TEN

I was seated in the back of my car, knowing well enough for anyone that managed to catch a glimpse of my face, they would see all shades of grumpiness. But I was doing nothing to temper it down a notch, what with the person causing it all sitting right in front of me.

The minute I spotted him this morning, I couldn't help but have this relentless desire shot up me and almost knock me down to my feet. There was no sleep for me last night, what with all the tossing and turning, feeling this burn consume me. And the only person that could defuse it had left me panting in the hallway. So seeing him just annoyed me because, whether I liked it or not, something was waking up inside of me.

Making a big deal out of the whole situation, I had pulled Joy in the back of the car and dropped myself next to her. From the corner of my eye, I could see him watching me closely and when I threw the keys on the driver's seat and turned back to Joy, strapping her in and then myself, I made my intent clear. I was not going to sit by the front next to him.

Lexie, on the other hand, didn't see a big deal out any of it and she took the passengers seat, talking about her hunger and in dire need of coffee. I couldn't agree with her more and as soon as Joy was at her day centre, we were going for breakfast. Which brought me to now, where I sat in the back seat staring out the window wishing that I could just grab his head and give it a good shake.

For whatever reason because surely, I shouldn't be the only one who was this affected. A part of me - scratch that, all parts of me - wanted to know he was struggling as much as I was. But so far, he seemed like he couldn't give a toss.

"Where do you guys want to eat?" His voice rumbled from the front. 

I kept silent behind him. 

"Anywhere!" Lexie chirped from next to him.

I rolled my eyes at her cheery mood. Could she not detect the vibes coming from both of us?

Link drove a bit further down the road before he halted. I looked out the window and saw a row of shops that instantly became familiar. I snapped my head to the other side, spotting the telltale shop. It was like nothing changed, with mouth-watering cakes on display and an inviting interior peeking from the windows. It was packed inside, the few tables to the side filled with people and a long line that started by the counter and ended at the door.

I couldn't see who was standing behind the counter and I sure as heck wasn't going to find out.

"We're not going in there." I said out loud.

Lexie turned around to me, a frown etched across her face. "Why not?" She asked, her eyes darting back to the shop's window display. "Those cakes look lush."

"Cakes are hardly breakfast." I told her.

"We can grab a few and then get real food."  She said, already unbuckling out of her seatbelt and getting out the car. I watched her saunter into the shop, eager to get a taste of one of the cakes. Soon enough, she disappeared fully into the shop until I couldn't see her anymore.

I let out an agitated sigh, dropped back in my seat and crossed my arms. I returned to gazing back out the window, looking past each shops fleetingly. A few I could recall but there were handful of new ones. How many times had I sat on my ass by the pavement of this road? How may times had Link and I confronted each other outside these shops? Too many to count.

I brushed my gaze towards Link sitting in front of me and noticed that he was getting ready to get out the car as well. I did well to stay quiet. He could leave for all I cared. Just as he was about to get out the door, he turned around to me. The second our eyes met, something crossed his face before he replaced his expression with a detached one. "Kind of embarrassing if anyone catches you hiding in the car." He threw the comment back at me before he unfolded out the car.

I didn't bother hiding the scowl I had aimed on him when he was staring at me expectantly through the window.

Oh sod it.

I grabbed my purse and got out the car, slamming the door behind me and walking towards Palmer's shop. Each step was becoming agonising as I was being hit by memories after memories. A heavy load of unease rushed through me, unprepared for all the reminders this place was most likely going to throw at me. Alas, I put on my brave face, tried my best to keep all sorts of emotions at bay and walked in.

The minute I walked in, there was a loud shrill that filled the whole shop. Everyone turned their heads to the direction of where the sound came from and sure enough, there stood the woman who it came from.

She had her small hands over her mouth, her eyes so wide I feared they would bulge out. And from where I stood, I could see them glistering. And just like that, keeping my emotions at bay failed. My own eyes filled with tears as I dragged my legs towards the counter and towards Palmer who had tears streaming down her face.

