Chapter 1
MAGGIE
The only time I liked being told what to do was when I was naked.
So Mrs. Alden barking orders at me across my bakery counter about her precious granddaughter’s birthday cake was as welcome as a hair in my buttercream.
“I’ve got it all written down.” I tapped my order pad with my pen, forcing a smile. “Sophia’s cake will be perfect and ready for pickup at three on Saturday.”
“Okay.” Her mouth puckered like she’d just sucked on a lemon, and I took a deep breath. “And you have the right color sprinkles?”
“Yes, ma’am.” I nodded and ran my fingers over my flour-dusted apron. “Have I ever let you down before?” My voice was honey-sweet despite the tension in my jaw.
“I don’t reckon so.” She patted her bouffant, and it barely budged beneath her palm. “I’ll see you Saturday.”
“Looking forward to it,” I lied, ripping her order from my pad and stuffing it into my apron as the bell above the door jingled.
Blaire stumbled in, balancing a wooden crate full of jam against her hip, and she held the door open for Mrs. Alden as wisps of red hair fell across her freckled face.
“Morning,” Blaire said cheerfully as Mrs. Alden brushed past her with nothing but a grunt in response.
Once the door swung shut, Blaire caught my eye, widening hers dramatically, and mouthed “Wow” before heading my way. The sight of her was exactly what I needed after this morning’s rush kicked my ass.
She set the crate on my counter with a thunk before glancing back at the door.
“That woman couldn’t be pleasant if her life depended on it,” she said with a snort.
“Except around Hunter. She’s all smiles and batting eyelashes with him.
Like we don’t notice her checking out his ass every chance she gets.
” She made a gagging motion, and I laughed, ignoring the way my stomach tightened at the mention of his name.
I could feel my cheeks burning, like they always did with him, and I hated myself for it. Hunter Calloway should have come with his own warning label, with his calloused hands and a smile that promised nothing but trouble.
Thinking about Hunter was like walking into quicksand with my eyes wide open, dangerous and stupid. He was my sister’s ex and that should have been all the reason I needed.
But somehow it wasn’t.
Not when I could still remember the way he’d looked at me last week, his eyes lingering on me when he’d meant to be listening to a story Ruby was telling him.
He’d caught me watching him back, and instead of looking away, he’d held my gaze until I felt my skin flush hot beneath his stare.
I’d been the one to break first, dropping my eyes to my hands while my pulse hammered so loudly I feared he could hear it.
“Are you listening to me?” Blaire asked, and I quickly blinked up at her.
“What?”
Her gaze narrowed as she tilted her head and studied me. “You need a break,” she said gently. “You’ve been working yourself to death lately. I almost never see you.”
“I’m fine.” I waved her off even as guilt settled hard in my gut. “Just busy.” I reached into the crate she’d brought and pulled out one of the jams.
Blaire’s gaze stayed on me, not fooled for a second. She raised an eyebrow as she leaned in, bracing her elbows on the counter. “We’re going out tomorrow night.”
I laughed and twisted the lid off the jar, inhaling the sweet tang of raspberry. “I don’t have time to go out tomorrow. I have to make Mrs. Alden’s granddaughter’s birthday cake.”
“Then I’ll come help you,” she offered, and I laughed harder.
Blaire was a lot of things, but a good cook wasn’t one of them. Let alone a baker. Jams were the only thing I’d seen her master.
“Are you threatening me now?”
“Damn right, I am.” She grinned. “You know I’ll do it whether you want my help or not, but I’ll make you a deal. I’ll stay out of your kitchen if you agree to leave this bakery for one night.”
“You’re so dramatic.” I shook my head. “I leave this bakery all the time.”
“You leave the bakery and go to your apartment.” She shifted her weight, leaning a hip against the counter as she searched my face. “Which is right above the bakery. You need to live a little. Go somewhere where you might actually get laid.”
A rush of warmth crawled up my neck. “Who said anything about getting laid?”
Blaire snorted like I’d just told her the sky was green. “Please.” She motioned toward me. “You’re wound so tight I’m a little scared for the guy who finally snaps you.”
“You make it sound like I’m some kind of ticking time bomb of hormones.” I rolled my eyes dramatically. “I’ve got a vibrator, you know. I know how to take the edge off myself.”
“Right, the edge, but it’s not the same. I fear you need to find a cowboy who can bend you over every counter in this place until you can’t walk for a few days.”
