Claimed by my Unexpected Protector

Chapter Two

Benny’s POV

I walk into the brightly lit bakery, a stark contrast to the darkness outside as the nighttime sky settles in. I’m trying to look nonchalant, like I’m just here to buy something sweet, like I’ve come in on a whim, and not because I’m looking for a certain twenty year old that I know is working today.

My face falls slightly when, instead of the brunette I expected to see smiling over at me shyly from beside the register, I find Mackenzie leaning against the counter, beaming at me in welcome.

‘Hey Benny, back again?’ she asks as I approach, trying not to let my disappointment show as I hitch a smile to my face and nod at her.

‘Yeah, I was craving one of your meringues all day, I tried to be good but heading home my car had a mind of its own so here I am’ I quip back.

A snort of laughter echoes from behind me, and I glance back to find my friend, who is also one of my bosses smirking knowingly at me.

‘Don’t you have a home to go to? I thought today was your day off’ I ask the ex soldier.

Callan shrugs, ‘we’re just waiting for Kenzie to finish up, and then little man and I are taking her out for dinner’ he replies, grinning.

‘Oh! When did you decide that? Because I’m sure that I said I was making a vegetable lasagne’ Mackenzie retorts, raising an eyebrow at her husband and son, the youngster pulling a face at her words.

‘Eww, Daddy! You said I could have tenders and fries,’ Maxton whines, ‘I don’t like Veggie sagne, nor do you!’

I snigger as the older man covers the little boy’s mouth with his hand, smiling innocently at his wife.

‘Of course I like vegetable lasagne, I love everything your mother makes, I just thought she would like to have someone else cook today after working so hard all afternoon . . . all on her own . . .’

Mackenzie rolls her eyes before turning back to me and sliding open the case in front of her, grabbing the tongs and placing one of the few cream filled meringues into a box for me.

‘Do you need anything else Benny?’ she asks me as she hands over the bag.

I shake my head, ‘no, that’s everything, I’m already going to have to do an extra hour at the gym to work this off,’ I add.

The baker laughs as she takes the bills I fish out of my pocket and hand over to her, tapping the total into the register before handing me my change.

‘So . . . you were on your own today?’ I ask after a few seconds of standing awkwardly, fidgeting with the box. ‘I thought Eralia was working today, she normally works Tuesday’s, doesn’t she?’

‘Smooth man, real smooth,’ Callan coughs out behind me as I cringe slightly.

OK, so I might not be as good at hiding the little thing I have for Mackenzie’s assistant when I’m at work, but the asshole could at least pretend he doesn’t know when he’s around the woman who works with her every day!

You are probably wondering why I don’t just ask Eralia out, I’m not shy after all. Well, I tried flirting with her a few times when I visited the bakery, but she didn’t respond at all to my advances. She has instead kept every one of our interactions purely professional, so I have accepted that this is a one sided situation and the spark I thought I saw the first time I met her was all in my head, wishful thinking on my part most likely. It doesn’t stop me from coming here a lot more often than I should though, it seems I enjoy torturing myself with things I can’t have, I’m just very careful to keep myself in check when I do see her.

‘She was but she had to leave early, she had a family issue that she had to take care of’ Mackenzie is telling me, snapping me out of my thoughts and bringing my focus back to her neutral expression, which makes me wonder if she’s politely ignoring what her husband said or if she actually doesn’t know about my ridiculous crush.

I frown in concern, ‘family issues? Is she OK?’ I ask.

Mackenzie nods, ‘yeah, she seemed fine, said it wasn’t anything terrible, but she needed to leave early . . .’ Despite her best efforts, I can see the worry in the baker’s eyes, you don’t do the job I do without learning how to read someone. Despite her words to the contrary, Mackenzie is also concerned even if she’s trying to convince me otherwise.

I wonder what the issue is, is it an issue with a parent? A sibling maybe? Is she an only child or is she one of many? What about a . . . boyfriend? I swallow down the flare of jealousy at the thought of some guy being in her life. Does she have a boyfriend? Is that why she never reacted to my attempts? Was she too polite to tell me that my feeble pick up lines were wasted on her because she was already taken? That trickle of jealousy strengthens as I try to imagine what he looks like. Probably blonde, a surfer type maybe with f.ucking board shorts even in winter, and flip-flops on his feet, plus a million dollar smile that just screams veneers.

Shoving away the thoughts that only drive my resentment deeper, I fixate instead on my concern over what problem Eralia might have had that would need her to leave work early, something I don’t think she’s ever done before, I don’t think she’s taken so much as a sick day since I first met her.

Churning options over and over in my head, I come up with more and more elaborate ideas, bordering on ridiculous before I shake my head. There isn’t anything I can do no matter what the issue, I don’t know where Eralia lives, and even if I did, I couldn’t just roll up to her home and demand to know what is happening in her private life.

‘Earth to Benny, you still with us dude?’ Callan’s voice floats into my consciousness, making me realise I’ve spaced out again.

Looking up I find Mackenzie reaching for her coat that lies behind her on the worktop that stretches across the back wall. Callan is now standing beside me, Maxton in his arms, all of them staring at me expectantly.

‘Sorry, what?’ I mumble.

‘I said are you ready to leave as Kenz needs to lock up, and she’s too polite to tell you. Me on the other hand, I’m more than happy to tell you that you are holding us up, so get out’ the millionaire adds, grinning as his wife glares at him.

‘Sorry, I’m on my way out, sorry guys’ I mutter awkwardly, taking a step back toward the door.

‘Ignore him Benny, you aren’t holding us up at all’ Mackenzie growls toward her husband, before smiling at me. ‘I still need to put the cash in a bag so I can take it to the bank tomorrow’ she adds, turning toward the register and pressing a button to open the drawer.

I shake my head, ‘no, it’s fine, I need to go anyway’ I reply, my free hand going out behind me and grabbing the door handle and opening it.

I wave to the trio as Mackenzie tries again to make me feel welcome to stay, and step outside, cutting off her words as the door shuts between us.

Blowing out a breath, I turn on my heel, walking away from the shop with the dessert I didn’t really want and head toward my truck that is parked a few spots away outside the closed café.

Sliding in behind the wheel, I place the confectionary box on the seat beside me, my gaze moving back to the bakery that now has a closed sign hanging from the door . . Callan didn’t wait long to flip it over, I really was holding them up!

My thoughts drift from them to the other member of the bakery team and I again wonder why she had to cut her shift short, is she OK? Shaking my head, I turn the key in the ignition, it’s not my business after all, I'm nothing but a customer, not even a friend of hers. Plus, even if Eralia dd need help, she wouldn't need me, she’d ask the Cadell brothers or Callan, so I need to put it out of my mind.

Turning my head, I back the truck out of the space before throwing it into gear and starting to drive forward, heading out of town and to my own home.