When I was a few feet away, I couldn't  take it anymore. I kicked off my heels and ran the rest of the way, falling in her open arms. I breathed in her warm scent, welcoming it all as it filled me. This was a kind of warmth I had purposely removed from my life for some unknown reason. And now that I had it again, I wasn't going to let go off it.

"Orianna," Palmer cried into my neck. 

I was sobbing, those loud embarrassing sobs that were so uncontrollable  that I didn't even bother with them. The minute I kicked off my shoes and ran towards her, crying openly,  I knew I couldn't hold anything back. 

"Is that her daughter?" I heard someone asked but I paid no mind to it. As far as I knew, Palmer would always be my Mother. She was the one who took care of me in all ways possible and her love was endless.

"Yes, it is!" Someone replied cheerfully, causing an abrupt round of applause from everyone in the bakery shop. There were cheers, hurrays and small happy screams from children.

Palmer pulled back only to grab my botchy face in both her warm hands. "Oh Orianna." Her eyes danced across my face as I sniffed loudly.

"I missed you so much," I breathed out.

"Where have you been?" she asked me, her eyes filling with another round of tears which would set me off guaranteed. 

I didn't answer her and instead hugged her again, basking in her warmth. There would be time for all the details later but right now, all I wanted to do was hold onto her. 

****

"I can't believe you've known this place for all these years and never thought to tell me!" Lexie exclaimed at me just before she took a massive bite out of her chocolate fudge cupcake. I smiled as frosting coated the outline of her lips, loving how careless she was about it all. 

I took a bite out of my own chocolate cupcake, enjoying the lush taste of it. Palmer was busy scattering around the place, getting back to work after an hours long of catch up. We both had coffee in front of us by the table and all sorts of slices of cake. To say that we were like kids, living the dream of having cake for breakfast would be an understatement. We were like starved humans, just introduced to the perfection of cakes.

I didn't want to leave anytime soon and we both decided to hang out here for a while until we really had to go. Plus, Palmer wasn't having any of it. To her, we weren't leaving until she closed up. Link had disappeared minutes after Palmer and I's sloppy reunion. He mentioned something to Lexie but didn't say a word to me, which not going to lie, annoyed me more than it should have. He didn't even spare me a glance when he had left.

"Wait until you try the-" I started to say when I snapped my mouth shut. Because a very familiar voice - or voices - rang through the bakery.

I was seated so my back was towards the door so I couldn't see much but I could recognise those voices anywhere. My heart did a small flip behind my ribs and I hung my head down, my hair masking the side of my face.

"Palmer! We came for a little bit of cake but someone told us you have a something special in your shop today." The same trademark remark was no surprise to me and I turned my face away from them more, hiding my own small smile. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was being referred to.

"Nolan! A good morning would be fab first of all." Palmer's scold was short lived. I saw her embrace Nolan from the corner of my eye.

"I would say I'm here for you but I would be lying." He drawled out, turning around to look around the shop. My heart skipped a beat when his eyes hovered past me. He didn't recognise me just yet.

"You would think it's his long-lost girlfriend that came back what with how anxious he was all the  way over here." This voice belonged to Thomas and even though I couldn't see him, I had to smile. 

"Is she here?" Nolan asked, turning back to Palmer when he didn't catch sight of me.

I glanced up at Lexie and saw she was staring at both the guys before she turned to me. She leaned in and dropped her voice down to a level so only I could hear. "Are they talking about you?" 

"Yeah." I said.

She gave me her own version of looking bewildered. "Since when are you friends with all these handsome creatures?" She shrieked at me in her low voice, her hands pointing in their direction. 

I made a grab for them but she swatted the attempt away. "It's like you're only friends with hot men!" 

"They weren't so hot six years ago." I told her with a roll of my eyes. That was as a slight lie. Nolan was always extremely good looking but I never looked past it other than to appreciate it and move on. 

