Read Knead: Contemporary Romance (Creamy's Bakery Book 1) Online
Authors: Aspen Drake
Knead: Contemporary Romance (Creamy's Bakery Book 1) (10 page)
Noah
That's how she feels? Instead of bringing her joy and filling a gap in Carly’ life, Max and I are causing her anguish. We’re forcing her to sacrifice something that means so much to her.
Following Carly to New York is probably something I'll regret for the rest of my life. But I'm glad I'm here. When I told Max I’d be busy in meetings all day and he shouldn't expect to see me at the club, he didn't have any suspicion at all. He never would have guessed I was about to hop on a plane to come check on our girl.
But there was a nagging ache in my gut that told me something was wrong. I needed to see for myself that she was okay. Coming here was purely instinct. My plan was just to make sure she was fine and then
go home
before Max even realized I was gone.
I should have known it wouldn’t be that simple. It never is. Deceiving people is always complicated and ugly and painful. Now that I'm sitting here, back to back with Carly in a wall booth, I feel too weak to even move. Everything I thought we had is really just a fantasy Max and I created. It seemed too good to be true. Now I realize it is.
All we’re doing is bringing pain to the woman we love. Carly is generally happy with us. She loves us almost as much as we love her, but we can't give her everything she needs, not both of us anyway. As long as we're all together, she’ll never be able to have that church wedding she clearly wants. She won't have her family in attendance at the dream wedding she deserves.
She'll have to keep our relationship hidden from those she loves most in order to spare herself pain and rejection. That's not what I want for her.
And Max feels the same way. If he had any idea how much this is hurting her, he would make the same decision that I'm making right now. He would realize one of us had to leave.
Then maybe Carly could be truly happy. She would be sad for a while but she would get over it. And as much as it shreds me to admit, it has to be me. I have to leave the family I would walk on water to protect.
Carly loves me. I know she does. But she loves Max more. She
needs
him more. Carly needs his gentle cuddles more than my firm embrace. She needs his silly jokes more than my commanding presence. She needs Max more than she needs me.
It'll be hard on Max too. He and I have been best friends since we were kids. He’ll be hurt and pissed, but he'll have Carly.
They’ll help each other move on.
They'll take care of each other.
They’ll get their happily ever after.
I drop a hundred dollar bill on the table and slide out of the booth, heading toward the back. A server is walking out with a tray of drinks, and I hold up another hundred-dollar bill. “Where’s your back exit?”
Her eyes lock on the cash for a moment before her she snatches it up. “Straight down that hall.”
I walk out of the building, tossing my cell phone in the dumpster as I go, determined to leave behind the only two people in this world that truly matter to me.
Mason
By
Monday
afternoon, I can't stand the wait any longer. I don't want to call Beth and get her in trouble, but I do need to know that she's okay.
Giving in to my stress, I do the only thing I can think of and call her sister Amy.
“Mason, hi.” Amy's voice isn't as perky as it usually is.
I wonder if she's already talked to her sister and knows what happened. “Hi, Amy. I'm sorry to bother you, but I was just wondering if you've talked to Beth in the past few days.”
“Yeah, I have. Why?”
“Well, is she okay?”
“Um, yeah.”
There's some hesitation in Amy's voice that isn't usually there.
“Are you sure? When I sent her a text the other night, she seemed upset.”
“She’s alright, Mason.” Amy’s voice softens and I feel a little better. She wouldn’t lie if her sister were in trouble. “I promise. She's just working through some stuff and needs some space. I promise she'll get in touch with you soon. Okay?”
“Yeah, okay. Thanks.” I hang up the phone and almost throw it. I shouldn’t be pissed that Amy won't tell me what's going on, but I am. I still feel uneasy about whether Beth is really okay.
There's obviously something going on that they don't want to talk to me about. Whatever. If she's not interested, she should just say so. It's silly to play these games.
I slip my phone into my pocket and go out front. “Hey, Aaron.”
“Yeah, Mase.”
“You want to go back to Refuge
tonight?
I could use a drink.”
His eyes light up with excitement. “Yeah. That sounds great. I'll be done by seven. Does that work?”
