Standing By: A Knight's Tale #2 (30 page)

I raise an eyebrow as I walk over to him.

“Chloe or Jordan, I cared about them, and proposing to Jordan felt like the next step to take…” he extends his hand when I reach him and I take it. Mitch kisses the back of it and then my palm. “Nothing compared to you though, baby, I love you. You are my world.”

I’m speechless, but that’s Mitch, you never know what’s going to come out of that mouth of his and it never ceases to amaze me that it will be right on the target. How can I walk away or… anything?

“However,” he squeezes my hand. “I don’t want you to acknowledge what I just said.”

“Say what?” Now I want to punch him on the face. No, on his wounds so I can do some real damage.

“Once I’m back on my feet, matured and knowing my shit—or was it getting my shit together… yes, that was it. Once that happens, I’ll sweep you off your feet and make you fall all over again.”

“You’re crazy.” I stare at him trying to give him a stern look that’s not working well because he’s giving me those puppy dog eyes of his.

“Stay around, and you’ll see, beautiful,” he smirks. “Hugs are welcome, you know I was injured in battle.”

I hug him as I wonder what he plans to do and of course, I hold my tongue because being shot by his brother isn’t a real battle—Knights.

Mitch

T
en weeks after
what I like to call the Jake incident I finally start taking my life back; yesterday I received a clean bill of health. Today, instead of heading to my office which I have visited a couple of times a week for the past three weeks, I head to the new café.

Pieces of Heaven Café
is located in upper Manhattan, close to Fifth Avenue and Central Park. Hayes found a great spot, close to one of my exclusive restaurants. She moved back to her old apartment the one she lived in before finding Kevin and Paige having sex in it and ran away. That same place that’s only blocks from her father’s penthouse and her mother’s home.

Right as I walk onto the street of her shop, I spot it. The sign on top of the door is covered, but a smaller one says, Coming soon,
Pieces of Heaven Café
. She’s three weeks from the grand opening—the second week of November. The woman is crazy to open a bakery and café restaurant right when the city is filled with tourists, and shoppers are out and about shopping for whatever winter holiday they celebrate. With the cold, they crave coffee, hot cocoa, tea and certainly the pastries. Even with her old staff and the new associates she hired, this is going to be a zoo.

I push on the door; it’s unlocked and the first thing I spot are the stacked boxes of books. She plans to have a small indie library on the second story. The sofas, chairs and other comfortable spaces for everyone to stay and enjoy books with their drinks, sandwiches, soups and pastries are scheduled to arrive next week. Hayley is madly insane and crazily perfect. My only fear is that we won’t have time for each other until next year—if I’m lucky.

We have taken our relationship back to basics, for now we talk daily on the phone and see each other during the weekends. Between my rehabilitation and Jake breathing down my neck, so I recover quickly, I have almost no time to be with her. Then there’s Hayley, who along with Parker have been managing my restaurants and to top it all off she’s been working hard to set up the café.

I scan the place; there are a few landscape pieces of art, courtesy of Emma and pictures from different parts of the world. The bases for the menu screens are set above the back counter, where I guess the espresso machines will stand. The tables range between a modern, yet homelike atmosphere. There are displays, the future home of
Pieces of Heaven
shirts, mugs, aprons and other
Heavenly Wear
accessories.

I pull out my phone and check the time, eleven. We agreed to meet at this time, but I don’t see her anywhere.

“Anybody home, Muffin girl?”

That’s when the swinging doors move, and she appears.

“Oh, you’re here,” she dusts her face and clothes which have a coat of white powder—flour?

“With that enthusiasm you make me want to visit more often,” I tell her setting my computer bag on top of a table. “What’s going on back there?”

“I’m having crazy sex with a hot guy.” She winks at me; I groan. “What do you think I’m doing, Mitchel? The café’s kitchen is now fully functional. I’m finally baking at a decent place… not Dad’s old kitchen or at my apartment. If he hadn’t sold the place, I’d make him update that antiquity. Not that it matters, the new ovens here are my new love…” She smiles. “Ready to work, Mr. Knight?”

