Chapter 40

Amaris' POV

"You think I'm nice and sweet." He suddenly pulled over and that was when I glanced around trying to make out my surroundings. It took me a while to realize we weren't home and we just stopped in front of a huge....bakery? What were we doing in front of a bakery?

"Duh..." I sang. "You've helped me out....twice. plus I can have a conversation with you without you yelling at me or pissing me off." I said, earning a laugh from him. I smiled before looking out the window again. "Umm....what are we doing here?" I asked before jerking my head towards him.

"Um....yeah sorry I didn't tell you..." He apologized before taking off his seatbelt. "I normally stop by the bakery everyday after work to get myself a few things." He said, turning to me and when he saw the shocked expression on my face. He let out a small laugh. "Yeah I know it's surprising but I'm a sucker for treats."

"Really." I giggled with an amused expression. I wasn't really surprised though....I mean everyone liked treats and desserts right.

"Mhmm." He nodded, getting out of the car. "So you can just wait here....I promise I won't be long." He slammed the door behind him flashing me another smile before heading inside the bakery. For some reason my eyes never left his body until I couldn't see him anymore and that was when I realized how dark it had gotten. I turned my head to the right....dark alley. I then snapped my head to the left....another dark alley. My throat bobbed with a visible swallow as I turned back to the shadowy path in front of me, its dim, flickering light cast by a solitary street lamp which was only a few feet away.

The silence was deafening....and the only sound I could hear was my ragged breathing and the pounding of my heart. Suddenly everything around me became dark and oppressive and my senses were sharpened which kind of made me start hearing things. The whistling of the wind, the chirping of the night birds. I wasn't the type that was normally afraid of the dark but I also wasn't the type that liked being left alone...and I couldn't find a soul lurking around. Not that I'd feel a lot safer if I found one though. I quickly scrambled out of the car shutting the door behind me, my heart racing as I rushed into the bakery. Anyone who might have been watching me right now would have been wondering if I was being chased by a ghost or something.

I let out a long sigh of relief as the door closed behind me, I then dusted my hands on my skirt and that was when I realized I had left my purse in the car. Fuck! "Okay Ammie....don't panic." I assured myself not minding if anyone was watching me talk to myself right now. "It's okay. He just went in a few minutes ago. He wouldn't have gone far...right?" My eyes wandered through the crowd searching for a certain 6'3 with black curly hair and a pair of piercing green eyes in the crowd. I decided to move out of the way since I was standing directly in front of the door. I continued my search while I browsed through the bakery. I didn't have any intentions of buying anything and even if I did I had left my card in the car with my purse.

Maybe I can just wait for him at the exit. I thought, cursing myself for not coming up with that idea earlier. I then glanced around and that was when I realized that I was so engrossed in my search I didn't even notice when I had walked away from the exit.

"Oooh." I let out a sad groan as I tried to find my way back to the entrance. A part of me wanted to curse Kian for stopping at the bakery and leaving me inside the car in the middle of a dark alley. The other part of me was blaming myself for getting into his car in the first place. I should have just waited for a cab....no matter how long it took...and also, why did this bakery have to be so huge?!

I wasn't the type of person that liked talking to people I didn't know but at this point I didn't have a choice. I needed someone to point me towards the exit so I would wait there for Kian and quickly before he leaves and finds out that I'm not in the car and then we'll both be on some stupid wild goose chase as we searched for each other.

I let out a small laugh at the mental image of Kian and I running around the bakery in search of each other. I was about to tap someone when I heard a familiar voice behind me. "The fact that I see you every fucking day in the office for eleven hours isn't enough?"

"What the heck?" I said to myself as I spun around to find Caleb standing behind me. I was about to ask him what he was doing in the bakery when I remembered that I wasn't speaking to him then I pressed my lips together in a thin line before glancing around. It couldn't just be a coincidence that he and Kian were in the same place at the same time, could it?

His brows drew together when he realized I wasn't still speaking to him. I lifted my chin an inch higher as a satisfied smile crept up my lips. This was just the beginning. I've got a lot planned for...

"Amaris?" a voice called out interrupting my thoughts and I turned to find Kian standing in front of me.

"Mr. Beck." My eyebrows shot up as I pressed my lips together forming a forced smile on my lips. I saw a confused expression forming on Caleb's face out of the corner of my eye. We were both standing on the same aisle but I stood at the end so that was why I could see Kian and he couldn't because of the rack veiling his view.

"What are you doing out here? I thought we agreed you were going to wait in the car."

"In the car?" Caleb repeated coming out from beside me. The same Caleb wasn't able to see him a few seconds ago was the same way Kian couldn't see him. As expected Caleb didn't need to see Kian before he could tell he was the one. Kian's brows shot up before relaxing into an amused expression as he dipped his hands into his pockets.

"Caleb...what brings you to the bakery?" He asked.

"Getting things for Miranda....why is she supposed to be waiting in your car?" He arched his brow. *Oh no.* This was exactly what I was avoiding. I slowly backed away from them...the last thing I wanted was to witness whatever was going to happen here.

"I found her waiting for a cab outside your company and I offered her a ride home...." He said, glancing at me. "...since we basically live in the same building." He lifted his shoulders in a half shrug with his hands still buried inside his pockets. My gaze then shifted to Caleb who stared at him with a scrutinizing look before narrowing his eyes into thin slits. That's weird I thought to myself. His reaction's a lot quieter than I expected. Why wasn't he yelling or frowning or....being him?