Winning the Baker's Heart

Chapter 23

Tomorrow turned into the next day then the next and then the next week. By the following Wednesday, they were nowhere near solving it.

It also didn't help that Rey had become extremely busy. So busy in fact he'd started working overnights to keep up with their orders. When Kyle and Thomas were coming in, Rey was going home. He always started the pastries for them and had all the sauces ready, but he was sleeping during the day.

Kyle saw how haggard he looked every morning. A call from Mia confirmed everything. Rey had had another episode that night Hailie had ripped the sugar bag. It had been Mia's idea for him to work nights. He could work safely and quietly without anyone disturbing him.

Kyle had watched him on the camera the first several nights. Once again, he had been the reason for the boy's mental trauma. He still didn't fully understand how bipolar disorder worked, but he was fairly certain he was a contributing factor. All he could do to help was keep an eye on the young man.

How was he going to fix this? Rey had made his intentions known. He liked Kyle and disliked Hailie dragging him around. Kyle didn't particularly like that tidbit either, but he hadn't found a way to stop her. He would never deny how scared of her he was.

Hailie had helped him out. She had found the building, procured the mortgage, and had even helped with his small business loans. She had done more than help him out; she had done all the leg work while he had baked out of his grandfather's bake house.

When the business was up and running, she had used her degree in PR to help get word out for him. If she hadn't done all the work, there was no way in hell he'd be this successful. And most of it had been done before they'd dated.

Kyle owed a lot to Hailie. He still wasn't the best at dealing with customers, but he'd come a long way in the decade he'd been in business. He was one of the most up and coming business owners in Arkansas as he made plans to branch out. None of it would have been possible had Hailie not helped out in those early years.

His friends had always told him Hailie would never stay. She wanted too much out of life. Her father was Ahmir Nassar, an Egyptian oil tycoon who moved to America to start a huge rigging business. Hailie had grown up wealthy and wouldn't settle for less. Kyle had always thought he was the exception to that rule. He thought she truly loved him. She may have in some way, but it wasn't the love he wanted.

The first time she cheated had been after he'd paid off the loan. They'd discussed branching out, but Kyle had felt it was too soon. Hailie had thought it had been a good idea and had pushed it. Kyle had denied it, hoping it had been the last of it. She'd left for Little Rock, and he didn't hear from her for a few days. It hadn't been surprising. He had done that many times before as well.

He probably would never have known had his cousin Callie not sent him a text. She worked at a high-end boutique in Little Rock and had sent him a picture of a girl that had looked just like Hailie. Kyle had wanted to deny it, but the bag in the picture had been the only couture thing he'd ever bought her. He had recognized it almost immediately so he'd known his cousin wasn't lying.

Hailie had come clean nearly immediately. Kyle should have ended it there when he gut had said to, but he'd been in love. She had cried and begged, and his heart had relented. For a while, things had been good. Kyle had even bought an engagement ring. He should have known things wouldn't last.

Watching Rey those several nights brought up a lot of memories. Was Rey having the same feelings Kyle had a few years ago when Hailie broke up with him? They never had been exclusive, but the feelings of hurt and heartache with a touch of anger were the same. He knew how pain worked, and Rey had a somewhat healthy way to work through it.