Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
“ H ow did the test go?”
Jack glanced away and shoved a hand into his pocket. “It definitely could’ve gone better, but I was right about the baked goods. It definitely softened the blow.”
Emily raised an eyebrow. “Are you just saying that to make me feel better about the whole thing?”
Jack held up two fingers, pressed them close together, and gave her a sheepish smile. “Maybe a little. Some of them weren’t happy I was trying to butter them up, but give them some time. They’ll get over it.”
Emily’s lips spread into a smile. “So, I shouldn’t expect a few TikToks about the stunt you pulled? Am I going to go viral?”
Jack threw his head back and laughed. “I wouldn’t go that far, no. But you never know.”
Emily was still staring at him as he stopped laughing.
Abruptly, she straightened her back and stepped out from behind the register. Using the glass display as a shield, she pretended to move some of the baked goods around. Opposite her, Jack stood, studying the display intently. When he crouched in front of the display, another lock of dark hair fell over his eyes, and she resisted the urge to reach out and run her fingers through it.
Emily wondered if his hair was as soft as it looked.
And why she was suddenly overcome with the urge to feel it.
“…it’s been really helpful,” Jack finished, his gaze drifting up to hers. “I’m glad Dad made us go.”
Emily blinked and shoved away all thoughts of Jack’s hair. “What?”
Jack rose to his feet and cleared his throat. “I was talking about the support group and how helpful it’s been. I’m sorry; I don’t mean to monopolize all of your time. I’m sure you have other things to do.”
Emily shook her head a little too quickly. “No, not at all. This is actually a slow hour.”
There were few people in the bakery at this time of day, leaving her completely free to stand here and continue talking to Jack.
Although, she wasn’t sure she should.
She had a strong desire to keep herself busy and to put as much distance between them as possible.
She was afraid of the flutter in her stomach and the lightheaded feeling she got whenever he smiled at her.
He was too endearing, kind, and earnest for his own good.
Jack shifted from one foot to the other and coughed. “So, what do you usually do when it’s slow?”
“Numbers,” Emily revealed with a grimace. “I know it doesn’t sound exciting, but it’s part of running the business.”
“It’s like grading papers. It has to be done.”
Emily nodded and clasped her hands behind her back. “Yeah, pretty much.”
Jack glanced around the bakery, a thoughtful expression on his face. “I think you and your husband did a great job with the place. Everyone in Falmouth has nothing but praise for the bakery.”
Emily’s stomach clenched, the butterflies erupting into a frenzy. “Oh, thank you. The bakery wasn’t Trevor’s idea though. It was mine. His idea of cooking was grilling stuff on the barbecue, and he couldn’t bake to save his life.”
Jack swung his gaze back to hers and gave her a half smile. “My mom couldn’t bake either. It definitely requires a special touch and a lot of patience.”
Emily draped an arm over her stomach and ignored the thrumming in her ears. “Sometimes.”
Jack stood up straighter and gave her a soft smile. “I think it’s great…what you’re doing here, after everything you’ve been through, I mean, and I just wanted to tell you that.”
A flush crept up Emily’s neck and cheeks. “You too. I mean, I think you’re great too. I mean, what you’re doing is great…with your whole mom thing too…”
Silence stretched between them.
Emily wanted to hide in the back and kick herself. Before she could make her excuses and move, Amy came into the store. She waved at both of them and sat in a booth in the back. Breathing a sigh of relief, Emily stumbled through an excuse and raced over to where Amy sat. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a flash of movement and was both disappointed and relieved that Jack left the bakery with a paper bag in his hand. When she looked back at Amy, the older woman was sitting up in the booth and giving her a knowing look.
“You practically ran over the poor guy to get to me,” Amy commented, the smile never leaving her face. “He’s going to think he did something wrong.”
Emily pushed her hair out of her face. “What? No, it’s definitely not Jack. I’m the one who needed to get away before I made an even bigger fool of myself.”
Amy set the menu down and motioned to the empty space in front of her. “Do tell.”
Emily sank into the booth, her knees giving out like jelly. “I don’t know what’s the matter with me. He was just being polite, and I was behaving like an awkward teenager. I don’t think I know how to talk to guys anymore.”
Amy’s smile grew. “It’s because you like him, and he obviously likes you. He’s been coming in here a lot more often.”
Emily’s face grew hot as she sputtered, “What? No, he doesn’t like me, and I definitely don’t like him.”
Amy snorted. “Come on, you can’t even say that with a straight face. And what’s wrong with liking each other, anyway?”
Emily made a vague hand gesture. “Everything. I’m mar—I was married, and I’ve got children—”
“Who are young women now, and they have their own lives,” Amy interrupted gently. “And I’m sure Trevor wouldn’t have wanted you to mourn him forever.”
Emily placed her hands on the table and exhaled. “Well, no, but it feels wrong.”
It didn’t even feel right to discuss any of this—in the bakery, of all places.
