A white undershirt tank top accentuated his golden skin, colorful ink, and the strength in his body.

Rougher around the edges than most, he was blatantly male. There was a raw power about him that was impossible to miss.

But in that moment, I could almost forget he was the man he was. With his crystal blue eyes gleaming with feeling and vulnerability, I saw a kid, long ago lost.

A feeling of grief hit me as I looked at him, but I didn’t know why.

Kase cleared his throat. “What you said about us? The way you said it?
Mahalo nui loa, me ke aloha.
”

“That’s beautiful, but I don’t know what it means, sweetie.”

“Thank you very much, with love.” His voice was low, the feeling in it so immense that it was physical, like the tightest hug.

Before I could respond, Kase’s face lit with his usual playful smirk and his eyes glittered with humor. “And, Piper? You ever punch someone again, especially if you’re wearing killer heels and a short skirt, make sure I’m there to watch. That was hot!”

“No problem. That being said, don’t plan on it being anytime soon. My hand still hurts and it’s going to make cake decorating more painful than the usual cramps.”

He shook his head as he left the room. “A man can dream.”

*******

A few hours later, I loaded my van with cakes and one birthday pie, then left to make my deliveries. When I arrived at the first drop-off, I noticed my phone was blinking. I looked to see a missed call and an unread text, both from Jake.

Jake:
Babe, where’d you go?

I was tempted to let him sit and wait, but games were never my thing.

Me:
I’m making my deliveries. I’ll be back in a couple of hours to clean up.

Jake:
You didn’t come say bye.

Me:
You were working. I told you I wasn’t gonna be constantly around. I gotta get this cake in.

As I made my deliveries, I thought about the morning. I was fine with Chloe talking shit about me. The sooner she got it all out, the sooner
she
was out. I could handle it because I didn’t care about her or what she thought of me.

Obviously, her talking shit about the boys and Jake was a step too far.

I should’ve punched her again.

Felt freakin’ awesome.

I trusted Jake, but he’d lied and I didn’t know why. Maybe I was naive, but I just couldn’t picture him messing with her.

When I returned to the shop, I went straight back to tidy up for the day. As I entered the room, I saw Jake sitting on the couch waiting for me.

He held out his hand. “Come here.”

“I’ve gotta get cleaned up.”

“Just talk to me.”

“Like you talked to me yesterday?”

My stomach dropped as I watched him flinch.

That kills the illogical sliver of hope I had that maybe he hadn’t lied.

“Fuck.” Jake ran his palm across his jaw as he shook his head. “It wasn’t how she made it seem.”

“I know. I’m not an idiot.”

“Then why’re you mad?”

I threw my hands into the air. “You’re hiding shit and flat-out lied last night.” The implied ‘duh’ went unsaid.

“She called on Monday and said she wanted me back. I told her I’m not interested. Literally, I said two words and hung up. I ignored her followin’ million fuckin’ calls. Last night I’d had enough. We were havin’ a good night, and she texted a few times. Not… Not appropriate texts. And then she called. I was done. I didn’t say jack fuckin’ shit that would encourage her. I told her I was with someone, and to stop with all the shit.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“I should’ve. I just worry you’ll get sick of my bullshit. I didn’t want to add any more to the pile.”

“What bullshit?”

“How many hours I put in here. The stupid shit I say.”

“I work just as much. And I put my foot in my mouth all the time, too.”

“Sweets, c’mon. Come here.”

“Fine, Mr. Bossy Pants.” When I got within reach, Jake grabbed me and pulled me onto his lap.

“I can’t lose you, Piper.” His words were muffled as he buried his head in my hair and neck.

“You won’t unless you lie. And that includes lies by omission. You’ve gotta trust me and know I’m not gonna leave at every bump. I don’t brace anymore, Jake,” I pointed out. “And neither should you.”

“You’re right.”

“Of course I am. So what’s the deal with Chloe? Why is she showing up all of a sudden?” I moved to straddle him, the side of my wrap skirt opening to show almost my whole thigh.

He sighed, looking and sounding annoyed. “I’ve got no fuckin’ clue. We split a long time ago and I haven’t seen her much since.”

“Why’d you breakup?”

“There were a lot of reasons.”

“Such as?”

“When Chloe and I got together, she was a different person. She seemed down with my life, the shop, all that. She just fit so even though we weren’t serious, we also were. You know?”

I laughed. “Not even a little.”

“It was more that she was there and I was there, and so we were together. Not that we were
together
. Now do you get me?”

“I think so.”

“Anyway, she started changin’. Dressin’ different and tryin’ to be someone she wasn’t. All of a sudden she wanted to go out all the time to upscale restaurants. Then she was buggin’ me to take her to my folks’ dinner parties. She’s a biker bitch pretendin’ to be a rich bitch,” Jake said, using my words.

“The worst of both worlds.”

“Fuckin’ tell me about it. When business picked up, she started naggin’ me about the time I spent here. But she’d turn around and want me to take her places or buy shit with the money I was workin’ so hard for. When my dad would get on my case about going back to law school, she was right there with him. It didn’t matter that the business was a success; my title wasn’t good enough. I’d heard it enough from my folks, I didn’t need to hear it from my supposed woman.”

“I still don’t get that.”

“You wouldn’t, ‘cause you’re not a bitch.”

“Well, yeah, there’s that. So what happened to finally end it?”

“She wasn’t fun. It wasn’t like the good times were good and the bad times were bad. There were no good times. She’d just been doin’ what she had to do to try to hook me. It wasn’t even like she’d been very stealth about it. I was just so caught up in gettin’ shit up and runnin’ here that I didn’t notice her most of the time.”

Ouch! Harsh.

Well-deserved, but still.

“Honestly, it was one of the reasons I kept you at a distance. I’d always wanted someone like you, but I’d never found anythin’ even close. By the time I met you, I was jaded. I kept waitin’ for you to change.”

I opened my mouth, but he kept talking.

Shocking.

“You aren’t gonna. I know that now. Still, I don’t wanna give you any reason to leave.”

I leaned against him to whisper in his ear. “You know I won’t leave you. I’m yours.” I ran the tip of my tongue over the edge of his ear, eliciting a groan as he raised his hips. “Alright, I’ve gotta get cleaning.”

“No, you don’t.”

Holding my ass, Jake stood and carried me across the hall to his office.

*******

After some hardcore making out while I straddled him on his chair, I stood up, much to Jake’s dismay.

“Don’t you have work to do?” I asked, breathlessly.

“Nope, that’s why I started my own business. Let them handle it.”

“Well, I’ve gotta get stuff done. Why don’t you go help them out, Mr. Bossy Pants?”

“Not really in a position to go out there. Unless somethin’ needs to be hammered.” Jake grabbed the bulge in his jeans to emphasize the point.

And what a big point it is.