Only With Me

  I turned on my heels and stormed past Katerina who was asking a lady how she liked the baklava.

  “It’s delicious, but I thought baklava was Greek?”

  Katerina chuckled. “It is.”

  “I thought this was an Italian bakery.”

  I held my breath as I stopped and faced them.

  “You know what they say about Italian cooking. It goes for baking as well. It’s simply Greek food with no taste.”

  The older lady’s eyes widened in shock before she giggled.

  Ugh! This woman is going to drive me insane!

  Max and Charity started walking next to me as we made our way down the hall and to my office. Once in, I slammed the door and glared at them both.

  Charity put her hands up in defense. “First off, I’m pregnant and trying to argue with that woman is exhausting. I need to harness all my energy for sex. Have I mentioned how good Cole is in bed?”

  Max and I both groaned.

  “Seriously. Shut up, Charity.” My eyes shot over to Max. “How? How did she get that food in my bakery?!”

  “Stop yelling at me, Gabi! It makes me nervous.”

  I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath before forcing a smile and looking back at him.

  “Max, would you mind telling me how Katerina was able to put at least five different Greek desserts in my bakery.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, she came in about two hours ago.”

  “More like an hour and a half,” Charity added.

  “And she carried them in, walked around the counter and just kind of . . . well she . . . she kind of . . . she . . .”

  “Oh my gosh, just say it!”

  “She started putting them in with the other desserts! Charity asked her if you had said she could and all she did was laugh and replied with what do you think, Charity?”

  Charity nodded. “And what I really wanted to say was I think she would say fuck to the hell no, but then I got scared.”

  I shook my head. “Why did you get scared?”

  They both shrugged. “She’s scary,” Charity whispered as Max nodded in agreement.

  Pointing to Max, I said, “Take them out.”

  “R-right now? With her here?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why do I have to do it? Make Charity! She’s pregnant and Katerina won’t do anything to her.”

  “Ah, hell no, Max. She told you to do it.”

  I pulled out my phone and hit Nic’s number.

  “Hey, agapiméni.”

  “She’s gone too far.”

  Nic was silent for a few seconds. “What did she do now?”

  “She put Greek desserts in my bakery. My Italian bakery.”

  “Wait. She did what?”

  I sighed. “She walked into the bakery, went behind the counter and started to put Greek desserts in with mine.”

  Max held up his finger. “Oh, she kind of took some of yours out and gave them away to customers.”

  If looks could kill, Max would have been on the floor.

  “Nic, I’ve got to let you go. I need to throw out some Greek food.”

  “Wait! Did she happen to make any kariokes?”

  Pulling the phone out, I looked at it before putting it back to my ear.

  “I can’t even with you right now, Nic Drivas.”

  Hitting End, I pushed past Max.

  As I reached for the door and opened it, he softly spoke to Charity. “I think she’s gonna do it. We’ll live to see another day.”

  “Ugh!” I cried out.

  I knew I was on edge. Hell, anytime Katerina was around she put me on edge. But I had to give a deposition on Monday regarding Dante and the night he shot his father. All I wanted to do was put that life behind me.

  Making my way back into the bakery, I watched as Katerina sat down at a table with an older couple.

  I shot her a dirty look and wished I had the power to shoot daggers at her.

  The bell to the bakery opened and Kilyn walked in. She saw Katerina sitting at a table and her eyes widened in surprise. Then she turned and saw me. Walking up to me, she plastered an everything is okay smile on her face.

  “Hey, I see you and Katerina are hanging out.”

  Glaring back over at her, I tried not to growl.

  “Or maybe not.”

  Focusing back on Kilyn, I said, “She put Greek desserts in my bakery.”

  She frowned. “Huh?”

  I motioned for her to walk to the end of the counter. Leaning down, she gasped.

  “Oh. No.”

  “Yes. And they are all going in the trash.”

  Kilyn jumped up. “What? There is some good stuff in there. I’ll take it home! Don’t throw it away.”

  I narrowed my left eye on her and she took a step back. “Or you could throw it all out.”