The bakery, which had seen Trevor and her through many of their highs and lows. It had been there to witness the birth of both her daughters and all of the milestones between them. The same four walls had seen countless arguments between her and Trevor, and it was this very same place that bore witness to Emily’s nervous breakdown.
During her first anniversary without Trevor, Emily remembered sleeping in her office.
“It’s never going to feel quite right,” Amy acknowledged, her expression still soft and open. “I mean, look, just because it feels weird now, it doesn’t mean it isn’t right. I’m not telling you to marry the guy. Just don’t close yourself off because you still have so much to give.”
Emily couldn’t meet Amy’s gaze. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
While a part of her understood the logic behind Amy’s words, the larger, more emotional part of her couldn’t come to terms with it. Even considering Jack felt like a betrayal to her late husband; she doubted any amount of time was going to change that.
Slowly, Emily rose back to her feet and offered Amy a strained smile. A short while later, when Emily brought over her cup of coffee and a muffin, Amy was on the phone.
Emily still couldn’t look directly at her.
Feeling unsettled and anxious, Emily spent the rest of the afternoon in her office, going over the numbers until her head hurt. She kept pacing from one end of the room to the next, unable to sit still for long periods of time. She’d even stopped in the middle of the office to do jumping jacks in the hopes of burning off some excess restless energy.
But she still felt untethered.
One by one, her employees clocked out for the day, leaving Emily staring out the window and admiring the kaleidoscope of colors outside. As soon as the sun set below the horizon, her cousin, Sophia Railings Chef, knocked on the backdoor.
With a smile, Emily let her in and pulled her in for a hug.
“I know things have been hectic lately, but I’m glad I caught you.” Sophia pushed her hair out of her eyes and peeled off her sweater. “You’re sure I’m not keeping you from anything?”
Emily took another sip of her tea. “Not at all. Do you want something to eat or drink?”
Sophia glanced around the small office and then back at her cousin. “No, I’m okay. Darren and I are going out to dinner later, so I don’t want to spoil my appetite.”
Since remarrying, Sophia and Darren had been inseparable, their relationship better than ever, and Emily couldn’t have been happier for her cousin. After having her world turned upside down with the divorce and then trying to navigate the next phase of her career, Sophia had been through the wringer, and having to compete to become the next manager of the bakery had taken its toll on her.
But Sophia had come out of it, swinging for the fences.
Emily hoped she was half as lucky as her cousin.
Sophia cleared her throat. “Anyway, I don’t want to take up too much of your time. I wanted to run this menu by you.”
Together, the two of them sat down at Emily’s desk. After reviewing and making a few changes to Sophia’s menu, they leaned back in their chairs and smiled at each other. Then, Emily broke their gaze and got up to get herself some water.
“Is everything okay? You seem stressed and distracted.”
Emily’s grip on her mug tightened. “Honestly? I don’t know if everything is going to be okay…”
After spending the past few months keeping it to herself, Emily felt like she was going to crack. She needed to tell someone.
“What’s wrong?”
“The bakery is in trouble, Soph,” Emily revealed in a thick voice. She spun around to look at her cousin and gave her a watery smile. “I put it up as collateral after realizing that Trevor had debt, and now, I can’t pay it all back.”
Sophia’s expression fell. “Oh, no. No. Em, why didn’t you say anything? I’m sure if we talked to everyone else and put our heads together—”
“Lily is the only other person who knows,” Emily interrupted with a grimace. “I just haven’t had the heart to tell anyone else.”
Or the energy.
She felt drained just thinking about it.
Sophia stood, and her hands began to flutter. “Okay, what if I convinced Nora to combine bakeries or something? She’s been toying with the idea of retiring for a while, so maybe this will make things easier.”
Emily sighed. “Soph, I appreciate that, but I don’t think Nora will want to combine forces with me…not when she’s doing so well on her own, and I can’t ask you to take on that kind of risk.”
Not when it wasn’t her mess to clean up.
“You’re not asking me to,” Sophia insisted with a frown. “I’m offering. Let me at least float the idea by Nora. You never know what she might say.”
Still, it wouldn’t be fair of Emily to put that on her cousin’s plate, no matter how grateful and happy she was to have the offer.
“Think about it,” Sophia urged, her eyes bright with love and understanding. Her gaze was open and earnest as she looked at Emily, a small smile hovering on the edge of her lips. “Maybe it’s not the solution you were hoping for, but I think it could work. And I couldn’t think of a better person to go into business with Nora.”
Except the two of them had very different approaches, and Emily wasn’t sure how comfortable she was going into business with someone she didn’t know well.
Was she willing to risk her relationship with Sophia to save the bakery?
As Sophia went on, highlighting all of the perks of combining both of the bakeries, Emily’s head raced and spun with all of the possibilities, good and bad, presented before her, but it didn’t change the fact she couldn’t imagine any of it. Still, as Sophia pulled her sweater back on and turned to leave, Emily gave her another hug.
Whatever happened, Emily would always be grateful to Sophia for offering.