Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Raven
“Y ou have pep in your step.”
I turned to look over my shoulder at Greer and smiled. “Yesterday sucked. But I’m better today, and I am in the mood to make something different for lunch.”
I was done with all my morning baking, and always left myself some free time on Fridays to either try something new, or to better a recipe I already had.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
I smiled, then went to take out a fresh batch of rolls.
Yesterday had been a bad day, my cramps worse than usual. I had worked only half a day before I’d gone home—something I never did. I usually worked through the pain, but the problem with owning a business with your best friend meant that she made me put my health above our company’s needs. So I had gone home and cuddled in bed. Sebastian had shown up not an hour after me, bringing me soup from my own bakery because he could, and then had made sure I was tucked in and comfortable. We had watched movies in bed while I worked on recipes in my notebook and he sketched. When he left me to go pick up Nora, they both joined me.
It felt like being a family, and it was just so different.
I didn’t want to step into Marley’s shoes, but then it hit me again and again that Marley had never had this opportunity.
I wasn’t Marley. But Sebastian wasn’t Marley’s Sebastian. And maybe one day my brain would comprehend that.
We were slowly coming to terms with this new relationship of ours and finding a routine. And I was trying to lean into the fact that I was now dating a man that I had once had a crush on. It didn’t quite seem real, but we were figuring that out.
“Earth to Raven. You’re thinking about him again, aren’t you?” she whispered as she worked on a mocha, and I began cutting bread for sandwiches.
“Maybe.”
She gestured towards the open door between our two shops, and I shook my head. “Stop it. Not here.” Not ever.
She rolled her eyes, and then went back to greeting customers. The shop had slowed over the past few weeks, but to a nice pace. We weren’t overwhelmed like we had been the first couple of weeks, but we already had regulars, and new people were coming in daily.
I didn’t want to tell myself that this was actually going to work, but it sure as hell felt like it.
The door opened and I looked up to see Wyatt coming in. He looked dejected. That was really the only word I could use that fit. He stood in line like he always did, waving and talking to others as they spoke to him, but he looked sad. And while I didn’t know him as well as I knew the others in the building, I still wanted to make sure he was okay.
He ordered his coffee from Greer, who gave me a look and I nodded, working on his pastry.
“Here you go, Wyatt. How are you feeling?”
He shrugged, then took the coffee from Greer. “Thank you both. And not great. Cora dumped me.”
My eyes widened. “Seriously? I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah. I mean, I guess I should have expected it. She’s amazing and sweet and wanted something else, I guess. Probably not a guy who just owns a bike shop. Who knows. It just didn’t work out. I should stop pouting about it. If you guys can tell, I must look like I have a gray cloud above my head. It’s time for me to drink some caffeine and get over it.”
“I am sorry though.” I reached out and squeezed his hand. We were friends, and I was getting better at showing my emotions rather than hiding them.
He squeezed it back, smiling. “I’m okay. I’ll find someone new, or I’ll end up alone for a while. Dating might not be for me. You know?”
I nodded. “I know.”
His brows raised. “But I thought you and Montgomery were dating. What do you mean you know?” I blushed and ignored the way that Greer wiggled her brows at me before going back to a customer.
“Well, I just know what it feels like to get dumped. Or to just not be in a relationship. But yeah, me and Sebastian are doing well.”
“He’s good for you. A good man. Baggage, but hell, we all have it. I wouldn’t be here without the Montgomerys. They’re some of the best people I know.”
I smiled. “Same. Honestly.”
Wyatt gave us a two-finger salute, and then headed out with his coffee and pastry.
I was nearing the end of my shift, since the shop wasn’t open in the evening, when the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
I turned to see someone that I really didn’t want to see, but it wasn’t like I could stop this. It was like a train wreck I needed to look away from, but I couldn’t.
“Raven.”
I looked directly at Marley’s mother and swallowed hard. “Hello, Mrs. Erickson.”
“We need to speak.”
“I can spare you a few moments. I just need Greer to take care of this.”
“No. You’re going to talk to us now. It’s about time we had this conversation.”
I looked at Greer, whose eyes widened. “You can take time off now, or you don’t have to. You do not have to.”
Marley’s mother moved forward. “I don’t know who you are, but I don’t need your interference. This is between me and this woman.”
This woman. That’s who I was now. After all this time, after so many years of me being their daughter’s best friend, I was now this woman .
And I didn’t need to deal with it. “Come on, let’s go outside. We can talk there.”
“So you can hide who you are? Don’t you think your clientele needs to know they are supporting a homewrecker?” Marley’s mom spat.
We only had a few customers in the building, and they were our regulars. They looked between us but didn’t step to interfere. If anything, they looked angry for me, but maybe I was just seeing what I needed to.
“Let’s go. We need to speak outside. This is my place of business.”
“Because you have a business. You think you are all grown up and have a right to come back?”
