Chapter 3
Mioko
Luke returned to Tapped Amber far too quickly for there to have been any sort of meaningful reunion.
He hadn’t even been gone fifteen minutes, and the tray of coffees he carried still looked piping hot. How? Had Eli not shown? Had they argued?
Or had he never even seen Eli? Fuck, I should have found a way to tell Luke Eli would be there.
I ducked behind a shelf of maple bourbon caramels, watching Luke through the gaps between candy boxes, wondering if they’d seen each other.
Damn it. I’d been sure this would work. The cafe was neutral territory. I’d made the email sound casual but sincere. What went wrong? Had they argued?
I wanted to ask him directly, but I was still just as intimidated by Luke Merrick as I had been at 16. What was that about? I was much braver and more confident around everyone else. Just not Luke and Eli.
“Mioko?” Maggie’s voice made me jump. “Are you hiding behind my caramels for a reason, or just admiring my aura-aligned packaging?”
I turned, heat flooding my cheeks. “Just... organizing.” I grabbed a random box and pretended to straighten it.
Maggie raised an eyebrow, her wild auburn curls bouncing as she tilted her head. “Mmm-hmm. Nothing to do with your old crush on my son?”
“I didn’t have a crush on Luke!” I tried to sound casual. “I barely noticed him.”
“You’re a terrible liar, sunshine,” Maggie said, her voice warm rather than accusatory. “Your face gives away everything you’re thinking.”
I sighed, abandoning the pretense. “Fine. I may have emailed Eli from the shop account, pretending to be Luke, asking to meet there at eleven, when you always send Luke for your coffee order.” I winced, waiting for her reaction.
To my surprise, Maggie threw back her head and laughed. “Oh, honey. You’re playing with fire. Those two haven’t talked in years. You’d be better off flirting with him yourself.” She glanced at Luke, who was aggressively tying his apron strings. “Did Eli not show?”
“No idea. I’m going to check in with Lori, and see if she knows anything.”
“Oh shit. You roped Lori into this, too?” Maggie shook her head, smiling.
“I mean, I’m staying with her while I’m in town. And she needs entertainment! Bedrest does not suit her.” Sticking out my tongue at Maggie, I pulled out my phone, and swiped to Lori’s texts.
Mioko
Operation Coffee Shop = total disaster. He’s back already.
Lori
Called it. Did they even talk?
Don’t know. If they did, it wasn’t for more than a minute or two. I can’t figure out what went wrong. Do you think Eli skipped it?
He emailed you back, didn’t he? Eli was there. He’s steady like that.
Then why wouldn’t they have talked? Maybe I should’ve followed him and spied on them.
Maybe you should’ve listened to Aimee.
Since when do we follow every piece of advice on the Aimee Position?
Since always! She’s our favorite podcaster. That’s why we called her.
You called her. Then you shoved the phone at me and made me talk, remember?
Details…
Anyway, we listen to her for fun, not because we think she’s right about things.
Aimee knows her shit.
She has multiple degrees in psychology and counseling, and she doesn’t have emotional investment clouding her judgment.
She knows nothing!
Also, I’m stopping by the grocery store before I come back to your place. Text me your list.
Will do. Love you, bestie. You’re a life saver.
I shoved my phone back in my pocket, wondering if Lori was right.
If I should listen to Aimee. But what did Aimee know?
She hadn’t grown up watching Luke and Eli, moving through the world like two parts of a whole, finishing each other’s sentences and communicating in half-words and meaningful glances.
She hadn’t witnessed the devastation on Eli’s face when Luke left, or the way Luke looked at Eli when they thought no one was watching.
I’d seen it all. I’d fix it, podcast advice be damned. Nothing had blown up in my face. It just hadn’t worked yet.
I slipped from my hiding spot and headed to the tempering station, pretending to check the chocolate thermometer.
From here, I could study Luke without being obvious.
His jawline was sharper, his shoulders broader.
The handsome nineteen-year-old college student had become a man with presence, his stylish clothes contrasting with his sugar-dusted apron and the homey candy shop.
He hadn’t talked to me after the awkward conversation in front of the delivery van two days ago.
Not that I could blame him. I hadn’t talked much to him either.
When I started working at Tapped Amber at sixteen, I’d wanted to disappear into the background.
I’d just escaped the compound, and I was afraid they’d find me.
I’d met Edie and Maggie thanks to a ‘Help Wanted’ sign in Maple Crossing, where my meager runaway fund had run dry.
I could still remember the way they’d studied me for a moment, cataloging every detail, from the tattered hem of my homespun dress to the bonnet shadowing my face.
And just like that, they’d taken me in, given me a job and a home.
They’d never pushed me to talk about my past, but eventually I’d come to trust them and shared more.
They’d helped me get my GED, taught me to make candy, and treated me like I mattered.
Their daughter, Lori, was five years older than me, but as adults, our friendship had blossomed into something I cherished.
