Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
Aria
I had so much to do, especially now that I’d sent my cook out the door, but I had to sit and collect myself. I felt trampled and broken, as if I’d been run down by a herd of cows. It was my fault for so quickly letting my feelings take off for Dex. It wasn’t like me, and now I was paying the price big time.
There was a knock on the door. My heart fluttered. “Dex,” I said in an excited whisper. My steps faltered when I saw it was Isla at the door. She noticed right away something was wrong and practically pushed the door into me in her hurry to get inside.
“I’ve only heard snippets from Ella, and seeing you, I realize I should have come sooner.” She handed me a box of baked goods and carried her bags of bread toward the kitchen. She looked back at me over her shoulder. “Did you let him go?”
“It’s for the best. Or at least that’s what I’m going to keep telling myself. I had a rough night of sleep and an even more traumatic morning, and now I’ve got to cook too.” I sat down as the weight of it all landed right on top of me.
“You’re in luck. I’ve got the day free, so I’ll handle the kitchen, and you can do your magical thing in the front.” She leaned over and hugged me. I held onto her for a long time. “Ella told me he had a family, a wife and child.”
I straightened from her embrace. “I guess Ella is behind on the latest update. I only just learned this myself—I was wrong. The woman and child I saw him with were his friend’s family, Quinn, the man in the coma that Dex came to town to help.”
Isla stared at me in confusion. “If he isn’t hiding a secret family, then why did you let him go? Luke and I both got good vibes from him.”
“I don’t know, Isla. I was so upset after thinking he had a family, I decided that this whole thing was just too much for me.”
“You mean too much because you really, really like the man, and that has you scared.”
“Don’t need analyzing right now, Isla. I’ve made a decision, and I’m going to stick to it because it’s for the best.”
Isla pursed her lips, which meant she was holding back another comment. “Fine. You’ve decided and that is that. I won’t say another word about it.”
“Fine,” I said defensively, then softened my tone. “Thanks for staying to help in the kitchen. I’m not sure I could have handled this place by myself this morning.” I walked into the refrigerator and brought out the tubs of precut vegetables Dex had prepared the day before. Everything was perfectly cubed, and for some reason, seeing those nicely cut veggies made my chest ache. I rolled the cart out of the refrigerator. Isla was tying on an apron. She glanced up when she noticed that I’d stopped in the center of the kitchen.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this out loud, but I’m truly miserable. I like him. I like Dex. He’s completely wrong for me, for my life and yet …”
“Yet your heart says he’s completely right.”
I pushed the cart to the work counter. “Why does love have to be this complicated? Why can’t I just meet a man—a man like—like Luke.”
Isla laughed. “Right, because that wasn’t complicated at all. May I remind you of my terrifying weekend at his parents’ country house with his mother, the viper, nipping at my heels?” She turned her eyes up at the analogy. “I suppose a viper wouldn’t be nipping, but I stand by my assessment.” Isla walked over and gave me a hug. “But things untangled and now we’re as happy as can be. He’s as excited about the bakery as I am. Mostly he’s excited about all the taste testing, but that’s all right.” Isla held both my arms and leaned back to give me a scrutinizing look. “Do you think you made too hasty of a decision asking him to leave?”
“Probably. My emotions were still raw from jumping to the conclusion that he had a family, and my embarrassment was pretty fresh, too. No, Isla, this is for the best. He only came here to help Quinn. He doesn’t plan to stay long. He told me that himself. It’s better to cut myself off cold turkey than let my heart get too involved.”
Isla arched a brow. “Think it might be too late for that. But Ar, you’re my big sister, and I’ve never known you to make a bad decision. And even when you have, like with your engagement to Paul?—”
It was my turn for the arched brow. “Never going to let me live that one down, are you?”
“I need some kind of ammunition against my otherwise failproof sister. It was your one calamity. And the rest of us have too many to count. Mind you, it was a gargantuan-sized calamity.”
“Is this little chat supposed to help me feel better?”
Isla hugged me again. “Sorry, just having some fun to get your mind off this morning. Let’s get breakfast started, eh? I’m a little rusty at this. We’ll get through the morning, and once the rush is over, we’ll see how you’re feeling. If you still think you made the right choice, then I support you a hundred percent. If you, however, decide that you need to rethink the decision, I’m a hundred percent behind that.” She flashed me a big smile. “How is that for diplomacy, eh?”
I shook my head. “Fire up that stove. We open in half an hour.”