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  “Babe, let me take it back a few steps. I think I gave too much at once.” He took a step towards Maymi causing her to move back even further.

  “No, give me a few days to think about this. I need to figure out what is going on with me. You seem to have figured it out for yourself already.”

  “I haven’t figured out anything yet,” Jensen correct, wanting to ease her worries. “All I do know is the time we have spent together was pretty damn fantastic. What man wouldn’t think about furthering those moments?”

  Maymi walked back up to him and placed her hand on his chest. She stared up into his eyes and he got lost in their dark depths.

  “Give me two days and I’ll have an answer for you. Am I asking too much?”

  Jensen wrapped his arm around Maymi’s waist holding her against him. She was right. He had thrown her a curve ball by demanding a commitment from her. He wouldn’t have appreciated if she had done the same thing to him, tossing out demands he wasn’t ready for.

  “Alright, I’ll give you two days to get your head together, but I’m going to warn you that I’m going to expect an answer.”

  Standing on her tiptoes, Maymi planted a kiss on his lips but moved back when he tried to deepen it. “Don’t worry, I’ll have an answer for you,” she whispered then stepped back from him. “Let’s go and finish our walk before you need to take me to Sinful.”

  He grabbed her hand again giving it a light squeeze. She might have been surprised by his confession, but at least she hadn’t shot down the idea. Jensen decided to be patient enough to wait the two days, but if she took longer then he was going to seduce her into seeing things his way—the right way.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  The following night Jensen sat on the couch at his house trying to ignore the look Casper was giving him. It was one of complete disbelief like he couldn’t believe the words that just had come out of his mouth. He didn’t see what the problem was.

  “You can’t be my brother. What did you do with him and how can I get him back?” Casper complained.

  Sighing, he mentally kicked himself for even telling his brother about his conversation with Maymi while the basketball game was on. He had made the mistake of thinking he could confide in his brother about something so important to him.

  He glanced to his right and found Casper still watching him. “I’m giving her a chance to get her emotions together. She came out of a long, very loving relationship with a man who died on her suddenly. I can’t force her into doing anything she’s not prepared for. I don’t want to lose her. She might be the one and I have to give this thing between us a real chance.”

  “Are you falling for her?” his brother asked, surprised. “I thought you were...”

  “I was only what...” Jensen demanded in a low voice.

  “Only having a good time with Maymi. It never crossed my mind you might want something deeper with her. You never have done deeper before not even with Chloe who seemed like your perfect fit. Maymi is so different from her. I just don’t see the two of you being an official couple.”

  “Why not?” he questioned, watching his brother closely. “Do you think we wouldn’t be good together or something?”

  Jensen wanted to know what Casper was thinking. Maybe it was the same fears Maymi was harboring and that’s the sole reason she asked him for time to think about them.

  “I shouldn’t have said anything,” his brother said then glanced away from him back at the television.

  “Don’t you dare hint at something like that and then not go through with it. I need to know what is on it that head of yours.”

  Casper glanced away from the television and back over to him. “Maymi isn’t the standard you always seem to fall for. Your past female companions may have been stunning to look at, but they didn’t have much going on upstairs.”

  He was instantly insulted. He hadn’t been only dating airheads these past few years. “Chloe wasn’t an airhead,” Jensen pointed out.

  “No, she’s a world class bitch. I swear I’ve never met a woman as nasty as her. I still don’t know how you dated her for so long. Did she give you instructions how to have sex in the bedroom? She comes off as a super control freak.”

  “Hell no! Besides, we looked good together and that was what I was going for back then.” Jensen couldn’t deny the fact they had always turned heads when the two of them entered a room. However, he had grown since that time and he wasn’t attracted to those women anymore.

  Why couldn’t Casper understand or believe he had changed?

  “See and there lies the problem. Maymi looks nothing like Chloe. She’s beautiful with sexy curves in all of the right places. I mean I did a double taken when I first saw her. She’s not on the same level as Chloe. How can you be serious about Maymi? For as long as I’ve know you, you have dated women a size four or smaller.”

  He never thought Maymi might not want to date him because of her weight. He didn’t find a thing wrong with her at all. She was perfect in every single way that counted. If he had needed Chloe or another copy of her, he wouldn’t have ever pursued Maymi. He wanted to be with her and no one else.

  She was stunning, clever, hilarious and had a body that made him want her all day and night. Comparing her to another woman hadn’t crossed his mind once, why would it?

  “Do you think that could be the actual reason she isn’t ready to give me a definite answer?”

  His brother shrugged. “I can’t read her mind, so I can’t be sure of her reasons. All I know is she doesn’t come across like the type to rush into anything without thinking it through.”

  Jensen couldn’t deny Maymi probably wouldn’t tell him her answer until she was good and ready, but he hoped it would be the one he wanted to hear.

  ****

  Across town, Maymi walked around her apartment still thinking about what Jensen had proposed to her. Was she ready to let Sinful come second in her life to romance? The love she’d shared with Hudson was so special. His support of her had been constant and never changed when he got into fights at work with her father over it. He seldom allowed anything to come between them.