And Luke was one of them, so even though he’d fled to the city in search of bigger and better things, I knew, deep inside, he had a big heart. And I knew he needed Eli. Mostly because I’d spent most of my teenage years spying on them.
Luke had been a college student when I’d arrived in Maple Crossing, only home for holidays and summer breaks. When he was around, he’d been polite but distant, his attention always elsewhere—usually on Eli.
Okay, and maybe I’d nursed a slight crush. But it didn’t mean anything, because Luke was Eli’s and Eli was Luke’s. Plain and simple.
“That’s odd. We’re out of organic brown sugar,” Edie’s voice rang through the workshop, pulling me from my thoughts. She stood at the ingredient shelves, her flowing skirt swirling around her ankles as she turned. “I could have sworn we had three more bags.”
“Mom.” Luke’s voice was strained with forced patience, and my ears perked up. Not another fight. “This is what I was talking about yesterday. You need a proper inventory system.”
“The sugar will appear when it’s spiritually ready,” Edie said, looking unconcerned.
“That’s not how inventory works,” Luke said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Look, it’s simple. We can set up a spreadsheet.”
“We’ve been doing fine for twenty-six years without a spreadsheet.” Edie waved him away.
“Fine? You run out of ingredients constantly! You’re a week behind on holiday orders, and Christmas is in three weeks! Lori’s on bedrest, and you’re working nonstop to catch up—”
Fuck, not again. I moved without thinking, crossing the room and grabbing Luke’s arm. “We’ll get brown sugar from the co-op,” I announced, cutting off his lecture. “Luke can help me carry it.”
Luke turned to me, startled. “What?”
“Brown sugar,” I repeated, tightening my grip on his arm. “Co-op. You. Me. Now.”
Before he could protest, I yanked him toward the door, flashing a smile at Edie. “We’ll be back in twenty minutes!”
“Take your time, sweetheart,” Edie called after us, looking too pleased with this development.
Outside, I realized I was touching him, felt his warm bare skin under my palm, his muscles flexing beneath my grip. My pulse thudded in my ears as I realized what I’d done.
I let go as if I’d been burned and turned away, speed-walking towards the co-op before he could see my panic. What the hell had just come over me? I took a deep breath, letting the familiar smells of Maple Crossing center me. This was home, in a way no other place had ever been.
“What was that about?” Luke asked, falling into step beside me, his long legs matching my quick pace, his elbow bumping mine.
“You were about to lecture your mom on spreadsheets. Again. She was about to tell you Mercury is in retrograde and that’s why the sugar disappeared. Again. I was saving you both from having the same argument for the third time this week. And saving myself from a headache.”
I shot him a sideways glance. “You go on and on about efficiency, but you should know damn well that arguing with Maggie and Edie just slows down their process.”
Luke’s eyes sparkled with humor as he looked down at me. “You may have a point. And I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you the other day. I remember you now.”
“It’s fine,” I said, walking again. “It’s been a long time since I escaped the cult. I dress differently now.”
He blinked down at me. “Fuck, you were in a real cult? That makes me a terrible person.”
“Yep.” I shot him a teasing grin. “That was a shitty nickname. I’m so sorry that Eli and I called you that.”
“Well, there’s always time for a fresh start. Call me by my name instead, and you’re forgiven.”
He gave me a sheepish smile. “I, er… It’s possible I never learned your name?”
“It’s Mioko,” I said, shaking. “Mioko Tanaka.”
“Mioko,” he said, like he was turning the word over in his mouth to see how it fit. “I won’t forget that.”
His quiet, wondering tone made something flutter in my stomach. I kept my eyes on the sidewalk, afraid that if I looked up, he’d see how long I’d waited to hear him say my name. We got to the front of the co-op, and he reached past me, holding the door open as I walked inside.
“I’m sorry I was such an asshole when I was younger.”
“You were nineteen. I’m sure you’ve improved with age.” I looped an arm through his and led him back to the baking supplies. “In fact, you can prove it to me.”
“How?”
“Stop arguing with your moms and do what your sister does. Lori has a system. She’s the reason Tapped Amber has been growing by leaps and bounds. She’s gotten Edie and Maggie’s amazing creations out there into the world.”
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Of course she does. How does she handle all of their foibles, though?”
I laughed. “Simple. She pretends she believes in the magic of happy coincidences and keeps a secret inventory spreadsheet on her laptop. I’m staying with Lori, so I’ll get the details of her top-secret inventory management system.
But... stop lecturing everyone and just talk to your sister if you have a question. ”
“Fuck, I’m pretty sure Lori was trying to explain that over the phone before I arrived.
Joe interrupted and said she was getting too stressed and needed to talk about calming topics, so I told her I’d figure it out.
But once I got here, everything just brought me back to how our moms were when we were kids, when everything was a struggle. ”
“Edie and Maggie are wonderful people and talented candy makers, but they don’t always have the best business sense. Your sister handles that part for them.”
He gave me a sheepish smile. “You’ve probably saved all of my relationships in one conversation.”
All of them but one, anyway.