Page 51 of Restless Ink

Dimitri turned to Thea and cupped her face before they started their meal. They were out of everyone’s line of vision thanks to their position in the booth, and he needed to know that she was fine, that she was his.

“Hey, want to start the night over?”

Thea gave him a sad smile. “Sure. We can try that. It’s just…that was weird.”

He nodded, giving her a quick kiss. “Yeah, it was. But how about we try these mushroom things, because I’m starving.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Only he didn’t know if their date would be as good as they wanted to make it. The night hadn’t gone as planned, and by the time they’d finished their food, trying their best to act as if Molly hadn’t interrupted them and made it seem like either Thea had been wrong or had lied outright about her dinner recommendation, Dimitri didn’t know if any of their evening could be salvaged.

They’d tried to do something different, and it hadn’t worked. Not even in the slightest.

Dimitri walked Thea to her car after they’d finished dessert, completely full, yet feeling as if he were two steps behind in a game he hadn’t known he was playing.

“Is it okay if I just go home tonight? Alone? I have a headache, and I need to breathe a bit.” Thea said as she looked up at him, a frown on her face and sadness in her eyes.

He thought about the bag he had in his car, and the weekend he’d planned with her and Captain.

“Okay.”

“It’s not okay, but…but I think I need to take a step back and remember who I am and why we’re doing this. Because something’s off, and I don’t think it’s you. Or me.”

He nodded. “Yeah. I get that. Why don’t I take Captain up to my brother’s house this weekend? We can talk when I get back. Or during. Or whenever. Because I’m not letting you go, Thea. Even if tonight didn’t go like we expected.”

“I think that might be best.”

He kissed her softly, putting everything into it, but he knew this was a step, a moment in time that would become a part of who they were. They would have to find out who they could be together soon, but right then, it was a tipping point.

He watched her walk away, feeling more alone than ever.

He knew something needed to change. There was something wrong with Molly and the way she treated Thea, the way she treatedhim. And that needed to stop.

It had to.

Chapter 21

Thea pounded her fists into the dough, trying to untangle her thoughts and form the gluten for her bread. There was chemistry involved, baking magic that turned a few ingredients into countless baked goods. But for her, all she wanted to do was put some punch and anger into it. With every fold, every smack of her fist or dough on the counter, she thought that maybe she could get some of this…oddnessout of her system.

But as she’d been working in the back of Colorado Icing for a few hours now, she didn’t know if that would actually happen.

She’d already made loaves of bread, rolls, and two new starters for her sourdough since she was afraid one of her best was starting to lose its action abilities. She’d made cookies, cupcakes, brownies, tarts, and even a mousse for their special today. She’d made frostings, a couple of cakes to order, and had begun baking the tiers for a wedding cake she’d spend the next day decorating with all her energy and creativity.

And she’d done all of it in a fog while trying to figure out what had happened on her date with Dimitri. She hadn’t spoken to him since she’d left him standing alone in that parking lot after their uneasy date. They’d texted, or rather,he’dtexted her, and she responded, just not as quickly and verbosely as she had in the past. He’d gone to Denver to visit his brother and to hang out with this dog, all because she’d needed time to think about what had happened with Molly and what everything would mean to all of them in the future.

“You look like you went ten rounds with the Pillsbury Dough Boy and lost.”

Thea’s head whipped around at Roxie’s voice, her shoulders sagging. All day, she’d been prepared for either Dimitri or Molly to walk through the doors of the café and even come back to the kitchen. All damn day. Neither had shown up yet, though Dimitri had texted saying that he was working at home today on lesson plans, getting a jump start on the new semester. He’d said he’d try to stop by later if she wanted him to.

She’d told him to have a good day.

Why?

Because she couldn’t get Molly’s weird interactions out of her head, and they were shading her thoughts about Dimitri. She couldn’t think when he was around, and the one thing she needed to do wasthink.

“Thea?” Her sister frowned and walked toward her, her arm outstretched. “What’s wrong? Do you need to sit down?”

Thea shook her head in answer as well as a way to try and clear her thoughts. “Sorry, I’m fine.” She looked down at herself. “Apparently, just covered in flour.”