Homeless

Chapter 20

Danielle's POV

As we round the corner towards the bakery, Derek slows down and eventually stops walking.

"You okay?" I ask, glancing back.

"Um, yeah." He looks down the alleyway then back down to the ground.

"Derek..." I say. I reach out to him then pull him in for a hug. He returns by wrapping his arms around me.

"What are you thinking about?" I whisper in his ear.

"A lot," he says softly. "How I used to sleep back here. How I'm so thankful to have my first home in years." He pulls out of our hug. "But also how scared I am to go in that bakery. To face Lizzy and Anna. But especially Lizzy." Derek shakes his head. "Maybe I made a mistake coming in today."

"You didn't make a mistake Derek," I say, placing my right hand on his cheek. "I'm so happy to have you here and if anyone has a problem with that, they'll have to face me."

Derek smiles a little. "And you're one scary person to face," he jokes.

"Exactly," I say, giving my best mean face.

"You're so cute," Derek says. He turns his face into the hand I have on his cheek and places a small kiss on my wrist. "Thank you."

My stomach flutters at Derek's words and the small kiss. I'm starting to really fall for this dude.

I smile then shyly take my hand away. "You ready?

"Yeah," he says.

We approach the bakery and I see Anna is already working on the glass display. She waves at me through the glass and I wave back.

"Hey," I say, opening the front door.

"Hi..." Anna's voice trails off when she sees Derek walk in behind me. "Um, we're not open yet," she says to him.

"He's not a customer," I say. "Anna, this is Derek. Derek, Anna."

Anna's jaw hits the floor. "Derek... homeless-guy-behind-the-shop Derek?"

I roll my eyes. "More like newest-employee-of- the-bakery Derek."

Derek stands awkwardly between the two of us.

"Nice to meet you," Anna finally says. She sticks her hand out and shakes hands with Derek.

"Nice to meet you too," Derek says.

As if on cue, Lizzy walks in the door behind us.

"Hey," she says to Anna. "Hey..." she says to Derek next. She looks him up and down. I can tell she's checking him out. I don't think she knows who he is. In her defense, Derek is completely unrecognizable from what he looked like last week.

"And who are you?" Lizzy's question comes out a bit flirtatiously and I'm in a bit of disbelief. I shake my head slightly. I know as soon as Derek identifies himself, her world is gonna be turned upside down.

"I'm—

"This is D," I say, cutting Derek off. I want to see how Lizzy reacts to Derek before knowing who he really is. "He's gonna be working in our stockroom and up front when it gets particularly busy. He'll be here mostly Friday through Sunday but he's here this week to help with the holiday rush." I turn to Derek. "If you wanna get started in the stockroom, I'll be there in a few. Just going to get the storefront situated with Anna and Lizzy."

Derek nods then heads behind the counter and through the door that leads to the kitchen.

"Okay," Lizzy says, "I don't know where you found him but he's really hot. If he needs any overtime, send him my way."

Anna looks at me, looks at Lizzy then back at me. I can tell she's confused. She doesn't say anything and I'm glad she doesn't.

"Anyways," I say, pulling out my recipe card, "could you please update the menu with these flavors? I'm gonna get started on the baking."

I head to the kitchen and throw my apron on. I get started on the 5 different frostings I'll need for today. As I'm getting started, Derek comes out of the stockroom.

"All done in there," Derek says. He puts a list down on the counter. "You have enough flour for the rest of the week but should probably order more. And you're running low on baking powder."

"Thanks so much," I say, smiling up at him. "I can show you how to put in product orders later today. Just remind me."

"Sure," Derek says. "And thanks... for earlier. I don't think I was ready to hear whatever Lizzy was gonna say if she knew who I really was."

I brush the powdered sugar off my hands onto my apron. "Yeah, of course. I hope you didn't feel like I was hiding you." I step closer to Derek and he takes a step closer to me.

"I didn't feel that way at all." He reaches for my waist and pulls me close. It's unexpected but comfortable. I respond by placing my hands on his chest.

"Okay, good. I figured Anna's comments were more than enough for today. We can deal with Lizzy's comments later."

Derek looks me in the eyes and smiles slightly. I catch his gaze drift down to my lips before meeting my eyes again. I can't help but smile a little. I push my body into his and start to bring my lips to his. Is this going to be our first real ki—

"We got a new order for..." Anna comes busting through the kitchen door and Derek and I pull apart quickly. "Oop," she says, her mouth hitting the floor. "Are you guys... together?"

"Anna, that's honestly none of your business."

"I just... wow," she says. "This is just a lot to process. Derek being here. You not really being transparent with Lizzy. You guys kissing in the kitchen. You haven't really explained anything to me."

"And I don't have to explain anything to you," I respond. "But yes, Derek is here and he's an employee. And like the employee code says, we're going to be treating him with respect, just like we treat each other with respect.

"And no, I wasn't super transparent with Lizzy. Because she can be an ass and I don't need that energy right now. And you especially don't need to know this but no, we weren't kissing. And if we were, I promise it's not your business. Any other questions?"

"Um, no," Anna says. "I'm sorry Dani. Really."

"What were you saying?" I ask, shaking my head. "About the order?"

"We have an order from Etsy. They're having their annual holiday party this Saturday and they need 1,000 cupcakes by Saturday at 4pm."

"Okay," I say. "Is the order on the iPad?"

"Yeah," Anna says.

"Sounds good. We''ll work on it Friday."

Anna leaves the kitchen and I turn my attention back to Derek.

"This is gonna be complicated," Derek says weakly.

"It doesn't have to be," I say, sighing. "It's complicated because I'm not being up front with Lizzy and Anna. I just need to tell them what's what and shut it down."

"You think that's a good idea?" Derek asks.

"I mean, it seemed to have worked with Anna."

"Anna and Lizzy are two very different people," Derek replies.

"Yeah, but if they want to keep their jobs, they'll learn to deal with it."

"If you say so," Derek grabs my hand and squeezes it. "Can I help you with this frosting?"

"That would be great," I say, smiling from ear to ear.