Neither of them spoke.
She basked in the glow of her orgasm.
Smokey twirled a finger around her hair. “Is this real?” he asked.
“Yes, it’s real.” She chuckled. “I wouldn’t spend time trying to dye my hair. Are we really discussing hair color right now?”
“What would you like to talk about?”
“I don’t know. Anything. How was your day?”
“Good.”
“You’re not going to tell me about the parts I’m not in?”
“It’s club business, babe. It’s nothing to do with you.”
“Wow, okay.”
“Don’t be offended.”
“I’m not. I’m guessing it’s all top-secret,” she said. “I’m not offended. Like you said, the club comes first.”
“It doesn’t mean I will always want it to be that way. I’ve got to make sure I can trust you,” he said.
She took a deep breath. “You can trust me. I won’t break it. I promise. You don’t know me, but maybe one day, if you give yourself time, you can trust me.”
****
Smokey shook his head. “Strip.”
“I have to open my shop today.”
“Not today. You’re the boss. Strip.”
Ava moved toward him and shook her head. “I want to, but I do have other commitments. If the club called you right now, you’d go.”
“Your bakery is not club.”
“But my bakery is club to me. It’s my own little piece of heaven.”
“You think my club is my own peace of heaven?” he asked.
“Isn’t it?”
It was on the tip of his tongue to deny it. There was no way he’d see the club as a peaceful place. “You’re right.”
“That’s a sentence you’re going to have to get used to saying.” She moved toward the bed and cupped his cheek. “I want to spend all day in bed with you, but this is fun. I don’t want to run the risk of losing my clientele.”
Smokey stroked another of her curls. He loved her hair. It was so soft, but also blonde in a way he didn’t think he’d care for. It was almost white.
“The bakery means a lot to you?”
She smiled. “Yes. I know some girls have dreams of becoming a princess or marrying a rich billionaire. Being a doctor or a lawyer. I didn’t. From a young age, I loved to bake. My mom was amazing at it. There was nothing she couldn’t do.”
“What was she like?”
“I look a little like her, but she was a slender woman. An amazing cook. I used to get annoyed because she was the kind of woman who could eat her heart out in calories and fats and not gain any weight.”
“Did she not like you?” Smokey asked.
“No, of course not. My mom loved me. She was the one who told me to embrace who I was. Whenever I was sad or feeling anything but happy, she’d go into the kitchen and I’d watch her cook. She’d make chocolate chip cookies if I was upset. With her hot cocoa, they were amazing. Cheese and onion pies to chase away the horrible days. A quiche. She was pretty good at them as well. I never liked them, but hers were something special.”
“She sounds lovely.”
“She was. Losing them was the hardest thing of all.”
“A car crash?”
“Yes. A car crash. Took both of them instantly.”
“Is she the reason you wanted to own a bakery?” he asked.
“I wanted to help people the way she did me. It’s probably silly and childish. I tried to think of owning a bakery when I was married, but my ex was dead-set against it.”
“You worked as an accountant,” he said.
“Yeah. Nine-to-five. Absolutely hated it. I spent a lot of time baking. People in the office always complimented me on my cooking.” She shrugged. “So, my bakery is getting rid of a whole lot of bad memories.”
“You’re a good person, Ava.”
She smiled. “Don’t sound so surprised. If you gave yourself the chance to get to know people, you’d see there is a lot more of us around. We’re not some strange species.”
“You’d be surprised.”
“Because of the club?”
He tensed up.
She held her hands in surrender. “I’m not fishing for information, but when you’re not around, I watched this program and a few other things.”
Smokey laughed. “It’s not like it’s in the movies.”
“No, I get it. This stuff is real.” She looked down at her hands. “I hope one day you can learn to trust me.”
“Club information can get people killed, Ava. I have enemies. I have a whole lot of problems.”
“Is that why you’re not married?” she asked. “You don’t want to put anyone at risk?”
“I haven’t gotten married because there’s no woman good enough. My boys put their lives in my hands every single day. I’m not going to put it at risk for a woman.”
“Okay.”
“Have I offended you?”
“No. I think it’s going to take a lot more than that to offend me. I get it. You’re from a different world than me. It doesn’t mean I can’t cross over into yours, Smokey. I’m not … I don’t even know how to say this. I’m not a goody-two-shoes. I think.” She shrugged. “I’ve got to go. You can let yourself out?”