  “Max!” I called out.

  “Yep, right here.”

  “Will you package all of this up for Kilyn, please.”

  She smiled and licked her lips as she watched Max reach in for the Greek desserts. Katerina looked up at me. Pointing to her, I motioned for her to meet me in the back.

  “What are you doing?” Kilyn asked.

  “I’m going to set her straight.”

  Max, Charity, and Kilyn all gasped.

  “It’s about time,” Liza said walking up tying on an apron.

  I looked at her as she shrugged. “Sorry, but this has been going on for too long. This is your turf. She can’t mess with you on your turf.”

  “Yeah!” Kilyn said as she lifted her fist into the air. Slowly pulling it back down, she turned to Max. “If you’ve got that ready, I’ll just be leaving before the shit hits the fan. Later, guys.”

  “Chicken,” I called out. Lifting her hand, Kilyn gave it a quick wave and was out the door with her goodies.

  And to think I’m planning her baby shower.

  Spinning around, I made my way to my office where Katerina was already sitting behind my desk.

  I shut the door and took a seat. Before I had a chance to even start talking, she went first.

  “Don’t be upset, Gabriella. I only meant it with good intentions.”

  Breathe. Stay calm. You’ve got this.

  “Katerina, this is my bakery. My business, my livelihood. My dream. You cannot come in here and act like you are a part of it. You especially cannot come in and bring food. For one, it is a health violation. I could get in trouble.”

  Her face dropped. “Oh, Gabriella, I wasn’t even thinking about that.”

  “Well, honestly Katerina, you weren’t thinking at all. You’re walking around putting down my baking to my customers. How do you think that makes me feel?”

  She only stared at me, but didn’t respond.

  “You are to never bring food into this bakery again, and if for any reason you think there needs to be a dessert here, talk to me about it first. Maybe we can have a Greek day or something.”

  I don’t think in the six months that I have known Katerina Drivas I have I ever seen her speechless. Standing, she smoothed out her hair and smiled.

  “Well, it appears I’ve been put in my place.”

  Sighing, I dropped my head. When I glanced back up at her, she was moving around the desk. “I’m not trying to put you in your place. I’m simply asking that you not interfere with my business. I’ve worked very hard to make this bakery what it is. I know you wish I was Greek, and I’m sorry I’m not.”

  She smiled. “You’re three percent.”

  Slowly shaking my head, I smiled softly. I could tell her the test was false, but what good what it do.

  “I’m very proud of my Italian heritage, just as you’re proud of your Greek. I’m very passionate about my cooking, like you’re passionate about yours. It’s okay to be different. It’s okay if Nic loves an Italian dish. Because no matter what I cook or what I bake, you’ll always be his mother and he will always love you with every ounce of his heart and soul. I’m not competing with y
ou on that, Katerina. We both love the same man, but in two totally different ways.”

  Katerina glanced away for a few moments while she cleared her throat before focusing back on me.

  “You are a strong woman, Gabriella, and I see why my Nicholaus loves you so.”

  Smiling, I walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek. “You raised an amazing man, Katerina. I’d be lost without him.”

  With a quick pat on my arm, she stood up straighter. “Now, if you’ll bring me back to my . . . er . . . Nicholaus’s house, I will get my car and head home. I have some planning to do for the shower.” Narrowing her eyes, she flashed me an evil smile. “Kilyn thinks she snuck in the bakery today without me seeing her, but I saw her. I also saw her taking all the desserts! I knew that girl loved my kariokes.”

  I covered my mouth to hide my smile as Katerina marched out of my office.

  With a deep exhale, I looked up and said a quick prayer. As I made my way out of my office, I couldn’t help but chuckle. Life with Katerina Drivas was going to be interesting.

  Exhausting.

  But very interesting.

  “THIS WAS SUCH a bad idea,” I mumbled to myself while I climbed up one step at a time.

  Swinging my leg over the ladder, I stepped up onto the roof. Smiling, I let out the breath I’d been holding.

  “Oh, wow.”

