An Unusual Affair

Chapter 8

'Shhhh,' Richard said covering Emily's mouth with his hand, and pinning her against the wall. 'Don't make any noise. They will hear us otherwise. And I think that will be the last thing you will want in your life at the moment.' His voice was a mere whisper laced with seduction, attraction, and warning. 

His eyes fixed on hers. His face inches away from hers. Emily stood there, her eyes bulging due to their proximity. They were standing so close, that their bodies were almost touching.

The pantry was quite small and on top of it, it was stacked full with baking ingredients. 

'Emily? Hello, are you there?' One of the customers started calling her. 

Richard's eyes were fixed on Emily. He could feel her skin and her lips on his palm. His head, which was already pounding started to feel dizzy because of his accelerated heartbeat. Her perfume and her closeness were creating a sensation that he did not want to experience at that moment.

Emily couldn't breathe properly. She put her hand on Richard's hand that was covering her mouth and slowly removed it from her face. Breathing heavily she moved even closer to Richard's ear, holding his arm for support so she wouldn't fall, and whispered, 'Your car is parked right outside my house at the moment Mr. Sterling. If I don't go out right now, everyone is going to suspect me anyway. Let me go and handle this.' 

Saying this she stood back in front of him, letting go of his arm, and whispered again, 'Trust me.' With that, she picked up a flour packet from the floor and bypassing him, went out of the pantry, leaving Richard standing stunned, rooted to the spot. 

'Hello, ladies. Good Morning.' Emily said loudly. 

'Where have you been Emily? We have been calling for so long.' One of the ladies said. 

'Oh, I was in the pantry. It needed some organizing. Sorry, I took so long. But I haven't opened the Bakery yet as well. It opens at 9 on Weekends remember?' Emily said apologetically. 

'Yeah, I remember but there was a car parked outside and the door was slightly open so we thought maybe you had opened the shop earlier.' The lady responded. 

'Oh, I didn't see the car there before. Maybe I should put up a 'No Parking' sign there so this doesn't happen again.' Emily said. 

One of the ladies who was a regular customer said, 'I know you haven't started making yet Emily but in case you have some Sesame seed scones please let me buy some. My daughter wants to have them for breakfast.' 

'Erm, I haven't baked fresh ones yet but Lily and I had some of them last night and there are some leftovers. If you want I can give those to you. You don't have to pay.' Emily proposed. 

'Yes, please. Thank you so much. My daughter will be so happy.' The lady replied. 

Emily went to the kitchen passing the pantry but avoided looking inside so the ladies would not suspect anything. Packing some scones she handed them to the customer. 

'Don't forget to put the 'No Parking' sign outside. There people with cars think they can park anywhere they want. You should be strict with how you deal with people.' One of the ladies who was a bit elderly said angrily. 

Emily gave a gentle smile and said, 'I'll put it up today.' 

As soon as the customers left Emily locked the door. She took a deep breath. And walked towards the pantry. 

Richard was standing just beside the door. They looked at each other for a moment. Both knew what was going on in the other one's mind. The moment of their brief closeness did not go unnoticed by both.