Ezra glances over her shoulder as she grabs the cookies. Her feet are fast as she heads to the door. “I’ll be seeing you later,” she tosses the words over her shoulder.
Then she’s gone. It’s only a few moments later when the sound of the pipes stop in front of the bakery when they normally ride by. My belly flips, but I don’t want to be disappointed when Snake isn’t with them. Which is why I start to head toward the back.
“Oh no you don’t,” Lara’s voice has dropped to a threatening whisper even though not a single biker has entered the bakery.
“I’m sure they’re not coming in here,” I try to assure her, but my words sound hollow.
Before she can tell me how ridiculous I’m being, which she would be right about, the bakery door swings open. The space feels far too small as Ryker, Snake, and Playboy walk in. They look out of place considering the inside of Bunz Out is a feminine dream filled with pink flowers.
As they take everything in, I notice a blonde woman has stepped in behind Playboy. She wraps her arm around his waist like she has a right to touch him. I remember seeing her the other day, but it was brief and she clearly had an attitude problem. No one introduced us and I’m not sure why she’s here.
“Oh, Lara,” the blonde woman’s voice is overly sweet and I internally cringe, “your place is certainly very cute.”
My boss, who prides herself on being professional as far as I can tell, arches her eyebrow so damn high I’m afraid it’s about to get lost in her hair line. I can feel how much the comment rankles her and the glacial look she’s giving the blonde would have me thinking twice about opening my mouth again.
Apparently, the blonde isn’t concerned as she sneers, “But don’t you think it’s a little over the top?”
Lara’s eyes sweep over the woman with disgust written all over her face. “I don’t think you have any room to judge anyone else, Lola,” she says the woman’s name like a curse and my eyes go wide.
I’ve never heard Lara speak to someone like she would rather bury their body in the backwoods of the Blue Ridge Mountains than have a civil conversation.
The men are looking back and forth between the woman, clearly unsure of what is going on the same way I am. Throughout the entire interaction, I’m desperately trying not to look at Snake. But it’s almost impossible not to.
Especially with the way he’s looking at me. I’m not even sure he’s blinked since the moment he walked in. I can feel the way his eyes are boring into me, and it takes everything in me not to shiver with the intensity of it all.
Lara looks at the woman, her top lip curling up at the obvious boob job the woman has, before turning around sharply and heading back into the kitchen. Damn it. I almost reach out to stop her because I was going to use the kitchen as an escape. Now I can’t. And it’s a problem.
While Lola is looking around, I take a moment to study her. Lara’s never mentioned her before, but there’s something familiar about her and they clearly know each other. I’m curious as to how, but I can’t exactly go into the back and ask. At least not right now.
Ryker glances at the door before looking at me, his voice a deep rumble as he asks, “Was that Ezra Lyons I saw coming out of here?”
Suspicion crawls up my spine because why is the motorcycle club President asking about the Sheriff’s daughter? Still, it’s not like his question is some probing interrogation about the woman, and I’ve learned how this small town loves to talk and be in each other’s business.
With Ryker being a little bit older than Ezra, even though I’m not sure by how much, I doubt they went to school together. But what the fuck do I even know?
I’m just a transplant here and there is so much history between the people who live here which I’m not privy to. Hell, I don’t even want to know.
“It was,” I confirm with a nod before blurting out, “she has an addiction to the chocolate chunk cookies.”
The moment the words leave my mouth, I wonder why the fuck I said them. The man doesn’t need to know, but it seems he files the information away.
Amusement lights up Ryker’s eyes as he glances back toward where Ezra disappeared. “What did her shirt say today?”
I can’t help but chuckle with the memory. Snake’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline as he takes a step closer. He pretends to look in the bakery cases, but his gaze keeps drifting back to me in a way which has my cheeks heating. I have no doubt that I’m blushing.
If only I could hide it.
“Today it was:April showers bring May flowers and Mayflowers bring smallpox,” I tell him.
Ryker smirks and gives one nod, like he approves. “Accurate.”
While it feels like the end of the conversation, I have a lot of questions. Like why does Ryker care? Or do they have more history than having grown up here and the Sheriff Lyons connection?
The Sheriff makes no secret of how he feels about the SOMC. I know the man would haul everyone in the club in on charges, if he could. Since he can’t, maybe the club isn’t as bad as I think it is, or as bad as my fear wants me to believe.
Lola scoffs but doesn’t say anything. When I look over at her, she’s draped herself against Playboy like she’s marking her territory. I barely stop myself from rolling my eyes.
“What’s good here, Angel?”