"Are they taken?" She asked me whilst still looking at me. But she was fooling no one with how she was obviously eyeballing them every other second.

"How am I supposed to know?"

"I hope not because I call dibs on the one with the long hair." 

I let out a small giggle. "You can have them both for all I care. The one with the long hair is called Nolan."

"Oh my god!" She shrieked once again. "He's walking this way!"

My heart did another flip at the thought of coming face to face with Nolan after all those years. There were nerves at play but nothing serious where I wanted to cower away from it. In fact, I was more excited than anything.

I could feel him coming closer, a smile still stretched across my face.

"I should have looked for the one with the most cake on her table to know it would be you." I was sporting a full blown smile at this point. I dropped my head upwards and to the side, causing my hair to fall back and fully expose my face.

"I should have known only you would enter so loudly." I replied back.

The next thing I know, he had grabbed me hand and hauled me out my seat and straight into his hard chest. The hug was so tight it left me breathless but I loved every second of it, welcoming the feeling of my friend.

He pulled back to give me a quick body rundown. "Damn, you're beautiful."

I shot him a lopsided grin. "Speak for yourself." I reached for a strand of his long brown hair, giving it a slight tug. His sharp facial features softened into a smile.

"Where she at?" Thomas' voice boomed from behind us. Nolan stepped aside and let him through. I instantly did a double take when I fully saw him. To say he looked different would be an understatement.

His usual ruffled brown hair was all gone, leaving a short buzzcut on his head. And oh my, was that a nasty looking scar ran the length of his right cheek. The boyish features he once sported was replaced by this more rugged one. When our eyes met, I saw him stop a beat in his steps, his face turning hooded as unsurety drifting between us. 

It was clear what he was thinking. And to showing just how wrong he was, I fully got out of Nolan's arms and straight into his. He let out a startled grunt at my impact but soon recovered to wrap his own arms around me, returning the tight embrace. "I told you years ago Thomas," I started to say close to his ears so only he could hear. "You're not him and I don't ever see that."

The fact that his twin brother, Brandon, who was my ex-boyfriend who took torment to another level didn't go past me. But I wasn't so far gone that I didn't know the difference because this man right here, for the better part of my last teenage years had become a special friend.

"Good to see you're looking every inch as good and fuckable." He commented. I snapped my head back, glaring at his crude comment.

Humour danced in his eyes. "Not that I would ever go there, but I'm a healthy man that still has his eyes intact." He shot me a wink.

I shook my head at him, stifling my own laugh. "Thanks Thomas. I would say the same but I'm not sure about this new look of yours." I mused out loud. Who was I kidding? Thomas looked better than I've ever seen him, even with that nasty looking scar.

"I get more girls than you could ever imagine."

I shoved him away whilst shaking my head at him. "Some things just don't change."

An instant dark look crossed his face and he narrowed his eyes down at me. "Yeah, they don't. You going to tell us why Link had to let us know about your return?"

I sheepishly shuffled on my feet, feeling the heated gazes of both the men. And it was making me extremely uncomfortable because I couldn't lie and say I was planning on seeing them. I took the brave way and stuck to the truth. "It was an in and out kind of thing."

Nolan crossed his long arms across his lean yet muscled chest. "We're not mature enough to accept that explanation."

"Yeah," Thomas piped in, crossing his arms in a similar way as well. "So shoot us with another explanation."

I rolled my eyes at both of them. I wasn't going to stand here and waste time on shooting out random explanations as to why I did things. Would I have regretted not seeing these men? I wasn't so sure but now that they were here in front of me, I was glad I got to see them again.

"Let's just accept it for what it is and be glad we got to see each other." I said to them before turning around back to my table and plummeting down. Lexie was quiet throughout the whole thing and as I sat down, her massive eyes levelled on mine.

"Is that who I think he is?" She asked me, motioning towards Thomas with her head. I nodded at her slowly. She knew everything about Brandon.

