Sweet Surrender Page 10

  Go or stay? She took a hesitant step forward. Ian looked up and dropped his chin to his chest, but not before she saw the anger in his eyes. Not the welcome she had expected.

  “Hey there. Everything okay?” she asked.

  His smile looked tired, but his body relaxed a bit.

  “Yeah, it was nothing important.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in close for a kiss. “You ready to win this thing?”

  “Oooh, so you’re admitting defeat already?” Okay, so he was not ready to talk. Then she’d just make him forget and give him something better to think about. She snuggled in closer and kissed his neck, jaw, and chin, working her way to his delectable mouth. Maybe they could both forfeit and go celebrate in private? She was about to suggest it, then remembered her news. “How about you take the winner out to dinner tonight to celebrate?”

  “Okay, but Mr. Marks might not be too happy with me taking his wife out.”

  She smacked his arm and laughed. “So funny. Actually, I have some really exciting news and thought we could celebrate tonight, say at my place, with some champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries, and whipped cream.”

  “I’m in, but tell me your news now. I need something to cheer me up.” His brows drew down in a tight V, but whatever was bugging him, he let go and smiled at her.

  “I was going to wait, but honestly I’m bursting at the seams. I found a bakery in Naples.”

  Ian spun her around and kissed her, long and slow until she was panting for air. “That’s great news. I can’t wait to see the place. When did you find it?”

  “I looked at it the first day of the Bonanza, but I didn’t say anything because the rent was way out of my budget. So what was the point? But yesterday, someone made me an offer to go in as a silent partner. Not quite what I wanted, but for now it’ll work.”

  Ian stepped back. His easygoing smile was replaced with the dark look from earlier.

  “Who is it?”

  She bit down on her lip and looked around to make sure they didn’t have any company. There were those in Mimosa Key who thrived on gossip and causing trouble.

  “I’m not supposed to tell anyone. That’s part of the deal, but you’re different—”

  Ian grabbed her wrist. “Who, Caty?”

  “Lynsay Sultan,” she whispered. “She was really impressed with my baking yesterday. After the competition she approached me. We talked and then I invited her over so she could sample some of my other desserts. The topic of the bakery came up and, I don’t know, I told her everything. Then she offered to become my partner, but I still have full control and will be the boss.”

  “Tell her no, that you changed your mind.”

  “Ian, why would I do that? She’s offering me my dream.” What the heck? She had expected Ian to be thrilled for her, not only was she going to have her own place but he’d have less competition on the island.

  “Just trust me. She’s not the one you want to be in business with. My offer still stands. Come work for me, bake wedding cakes for The Sweet Shop. Hell, bake whatever you want.”

  They’d been over this several times. She’d thought he understood. “Ian, that’s not the same thing. And why wouldn’t I want to be in business with Ms. Sultan? She’s a renowned baker and has several bakeries around the country. She’s got the knowledge, the skills and the money.”

  “Caty, she’s not what she seems. She’s cunning, manipulative, and deceitful. If there are two words Lynsay doesn’t understand, it’s silent and partner. She’ll rule your life and bakery and you’ll never be your own boss.”

  “Ian, the contract will state that I run the bakery and she’s just an investor. Besides she lives on the west coast and I know what I’m doing.”

  What was his problem? “What were you two arguing over? The contest?”

  Ian swore under his breath. “Nothing. I knew Lynsay when I lived in LA. She was my boss and she wants me back, which will never happen. Just trust me when I say she’s the last person you want to go into business with.”

  It was all starting to make sense now, the argument she’d witnessed, his reaction, but she could also tell he was holding back. “Did you guys date?”

  “What?” Ian laughed and blew out his breath. “God no, but I trusted her and learned a valuable lesson not to repeat that mistake again. You can’t go in business with her. She’s just doing this to get back at me.”

  His words pierced her heart. She’d thought Ian was different, that he respected and trusted her. She’d thought he had faith in her to make her own decisions, but apparently not. He was no better than her ex-husband telling her what she could and couldn’t do. What hurt the most was that Ian didn’t believe she had what it took to make it or to attract a big-name backer. She’d been such a fool.

