He snorted. Yeah? Keep laughing, Fred.
It was time to put on the full Gabriel Russel charm treatment. And heck, if he couldn’t sweep her off her feet, then maybe he didn’t deserve her as a mate.
Chapter Four
The alarm buzzed at three o’clock in the morning as it always did, and Temperance reached over to shut it off. Her mind was still in that half-asleep, half-awake state as she went through her morning routine.
After getting dressed, she grabbed her purse and keys, then headed out the door. She turned to lock it, but froze as she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
“Don’t be scared. It’s just me. Gabriel.”
Her keys dropped to the floor. The memories of what happened yesterday flooded into her sleepy brain. It wasn’t all a dream, after all. As she bent down to pick her keys up, he was instantly there. Problem was, he was faster than her, and they knocked their heads together when they both bent down.
“Ow!” she exclaimed, rubbing at her temple.
“Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I’ve been told I have a hard head.” His offered hand contained her keys. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” She swiped them from his palm. “I—what are you doing here?” On instinct, she turned her right side away from him, despite it being dark out. Did she hit her head too hard, and was she seeing things now? No wait. That was after he announced that he was here.
“Er …” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “About that—”
“I thought I told you to leave?”
“You did,” he said. “Yesterday. And you didn’t say anything about not coming back.”
Without turning her head, her eyes peeked up at him. Was he serious? The absurdity of this entire conversation—and his presence here—made her mind snap back to reality. She glanced at her watch. It was past three thirty already. “Look, I should get to work.” Brushing past him, she headed straight for her car. However, she couldn’t help but feel his eyes on her even as she got into her vehicle.
I will not look back, I will not look back. But it was an impulse she couldn’t control. Turning her head, she looked back at her trailer and found he was gone. Good. Though a small—very small—part of her was disappointed.
When she started her car engine, however, she heard a second, much louder, engine behind her roar to life, and the headlights reflecting in her rearview mirror nearly blinded her before they dimmed. Muttering a curse under her breath, she put the car into gear and drove out of the trailer park.
The vehicle behind her followed her out, but then she reasoned that there was only one road out of there. Then she turned into the main road and onto the highway on-ramp, and still the car was there. It was too dark to see what it was, though it seemed like some kind of truck or SUV based on the lights. The vehicle stayed behind a good distance, but she couldn’t help but feel it was following her. And though she didn’t want to admit it—she could guess who was driving it.
If it was Gabriel, then it didn’t mean anything. After all, Seventy-Five was the main highway that cut through Blackstone, and everyone took it to get around town. And even now, the exit ramp she took was the one that everybody used to get to Main Street.
As usual, she was the first one to pull into the rear parking lot of Rosie’s. As the main pie baker, she had to get up really early to prepare all the regular pies and special orders, as well as the new pies she came up with every day.
Temperance wasn’t quite sure where her ideas for the original pies came from—they just seemed to pop into her head. She would be kneading the dough or watching TV or taking a long, hot shower, and then it would just come into her mind. Various ingredients and food jumbled together in her head, a mishmash of ideas and thoughts that would form the basis of her new creation.
Almond butter with a dash of cinnamon.
Green tomato salsa.
Pork arepas with a cornmeal crust.
After writing down the idea in the notebook she took with her everywhere, she’d work on the ideas once all the pies were ready. It usually only took two or three tries to get a recipe right. Most of the original creations were hits, but there were a few that outsold them all so those were rotated on a regular basis which helped when her creative juices ran dry. There were a few ingredients she wanted to work with today, but as she got out of her car and walked toward the restaurant, new ideas popped into her mind.
Golden honey. With a touch of lavender.
Blueberries with cardamom.
Better get those down on paper before—
“Temperance, what’s wrong?”
“Mother of—” She nearly jumped out of her skin as Gabriel’s deep, velvety voice interrupted her trance. “What are you doing here?”
He appeared in front of her as if from out of nowhere. “You seemed like you were in a daze.”
“I—” Warmth flooded her cheeks. “I was just thinking. And are you following me?”
“I had to,” he said, looking sheepish. “I mean … your car doesn’t look safe.”
Her cheeks grew hot again, but this time, of embarrassment. Looking back, she saw the shiny brand-new red Jeep parked behind her rusted out Kia. “Sorry I can’t afford any better. But if you’re done insulting me, you can go now.”
“I didn’t—” His lips thinned, and he raked a hand through his dark honey-colored hair. “Christ.” He muttered something under his breath. “That’s not what I meant. I just didn’t want your car breaking down in the middle of the highway and then having some guys jump you or something.”
“Seriously?
