Chapter 11 : Uninvited
832 Words
Saturday mornings were always busy.
Saturday mornings after a successful gala approval were worse.
By nine o’clock, Sweet Haven Bakery was packed.
Customers lined up near the entrance.
Orders filled every available counter.
The coffee machine was working again.
Which felt like a personal victory.
Tamara moved between stations with practiced efficiency.
“Emily.”
“Yes, boss?”
“Table three.”
“What about it?”
“They’ve been waiting for ten minutes.”
Emily gasped.
Then immediately rushed away.
Tamara smiled.
Some people thrived under pressure.
Emily thrived under panic.
⸻
The bell above the door rang.
Tamara didn’t look up.
“Welcome to Sweet Haven.”
No answer.
Odd.
Most customers responded.
Or at least made a sound.
The silence stretched.
Slowly, Tamara raised her head.
And immediately regretted it.
Chloe Bennett.
Of course.
Because apparently her week wasn’t difficult enough.
Chloe stood near the entrance dressed elegantly despite it being a Saturday morning.
The woman looked as though she’d stepped out of a luxury magazine.
Meanwhile, Tamara had flour on her sleeve.
Life was unfair.
“Miss Bennett.”
Chloe smiled.
“Miss Joseph.”
The smile was flawless.
Professional.
Polite.
Dangerous.
“What can I get for you?”
Tamara asked.
Business first.
Always.
Chloe glanced around the bakery.
Taking everything in.
The customers.
The display cases.
The open kitchen.
The warmth.
The laughter.
Something unreadable crossed her expression.
“I’ve heard a lot about this place.”
That wasn’t an answer.
Tamara noticed.
So did Chloe.
⸻
Five minutes later, Chloe sat at a corner table with a cup of coffee she barely touched.
Meanwhile, Mia and Emily were behaving like wildlife researchers observing a dangerous predator.
“Stop staring.”
“We’re not staring.”
“You absolutely are.”
Emily looked offended.
“We’re observing.”
“Worse.”
Mia nodded.
“Much worse.”
Tamara rubbed her forehead.
A headache was developing.
Fast.
⸻
Across the bakery, Chloe watched Tamara work.
Not casually.
Carefully.
This wasn’t what she expected.
She expected chaos.
Instead, she found competence.
She expected someone intimidated by her.
Instead, she found someone who barely seemed impressed.
And It is very annoying.
Because it made Tamara harder to dismiss.
The front door opened.
And suddenly everything became more annoying.
Guy Harrison walked inside.
Chloe froze.
The timing couldn’t be a coincidence.
Could it?
Guy stopped walking when he noticed her.
The surprise on his face lasted less than a second.
Still.
She noticed.
“Chloe.”
“Guy.”
Neither sounded particularly pleased.
⸻
Across the room, Mia grabbed Emily’s arm.
“Oh my God.”
Emily nodded frantically.
“Oh my God.”
Tamara refused to look.
She absolutely refused.
Mostly because she already knew exactly what those two idiots were thinking.
And she wanted no part in it.
Unfortunately, life had other plans.
Guy walked toward the counter.
Toward her.
Of course he did.
“What are you doing here?”
The question escaped before she could stop it.
Guy raised an eyebrow.
“You ask me that every time.”
“Because you keep appearing.”
A dangerous pause followed.
Then—
“I could ask you the same thing.”
For one horrifying second, Tamara just stared at him.
Then she laughed.
Actually laughed.
The nerve.
The absolute nerve.
Behind her, Mia made a sound suspiciously similar to choking.
⸻
Chloe watched the exchange.
The ease of it bothered her.
Guy wasn’t smiling.
Neither was Tamara.
Yet there was something there.
Comfort.
Naturalness.
A rhythm.
As though they’d already learned how to talk to one another.
The realization settled heavily in her chest.
She didn’t like it.
Not one bit.
⸻
Later that afternoon, the bakery finally quieted.
Most customers had left.
Emily was cleaning display cases.
Mia was stealing pastries.
Again.
And Chloe had finally gone home.
A blessing.
Truly.
Tamara was boxing cupcakes when Guy appeared beside the counter.
Unexpectedly silent.
Which should be illegal for someone that tall.
“Do you ever sit down?”
Tamara jumped.
Then glared.
“Do you ever announce your presence like a normal person?”
“No.”
“Clearly.”
For a moment, neither spoke.
The comfortable kind of silence.
Not awkward.
Not forced.
Just… there.
Then Guy nodded toward the kitchen.
“How’s the mixer?”
Tamara blinked.
The question surprised her.
More than it should have.
“It’s surviving.”
“High praise.”
“It earned it.”
A faint smile touched his mouth.
Brief.
Gone.
Yet unmistakably there.
And for reasons she didn’t understand…
Tamara found herself smiling too.
The moment lasted only seconds.
Then the bakery door opened again.
This time, nobody smiled.
Daniel Carter stood in the doorway.
His gaze immediately landed on Guy.
Then Tamara.
Then back to Guy.
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Subtle.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
Daniel walked forward.
Slowly.
“Am I interrupting something?”
Nobody answered.
Because suddenly…
Nobody was entirely sure what was happening anymore.
- Writer
