The loud knock on the new window had Nona nearly jumping out of her skin; she glanced up and saw Eliot waving to her. She'd told him that it would be best for him to wait until the bakery was closed in order for her to show him her recipe for corn cookies. She still hadn't expected him to show up; guys never asked her to show them how to make something; unless of course it was coated in a sexual inuendo. Yet there he was hair pulled back, along with a bandana covering it and a blue chef's jacket. Damn him for looking good AND being a good guy; she did not have time for this. However the sooner she showed him this recipe the sooner he could be gone from her life so she headed over to let him in.

"I hope I'm not too early" he said as she locked up behind him

"Nope, right on time"

They stood there for an awkward minute before she headed to the kitchen

"Shall we get started?"

Eliot followed her, taking note of her assets

"So what is it that you think you're doing wrong with the recipe?" she asked turning to him

"What's that?" he asked embarrassed that she'd almost caught him checking her out

"The recipe?"

"Oh I'm not sure, maybe you could just show me yours" and as soon as the words left his mouth he realized what it sounded like and his face turned beet red which rarely happened.

Nona must have noticed the look of humiliation on his face because she simply laughed and said

"Let's make some cookies"

Half an hour later she was pulling the first tray out

"I like to take them out about 2 minutes before they're done and let them finish baking on the pan. Also they're still warm enough to do this" he watched as she took a shot glass, dipped in flour and pressed a hole into the center.

"And that would be for?"

"Hand me that jar of blackberry preserves behind you" she said pointing to the counter.

After scooping out a healthy portion she plopped it in the hole that she'd made in the cookie

"That's what that's for"

"Wow I never thought about adding preserves to mine."

"I like it because it gives you that sort of salty/sweet combo. Here, try" she said holding a still hot cookie in front of him. Instead of taking it from her, he looked her dead in the eye and took a bite while it was still in her hand; his lips almost brushing her finger tips.

Nona tried to look away while he ate his portion of the cookie, but it was like there was some magnetic hold on her. In fear that she would say something stupid she popped the rest of the cookie in her mouth and started cleaning up stuff. Anything to keep her from having to look at him

"So what do you think?" she asked as she scrubbed down the counter

"I think they're the best thing I've had in awhile." She hadn't heard him come up behind her and having him this close made her both nervous and excited.

"Well I'm glad I could help out, now you know the secret is – "

"Nona stop" Eliot still her hand and cut her off; his hands came to rest on her shoulders and he could feel her tense. Trying to be gentle, he turned her around to face him

"You feel this too don't you?"

"Feel what?" she asked playing dumb because it was easier than admitting her attraction to him. Suddenly he ran his thumb along the corner of her mouth and her breath caught in her throat

"That right there; all I did was try to remove some jam on your mouth and your pupils dialated and your breath caught."

"You just surprised me is all, it doesn't prove anything"

"Well maybe this will" he said right before his lips came crashing down on hers. She tried to fight it at first but she soon found herself responding to him. He ran his tongue along the seam of her lips and she opened for him. He tasted of blackberries and sin; because if sin had a taste – this would be it.

He was trying to be gentle, but the minute Nona opened for him he groaned. She felt so damn good in his arms; it had been a long time since he'd wanted someone this bad. Sure he had no problem getting women, but they usually came on to him or it was just to burn off some leftover energy from a job. His hands found his way to her down to ass, but the minute they did he could feel her tense up. Before he knew it she was breaking the kiss and they were both breathing heavy.

"Eliot, I'm sorry I can't do this" she said slipping out of his arms. Eliot found himself slugging the wall to get rid of some of his frustration; he was mad at himself for letting it go this far this quickly. He knew what she'd been through and so he should have known better than to kiss her, but at the time he just couldn't help himself. He turned and found her standing in the corner, arms hugging her waist. She looked so vulnerable it made him want to wrap his arms around her, but instead he just stood there waiting for her to explain.

She felt so stupid standing there like that, but the minute that she felt his hands on her butt she'd flashed back to Steven. There were times when he'd forced himself on her as though it was his right as her fiance and most of the time it was easier to give into that than take option number two. She closed her eyes and tried to shut out the memory.

"I'm sorry, can you just give me a minute?" she asked and headed to the bathroom without waiting for a response. Luckily she was able to hold her composure long enough to close the door, but the minute she heard the lock click sobs racked her body. Her tears were a mix of emotions; she was scared both of Steven now that he'd resurfaced, scared of her attraction to Eliot, and she was both mad and sad over the fact that even two years later she couldn't get intimate with a man without having flashbacks. After 20 minutes she cleaned herself up and headed back to the kitchen figuring that Eliot, like every other man this had happened with was gone and she could clean up and go to bed. She was wrong; her kitchen was spotless and Eliot sat waiting at one of the tables out front.

"You ok?" he asked, concern evident on his face

"My pride is more than a little hurt but yes I'm fine thank you"

"Well then care to tell me what that was about?"

Normally she would have told him to take a hike, but she figured since he'd stuck around and not ducked out thinking she was a loon, he deserved some type of explanation

"It's a long story" his silence told her that he was prepared to wait

"A little over two years ago I met a man"

"Steven Westerhoff" he supplied

"Yes, how'd you know?"

"Jill mentioned him once"

"Oh" how easily she forgot that they shared a mutual friend

"Well what Jill didn't tell you because well Jill didn't know seeing as we'd lost touch shortly there after, is that Steven and I eventually got engaged. At first things were great he was very attentive, said all the right things but then about 6 months into it things changed."

"He got violent"

She nodded, not trusting her own voice right then

"It wasn't right off the bat, but he would stop coming home, he wouldn't call, and would get very short with me if I questioned any of it. Then one night we were arguing and I accused him of cheating on me, and that's when it happened – he slapped me and told me that if he'd been getting some at home he wouldn't have cheated. Of course the next day he was all over himself apologizing, sending me flowers, begging for my forgiveness, promising that it would never happen again."

"And you took him back" Eliot said matter of factly; he'd seen enough domestic violence cases in his day to know that it was a hard cycle to break

Nona merely looked at the floor and nodded, her face flamed with humiliation. She felt Eliot's hand pull her chin up

"Look at me" he commanded and when she lifted her red rimmed eyes he said

"This is NOT your fault; HE'S the jackass. You understand that don't you?"

"Yes, it took me awhile but finally after my mom got sick I broke it off with him and went west to take care of her. However before I could get out there he started stalking me to the point where I had to change my number several times and get a restraining order. I've done the therapy, even took a self defense class, and no matter how much I know it's not my fault, one thing they never tell you is how to move on. How not to get scared that you're going to end up the same way again, or hell to even trust someone enough to get close; so every time I get close with someone, the minute it starts getting physical…" she trailed off

"You flashback" he finished for her

"He's the one that threw the brick through your window isn't he?"

Nona nodded

"Oh it wasn't him personally, he would never get his hands dirty but I'm sure that he hired the thugs that did do it. I don't want to draw any unnecessary attention to myself; the bakery is just starting to get off the ground and I really don't need any bad publicity right now. I just wish there was some way to make him pay."

"Oh he's going to pay alright." Eliot said with conviction

"Eliot, you just can't go beating him up"

"As much as I would love that" his hands clenched into fists at his side "That's not what I meant"

"Well then what are you talking about?" she asked suddenly confused

"We think Westerhoff is selling faulty heart valves, but we need your help"