Cinnamon Buns

“Taxi!” Julinda shouted as she elbowed her way through the other rush hour pedestrians and balanced her body on the edge of the curb as she waved her hand in a vigorous manner.

Three cabs arrived simultaneously, and three ferocious customers shoved and stampeded her out of the way.

“Urrgh!” Julinda screeched through her gritted teeth. It had already been a ghastly day at work, but it’s going to be worse if I don’t make my train. Julinda’s thoughts scattered through her brain as she craned her neck over the crowd in an attempt to catch a view of a coming cab.

The honking sound of a horn caught her attention. Distracted she glanced out of the corner of her eye to see why the driver was beeping. The slight glimpse of a champagne colored sports car teased at her memory. She turned abruptly and gave it her full attention as it made a sleek slide beside the curb, halting in front of her.

A voice, deep with a sultry resonance, spoke through the car window. “Hey sweetheart, need a lift?”

Recognizing the car and voice, Julinda ignored the question and asked, “Anthony, what are you doing here?” She refused to stoop down to peer into the window at the driver. Remaining upright, she crossed her arms over her chest, hoping to demonstrate her annoyance at his arrival.

She should have known he wouldn’t be out done. Anthony got out of the car, stood in the doorway and assessed her over its roof.

Julinda’s gaze took in his appearance. He still wore his hair in a fade, edges sharp, mustache trimmed above his mouth. Man, it’s not fair for him to still look this sexy. Julinda wanted to fan herself to ward off the sudden rise of her body temperature.

“Your sister called me concerned that you would be running late. She didn’t want your train to leave without you.”

“Well, I’m glad to see that my family has so much faith in me to think that I would really miss my sister’s wedding.”

The nonchalant way in which Anthony shrugged his shoulder caused her teeth to clench.

“Well, as you can see, I have no plans of missing the train. As soon as I get a cab I will be as good as there.” She looked down the street, praying that a taxi would materialize out of thin air and rescue her.

In her peripheral vision, she could see Anthony check his watch. She received a jolt to her heart as she recognized the glint of a sapphire stud winking at her in the receding sunlight of early evening. For a moment, she wondered if it was the watch she had gotten him. She warned herself that she was allowing sentiment to get the best of her. Anthony most likely got rid of that watch the day their relationship had ended--removing any reminders.

“Jules...”

He had given her that nickname, and the way he said it always caused a tightening in her lower abdomen. The only signal she gave to signify she had heard him was represented in the single lift of an eyebrow.

“I’m here and available if you’d like a ride.”

Julinda swore she’d imagined Anthony’s voice drop an octave, sounding like he was offering something other than his vehicle at her disposal.

“I think I’ll take my chances and wait on the cab.” She swept another glance down the busy street.

“Jules, don’t let your pride get in the way and allow you to miss your sister’s wedding.”

Julinda could hear irritation building in his voice as he closed the car door and slowly walked around the hood of the car towards her.

“I don’t plan on it.”

He exhaled an audible breath. Then Anthony did the thing that always made it hard for her to refuse him; he lowered his voice to a deep timbre. “Jules, please get in the car.”

He didn’t yell because he didn’t have to. That tone of voice could move almost any mountain inside of her. The sound made her want to close her eyes. It brought back memories of late nights, long hours of lovemaking, and the two of them locked in an intimate embrace as he whispered passionate things in her ear.

She had to shake herself. Julinda recalled that by the end of their relationship, Anthony had frequently employed a tone much lower. One that seemed to resonate with stress and anger instead of caring warmth, letting her know when she had pressed past her limit with him.

By the last month, she had fooled herself into believing she didn’t care if she had gotten on his last nerve, she had become more willing to dance on it until it broke. But, today she didn’t have that kind of time. She honestly had to concede if she had any hopes of getting to the station before the train pulled out.

“Look, honey, if you don’t get into the car, I will.” A desperate female voice sounded from behind her.

Refusing to look at the other woman and not wanting to give in too quickly, Julinda gave the man who broke her heart a squinted-eyed look, before she responded through tight lips, “Fine.”

Anthony wasted little time in opening the door to the passenger side, placing the small rolling bag she had been dragging behind her in the back seat and then stepping back so she could get in. He walked back around the front of the car and slid in behind the wheel. Snapping his seatbelt into place, he paused for a moment and looked at her before merging the car skillfully into the rush hour traffic.