  The view was breathtaking. Charity was right. This would be the perfect place. Reaching for my phone in my back pocket, I pulled up her name.

  Me: I can see the mountains perfectly.

  Charity: Told you!

  Me: This was a great idea!

  Charity: LOL. I’m surprised you got up there.

  I stared at her text like it was a snake about to bite me.

  “Oh God.”

  I closed my eyes and sank down onto the roof. Pulling my knees to my chest, I dragged in a deep breath. This was my karma. Coming back to me for the way I snapped last week at the bakery when Katerina put the Greek desserts in. I quickly typed my response back.

  Me: OMG! Charity. I’m on the roof. I’m on the damn roof.

  Charity: Okay. I thought you had already made that clear but . . .

  Me: No! I’m ON THE ROOF. I’m afraid of heights.

  My phone rang.

  “H-hello?”

  “You didn’t go all the way up alone, did you?”

  “Well of course I did! I had to see what the view looked like.”

  “I said, put the ladder up and climb up as far as you can and look! I didn’t tell you to go on the roof.”

  I gulped as I looked around.

  “I’m so high! Oh, my gosh. I’m going to die!”

  She laughed. My jaw dropped open as I pulled my phone out to stare at it. Putting it back to my ear, I huffed. “You’re laughing?”

  “Yes. You’re barely one story up. Just climb back down.”

  Standing, I walked over to the edge of the roof. My knees instantly hurt when I peeked over.

  “I can’t do it. I can’t!”

  “Lord almighty. Do I need to come over and help you?”

  “No! You’re five months pregnant. You can’t be climbing a ladder.”

  “I climb onto Cole every night.”

  Gagging, I shook my head to erase the image. “Throw up. In. My. Mouth.”

  Charity giggled. “Oh stop. I’m only trying to make light of your freak out moment. Just hold onto the ladder, swing your leg over it, and step down.”

  “It is not that simple, Char.”

  “Really? I’m pretty sure it is. Christ, I’m on my way over.”

  She hung up before I could argue with her.

  I pushed my phone back into my pocket and slowly backed away from the edge.

  “Hi, Gabi!” Mrs. Hawk yelled from her front porch across the street.

  Waving, I called back, “Hey, Mrs. Hawk.”

  “What are you doing on the roof dear?”

  How do I explain I came up here to see if it would make a good picnic spot for me to surprise Nic with the news that I didn’t have to testify in Dante’s case? He had confessed to killing his father in exchange for some deal the FBI made with him. Antonio was pissed, I was pissed, but relieved at the same time.

  “Checking something, that’s all.”

  She smiled and waved again before going back into the house.

  Sighing, I sat down and pulled my knees up to my chest again.

  Okay, you’ve got this, Gabi. You are a strong, independent woman who owns her own business. You can do anything you set your mind to. All you have to do is take one step down. That’s it.

  I stared at the ladder peeking up over the roof.

  “I am so fucked.”

  Charity popped her head up, making me scream. “What in the hell are you doing? You’re pregnant! Cole will kill you if he sees you on a ladder.”

  She stepped up and flashed me an evil little smile. “I had to come show you what a baby you’re being. If I can get up here and get back down with a belly, then so can you.”

  “You’re not even that big,” I said, my eyes wandering down to her little tummy sticking out.

  Rolling her eyes, she reached for my hand. “Shut up. Come on, we’ll be late for knitting club and Nancy is showing me the yarn she got for the baby.”

  I tried to hide my smile as I followed her back over to the ladder. “Why do you go? You don’t even knit and the bet has long since been over.”

  Charity shrugged. “I like it. Sue me.”

  When she stopped at the ladder, I patiently waited for her to show me how to get off. But she didn’t move.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Um. Nothing. I just need a second.”

  I nodded. “Okay. Is anything wrong though?”

  Glancing back at me, she gave me a nervous smile. “No.”

  With a lift of my brows, I asked, “Are you sure?”

  She nodded. “Uh-huh. Yep. I need a moment.”