“Yup. Just call when you're ready. I'm going over to Fierce to say hi to Carly.”
“Sure thing.”
Fierce Salon is just a few doors down from Creamy’s. This late in the evening, Carly is usually finishing up with her last client, and the salon is quiet enough that I can sit and visit for a few minutes without disturbing anyone.
When I walk in, Paige is at the front desk with a big smile for me. “Hi, Mason. How are you?”
“I'm good, Paige. How's it going?”
“I’m great.” Her eyes flutter and her chin drops.
No, thanks, jailbait.
“Hey, is Carly busy?” I peek around her desk and look for my sister.
“Yeah, good timing. Carly's almost finished with her last client. You can go in and have a seat next to her, if you want.”
“Thanks.” I head toward my sister’s station and drop into the empty chair beside her client. A young woman is in her chair, talking a mile a minute about the car her daddy just bought for her sweet sixteenth birthday.
It sounds more expensive than my condo.
“Hey, sis.”
“Hi, Mase.”
Carly looks at me with a sad smile then turns back to her client and runs some sort of flat iron through her hair. When the girl finally takes a breather, I look up at my sister.
“How's it going?”
She doesn’t even look up. “I’m almost done here. We can talk in a minute.”
Well, that sounds ominous. Carly usually tells her life story to every person that sits in her chair. I can’t imagine what would be so private that she wouldn't want to talk about it in front of her client. In fact, the only thing that she keeps somewhat private is her polyamorous relationship.
This can't be good.
Ten minutes later,
the girl is paid up and Carly grabs my hand, dragging me in
to Nate's
office. We sit on the sofa and her eyes fill with tears.
“Noah left.”
“What? What do you mean?”
Carly's tears pour down her cheeks, and she wraps her arms around her stomach, rocking forward like she's in physical pain. “He just left. He didn't tell us why…”
“Wait, how do you know he left? Did you check the hospitals? Maybe he was in an accident?”
“No, he left us.” She shakes her head and a sob wracks through her body. “When I was in New York, he told Max he had meetings and then just disappeared. Max traced his phone and his bank accounts when he never came home. Noah’s phone was found in a dumpster at a bar I was at with Cami
on Thursday
night.”
“He was there?”
Carly nods her head. “And he pulled out $50,000 in cash from a bank in New York City the next day. We haven't heard a word from him. Why would he leave us?”
My mind is spinning. “Wait, what happened in this bar? Did you talk to him?”
“No!” She cries out even louder. “I didn't even see him. If he was there, I didn't know it.”
“What were you doing? Were you with another guy? Could he have seen or heard something that would've upset him?”
“No, of course not.” Carly shakes her head and wipes her cheeks with the sleeve of her shirt. “It was just me and Cami having drinks. We didn’t even talk to any guys, I swear.”
She blows out a deep breath and I know there’s more to the story. “The only thing we did talk about is how I was feeling sad about not having the opportunity to have a real wedding. We had a model call for a full wedding party and it just got me thinking about having a wedding someday. Max thinks Noah overheard us and decided to remove himself from the relationship so Max and I could get married. He’s said stupid stuff like that before, but we didn’t think he was serious. We thought he loved us.”
“Car.” I take her hand and wrap mine around it. “He does love you. You have to know that.”
“I thought so too,” she says quietly, “but how could he leave us if he loves us? I don't understand it.”
“I’m sorry, sis.” I scoot closer and hold her in my arms. “What are you going to do?”
“The only thing we can do. We’re going to find him. Max is a mess, and I can’t eat. I feel sick all the time. We need him home.”
“What if he doesn’t want to be found?” I don’t want to hurt her feelings, but maybe he changed his mind. It would be a shock, but it’s possible.
“Then he has to tell us that to our faces. Max and I need Noah with us, and we’re not giving up on him until he is.”
“Tell me what I can do to help. If he means that much to you…and to Max…then I’ll do anything I can to help.”
The story continues in: Rise.
If you enjoyed Knead, please consider leaving a review. I’d truly appreciate it. Love you all and thanks for your support!
–Aspen
For updates about new books and opportunities for prizes, please join my mailing list at