  Well, not again. She’d been down that road before and it definitely didn’t lead to the prince in the castle and happily ever after.

  She stepped back, crossing her arms around her middle, and bit back the tears. Damn him. She’d really thought after the hot-air balloon that he’d been the one, The One that Ari had described. Maybe she’d never have a One and Only.

  A whistle blew and Caty swore. It was time to head to her baking station.

  “We’ll talk more tonight, okay?” Ian said.

  She couldn’t. And besides, there was no point. If Ian thought he could control her, and he didn’t believe in her, then they had no future.

  “No.”

  Ian’s step faltered and he looked at her, confusion marring his face. “What?”

  “Thank you for sharing your opinion with me. I do appreciate it, but you can’t tell me what I can do. It’s my choice, Ian, just like it’s my choice to say goodbye to you.”

  He stepped toward her. “Caty, what are you doing?”

  The whistle blew again. Second warning. If she wasn’t in her tent before the third whistle, she’d be disqualified.

  “We don’t have time to talk about it now. Don’t call me, don’t come over. When I’m ready, I’ll call you.”

  He stood there with his mouth agape. She turned and fled to her tent. Taking her place behind her makeshift work counter. Lynsay sauntered over to her.

  “Caty, darling, are you okay? You look upset.”

  “It’s nothing. Its just sometimes you think you know a person and then find out you were wrong.”

  “Oh, darling girl. I’m so sorry. Did Ian confess about him and Nikki Black? I told him he had to come clean. You’re both much too good for him.”

  Caty looked up. There was something in the woman’s eyes, something dark and ugly. The guest judge glanced toward Ian as he entered his tent, the smile more of a smirk.

  It didn’t take a rocket scientist to put two and two together. Lynsay was a bitch. She might be telling the truth about Ian and Nikki. Caty didn’t know and right then, she didn’t care…much. But she also figured out that Ian had tried to save her from a giant headache if she’d gone into business with the other woman.

  Still, while she did appreciate his words of warning, she couldn’t forget his delivery. The tone of his command. Caty wasn’t an empty headed idiot, and she refused ever to be under a man’s control again. Even one that might have held her heart in his hands.

  Nope, she and Ian O’Malley were over.

  She wouldn’t be going into business with Lynsay Sultan either, so there went Plan B to achieve her dreams. Maybe it was time to move on to Plan C? But first, she had a competition to win, then she’d stop at the Super Min, pick up her favorite guys—Ben, Jerry, and Johnny Walker Black—and go home and cry her eyes out, because damn if she hadn’t gone and fallen for Ian freaking O’Malley.

  Chapter Ten

  He’d screwed up. Big time.

  It’d been three weeks and Caty still wasn’t talking to him. After their argument at the bake off he hadn’t felt like putting on a show, and would have walked if Lynsay hadn’t been there to crow. Even more, he knew deep down that walking would have pissed
Caty off even more at him. So he’d stayed, brought his A-game, or rather his award-winning cannoli cupcakes and still lost…everything.

  “Are you going to mope around here all day? Again?”

  He’d also gained a constant companion…his grandfather’s ghost.

  “Are you going to nag me all day? Again?” Ian shot back.

  O’Malley fully materialized in front of him so Ian could see the scowl, but more, he could see the sadness fill his grandfather’s eyes.

  “I am, unless you’d care to pull your head out of your arse and go talk to the woman. The longer you wait, the deeper the grave you’re digging for yourself.”

  Ian dragged his hands through his hair and reminded himself that O’Malley was trying to help. “She said she’d call when she was ready to talk. I’m giving her space, and respecting her wishes. Something I should have done before.”

  “Well then, that’s all good, but she misses you.”

  Ian laughed despite the fact that his whole body hurt. “How would you know?”

  “Because she cries herself to sleep at night?”

