~~Annie

Oh hell. I thought to myself.

My body hurt. All the furniture had been delivered this morning and I had re-arranged my furniture at this point about 12 times. On top of all that I start my first shift at the bakery in an hour.

My scalding shower did little to release the tension in my muscles so I took some aspirin on my way out the door. Dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a dark blue henley I was ready to start my new job.

I loved baking. It was my passion. From breads, sweets, pastries, and cakes. As I walked down the sidewalk I was throwing my hair up into a long ponytail.

"Hey darlin'." I heard behind me making me jump.

"Hey Will. You scared me. I'm headed to work." I laughed. He flashed me his bajillion dollar smile and furrowed his brow when he saw me start walking away.

Apparently the boy wasn't used to people dismissing him. I laughed to myself as I pushed open the front door to the bakery as I turned to wink and wave at him. Poor boy looked lost as hell.

"ANNIE!!! MY GIRL!!" I heard a scream.

I laughed whe my friends Aunt ran around the counter.

"Hey Auntie Meg." I said laughing as we embraced in a huge hug.

"Oh girl. Brian and Damion are a mess without you in Texas. They want you back because of those damn muffins. And they will be up here soon when they get a break from summer courses." Auntie Meg said hugging me even tighter.

"Aunt Meg?" A husky voice questioned behind us.

"Hey -" I started.

"Well if it isn't the infamous Will. What are you doing here boy? Your Daddy single yet?" Aunt Meg laughed.

Oh yay embarrassing as hell. Good job Aunt Meg.

"You know Will here?" Aunt Meg asking me.

"Yeah. Met him my first day. He was my server at the diner." I smiled over at Will who was already staring at me.

"He ain't no waiter..." Aunt Meg started.

"Dinner tomorrow Annie?" Will interrupted. Aunt Meg raised her eyebrow at him. Odd...

Ignore it Annie. You don't need drama again. It's why we left Texas in the first place.

"Of course. Are you busy tonight? My shift ends at 6 and you can come see the furniture. I can make dinner as a thank you." I agreed and asked.

"I will be there and I'll bring the beer." He said grinning.

My shift was filled with training of how to make the different coffees, the register, and eventually the kitchen. Aunt Meg let me bake small batches to test out.

My 5 hour shift went by really quickly. I was so excited to see Will I almost forgot to say bye to Aunt Meg.

"Be careful with Will." She said to me before I left.

"Why is he in the mafia?" I laughed.

"No. But I still want you to be careful." She said smiling.

"Yes ma'am." I answered laughing.

~~Will

That was close. When I saw her in the street I didn't realize she worked at Meg's Bakery. Meg was an old family friend and had the biggest crush on my Dad.

Yes creepy, but I think she talked about it with me to annoy me more then anything. But Annie was close to finding out the truth.

I need to be the one to tell her. Not some person on the streets. I really do like her. The day we spent together was perfect. We talked the entire day and it felt right. Like nothing else mattered and we were right where we were supposed to be.

I stood in front of her apartment door that night with a bouquet of peonies in my hand. Fuck I hope she likes the flowers. Meg said these were her favorite so I'm trusting her with this. My fist shakes as I knock on the door.

I hear music coming from inside as her footsteps grow closer. Her huge smile greets me as she swings the door open. Her hair is down and slightly curled from being in a bun all day.

She graced herself with flare jeans and a band t-shirt that I didn't quite get the name of.

"Hey Sweet Cheeks." She said smirking.

"Hey Darlin'. These are for you." I said trying to control my breathing and shoving the flowers towards her.

"Peonies. My favorite. How did you know?" She asked as we stepped in her apartment and I closed the door behind me.

"A little bird let me know." I said smiling.

"Meg." She said laughing out loud.

"The apartment looks amazing." I said taking it in. It was a huge studio apartment. The walls were all exposed brick and the vents above were painted black and exposed. The black fenced balcony overlooked our town and had the perfect view of the mountains.

Her brown and wood furniture for in perfectly to give off the homey feeling and the twinkle lights above her bed made me smile.

"You did an amazing job picking all this out. But the view is my favorite." I said honestly.

"Mine too. We don't have these views in Dallas. Mainly a cityscape and wanna be cowboys." She said laughing.

She handed me a plate of lasagna and garlic bread.

"My favorite. How did you know?" I asked.

"A little bird." She said smiling up at me.

Holy shit was she slowly killing me. We sat on the balcony chairs and looked out over to the mountains.

During dinner all we could do was talk again. About everything and nothing in particular. This time it was about our favorites. Her favorite color is purple. She loves sushi. She loves to visit Maine and Florida.

I want to know more. I want to know everything.

"My two best friends from college are coming to visit in a week. Wanna meet them?" I asked. "Maybe we can both give them the grand ol' tour by the best guide ever." She said wiggling her eyebrows.

I laughed and agreed. Anything to spend more time with her. We spent the next couple of hours eating dessert in her kitchen and laughing and picking music.

The night ended with us dancing to some music. We just laughed and talked while we slow danced. I have never felt like someone perfectly fit in my arms before.

Her head fit perfectly on my chest as we danced to another slow song. She smiled against my chest.

"What are you thinking about Darlin'?" I asked.

"This. I have been here for 2 days and I'm in the arms of a man. But it feels.....right." she whispered the last part and I squeezed her against me.

"I feel the same way." I whispered in to her hair.

My cell phone cut through our date and I sighed.

I looked at the caller and it was my Dad again.

"It's work Darlin'. I have to take it." I said softly. She smiled up at me and nodded.

"Dad." I answered the phone.

"Son. I'm working on the bakery account again. She seems to be making all her payments back to us already. That new girl is making them more money then expected. We need to re-adjust the contract in our favor." He said roughly.

"Isn't that illegal?" I asked.

"We can entice them son. It's why I have the best lawyers working on it." He answered.

"Dad. Just let her go when she's done paying. We don't need to own the entire town. Megs is a staple. People love that place. I don't want to take it down to put in another fake store front from us." I answered getting more angry by the moment.

"You want to take Megs Bakery away from her?" I heard a small voice behind me.

I turn to see her looking up at me. She looked confused and stared directly at me not blinking.

"Dad. I have to call you later." I said hanging up as he yelled some more.

"It's now what you think it is Darlin'." I said raising my hands up.

"That line is overused." She said with a slight attitude in her voice.

"I'm going to head to bed. You should leave." She whispered putting the two wine glasses down.

"Can I at least explain?" I asked cautiously.

"Maybe later. I need to calm down." She said not looking at me any longer but staring at the front door.

I sighed and nodded. "For what it's worth. I had the most amazing time tonight." I said looking at her.

She nodded, "Goodnight Will." She said finishing any other conversation of the night.

Fuck.