Plot Twist

13. clueless

Against my better judgement, I chose to go to L'Amour on this very crispy cold Thursday afternoon, just like Sébastien had told me to.

And coming here today was the exact opposite of what I've been trying to do in the past few days, which was to avoid the tall and blonde French baker at all costs.

From the outside, I could still see the lights on, so I knew he was there. I curled my fingers together into the palm of my hand, making a fist, and knocked on the closed door. Sébastien didn't take too long to approach the entrance and pull the door open, greeting me with a wide smile.

"Melanie!" He didn't even try to hide his genuine sense of surprise to see me. The voicing as he said my name and the way his blue eyes opened wide were both excellent indicators that he was not expecting me to take up on his offer to drop by.

To be fair, I wasn't expecting myself to follow his orders and come by so quickly. However, he did say there was something he needed to talk to me about, and after searching my brain for what that could possibly be and finding nothing, I decided to come and find out.

Seb took a few steps to the side, allowing me to step foot inside the bakery. "I'm so glad you came!"

"Uh, yeah... no problem."

It was a bit awkward between the two of us, and definitely a bit more on my side. I didn't know how to act around him or how to talk, when our date was constantly replaying in the back of my mind.

And despite still not having a clue about whatever it was he wanted to talk to me about, I couldn't help but have a very strong feeling it had everything to do with what happened that night. And I did not want to go down that rabbit hole.

"How's Lexi?"

"She's okay," I said, noticing how my nerves would slowly vanish as long as we kept our talk about anything but us. "She's at school."

"What about you?" Then, he shifted the conversation topic to me, accompanied by two blue orbits that were filled with warmth and kindness, and my last source of hope for an non-awkward conversation went out the window right then and there. "How are you?"

That accent.

I was terrified of this, whatever this is.

"Good. Just a bit tired." I said as I shrugged, and he gave me a sympathetic look, but refrained from speaking. "How are you?"

He mirrored my actions and lifted his shoulders in a shrug as well, but remained silent for a couple of minutes, while giving me the opportunity to take a look around. He was keeping the original essence of the bakery, but did some adjustments that kept it modern yet traditional.

"This place is really shaping up to be a nice bakery." I added before he responded.

"Merci." His lips curled upwards, and he showed me his white pearls with a wide smile. "I'm a bit tired as well."

He gestured towards the kitchen while taking some steps in its direction. "It takes some work to make it what it's going to become."

A beat.

"That's why I wanted you to come here, by the way." The sheepish grin could not be wiped off his face.

Coming here today, the reason he wanted to talk to me was a mystery. And, after he said that, I was even more confused about it, if that was even possible.

What he just said was unexpected, and in all fairness, it only caused me to feel more clueless about this whole thing. But I waited for him to elaborate.

"How would you like to work here?"

My mouth was agape and I remained quiet for several minutes, while I tried to give my mind the time to fully understand what he was suggesting, but it seemed like this proposal went past the point of understanding.

Working here, as in... the bakery? And as a waitress?

"Melanie?"

"Hm?" Was the only sound I managed to produce while his big blue eyes looked into mine. He had put his hand on my shoulder, but I only noticed the gesture when he gently squeezed it, as if to wake me up from the daze I was in.

"I'm sorry." I said, holding in a chuckle. "Working here?"

"Yes." He said that with such ease, it made me feel strange. "And not as a waitress."

Well, that question is answered.

"What, then?"

"As a baker." The way he said it caused a shortcut in my brain, with his fancy French accent, like it was no big deal what he was proposing to me.

"L'Amour will be a bakery just for now. I'm thinking that with time we could expand it and make it a restaurant as well."

His eyes shone so bright as he spoke about his projects, dreams and hopes for his future and his family business, I could not help but smile at him.

"Seb, that sounds like a great idea!" I paused before correcting myself. "It is a great idea, and it will do really well."

"I can't do it alone, though." He gave his head a nod while he lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "I'm gonna need my favourite chef with me."

"Seb, that's a huge offer and a very kind one. I truly appreciate it, really, I do, but-"

"But what? Isn't this your dream?" His blue eyes became darker, almost as if he was daring me.

"It is." I replied instantly, no hints of doubt in my voice. "But I'm going to need to think about it. I've got responsibilities, a permanent job contract... I can't just drop everything and be at your service."

"That's fair." He said, resting his hands on either side of his waist, and hooking both of his index fingers around the belt loops on the waistband of his jeans. "And I wouldn't expect a different answer from you."

"Thank you for understanding." I exhaled aloud in relief. "I will just need some time."

"I'll wait." He took a step closer to me, so close that our breaths mingled. "I don't mind waiting, remember?" He asked, making a reference to what he had said to me on our non-date date, which had other intentions behind it, than just waiting for my response to the job offer.

And I stood still and silent, taking in the blue shade of his eyes while I tried to think about the offer, the pros and the cons and the what ifs. But much like how I was when I stepped foot inside this bakery today, I remained clueless. 

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Some of you guys saw it coming! What do you think Mel is going to do?

Brace yourselves, lovelies, 'cause Plot Twist is starting to take off and some major events are coming your way ❤

Vote if you liked this chapter, and leave a comment or two to let me know what you're thinking. Also, don't forget to add this story to your reading list so you don't miss out on any updates!

Xoxo, Mars