  My shoulders dropped. “Please don’t tell me you’re afraid to get down.”

  Charity turned to face me. “Oh, you have no right to judge me! You were sitting up here in a fetal position!”

  I huffed. “It was not a fetal position.”

  She quirked her brow. “Really?”

  I waved my hands around like a crazy person. “It doesn’t matter. How are we going to get down?”

  “Girls, are you okay up there?”

  We both turned to see Mrs. Hawk standing out from the house looking up.

  “Yes.”

  “No!” Charity cried out.

  Hitting her, I smiled. “We’ve just hit a bump in the road. That’s all.”

  “What bump is that, sweetheart?” Mrs. Hawk asked.

  “We’re too afraid to get back down!” Charity cried out.

  Reaching for her phone, Charity said, “I’m calling Cole!”

  I grabbed it. “Are you insane? If he finds out you crawled up on the roof, he is going to be pissed. Then he’ll be pissed at me because I’m the reason you’re up here.”

  “Damn it. Well, who do we call? Kilyn?”

  Laughing, I rolled my eyes. “So we can get her stuck up here?”

  “She’s seven months pregnant, I don’t think she would climb up here.”

  “And you’re five months pregnant. I didn’t think you would climb up here either, but here you are.”

  With a frown, she mumbled, “Touché.”

  “Don’t worry, girls, I called for help.”

  Charity and I both froze. “Holy shit. Who would she have called?” I asked.

  Pressing her hands together, Charity started praying. “Please don’t have called 9–1-1. Lord, please.”

  I glanced back down. “Oh, that wasn’t necessary, Mrs. Hawk. You can call them back. We’re perfectly fine.”

  She looked up with a sweet smile. “Katerina said she knew what to do.”

  My stomach dropped.

  Dear Lord above, please no. No. No. No. No.
br />   CHARITY GASPED. “DID she say she called . . . oh . . . my . . . God . . . please tell me she didn’t say what I think she said.”

  Covering my mouth, I tried to keep the bile I instantly felt down.

  She called Katerina. How does she even know her?

  My hand dropped to my side as I called down, “What did you tell her, Mrs. Hawk?”

  “That you and Charity were both stuck on the roof and couldn’t get down.”

  Charity crawled on her hands and feet to the middle of the roof and sat down. Her arms were wrapped around her legs and she had her eyes closed. “This is bad. This is so very bad. Go to a happy place. Go to your happy place, Charity!”

  Rolling my eyes, I said, “Who’s in the fetal position now?”

  She stuck her hand up and shot me the middle finger. “Fuck you, Gabi. Fuck. You.”

  I turned back to Mrs. Hawk. “You can call her back and tell her we’re fine. We’re about to come down.”

  Staring up at me, she shook her head. “Sweetheart, if you could get down, you’d be down by now. Katerina is bringing Dimitris, he’ll help.”

  “How do you know Katerina?” I asked.

  Laughing, she said, “We met when Nic moved in. Such a nice woman.”

  My shoulders dropped and I made my way over to Charity. Dropping down next to her, I put my head on her shoulder and looked out to the mountains.

  “It’s a pretty view, isn’t it?”

  Charity sighed. “Yeah. It’s beautiful.”

  I wasn’t sure how long we sat there staring out to the west before we heard Katerina’s voice calling up at us.

  Dropping onto my back, I let out a long groan. “I’m never going to live this down. Ever.”

  Suddenly, a loaf of bread was thrown up on the roof. Turning our heads, we stared at it.

  Charity turned back to me and asked, “How the fuck long does she think we’ve been up here?”

  Laughing, I got up and walked over to the edge, but not too close.

  “Oh. No.”

  “How many people are with her?”

  I glanced back over my shoulder to Charity. “There are at least three Maria’s, Aunt Agnes, cousin Angie, and Phoebe. With the baby!”

  She covered her mouth to hide her laugh. “It’s not funny!” I stated as I giggled myself.

  “So much for keeping this from Nic,” she chuckled.

  “Eat the bread! It will give you energy!” Katerina called up.