  Jensen, on the other hand, was totally the complete opposite of Hudson. He had wanted her gone from his neighborhood from the very first second the sign went up at her bakery. They had got into heated fights about it on more than one occasion. Nevertheless, they had come together under the most oddest of circumstances.

  Her problems involved why she was even giving his suggestion any thought of them becoming an official couple. Could it come from Jensen literally being the perfect image of tall, dark and handsome?

  She couldn’t afford to make a mistake with her decision and allow him to take her concentration off of Sinful if it wasn’t necessary. Sure, everything was going outstandingly for her, but that came from all the work she was putting into her decisions about business each and every day.

  Jensen came into her world when she wasn’t expecting it, but what man that looked like a professional fitness model, wanted to devote his time to building a relationship with her? She created the things fitness professional like him warned his clients to stay away from. Could they really promote their passions without stepping on each other toes?

  Her father told her when she was younger and when she was still listening to his every word, a man could tell her anything, so she should judge him by his actions. They always spoke the truth.

  So far, Jensen had been back and forth with his actions. First, he was harsh and critical, but he changed showing a sweet much more romantic side to his personality. She felt like Jensen was showing her the man he really was.

  Maymi stopped wandering around her apartment as something hit her. Subconsciously, she had been putting Jensen through tests and he had passed every single one she had gave him without knowing it.

  Why aren’t I with him right now instead of pacing around this big, lonely apartment?

  She rushed over to her cell phone on the kitchen counter, p
icked it up and then dropped it back down. No, she wasn’t going to call him tonight. Jensen needed to worry about her decision for a few more hours. She might be agreeing to this ‘couples’ idea of his, but she was still going to stay her own person.

  If Jensen couldn’t handle that part of her decision, he might have to give himself more time to get used to the idea. She had been independent for way too long to drop everything and blindly fall in line behind a man.

  Humming to herself, Maymi spun around and headed towards her bathroom for a shower, and then she was going to play a game on her computer before going to bed. Tonight, she was going to take time for herself since everything was going so perfectly for her.

  ****

  “Damn man, are you going to stand there all night staring at it?” Kenny snapped. “Toss it through the bitch’s window and then we can get the hell out of here.”

  Turning, he glared at Marty standing to his left. “At least I stayed here and confronted her instead of running away like you did. I wasn’t a coward.”

  “Listen, I wasn’t a fucking coward. I just couldn’t afford getting caught by the cops. I had to think about myself first. Didn’t I come back here with you to get this done? So do it!” Marty shouted.

  “The bakery chick shouldn’t have gotten involved in our business with Jensen. Shit, I still can’t stand that asshole,” Kenny complained. “He had no right to throw us out of his gym.”

  “Well, we can get back at both of them by doing this. I saw them at the park today holding hands. I guess she’s his girlfriend now. I wouldn’t have ever given up Chloe for her.”

  “Marty, I don’t give a fuck about Chloe or this bitch. All I want to do is teach her a lesson.”

  “Well, you’re spending more time talking than taking actions against Maymi. Show her that she needs to keep her nose out of other people’s business.”

  Kenny glanced back at his buddy, then down at the rock in his hand before he grinned and flung it through the huge bay window. The sound of glass shattering, ricocheted through the desert streets.

  “Come on. Let’s give her something else to think about before we leave,” Marty said as he went through the window walking over the broken glass.

  Kenny paused, looking around making sure no one was around before he bent down and picked up the can of black spray paint. Standing back up, he hurried through the opening behind Marty ready to leave his mark on Sinful.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  The loud ringing of the phone woke Maymi from a deep sleep and after she wiped the sleep from her eyes, she reached for the phone.

  “Hello,” she whispered in a sleepy voice.

  “Ms. Monroe,” the man asked in a deep voice filled with authority.

  “Speaking, can I help you with something?”

  Maymi scooted up in the bed and narrowed her eyes trying to make out the time across the room on her dresser. She noticed it was a little after eleven o’clock. Who was calling her this late? She had to get up in about five hours for Sinful.

  “I’m Officer Terrence. I’m calling to tell you about a vandalism at your bakery. Do you think you can come down here?

  The words woke Maymi completely up. She reached across the nightstand and turned on the lamp by the bed. She tried desperately to stay calm, but her heart was racing.

  “I must have misunderstood you. Did you tell me someone broke into my bakery?” she asked, hoping she had misheard him.

  “There were two guys, but we caught them as they were coming back out through the broken front window,” Officer Terrance told her. “Ms. Monroe, you really should get down here. I need you to see if you know these two men. Also, I think it might be best you call someone to be with you. The damage is pretty extensive.”

  With a shaky hand, she flung the sheets off her body and swung her feet down to the floor. “I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes.”

  “I’ll still be here taking picture as evidence,” he informed her then hung up.

