Exploding: A Mafia Romance (The O'Keefe Family Collection #1) by Tuesday Embers Read Free Book Online

off her cheekbone. For those precious seconds, he ignored his inner voice screaming for him to back away from the fire he didn’t recognize might start burning within him if he stood too near her warmth. “I know better than to underestimate your reach, Little Keefer. Enjoy the flowers and that terrible, disgusting caramel you’re making.”
    Fallyn’s heart pounded as Vince let himself out the backdoor and out into the alley. “My name’s Fallyn!” she called over her shoulder to him. She turned back to the stove, glad that no one had seen the strangest exchange between a D’Amato and an O’Keefe.

6
Spread Too Thin
    F or Fallyn , the next morning was just an extension of the night, which she had worked clean through. She had taken to only going home for a shower and to change clothes, indulging in the briefest periods of rest at the shop when she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer.
    Her hands were shaking with exhaustion, feeling too feeble and thin as she pulled the last pan of muffins out, having made more than she had the day before so she was not caught unprepared. Declan promised her a cashier transferred from one of his stores who was due to be in five minutes ago, which put her ten minutes ahead of Jen. The orders for custom-made cakes were stacking up, and she hadn’t even had a moment to touch the slips that called to her, taunting her that she would fall behind and her brothers would have to swoop in and keep her from drowning. Danny had secured her a catering gig for four hundred at the law firm where he worked, and she worried how she would ever fill such a large order, and still keep on top of everything else.
    Then there were thoughts of Vince with his hand pressed against her breasts. It still gave her guilty chills that she tried to shake off, but secretly she reveled in the thrill he gave her. She kept sneaking peeks at the flowers he’d brought, knowing they were a peace offering and nothing more.
    Fallyn shook off her exhaustion, determined she would finish the muffins, the cupcakes, the pastries and every other detail before she passed out. Long ago had she toed off her heels, instead roaming around the kitchen with bleary eyes in her bare feet.
    “Hey, workaholic. Did you really sleep here again last night?” Jen greeted her friend as she clocked in and fastened her apron in place. Her shoulders slumped as she took in the bags under Fallyn’s eyes. “Please tell me you slept.”
    “I did. Just had to get in early to fire everything up.”
    Jen stood in the middle of the messy kitchen and waited until Fallyn passed in front of her to grab her friend by the shoulders. “Slow down. You don’t have to work this hard. I know you’re lying to me. I know you didn’t go home last night. When was the last time you went out? Did anything other than this bakery?”
    Fallyn wiped a line of lime green icing down her temple in an attempt to mop some sweat off her face. “It’s a new business, Jen. I have to stay on top of things, or I’ll lose it. I’ll lose everything. I’ve worked so hard to get my own place. I can’t drop the ball now!” She could hear the hysteria in her tone, but she couldn’t tame it.
    Jen shushed her kindly, rubbing her hands down the length of Fallyn’s arms to calm her. “Hey, it’s alright. You’re not dropping the ball. This is a thriving business, but you can’t keep at this pace. Declan sent over one of his cashiers, right?”
    “ He hired her originally. Not me. He did.” Fallyn lowered her chin in defeat. “Declan doesn’t think I can do this, but I can!”
    “Of course you can,” Jen soothed her friend. “You just kept a shop girl from getting laid off and saved yourself the headache of having to sift through yet more resumes to fill the spot. Have you looked at the resumes for hiring a second baker?”
    Fallyn turned her head guiltily in the direction of the stack of resumes sitting atop her desk in her office. “Not yet. I wanted to see