  “You’ve been spying on her?” Ian looked around for his cell phone. He needed to call his gram and have her get O’Malley under control. “Gramps, haunting your family is one thing, but Caty is off limits.”

  “Well, if you’d do your job, she’d be family too.”

  “That’s it, I’m calling Gram and telling on you.”

  Coldness wrapped around him and released all in the blink of an eye. A ghostly hug.

  “Your gram knows. She sent me to check on you both and talk some sense into that thick head of yours.”

  Ian dropped into the chair of his two-room apartment. He hated being there. He’d moved to Mimosa Key to start living, to make a home, and instead he’d screwed up, gotten his heart broken, and was living in a glorified motel room.

  “Gramps, I don’t know what to do. She won’t even talk to me.”

  There had to be a way. Caty was it for him. He didn’t need more time to know how he felt. He’d been crazy for her from the minute they’d met and he’d let her walk out of his life five years ago without saying a word, because it was the “right thing to do.” He wasn’t going to repeat that mistake.

  “What you need, my boy, is an ally. And I’ve got a plan. Trust me.”

  Yeah, that’s what he’d said to Ian last time, but this time not taking the risk was a lot worst than getting punched in the face.

  ~*~

  “Yay, it’s cupcake day.” Tricia’s eyes lit up when she walked into the housekeeping bungalow. “Best idea ever, Mrs. Nicholas.”

  Mandy smiled and said thanks to the young housekeeper who’d been one of her biggest fans. Caty took a bite, but instead of the usual eyes closing in bliss her face scrunched up. She rubbed her throat and looked around, grabbing a bottled water and guzzling the contents down.

  “Hey girl, these are yours right? I mean y’all didn’t switch and bring us store-bought cupcakes, right?” She took another drink and kept trying to swallow. Her mouth dropped open and eyes popped. “Oh no, you lost your mojo.”

  “Are they okay?” Caty asked.

  Tricia looked around, then down to the dessert in her hand, and her gaze shifted to the trashcan. “Yeah, maybe a little dry, but that happens to all of us once in a while. I probably got the one that was on the end of the tray, in the back. Um, I should get back to work. Thanks for the treats, Mandy.”

  Caty and Mandy sat there watching the housekeeper hustle to grab some supplies before flying out the door. Once she was gone, Caty turned back to her friend. “You were saying?”

  Mandy reached out and patted her hand. “Don’t let that bother you. Mine was great. Delicious as always.”

  “It’s still sitting on your desk and looks like a baby mouse took a bite.”

  “I’m saving it…for the drive home.” It was more of a question than a statement, but Caty would let it slide. Mandy had been a true friend through all of this mess that had become her life.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t get much sleep last night. I think the air-conditioner is on the fritz, but Tricia’s right. I’ve lost my mojo. That was the best out of three batches.”

  It probably didn’t help that she’d been up until two in the morning baking. Ever since winning the bake off, business had been booming.

  “You’re working too hard. You need to hire another person to help you, especially since you picked up those two restaurants in Naples.” Mandy looked down at her phone, chewing her bottom lip.

  “The problem is my kitchen can’t handle three people at once. We’d run into each other and I haven’t found a place I can afford on my own.”

  Mandy stood and signaled her to follow. “Come on, let’s walk and talk.”

  They took the path leading toward the main building. “I should go. You’ve got work to do and the last thing you need is to listen to me complain.”

  “Actually, I think I have a solution for you. You need a partner.”

  Caty stopped and grabbed Mandy’s arm. “We talked about this. You and Zeke are not loaning me money or going into business with me. If something happened, if it failed… I don’t want to take that kind of risk with our friendship.”

  Mandy gave her a quick hug and released her. “I get it, but I wasn’t suggesting that. I’ve found you the perfect partner. Just listen, please. He’s an experienced baker, who has worked the store and commercial accounts and he needs you.”

  Caty laughed. What an odd thing to say. “What do you mean he needs me?”

  Mandy put her hands on Caty’s shoulders, and turned her around.

  Ian.

