Chapter Nineteen
MORGAN
With my hand resting in Will’s, we step out onto the dance floor alongside the rest of the wedding party. Will seems careful to avoid getting too close to Ava and Hudson, and by their smug looks, I can’t blame him. I bet this was all an elaborate scheme to get us to dance together.
Point to the meddling couple.
Not letting go of my fingers, Will slides his other hand onto my lower back. His aftershave scent envelops me.
I run a hand over his shoulder, taking in the sharp angle of his jaw and the intensity in those deep-brown eyes.
His curls graze my fingertips as my hand drifts toward his neck.
I’ve been avoiding him this evening. Not only because I still feel the awkwardness of our kiss hovering between us but also because I’ve been contemplating Leo’s sudden attempts.
But Will’s been avoiding me too.
My eyebrows draw together as I try to puzzle it out. Is he only standing here with me because Ava and Hudson forced it?
“What?” he says as we sway to the slow melody.
I further duck my head. “I’m trying to figure you out.”
“Really? Any luck with that?”
I laugh. “No, definitely not.”
“Good. I like being mysterious.”
My fingers twitch, then tug at a hunk of his hair. “You’re hopeless.”
Will’s younger sister darts past us, giggling. “Oooh, Will’s dancing with a girl.”
Will rolls his eyes, but his hand presses hard to my back. “You seemed pretty stoic all through dinner. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, sorry. A lot on my mind.”
“Ever since that phone call?”
Did he know who had called me? Surely not.
When I don’t answer, he tries again. “Well, is everything okay?”
“I guess. It’s just…” I let out a heavy breath, my shoulders drooping and my chest deflating. “You really want to know?”
His fingers tighten on mine, and his chin brushes my hair. “Yeah.”
Not the moment to think of the kiss. To wonder what would happen if I tipped my head just so right now. I scoot further back and mumble, “It was my ex-boyfriend, Leo. I haven’t heard from him in a while.”
A muscle flexes in his jaw. “Oh? And what did Leon have to say?”
“Leo.”
His mouth quirks up. “Whatever.”
“You’re as bad as Fran.”
“Wow, that hurts.”
I feign regret. “You’re right. That was too far. I wouldn’t sling that insult against my worst enemy.”
He laughs and scoops me closer. “Good to know I’m not your worst enemy.”
“No, not the worst.”
We fall into silence until his next words burst out. “Well? What did Lenny have to say?”
I give him a look. “He’s been texting and calling all weekend. He says he wants to see me.”
Will pulls me in another direction to avoid bumping into Tonya and Matt, his back rigid. “And how do you feel about that?”
“I’m… not sure.” I worry my lower lip through my teeth, avoiding his intense stare beneath those mesmerizing eyelashes. “It’s complicated.”
And that’s the truth. So many emotions. Hurt is at the forefront. But sadness is there too. Embarrassment. And crazy enough, the memory of the love I used to feel. That’s the worst because I don’t want to feel it. To remember it.
Will doesn’t reply right away, but I can sense his discontent with my answer. And why does he care anyway?
“How long did you date before you broke it off?”
“Well, I didn’t break it off.” The string of lights over his shoulder glints in my vision. His breath rustles the hair at my temple. Minty. “He did. At a wedding. A lot of people heard.”
“Is that why you hate weddings?”
“That’s part of it.”
“There’s more?”
Fran sashays by. She and her husband flow around the dance floor, putting everyone else to shame. She spins toward us. “As I was saying, Morgan. We could use your expertise this evening.”
I try to respond, but Fran swirls away.
Will mutters, “Show off.”
“Yep.”
“So what was that about?”
“She wants me to bake cookies for brunch tomorrow. Not just any run-of-the-mill cookie. Full-on decorated sugar cookies like you buy from a bakery.” Like people used to buy from me.
“But you don’t want to. Because you don’t bake anymore.”
“Right.”
“You ready to tell me why not?”
“Not really.”
He tilts his head at the string lights and crossbeams. “Let’s see. Maybe it’s because—you suddenly developed a deadly sugar allergy.”
“No, thank goodness. That sounds terrible.”
“Or maybe you were abducted by aliens, and they made you bake for them—”
I release his fingers and press mine over his mouth. “Please don’t finish that. I’ll tell you.”
He shrugs, one corner of his mouth quirking. His fingers flex against my back. “I’m good at wearing people down.”
“And you think that’s a good thing?”
“Stop stalling. Why don’t you like to bake anymore? Didn’t you work in a bakery?”
“Yes.” We pause as a new song starts, beginning our dance again to a new rhythm.
“I worked at a bakery specializing in wedding cakes. It was my dream job. At the time, I’d wanted to open my own bakery someday.
We provided more than just wedding cakes, but those were the moneymakers, and that’s why I wasn’t allowed to help with them as a new employee.
But my coworker got the flu, and I had to step in at the last minute. ”
“Oh wow. You did poison people, didn’t you?”
“No. And I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that. The short of it is we delivered the wedding cake and the groom’s cake. As we were waiting around to bring them out at the right moment and start serving, Leo found me. Oh, did I mention this was the same wedding where I was dumped?”
Will’s eyebrows shoot up. We’re barely moving to the music anymore.
“Anyway, he breaks it off after two years of dating, dumping me in the kitchen in front of my boss, the caterers, the servers, everyone. And then he returns to the reception, leaving me embarrassed and on the verge of a full-on breakdown. My boss tells me to suck it up because I have to carry the groom’s cake out.
I tried to. I really did. But as I walked out there red-eyed, all I saw was Leo talking to some girl.
It could have been his cousin, for all I know.
But it didn’t matter. It set me off again, and I started crying.
We’d been together for ages, and I did not see it coming.
I also didn’t see the cords running along the floor until after I’d tripped over them and fell to the ground on top of the groom’s cake before all the guests.
Of course, I was fired after that—and told I was way too unprofessional to work with. ”
We stand there until Will starts swaying again, and I follow his lead. “Whoa.”
“Nope. Didn’t stop there. After that, the video of my chocolaty face-plant made the rounds on social media, so I shut down my online cookie business and burned all my aprons. Not really. But I got rid of them.”
“Cookie business? What do you mean?”
“Oh, I took orders online, mostly getting the word out on social media, and made specialty cookies for events and parties and stuff.” I fiddle with his collar. “It was small-time. But I stopped a couple of months ago after the incident.”
“Let me get this straight. Because of this one thing, you gave up your dream of owning a bakery? Even though you were already working on it?”
“Well, yeah. It was traumatic. The bakery owner said some brutal things.”
He shakes his head, and we slow to a stop. “You can’t give up. That’s crazy.”
The same defensiveness bubbles up. My parents continually bring it up. I’m so tired of hearing it.
When I don’t respond, he says, “Come on. Make those cookies for Ava. She’d love it, and I’ll help you.”
My frown deepens. I drop his hand and step away. “Now you sound like Fran. You’re trying to get me to do more things I don’t want to do? That’s pushy. And it’s not your business.”
He runs a hand through his curls. “Guess not.”
I walk over to our table and kick off my heels. Will’s footsteps scrape behind me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you mad. I was just trying to encourage you.”
“Look, Will”—I bend to loop a finger through the strap of my shoes—“it’s fine. I’m having a bad night. I—”
My phone starts vibrating on the table, and Leo’s song plays at a high volume—another person trying to bend me to their will.
Will glares at Leo’s name on my screen, then steps back. I get the sense he’s waiting for an answer to some question I didn’t know he was asking.
I grab it off the table, reaching for any excuse to get away. “I need to take this.”