I looked over to the men and gestured for them to join us. They went to the nearest table and dragged the two empty chairs towards us. Nolan, much to Lexie's approval, pulled his chair close to her and Thomas came next to me.

I pointed at Lexie. "This is Alexa, my friend from Brighton. She's staying with me until I have all my things sorted."

Introductions were made and I saw Nolan give her an extra glance, his own smirk appearing on his face.

"Link told us what's happening with you." Thomas started to say, dropping his voice low so only us at the table could hear him.

Link surely had a big mouth. I'm just annoyed he wasn't using it to communicate with me.

You don't even want to speak to him! A berating voice shouted in my head. I ignored it, dwelling in my irrationality further.

"Did he tell you my bra size whilst he was at it too?" I grunted out before it dawned on me what had come out my mouth. I looked between the men frantically. "Not that he would ever know that!" I sputtered out.

Thomas let out a scoff, the disbelief ever so clear. "You guys at it again?" He asked me so casually  as if Link and I going at it was expected.

"No!" I spat out, ignore how flustered I was getting at the accuracy of his comment. We did go at it again, and man, did it leave me feeling some type of way.

"Calm down," Thomas laughed. "It was just a question."

I let out a groan, knowing that I just ruined it for myself. If I kept cool, calm and collected I could have easily answered that and made it seem that the idea of us getting it on was preposterous. But I just had to ruin it and turn bright red which was a clear indication itself. 

Thankfully, we moved on from that subject and started on a happy chatter. People were coming and going but we all sat together, enjoying catching up and finding out new things about each other. So far, none of them had a woman in their life and they were both working together under Nolan's own security company. Which, to my shock, I found out did the whole security on the house I was staying out. I also found out that, over the years they had grown closer including Link. The three of them were regularly together. Nolan was also the nephew of Lucian and at the mention of his name, I saw Lexie's eyes cloud over but she soon covered it up. 

When conversation turned to me and what I had been doing for the past few years, I managed to dodge them all and answer without actually answering. I just couldn't talk about it and I didn't want to. And the subject of Joy wasn't brought up even though I knew they knew. Which I was grateful for because I wanted to personally introduce her to them first rather than have my hand forced.

Thomas had just finished telling us the most filthy story ever when a tap came on my shoulder. I was trying to regain some composure after hearing certain things about Thomas that I didn't need to know when I turned around and saw Link hovering over me. He didn't look the slightest bit bothered about what was going on by the table and instead had his inky eyes trained on me.

"Mind if we chat?" 

The bewildered look on my face said it all. What on earth did he want to talk about? I looked at him for a second longer before nodding slowly. When I started to push out of my chair, Link started moving towards the back of the room. Oh my, did we have our moments in that place.

"If he asks for sex say no." Thomas quipped as I brushed past him. I threw my best what-the-hell look at him which was answered by his loud laugh.

I ignored him then and followed where Link had disappeared to. I caught a glimpse of Palmer when I walked past the front counter and saw she was beaming at me, her own cheeky smile dancing across her face. I swear, these people...

I came inside the back room and instantly spotted Link leaning against the metal counters with the front of his ankles crossed together. There were plenty of hectic moments in this room and seeing him standing like that, looking like his own brand of drop dead gorgeous, brought several to the surface.

For instance, the time he wanted me to play nurse.

I shook my head quickly, knowing well enough to not take my mind back there. Because then I would think about how close we were and that would surely lead to the resurface of our hallway make out session.

"What do you want to talk about?" I asked carefully, trying my  best to seem as nonchalant as possible. If he was here to talk about what happened last night, then I was bolting out this room. All of this morning, I wanted an indication of how he felt but now that I had his full, heated attention on me... I decided that I didn't want to know. He was all levels of dangerous right now and I knew deep down, that if he tried anything again, I would let him. 

The promise of having him stay away flew right over my head. It just seemed impossible with the tension that was spewing between us. 

"I think we should be friends with benefit."

////

> I hope you guys remember Nolan and Thomas from the previous book!