Her Little Secret, His Hidden Heir(3)

No. Oh, no. She definitely couldn't let him into the bakery. That would   be even more dangerous than simply having him in town, aware that she   lived here now, as well.

She opened her mouth to say so, linking her arms across her chest to let   him know she had no intention of changing her mind, when Brian stopped   her. Touching her shoulder, he tipped his head, signaling her to  follow  him a few steps away, out of earshot of Marcus.

"Miss Mason. Vanessa," he said, dropping formalities. "Think about this.   Please. I know Mr. Keller is your ex-husband-although I had no idea   when I set up today's meeting. I never would have asked him to come here   if I had-but if he's willing to invest in The Sugar Shack, as your   financial advisor, I have to recommend that you seriously consider his   offer. You're doing all right at the moment. The bakery is holding its   own. But you'll never be able to move forward with your plans to expand   without added capital from an outside source, and if worst comes to   worst, one bad season could cause you to lose the business entirely."

Even though Vanessa didn't want to listen, didn't want to believe Brian   was right, she knew deep down that he was. The Sugar Shack might be her   livelihood, but smart financial planning was his. She wouldn't have   begun working with him in the first place if she didn't think he knew   what he was doing.

Casting a glance over her shoulder to be sure Marc couldn't overhear   their conversation, she turned back and whispered, "There's more at   stake here than just the bakery, Brian." So much more. "I'll let him   look around. Let the two of you talk. But no matter what kind of plan   you two come up with, no matter what offer he might make, I can't   promise I'll be willing to accept. I'm sorry."

He looked none too pleased with her assertion, but he nodded, accepting   that she would only be pushed so far where Marcus Keller was concerned.

Returning to Marc, Brian informed him of her decision and they started   forward again, toward the main entrance of the bakery. The heavenly   scents of freshly baked bread, pies and other pastries filled the air   the closer they got. As always, those smells caused Vanessa's stomach to   rumble and her mouth to water, making her hungry for a piping-hot   cinnamon roll or a plate of chocolate chip cookies. Which probably   explained why she hadn't quite managed to shed all of her baby weight   yet.                       
       
           



       

At the front door, she stopped abruptly, turning to face the two men.   "Wait here," she told them. "I have to warn Aunt Helen that you're in   town and explain what's going on. She never particularly liked you," she   added, aiming her comment directly at Marc, "so don't be surprised if   she refuses to come out while you're here."

He shot her a sardonic grin. "I'll be sure to keep my horns and tail hidden if I run into her."

Vanessa didn't bother responding to that. She was too afraid of what   kind of retort might spill from her mouth. Instead, she spun and pushed   her way into the bakery.

Keeping a smile on her face and cheerily greeting customers who were   sipping cups of coffee, tea or cocoa, and enjoying some of her and her   aunt's most popular baked goods, she hurried to the kitchen.

As usual, Helen was bustling around doing this and that. She might have   been in her seventies, but she had the energy of a twenty-year-old. Up   at the crack of dawn each morning, she always went to work immediately,   gathering ingredients, mixing, rolling, cutting, scooping … and managing   to keep track of whatever was in the ovens, even three or four  different  items all set at different temperatures for various amounts  of time.

Vanessa was a fairly accomplished baker herself, but readily admitted it   took some doing to keep up with her aunt. Add to that the fact that   Helen helped her man the counter and take care of Danny, and Vanessa   literally did not know what she would do without her.

The squeak of the swinging double doors cutting off the kitchen area from the front of the store alerted Helen to her arrival.

"You're back," her aunt said without bothering to look up from the sugar   cookies she was dusting with brightly colored sprinkles.

"Yes, but we have a problem," Vanessa told her.

At that, Helen raised her head. "You didn't get the money?" she asked, disappointment lacing her tone.

Vanessa shook her head. "Worse. The investor Brian has me meeting with is Marc."

The container of sprinkles fell from Helen's hand, hitting the metal   cookie sheet and spilling everywhere. Not a disaster, just a few cookies   that would turn out sloppier than usual. And whatever didn't look   appropriate for sale could always go on a plate as an after-dinner treat   for themselves.

"You're kidding," her aunt breathed in a shocked voice.

Vanessa shook her head and crossed to where Helen stood rooted to the   spot like a statue. "Unfortunately, I'm not. He's outside right now,   waiting for a tour of the bakery, so I need you to take Danny upstairs   and stay there until I give you the all clear."

Her fingers moved at the speed of light as she undid the knot at Helen's   waist, slipping the flour-dusted apron over her head and tossing it   aside. Her aunt immediately reached up to pat her stack of puffy,   blue-washed curls.

Rushing across the room, Vanessa paused to stare down at her adorable   baby boy, who was lying on his back in a small bassinet, doing his best   to get his pudgy little toes into his perfect pink mouth. As soon as he   saw her, he smiled wide and began to gurgle happily, sending a stab of   love so deep through Vanessa's soul, it stole her breath.

Lifting him up and onto her shoulder, she wished she had the time to   tickle and tease and coo with him. She loved running the bakery, and was   very proud of what she and Aunt Helen had managed to build together,   but Danny was her pride and joy. Her favorite moments of the day were   those she got to spend alone with him, feeding him, bathing him, making   him laugh.

Pressing a kiss to the side of his head, she whispered, "Later,   sweetheart, I promise." Just as soon as she could get rid of Marc and   Brian.

Turning to her aunt, who had come up behind them, she handed the baby off.

"Hurry," she said. "And keep him as quiet as you can. If he starts to   cry, turn on the TV or the radio or something to try to cover it up.   I'll get rid of them as quickly as I can."

"All right," Helen readily agreed, "but keep an eye on the ovens. The   pinwheel cookies only need another five minutes. The baklava and lemon   streusel cake will be a while longer. I set the timers."

Vanessa nodded her understanding, then with Helen bustling off to hide   Danny in the small apartment they kept over the bakery, she pushed the   now-empty bassinet across the kitchen and into a back storage room.   Grabbing an extra white tablecloth with blue and yellow eyelet lace   trim, she used it to cover the large piece of telling furniture.

Leaving the storage room, her gaze darted left to right and up and down,   searching for any remaining signs of Danny's presence. A few stray   items, she might be able to explain …  A rattle? Oh, a customer must have   left it-I'll have to put it in the Lost and Found.                       
       
           



       

A handful of diapers? I keep those on hand for when I watch a friend's baby. Yes, that sounded plausible.

A half-full bottle in the fridge or a prescription of ear drops in Danny   Keller's name from a recent infection? Those might be a little tougher   to justify.

She used a clean towel to brush away some of the worst of the spilled   sprinkles and grabbed the pinwheels from the oven to keep them from   burning, but otherwise left the kitchen as it had been when she'd walked   in. Then she pushed back through the double swinging doors into the   front of the bakery … and ran smack into a waiting Marcus.





Two




Marc's arms came up to seize Vanessa as she flew through the double   doors from the kitchen and hit him square in the chest. The impact   wasn't hard enough to hurt, although it did catch him slightly off   guard. Then, once he had his hands on her, her body pressed full-length   along his own and he didn't want to let go.

It had been a long time since he'd held this woman. Too long, if the   blood pounding in his veins and the heat suffusing his groin were any   indication.