Chapter 2
Chapter Two
The next morning, Billie went to work with an entirely new outlook on life. She was going to cut back on her hours a bit, and she was going to look into perhaps trying one of those dating apps.
At least that way she could see what she was getting into instead of going on a blind date and not knowing what the person looked like.
“No more crying on my brother—or on my pillow, or while I’m eating ice cream for dinner. New day. New attitude. Today is going to be a great day!”
And it definitely started out that way.
Yesterday’s chocolate croissants were such a hit that she completely sold out and had to make more today—plus a little extra for her sister since she had been patiently waiting years for them. Jade came in smiling, baby Calvin’s tooth had come through and his ears were better, and generally, Billie just felt lighter. Maybe yesterday’s mini breakdown was exactly what she needed to get in a better frame of mind.
They opened the shop and had all their usual customers. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood and things were fairly uneventful. At the first lull, she made herself a cup of coffee.
“I hate to say it,” Jade began, “but Ash was right. The croissants are amazing.”
“I know, I know…I was too stubborn to take her seriously, but I have a feeling these are going to become our new top seller.” Pausing, she took a sip of her coffee. “We may need to think about a bigger display case.”
“I’m all for it, but that could mean we’d need to do some renovations on our entire service area. One little change has a ripple effect. Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing, but…we would need to get a contractor in to really help us see if it’s feasible. I don’t want to take on anything that would require us to have to close for an extended period of time.”
“Agreed.”
The front door opened and Ashlynn came breezing in. She was smiling and glowy and clearly not dealing with any kind of morning sickness. “Please tell me you made more croissants!” she said as she approached the counter. “I ate the ones you gave me yesterday, and I’ve been craving them all night. I don’t even need to be at the salon until noon, but I couldn’t wait to come in and get more. Do you have them? Do you? Please?”
“Um…Ash?” Billie motioned to the display case. “Use your eyes, not your mouth,” she teased. “Plus, I made an extra half a dozen for you to take home.”
“Oh my God! You are the best ! Thank you!” Running behind the counter, she gave Billie a massive hug. “You’re already the baby’s favorite. Trust me.”
Laughing, she shook her head. “You’re not even three months along. I have a feeling you’re going to be telling people that throughout the pregnancy.”
“Keep making me goodies, and I swear you’ll never be replaced.” Batting her eyelashes, she leaned back on the counter. “Can I have one now, or do I have to take it from the box you made for me?”
“You can have one from the case,” Jade told her. “Decaf coffee?”
“Ugh…that’s been the hardest thing so far. I didn’t realize just how much I relied on that caffeine kick throughout the day. And I don’t care what Reid says, decaf is not the same. He keeps saying it’s all in my mind and I need to just think of it as fully caffeinated.” She studied the menu board. “He also said I need to cut back on the super sweet specialty drinks too. It’s like he doesn’t even love me anymore.”
“Believe me, I get it,” Jade told her, patting her hand. “It was rough being here every day while I was pregnant with Cal. All I wanted was a caramel frappé, but both the doctor and Levi reprimanded me. But my mom had one waiting for me as soon as the baby was born. Trust me, it’s going to feel like forever, but once you’re holding that little, tiny baby in your arms, it will all be worth it.”
“I know,” she said with a sigh. “But that doesn’t help me right now when all I want is…well…a caramel frappé. Dammit, Jade! That wasn’t even on my radar!”
Grinning, Jade shrugged. “Sorry!”
Billie took a croissant from the case and put it on a plate for her sister. “Do you want me to heat it up for you?”
“Yes, please!”
Placing the plate in the microwave, she was about to comment on what she thought Ashlynn should drink when one of the ovens began to beep. “Jade? Can you get this when the microwave beeps? I need to go pull the coffee cake from the oven.
“No worries. Go do your thing!”
In the kitchen, she took the pan from the oven and placed it on the table. After making a quick circle, wiping down surfaces and making sure the oven was off, she washed her hands, reapplied some lip gloss, and went out to rejoin everyone.
“He looks kind of familiar,” Ashlynn was quietly saying.
“Really? I thought so too, but he’s definitely never been in here before,” Jade whispered.
Billie walked over to see who they were talking about and froze.
No. No, no, no, no, no…
There was no way—after all these years—that this could be happening. Just…no. She must have made some sort of sound, because Jade was suddenly in front of her, gently grasping her shoulders. “Bill? Are you alright? You don’t look so good.”
“No…I…uh…”
Ashlynn took one look at her and then toward the customer who was browsing before her eyes went wide with recognition. “Ho-ly crap! Are you okay? Are you freaking out? Because you totally look like you’re freaking out.”
“What the hell is he doing here?” Billie hissed. “Why would he even be back in town after swearing he’d never come back? And why would he come here ?”