  Jumping out of bed, Maymi stripped out of her pajamas and then grabbed some clothes, quickly tossing them on. She slipped on her shoes, grabbed her purse and car keys off the dresser and dashed out the door. She had to get to Sinful to check out the damage. Hopefully, it wasn’t as bad as Officer Terrence described it to her over the phone.

  ****

  No! No! No! Maymi’s mind silently screamed as she pulled up in front of Sinful. She swallowed hard, trying not to let her misery and anger consume her. Stopping her car, she stared at the total destruction right in front of her eyes. Turning her life-long dream vision of Sinful inside of her head into this building had taken a long time, but now it was completely destroyed.

  Getting out of her car on weak legs, she slowly made her way towards the shattered, broken bay window. The front of her bakery used to be picture perfect with the hot pink lettering across the glass.

  Maymi was oblivious to the glass crunching underneath the bottom of her shoes as she walked into her former successful business. She took small steps around the once welcoming front area of Sinful.

  She took in all of the broken cases and her grandmother’s award winning desserts now smeared across the checkered floor. Nothing was as she had left it earlier in the day. She had only been here about six hours ago and everything was in its place.

  Now, Sinful was a memory. This rubbish surrounding her never was what she wanted for her amazing grandmother. She worked so hard to give this place every special touch she could for her.

  “Ms. Monroe.”

  Turning, she saw a tall, bald police officer standing behind. She remembered him. He was one of the police officers who came here after Jensen had gotten attacked. Maymi hurried and wiped away the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand.

  “Yes,” she said, walking up to him.

  “I’m sorry about your business, but at least we caught the two guys. Do you have a few minutes to look at some mug shots?” he asked.

  “I’ve time to do it.” Maymi watched as he pulled two mug shots from a folder in his hand.

  “Do you know these two men?”

  She took the pictures from Officer Terrence and gave them a long look before handing them back to him. The memories of their two faces were pure and clear. She wouldn’t ever forget them.

  “Yes, I know them. They were the same two men who attacked Jensen outside of Fitness 24.”

  “Are you talking about Mr. Jensen Lowe?” he asked, shoving the photographs back into the black folder.

  “Yes,” Maymi answered. “Did this vandalism have anything to do with Jensen’s attack?”

  “I believe it does, but they aren’t admitting to anything. However, as soon as I get anything more I will contact you,” Officer Terrence informed her. He turned on his heel and then spun back around. “Once again, I’m sorry about Sinful. Do you have anyone who can come and help you clean all of this up?”

  Maymi already knew Jazmaine and Tatum would be upset with her if she didn’t call them about this. Whether or not she was going to call Jensen was still something she was debating. She wasn’t sure if she wanted him here.

  “I can call my friends, but I don’t see what good it would do. This place is totaled. Nothing can be saved. My bakery is ruined.”

  Officer Terrence gave her a sympathetic look before walking back across the glass on the floor and leaving her alone with all of the destruction.

  Taking a deep, unsteady breath she tried holding back her tears but everything became too overwhelming. She couldn’t handle this, not alone. Maymi reached into her jacket pocket, pulling out her cell phone. She dialed the number of the person she wanted to see the most.

  ****

  Wrestling with the covers, Jensen pulled them off his naked body. He took a quick glance at the clock frowning when he noticed the time. Who in the hell was calling him at one o’clock in the morning? He knew it wasn’t Casper, because he brother was asleep in the guest bedroom since he decided it was too late for him to drive back home afte
r watching the basketball game.

  “Hello,” he said, answering the phone.

  “Jensen, I need you,” Maymi’s soft voice cried.

  He instantly jumped up in the bed, turning on the light. The pain in her voice terrified him “Baby, what’s wrong?”

  “It’s...it’s Sinful. They destroyed it. I can’t come back from this. I’ve lost everything. I need you to come here, please.”

  He didn’t understand what was going on. Maymi was telling him something, but he was lost. He had to get to her, so he could help her like she called him to do.

  “Sweetheart, I’m not following you. Take a breath and tell me again what happened to you. Are you trying to tell me something happened at the bakery?” The phone went silent for a few minutes, but Jensen knew Maymi was still there because he could still hear her breathing in the background. “Honey, can you make me understand better?”

  “They broke the window and then sprayed painted the entire front of the store. All of the cases are open and food is everywhere. I can’t fix it.”

  Rushing out of the bed, he rushed over to his closet and yanked the first things he saw off the hangers. “Who do this? Did the cops catch the guys?” he asked, holding the cell phone against his shoulder while he pulled on his pants. “How did you find out about this?”

  “I got a phone call about twenty minutes ago. The alarm got tripped and the cops called me. Please hurry up. I need you here with me,” she said, choking on her words. “I’m going to call Jazmaine and Tatum after I hang up with you. They aren’t going to believe this.”

  “Maymi, I’ll be there in less than twenty minutes. I want to make sure you will still be at Sinful. I’m going to wake up Casper and bring him with me. Just take a breath and I’ll be at your side.” He hung up the phone and tossed it on the rumpled bed before he finished getting dressed. Maymi needed him and he wasn’t going to waste anymore time getting to her.