“You only want to use me, slave driver,” I tell her. I’m here to decide the menus and details about the operation. She handles the sweet part; I’m in charge of the other side of the café—soups, salads and sandwiches. “Any ideas yet on what you want for the menu, other than… food.”

She rolls her eyes, takes off her apron, picks up her satchel bag that’s on top of the counter and walks to where I stand.

“Hi,” she says, scrunching her nose while standing on her tiptoes. “I missed you.”

“Hi, Hay-Bear,” I give her a deeper kiss. “I can’t believe I see your brothers more often than I see you, what is wrong with that picture?”

“You five have these nightly play dates and I’m not invited… because I count cards,” she arches an eyebrow. Parker and Ben join my brothers and I most nights for a game of poker, dominoes or just to hang out depending on the night. Sometimes my dad and Augustine join too. It’s like the families meshed already, except, Hay and I aren’t as involved, yet. We agreed to wait for the next step until the doctor hands me the clean bill of health. “Heard you won a few hands yesterday… until Jake caught you… marking cards. Tsk, tsk, tsk. You, my friend, are a cheater.”

“Says the girl who counts cards.” I pick her up from the floor and as I’m about to take her to the kitchen for a little foreplay, she moves her head to the side and waves.

“Hi, Daddy.”

We need a bell.

“Hello, Pumpkin, Mitchel,” his clear voice is loud and somehow there’s a warning interlaced with those words, I set her back on the floor and turn around. The guy glares at me. “How are you this morning, Hay-Bear? Mitchel… you’re too close to my child.”

“Yes, sir,” I stare at Hayley who laughs at me.

“Your mother called the office,” Augustine clears his throat. “She wants us to visit her tomorrow, for dinner.”

“I’m working tomorrow,” she protests, crossing her arms. “No, I can’t, sorry. She refuses to go to counseling with me—claiming she’s not crazy, like me. If only she knew why I go to counseling…” Hayley sighs. “That’s not the point; I gave her my schedule, clearly she refuses to compromise and I bet she’ll eat a greasy burger while she serves me salad because a person of my complexion shouldn’t eat any other kind of food. Then she’ll talk about my single status and finally remind me that I’ll die alone because I didn’t get knocked up by Mitchel when I had the chance. No thank you.”

The honest tone, relaxed posture and easy smile tell me she’s dealing with her mother’s strange attitude with a positive approach.

“Are you going, Daddy?”

“If you don’t go, no, I won’t,” his candid voice matches his soft eyes, ones he only has for his daughter. “We both know she’s inviting me to convince me to increase her alimony which I won’t. I should stop paying her; it’s not like I have a legal obligation.”

“That’s up to you, Daddy,” she shrugs and I perceive that as a washing her hands position towards her parent’s relationship. “I’ll call her later to see if she’ll change the time or her mind about our relationship. Now let’s set aside Mom and talk food… I vote for my favorite, mac-n-cheese.”

“Of course, you do, my mac-n-cheese monster,” I pull a chair for her to sit on it and then take a seat too. “So if I ask you on a date tomorrow is that a
no
?”

“Find someone to cover my shift at
Alexander’s
, you’re the boss,” her eyes crinkle. “Then again, you’re scheduled to work at Frida’s; I gave the night off to your chef, and you were the only available person to take over.”

“You are off today, we can squeeze in something.” I had a plan for tomorrow, damn it.

“Of course, after we finish in here…” the jesting tone reminds me that we won’t be able to do anything today, we have too many things to figure out. Damn it. Not only that, her father sits at the table and starts sharing his thoughts about the cafe.

Great, we have a chaperone—her father.

*

“When you said
that you had no idea what’s in your kitchen, did you mean the stuff growing inside those containers? The health department will shut your apartment down—no, the entire building—if they see these. What happened to my clean freak?” I want to grab a bag and throw everything away.

