“Damn, woman,” he mutters seconds, maybe minutes later, his hands gripping my butt once more, holding me close. Like he never wants to let me go.

“I know,” I whisper, pressing my lips against his neck, tasting his delicious salty skin. “I feel the same way.”

God. It would be so easy to fall in love with this man.

In fact, I think I’m already close to being there.

Chapter Thirteen

Marina

A LOT CAN change in a few weeks; heck, even a month. I was single and lonely, working my butt off day in and day out with little reward beyond growing a relationship with my aunt, which I cherish, but still. I’d watched the business I love slowly start to fail and it was eating at my very soul. The disappointment from my family—my ever-traveling, too-busy father and overprotective mother—was growing harder and harder to bear.

I had no friends. Many of them had moved away. Or I had no time to spend with the few friends I had.

Life had kind of sucked. I latched onto the fact that Gage Emerson was trying to buy out my family and ruin our lives. I went to that stupid little event more in the hopes of talking to him rather than conducting business, which had been my original intent. Maybe sling an insult or three at him, too, and then walk out, satisfied that I’d let the guy trying to take away my family legacy know I was onto him.

Well. We got the insult-slinging part right, at least.

Everything is completely different now. I have a friend, one I spend a lot of time with. Ivy Emerson and I made good on that San Francisco shopping trip and went last week. She helped me try on a ton of clothes, things I would never have looked twice at. I ended up buying a few things, not wanting to go beyond my self-imposed budget. She helped with that.

She helps with a lot of things.

Archer and I finalized the deal and Aunt Gina’s desserts are in his hotel restaurants. Gina’s thrilled. Archer’s taken her completely under his wing. I’ll be lucky to keep her with me at the bakery, what with the way he coddles her. I think Archer wants to steal her away from me.

My dad is still traveling a lot for business. My mom is still overprotective. I can’t change them, I just have to learn how to live with them.

And then there’s Gage.

I still can’t quite define what’s happening between us, but we’re definitely . . . involved. I can’t get enough of him. It seems he can’t get enough of me either.

My entire life has changed for the better. A lot of it I owe to Gage. The very man who I believed was my enemy. He’s introduced me to my newest friend. He helped me put together a business deal with Archer, his best friend. And he’s made me . . .

Fall completely in love with him.

Just thinking about it makes me want to both jump for joy and throw up.

Especially now, what with the headache I have going on. I don’t know what caused it, but I had to leave the bakery to take a little break. I couldn’t deal.

“So you’re going out with him tonight. Again.”

Great. Talk about now being able to deal.

I turn to find my mother standing in my doorway, her arms crossed in front of her chest, her expression sour. She’s reluctantly gone along with me dating Gage. Only lately has she piped up and vocalized her opinions. I think she’s afraid I’m falling for him.

Too late.

“I am.” I mirror her position, feeling defensive. Since my dad has been out of town so much doing God knows what, she’s become even more of a meddler. I know I live at home, but I’m freaking twenty-three years old. I’m hardly here anyway. I spend quite a few nights at the little house Gage keeps here in St. Helena. I stay there sometimes even when he goes back to his place in San Francisco to conduct business. Hopefully, someday soon I’ll go with him.

But with my obligation to the bakery, I can hardly leave. Before Gage came into my life, I had no reason to leave.

Now I want to be wherever Gage is. Silly, but true.

“Do you know why he was in San Francisco last week?” She drops her arms at her sides and strides into my room, her expression full of fierce determination. “Do you? Did your new boyfriend tell you about the meeting he had with your father?”

“Wait. What?” I blink at her, not sure I heard her right. “Daddy and Gage met?” And Gage never told me? I knew they were getting along and had discussed setting up an appointment to talk further, but Gage didn’t tell me they’d talked in San Francisco.

She nods, the satisfaction on her face painful to witness. It’s almost like she wants to hurt me with this news. “It’s happening, Marina. Gage Emerson is buying the entire strip of buildings the Molina Corp owns on Main Street. They’ll belong to him within the next sixty days as long as all the paperwork is processed in a timely manner and they hit no snags.”

Sixty days. I can’t believe he didn’t tell me. I don’t understand why he kept this from me. What was his motive? Was he afraid I’d freak out? I’m more upset he kept it a secret. I’d finally come to grips with the possibility of losing the bakery. This revelation is throwing me for a loop.

“He’ll most likely close down the bakery since it’s the only business within the strip that’s still owned by us. Unless the two of you can come up with some sort of lease agreement together? I’m sure he’d be willing to work with you,” she says snidely.

“Why do you hate him so much?” I ask, my voice quiet. Inside I’m reeling, devastated by Gage’s betrayal. When exactly was he going to tell me about this? Never? Right before he shut down my bakery? It makes no sense.

My mother trying to tear me down doesn’t make any sense either.

“I don’t hate him. I dislike what he’s done to us.”

“Mom.” I go to her, grabbing her hands and giving them a squeeze. “We had to sell. You and Dad both worry about your retirement, about everyone in the family ending up with nothing when we’ve all counted on the properties to earn us income. This way you’ll have ready cash flow and won’t have to worry so much.”

“He stole your future,” she says bitterly, jerking out of my touch. “That man you’re dating and spending the night with stole everything from you! Don’t you get it? You’re our only daughter, you have no real prospects beyond the very man who’s ruining your life, and you act like you’re making the right choice! What in the world is wrong with you?”

I blink at her, shocked by her outburst. Mom doesn’t have outbursts. She’s always calm and cool and so very, very wise. I used to go to her all the time when I was younger for advice. She’s great under pressure—the exception being when it comes to me and the choices I make.

“He’s not stealing from me,” I tell her. “Can’t you see how this will help you guys? I’ll be fine. I don’t need the bakery.” But I do. What will I do without it? Gina has a job lined up already. Archer is secretly trying to woo her. He’s totally being a dirty rat, but can I fault him for it? No. And at least he tells me to my face.

Gage just keeps his secrets to himself and pretends everything’s fine. So do I. But everything is definitely not fine. I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself when I lose the bakery. There’s no point in denying it now.

Autumn Harvest is done for.

“You needed to know,” Mom says firmly, going to sit on the edge of my bed. “I can’t stand that he’s kept you in the dark. You need to come up with another plan.”

“Like what?” I sit on the bed next to her, my mind too full trying to process everything.

“Break it off with him. Finish your time at the bakery until it closes. Then go to Italy and visit your cousins,” she suggests hopefully. “You can have a nice three-month-long vacation there. Enjoy the sights. Meet new people.”

Dread fills me. The trip to Italy is one all unmarried Italian girls make in the hope that they can find a husband. Either they end up staying there for the rest of their lives with their new husbands or they bring them home. I’ve seen a few cousins do this very thing. Only one came back, with a macho, irritating-as-hell Italian who refused to speak English and bossed her around all the time.