  He stood under a sad clump of trees at the edge of the beach. He stood with his hands in his shorts pockets, watching the tide roll in, looking as lost as Caty felt.

  “He needs you, as much as you need him. You both have been miserable for weeks. Give him a chance, sweetie.”

  Caty swallowed back the tears. God, she’d missed him. “Would you, if you were me?”

  “Do you love him?”

  Did she? She thought about how she felt when Ian was around: relaxed, yet excited, courageous, strong, free, capable, safe, and so much more. She couldn’t even name all the feels she had around him. She just knew they were all the good kind. And when he wasn’t around? Yeah, that was all the bad feels and thoughts and her heart ached.

  She gave a little nod, too choked up to say anything.

  “Good.” Mandy gave her a nudge. “Now go tell him.”

  Caty kicked off her shoes and stepped into the sand and toward the only man she’d ever really loved. It was kind of funny. She’d been with her ex for a year before they’d even gotten engaged. Another year before they were married and still she’d had doubts on her big day, which just showed she should have listened to her instincts. But with Ian she didn’t have any doubts that she loved him, just about whether they could work things out.

  She stopped a few feet away and turned to look at the surf. “So is this the spot of the famous O’Malley picnic?”

  Why had she brought that up? Great, he probably thinks I’m mocking his past. She just hoped their ending wasn’t the same as Finnegan and Siobhan.

  Ian smiled and looked down for a moment before meeting her gaze. “Actually, that spot is now occupied by the pool, or so O’Malley tells me. But this is sort of like what it looked like back then, the trees, no people, and the ocean singing her song.”

  “Oh, I can see why O’Malley would pick it to woo your gram.” She really should shut up, but it was like her heart was overruling her brain. “Its sort of magical here.”

  “Caty, I’m sorry.” He turned to her, his eyes pleading with her. “I handled the situation with you and Lynsay all wrong. I had no right to tell you what to do.”

  “Thank you for that. By the way, you were right.”

  “No, I wasn’t. I got it all wrong and I won’t repeat what O’Malley called me, or what my gram and my sister said. They�
�re on your side, by the way.”

  “There are no sides, Ian, just an empty hole.” She kicked at the sand. There were too many emotions battling, tying up her words. “We both botched up what was kind of a great thing.”

  He reached out for her hand. She hesitated for a second, and then met him halfway. “Do you think it—we’re beyond repair?” he said.

  “I don’t know. I’d like to think not.” She dropped down to the sand, digging her toes into the warm ground. Ian joined her, not letting go of her hand.

  “That’s good, because I’ve fallen in love with you.”

  “Here’s the thing, I’ve fallen for you too.” She let out a deep sigh. Definitely not how she’d pictured that moment to go. Somehow, she imagined flowers and candlelight and mad, crazy sex. Not feeling sad. “But it’s not enough, not on its own.”

  He turned to her. “What do I have to do to get a second chance? What’s between us is the real thing, Caty. We can make it work. Just tell me and I’ll do it.”

  Saying yes should be easy, a piece of cake, but of course it wasn’t. She had baggage to deal with and one thing she knew for sure, talk was cheap. Then again, she had no plans of living her life in the safe zone and passing on something that could be amazing. She’d been back and forth on this subject for the past couple of weeks. Aw, hell, Mandy was right. She needed Ian. She could make it on her own, but the game of life would be a lot sweeter with him at her side.

  Except there was one little problem…her job.

  “For starters, you can’t tell me what to do, Ian. If you don’t want me to do something, you can tell me that and why, but then you have to respect that I’m going to decide one or the other on my own.”

  “Deal.”

  “And I need you to stand by my side and have faith in me. Believe in me.”

  “Done and done. For the record, I never doubted you’d win that bake off or that you wouldn’t achieve all your dreams, Caty.”

  She dropped her chin. “That’s the other thing…CatyCakes. Business is booming, but I can’t find a bakery nearby that I can afford. I need help, but my kitchen can’t handle more people.” Talk about a no-win situation.