“You have me working from dawn to dusk,” Hayley throws her head back and places her arm on top of her forehead. “No worker’s comp, salary or love.”

“Oh, I love you, never doubt that part about me, nice drama—I might give you an Oscar for it,” I shake my head while wondering what we’re going to eat. “About the salary… We offered to pay you and Parker, and the two of you refused.”

“Feed me,” her distraught tone follows a fake ill face, changing the compensation subject. “It’s been an eternity without the
best food ever
.”

“Now you’re mocking me, that’s my job—to mock people,” I check the expiration date of the eggs, look at the cheddar cheese green at the edges and then the milk. “The milk expired two weeks ago… you need to call someone to dispose of your biological weapons.” When I open her cupboards, I notice that she only has cups, plates and some useless cans—what can I do with artichokes. “You don’t have any food staples, I mean you don’t cook but at least you used to have the basics.”

Hayley shrugs.

“Do you want Mexican or should I order a couple of meat cuts with some mashed and mac-n-cheese?”

“The latter, I’m going to change into something more comfortable,” she forces out while yawning. I look at her and realize she’s wearing a long skirt, boots and a dressy sweater—cute. Not that it matters, I think she looks pretty any way she dresses. “On second thought, make one of my sides a salad… no potatoes.”

First I call the restaurant, order them to bring a prime filet mignon, medium rare with mac-n-cheese and a house salad. Then a Chilean Sea bass with miso glaze and asparagus on the side. Then I search around the kitchen for trash bags, as I find them, I open the refrigerator and start to throw everything out.

“Hey,” I turn around and find a pocket-size furry person with one hand on her waist and her index finger to pointed right at me. “Those are my science experiments. What are you doing with them?”

“Cleaning?” I continue shoving everything inside the bag.

“I knew it; you’re a clean freak too.”

I shake my head and finish emptying the refrigerator. “When’s dinner coming?”

“Soon, bossy pants.” I step outside of the kitchen and scan the living room where there’s only a leather couch and a coffee table no dining room table or… what is wrong with the picture? I decide not to think much of it instead, I ask the obvious. “Where’s the building’s trash container?”

Without a word, she points at the door and then to the left.

“If I don’t come back it’s because your biological creatures killed me.” I tilt my head towards the bag I hold.

“You’re such a baby,” she laughs. “But if I trained them well most likely they’ll eat you slow and painfully.”

I head out as she hums some creepy tune, and when I find the trash compactor, I pull the door and push the bag inside, then walk back finding the delivery boy-waiter-buzz boy or whatever he is, from
Alexander’s
, at the door and Hayley about to pay.

“Hold it right there, missy,”

I pull a fifty from my wallet exchanging it for the bag of food. Then sign the check authorizing the no charge.

“For me?” the boy asks surprised as he stares at the bill.

“Yes, Rob,” Hayley answers. “Mitch meet Rob, one of our new waiters, Rob, this is Mitch Knight.”

“The boss,” he shakes my hand smiling back at Hayley. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

“He has the hots for my girl,” I say as he disappears. Bending down I kiss my girl thoroughly for the first time in a week. Instead of stopping me, she responds with the same urgency. Then she starts demanding more and before I drop our meal, I sadly have to let her go. “We should go inside, Hayes, this is going to sound stupid, and I’ll beat myself up later tonight for saying this… but we need to take it slower.”

“Slower?” Her eyes narrow at me. “We don’t see each other more than once or twice a week. We went to the doctor to get tested a month ago… I’m ready, and now you want to slow that down. What’s the deal, Knight?”

“Before… I didn’t want to step up my game until the doctor cleared me—yesterday was the
it
day.” I explain as I set the food on the coffee table. “I wasn’t allowed to make any strange movements including carrying tiny, beautiful girlfriends. Getting hot and heavy was off the table, in case I messed up my shoulder again. When I said slow down…it’s only for tonight before I shove you up against the wall. That’s not what I want for our first time. You deserve more than that. Let me work my magic as we agreed that day in the hospital.”