“Um…maybe because we’re amazing,” Jade suggested. “Or because everyone in town knows we are the place to get the best coffee. The list is endless.”
“Did something happen in his family?” Ashlynn guessed. “I haven’t seen his dad around in a while…”
“He had an accident last year and doesn’t get out much, but…”
“Are you going to talk to him, or do you need to go hide? Because no one would blame you if you bolted. I can create a distraction.”
“Hide?” Jade asked. “Why would you need to hide? Who is he?”
Ashlynn grinned. “Billie’s ex. The great love of her life who turned into the biggest asshole in the world. We hate him.”
“Really? It’s him? You’re sure?” Jade whispered, even as she kept sneaking glances at him.
Breathing out a long, steadying breath, Billie nodded. “Marcus Calloway. I…I never thought I’d see him again.” Pausing, she let out another shaky breath and fought the wave of nausea rolling over her. “I honestly hoped and prayed I’d never see him again.”
“What are you going to do?” Ash asked. “Because you know he’s going to step up to the counter any minute.”
Oh God, what was she going to do?
Screw it. I’m not the one who has anything to be ashamed of. He does.
And with that decision made, she straightened and prayed she wasn’t about to make a major fool out of herself. Smoothing a hand over her hair, she stepped up to the counter, and…waited.
Marcus wasn’t really paying attention to her as he walked up to the display case. He studied everything for a minute, and when he looked at her, it didn’t register right away who he was seeing.
Then it did, and the look of horror on his face was almost comical.
“Welcome to Books it needs a lot of work and it’s becoming an eyesore. I’m not like you. I don’t have a disposable income. I’m already planning on moving back to Sweetbriar Ridge, but I don’t want to move back in here . I need a place of my own. No woman wants an almost thirty-year-old man who lives with his dad.”
“Why would you move back? You’re only an hour away. It seems drastic to pick up your life for…for…what?”
“Dad’s getting older, Marcus. He needs help, but he also needs to live his life without it feeling like I’m hovering. My job allows me to work remotely, so…it just makes sense.” He paused and took a sip of his coffee. “And—unlike you—I like it here. They reopened the ski resort, there’s a ton of new shops and restaurants, and most of my friends are still here. I’m actually looking forward to it.” Another pause. “Are you going to Iris Foster’s wedding while you’re here?”
“I told her it was a maybe. I don’t have to be here to go. It’s a four-hour drive, but I could find a place to stay overnight and drive home the next day.”
“Is that what you do when you go to weddings here? Drive in, ignore Dad, and then leave?”
Rolling his eyes, he smirked. “Dramatic much? And if you must know, I don’t go to weddings here. I’ve avoided them. The only reason I’m considering Iris’s wedding is because her father hooked me up with my first job in D.C. I feel like I should at least put in an appearance.”
Max groaned. “You really are the worst.”
“What? What did I say?”
“You make it sound like you’re doing them a favor. Why not just send a gift and be done with it? Plus, Billie’s doing the cake, so you know she’ll be there.”
“How do you know all of this? Do the Donovans take out a full-page ad in the paper or something?”
“I’m on a softball league with Iris’s fiancé. She comes to the games and she’s been talking about the wedding for months. I can only tune out so much, so…”
“Then I guess I probably shouldn’t go. I’m sure when the bride and groom feed each other the cake and playfully smash it, Billie will want to do it to me…just not playfully.”
Laughing, his brother reached for a brownie. “Is that what happened? She smashed the muffin in your face? That’s awesome!
“Glad you find it so amusing, but…yes. That’s exactly what she did.”
“Oh God. What did you say to make her do that? She doesn’t strike me as the muffin-smashing type.”
Sighing, he explained, “I was just commenting on how she threw away her college degree. Other people must have pointed that out to her before. I don’t know why I had to get the muffin treatment.”
“Probably because you’re the only person to say something so insensitive.” Huffing with annoyance, Max put the brownie down. “You really need to think before you speak, bro. Between that and what you just said in front of Dad, I can’t believe more people haven’t gotten violent on you with more than a muffin. I can only imagine what you’re like at work.”
Marcus toyed with his plate for a moment. “No one’s thrown a stapler at me or anything, but…I’ve definitely gotten my share of angry emails and had more than a few colorful names called my way.”
“And you’re not seeing a problem with this?”
Actually, he hadn’t before, but maybe…
Nah. Everyone else had a problem. Not him. He was who he was and if people didn’t like it, then it was on them. He wasn’t asking anyone to change who they were.
“I’m not. People need to stop being so sensitive.” He took the last bite of his coffee cake and hummed with approval. “She might be crazy, but she’s a hell of a baker.”
“She really is.”
Talking any more about Billie Donovan wasn’t an option, so he turned the subject back to the reason he was here. “Tell me where we need to begin with Dad.”