Come back? There was seriously something wrong with this woman and the man standing behind her. This couple had always been hard on Marley and her friends, but they crossed more than a few lines since losing her. And while I missed Marley, I shouldn’t have to deal with this. And I truly didn’t need Sebastian to hear about this since he was going through so much with them already. “Really? This is my home.”
“It wasn’t your home when you left us,” Marley’s father said, his voice deep.
“I’m just trying to work.”
“Yes, it must be nice. This is a nice place. You’ve done well.” Marley’s mother looked around the café that I had put my blood, sweat, and tears into—that felt like a home, that was a delight in my life—and sneered. Then she looked at me right in the face and lifted her chin. “We didn’t even know you’d come back to Denver until I saw you at his home.” She rolled her shoulders back. “You left her. You left Marley here with him .”
Greer moved quickly, leaving through the door separating the two places. I didn’t know why I felt abandoned by her, but she just left me to face this alone. The betrayal stung, but I lifted my chin and stared at the two people who had raised my best friend. My best friend who was no longer here.
“I went to college. Just like Marley and Sebastian did. I just happened to go out of state. I didn’t leave her. We grew up.”
Marley’s mother growled. There was no other word for it. “ You grew up while my daughter died. Because of him . Were you always together? Did you cheat behind her back? Or is this a new thing? Tell me. How would my daughter feel to see that you have taken her place. Are you raising her daughter, too? What lies are you spewing to my grandchild?”
Staggered, I shook my head. “It was nothing like that. Sebastian and I were never together like that. They loved each other. And I wasn’t here for any of what happened. I came back because this is my home. And you need to stop talking like this. It’s not good for you and it’s not good for Marley’s memory.”
“Don’t you dare tell me what’s good for my daughter. You were not good for her. You were always filth. Always different. And you brought him into her life and now she’s dead because of both of you. You think you can just walk into this place and no one will notice? They’re all talking about you. How you’re sleeping with your best friend’s fiancé. She would have hated you. And with good reason.”
“Just stop,” I said, my hands shaking. My customers were standing up, looking ready to come to my side, and I just wanted it to stop. I knew what they were saying was evil and it wasn’t true, and yet it still twisted around all my own fears. I hated it. I wanted to scream and to fight back but that wasn’t who I was. I wasn’t good at confrontation, and no one had ever said things like this to me before. What was I supposed to do? I needed to be strong, because what they were saying were lies. And it was only going to hurt Nora and Sebastian in the end. Forget about me. I needed them to be okay.
“What you’re saying are lies. You have twisted something that’s precious without the facts. Maybe you’re trying to heal, but I can’t do this. You need to go. And if you don’t go, I’ll call someone to make that happen.”
I knew the Montgomerys would help, they had a security business after all, but I needed them to leave without involving them. Because while what they said might hurt, the fact that part of it was true cut deep.
“You were always second best, and now you’re trying to fill her shoes and you never will.” And with that, they whirled on their heels and left, leaving me staggered, broken.
Greer came back into the room, eyes wide, with Noah behind her.
“Where did you go?” I asked, my voice shaking. I could not break. If I broke, this would be the end.
“I was trying to get help, but everybody was out. I’m sorry.”
Noah came forward. “Are you okay?”
I didn’t want Noah, I wanted Sebastian, but I knew that if he came, it would just be worse. Why did I want Sebastian to be there? I didn’t need him. I just needed to be strong. I was a strong woman, and I could do this. I was not going to cry.
“I’m fine.” I twisted my hands in front of myself and let out a breath. “They just needed to vent, but they don’t get to do that in my place of business.” I turned to our last two customers and tried to smile, but I knew it was a little too brittle. “I’m sorry you had to witness that. I promise it will never happen again. How about a pastry on me?”
“Don’t you worry about it. What they said wasn’t true, and if they took one more step towards you, we would’ve ended it,” the big man with muscles larger than my head said, his girlfriend nodding in agreement.
“I’m sorry about that, honey. You didn’t do anything wrong. Are you okay? Do you want us to call someone for you?”
“There’s no need.” We turned to see Sebastian standing in the doorway between the two businesses, storm clouds in his eyes, his arms folded over his chest. “Greer called.”
I turned to my best friend, eyes wide. “Greer!”
“What?” she asked, chin raised. “He needed to know.”
“This is my business. I’m sorry about all of this. To all of you. I handled it. Maybe not right away like I should have since I was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. But it’s my business.”
Sebastian stomped towards me and kissed me intensely, a kiss that nearly made me melt before I remembered why he was here. “No. It’s my business.”
And then he left so abruptly that it took me a moment to realize what had just happened.
“Fuck.” I turned to Noah. “He can’t go after them. If he does something, they’ll arrest him.”
“Shit,” Noah said, pulling out his phone.
“No. I’ve got this. It’s about time I handle this.” And then I tossed my apron on the counter, picked up my purse, and followed the man that was going to break my heart.