“Dear God, Blaire.” I looked around to make sure no one had heard her. “You do see that I still have customers, right?”
“Trust me. They’re seeing exactly what I see.”
“Fine.” I held my hands up in surrender. “You win. I’ll go out tomorrow if you just quit talking about my pathetic sex life in front of the whole damn bakery.”
She grinned, reaching across the counter for a high five, but I raised a finger in warning.
“But I’m not drinking tequila all night, no matter how convincing you are.
I’m going to have to get up at the crack of dawn to finish Mrs. Alden’s cake, and if I oversleep, I will die a tragic death at her hands. ”
“Deal.” She extended her hand, and I took it hesitantly. She grinned as we shook, and I almost instantly regretted my decision. “You’re going to thank me.”
“Oh, I doubt it.” I laughed just as my phone vibrated on the counter.
My fingers closed around the phone, and the smile slipped from my face as soon as I saw the name lighting up my screen.
Ella.
I should have been excited to see my sister’s name.
Some part of me was. The part that still remembered how she’d taught me to braid my hair and how we’d stayed up whispering secrets until dawn.
But seeing her name also twisted something in my chest. When she’d packed her bags and left Willow Grove in her rearview, she’d made it clear that staying here meant I’d betrayed her somehow.
“You’re choosing this place over me,” she’d said, as if I was the one walking away.
But the truth was simpler. Ella would always put herself first.
It didn’t matter that I’d already signed my name on the dotted line for this bakery or that we’d spent nights dreaming about our fresh start somewhere new. Ella came to Willow Grove, set her eyes on Hunter Calloway, and then she did the one thing she did best.
She left nothing but wreckage in her wake.
The phone buzzed against my skin like a warning, and I felt the familiar twist of longing and anxiety in my chest.
“It’s Ella,” I said, glancing up at Blaire. “I should probably take this.”
“Go ahead.” She reached for the crate. “I’ll stock these while you talk.”
She grabbed the crate and moved around the counter to where June’s Jams were on display, and I quickly answered the phone.
“Hello.” The word had barely left my mouth before Ella’s voice crashed through the phone.
“Maggie!”
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing’s wrong.” Her laugh was unbothered, but it set me on edge. “I have news.”
“Okay.” I braced myself.
She shrieked through the phone, so loud I had to pull the phone away from my ear, but there was no missing what she said next. “I’m getting married!”
My stomach dropped. “Married?” I repeated, but my voice came out thin. “When did this happen?”
Blaire’s head jerked up from the shelf, her brows shooting to her hairline, but I ignored the question in her stare and turned away.
“Dean proposed last night.” She giggled.
“I was going to call and tell you last night, but we got caught up in celebrating. It was such a whirlwind, Maggie. He took me out to the old oak tree on Mom and Dad’s property, and when we got there, it was candlelit, and there were roses everywhere.
” She was breathless as she spoke. “I’m going to send you a picture of the ring as soon as we hang up.
It’s perfect. Dean did so well.” She laughed again, and I swallowed hard.
“Congratulations, Ella. I’m so happy for you.” My fingers tightened around the phone as I forced brightness into my voice. I was happy for her. Of course I was.
My sister deserved every bit of happiness. But Dean?
Not only had Dean and Ella dated in high school, but they’d reconnected while he was engaged to someone else and while Ella was with Hunter. The two of them had blown up both relationships without a second thought.
The image of Dean at our last family dinner when I’d gone home for a visit flashed through my mind.
He had a self-satisfied smirk plastered across his face while Ella and my parents gave me every reason they could think of for me to come home all the while knocking back three whiskeys before Mom even finished setting the table.
It wasn’t that I hated Dean, but every time I pictured Hunter’s face when he found out what Ella had done, something in my chest constricted. I couldn’t imagine trading the golden warmth of Hunter for someone like Dean.
And I could still hear Ella’s voice the day she left, could still feel the way she’d gripped my wrist in the driveway like she was drowning. “I’m going to regret him for the rest of my life. He was the best thing I ever had, but I’m just like Dad.”
“That’s amazing, El.” I forced the words out and tried to force the memory away with them. “Do Mom and Dad know?”
“Of course. Dean made sure they were both there.” Her happiness filled the line, and I turned to face the kitchen, staring at racks of half-frosted cinnamon rolls I’d been working on before Mrs. Alden walked in. “It was truly perfect, Maggie. I wish you were here to see it.”
“Me too,” I said, even though it was a lie.